Patriot's Day

I was in Taiwan, and I was a missionary. My co-worker told me he heard something about a plane crashing into the white house, and, thinking it was probably a Cessna of course, we went to sleep. When we awoke the next morning and walked out of the elevator to go to work, our doorman stopped us and showed us the small TV on his desk, and told us about the jetliners, and the Twin Towers, and the Pentagon. He said to be careful out there today, and to watch out for guys with big beards, and to know that all the Taiwanese people would be watching out for us. We were stunned, and a little incredulous and not really understanding the impact of everything: half a world away and spoken in Mandarin the whole thing was kinda cinematic and unreal. Still, it was good to know that we had friends even so far away, and that things would be okay. We had threats made against us, and some terrorist scares, but we came through alright. After two years away, I returned home a month or so later and my mom was so frustrated she couldn't come down the terminal to meet me. It's a new world since then, and we've all been impacted.

I'm thankful that while I was being taken care of in Taiwan, there were courageous people taking care of everyone here at home, too.

Nikon D90, 12-24mm f/4 lens @ 12mm, f/5.6, 1/100s, ISO 320. 

I made this picture in front of Engine Company 69 in Manhattan a few years ago while photowalking on my own.

Jabberwocky

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro Lens, f/8, 1/15s, ISO 400, Nik Color
Efex Pro 4 with Photoshop CC and Lightroom 5.

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
  The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
  The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
  Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
  And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
  The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
  And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
  The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
  He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?

  Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
  He chortled in his joy.

Man, I had a great time this morning with the Portland PAC (find us on Facebook) at Tryon State Park in Lake Oswego. Being new in town, I'm still getting to know areas, so I suggested we get together and go shoot in the woods. Tryon creek is such a beautiful park, and right in the middle of town, too, so it's super convenient. 

My pal Megan found us some willing models (more or less willing, anyway). As the day drew nearer I got thinking that something like Robin Hood would be a fun story to show. Then as we were sorting through clothes, this image came together. I'm reminded of the Jabberwocky, which I memorized in Mrs. Tuggle's class at Air Academy. It's supposed to be a retelling of Beowulf, which is one of the oldest English stories preserved in writing. I think I like Jabberwocky better, however. I really like the picture, and I really appreciate everyone helping me make it come together. I have some other ideas for finishing it, and if I pull it off well, I'll share it with you. 

Let's talk technical stuff, cause this picture is super simple, and it's totally a lucky happenstance that it...happened. See, when working with flashes off the camera, it's best to make the picture look good without the flash, then add the flash in the right amount for the subject. So, while doing my test shots I bumped the tripod, and it made the picture a streak. After I got the final frame of my awesome model, I combined the two with a layer mask in Photoshop. Super simple! I think it makes a dreamy, imaginary effect. Nik Color Efex Pro 4 helped with the finishing touches.

Light is coming from a single speedlight off to the left shooting through a white umbrella, triggered with Nikon's built in CLS. It kinda feels like a beam of light in the woods. Just the thing to make a vorpal blade pop. 

I love making photographs in Lake Oswego!

"Just Got Home From Illinois..."

The Chicago Skyline from nearby Navy Pier. I love Nightscapes like this.

I've been waiting four years to title a post for this song...

See, I spent last week in Chicago, Illinois, at Skip Cohen University's Sumer Session where I studied with the best photographers in the world to better my craft and make new connections for my business. It was a lot of work, a lot of late nights, a lot new information, and lot of fun. Stick with me a minute, and I'll lead you through some of my favorite pictures I made during the week.

Started it all with a venture downtown with my pals Sherry and Mark. Starting with a deep dish pizza at Gino's East, we spent the whole night shooting downtown. As we were shooting nightscapes, we met a man who's a broker for an international realty firm...and he asked to see our pictures! Needless to say, running into him shaped our evening's pictures and we started focussing more on the buildings in the neighborhood. That image at the top is a panorama I made from the pier looking back at town.

