Dumont Dunes #3

Dumont Dunes #3

Still experimenting with leaving the off-road tracks in the images using them as graphic elements instead of  distracting lines....I used Viveza2 to enhance and sharpen the lines in this image before going over to ColorEFXPro2 for final adjustments. I tend to use a good deal of photoshop masking with both CFX and VV2 including using the brush option in the software. 

Coney Island

Coney Island 

“Fuck Art, let's Dance!”.....Lawrence Ferlingetti 

Red Church, Iceland

Red Church, Iceland

This image is from two years back on my first trip to Iceland. On this day it was off and on rain with a few moments of decent light when the rain would stop. This image, posted today, was made through the bus window during a particularly hard rain using my Canon 5DMKII. This was the first time I realized if you kept your lens wide open most of the moisture on the window would not be apparent in the final photograph. Point in fact it actually made the image appear soft and, and for lack of a better word, semi foggy....which I think actually made the image work.

There are times when I get into thinking images always need to be sharp and have a full dynamic range - I might need to get over that....

I was able to process this image in a way that worked for me using Photoshop CS6 Beta, NIK Color EFX Pro4 and Lightroom4.

Dumont Dunes

Dumont Dunes, Death Valley

'Artists are visionaries. We routinely practice a form of faith, seeing clearly and moving toward a creative goal that shimmers in the distance - often visible to us, but invisible to those around us'......Julia Cameron 


These dunes are new to me - first time there. I had heard about them so I sought them out last Sunday while cruising around the Death Valley area. It was love at first sight when I pulled up to these dunes - problem was they had been through a weekend of off-road vehicles chewing up the pristine sand. I decided to make a few images and see what I could do to turn the tracks into texture, which in the end I felt good about.

The areas in and around Las Vegas and Death Valley are ripe with imagery - well worth a trip if you are in the area...

Las Vegas,Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon, Panoramic 

Stopped off at Red Rock Canyon on the way back to Vegas on Sunday and caught some decent light. This post is a three image stitch using my Canon 5DMKII and photoshopCS5 (have not had the chance to play with 6 yet). 

Death Valley, U, We, Wash

U, We, Wash, tecopa, California

Last week, for the most part,  was spent in a hotel in Las Vegas. Being in Vegas for that long you lose touch with the outside world. Almost anything can be going on outside your 'climate and smell' controlled environment.

So yesterday I jumped in the car with a few cameras and headed out for the day to clear my head. The area just outside Las Vegas is really great for losing ones-self in a much more natural landscape so I headed out for Dumont Dunes. Little did I know that the dunes were located just outside of Death Valley. As many times as I have been to Death Valley I never traveled Route 127, and now that I have, it is on the list for another day of more extensive exploration.

The Dunes were really interesting but more suitable for a sunrise when there is less chance of tire tracks covering the sand from off road vehicles.  I did, however manage to make a few images that will be processed on another day.

Today's post was located near a trailer park just outside of Tecopa, California, a small town that is home of the Tecopa Hot Springs. Usually I content aware out the wires but for this image I thought they they needed to be left as is....some sort of a last connection to civilization. Actually sights like this are not uncommon in this area of California....a surprise around every turn..

Zabriske Point

Zabriske Point

'When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world'.........John Muir

Badwater Basin, Death Valley

Badwater Basin Illustration

I try to post on both of my blogs everyday. This morning, , after a fairly long work day yesterday,  I simply did not have the energy to hook up the external hard drives and do some work. On days like this  I usually type a few words into my Macbook spotlight and see what already exists on my hard drive.

Today it was 'Death Valley' and the image of Badwater Basin showed up. The good news about this type of  day is I play around with processing outside of my normal workflow which usually leads to my learning a couple of new ways to process an image.

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier

This was not a typical weekend in Los Angeles. Instead of the usual warm sun and blue skies it was raining and very windy. Don't get me wrong - I am a fan of bad weather. Well, I could do without the rain, and on Sunday morning Mother Nature cooperated and the rain stopped. The wind, however, created really neat wave patterns under and around the pier and I was able to get over to the pier and spend a bit of time shooting. 

Ireland, Farm Buildings

Ireland, Farm Buildings

When I first saw this scene I fell in love with the color and the cloudy sky. Also liked the juxtaposition of the background mountain against the foreground buildings. .

