Andrew Jesaitis ::

the attic of my mind

The Stolen Scream

YouTube – Fstoppers Original: The Stolen Scream.

Personally, I think it’s a pretty cool story because it worked out well for this guy.

I, of course, think that you must give credit to the photographer, but basically posting to flickr is a form of marketing. You get way more random views on flickr then you are going to get on your site. One of the risks you take is that you are going to get ripped off. But, if you are at all serious about being “a pro” (like you are depending on your images for your livelihood) you aren’t posting you stuff to the net before it gets sent around for editorial review. And I don’t buy the argument that this form of image stealing is going to put the big photographers out of business. They have to be pushing the boundaries all the time and furthermore it’s less complicated for big publications to just shell out the money for licensing up front than to risk being sued.

I’m not saying that it is right to steal these images, I’m just really tired of this over-protectionism attitude for photos. I think few people realize that by wrapping their site in flash they are shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to SEO, not to mention the fact that you are excluding visitors. People need to have some savvy about what they are posting. Beyond that you just need to trust people to do the right thing. If it ultimately goes truly viral, then you just got your break like this guy.

The Mighty Mo’

I just returned from a 4 day trip down a section of the Missouri River from Coal Banks Landing to Judith Landing. My dad and I had wanted to do a multi-day canoe trip for years and finally the stars aligned and we were able to put in at the beginning of October.

We chose to do a short section of the river at a slower than average pace to give us a bit more time to explore on shore. It also proved to be a good choice since the days are starting to get pretty short this late in the season. We averaged about 12 miles a day, which works out to around 3 hours of paddling. The river is quite low in October only flowing at 5600 cfs, compared to its yearly peak of 17,000 cfs in June each year. You can find the current flow at the on the USGS site.

Once on the river, it was easy to see why the Upper Missouri is a national Monument. The section we paddled is known for its white cliffs. As a climber, I couldn’t help, but drool over the miles of 100-300 foot sandstone walls. The only comparable place I have seen this amount of sandstone is the New River Gorge in West Virginia. But, anyone will appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the walls surrounding the river.

One of the highlights of the trip was hiking up Neat Coulee from the Eagle Creek Boat Camp. This coulee progressively narrows resembling a whitewashed Zion slot canyon. This walk should not be missed.

Overall, the camping was excellent. I, however, expected it to be less developed. Most of the boat camps have vault toilets and fire rings. The sites have been so heavily used that that the the grass had been worn away to bare earth. While it isn’t exactly a remote wilderness experience, it is for the best, as coping with the thousands of boaters who make the float each year means that concentrating the impact will actually preserve as much of the area as possible. Luckily, my dad and I avoided the hordes of people by rolling the dice on a late season trip. In fact, we only saw one group of people cruise by on a motor boat late Saturday afternoon (after September 15 the motorized craft restrictions were lifted).

Quick Take

It was a great experience with none of the stress of a climbing trip or the sacrifices of a backpacking trip. The scenery is breathtaking. The canoeing is easy (think giant moving lake). If you like the outdoors and just want to unplug and unwind for a few days, I highly recommend it.

Vitals:

Distance: 44 miles
Time: 4 days
Outfitter: Upper Missouri River Guides