Russ' Photo Blog

Old Man Iguana

2011-02-08T22:27:00.001-07:00

Old man iguana basking in the sun on the walls of San Cristobal Fort in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Its been a while since I last posted. I'm out pursuing other interests!

For instance, I'm currently raising money for the St. Balrick's Foundation by shaving my head!!

Please make a donation on my head. You can give directly online (search for my name at www.StBaldricks.org, or goto http://bit.ly/g74JBN) or by phone (888-899-BALD). Credit cards are the most efficient way to give, or you can write a check payable to “St. Baldrick’s Foundation.”

To see my donor names, fundraising progress, and before and after photos, visit my page on the St. Baldrick’s website. Please help me reach my goal of ($500).

Old San Juan

2010-12-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Linkins Lake

2010-10-17T10:02:00.000-06:00

Linkins Lake is a short hike from highway 82 near Independence Pass and Aspen Co.

Maroon Bells III: Clouds over Bells

2010-10-08T09:08:00.000-06:00

The sunset reflected on the clouds above the Maroon Bells.

Be sure to visit SkyWatch Friday!

Maroon Bells II - Alpine Glow

2010-10-04T08:30:00.000-06:00

Pre-sunrise view of the Maroon Bells.

Maroon Bells I

2010-09-29T21:23:00.001-06:00

I've seen a lot of amazing photos of the Maroon Bells. It's said that it is the most photographed place in Colorado.

After spending only a few days in the area, I can safely say that no photo has ever come close to capturing the magnificence of this view. I think that my lower jaw is still laying of the beach.

Aspen Leaf and Rocks

2010-09-27T23:00:00.000-06:00

Last week I took a mini vacation to head over Independence pass to Aspen for a short weekend of hiking and photography.

It was a wonderful little trip to a immensely beautiful part of Colorado. I'm now trying to convince Kelly that we need to return next at this time.

Two Seasons of Grass

2010-09-22T13:18:00.000-06:00

Early and late summer versions of grass.

Balloon

2010-09-10T08:40:00.000-06:00

Apres Eclipse Blue: At the Colorado Classic Balloon Festival.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Fridays.

Waiting...

2010-09-08T07:49:00.000-06:00

Here's a photo that I submitted to the Pikes Peak Camera Club for the category "Grasses and Grains".

Dreaming of Jupiter

2010-09-02T21:14:00.000-06:00

There! Floating above,
Some see stratocumulus,
I dream of great Jove!

Be sure to visit SkyWatch Fridays!

Different Perspective

2010-08-31T12:52:00.000-06:00

The last post was a view of Pike's Peak and some of the rock formations in the Garden of the Gods. In that image the rock formations really dominate the image framing the peak.

Today's photo is also of Pike's Peak and the Garden of the Gods, but from a very different and distant perspective. In the lower right quadrant of the image are the rock formations of the Garden of the Gods.

This photo is a panoramic consisting of 6 images stitched together.

Shadow Sandwich

2010-08-30T14:04:00.000-06:00

Here is one of the frames from the time lapse experiment that I posted about last week. One of the things I learned is that one need not take the photos at the full RAW camera resolution in order to create an HD video. I glad that I didn't know that when I made the time lapse. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to have a full resolution version of this image.

Flare

2010-08-27T07:03:00.000-06:00

I used a little arch in the formations to create this star burst flare (actually, 2 flares, can you see the smaller one?) during a recent sunrise in the Garden of the Gods.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Friday!

Time lapse experiment results I

2010-08-21T12:11:00.002-06:00

I've been wanting to do time lapse photography for a long time. After watching the sun rise and light up Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods many, many times. I thought that it would be the perfect location.

This is my first attempt. I did this to test out equipment, software, and techniques. I've got lots to learn.

I took 60 photos at 1 min intervals. I had to throw out the first 16 because they were basically black. One of the things I need to learn is how to handle this transition between night and day.

The video was created to display the photos at a rate of 1 per sec.

Cottonwood

2010-08-19T07:43:00.000-06:00

Backlite cottonwood in the Garden of the Gods

Intimate Landscape

2010-08-18T09:06:00.001-06:00

One way to cure photographic ennui, is to photograph new subjects, or old subjects or locations in new ways. This photo was taken at a spot that I've photographed many times, but always on the grand landscape scale. I purposefully returned to this spot to see the area in a new, and hopefully unique way.

Big Mountain, Bigger Sky

2010-08-13T08:41:00.000-06:00

I got bored recently with photography. Or maybe, I should say I've gotten bored taking pictures of the same old thing. I mean how many photos of Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods do I need?

I guess the answer is more! Truthfully, I never get bored of watching the many faces of the peak. I just have this personality that gets obsessed with something and focuses a lot of time, energy and learning on that thing (photography, a game, dancing, poker, birding, etc). I devote myself almost solely to that subject. At least until the next interest comes along. It's all about ebb and flow. Time to catch that wave again.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Friday!

Rupa and the April Fishes

2010-08-12T08:55:00.000-06:00

Rupa and the April Fishes at the World Music Series at Colorado College in Colorado Springs

Accordionist

2010-08-11T09:05:00.001-06:00

Monday evening, Kelly and I attended a Rupa and the April Fishes concert at Colorado College. I find that many times the recordings of a band are better than their live performance.

This is not the case with this band. Rupa and the April Fishes put on a great show. The music was awesome and their stage presence has phenomenal.

The accordionist, Isabel Douglass, was a pleasure to both watch and listen too - such an elegant character. I've always thought that we need more accordions!

My Little Chickadee

2010-08-09T16:27:00.001-06:00

This tiny Mountain Chickadee is fearless. I was on the back porch taking some flower pictures and this little guy flew over to see what I was doing.

