Traveling Photographer - Overland Build (PICTURE HEAVY)

Lot's more Utah about to happen this summer. I'll be living up in mountains around SLC/Provo half the time. You'll have to come visit when I'm up in the Uintas and we'll do some routes... always best to have a second vehicle on the road.

 

AMAZING WORK!

 

Great pictures

 

RECENT TRIP/PHOTOSHOOT

I did a trip down to Zion NP and on the way I did a photoshoot of a building but while up on the nearby hill I took a few pictures at twilight.


Been doing a lot of panorama shots as well. As you can see the building on the right was already illuminated way too bright for me by this time so that's why i switched to getting pics of the truck



Even a dirty scratched black truck can show some fun reflections from time to time.
And even though the pin strips are plenty visible they actually hide pretty well for most pictures.



Stay tuned for some awesome trips coming up pretty soon. And some upgrades coming in this week.

 

STORAGE AND BED SYSTEM
If you haven't checked it out already I did a little video tour of my Truck Bed setup.

 

TRIP REPORT
decided this could be fun to do a little trip report each time I go out and do pictures.

This picture shows off the new skid plates the best... i've decided it's gonna be a pretty good challenge photographing the Black skids on the black truck.
I guess it'll push me to be that much better.
Also I really want the control arm skids if Just for the look.


Went with my friend Nate since just the day before we installed the new Prinsu racks



It's so much easier to photograph a non black truck. haha





THE TRAIL
So over past Eagle Mountain and past Cedar Fort there's an area most call 5 Mile.
We pretty much just went over a few miles west of where most people pull off the highway and grabbed some random roads and didn't have much of a plan.
We were just aiming for peaks to have good photographic views... we pulled over on about 6 good vantage points for some photos.
Pictures of people are to come which you'll see on the actual website gallery
http://www.jarviedigital.com/People/2017/5-Mile-Pass-with-Tacomas/i-tXZcvKd

We actually ended up finishing at the place where most people pull off. Never got stuck and only needed a spotter once.
However the rocks are dang jagged and sharp... so thank heavens for good solid k02 tires.
I did try out my new deflater devices and loved them


http://amzn.to/2poj530

paired with the 3rd gen onboard psi display it's gonna make life so quick and easy.
Don't even really need that other tire gauge ... but always nice to have another one around.


All in all we didn't end up on any hard routes but it was some skinny stuff
And i was actually very good at avoiding most of what I could.
So this picture should say something... new vehicles probably want to stay away because this much pin striping is unavoidable on some of the offshoot trails.


But here's a little glimpse at some of the views.
I haven't done my actual scenic or portrait pictures yet but they'll end up in the gallery when i do

 

You guys getting much wind noise from your Prinsu racks?

 

I haven't notice anything yet... i'll put my first items on it today and tomorrow and see how that changes things.

 

Sheesh, crazy how some people have such mixed experience. Mine with nothing on top howls like a banshee. It may be the light bar so I'm going to tape things off/remove stuff to find a setting that produces minimal noise.

 

Some great pics Scott!

 

A banshee is pretty loud haha ... so i'll count myself lucky.
Also i'll remember to film a bit for the install video i did and haven't finished yet... i'll add it to the film so people can hear a bit.

 

TRIP REPORT - Dollhouse 2016
In light of me heading back to Canyonlands to the Dollhouse later today I thought I'd do a trip report on our trip last year.
All the pictures come from this gallery of over 100 images from the trip





The setup back then...
I was still running on stock tires
Actually they did just fine on this route because they gripped the rock very well but were probably much more susceptible to sidewall damage though it didn't happen



I didn't have a good rack for external storage so i bought a bag from costco and it was destroyed by the end
But i was able to keep the extra gas in it along with a few other items since we had 3 people in the vehicle at all times.




The setup in 2016
I had a pretty random storage system but it worked.
I could sleep in the back on some memory foam


This is how it was set up back then.



I had only had the truck a few months so my first big upgrade was the A.R.E. mx Shell



And the second one I did just hours before leaving for the trip.
Noah Taylor custom built rock sliders as part of a large Utah group buy.







