Writer

Writer, Los Angeles

Happy to say that these two images were juried into a portrait show, PERSONA, at the Darkroom Gallery in Essex Junction, Vermont which opens mid-September.

Driving to Carmel, Indiana today for the opening of my gallery show,  Music, iPhone and other Neighborhoods at the Renaissance Fine Art and Design Gallery. The show will move to Toledo om October 10 at the 20 North Gallery. This show will be images from my 40+ years avocation with photography.

Street Photographer, Street Fair, New York City

Mermaid Parade, Coney Island...

 It is that time again - only 9 days and counting to the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island.......This image from last year - only in NY kids, only in NY....

Image made with a Mamiya 645DF, Phase One P65+, 80MM Lens

Waterfall - Iceland

Waterfall, Iceland

This image was made last August while traveling in Iceland with Focus on Nature. Focus on Nature runs Photographic Workshops each summer, run by Einar Erlendsson. Einar and his crew make sure everyone is well taken care of from pick-up at the airport on arrival until he drops you back at the airport for the trip home - leaving was most difficult so I am going back this summer. 

Iceland is one of the most beautiful places to visit and photograph - one of the most diverse locations one could imagine. Everything from serene farmland to mountain one lane roads, and, of course volcanoes waterfalls, and glaciers.....a must visit even for non-photographers.

I wrote Einar this morning asking for the location of this waterfall and will post tomorrow - I simply did not take good enough notes...

This iamge was captured using a Phase One P65+, Mamiya 645DF, 45MM lens
Converted to black and white using a lab technique

Jupiter Beach

As mentioned in previous blogs I am always attracted to water - specifically fast moving water. This image is from Jupiter Beach last year - one of those mornings where all the pieces come together at the same time. I saw my friend Doug Eng last week (who I was with that morning) and he reminded  me how magical that morning was.

Image photographed with a Mamiya 6545DF, Phase One P65+, 75-150MM Lens

Badwater, Death Valley

Badwater, Basin, Death Valley, 2010

'Forget not that  the earth delights  to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair' ....Khalil Gibran

Gullfoss_Iceland

On the final day in Iceland last July I decided to rent a car and drive 90 minutes/120KM to see Gullfoss (Golden Falls). I had heard so much about this place all week that I simply had to see it for myself. And I was not at all disappointed.

From reading Wikipedia and a few other sources the story goes that a woman named 'Sigriour Tomasdottir' marched 120KM from Gullfoss to Reykjavik in bare feet to protest the building of a power plant at Gullfoss. Apparently she was successful and the power plant was never built. In many ways Gullfoss reminds me of Niagra Falls....

I have worked on this image since last year due to bad original captures and finally like the one posted today. Look for  several other views of Gullfoss to be posted in future blogs...

Captured with a Mamiya 645DF, 45MM Lens, Phase One P65+

Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye, Scotland

Landscape captured leaving Isle of Skye in Scotland January 2010.

Captured with the Phase One P65+,  Mamiya 645DF, 47MM Schneider

Jupiter Beach

Jupiter Beach, Florida

 Still on the subject of water.

I drove down to the everglades about 18 months ago and met up with my friend Doug Eng in Jacksonville. Together we toured the east coast of Florida ending up on Jupiter Beach one morning at sunrise.

Well, it was quite the sunrise that morning with the water pounding the shore - the waves were jumping as high as 5-6 feet. I was entranced by the continually moving water and captured maybe 200 images that morning - mostly at a shutter speed of 2-3 seconds.

Jupiter Beach, Florida

I really liked the surreal feel that the water takes on when it is allowed to circle back on itself due to the long exposure - more or less allowing the sea to make a statement on its own. So much to see inside this image.

I converted top black and white above. 

Captured with a phase one P65+ on a Mamiya 645DF using a 75-150MM lens.

Focus Bracket

Lone Tree, Zion National Park, Utah

 This image was captured with a 150MM lens at F11 and the Phase One P65+ on a Mamiya 645DF.

Using a focal length of 150MM presents a few hurdles if one wants a sharp image from near to far. To counteract this one makes several exposures moving the focus so all parts of the image were in focus, albeit on different exposures. I then blend all of these images in a third party application, Helicon Focus.  Helicon will create one focused image from however many partially focused images you capture.

Well worth looking into. Helicon will also control focus on many DSLR cameras particularly when doing macro photography. Check out the link above.

Death Valley

Death Valley Sunrise

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



We all have our favorite spots to capture images, our own personal secret garden. Today's image was captured at my 'secret garden' in Death Valley.

Racetrack Playa

Sailing Stone, Racetrack Playa, Death Valley

Yesterday we went to Racetrack Playa to see the 'sailing stones'. Racetrack is situated above Death Valley in Inyo County, California. Rented two four wheel drive Jeeps and headed out mid-day on the 72 mile trek - the last 28 miles being on rocky roads.....

The 'sailing stones' seem to move across the surface of Racetrack leaving a track behind, apparently not caused by human hand. They move across the Playa surface approximately once every two years leaving a track that they say lasts for two or three years.

The general consensus, although no one has ever seen them moving, is that strong winds with speeds up to 90 miles per hour move the stones across Racetrack. Another theory is that rain accumulates, which at lower temperatures turn to ice, and coupled with the strong wind, causes the larger rocks to slide across Racetrack.

If you can get out to Death Valley this is a day well spent.....

Rhyolite

Rhyolite, Nevada

                          

Helicon Focus

Pescadaro Beach , California

There is only one way I am aware of (without using swings and tilts on a view camera) to handle depth of field issues like the image posted today. This image was blended from 6 separate high resolution (60MP) images in Helicon Focus Software. Each image had a different point of focus from near to far.

When capturing you would find the farthest and nearest point of focus and simply 'bracket' the focus from one to the other. Load these images in Helicon Focus and it resolves focus and returns an image sharp from front to back.

Give it a try - works well..

PS: Thanks to Dr. Mark Dubovoy for teaching me this workflow.