That was late night number one, but the walking and the shooting and the Pizza made it all worthwhile.

Next day we headed downtown again, this time with more people and we planned to wrap it all up by shooting the fireworks over Navy Pier in the evening. We started on the Mag Mile, a huge shopping district. Obviously, we didn't really make it into any of the stores...not with half naked skateboarders walking the streets and enormous panhandlers who wouldn't take 'No' for an answer.

Seriously, I saw some interesting light falling in the reflections from a sky scraper and asked the guy with the board if I could make a quick portrait, and he obliged. Next thing I know, this dude is telling me he can take off his shirt and run down the street and make an awesome picture...and it'll only cost me three bucks! Unfortunately, I didn't have any cash, but he said that's ok, other people will see how awesome it is and want to take his picture too, so my picture would just be the seed for a little street performance boom. Well, unfortunately, I didn't have the right lens for that kind of work. That's ok, says he, I'll just do some pull ups right here, then...and then Sherry walked up and said, "Let's do it! Let's see what you got!" So, there's me, the Reluctant Photographer, and Sherry shooting this dude in the alley. It was fun, to say the least.

What started that whole little exchange was the light I saw on this flower...

Which I thought would look great on a person. So I turned to Bob Coates, who I found to be a fine photo walking companion and incredible instructor at SCU, and asked if I could make a quick picture. See, I tested the settings on Bob before the skateboarder with the hairdo walked by.

We continued down the Mile, found a real Chicago style hotdog, and this guy waiting for custom at the pub next door. When I talked with him about a picture, he gave me the thousand yard stare that all professional tourist handlers have learned to adopt.

Fortunately, this officer hadn't quite perfected the stare, but was obliging anyway as we listed to this other fellow perform on the corner. The Police are important on the street corners of the Mag Mile: people are so often stunned by the sites that they forget to pay attention to traffic.

\

Also, Carlos Danger was walking with me, but he couldn't seem to hold still for a portrait. After hotdogs we headed back over to the waterfront to make our way toward the fireworks, and of course we stopped at Millennium Park to photograph the Bean. It's quite a thing.

I taught a class on Lightroom myself the next day, and we had another wonderful pizza at Giordano's. Monday kicked off with our class time with the incredible instructors. I chose to learn with Suzette Allen, and she opened my eyes to lots of new tools I'll be using to make my pictures and video really sing. In fact, we photographed a family of singers in her class.

We all spent Monday evening at the hotel, but that doesn't mean we didn't stay up late! We had a great time making friends and making plans. My Tuesday class was with Ryan Schembri, Australia's photographer of the year, and a hugely decorated artist, and I had a wonderful time and learned some things that I have never seen before, and that's not common. I should explain, also, that at this conference I got to choose two instructors to spend the entire day with, and there were fewer than 20 people in each class. That's unheard of! These are people who usually speak to groups numbering in the thousands, and I'm on a first name basis with them now. Skip Cohen has really put together a wonderful program, and it's truly the best education on the planet in the Universe! 

NO photoshop work here--isn't that amazing?!?! I learned so many new things.

I can't wait for the next program. It's going to be amazing, and I'll be sure to let you know about it here. Finally, here's a little time lapse video I made at the Bean...

Spaceship Chicago

Nikon D7100, 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @15mm, f/8, 3 frame HDR, ISO 200, Nik HDR Efex Pro 2. Movie in Millenium Park...can you name that show?

Ephraim Canyon

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @78mm, f/9, 1/320s, ISO 400, Nik Silver Efex Pro2.

I'm here in Ephraim, Utah shooting for Utah State University. I do love to make a couple of 'extra' pictures when I get finished making portraits of students, grads, and deans. I think...yes, I'm pretty certain: I love my job.

#800: "They Say That Love is Forever..."

Nikon D7100, 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 14mm, f/16, 3 exposure HDR, ISO 400, Nik HDR Efex Pro 2. I'm in Delta, Utah; doesn't Portland have graffiti somewhere?

