Photo Adventure
Adventure photographer Bill Hatcher travels the globe to tell compelling stories through his images.
There And Back Again
Returning to your favorite places gives you the chance to push the boundaries of your own photographic exploration
 The question I’m asked most frequently at workshops and when talking with other photographers: Where is my favorite place to shoot photos? The intent of a question like this is to discover what’s at the core of what I like best when I look for a photo location. When I answer with a string of places, including mountains, deserts and locations around the world, this doesn’t address the question with a tidy answer.
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What Moves You
Finding your own photo style is a journey, not a destination
 To what can we look to inspire our photographic style, and what are the benefits of knowing our photographic style? As photographers, we fly, drive or hike into the world’s farthest corners to be surrounded by beautiful landscapes or a constant whirl of exotic people and events.
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Assignment Vietnam
A snapshot sparks an idea
 The worst season to visit southeastern Asia, specifically if you want to explore and climb northern Vietnam’s spectacular karst limestone towers, is in the middle of summer. The summer temperatures have an uncanny ability to match the daytime humidity that averages 95%. That’s unless a summer monsoon inundates the region.
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Memories From Down Under
Inspired by a blast from the past
 A long, long time ago, back in April 1985, a talented German rock climber by the name of Wolfgang Gllich succeeded in making the first ascent of the climb Punks in the Gym. Gllich rated the difficulty of the route the staggering grade of 32, or 5.14. The ascent occurred in the small and at the time little-known climbing area of Mount Arapiles, located in the most unlikely of locations‚ the flat, wheat-farming region of southeastern Australia. The local climbing guide reads: For awhile, Punks was the hardest route in the known universe.
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Burnout
When a creative slump happens, change your visual diet
 All of us have those moments in photography where we face a creative block. The subject matter that we love and have always found interesting to shoot now suddenly seems boring and uninspiring. For both the working pro as well as the weekend warrior, you can’t risk having these dry spells.
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Moving Fast And Going Slow
Technology lets us go through life at breakneck speed, but not always in the correct direction
 It’s surprising how often we curse the complexity and expense of the new cameras and computers, but at the same time, demand more speed and efficiency. And this isn’t just limited to cameras and computers, but extends into every facet of our lives, including cell phones, handheld GPS, satellite phones, MP3 players, compact, high-power strobe lighting and an endless array of other electronics we now depend on when we go outdoors to shoot photos. Ten years ago, most of these devices had no part in our lives, yet today we couldn’t see doing without them. I’m not reminiscing about the good old days because I absolutely love all the new electronics. I’m not a tech wizard, but I still probably spend too much time exploring the photography applications of the newest and fastest technology. I figure I only need to know enough to operate the device—I don’t have to understand the design of its inner workings.
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Grand Canyon Solo
Searching for unique photos puts our columnist in a tough spot
 Damn the sheep, damn the light, I was alone and I was trapped! I was 20 feet above a deep pool, having squeezed myself behind a truck-sized capstone in an effort to climb out of a canyon narrows. Blocking my exit were several bowling ball-sized rocks, spaced like bars in a cage, sealing a way out!
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Get A Move On
Use these techniques to add a feeling of motion to your images
 As a visual storyteller, I sometimes look at my video-shooting colleagues with more than a little envy. They carry only one camera (albeit a big one) with one zoom lens of incredible range and speed; they not only capture sound, but seem to be able to shoot in pitch-dark conditions as well; and most enviable of all, they can record movement and the passage of time.
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Finding Nirvana In The Mountains
Your best images come when you see the photograph as a whole
 Why do people climb dangerous mountains, and why are people so obsessed with the quest for adventure? These are common questions among people who don’t climb mountains. And for that matter, I’m also asked about what pushes me to pursue adventure photography. Couldn’t I have opted for any number of less dangerous photo careers?
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