Going to Extremes

Early in the year, adventure photographer Michael Clark called to ask if we’d like to run some photos and a story about his coverage of the upcoming Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race, an endurance event that he called “the longest, hardest and most remote adventure race in the world.”

The clincher: “I’ll be putting some of your latest cameras into severe conditions (sideways rain, hail, sleet, snow) and will be in terrain that is rarely if ever traveled by human beings...terrain that is unmapped and uncharted down there at the end of the world as I cover racers who will be sea kayaking, mountain biking, trekking and climbing through a 600-plus kilometer course with no trails.”

Sounded good to us.

Upon his return, Michael sent an e-mail: “Race was epic…close calls…six racers in the hospital…everyone okay, but some were in danger of losing limbs, even life. One camera body and one lens took a swim with me in the ocean; they’re toast. Hiked for three days through some of the densest forests I have ever seen. Rained every single day during the race…completely soaked was a fact of life…keep moving to stay warm was the motto.”

Michael had gone to Patagonia with a D700, a D300 and a variety of NIKKORs: AF DX Fisheye-NIKKOR 10.5mm f/2.8G ED; AF NIKKOR 24mm f/2.8D; AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D IF; AF-S Zoom-NIKKOR 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED; AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED; AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED; and AF-S VR NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED. The D700 and 24-70mm went into the sea and returned fit only for insurance claims.

Michael admits he took along “a ridiculous amount of equipment” that included but was not limited to MB-D10 Multi-Power Battery Pack grips for the cameras, an underwater housing bag, SB-800 and -900 Speedlights, a full Elinchrom Ranger battery-powered strobe setup in a Pelican case, a digital wallet, 70 gigs worth of memory cards, a laptop and hard drives.He used it all, shooting 8,000 images in ten days.