This is my 800th blog post. Thanks for viewing. I love to show these pictures off, and I'm glad that you all have supported me for the last four years. I was privileged to have some time shooting with Jesse Walker this evening as we trekked to Delta, Utah, and we made this stop at the old TinTic reduction mill near Goshen. I think spray paint may be all that's holding this place together, and it's a wonderful notebook of poetry and pictures and tasteless tagging. Kinda makes me wanna put my hand to the can and see what I could turn out. I'll probably never do it, though. With my luck, the time I try it is the one time the sheriff would drive by; that and my Grandma Sim always says, "Fool's names, like fool's faces, always appear in public places," and that's pretty much turned me off from graffiti. Sigh.

Symbols

Anywhere you go, anywhere in the world, anyone you show them to will know that bald eagles and buffalo are American. McDonald's, Mickey Mouse, and Coke may be more recognizable, but nothing is more definitively American than these two animals. We could certainly do worse than the Bald Eagle as a national emblem. I highly recommend observing them in the wild--find an opportunity. Same goes for Bison. You've never seen grace until you've seen a 1400 pound bison leap off a ridge and skip through the forest, or an eagle larger than your car skim the surface of the water.

Boys

NIkon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro Lens, f/4, 1/125, ISO 200. I love shooting on Collage Campuses, and am looking forward to exploring those in Lake Oswego.

I love photographing families. Look at these boys, and you know how that shoot went: lots of energy, lots of fun, and lots of running around and climbing in trees and hills. Really had a good time. I think even mom and dad had fun. 

I'm available to make pictures for your family, too!

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro Lens, f/8, 1/80s, ISO 400. These were the kind of kids who laugh when they're photographer is inflicting little bits of pain on himself...slapstick kinda stuff kept them laughing.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro Lens, f/8, 1/125, ISO 400. Naturally, they behaved for mom...

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro Lens, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 400. But these laughs only came when the boys picked on dad a little bit. 

Greener Grass

You know that the grass is always greener on the other of the fence, right? "If only I could go to Yellowstone, then I could make some great pictures! Or the Grand Canyon! Oh, and Europe would really free me to create..."

Well, those places are wonderful, and I could doubtless find some wonderful (if commonplace) pictures. But I find that when I get out locally and really try to find inspiration on my side of the fence, those are the times that I find pictures that are not so commonplace and much more valuable to me. 

For this picture my family and a friend headed to the beach to beat the heat in Lake Oswego...little did we know that there was no heat at the coast. The air was 60, and the water was 50 (my elbows were numb, but I gotta take advantage!) and there was mist and clouds and beach fires adding a little something more to the atmosphere. All day long I couldn't take my eyes off of this tree at Indian Beach in Ecola State Park (which is one of the most beautiful places in the USA). It seemed like one standing on it's own and not suffering for it.

Nikon D7100, 50mm f/1.4 lens, f/8, 1/250s, ISO 400, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. From Lake Oswego, it's only an hour or so to Ecola State Park.

Now for the geek speak.

This image is a much wider field of view than you could possibly get in a single frame with a DSLR and a 50mm lens, and that's on purpose. I know that my 50mm is wide enough to get everything in, but it's the perfect lens for landscape work because it's clear and sharp and has no distortion. In order to maximize these things, I shot this as a panorama-like image.

First, I found an exposure that let me have a little detail in the clouds and nice enough detail in the dark areas, too, and set those settings in manual mode. I chose f/8 for an aperture because I wanted to make sure that I had all the important things in focus, and f/8 on 50mm focussed that far away lets practically the whole world fall within the depth of field. So I focussed on the top of the tree (with the clouds as a backdrop I was sure it was focussed on the main tree and not something else) and switched to manual focus so it wouldn't change. Ideally, I'd have the camera on a tripod, but I was going light and fast and handheld, so I used a higher ISO to allow a fast shutter speed to freeze my shake.