Peakview

2010-08-08T08:49:00.000-06:00

Pikes Peak crowned in clouds, hidden by red rocks at Garden of the Gods

Abstract Wet and Dry Lands

2010-07-13T08:37:00.000-06:00

Abstract Wet and Dry lands - Ute Valley Park.

Great Sand Dunes

2010-05-06T08:49:00.001-06:00

Sand dunes and Sangre de Cristo mountains at sunset. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Co. This photo is of the extreme south western portion of the dune fields from near the entrance. See map.

I arrived at the Great Sand Dunes for a weekend of camping, hiking and photography to find about 4 inches of fresh, heavy and very wet snow. The skies were extremely overcast, but it was fairly warm. Great blobs of snow falling off the trees filled the air with wet plops.

I didn't get many good photos, but I did hike to the top of High Dune (650ft above valley floor). I went early in the morning and found the icy crust of snow on top of sand to be fairly challenging hiking. I also scouted out a number of likely locations for some other shots. I can't wait to return!

Mesa Arch Sunrise II

2010-04-06T07:32:00.001-06:00

Here's another view of a sunrise at Canyonlands National Park's Mesa Arch.

Mesa Arch Sunrise I

2010-03-25T08:23:00.000-06:00

Kelly and I spent a long weekend in Moab. Kelly is a coach for Team in Training, and we were in Moab for the Canyonlands Half Marathon.

As soon as we arrived in Moab on Thursday, we headed to Arches National Park to run the Devil's Garden Trailhead. What a great place for a trail run.

Friday morning, I awoke early to attempt a sunrise shot of Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. Unfortunately, the sunrise was a bust due to the heavy cloud cover. A rain/snow storm blew in later that day. This wasn't a waste though, as I got to experiment with various compositions and angles.

Instead of watching the marathon on Saturday, I again headed to Mesa Arch for the sunrise. This time the dawn skies were clear. When I arrived, I found 6-7 other photographers already setup. Luckily once the action started, we all moved around a lot to try various angles.

Afterwards, I went for another run along the Murphy's Point trail.

What a glorious day!

Sunrise on Pikes Peak and the Kissing Camels

2010-03-21T20:35:00.001-06:00

I just returned from a long vacation in the Moab area, and a longer break from photography. There are a number of "reasons" for the break. I'm trying to take up running again, Kelly and I have been taking dance lessons, and I'm recovering from some surgery on my wrist. The surgery was no big deal, but it did leave me one-handed for awhile. To be honest, I'd have to say I've been a bit lazy as well.

This photo is not from the Moab area. It is from Colorado Springs. I'm only now posting it because I'm trying to learn how to use some new tools. I've been using Adobe Photoshop for a couple of years now. Recently, I got a very good deal on Lightroom and PS CS4. Currently its taking me much longer to do many tasks. However, I believe once I learn the tools, I'll be much faster. For instance, I never had to take this photo into Photoshop.

One of the really nice things about Elements was the easy integration with uploading photos to Flickr or Smugmug. To do this with Lightroom 2, one must down load a plugin (for each sight).

Oh well, progress marches onward.

In Hot Water

2010-02-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

Dragonfly in hot spring in Yellowstone National Park

Waiting for Lunch

2010-02-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

A young alligator hiding in the weeds.

I can almost hear the tick-tock

2010-02-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Alligators at the Big Cypress National Preserve: H.P. Williams Wildlife Viewing Area

Sailors Warning

2010-02-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

Red sky in morning, sailors warning. Red sky in night, sailors delight.

Luckily both are a photographer's delight.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Fridays!

Spaceship Earth

2010-02-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

As many of you guessed, this is Epcot Center, or, more correctly, it is the Spaceship Earth Pavilion at Epcot Center.

Context

2010-02-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

We got some good guesses on Monday. Someone did recognize it and let me know via private message. It's pretty hard without any other context.

Hopefully, this image gives a little more context without totally giving it away.

Geometric

2010-01-31T08:42:00.001-07:00

I know, it's been awhile - this is the first post of new work for this year.

Can you guess of what this image is?

Best of 2009

2010-01-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing a lot of "Best of 2009" photo series. The idea intrigued me. Selecting only 10 photos out of the thousands that I took in 2009 was really difficult! It was great exercise examining images that I may not have seen awhile and articulate why I like a certain image or another. Analyzing the reasons why one photo is better than another should, hopefully, help me improve. Here's to a productive 2010.

Staying Warm - A spotted towhee in the brush during a winter storm - 2/14/2009

Striking a Pose - A Merekat striking a pose at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo - 2/16/2009

Replenish - Pond at Ute Valley Park, Colorado Springs - 4/23/2009

Spotlight - First light of dawn at Garden of the Gods park, Colorado Springs - 5/30/2009

Busy as a Bee - Bees on a cone flower 6-6-09

Spider - a spider and his reflection against the blue sky - 8/5/09

Avalanche Lake, Glacier National Park - 8/25/09

Cloudy Sunrise - sunrise in the Whitetank Mountains Regional park, Phoenix, AZ - 8/4/09

Moonset - Whitetank Mountains Regional park, Phoenix, AZ - 8/5/09

Tower of the Virgin - sunrise in Zion National Park - 8/20/2009

Slideshow

2010-01-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a slide show of the some of photos taken during my sabbatical from late last year. My travels started at the Belvedere Blues Fest in Canon City, CO, then onto Arizona, David and Nicole's wedding in Southern California, Las Vegas, and various national parks in southern Utah, finally ending with the Air Force-Army football game in Colorado Springs.

