Pursuing the Perfect Picture

It is midnight on the flanks of Mount Shasta, an immense stratovolcano in Northern California, and T.C. Worley is huddled in a tent. Wind explodes on the slopes above, gusts and snow slides thundering like locomotives at 10,000 feet. On assignment to photograph climbers on the peak, Worley fights to sleep before a planned 4 a.m. start. A camera body, lenses and batteries jostle in his sleeping bag, freezable implements he keeps close to his warm body.

Worley, 31, is a Minneapolis-based photojournalist whose specialty is adventure travel and the outdoors. From climbing mountains to trekking in search of the world's tallest tree, he makes a living hauling camera equipment to remote corners -- and then trying to capture the perfect shot.

Worley's work has appeared in dozens of travel, sports and outdoors articles for the New York Times. His images are syndicated to publications as diverse as the Washington Post and Taiwan's Taipei Times.

Here are 10 tips -- from common techniques to unorthodox tricks -- Worley offers for burgeoning photographers looking to capture action and scenery in any outdoor scenario.

Account for extreme weather. On Mount Shasta, Worley kept batteries in a pocket next to his body as he climbed, preserving stored electricity that otherwise is zapped by cold. For shooting in precipitation, he sometimes slides his camera into the sleeve of a Gore-Tex jacket, nudging a long lens to the opening at the cuff and shooting with an ad hoc cover.

Vary the perspective. Shooting a Nature Valley Grand Prix bike race last summer, Worley noticed a pack of photographers shooting with 300-millimeter lenses -- all essentially getting the same shots. To make his images stand out, he got close and put on a wide-angle lens. "At events, I try not to shoot the same vantage or angle as everyone else," he said.

Make a tripod. When it's dark or you need a long exposure for effect, set your camera on a rock, log or ledge and use the self-timer to take a hands-free shot.

Add some motion. If you shoot bike racing, skiing or other high-action sports, learn to show motion in your photos. Panning -- a technique where you move the lens to follow a subject -- blurs the background while keeping the subject in focus. Or do the opposite: Make a longer exposure to blur the subject against a still background scene.

Get a fresh start. While planning a trip, Worley tries to avoid seeing photos of his destination. "I want a fresh perspective when I get there," he said. Classic images of an area -- say a famous vista at a national park -- can stick in your head as the must-get shot. Worley said this can cause a photographer to gloss past details and other opportunities.

Look around. Can't conjure the right composition for a photo? Worley recommends walking around while looking through the viewfinder until you see the scene. The natural view from the human eye -- which is about the equivalent of a 50mm lens -- makes it difficult to visualize a scene when using a long lens or a wide-angle.

Stay fit. Physical fitness is required to do the job. Worley has to keep up with his subjects -- often guides and athletes. He runs and bikes to be sure he can stay ahead and get the shot.

Keep things in focus. Single-shot auto-focus cannot always keep up with mountain bikers on a trail or ski racers whizzing past. For subjects moving quickly toward or away from the shooter, use the camera's continuous focus mode to keep the action sharp, steady and in real time.