I then turned the camera vertical and shot three frames along the bottom of the scene, overlapping 25%, then shot three more in a row for the middle, overlapping 25%, and one more row on top. In Lightroom I made adjustments to white balance and contrast to the center image, as well as color toning, then applied those same settings to all the other images in the grid (one click with the sync button). Then I selected all the images, and chose to merge them to a panorama in Photoshop. I made sure to click the vignette control option and pressed go. A few minutes later, after PS worked its magic, I had the composite. I hit save and cropped it in Lightroom, then opened it in Nik Silver Efex for the black and white conversion. Back in Lightroom I used my special Grape Dreamcicle toning for the slight bit of color you see. (let me know and I'll share the recipe). 

Today I just got a Gigapan Epic Pro, and it makes this sort of picture automatically and I can't wait to try it!

I sure enjoyed making it. It came out just as I envisioned while being pounded by the frigid surf.

Sunbursts

Photofocus.com recently posted an article I wrote about how to make sunbursts happen in your photographs. I think it's a lot of fun, and can really add some spice to your images. I made this one a couple of years ago during an outing with my class and just dug it up. It's a favorite scene from Cache Valley, UT. I'm exctied to be living in Lake Oswego, OR now. The Agricultural imagery around here is archetypal and I can't wait to explore it more.

Nikon D700, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 28mm, f/13, 7 frame HDR, ISO 400, Nik HDR Efex Pro2. Cache Valley, Utah.

I used HDR software (Nik HDR Efex Pro2) to combine 7 different pictures. The pictures are all the same, but different brightnesses, which allows us to see both the brightest sky by the sun and the dark side of the windmill, much like I could see with my eyes as I stood there watching the sun set. The clouds around the sun helped give the rays shooting out by making the visible portion of the sun smaller. Man, it's fun to combine all these things into a single image!

Support Your Library

I love public buildings. Good architecture is hard to come by these days, but libraries often get a good dose of it, and the USU library is no exception. It's built with great light in mind, and I used to love going there with my clients to make use of it. For this image I took my class of Summer Citizens (visiting from Arizona and Texas) to the library to work with our wonderful model, A. Sunlight coming directly through a high window was shining on the white wall of the art exhibit in the atrium, and the reflection back onto A. was simply perfect. It's got a great direction, and since there's no light shining on the ground behind, she stands out against the simple background. Her simple black dress was just right for a black and white image. 

So, get out there, explore your public buildings and look for great light. It's time to put your tax dollars to work!

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @135mm, f/5.6, 1/320s, ISO 800.

Feels Like a Flat Tire...

A few weeks ago we drove from Lake Oswego to Logan. It was a nice day, fair weather most of the way, temps in the high 70's, and about 32 people pulled over with flat tires. I've never seen so many! Everyone was getting it taken care of, and we were just crossing out fingers that we wouldn't have any trouble (it was our first trip with a kid in the car).

Well, this week is the Cache Valley Cruise-In, and three years we started a photo contest associated with it, and I've had a blast making pictures for the contest. Follow this link to see some of my previous entries. This year, however, I'm in a new place (Lake Oswego, Oregon) and still finding out all the cool things going on. Still, not going to the Cruise-In is a little like getting a flat tire.

Here's a fun one we made last year with the talented (and recently married) Jane.

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens, f/3.5, 1/800s, ISO 800.

Doodling

Do you ever wake up at night with a dream of something you can do, something you can make? I do pretty frequently, especially when I'm getting ready for something or studying a new technique. Well this picture is part of a study to create the drawing I made below. If things go well, I may be able to make this one happen this week...

Nikon D800, 50mm f/1.4 lens, f/4, 1/30s, ISO 500.

I know you're going to ask (everyone does): Yes, I drew it. I did it on my iPad with Wacom's Paper App and Wacom's incredible stylus. It's a free app, it's incredibly good, and you can get it by clicking on this link. Hey, it helps keep me awake in Church; there are studies, you know, that doodlers pay better attention than apparently attentive individuals. I'm just sayin'. I used another page to do several sketches of the dancer to get the perspective just so. It's really a cool tool. 

