JMT 2015

What a great photo-hiking-log! I especially liked the starry-night shots.

I also really like the awards ribbons at the end of the hike. How come I never get those???

Outstanding photos! The best part was all of the smiles, looks like you did it the right way.

May I ask, what were you using for a camera. Loved the Wide Angle shots!! We were out there the 10th through the 13 of August.

Thanks everyone and we did have a blast. As for the camera I brought a Sony RX100 to save weight over my bigger camera. The panoramic shots are from my iPhone tho. I have been REALLY impressed with the iphone photos!

You took those night shots with the RX100?

Yup. That is actually the ONLY reason I got an RX100. Because it's the ONLY point and shoot that can take night shots. Well not only but smallest and I didn't want to carry my larger camera.

Which rx100? Was it the IV? Which settings? ISO, exposure, etc? I've been trying to use my rx100 to get those kind of Milky Way shots, and failed miserably. I'm thinking you're just way more talented :)

"I'm thinking you're just way more talented :) " She probably read the manual. And she obviously IS talented.

I have a RX100 III not the IV. There is not enough difference to make the IV worth while. Since the sensor is so small you really don’t want to crank the ISO that much. I don’t ever go over 1000 and I try and stay well below that. Most shots are 1.8 @ 30 seconds / 800 ISO. That will pretty much always do the trick but obviously there is a lot of wiggle room in there. Theres a great article on point & shoot cameras that take start shots HERE that can be helpful. I also did quite a few timelapses on the trip which was the whole reason I brought the RX100 and didn’t just use my iPhone. You can see one HERE. Watch it in HD.

Thanks Megan! Very good info. I'll try that. How did you take that time lapse? I thought there was no intervalometer for the rx100? Did you do that trick where you use a rubber band to hold down the shutter button?

No, there is an app you buy on the camera. It's by PLayMemory or something…. It's kinda complicated to buy it but once you do it's on your camera and ready to roll. You just connect your camera to WiFi and buy it. If you google Sony Time-lapse app there should be a couple videos that will show you how to get it. It works pretty well. No where near as easy to use as the built in Olympus one or just a regular intervalometer but it'll do the trick and it's nice that's it's in the camera.

Thanks Megan! Your timelapse is awesome! Looking forward to making a few of my own.

I hiked the JMT SOBO July 14 to August 3. Your pictures brought back great memories. My pics aren't half as good as your shots. You are a talented photographer!

Thanks for the memories! Looking at your photos was like taking another trip on the JMT. I appreciate all of the panoramas, especially the ones that show where you camped (some of my favorite spots along the trail). The exposed and desolate Upper Kern Basin, camping by Cathedral Lake and all of the creek and lake photos. Thanks!

Megan, Wow….amazing shots. I have the Sony RX100 version 1.0 and your night shots are hands above what I have been able to do. I am jealous….my 2011 JMT shots were on a Canon pocket camera and the pictures just suck in comparison. Thanks for sharing your amazing photos! Brings back fond memories and makes me want to go back just to take better pictures of the trip. Love the larger format/size shots. Those were done with your iPhone??? Crazy good looking. Congrats on your successful trip…..your captions about being on the moon exactly captured what I was telling myself in that desolate moonscape. Tony

Hey Tony, Thanks! I have been REALLY impressed with the images my iphone 6 takes. I think on a trip like that where I was being super weight conscious I would have only taken my phone if it weren't for wanting to do night timelapses. I feel like my passion for night timelaspes is more of a 1.5lb curse :-) But the shots almost always pay off.

I would just echo what everyone said above.