THE TRIP

We left very late after the slider isntall probably after midnight
Meaning we didn't get to goblin valley until probably around 4am so no one got real sleep... just in the truck sleep
And then I immediately got out and took some night skies shots of goblin valley






THE MEETUP

Then we decided to meet up on the turnoff to Hans Ranger station
38.6223031,-110.5725541
It's just a half mile from the turn off to Goblin Valley
The two trucks with the winches wanted to test and respool their line




We quickly got off the road for a cool group shot


There were 3 tacomas and an f-150

THE TRUCKS


The Ford piloted by Luke ended up being a champ because it wasn't set up for overlanding it was able to haul a bit of stuff.
My extraction boards ended up in there (laziness) and another guy's bumper tire swing out started to break so we put it in there.
Plus he was usually hauling 3 people


This Tacoma piloted by Jesse was a beautiful rig which is actually no more... they since have traded it in for a Tundra which hauls that camper much better.



Troy has this tacoma with the flippac (sp?)
I think he was the most experienced in the group or at least had his tacoma the longest.


THE DUNES
along the way there are a few dunes... we didn't have a lot of time but we spent a minute or two






THE SWITCHBACKS
I stayed up top and sent the other three trucks down to get an awesome and huge panorama



MAZE OVERLOOK

This was the view at night



If you had a good enough zoom you could see the features where we'd be the next day over on the route to the dollhouse

And as you see you get a perfect camping spot



The route to the maze overlook is rough at times but not as hard as the road to the dollhouse
Probably had spotters about 5 or so times... where on the way to the dollhouse it was like 20 (have no idea really just guesses)






FEATURES
Lots of features when you get close to the dollhouse



And some good views


FROM MAZE TO DOLLHOUSE
We left too late and were too slow because getting from the maze to dollhouse is a tiring and all day thing.
Plus factor in lots of pictures and some food breaks... yeah we didn't make it and camped up top instead of attempting the last section tired and in the dark

This is the view we had for camping that night



Two of the trucks took off that night to make it home quickly.
Me and the ford stayed behind for a more leisurely adventure the next morning




There's some hard features on the way down to the dollhouse but nothing quite like the notorious section right after Tea Pot whatever it's called

HARD STUFF

Yeah it's well documented that the toughest stuff is early on in the route to the dollhouse on hans flat road near the tea pot rock?

I did loose a section of the 3rd gen bumper mostly because of how long i the truck is


It didn't damage the bumper and i put it back on with zip ties to this day you can't even tell



SWITCH DRIVERS
Keep in mind i had only had the truck a few months and this was my first BIG offroading adventure
So i was so mentally exhausted from all the technical driving that I had to let someone else drive to clear my mind and also to take pictures
Nate was a star driver
And also my favorite spotter that helped me learn a ton that trip.
One year later and I should be pretty great this year, plus he's coming back in a newly bought tacoma of his own



SLIDERS
For an unlifted long bed tacoma they came in handy
This year I have an add a leaf so the back rests like 2 inches higher
And i have full skid plates up front.
But let's face it I should have gotten the lift... just other things took my money.




SHENANIGANS
we all know that the best thing about rock sliders is riding them
but also sun roofs and window sills will do




THE DOLLHOUSE

This is one of the camping sites... right there in the middle of the rocks!
It's awesome and that's why we're going back this year to spend more time there.

We were rushed and had maybe only 30-60 minutes to spare in 2016








ROAD TO HITE
Once out of the National Park and on some easy dirt roads I was able to fly a bit
This road is pretty much fit for any car
But it was also the fastest and closest to the mostly abandoned marina town of hite with a small expensive gas station we used







That's it for now... check the rest of the pictures
And this weekend I'll take much much better pictures
and my truck is more prepared and much better looking now with a few awesome modifications

 

Truly amazing pictures...this one is my favorite.

 

Sweet shots..

 

Thanks I always appreciate knowing which pictures resonate the best.
That's a big part of how i became a full time photographer was understanding which pictures people liked the most.
And since i'm taking my talents into off-road photography it'll help as well.

 

Sub'd for new desktop backgrounds

Some great shots on here man. Keep em coming!

 

Absolutely stunning shots!

 

Hot dang. Gorgeous photos!

 

Great pics and cool trucks. Keep them coming!

 

TRIP REPORT - DOLLHOUSE 2017


SEE ALL PICTURE HERE



We got two campsites in the dollhouse for two days ... so what you see is pretty much the campsite area.