If you click on the image, you'll be taken to the SmugMug slideshow where you can read the captions.

Be sure to visit My World Tuesday for other great photos from around the world.

Return to Delicate Arch

2009-12-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here's one last image of Delicate Arch. In the sky above is the Moon and Jupiter (probably).

When setting up for this shot, I didn't have a lot of light. A long exposure would have exposed more of the foreground, but too long would cause the Moon and Jupiter to become elongated (due to the Earth's rotation). A shorter exposure might have lost Jupiter, but exposed the moon better. It’s a tricky exposure problem capture both the foreground and the bright objects.

In order to get a short shot, I pumped up the ISO on my camera, knowing that noise would be an issue. I really didn't want the noise, but, I couldn't think of another option. I was hoping that I could somehow mitigate the noise at home. In this case I decided to add more noise; I applied a crinkled paper texture to the photo. Sometimes, a little noise is annoying, while more is pleasing (hopefully).

You may note that moon has flares and is overexposed. I believe the flairs are due to the very small aperture is used to capture the scene. Overall, the moon looks more like the Sun than the Moon and lends a surrealistic feel to the image.

Be sure to visit Sky Watch Friday for other views of the sky from around the world.

Viewer's Choice

2009-12-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sunset on the La Sal mountains behind the Delicate Arch in Arches National park.

This is very common image. While I was there, on a cold, breezy evening, there was at least 30 other photographers. I like to try to capture the cliche images at famous place and then try to find unusual subjects, or, familiar subjects seen in unusual ways.

This image is an HDR image taken a few minutes later, from a slightly different image.

Which one do you like better?

Something Blue

2009-12-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

This was the view from my campsite in Arches National Park on my first morning there. I used my 200mm lens to isolate the silhouette of rock formations against the various shades of blue from the background. Occasionally, a blue morning is a great way to start the day.

Chimney at Sunset

2009-12-11T11:15:00.001-07:00

Kodachrome Basin State Park, Utah - a chimney of rock, aka sand pipe. The park many such chimneys. They are believed to be solidified sediment that filled ancient springs or geyser left standing after the softer surrounding Entrada sandstone rock eroded away.

Be sure to visit Sky Watch Fridays!

Fountains

2009-12-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

My outside thermometer reads -2 degrees F. Brrr! So, here's a Watery Wednesday photo from a warmer climate: Las Vegas: the Fountains at the Bellagio.

The fountains run every half-hour until 7 p.m. and every 15 minutes after that until midnight. I believe that they played Elvis' Viva Las Vegas while I watched. The fountains are in a $40 million, 8.5 acre lake outside of the Bellagio casino. If you're ever in Las Vegas, the fountains are a must see.

Be sure to jump over to Watery Wednesday's!

Glowing Hoodoos

2009-12-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

The edges of this Hoodoo in Bryce Canyon National park seem to be translucent and glows from the sun's back lighting.

For more beautiful scenes, head over to Scenic Sundays.

Cotton Candy Clouds

2009-12-04T08:33:00.001-07:00

The sky above Bryce Canyon National Park.

Be sure to check out SkyWatch Fridays for other views of the sky.

Inspiration

2009-12-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

The weather for most of my sabbatical was quite pleasant. By the time I reached Bryce Canyon, however, the temperatures had begun to fall. Every morning in Bryce was cold and very windy. That did not stop the numerous intrepid photographers from practicing their craft. This photo was taken at Inspiration Point in Bryce canyon. There were about a dozen other people around snapping shots at the same time. It must be very busy in the summer when the temperatures are much warmer.

Bright Trees, Dark Canyon

2009-11-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite hikes while in Zion National park was up the "Narrows" of the Virgin River to Wall Street. Much of the hike involves sloshing through the river at the bottom of a deep, narrow canyon. This photo shows a group of trees growing on a sandy bank in the canyon.

I shot a lot of photos in the canyon, but most of them did not turn out so well. I'd love to spend some more time in canyons like this to learn how to shot in this type of environment.

Virgin River and the Sentinel

2009-11-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

This is the Virgin river of Zion National park with the Sentinel in the background catching the last rays of setting sun.

This is HDR image that is made up of 6 differently exposed images. It's not terribly photo-realistic, but I love the painterly feel.

Be sure to stop by Scenic Sundays.

Kolob Sunset

2009-11-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

This image was taken at sunset, near the Kolob Canyon overlook in western part of Zion National Park. To get here, via car, from Zion canyon, you must leave the park and drive a fair bit of distance. There are also trails that connect the two areas. I'd love to return to Zion and do some backpacking. One see such a limited part of the park near the roads.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Towers of the Virgin

2009-11-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Towers of the Virgin, Zion National Park. The flat peak on the left side is the West Temple and is the highest point in Zion at 7810 ft. On the far right is the Altar of Sacrifice (named for the red stains on the white Navajo Sandstone).

This photo is the first that I've taken with a Graduated Neutral Density filter. This filter is dark at the top and gradually clears until it is completely clear at the bottom. Without the neutral density filter, the foreground in the resulting image may have been too dark (or if the foreground was properly exposed, the sky and cliffs may have been blown out). Without the filter, I might have been forced to use photoshop to bring out the foreground.

Breaking the Pattern

2009-11-23T08:16:00.002-07:00

On October 19th, I blogged about hiking up to Angel's Landing in Zion park. To reach the top of the plateau, one needs to climb up "Walter's Wiggles". The wiggles are a set of 21, sharp and very steep switchbacks (zig-zags). It was named Walter's Wiggles after Zion's first superintendent who helped engineer the this section.

