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An Evening Of 4-Wheelin’

Jones Pass At Night

I shot this image last summer when a buddy of mine Rick Louie and I were up exploring the Rocky Mountains. We had hiked up to about 12,000 feet, shot the sunset, and were heading home when we decided to stop and make a few more images. I was well into the exposure when this car started by. At first I was frustrated by its appearance, but upon further review, it turned out to be my favorite image of the night. You just never know what’s going to happen.

Check back tomorrow for my newest movie, ‘Contrast’. This one is a bit experimental.

The Depot Stairs

The Depot Stairs

I had the opportunity this weekend to visit a town I had been meaning to take my camera to for quite a while. Pueblo, CO is a small town about a 100 miles south of Denver. I was on a quest for my Americana project, however, because of a local connection I was able to make a few images of Pueblo’s historic train depot. In this images, I experimented a bit with onOne Software’s Photo Tools. I have been enjoying what these tools have to offer. They are pretty slick.

Anatomy of a Photo-Walk: Part V

Dam

I hope everyone had a great weekend. This week I will be continuing my ‘Anatomy of Photo-Walk’ series from last week. After I made the previous two images in Civic Center Park, I headed across the street to the Denver Art Museum. I had been wanting to make images here for quite a while. The structure itself is fascinating. You could park a wide angle lens across the street, release the shutter, and have a pretty interesting image. However, I wanted a bit more of a challenge. I walked around the building for 10 minutes or so as I brought the viewfinder to my eye. Nothing really moved me. I actually gave up and decided to abandon the location. As I walked away, I looked up and saw this aerate jettisoning itself into the sky. I knew I had found my image . Dang it! If I had only brought a neutral density filter with me so I could catch some cloud motion. I didn’t so I was stuck with static clouds. As it stands right now, I have an ethical dilemma using Photoshop to manipulate compositional elements. It is easy to do, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Maybe after I forget my ND filter a couple more times I will break down and add some motion blur. Until then, assume my cloud motion is achieved by letting the clouds to their own thing. I will let you know when I change my mind.

Photography Note: For those out there wondering what a Neutral Density filter is, it is basically sunglasses for your camera. It is a very dark piece of glass that you put in front of your lens. Why would you want to do that? By letting less light through the lens, you have to leave your shutter open longer. With really dark neutral density filters, you can take exposures that are 1-2 minutes in length. When you take images that are that long, moving clouds and water becomes a dreamy blur. Here is a link to the best neutral density filter on the market, Singh-Ray Vari ND.

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Up In The Air

Jill_web

This weekend I had the opportunity to help a friend out with a shoot. I rarely pass on an opportunity to make images, and I never pass up on an opportunity to help a friend. I showed up at the shoot just after sunrise. I was still wiping the sleep out my eyes when I was told we were going to be making images for a DVD cover, instructional video, and promotional material for a website. All of that in the middle of a local suburban park? Talk about a challenge. I felt like we were dropped in the middle of a reality TV show challenge trying to win ‘America’s Next Top Photographer’. Well, what do you do when you have a beautiful model full of energy surrounded by the distractions of suburbia? You grab a wide angle lens (Nikon 20mm AFD 2.8), lay on your back, and ask her to jump over you and your flash. Bingo! It also helps when you have someone who can jump off a slippery rock and land on a goose poop covered hillside while smiling at the camera. Oh yeah….and she made it look natural!

Lighting Diagram: Rarely do I shoot flash, let alone document a lighting diagram. However, I thought some folks out there might be interested. So here is my best McNallygram. Complete with coffee stain.

On 3.....jump!

Capture Notes:

Nikon D700
Nikkor 20mm AFD
Nikon SB800
Wescott Umbrella
Lexar UDMA

Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 20 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias -1/3 EV

Processing Notes:

Capture – 1 image
Adobe Camera Raw – Raw conversion
Cropped the rock she jumped off of out.
onOne Software PhotoTools – Bleach-By-Pass
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com

Where I Run (Warming Up)

Where I Run

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. It is another fine Autumn here in Colorado. I guess we can call it winter. Loveland ski area opened on Sunday.

Fitness is a big part of my life. Hopefully it is a big part of yours too. As my fortune cookie read on Friday night, He who is healthy, is young. How true! That got me thinking a bit, and I decided to take this week to pay tribute to the local trails I run. Partly because there are so many beautiful moments that present themselves, but I also hope to inspire others to go find a park or an open space area to call your own. Wherever it is, visit it a couple times a week and go for a walk, run, or ride over the next year. You will be amazed at what you find. Let it be your training partner. This will be better than anything you could do at a gym. Gyms are where you fuel your muscles. The outdoors is where you fuel your soul.

This image was made near the 1 mile mark of my evening trail run. By this time I am warmed up and actually enjoying myself. Nothing hurts worse than warming up for a run, but once you are going not much is better. Tomorrow I will post an image of the actual lake the trail circumnavigates.

Photographer’s Note: Lately I have fallen in love with my old Nikon 20mm AFD 2.8. I bought it about 8 years ago. I wanted a wide angle lens for digital camera but I couldn’t afford the super cool Nikon 17-35. Now that I have moved to the full frame sensor of the Nikon D700, I am experiencing a personal renaissance with this little guy. It is so small for being so sharp and fast. I take it everywhere.

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…