MARIA: Hey Rachel, it's Maria from B&H! RACHEL: Oh hi, Maria!
MARIA: I wanted to ask you 21 questions.
MARIA: Do you have some time? RACHEL: Yeah! Absolutely!
I was just going to go scout some locations.
Do you want to come with me? MARIA: Absolutely!
Awesome! MARIA: Okay, let's do it!
Let's do this!
MARIA: So, what type of photographer are you?
I'm a landscape and astrophotographer.
MARIA: And, what are you trying to capture tonight that you're setting up?
Well, if we get really lucky and these clouds move up,
I'm hoping to capture Orion rising up above the mountain and reflected in the water.
MARIA: And, how have you been using your time during this pandemic?
Well, I moved to Canmore, Alberta,
which is just on the outskirts of Banff National Park, in May.
So, I've spent the whole summer just exploring my new home
and doing some backcountry trips
and camping and lots of photography.
MARIA: And, what got you started in photography?
My very first dip into astrophotography
is really what changed the whole trajectory of my career.
A friend had taken me out and showed me how to photograph the Milky Way for the first time,
and that's what got me hooked.
MARIA: Cool, and what was your first camera?
[Rachel chuckles] My first camera was a Canon Rebel
with a kit lens, and that night that I went out to shoot the stars,
my friend loaned me his lens, which went down to 2.8.
MARIA: What's your go-to camera and lens?
My absolute, go-to camera is the Sony a7R III.
I have two of them. One of them, I keep the 16 to 35 f/2.8 G Master on.
That one's really great for time lapsing.
Keeping that lens on means that my sensor is always clean. [chuckles]
And it's just really versatile for any kind of shooting that I want to do.
And then, on my second body-- I always run two bodies--
I just change up my lens depending on
what it is that I'm shooting and what it is that I need.
MARIA: And what drew you to astrophotography?
[Rachel sighs]
I just feel a real sense of contentment
and peace and connection with the world around me
when I'm out under the stars.
And I think there's a little bit of magic there too,
in the sense that the camera can see things
that we can't see with our eyes.
And for me, clicking that shutter is like
pulling back a curtain and peering into the universe.
MARIA: Can you tell us how you learned to capture those creative night portraits? They're amazing!
Actually, I had-- a couple of friends were getting married,
and they asked me to do their engagement photos out under the stars.
So, it was a really good opportunity to learn how to work with people at night.
and how to get a little bit more creative and imaginative
with how I was shooting night photos.
MARIA: You teach a ton of workshops.
Why do you think it's important to take the time to teach others about photography?
Well, I just really enjoy teaching.
I enjoy that moment when I see people have that light bulb moment,
you know when they really connect with what they're learning,
and they can translate their vision into their images.
It's something that really, um... It fills my cup.
MARIA: And, do you have any projects coming up or that you're working on right now?
[laughs] As a matter of fact,
I will be speaking for OPTIC All Stars on November 22nd,
so, I hope you guys will join me there!
MARIA: We absolutely will!
So, what are some tips for somebody trying to dip their toes into astrophotography?
Astrophotography is absolutely a game of patience.
So, I recommend really committing to one shot,
and thinking about how to execute it technically really, really well.
It can take a long time for the stars to literally align the way that you want them to in your image.
So, when I'm waiting for the stars, I will listen to audio books.
I actually listened to an entire series this summer called The Expanse James S. A. Corey
and I highly recommend that.
MARIA: Tough one, what's your favorite night shoot snack?
[Rachel laughs]
A friend of mine turned me on to something
that you might think is a little weird, but it was so good.
We did this 110, 120 kilometer hike in five days,
and he convinced me to bring honey mustard pretzels.
They were the most satisfying things in the whole world after big hikes.
MARIA: If you could only bring one item to your night shoot,
that isn't your camera, lens or tripod,
what would it be?
Ah, that's definitely these gloves.
These are made by The Heat Company.
I guess this would be a winter-time essential,
but they're the warmest things in the whole world.
Um...
They have room for chemical warmers in them.
And, you can cover up your fingers,
or use the touch gloves to operate your camera.
And, they're available at B&H.
MARIA: What has been your favorite place to photograph?
Hm... That is definitely home in the Canadian Rockies.
I have traveled lots of places in the world,
but I don't think any place really rivals the Canadian Rockies.
MARIA: What was the most challenging shoot you've been on?
I can tell you the most challenging shoot I've been on recently.
I hiked up to Moraine Lake after the road was closed.
It's about a 25-kilometer hike.
And at kilometer number three, I strained my hip flexor.
So I hiked the rest of the 22 kilometers in...
a lot of discomfort, let's just put it that way.
When I got up there, it was so cold that my water bottle kept freezing.
And with the injury, it took me a little longer than I had planned.
So, I missed sunset entirely, but I did get a really amazing shot of the Milky Way.
And, it was so awesome that I would do it all again.
MARIA: Wow, that is unbelievable!
And, what has been your most memorable shoot?
My most memorable shoot was with my friend David Wilder in Iceland.
Um...
David is colorblind,
and that trip he was given a pair of glasses that would help him to see color
We shot the aurora all night.
Like, we started at basically sunset, and shot all the way through the night.
The aurora was absolutely the most amazing thing that we had ever seen.
It just... went on and on and on.
And it was a big storm, and we have beautiful foreground to work with.
And then, the next day, we had this amazing sunrise.
And David tried on his glasses, and he was able to see sunrise in color for the very first time.
And that remains one of the most special moments
I've ever had out shooting.
MARIA: Summer or winter?
[Rachel chuckles] Winter, hands down!
Absolutely winter. I just love the snow,
how it simplifies the landscape.
I love the frost flowers and the ice formations in the foreground.
I'm a winter girl.
MARIA: If you weren't a photographer, what would you be?
Well, when I was...
Before I was in photography, I was in academia.
I was studying a PhD in psychology.
It was research psychology, so I did a lot of research.
I did research in social psychology on the topic of [stumbles over last word]
Sorry, unforgiveness. [laughs]
And I also did research in the perceptual and cognitive aging laboratory.
So, if I was not a photographer, I'd probably be a researcher.
MARIA: What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
It's not the best piece of advice per se, but...
And maybe you could think about it more like in the example.
I've had a couple of photographers who were really influential in my life,
and they were very determined.
You know, no matter what the conditions.
No matter how hard something was.
No matter how difficult it might be.
They just had that determination to get out there and do it.
And that's something that I carry with me on my shoots.
And, I guess that's why I didn't mind hiking 22 kilometers with a strained hip flexor.
But yeah, I think it pays off to have that kind of determination.
MARIA: That's good advice.
And aside, from your camera, what's your favorite piece of gear?
Oh...
That's a tough question, actually.
I think it would depend on the shoot. Um...
I'm pretty attached to my backpack.
I have an Atlas Pack. It's called the Athlete.
And it's just a really comfortable bag.
And it fits pretty much everything that I could possibly want in there.
MARIA: If there were to be a movie about your life, who would play you?
Hm, I've been told that the that I look a lot like that woman from Gilmore Girls.
So, maybe her. MARIA: I totally see it!
MARIA: And, last question: who should we interview next?
My friend, David Wilder. MARIA: Awesome. We'll call him right up.
And thank you so much for answering all of my questions!
I'll let you get back out there to prep for your shoot.
Thanks so much for having me here today!
MARIA: See ya!