This photo is one section of the retaining wall. Even building something as mundane as retaining wall, the builders add a touch of art by breaking the pattern of the regularly shaped sandstone blocks with this strange looking rock.

Be sure to visit the Monochrome Weekly meme for other great monochrome images.

Catching the Glow

2009-11-21T12:08:00.001-07:00

I found these little birds at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve near Long Beach, CA. I've no idea what kind there are. If anybody can tell, please let me know.

What I like about this image is how the birds seem to glow in the light of the setting sun. The angle of the sun was perfect to illuminate the birds without lighting the ground; a good example of catching the moment. A little earlier, and the foreground would be lighted, a little latter, and the birds would be in the shadow. I was lucky to stumble upon this scene.

Be sure to check out other Camera Critters!.

Deep

2009-11-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

By the time I arrived in Zion National Park in mid October, I had been on the road for about a month. I was getting very tired of hotels and campgrounds.

However, the beauty of Zion smashed that home sickness away. What an amazing place. October is the perfect time to visit. The crowds have thinned, but the shuttle buses are still running. The weather is comfortable, and the leaves are changing color.

This photo was taken up the Upper Emerald pool where the walls of the canyon loom over you.

While in the park I keep running into pair of Portuguese photographers, Joao and Antonio. It was quite funny - lots of "you're following me" jokes. In fact, we had dinner together on their last evening in the park when I stumbled into the same restaurant.

Be sure to visit Joao's and Antonio's websites.

Also, take some time to visit Skywatch Fridays.

Invisible Sky

2009-11-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

After David and Nicole's beautiful wedding, I left southern California and spent almost a week in Las Vegas. This photo is not the real Eiffel tower, but of the fake Eiffel tower at Paris, Las Vegas. I had never been to Las Vegas before. I found myself constantly amazed by the sights and sounds. I literally could not wrap my mind around the excesses all around me.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Friday!

The End is Nigh!

2009-11-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

The end of my prolonged vacation is close. I go back to work on Thursday. I expect the first few weeks will be crazy!

What a great weekend. Kelly and I had a great evening dancing Friday evening. Saturday we had a tailgate at the Air Force/Army football game. Capping the weekend off we saw the Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood. Those cats are funny!

Here's a photo I took at Nicole and David's wedding. I was taking a few pictures as the REAL photographer was working. Can't wait to see his work.

Busy

2009-11-06T10:59:00.001-07:00

I should be processing photos that I took during my sabbatical. But I'm not.

Earlier this week, I decided to brew some beer. I've not done that for a few years, so, I spent a lot of time cleaning, sterilizing, inventorying equipment, and replacing some. After digging around for awhile looking at recipes, I decided to make a clone of the Dogfish Head India Brown Ale. Currently, it fermenting away, filling my closet with that wonder yeasty/alcohol scent. Ahhh!

Also, we are having a tailgate at the Air Force/Army game tomorrow, so I decided to make some chili. From scratch. Old school! Sadly, I'm not really happy with it and need to do some doctoring on it.

I need a day at the beach!

Which brings me to today's photo. It was taken at Laguna Beach, CA.

Have a great weekend everyone...

Gourds

2009-11-02T09:41:00.001-07:00

I'm back at home from my travels. I got a 'ginormous' number of photos to process as well as a multitude of other minor choirs to accomplish before returning to work.

I'll write a post (or a number of posts) summarizing the travels.

In the meantime, here's a photo of a gourd that my mother made. She made a number of gourds to be used as center pieces at Nicole and David's wedding. At the wedding, the gourds had beautiful orchids placed in them.

While I was visiting my parents, I help them make a simple DIY lightbox. Then I photographed a lot of my mom's gourds and my dad's carvings. I'm really happy with the photos of the gourds, but didn't like the photos of the carvings. I think the the carvings should be captured with a black background and directional light.

Click on the image to view a slide show of the centerpiece gourds.

Click here to see a slide show of all the photos I've taken of family art.

Pelican

2009-10-31T15:40:00.000-06:00

A Pelican coming in for a landing at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve near Long Beach, CA.

Be sure to visit Camera Critters..

Happy Halloween!

Hot and Cold

2009-10-27T10:57:00.001-06:00

I've been in Arches National Park for the last few days. After leaving Bryce and Kodachrome Basin, I decided to skip the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I wasn't ready to having winter weather.

Ironically, this morning, I woke to cold, windy and overcast skies. As there was no visible sunrise, I turned off my alarm, rolled over and slept for a few more hours. It's amazing how much easier it is to get out of bed on a cold day when you're in a warm room as opposed being bundled up in a sleeping bag to a cold tent!

I'm now sitting in Moab's wonderful Red Rock Bakery checking the weather forecast. Looks like a snow storm is predicted to move through the area. Too bad I don't have my four season tent with me!

Hopefully, some of the snow sticks to the red rocks and the clouds move off. What a sunrise that'll make!

Here's another shot from my time in Joshua National Park. It was taken in the middle of the Fortynine Palms oasis.

The oasis is very soothing after a very hot hike through the desert mountains. If you find yourself in Joshua, don't forget to visit this beautiful oasis.

Joshua Tree

2009-10-23T17:31:00.001-06:00

I arrived in Bryce National Park yesterday and spent the day washing clothes and processing pictures. I've run out of space on my CF cards, so, I really needed to free up some space.

Today I got some sunrise shots from Bryce point and did a number of hikes. Bryce Canyon is incredible. I've been in a number of places that have hoodoos, but Bryce takes the prize.

Since I was able to get some pictures processed, here is a silhouette shot of a Joshua Tree taken a few weeks ago.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Fridays!

