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.

 

Scotland - Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Castle, Scotland

 Inveraray Castle is located in Argyllshire, Scotland. According to Wikipedia the castle is haunted by the 'ghost of a harpist' who was hanged in 1644 for peeping at the lady of the house. There are those who say they hear mysterious sounds of a harp in the castle.

This image was made in January 2009 using a Mamiya 645DF and a phase one p65+ digital back.

Ireland Landscape

Ireland

'One of the biggest mistakes a photographer can make is to look at the real world and cling to the vain hope that next time his film will somehow bear a closer resemblance to it'......Galen Rowell

Iceland Waterfall - Gullfoss

Gullfoss, Iceland

'Photography is not a sport. It has no rules. Everything must be tried'....Bil Brandt

The header image is from an industrial thermal energy site near Reykjavik....One just walks around these industrial sites - no fences, no guard, good service.....

Chokloskee Sunrise 2

Chokoloskee Sunrise 2

Today's image was captured one day later then yesterday's sunrise image at Chokoloskee in the Everglades. The only difference is the tide was out so the oyster beds are visible....really need to walk with care on those beds, and, of course have the correct shoes on.....And yes, it was easier to get out of the boat on the second day....

Everglades - Chokoloskee 2

Sunrise, Chokoloskee

Yesterday I went on about my first experience in the Everglades and a friend emailed and said 'let's see the sunrise image you made that morning..you talked about this sunrise image and never posted it'...truth be told I seemed to have misplaced it at the time - and have now found it along with an image of myself walking around in the bay (afternoon image)...

It is so peaceful out in the water....no sounds except the wind.....

The Minnow and The Skipper

HS_Everglades

Everglades - Chokoloskee

10,000 Island, Everglades

It is just before sunrise and I am sitting in a parking lot outside the hardware store in Everglades City, Florida. I am meeting a boat captain to take me out to the 10,000 Islands which are mostly deserted beaches, water and mangrove trees, some of which are growing on oyster beds....These islands date back quite some time, some as far back as 3,500 years. Eerie place at best...

Today this body of water is very calm except for the sound of our motor and the wake produced by the boat - not a sound except for what my mind tells me is an alligator  - and visually just the twilight starting to peak out on the horizon -

So we motor out for about one half hour and Captain Ray stops the boat, looks at me and tells me this is the spot, get out of the boat. I mean we are in the middle of nowhere and he is telling me to get out of the boat - I hesitate - he says you will miss the sunrise if you don't get out now - I am thinking miss the sunrise', what about the alligators and anacondas I have heard so much about?

Long story short I get out of the boat and find myself standing on an oyster bed - the water is maybe 2 feet deep and I can see down to the bed - Captain Ray hands me my tripod and drifts his boat out in the water (out of my camera view) telling me he will come back in 30 minutes to pick me.....of course I am always looking over my shoulder to make sure he is still there - and of course he is floating about smoking a cigarette and eating breakfast....business as usual for Ray....

After a few minutes I become comfortable with this and fire away at the sunrise for maybe 20 minutes....when I turn around the image above was waiting.....the moon setting behind me....

What an amazing experience this was - of course I spent the rest of the day jumping out of the boat on many of the islands feeling a bit fearless after that sunrise experience....WOW.....

Iceland Landscape

Iceland Landscape, Circa 2010

'I believe in God, only I spell it Nature'.....Frank Lloyd Wright

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

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

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

Yosemite

River, Yosemite

'A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself'....Laura Gilpin 1949