MBA

K. is from Taiwan. In fact she's from a city I used to live in! She recently graduated from USU with an MBA, and she'll be returning to Taiwan to help run her father's factory. She's a pretty cool gal, and I was glad to make pictures with her. We used USU as our backdrop, since that's where she's spent the last several years. A favorite is that one with the lawn--see, they don't have big fields of soft green grass in Taiwan.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 Micro VR lens, f/4, 1/320s, ISO 400.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 Micro VR lens, f/4, 1/25s, ISO 1600.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 Micro VR lens, f/2.8, 1/4000, ISO 400.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 Micro VR lens, f/2.8, 1/200s, ISO 400.

Garland

The only trouble with Cache Valley (seriously--it doesn't have much wrong with it) is that the hills in the West are too high! The sun sets sooner in this valley, so sometimes you've got to go over the hill to make a picture, and when you do Gunsight Peak is waiting for you.

Nikon D800, 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @14mm, f/11, 9 frame HDR, ISO 100, Nik HDR Efex Pro 2. Gunsight Peak as seen when leaving Cache Valley.  We'll see how things look in Portland when I get home.

That's what we did during my class the other night. I'm teaching landscape and portraiture classes (two different classes) and have another week of classes coming up. I'll keep hoping that the sunsets are incredible within this valley, but I've got a trip to Garland in my back pocket when necessary.

Paradise

You know what Paradise is?

Well, for starters, it's a little town in the south end of Cache Valley where the mountains converge, and the hills roll on forever. It's very small, with barns and horses and stables and mountains and rivers and fowls and fine people. There's a picture to be made everywhere you look, and that's paradise, too.

But really, paradise is friends. It's Neil dropping you a line when he hears you're in town and inviting you to go shooting. It's driving and talking and debating where to shoot and wishing for better light and hoping the sun will come through the gap above the hills and razzing Mel for not making it and being happy just to get out and expose too many frames of trees in poor light. 

You should go; I highly recommend it.

Nikon D800, 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @19mm, f/8, 9 frame HDR, ISO 100, Nik HDR Efex Pro 2 & Silver Efex Pro 2.

Mono Lake

Mono Lake (pronounced Mona) is in California on the border with Nevada, and it's a special place. There are springs under the water that are rich in carbonates that built up these pillars while they were under water. Nowadays, the lake is receding and revealing the pillars underneath. It's pretty interesting. I made this image between snow flurries and salt flies as my buddy, Jared Burns, and I were driving to Las Vegas in March.

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 52mm, f/16, 5 frame HDR, ISO 100, HDR Efex Pro 2, Mono Lake, California.

Mother's Day II

Nikon D7000, 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 68mm, f/9, 1/200s, ISO 100.

à la Robert Hall

There's a fine photographer I think you should know. His name is Robert Hall; click here to see his work. I met him six years ago at Summerfest in Logan, UT, and I bought two of his pieces. His work so intrigued me and reminded me of how much I loved photography myself. I was happy to invest in his works, and it's been a pleasure having his work hanging in my home. 

Well, after having seeing works hanging for a few months, it motivated me to find my high school work and hang it up. Before long, I'd bought a camera and here I am.

Each time I go out to shoot I think to myself, how would Robert Hall interpret this? Where would he put his camera? What height would he set his tripod? It's not like I channel Mr. Hall, and my work is not like his, but it gets me thinking, get me considering, and that stops me from just showing up and shooting.

Except for this one. I'm trying to copy the look and feel of one of the prints of his I have on my wall. Look on his sight under art cards, and you'll find an image of a Dahlia; that's one I have before me now. Please click on the image for the full view.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 Micro VR lens, f/4, 1/100s, ISO 400, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, Luscher Farm, Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Mother's Day

Where would you be without your mom to laugh with you?

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @150mm, f/3.2, 1/200s, ISO 100.

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @150mm, f/3.2, 1/200s, ISO 100.