Omaha Beach, Normandy

Omaha Beach Memorial, Northern France

'I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity'......Dwight D. Eisenhower

Happy Holidays

Dubai, Fossil Rock

Fossil Rock, Dubai

'What would the world be, once bereft

Of wild and wilderness? Let them be left,

O Let them be left, wildness and wet;

Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet'.....Gerard Manley Hopkins

Katy Perry, Dubai

For the past several months I have been doing some tour management work for Katy Perry. Having the opportunity to see Katy on stage - makes me appreciate her musical talent, sense of humor and overall artistry. 

A few weeks ago we traveled to Dubai for one last show in 2012. The event was the closing ceremony for the World Parachute Championships with the concert being held on the Meydan Racetrack just outside the city. Of course Katy came up with an interesting way to start the show - arriving on stage using a parachute!!!

 Stay tuned for more images from Dubai....

Brooklyn Bridge, Homage to Edward Steichen

Homage to Edward Steichen

There are so many ways to depict this bridge - my favorites being the older platinum and gum prints from Edward Steichen. Matter of fact he was the impetus for me starting to photograph the bridge -  I lived under that bridge for many years in the mid eighties.

This particular image started as a 4x5 pinhole and today I processed it on my iPhone5.....so many uses for iPhone processing and they keep getting better......

Desert Sunset

Desert Sunset

A bit out of my comfort zone on this one. At first it seemed to dark and then I realized that it worked dark - mostly because it was dark....great lesson here for me....stay out of the way...reminds me of the Garry Winogrand Quote, ''I photograph to find out what something looks like photographed'...need to remember that....off to wrap a few gifts...

Dubai, The Creek

The Creek, Dhows, Dubai

As mentioned in a previous blog Dubai is very capable of being very cosmopolitan and yet there are parts of this city that still function in ancient times.......it has been said that the  Dhow dates back to the 10th or 11th century in India...a distant cousin of the Junk.....

This image, that was made just next to the Spice Souk (market), clearly shows that juxtaposition. From Rolex advertisements on the horizon to ancient Dhows that span hundreds of years in Dubai history. There are sightseeing Dhows' which take you around the city....They are also used as water taxis' in some parts of the city not to mention you could take a dinner cruise on board one of these ancient vessels.

Detail of the Ancient Dhow

And if you are a fan of modern architecture then check out the horizon line...It has been said the 25 percent of all the cranes in the world are working in Dubai...

Fossil Rock, Dubai, UAE

Fossil Rock, UAE

Before leaving for the United Arab Emirates the one thing I wanted to do was four wheel in the red desert just outside of Dubai . My friend Alex, who lives in Dubai, did a bit of research and suggested Fossil Rock as a good location. . After searching the internet I was all in......

On Monday, Alex and his hired guide, Mez, picked me up and off we went in search of Fossil Rock. After about 45 minutes the color of the sand started changing from a pale red to the red you see in the image above. Just after the color change we started to see Fossil Rock off in the distance - I , for one, was very excited.

Fossil Rock, UAE

Next stop was to deflate the tires to grip the sand and off we went into the dunes. The dunes are similar to riding a roller coaster with a touch less stability...A cross between a coaster and being on ship in rough sea....at times we would come to a crest on top of a dune without being able to see the other side, usually a steep vertical drop that left one feeling a bit nauseous....they tell you not to eat before dune riding...

At any rate. long story short, we made to Fossil Rock. We did get stuck on the top of one dune but Mez was able to get us out....

Whoops.....

.

Burj Khalifa - Dubai

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE

 Stayed in Dubai an additional day - way to much to see and photograph. I hired a guide and it turned out he really understood photography and what I was looking for. Matter of fact I almost stayed one more day.....maybe next time...

We started out at 5:45AM trying to catch the sunrise on the Burj Khalifa, the tallest man made structure in the world at 829.8 meters (2,722 feet). Not only that but the building opened on my birthday in 2010 - so I had to make an image...

Leaving Dubai tomorrow morning - what a neat place - desert, city, old world, modern and much more....stay tuned for more images on both blogs.

Fossil Rock, Dubai

Camel Walking

Finished up my business in Dubai on Sunday night. A local friend had a plan take me to the red desert on Monday - four wheeling over the sand to Fossil Rock. As we were driving a group of camels suddenly appeared simply walking down to road.

Our guide told us they are let out in the morning, walk around most of the day, and then return to their farm late in the day for water. I would estimate about 15-20 camels just WALKED ON BY....what an added surprise...

Grabbed a few images of the camels and headed out to the rock. Of course we got stuck on the edge of a dune for about 20 minutes but eventually the guide figured it out and off we went to Fossil.....Stay tuned for images of the rock....