Angel's Landing

2009-10-19T15:14:00.005-06:00

This morning I did the Angel's Landing hike. What a beautiful trail. It goes 2.5mi from the valley floor up 1488 ft to the top of a knife edge ridge. What a view!!

As I was descending, I came across a number of people crawling up on their hand and knees. At least they are trying.

iPhone photo from the top. See the stretch of road 1200ft below? The prominent shadow at 10:30AM gives a good idea of the depth of the canyon.

Tomorrow I'll tour around the area by car and do a little bike riding. Then on Wednesday, I'll hike the Narrows to the famous "Wall Street" - a place in the canyon that is 22ft wide and 1500ft deep.

-- Post From My iPhone

Leaving Las Vegas

2009-10-16T13:06:00.003-06:00

I'm leaving Las Vegas for Zion and Bryce National parks.

I had a lot of fun in Sin City: played a lot of poker tournaments, saw Penn & Teller (awesome), Hoover damn, had dinner with my cousin Mike and his wife Regina. But it'll be nice to leave the bright lights, noise, smoke and commercialism of Vegas for the simplicity of the Utah deserts.

The sun sets on Las Vegas (iPhone photo).

-- Post From My iPhone

Caesar's Palace

2009-10-12T22:58:00.001-06:00

Fun day! Toured around Vegas. The monorail is the way to get around.

iPhone photo.

Caesar's Palace is impressive. Such decedance!

Tomorrow, Dan and I visit Hoover damn and then see Penn & Teller.

Cliche?

2009-10-09T16:41:00.001-06:00

Since last we chatted, I spent two days and and night in Joshua Tree National Park and a couple of days touring around the Newport Beach, CA area. Tomorrow is David and Nicole's wedding. It looks to be a wonderful event!

After this, I'll spend almost a week in Las Vegas. Besides playing a little poker, I hit the Valley of Fire park, Hoover Damn, and Death Valley.

This picture is the last of the series of photos I took at the Whitetank Mountain Regional Park near Phoenix. The third morning was very overcast in the eastern sky during the time in which the sun was supposed to be rising. Unlike the day before, the sun never made an appearance. Luckily, the moon was setting around the same time. I covered a lot of ground looking for a shot like this before it disappeared.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Fridays!

Bad Weathers yield Good Photos

2009-10-05T14:29:00.001-06:00

When I first went got to the Phoenix area, I went to the Whitetank Regional Park to scout out the area for a morning shoot.

After driving and hiking around, I finally found this spot. I thought that the cactus in the foreground against the sunrise light mountain in the background would make for an interesting picture.

However, the next morning was heavily overcast. I thought for sure that I would get no sun. But, I setup up the tripod and camera and prepared to wait.

And wait.

About the time I was ready to give up, the clouds starting opening up, allowing intermittent light to shine though. What a glorious sight. I hope that my photo captures some inkling of the reality of the scene.

I went back again this morning to capture some other subjects. This time around, the sun never did come out. Still, I'm glad that I put myself in the position to capture such a serendipitous moment.

Atmospherics

2009-10-04T22:06:00.001-06:00

Today, was mostly about photography. I awoke at 5am to catch the sunset at the White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Afterwords, I showed my mom how to build a lightbox, and we took pictures of my parent's arts. Processing those photos took much of the afternoon. It's a great day when you can devote the whole day to one's hobby!

This shot is from White Tank Mountain Regional Park looking over Phoenix, AZ. This is a very nice little park and I plan on heading back bright and early again tomorrow.

Be sure to visit Scenic Sunday!

Copper Star

2009-10-03T17:11:00.000-06:00

An iPhone photo of the Arizona flag hanging from a skylight in the historic Palace Saloon in Prescott, AZ.

The star in the flag is copper to represent all of the copper deposits found in Arizona.

While in Prescott today, I remember being there with grandfather many years ago. He competed in rodeo there back in the 1930's (I think). Anyways, as we were walking down the street around the main square past some old hotel/saloon and recounted the time that his young friends and himself were kicked out of the joint. I sure wish he was around to ask him about this story.

Boulders

2009-10-02T12:40:00.000-06:00

Boulders along NM 80 near the border with Arizona.

Early this morning I went scouting out the White Tank Mountain Regional Park west of Phoenix. I think that I found a great spot to capture the light of the rising sun on the mountains and cactus of this beautiful spot.

Nap time!

Distant Sunset

2009-10-01T09:40:00.000-06:00

One evening, I sat on the edge of a cliff waiting for the sunrise. I expected to see the sunset on on some interesting mountains to the west. However, that never panned out. Instead, to the south, a series of hills caught the cross light.

In order to capture this type of landscape, it is useful to include some sort of interesting element in the foreground. The foreground element provides scale to give context to the rest of the scene.

While I was waiting here, a hawk circled me a half of a dozen times, from about 100 feet above me. The hawk was close enough that I could see it turning it's head to check me out. Very cool, although, I made sure to think UN-mouse like thoughts. To bad I had my landscape lens attached!

Coronado National Forest

2009-09-30T16:26:00.002-06:00

Here's another view of the field of flowers growing in the remains of a past forest fire. This photos show some more interesting mountains in the background. Those mountains are near Portal, AZ - a world famous birding location.

Tomorrow, I'll be leaving Sierra Vista to visit my parents and other friends up in the Phoenix area.

Cactus in Bloom

2009-09-30T09:43:00.000-06:00

Cactus in bloom in the Tuscon Mountain County Park, AZ.

Life, Renewed

2009-09-27T19:40:00.001-06:00

I've spent the last few day camping in the Chiricahua mountains.

This iPhone photo shows a field of flowers growing in the remind of an old forest fire near the Rustlers Park campground.

