Bill Hatcher Photography

A Time for Show and Tell

I am off to the U.S. for a few weeks. My first stop is National Geographic Magazine in D.C. It's always nice to check in with my editors and others whom I work with at National Geographic. The visit is also an opportunity to reconnect, say hello as well as show some of the photography stories and projects I'vebeen involved in recently. They're a few stories to tell so I've put together a "show and tell"  from the

Where to Land for the Night

Part of what drives my photography are those opportunities to wake up to a new morning in an incredible landscape. This photo was made after finishing a long shoot in California. I was driving home to Colorado and needed a place to sleep for the night. The Ibex dry lake bed in Western Utah was the place I selected and this is where I woke up the next morning. If htere's a photography lesson here it's always chose a camp with a good view and bring your camera.

 

Sand Storm in Musandam, Oman

In my experience a sandstorm should include a raging wind followed by choking dust. The sand storm that blew in from Iran and hit Oman a few days ago came quietly during the night. The next morning it appeared like a white fog and five days later it is still hanging thick in the air. All week the flights into Kasab have been cancelled so we rented a 4x4 and hit the road for the seven hour trip via the UAE to Musandam. In Kasab I got my hands on a bike and was told Khor Nejd,  a small bay on the Masandam Peninsula, is beautiful in the morning. I guess I didn't have the right filter. I will have to return for that view on a clear day.

Cameras in the Desert

The main camera I have been using in Oman, a Nikon D-3s, has stayed pretty clean despite traveling around the worlds largest sand box. Here are some of the dusty environments I found my self exploring in Oman. My locations manager, fixer and Oman expert Michael Dickinson took the photos and helped smooth the way through Oman.

       

Oman: Canyon Country

That's me checking out a large balanced rock in Snake Canyon a tributary of Wadi Bani Awf, Oman. It must have been an amazing flood event that deposited this mammoth block. I saw no snakes while I was exploring Snake Canyon, but given the blazing heat and hot sun you can bet I was alert for them and stepping carefully.

Oman: Rub Al Khali 2

In Canada the Inuit have many names for snow. I suspect in the Empty Quarter of Oman the Bedouin have a hundred names for sand and the different types of sand. This desert seems to have every texture and shape. It's certainly a place I will have to return, but not in March when the day temps are in the low 40s c. That's around 104 degrees fahrenheit, but it's a dry heat.

Oman: Rub Al Khali the Empty Quarter

I've been meaning to share some photos from my trip in Oman, but where there is a will there is not always internet access. Today I woke in Salalah, Oman to discover that a big sand storm had blown into Oman from Iran. The timing could not be better because for the last few days I have been exploring the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter). The Rub Al Khali is one of the most exceptional remote places I've visited in the world, but it's not a place to lose yourself in a sand storm.

 

 

Photography in hot stinking deserts

My bags are packed today for a four week trip into the deserts of Oman and Rub al Khali, the Empty Quarter. I am looking forward to a hot dusty month of photography in Oman, but don't get me wrong I like traveling and photographing in desert country. above is a photo I took a few years back while hiking the Boucher Trail in the Grand Canyon. For me the appeal of deserts is they are often unpopulated, remote and quiet. Also the people you come across who have spent their entire lives in deserts are always a tough interesting and bunch. I'll share a few of my Oman adventure in upcoming entries.

Mesa Arch Canyonlands

I am working on a story about adventuring in Canyonlands. I was looking for an opening spead shot that kind of says it all about this amazing park. I didn't need to look further than Mesa Arch at sunrise. I got there before the photo crowds and despite the evening rain the morning was clear and sunny. You gotta like that.

Photo of the Week: Little Blue stock Car

Unlike many photographers out there who have given up on stock agencies I still send images into my stock agency at National Geographic Images. Yep my return on investment with stock photography is down from what it was a few years ago, but my photo stock is still making money.

Today I am reviewing the file naming for a batch of photos NG Images has selected. Included are some photos from Iceland I shot a year and a half ago.

I saw this scene while on a hike to photograph volcanic vents near Lake Myvatn in Iceland.  I just love the tiny blue car on a lonely strip of road in this unlikely setting. This is what a family vacation might be if you decided to go to Iceland instead of Paris.