We left Friday around 3pm-ish and got back monday at 4pm-ish
I got to test out my new RCI Offroad skid plates and Prinsu rack and this ham radio

FIRST STOP - CRYSTAL GEYSER
on the way down 3 trucks stopped just outside green river




FIRST NIGHT CAMPING

just to the west of goblin valley barely out of park boundaries there's a lot of people camped out but spread out enough we were just fine
we were only sleeping like 3-4 hours anyway because ... sunrise pictures etc




GOBLIN VALLEY

We all met up in goblin valley late friday night with one truck coming in early in the morning




Most people were photographers or aspiring photographers so lots of truck shots happened



POISON SPRINGS
We took the only route in I haven't done yet and it's my favorite by far now




Best thing about this route was the water!



Just more places to play in general



DIRTY DEVIL
The water crossing I guess is hard at times when the bank is steep but in this case it was incredibly simple I would have taken my old Toyota Venza through it



POISON SPRINGS / SUNSET PASS VIEWS




CHAMP - THE 2016 TACOMA

Let's be honest all the rest of the vehicles were lifted and much shorter.
I was the slowest and most slow and careful going through the hard stuff.

But my mindset is that I'm learning how to drive very technically.

Many will recognize this as the hardest spot on the whole route to the Dollhouse
I did it this time without having to reattach a part of the back bumper
(BTW... i really need to get an offroad appropriate back bumper)


You can see the setup of the prinsu rack minus the extraction boards I took off thinking i may want to use them... turns out we never did use them


PRINSU RACK
Here you can see how sleek having these three items are.
They are in fact lower than my A.R.E. mx shell on the back.

What's on TOP?
- Maxsa Escaper Buddy
- Plano 42" Case
- Rotopax 4 gallon





I got the Prinsu Rack to not only store gas and extraction boards outside but I wanted to have higher grounds to take pictures.
the stuff on top took most of the space but the great part is that all 3 were easy and sturdy enough to stand on.

Or sit on top of the stuff while going for a ride... which of course no one does or should do. (wink wink)



So thanks to Prinsu I'm really really happy with the rack almost went another more expensive direction... but I'm sure this was a better option anyway.
I know they're a smaller company and can take some time investment, just plan ahead and you'll be good.
In the end they were the best looking option and I wanted low profile and sturdy.

I offered to do pictures for the company so keep an eye out for many more to come.

4 of the 6 trucks had prinsu racks... 3 of us all installed at the same time (video coming soon to youtube)







RCI OFFROAD
I was also doing pictures for my new skid plates... and let's just say stuff under the truck is much trickier.
Just means it's gonna take some more time and perfect situations.
But I got a few



My review?
So far with a non-lifted truck I'm super happy i went steel over aluminium, I certainly hit more often than a lifted and pretty soon with a lift I'll rarely hit this stuff
The transfer case is an inch or two lower than it would normally be and on some of the deeply grooved tracks I noticed i was mowing.

But the peace of mind I had the whole trip was really the best part. I went up obstacles so much quicker and stayed caught up with everyone else most of the time.

THE TOYOTAS

5 other toyotas joined us... we did have a ford 150 last year but he was sailing this year.




Cristin traded a meal for me and my friend for some pictures... why not!







THE PEOPLE





And my sidekick for the weekend


I happily let her drive and even during some of the hard stuff I got out and spotted for her first technical offroading experience
She's incredibly smart and capable so I was never even slightly worried.




And then there's parker... we found out nature gets him excited.

We hiked to the Granery and saw a bear along the hike


This bear feature is still more impressive than the bears ears of bears ears national monument fyi. haha

THE DOLLHOUSE






Peace out dollhouse we left at 6am and even with a decent amount of photo ops we made it to hanksville via the Hite road by 12pm



GRAND FINALE
So I taught Heidi photography years ago and she actually joined me on this exact trip in 2016
This year she brought her fiance Howie and we did some pictures... and of course got one with my truck.



I'm photographing their wedding next month and the actual first look / bridal shoot was a few days before
so they just brought the dress and suit for fun... wasn't a paid shoot as per national park rules.
But it was a fun way to spend one of the evenings down there.