I now understand the term islands in the sky. These mountains rise up above the surrounding desert. I really enjoyed waking up to 40 F mornings.

While up there, I saw two black bears, wild turkeys, and a lot of white tail deer. Nearby, I saw coatimundi and javalina. Both first time sightings.

Here's an iPhone photo of the area.

More later...

-- Post From My iPhone

Oasis

2009-09-23T10:15:00.000-06:00

I've spent much of my life in hot climates. Since 2001, I've lived in Colorado except for one year. I guess that I've gotten really accustomed to cool weather. This summer at home was very cool. I think we hit 90 F maybe once. In fact, I hear that we had snow on the ground at home a couple of days ago.

This photo was taken at the Tucson Mountain Museum. We got there around 8:30 AM and it was already 88 F. Yikes. Before we left Tucson, it was 104 F. That's a good temperature for a soak in a hot spring on a chilly day - not for walking around.

Tomorrow, I'm heading up to the Chiricahua mountains to camp for the next 5 days. I sure hope it cooler up there! The current issue of Arizona Highways, has a great photo of colorful maple leaves surrounding a small stream. I suspect it still to warm to see something similar.

Concentration

2009-09-22T13:04:00.000-06:00

Today is the first chance that I've had to process any photos. Since Friday, I've been spending a lot of time with my family in Arizona. Saturday, I went to the 2009 Tucson ATA Taekwondo tournament to watch my brother's family compete. They all did very well. This is one of my nieces performing her weapons form.

Arizona Sunset

2009-09-18T20:22:00.002-06:00

This is my first post from my iPhone (using iPhone camera as well). Hopefully, this works, else I won't be posting much over the few weeks.

I wished to take photos at Whitesands as I passed through the area. Sadly, it was closed today due to a missle test. So, I drove on to southern Arizona.

At least they can't close the sunset.

Moss Garden

2009-09-16T11:18:00.000-06:00

Be sure to visit Wordless Wednesday.

Belvedere Blues Fest

2009-09-15T16:48:00.000-06:00

I finished processing photos from the Belvedere Blues Festival:

Johnny O

2009-09-14T20:58:00.000-06:00

Late post today. Here it is the first day of my sabbatical, and I spent all day doing chores. Included in that was processing some pictures taken at the 2009 Belvedere Blues Festival. As stated in Saturday's post, I was invited by one of the organizers to take pictures of the event. The organizer knows my wife, and I sent him some pictures that I took at the Brew Ha-Ha festival from earlier this year (click here for one photo). I guess he liked them.

It was very flattering and a very intimidating. I think that I'm a good landscape photographer, and I'm trying to learn how to photograph people. But the idea shooting three days at a festival was a bit overwhelming.

All in all, it has a great learning experience. I also got to see some great bands as well. This is by far the best musical experience I've had since leaving Austin, TX. This photo is of the very talented Johnny O Band out of Boulder, CO.

Be sure to visit Monochrome Weekly.

Goats and Flowers

2009-09-13T09:19:00.000-06:00

Mountain goats in a field of wild flowers at Glacier National Park.

Be sure to visit Camera Critters.

My Ears are still Ringing

2009-09-12T11:04:00.000-06:00

Last night, I went down to Belvedere Blues Festival in Canon City, Colorado to take photos. The goal of the festival is as fundraiser dedicated to improving the quality of life in Fremont County, Colorado.

The first band I saw was Colorado Spring's Jake Loggins Band. Jake Loggins, the lead guitarist is an amazing guitarist and singer.

I took around 600 pictures of the first two bands (and crowd). This photo of Desmond Washington and Noel MacFarlane is my favorite so far.

Before I head down today, I think I'll buy some ear plugs. Its tough standing in front of those speakers!

Skies above Waterton

2009-09-11T08:27:00.001-06:00

The sky above Waterton Lake in Waterton Lake National Park, Canada.

While in Waterton, we took a boat tour down to the southern end of the lake which is in Glacier National Park in the USA. Incredibly beautiful!

Strangely enough, "they" cut down all the trees along the border between Canada and the USA. There is a point on the lake where one can actually see the border between the two countries. Heck of a lot of work! [Edit] You can see the border Google Maps.

On other news, I was invited to attend the Belvedere Blues Festival in order to take photos of the 3-day event. Pretty cool, that! I'll be sure to post a few of those photos on this blog.

Be sure to visit Sky Watch Fridays.

Have Camera, Will Travel

2009-09-10T09:40:00.000-06:00

Close up of the Lake McDonald beach.

For the next two months I'll be posting intermittently. I have a good excuse - I'm starting a sabbatical next week. During my sabbatical, I'll be traveling around the Southwest USA. For the first month, I'll be spending a lot of time with family and friends. But for the second month, I'll be hanging about the sights of southern Utah and Northern Arizona. As I'll be camping a lot, I'll have a hard time connecting to the internet on a regular basis. I will probably use my iPhone to post photos taken on the iPhone (limited by available 3G cell connections).

My rough itinerary, photographically speaking, is as follows:

Whitesands National Monument, NM
Chiricahua National Monument, AZ
Saguaro National Park, AZ
Joshua Tree National Park, CA
Santa Catalina Island, CA
Las Vegas NV area
Zion National Park, UT
Bryce National Park, UT
North Rim Grand Canyon, AZ
Arches National Park, UT
Monument Valley, AZ

Any suggestions of other "can't miss" locations?

A bit chilly

2009-09-09T08:03:00.001-06:00

Be sure to visit Wordless Wednesday.

Ballons

2009-09-08T08:26:00.002-06:00

Labor day weekend in Colorado Springs means the Colorado Balloon Classic. This year was the 33rd edition of this balloon festival. Apparently, its the largest and longest running balloon festival in the rocky mountain region.

