152/365: Basketball Jones and the Captain.

This guy here can do things most men cannot. In addition to smoking Camel filterless while hiking up a mountain (any mountain) much faster that you, he can drink a gallon of whole milk in under an hour and then get up and play frisbee...I've seen both, filmed the latter. The man has been in more knife fights than  Crocodile Dundee. When he looks at your VAL (Voice Activated Light Stand) like that, you may want to tell the person to back away a bit.

In all seriousness, Basketball Jones (aka Sean) was one of the people I had the great misfortune to meet while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2001, and he is a good friend still. I see him somewhat regularly, as he lives not too far away, but not enough. Just like with any of my buds from that hike though, when we get together, it's like no time has past at all. When he heard we were making a quick jaunt out to Yosemite, he was all in (he hiked the John Muir Trail two years ago with my other two travel partners below, more on that in a future post).

Strobist info: This is Classic Joe McNally lighting technique. Off-camera Canon 580ex2 in wireless E-TTL mode, handheld and aimed thru a popup diffuser (not a Tri-grip, but similar), triggered by on-camera 580ex2 set as commander. A down-and-dirty setup that's quick and easily controlled from behind the camera. Even if the automatic functionality is getting confused, you can simply switch it over to manual and dial it in. Grabbed a few such pics as we shot the last light of day in a meadow opposite the Great El Capitan.

Brian at work. And Pete contemplates the legacy of John Muir...

And a final shot, camera on a timer and flash set down on my camera bag.

-llg