Iceland - Sunrise

Iceland Sunrise

Two images today - one from the big boy camera and another from the iPhone4.

The sunrise image was made is on the way to the Glacier Lagoon (at 4:00AM I might add). We realized we were missing the sunrise at the lagoon so started shooting on the side of the road whenever a possible image caught the eye.....twilight starts at 2:30AM with sunrise at 4:00AM....can one get up early enough in Iceland....At any rate as we made these images we knew the next next day it would be a 3:00AM departure from the hotel....

The second image is an iPhone Hipstmatic shot from the car window on the way to the airport..caught the s-curve out of the corner of my eye barely got the image...my favorite combo of Kodot and JohnS was used...Hipsta is the perfect camera for a visual diary...

Iceland Departure Image

Stay tuned for more Iceland over the next few days....

Iceland - Glacier Lagoon

Glacier Lagoon, Iceland

Spent two mornings at the Glacier Lagoon on the south side of Iceland. Twilight starts at 2:30AM and runs until 4:00AM when you start to see the sunrise - they say in the winter there is two hours of twilight on each end of the day.

At any rate the first day we left the hotel at 4:00AM and missed the fabulous pink tone in the sky - the second day we departed the hotel at 3:00AM and that was perfect timing....caught the twilight and then the sunrise. This year the icebergs seemed to be in more of a cluster where last year they seemed a bit more staggered....the tide was moving so they would crash into each other sometimes rolling over and floating away - the sound they made was awesome.....a cross between an earthquake and a car wreck....something other worldly......

The new image in the header was behind our hotel - another part fo the glacier....the detail in those rocks is simply stunning....

Iceland - Grass Church

Church with grass roof, Iceland 

The one image I wanted to make on this trip was to re-shoot the church with the grass roof. One would pass this church on the way to the glacier lagoon - it sits on a private farm just off the highway. When I was  in Iceland last year I had maybe 15 minutes one morning to photograph this church and never got something I liked....This time around there were only three of us so time was not an issue. I decided to make a three image panoramic to give an idea of how remote a location this is. These churches are in all sorts of locations from behind the barn to high on the hill overlooking a town - other are hidden like this one on a private farm hidden behind the barn....

Highlight of the trip was going back to the glacier lagoon twice....this morning we caught a marvelous pink sky over the lagoon that lasted for about 60 minutes.....and it got even better after the sun peeked out...IMage from this week will be on the blog next week...both iPhone (iphone-antics.blogspot.com) and these pages.

Driving back to  Reykjavik  today - back to New York tomorrow.......these trips always end way to fast......

The Sleeping Bear

Sleeping Bear - Icleand

Up at 3:45AM this morning for the 40 minute drive to the glacier on the east side of Iceland. We were not dis-appointed at all. The light was spectacular and the icebergs were all in flux - actually watched a few turn over and drift away....After the glacier lagoon it was off to the black beach - now I know where these ice structures go when they float out of the lagoon...

Must be a day at the beach because this one looked like a sleeping bear.....After I made this photograph the bear drifted away.....

Have to run now - another glacier calls...stay tuned for more...

Image Management:

Canon 5DMKII
70-200MM Lens
Lightroom 3
Photoshop CS5

Church Gate

Gate, Iceland Church

This church was located on a fairly desolate farm in the northwest corner of Iceland. You see these small churches in many different locations from main roads to behind an individual home....More on this when I get home and have some time to process a few more images....

Weather has been fairly off for the past two days - rain and fog. Do not really mind the fog but could do with a little less rain.....

Budir Hotel - Iceland

Budir Hotel, Iceland

 This is the view out back of the hotel we stayed at for the past two nights - The Budir Hotel.  I was hoping there would be a bit more color but.........

Image Management:

Phase One P65+
Schneider 47MM Lens
Alpa STC 12
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Hraunfossar Waterfall

Hraunfossar Waterfall

This waterfall is very unique in that water just pours out of a lava field which was originally the flow from a volcano eruption. This eruption occurred under a glacier, Langjokull (not sure when). Hraun means lava...Iceland has the perfect climate for rain and therefore has quite a few waterfalls....Really liking the farm that sits up above the waterfall....

Hoping to find a few more out in the field today......

I would have wanted to climb down to this waterfall but the legs told the head not to do it......and I listened...
 
Stay tuned....

Image Management:

Phase One p65+
Alpa STC 12
Schneider 47MM Lens
Photoshop cs5
Lightroom 3

Zabriske Point Sunrise

OK, one more image of Zabriske Point before departing Reykjavik for the hinterlands in the northwest of Iceland. In all likelihood there will no posts for two days due to total lack of internet signal. Should be back online sometime Tuesday afternoon or evening.