I attended the event on Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather was such that they canceled the mass ascension. However, they did inflate most of the balloons. Watching a lot of crews inflate their balloons was very interesting.

Although I've lived near a few different balloon festivals, this was the first time that I've actually attended one. Walking around in a field surrounded by a dozen or more inflated hot air balloons is an impressive experience. Anybody out there with a balloon willing to give me a ride? :)

That was my world this weekend. Be sure to visit My World Tuesdays

Blue Morning

2009-09-05T21:23:00.001-06:00

Early morning at Avalanche lake in Glacier National Park. This was the last, and only morning that I got up early for photo. The next morning I work up with the flu. There went my motivation for the next few days.

This is another HDR made up of a set of 6 images. The parameters were chosen to push the image towards the more surreal end of the spectrum.

Be sure to visit Scenic Sundays.

Organic Clouds

2009-09-04T07:06:00.000-06:00

Professional photographers will tell you to only display your best work, your most compelling images. I suppose that in marketing speak that would be called 'building a brand'.

For today's Skywatch Friday, I break that rule. This image is not good. There is no real subject, its chaotic and its rather boring.

That is, perhaps, until it is explained. Call this a documentary photo rather than an art photo.

What you see here are clouds of small flying bugs back lit by the westering sun. We saw these bugs on an evening drive through Waterton Park in Canada. This cloud went for miles! I can truthfully say that I've never seen anything like this.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Friday for less buggy skies.

Painting Hidden Lake

2009-09-03T08:02:00.000-06:00

While hiking the Hidden Lake trail in Glacier National Park, we came across this painter painting the lake. What a skill to have! I've considered taking a painting or drawing class. I don't think that I would be any good, but I do think that some of the art theory taught would be very useful when composing a photo.

Make sure to visit Sepia Scenes.

Click here to see other photos from our trip.

Avalanche Creek

2009-09-02T08:26:00.001-06:00

This is Avalanche Creek in Glacier National park somewhere along the Trail of the Cedars. I was surprised at how wet Glacier National park is. Apparently, it's considered to be western most extreme of the Pacific Northwest's temperate rain forest.

A couple of days before this shot, we hiked up to Avalanche Lake (in the dark) to grab some sunrise shots. On the way back down, I saw this creek and knew that I had to return when there was more light. It looked like a perfect opportunity to use HDR, or High Dynamic Range, techniques. I took 6 different shots from EV -3 to EV 2 (i.e. very underexposed to very overexposed). At home, software is used to combine the images into this.

I'm still very much a novice using the software. It has lots of controls to tweak in order to adjust the image. To be truthful, I'm not sure that I like this result. I hope to have time to go back an play with other versions and see if I can get something better.

Be sure to visit Water Wednesday.

My other camera...

2009-09-01T10:44:00.004-06:00

During our trip to Glacier National Park, I got to play with a new toy - an iPhone, or, more specifically, the iPhone's camera. It's not a great camera, but can be used to great effect. I found that a number of artist are using the iPhone (and other small point&shoots) to take great photos. For example, check out Chase Jarvis or Greg Schmigel or even one of Flickr's iPhone groups. After seeing these and others like them, I wondered what I could do with my new iPhone.

During the trip I took a lot of photos on my iPhone. Starting out, the pictures were not so good. The first thing I needed to learn was of what this little camera was capable. For instance, this camera seems to have a very limited dynamic range, so scenes with a lot of contrast are problematic.

The Custer National Cemetery at the Little Bighorn National Monument in Montana.

There are a number of applications for the iPhone which allows one to edit a photo. Obviously due to the form factor, the edits are pretty minimal. This photo was converted to look like it was taken from a Lolo camera.

Traffic Jam on Going to the Road highway due to road construction.

The other aspect of the iPhone is that is relatively wide-angle. This greatly effects what types of compositions work.

Dead tree with tavertine from the Mammoth Hotsprings growing around it.

Given the wide-angle of the camera, and a panorama application, it is fairly easy to make decent panos.

Panorama of the Mammoth Hotsprings in Yellowstone National Park

Another thing I was interested was the ability to take a photo and immediately post via the phones internet connection. I posted a few photos to Facebook during the trip, but, I'm still looking for a good way to post to the blog from the iPhone. Of course this ability is somewhat limited due to my propensity of going to wilderness area (not many wi-fi connections in the boonies!)

Grand Tetons and Snake River

The iPhone's camera will never replace my Canon 40D. During the trip, I brought back about 600 photos taken on the 40D, but on about 50 on the iPhone.

However, it does provide another creative outlet and, hopefully, reminds me that making good images are made in the mind, not by the tools.

That's my world seen through an iPhone. Be sure to visit My World Tuesday.

The Monday After

2009-08-31T08:18:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone! I'm back from my vacation. The main goal of our vacation was to visit Glacier and Waterton parks, relax, see the sights, do some hikes, and spend time together. Along the way I was able to take a few photos.

On the way to Glacier, we visited the Little Bighorn National monument, Bozeman Montana, and Flathead lake. On the trip back home, we spent a day touring some of the highlights of Yellowstone and made a brief stop at the Tetons National Park.

I've not had a chance to process any of the photos that I took during this trip. So, for today's post, I present this macro of a South African succulent seen at a botanical garden earlier this year.

Check back here for photos from our trip over the next week or so.

Be sure to visit Macro Mondays.

The Storm II

2009-08-21T09:34:00.000-06:00

This photo was taken about 20 minutes after Storm I. The small rainbow in the lower right corner is well camouflaged by the rich sunset colors.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Fridays.