 

All in all quite a fun experience. Going back out today to photograph the city of Dubai...

Zion Moon, Processed as a Tritone

Zion, converted to B/W Tritone Image

Still in pursuit of black and white imagery I processed yesterday's image as a tritone in Photoshop CS6.....Fairly simple to do:

1. GO into adjustments and choose gradient map
2. GO image and convert to gray-scale and flatten
3. You should now be able to go into Image and choose Duotone and the dialog will look like this: be sure to convert to  an 8 bit image.


4. Then you can use the Type dropdown and the custom to create duotone, tritone and quadtone images by mixing and matching to suit your taste.
5. Once finished convert back to 16 bit RGB for printing. 

Give it a shot....

Zion, Moonrise

Zion National park

'Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment'.....Ansel Adams

Zion, Detail, Vintage Truck

Deatail, Vintage Truck, Springdale, Utah 

Jimmy Johns

Jimmy John Delivery...

'What you need will be delivered - what you want can be found'......

I was in a Denver Studio last year shooting portraits for a series I have in progress. We had ordered lunch from Jimmy Johns and asked to have it delivered. So the doorbell rings and when I take one look at this gal it becomes obvious she needs to have her photo taken. 

I have been a NIK software fan for some time now - I use it with my iPhone images as well as more traditional camera images. Today's image was made using only Tonal Contrast in NIK CFX4 and Photoshop CS6....

I did post this a year ago but decided to re-visit this morning. I always find it rewarding to go back and re-process as one gains new insight in image processing. The original file is below.

Jimmy John - Original File 

Breezy Point, Rockaway, New York

Yesterday ,myself and a couple of friends (David and Michael) drove to Breezy Point in Rockaway to try and photograph the damage from Hurricane Sandy. Was not quite sure if we would be able to access this part of the island and were surprised when we were allowed through..

While I am deeply saddened by what I saw the photographer in me took over and I just had to document this natural disaster. Note that I want to go back as they re-build and continue to make images. In talking to the folks who lost or had their homes badly damaged the one thing that stuck in my mind was their resolve to get back to NORMAL, which I think takes 3-4 years. One elderly gentlemen told me, 'if you live by the sea - you die by the sea'.......I made over 600 images on this trip.

PS: There was plenty of help out there including the Red Cross, FEMA, local police, fire and electrical in addition to several mash-type structures feeding locals and volunteers...

The Who

Some good friends are coming over next week from Scotland to see The Who perform in New York which led me to search the archives for a couple images I made in 1974 at Madison Square Garden.

They did 4 shows Dec 10, 11, 13 and 14 and I was able to photograph all 4 nights for Circus Magazine. In those days you could shoot the entire show and use a flash if you wanted. I did both...

Truly the golden age of rock and roll......

Lake Monroe, Bloomington, Indiana

Sunrise, Lake Monroe

'One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are'....Minor White

Day for Night

Day for Night

'I came to mistrust my desire to explode the picture and supercharge it in some way... what is more important is a feeling of strength in reserve – tension beneath calm'.....Richard Diebenkorn, American Painter, San Francisco

French Lick, Indiana

Sunrise, Lake Pakota, Indiana

I had eye surgery last week in Bloomington, Indiana - yes Bloomington - and decided to spend a few days in French Lick before going back for a follow up visit....My friend Tom Fielder met me at the West Baden Springs Hotel so we could make a few images in this area of the country.

Yesterday, we went out early looking for a sunrise and were treated to a most fabulous morning. This time of year the fog rolls in at night and leave you with some breathtaking scenery in the AM.

This image was made at Pakota Lake about 11 miles outside of French Lick.....I posted an iPhone image yesterday and this one is from my big boy camera.....

Harvest, the Palouse

“Sometimes I arrive just when God's ready to have someone click the shutter.”

Ansel Adams

The Great Midwest

'And they call this the Great Midwest
Where the cornfields grow and flow
They're all 5 years ahead of their time
Or 25 behind, I just don't know'......JohnMellencamp

Greece, Landscape

Landscape, Greece

Renaissance Fine Art and Design

Another image from my show at the Renaissance Fine Art and Design Gallery in Carmel,  Indiana. Hope you can make it.........

A portion of the proceeds goes to 1Maters.org, an organization that helps the un-housed find domestic autonomy.

Greece, OPne More Church

Leaving Greece tomorrow for Frankfurt and then home on Saturday. What else to post today bnut one more church. This church lives high above the sea and would appear to be on a private piece of land, possibly a farm, although in my two visits I have yet to see a human being.

The image below was posted on my iPhone-antics site today - I placed it here so one could get the scale of the church in the landscape. 

