Sep 262012
 

Today I met a very nice couple (newlyweds) from the Spokane area.  We only talked for maybe twenty minutes.  Two people who have helped others most their lives.  One a retired Pastor and the other works at the VA Hospital.  Delightful people!  One of the joys of my trip to Yellowstone.

Today though I saw quit a bit of wildlife it felt like a Scenic Day shooting day.  A real test for my NOT-so-good abilities at scenic beauties offered here in Yellowstone.  Water was my draw.  Starting with Gibbon Falls.

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Then on to Hayden Valley.  Mid-day.  Not the best time to shoot.  Had lunch in the shade along the river.  Watched the “folks” going crazy around the Buffalo.  Those foreigners are amazing.  Real stupid.  Yes some were getting almost close enough to pet the buffalo!  Simply amazing.

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After lunch I hiked back a mile or so from the road in Hayden Valley.  Peace and quiet.  My next stop was the falls near Nez Pierce.  A popular place to shoot.

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At the falls the reflections in the water were incredible.  I ran into a wonderful friend and famous photographer Laurie Excel.  She had a photo excursion group with her.  It was fun to catch up quickly with her.

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Of course I need to add to my elk collection.  Especially when the light was PERFECT!!!!

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Just before the sun went behind the mountain I rushed back up the Madison and had took get this Black and White.   Beautiful!!!  All the elements where is place for just a minute or two!

 Posted by at 11:03 PM
Sep 192012
 

At Photoshop World Expo I bought a metal photo wall hanging.  The photos are a mosaic of 12″ square pieces of metal pics.  Each a portion of the full photo.  Now I find myself going back through my photo’s looking for the perfect photo.  i have about 8 terabytes of photographs.  As I have purused some photo’s I realize I have more favorites then I expected.  That’s not to say they are perfect photo’s.  Just ones I like.  This is going to be tough.

This photograph taken last year on the Oregon Coast.  The actual photograph has less contrast.  When posting to the blog all my photographs increase in Contrast.

 Posted by at 9:05 PM
Sep 182012
 

Downtime.

Time to think about nothing.

I found myself about 15 miles from the job site.  Lake Tahoe.  Just a short drive over the mountain from work.  This trip I carried a ton of baggage.  All in my head.  It’s been crazy stressful.  For a while I have been living moment to moment.  Looking in all directions for something to look forward to.  In actuality there is lots to look forward to. Stress is blinders to a positive look at life.  At Tahoe I found a Lifeguard chair.  What a wonderful hour or so.  I just sat and watched the water, trees, and my natural surroundings.  Everything slowed down.  From my heart rate to my stress.  Wonderful!

I could not decide if I liked the color post or black and white.

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 Posted by at 11:08 PM
Sep 012012
 

I finally got my D4 and 600mm back from Nikon!

Wasn’t cheap to get the work done.  Last night I had my first few minutes in weeks to get out and shoot.  A big storm was heading across the Great Salt Lake.  Grabbed the photo bag with all three cameras and most lenses, the 600 and tripods and headed out!  From FBBR I drove out to antelope island and found 5 big bucks.  Took a lot of photo’s.  To my dismay when I got home I couldn’t download the images from the XQD card in my D4.  I have tried everything!  Man this is frustrating.  The bucks looked great through the lens and on the viewer on the D4.  When at FBBR I shot the clouds and landscape with the D800.  Incredibly  sharp images!  I love it….

Stay tuned  to see if I can pull the images from the card!  They may be OK!

 Posted by at 4:37 PM
Jul 102012
 

I follow Moose Peterson’s Blog pretty religiously.  He is one of the few professionals that blogs multiple times a day.  And almost always he is helping the blog reader.   We have one thing in common.  We love to photograph clouds.  Though I don’t post many, my camera is aimed at clouds a lot.  Last week we flew in our jet to look at sites in a new area.  Late that day as we headed back home the cloud configurations were just spectacular.  Photographing through a window does not always provide the best results photographically.  I couldn’t pass on blogging these beauties!  Believe me I was glad my pilot averted the center of  these.  Better where we were looking back and getting some captures of this incredible site.

 Posted by at 6:18 PM
Apr 262012
 

Back in Las Vegas tonight.  I was asked by a friend to run over to Hoover Dam and take a night shot.  Ended up attempting a time lapse from the bridge.  The semis and larger vehicles shook the bridge.  Didn’t work out so great.  But did do a 9 shot HDR handheld with the Nikon D800.  Turned out OK….

 Posted by at 12:32 AM
Apr 132012
 

I love Black and White photo’s.  And like anybody that has followed the history of black and white photography I followed and studied Ansel Adams.  The king of B&W.  The inventor of the Zone System.  Many nights were spent in my dark room trying to emulate the process established by Ansel.  Few have even got close to what he produced.  Recently I had a brief interaction with an individual that is as close as it gets to Ansel’s work.  She is well known and her work has been compared to Ansel’s work.   To see her incredible work go here.    She is very gracious yet confident.  Yet another incredible person that creates beautiful images with a passion that I share.

This shot was taken recently on my hike in Kolob Canyon.  Not to the level of Ms. Guilds.  Just want to share my passion also.

 Posted by at 2:46 PM
Apr 102012
 

It is not uncommon for me to have to drop everything and tend to a critical issue at one of our working stores.  Though I am not directly involved in the maintenance of the stores there are times that my experience is needed.  This last weekend (Easter Weekend) was no exception.  Friday night I left for Cedar City and returned Sunday afternoon.  Not the greatest Easter observance ever.  I did however take a break mid day and drove the short disctance to Kolob Canyon.   Kolob is on the back side of Zions National Park and still within it’s boundaries.  Millions of people drive down I-15 in Utah and drive right past the exit to Kolob Canyon.  The crazy part is that the Canyon is a mere 4-5 miles from I-15.  And it is incredibly beautiful.  Some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.  This day I decided to walk/hike to the back of one of the canyons.  Because of  my failing back I was a little apprehensive.  As I progressed up the trail my pains got no worse.  In fact the strenuous nature of the trail and the beautiful surroundings gave me some relief from the pain.  As a side note the next morning was hell.  Felt like I had a wrecking ball dropped on my back.  It was worth it though.  The hike round trip took a little more than 4 hours.  I carried two cameras, a few lenses and some other gear.  About 30 lbs. worth of gear.  It was delightful.  The grandness of the rock features was overwhelming.  Several times I stopped and enjoyed the scenery.  When my trek stopped at the back of the canyon (too narrow to pass) I sat for a while and meditated.  The only sounds was the slight breeze, a woodpecker and the occasional rustling of last falls dried out leaves.  There is no way photographically or in words to describe what I experienced.

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The light reflecting off one wall to the other wall was surreal.  In seemed as though I was standing in the middle of a water color painting.

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The formations created by wind, water and the elements where so unique and individual.  Yet an art created just for me that day.

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Though I was spent physically, my spirits were lifted with the time alone, the peace and quiet and the accomplishment of getting to the top of the trail….

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 Posted by at 10:33 PM
Apr 052012
 

Tonight on the way home my desire heightened to capture with the new “gear” so I hit the neighborhood.  I love my community.  All makes and sizes, old and new homes.  Very large and very old homes and barns.  Makes for some fun captures with little time to do so.

Grabbed the D4, the 28-300 lens and took some 9 shot HDR captures.  At home in post tonight ran them through  photomatix pro and Silver EFEX pro to the black and white.  Fast simple and enjoyable.  I am blessed.  Just need a whole day with the cameras and the manuals. Stay-in-touch..

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 Posted by at 9:21 PM
2016