Image Managment:

Phase One p65+
Mamiya 645DF
45MM Lens
Photohshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Zabriske Point

Detail, Zabriske Point

This from a hike in Death Valley - from the Zabriske Point side through Golden Canyon.

Image Management:

Phase One P65+
Mamiya 645DF
80MM Lens
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Iceland Industrial 2

Geothermal Plant near Reykjavik, Iceland

I have been told that over 85% of the total energy in Iceland comes from local renewable energy sources and that minimum 85% of all homes in Iceland are heated with geothermal energy - quite amazing....

I read that there are over 200 volcanoes and 600 hot springs in Iceland and my host told me there are minimum 20 high-temperature stream fields of at least 150 degrees centigrade and some can be much warmer...he also told me that renewable energy provides 100 percent of their electricity - another amazing fact....

Today's image was photographed last year at one of the many Geothermal Power Plants in Iceland - hoping to visit a few more this trip...

Image Management:

Phase One p65+
Mamiya 645DF
47MM Lens
three image HDR using NIK HDR EFX Pro
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Mesquite Dunes

Mequite Dunes, Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley 

'The human spirit needs places where nature has not been arranged my the hand of man'......Author Unknown

Off to Iceland today....very excited about going back.... 
Image Management:

Canon 5DMKII
24-105M Lens (70MM)
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Sands of Time..

Mesqutie Dunes, Stovepipe Weels

'Even Castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually'....Jimi Hendrix

Coney Island Color

Summer, Coney Island

'Let the subject generate its own photographs. Become a camera'.........Minor White 

Coney Island is always colorful candy for the eye. Flashes of color everywhere you look, and, let me also mention the human element is rather colorful. This image appeared out of nowhere - it surprised me while walking down to the beach - looked up and the composition appeared....loved the saturated colors and man made objects against the perfectly blue summer sky....

Image Management;

Canon 5DMKII
24-105M Lens
Single Image converted in Capture One
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Glacier 2

Glacier 2, Iceland

 Another image from last year 's trip to Iceland.

Note to self - clean sensors before leaving for a trip. In the old days we used to spot our prints and I am hard pressed as to why so many images posted to various facebook pages and blogs lately are fraught with little back spots, aka; sensor dust and grime. Before showing an image take the time to clean these spots your image - with today's technology, specifically content aware in Photoshop CS5 it is not a tough job.

I mention this because today's image was covered in dust and grime (see below for a small portion of the image)...took over 30 minutes to clean.

 

 One can also use content aware to clean and smooth images as I did below... I wanted the foreground clean and smooth so I removed what I believe was black ice...

Image Management:

Phaase One P65+
Mamiya 645DF
47mm lens
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast 

Last summer I was touring the Oregon coast with my daughter (am emerging photographer) making photographs on the various beaches where you could get access. We found this scene just below Canon Beach - at least that is my recollection of the location. Spending a day with your daughter is always amazing - and her interest in photography is priceless......that is her below - first day using a big girl camera.....

Image Management (image above):

Phase One P65+
Mamiya 645DF
47MM Lens
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Church, Iceland

Church, Iceland

'Sometimes you can tell a large story with a tiny subject.'....Elliot Porter

Image Management:

Phase One P65+
Mamiya 645DF
47MM Lens
5 image Stitch in Photoshop CS5 

Rock Formation - Iceland

Rock Formation, Iceland

'No matter how slow the film, Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer It has chosen......Minor White

 This image from last year in Iceland - almost one year to the day. I was looking for places to re-visit on this next trip and noticed what appeared to be a bird, flying turtle and many faces embedded in the stone....makes you wonder....

Image Management:

Phase P65+
Mamiya 645DF
75-150MM Lens (125MM)
Capture One
Lightroom 3

Notre Dame, Indiana Style

Basilica, Notre Dame

In 2009 I was on tour with Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson. This particular day we were playing in South Bend, Indiana at the minor league baseball park. I had driven in from Chicago and had some time to spare so I grabbed a local and asked hm to take me to Notre Dame so I could look for images. Long story short it turned out he was a graduate student and had access to some interesting locations on the campus - the Basilica of the Sacred Heart being one of them. He actually got me in with a tripod - sometimes you need to be in the right place.....

I thought this image was lost but it miraculously appeared last night in a different hard drive...

Image Management:

Canon 5DMKII

16-35MM Lens

5 image HDR in Photomatix 

Photoshop CS5

Lightroom 3

Iceland

Maelifellssandur, Fjallabak South, Iceland

'Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature's darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature's sources never fail'.........John Muir  

Iceland Glacier

Sunrise, Iceland, Glacier

'Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence'....Vince Lombardi

Leaving for another trip for Iceland next week - doing an iPhone workshop in Reykjavik and then getting lost in Iceland for a week.