Calibration

2009-08-20T08:37:00.000-06:00

The sun rises on the distance peak behind the ruins of an abandoned mine near Leadville, CO.

What color is this photo? On my home system, it is a nice Sepia toned image. At work, its a bit of a sickly radioactive green color... Hopefully the monitor at home is the correctly calibrated monitor! Perhaps its time to get the necessary hardware to properly calibrate my monitor.

In other news, I'll be out in the sticks in and around Glacier National Park all next week. So, I will not be able to post anything next week (I can almost hear the wife cheering). But, hopefully, once I return, I'll have lots of new photos. Have a great week everyone!

Be sure to visit Sepia Scenes!

The Portrait Session

2009-08-19T09:15:00.000-06:00

Be sure to visit Wordless Wednesday.

Pikes Peak Marathon

2009-08-18T08:20:00.003-06:00

The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon were held this weekend. On Saturday, the race starts in Manitou Springs, elevation 6,300' (1,920m) and finishes at the Pikes Peak summit, 14,115' (4,302m). That's a 13.1 mile climb of 7,815' (2,382 meters) with an average grade of 11%. On Sunday, the Marathon is held. It's pretty much the same route, except that, at the summit, the racers turn around and run back down.

If you think the marathon is hard, consider that a number of people complete both the marathon and the ascent in the same weekend.

The photo above shows both the starting line and the summit house on top of the peak.

Kelly ran the marathon this year and finished in 7:09:41. That's about 1 hour improvement over last year. Awesome!

Sunrise on the peak before the Marathon start

That's part of my world. Be sure to visit My World Tuesday!

Splash of Color

2009-08-17T08:22:00.000-06:00

A field of flowers seen in Denver, CO. I spent some time in this area taking a variety of shots with different compositions - from macros to wide-angle. It's good practice for novice photographers to take a subject and takes lots of shots in different light, angles, formats, compositions, closeup and far away. It's a great way to see what works and why.

Be sure to visit Mellow Yellow Monday!

Spider

2009-08-15T16:40:00.000-06:00

While eating lunch, I spied a big spider watching me from the window sill. I grabbed my camera and pulled out the ladder. While tottering on top of the ladder I got a few shots.

This big guy is now missing after the last, very nasty hail storm.

Dawn of a New Age

2009-08-14T08:21:00.000-06:00

Old mine structure near Leadville, Co.

I've been playing with Photomatix (software for creating HDR images) for awhile. This is one of my better attempts. There are a rather complicated and bewildering assortment of adjustments used to control the effect. I still learning which types of images and situations that I think work well with HDR and how best to process them.

This shot was made up of 3 images taken at -1, 0, and 1 EV. One interesting side effect is that the clouds are very soft due to the movement between shots. I find the sharpness of the building against the softness of the clouds rather pleasing.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Fridays.

Past and Present

2009-08-13T10:04:00.001-06:00

While in Cripple Creek, CO this weekend, I found that I walked into the middle of a war zone. Ok, a re-enactment of one. Cripple Creek honors the United States Armed Forces with their military appreciation weekend, during which there were a number of WWII battle re-enactments. This photos shows spectators and actors between battles.

Be sure to visit Sepia Scenes.

Red Rock on Blue

2009-08-11T08:03:00.000-06:00

As I'm sure I stated ad nauseam, I spend a lot of time with my camera in Ute Valley Park and Garden of the Gods. That may seem boring. But, I believe that constantly returning to the same place helps the creative process. I see the grand vistas everyday. I've taken the iconic pictures of Garden of the Gods that everyone else has. However, there are millions of other shots that require only the vision to see them. For some things, familiarity does not breed contempt, but rather it breeds appreciation. Hopefully I'm learning to open my eyes and see what is in front of me.

Be sure to visit Ruby Tuesdays.

Stark

2009-08-10T08:24:00.000-06:00

One of my learning processes is to take some concept or technique and concentrate on it for awhile. In photography, that means that I look for images which enforce the thing that I'm working on. For example, over the last few months, I've been working on getting images with back lighting. That doesn't mean that I ignore other principles and techniques that I've learned. For example, I few months ago, I was concentrating on monochrome. I think this example successfully incorporates the two.

I think that the next concept I want to play with is minimalist landscapes. I ran across this idea on flickr (see Best of Minimalist Landscapes). Very interesting stuff.

House Cleaning

2009-08-08T12:47:00.000-06:00

I'm currently going back and reviewing all the photos that I took in 2008. The first step in my normal work flow is to immediately delete photos that are obviously bad. I find though, that I'm not as strict with that as I should, and have a large supply of crappy images.

Reviewing the photos that I took from the distance of a year really lets me separate myself from the emotions involved when I took the picture. Over the last week I've deleted many dozens of photos.

However, I've also been able to save some. In the last year, I've learned how to better handle RAW images and post-processing. This image is a great example. Straight out of the camera, the image of Lake Tahoe lacked contrast. All that was needed was adjusting the curves. Back then, the curves adjustment was a big mystery to me.

This house cleaning has been very enlightening.

Cloudscape

2009-08-06T17:35:00.000-06:00

Sunset on a cloud bank (5-shot panorama using a 200mm).

This SkyWatch Friday is an anniversary of sorts for me - I started this blog 1 year ago on Aug 7th, 2008 (here's the first post). The month before that first post, I took the plunge in buying a new DSLR and re-started my dormant interest in photography. I'm not sure exactly why I decided to restart this hobby, but I'm glad I have. I've had a great time, seen some awesome scenery, and meet some cool people.

Thanks, ya'll!

Be sure to visit SkyWatch Friday for great images of our skys.