 After importing the raw image it just did not live up to what my mind was telling me I saw at capture - I don't really like the word capture but can't think of another word at the moment. Frankly, I am of the mindset that one can vaguely remember the color, but not exactly like it was.  - yes there are those who will say they can.

In the end the iamge seems to work being a bit more organic - I do prefer the detail in the less subtle color

The image below is right after import....

Orignal IMage

Still Dancing

'Dancing: the vertical expression of a horizontal desire legalized by music'......George Bernard Shaw

Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars 2008

This image is from the opening of the Dancing with the Stars Tour in 2008. The first show was in San Diego and then went on to tour the United States for two months....Try as I might simply can not remember who this is.....

Chokoloskee Sunrise, Everglades

Chokoloskee Sunrise

'There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew'.... Marshall McLuhan

Eye Captain......

Meet Thy God.....

'The story of life is quicker then the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye'...... Jimi Hendrix

Northern Ireland, Carrick-a-Rede

Carrick-a-Rede, Northern Ireland

This is my first time posting from an airplane. I truly love the modern technology - between my computer and the ipad it passes the time quickly....And I might even get some work done....I am short of hard rives up here at 31,000 feet but did find an image from the last trip to Ireland. The place is called Carrick-a-Rede in Northern Ireland. It is where the famous rope bridge can be found. That particular day was much too windy so no one was allowed near the bridge so I turned around and of course there was an image behind me.....

I can not get enough of Ireland....

Kenny Aronoff, Drummer

Drummer Kenny Aronoff

Hitting the way-back time machine today. This image from the mid-nineties made in Bloomington, Indiana when Kenny was drumming for John Mellencamp. At the time I was Mr. Mellencamp's Tour Manager and we were making images for a book that would be sold on the upcoming tour. I was in a 4x5 camera phase at the time and albeit this image slightly soft I have always wanted to see it finished - and that has now been accomplished.

Kenny has played with John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Chickenfoot and so many others. He is also a session drummer and I am sure on more then a few albums or CD's in your collection. Check out the Kenny Aronoff website for more information.

Death Valley, Badwater Basin

Sunrise, Badwater Basin, Death Valley

Sometimes it happens that you are in the right place at the right time....I was in death valley with a few friends a year or so ago and we were shooting a sunset from atop Dante's Peak. I can't remember what our plan was for the next morning but after looking down on the basin from Dante's the plan quickly changed. I have been to Death Valley 4-5 times now and had never seen the basin with that much water --- so the next morning at sunrise there we were mucking through the basin waiting......well worth getting up at 4AM......

This image was made using a Phase P65+ on a Mamiya 645 - 80MM Schneider Lens.....Processed in Lightroom4 and PhotoshopCS5.

This image is part of a Death Valley Series I have been working on.

 

Mesquite Dunes

Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley

'Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's beautiful gift'.........Albert Einstein

Death Valley Sunrise

Sunrise, Death Valley

'How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!'....John Muir

Going into the city today to hang the show. Hope to see some of you tomorrow....Happy Monday. Below is another image from the show...

Santa Monica Pier, Los Angeles, California

Modern Technology

Reworked Image

It is great to be making and processing images with the technology that we have at our disposal today. There are so many choices at our fingertips to make our images conform to what we see in our head - and I am not talking manipulation per se - just having the ability to make changes in a short period of time that would have taken hours in the darkroom - and PS, it is done with the lights on. And there are always those who complain vehemently against new technology but it is here to stay......Hey, it happened when Dylan went electric and music is still around...it is happening now with the iPhone right down to those who believe images should only be processed on the iPhone or iPad...I get it but why stifle your art with limitations - the very meaning of being creative is to use whatever it takes to get to the final image in your head....OK, I am done now....this is not the theme for today...

The image today is circa 1972. It sat in a shoebox grave for many years - I simply was unable to make the print I saw in my head....and then several years ago I got into Photoshop.....still took awhile to figure it out but I finally got this image to a place that resonated for me...Ha to move bit and pieces around inside the image but in the end was able to make the save....

Original Tri-X Image

The original was made using a Nikon F Series Camera and tri-x film moved into the digital world using an Imacon/Hasselblad scanner..

A Child at Last.......

                        'It is never too late to have a happy childhood'.......Tom Robbins