Greek Churches

Church, Greece, 

IF I have learned anything on this Greece trip it was making images of churches  - teverywhere you look there are blue and white churches.  They are everywhere....on the sides o f hills, behind houses, hanging on cliff's. Slowly this trip has turned into a photogrpahic tour of these very churches....

Some are easy to reach and others are on private property - but they are ever-present in Greece......

Today's church was found hanging on a small cliff just off a nude beach near Naoussa.....PS: There were no swimmers today....

Greece

Woman in Church, Paros, Greece

Having some fun in Greece the past few days. Yesterday we drove the entire circumference of Paros in about 4 hours......Stopped for lunch in a small town and pointed at what we wanted. LOts of white churches with a blue roof, beaches and boats...has rained every day for a few hours but the light is pretty darn good after....Got back to town and was sitting in the church gaden when the woman in this image walked in and sat down....I could not resist......

Leaving for Frankfurt on Friday then back to the states on Saturday.....

Landscape Gallery Show

This show at the Renaissance Fine Art Gallery will consist of 20 large landscape images from various parts of the world - all are traditional camera images. You can see many of the images on my website - http://harrysandler.com

Night of Too Many Stars, The Beacon Theater

NOTMS, The Beacon theater

It wasn’t too many, but it was a lot. Comedy Central co-hosted “Night of Too Many Stars,” a benefit for autism education Saturday in New York City. The evening, which funds a variety of autism-education programs around the United States, was hosted by Jon Stewart and will be broadcast Oct. 21 on Comedy Central. See who turned out to do a good deed.Last 

 

I was lucky enough to be working with Katy Perry who played the event doing a duet with Jodi DiPiazza, an autistic youngster with the special gift of music.  The duet was the highlight of my night as well as most individuals in attendance. They gave Katy and Jodi a standing ovation and my guess is there was not a dry eye in the house.

Here is a link to the show on Comedy Central, http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/night-of-too-many-stars

 

Led Zeppelin

Went to the premiere last night of the Led Zeppelin movie, Celebration Day. That really brought back some memories - hearing Rock and Roll, Stairway to Heaven , Black Dog and so many more. It was quite the industry night at the Ziegfeld in New York. John Paul Jones, Page and Plant showed at the last minute and received a standing ovation.

If you want to see a concert from what I call the golden age of rock, go see Celebration - and make sure the theater has 5.1 or better.....a must see...Rock and Roll like it was meant to be...and the lads can still play....

Got back home last night and watched CBS Sunday Morning which had a piece on Pete Townsend....Wow, one would think it was 1969 all over again......was that a flashback?

PS: I went on Amazon this morning and pre-ordered the record and DVD...

Homage to Robert Frank

Homage to Robert Frank

On Sunday morning I was driving from Erie, Pennsylvania to New York on Route 6 which winds through PA to NY State....looking for fall colors to photograph - was a bit early - maybe a week or so...But route 6 offered up so many other images of dis-appearing America that the trip was a success...

I had just made a turn when I noticed today;s image out of the corner of my eye.....pulled the car over to the side of the road and noticed the gentlemen sitting in the store staring at me...maybe it was the NY plates....so I sat there quietly listening to sports radio (football Sunday) until he went back to his coffee....

Knowing that the person in the window was instrumental to the image I went with my 4/3rd camera and stealthily (is this really a word) shot form the window....After a few images he saw me and got up and walked into the back of the store....luckily I got the image I wanted....

Color or Black and White?

Now the question is color or black and white....

On a separate front Dodge and Burn make some neat photo t-shirts at a very reasonable price. I have a few and just ordered three more.....Here is a link to their website.....

PS: I do not get anything for this promo.....

http://www.dodgeandburn.com/

Barn, Kane, Pennsylvania

Barn, Kane, PA

There are places I remember all my life  

Though some have changed Some forever, not for better  

Some have gone and some remain

All these places have their moments

Of Lovers and friends I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life I loved them all 

Lennon - McCartney

The iPhone version of this image is posted on  iphone-antics.blogspot.com -

Gallery Show, Toledo, Ohio

Sunrise, Zabriske Point

I have posted many of the images from my Natures Peace gallery show on the home page of my website HarrySandler.com.

The show opens on Friday, October 5 at the 20 North Gallery in Toledo, Ohio. 20 North is located at 18 North Sinclair Street in Toledo.

This show will benefit 1Matters.org, an organization that works to move those without housing into domestic autonomy. Their Veterans Matter; '60,000 soldiers housed' campaign is being promoted by ZZ Top and others in the entertainment business. If you are in the area please come to the opening. or, you can donate using this link, http://www.1matters.org/donate/harry/.

1Matters is a totally volunteer organization except for one part time program manager. All proceeds from this show wil be donated directly to 1Matters.