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TriggerTrap – A Camera Remote Above All (Wired) Camera Remotes

triggertrapHaving spent 13 years as a concert photographer, I am used to shooting without a flash. Low-light photography and I have become pretty familiar. I thought I’d take the relationship to a new level and get myself into astrophotography. Now, I love taking my camera out in the middle of the night, pointing it straight up, and seeing what I can capture.

This is usually preceded by thirty minutes of bent over, craning my neck as I fiddled with my focus & settings, and, depending on the location, shivering in the dark. Enter the TriggerTrap. A little dongle (what a fun word) that plugs into your phone’s headphone jack and partners with the TriggerTrap App.

While you still have to set your aperture, ISO, and focus, the TriggerTrap app lets you adjust a wide variety of settings and modes, including three ways to hold a long exposure, five time-lapse modes, and even settings that trigger the shutter based on sound levels.

I decided to give my shiny new TriggerTrap MD3-N3 (a courtesy review model for my Canon 5DMIII, for full disclosure) a test run. I am fortunate enough to live less than two blocks from the Redlands Bowl, an outdoor amphitheater that hosts a free weekly summer concert series. The final concert each year is reserved for the Redlands Symphony, who, in turn, ensures that the final song is Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. While the original score calls for actual cannon fire, the performances makes do with what they have, which are fireworks.

I set up my camera, set up the app (which has a sweet “night mode” meant to save your eyesight in the dark), and I sat back, enjoying the warm summer night, a sweet woodwinds section, and the anticipation of my first decent fireworks shot. And capture it I did.

RedlandsBowlFireworks

The Redlands Bowl is explosive.

I admit, I didn’t think it would turn out this stellar. Let alone with a beverage in one hand and my phone in the other, my camera sitting next to me atop my beloved MeFoto Roadtrip tripod. Having set up my focus early, I literally just hit the button. Hot dang.

Looking to give it one more test, we took a trip to the Mojave National Preserve. I found that the main crux of effort on my part was simply finding a solid focus, and after that, I sat there, beer in one hand, phone in the other, just hitting a button. Sure, the shot looked fine in the display, but once I got the files downloaded, I found that the Pleaides wanted to come hang out just before the sun rise. Hot dang.

The night sky at Hole In The Wall Campground in the Mojave National Preserve.

The night sky at Hole In The Wall Campground in the Mojave National Preserve.

 

There was, however, one TINY issue I found with it. It’s wired. And worse, the cable is pretty short. BUT, it’s an easy fix. A $6 1/8″ cable extender made the cord three feet longer, which makes the already amazing product phenomenal. For under $40, you can snag yourself a TriggerTrap at their website.

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Skip the Chaos & #OptOutside

 

REI Opt OutsideThank Mother Earth/God/Buddha/Krishna/Allah/Whoever for REI. Once upon a time, I worked in retail, which required working Black Friday for over a decade. It was THE WORST. Droves of hyper-aggressive grandmothers steamrolling anyone in their path to get their favorite grand-kid the hottest and most forgettable toy. Grotesque.

Sunrise

Not a bad sunrise, amirite?

Last year, REI shrugged off the traditional Black Friday marketing approach of slashed prices and doorbusters by telling every one of their customers to go away. Go away to the mountains. Go away to the beaches. Go away to any number of National Parks, State Parks, wherever. Just don’t go shopping. Instead, Opt Outside. Last year, I answered their call. Hell, my whole family did. Myself, the wife, the dogs, the in-laws, and even the inlaws’ dogs all found ourselves still waking up at 5am, but this time in the middle of the Mojave National Preserve.

We weren’t surrounded by hordes of mothers, crazed with the idea of paying half-price for a coffee maker. Nor did we see masses of middle-aged men manhandling each other to get a power tool for $25. Instead, we woke to crisp air, which quickly became scented with the coffee and bacon we had picked up along the way. With dogs at my feet, coffee in hand, and bacon in belly, we sat around an early fire (the desert is REALLY cold during the holidays, mind you) and talked. LIKE A FAMILY.

Are you achin' for some bacon?

Are you achin’ for some bacon?

And we’re going to do it again. And I hope you do, too. And now you have more of a reason to, as well as more than 275 companies are coming together to do good across the nation. REI’s closing its 149 stores for the day, instead telling everyone to GTFOutside. Kühl Clothing is shutting their single retail store down, putting “trails before sales,” a helluva tagline if I ever heard one. The National Parks Service, The Sierra Club, Big Agnes, Keen Footwear, PrAna (who make, hands down, the most comfortable pair of shorts ever constructed, the Zion stretch), and Meetup are all pushing their fans and customers to get out of the stores and into nature.

And, in total YESSSSSS-ness, Subaru, the champs they are, are sending out an armada of vehicles to take New York City shelter dogs away from the cold steel environment they’re used to and getting them out of the (dog)house for the day. Now, that’s a job I wouldn’t mind giving up a Friday for.

While we haven’t determined where to go, yet, we know we’re not hanging out with the rabid retail crowd. I hope you decide to #optoutside, too.

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Introducing Bristlecone Journal

Hello, there. I know what you’re thinking “Oh, good, another outdoorsy/artsy/homestead-y blog with beautiful images, instilling a sense that I should probably either get out of the house more or invite others into it. A blog full of fun information, gear reviews, fun food, tasty libations, and in insane amount of dogs for no good reason.”

Well, if that’s what you were thinking, you nailed it. Allow me to introduce the crew.

thanksgiving2015090

 
I’m Jonathan, but I usually go by my last name of Yost. One, there’s too many Johns, Jons, and Jonathans in the world, and two, I can make all kinds of puns out of it. Yoster Strudel. Pacific Yost Highway. Yostage Stamps. I could go on forever. The beautiful woman next to me is Cal. She does not go by our last name, which is probably for the best. She’s one of the funniest, smartest, and most talented people I know.

The dog on the left is Gozer the Destructor, one of the goofiest huskies you’ll ever want to meet. Which leaves Turbo, who somehow manages to look at you with both sheer love & devotion while at the same time looking like he is judging the living hell out of you. We’re a good group.

We often find ourselves exploring our corner of heaven, I mean California. We’re close to beaches, mountains, deserts, and freeways that lead directly to as many adventures as we can handle, so we’re pretty stoked on that. But, sometimes we find ourselves at home, where we have gardens instead of lawns, and picnic tables instead of a back porch, perfect for weekend get-togethers. Not too shabby, right? Well, we invite you to join us on some of these adventures, both at home and out and about. On the way, we’ll point out some of our favorite places, people, and things, take some pictures, and try to sneak in a joke or two. Come on, let’s do this.