Image Management:

Phase One P65+
Mamiya 47MM Lens
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Caddo Once Again

 

Great Blue Heron, Caddo Lake, Uncertain, Texas

It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it."...Theodore Roosevelt

OK, last Caddo today - I promise....If truth be told I am working on a gallery show of National Parks to include other locations that need to be mindfully looked after. This is not a new idea by any stretch of the imagination. Personally I discovered the National Parks late in life and wondered why this was never something we spent any time on in school...maybe I had to show up for school a few more times.

My first encounter with the Parks was about three years ago when I attended a workshop in Death Valley - since that time I have traveled to Yosemite, Zion, The Everglades, and, although they are not National Parks, Caddo Lake and Iceland. This summer I plan to return to Iceland (actually in 10 days) and sometime after that make a trek out west to visit a few more of these wonderful locations. Upon returning from that Death Valley workshop I watched the Ken Burn's documentary about our National Parks and that really hit home...How could someone get to be 64 and not know about these parks....

I am working on this project with several like-minded emerging photographers met along the photo trails in some of these very locations. The idea is a traveling show with a percentage of the income being donated to charity - have yet to figure out what charity but then we are still in the planning stages. The show will open on November 10th in Carmel, Indiana - stay tuned to these pages for more information.

Image Management:

Canon 5D II
70-200MM Lens
photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Caddo Sunrise

Sunrise, Caddo Lake, Uncertain, Texas

 On a roll with Caddo Lake Images this weekend. So why not just one more....This one is from November 2009 - and yes, it is as cold as the light.....Nothing like an open boat just before sunrise....

Image Management:

Canon 5DMKII
24-105MM Lens
Photshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Back to Caddo

Caddo Lake, Uncertain, Texas

'The Poetry of the earth is never dead'.......John Keats

Taylor, Texas

Taylor, Texas

If you are like good BBQ and are passing through Taylor, Texas be sure and stop at Louie Mueller's. Simply one of the best there is......

Unfortunately on this particular Sunday my friend Al and I got there to early to have a meal at Louie Mueller....But if you are in that neighborhood (20 miles outside of Austin) stop by - you will not be dis-appointed.

I did, however, have the opportunity to make the photograph above on that Sunday... so not a total loss.....

Image Management:

Canon 5DMKII
NIK HDR EFX Pro....
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Louie Mueller BBQ, Taylor Texas (iPhone4)

New header image from Caddo Lake, Uncertain, Texas

Bicycles - The Hague

Bikes, The Hague, Netherlands

 Pretty much sums up daily life in the Netherlands....

Image Management:

Canon 5DMKII
24-105MM Lens
PhotoshopCS5
Lightroom 3

Rental Boats - Versailles

Rental Boats - Versailles

 Took the 26KM ride to The Palace at Versailles early yesterday - and was not at all dis-appointed - well maybe there might have been a few hundred too many tourists. But I had hired a driver he knew a back way in - looked like he made some deal at a back gate and in we went - basically parking on the other end of the palace with maybe 4-5 other cars. You can get a table at a restaurant in New York the same way....

This is not a very good time of the year to visit Versailles as it is overrun by tourism.....and one would really need to spend an entire day there (or more) to really get a feel for the Palace and surrounding grounds.  Basically I got a few impressions of Versailles and hope to get back one day.

The benefit of going in the back gate was immediately being confronted by the image of the rental boats tied up and waiting for the day's activities. Ended up using slightly toned black and white to tell the story.

Image Management:

Phase One P65+
Mamiya 645DF with 47MM lens
Polarizer
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Caddo Lake

Another Image from Caddo Lake...Off to see Jim Morrison's Grave, Montmartre and Versailles

Image Management:

Canon 5DMKII
24-105MM Lens
Lightroom 3

Happy July 4th

Wishing everyone a Happy July 4th...........

Image photographed at Coney Island next door to Nathan's using a Canon 5DMKII - 85MM lens

Graffiti Rainbow

Graffiti Rainbow, London

My friend David, the Doctor of Decay, would have loved this wall in London....Off to Paris today - really need to see Jim Morrison's Grave...

Image Management:

Caonon 5DMKII
85MM Lens
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3

Caddo Lake

Caddo Lake, Uncertain, Texas

 'Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children'.....Ancient American Indian Proverb

Image Management:

Canon 5DMKII (shot from a boat)
24-105MM Lens
Local Tonality in Photoshop CS5 and LR3

Dublin Theater

Grand Canal Theater, Dublin

This image is the side of the Grand Canal Theater in Dublin. It was turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise to create a bit of drama.

Image Management:

Canon 5DMKII
24-105MM Lens
Photoshop CS5
Lightroom 3
Capture One