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If I asked you what tools were important to the success of my YEAR OF REFUGE project, you would undoubtedly say "cameras and lenses." And, you would be right. If I asked what else was important, you would probably add filters, camera cards, lens hoods and assorted paraphernalia. You would be right then as well. But, let me add another tool that you probably wouldn't think about that helps me get the photograph I want. 

Frequently, I see a landscape scene that I would love to capture. Many of the tour route roads at Bosque del Apache NWR have tall grasses or sunflowers growing along the edge of the road. These are often taller than my camera and lens when mounted on a tripod sitting on the ground. The roads are crowned, so rainwater falls off them to either side and feeds the grasses, rushes and sunflowers closest to the road's edge. What to do? My choices are: to give up on taking the shot; remove the offending vegetation in post-processing (something I don't like to do, even if it can be done successfully); angle the lens higher to catch less of the foreground (ugh!); or, climb a telescoping ladder and shoot the scene over the vegetation from atop the plywood platform on my truck. This means I'm shooting from about eleven feet above ground level instead of five feet. It not only gets me over the vegetation, but it also allows me, if I like the composition more, to include additional foreground and to possibly use a wider angle lens to capture an image both wider and deeper. Doing this from atop a 4' x 8' platform requires some caution and focused attention on what and how I'm moving around. This solution to the problem is not new; Ansel Adams used a platform on his Cadillac station wagon toward the same end. However, except for my friend and fellow photographer John Courtney's, I haven't seen another one on the refuge.

Recent gas prices have dictated that I don't use my truck every day that I'm on the refuge. So, I sometimes mark scenes to come back to with the truck the following day. I love the view from atop my truck, and it has made a real difference in many of my photographs.