Walking Limb

In 1988 we camped in Yosemite for the first time. I drove around the valley on the first day trying to get a feel for the area and search out some good photo sites. I came across this fallen limb late in the day and decided to return in the morning to make a photograph. I arrived early and had to wait quite awhile for the first signs of daylight.  As the sky started to lighten I began setting up my view camera and composing the scene. Being my first morning in the valley I wasn't sure exacting where the sun would rise as I stood patiently waiting for the light to increase.  Much to my surprise the sun broke out over top of the mountain and I realized I wasn't in the best position with a back lit situation. I quickly made the exposure and pulled out my film holder to flip it over to make a second exposure but by the time I got the film in position the sun had washed out the entire scene. This is my only exposure of this limb and it is a difficult negative to print. When viewing the proof sheet it would appear as if this negative is a complete loss for ever making a decent print.  I have learned a lot working with this negative over the years and apply some of the thought process and techniques in my digital work today. This particular image has been my top selling photograph over the years and one of my favorites for what it has taught me in the darkroom and beyond.

The Devil's Golf Course

In Death Valley there is a place called the Devil's Golf Course. It is made up of crystallized salt formations left behind by an evaporated lake nearly 2,000 years ago. The area in almost impossible to walk on, and the crystallized salt is very sharp. If you visit this area be certain to wear some good hiking boots if you attempt to walk on this surface. Carrying camera equipment can cause you to lose your balance on the ragged surface and a fall would certainly damage your equipment and scrap you up some. It is best viewed a short distance from the parking area. I chose to make this photograph before the sunrise so the intense sun wouldn't wash out the detail in the salt formations. When I arrived the salt looks like old dirty snow and the overall scene in the early morning light looked very flat without much contrast. I picked a low camera angle to give the feeling of depth and try to make the salt formations loom large in the foreground when compared to the distance mountains. This is not an easy location to make a successful photograph, but it is always fun to take on the challenge of a difficult subject matter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Golf_Course

Rock Art

Throughout the Southwest there are numerous places that can be explored for Indian petroglyphs. These rock carvings were created by ancient people, and their true purpose and meaning can only be a speculation on our part. Rock Art is found world wide and we have discovered them in several countries in our travels. This group was near Painted Rock, Az. We were camped on BLM land for several days. During our stay in the area we explored the region in search of petroglyph sites and found many in remote locations that required the use of a 4 wheel vehicle to cross the sandy washes to access the sites. We are always very careful not to disrupt or impact the area when photographing around these ancient sites. They have weathered thousands of years of time and it is important to use care on your visit to these historical sites and only take photographs and leave everything the way you found it. I will make future posts of a few petroglyphs showing the many types that can be found, and let you determine  their possible meaning.

http://www.public.asu.edu/~ljhowell/Petroglyphs.htm

Panal at Sears Point

The hunters kill count

Ruins

When traveling out in the desert wilderness we come across many old ruins abandon to time. I am always intrigued by these old structures and enjoy scouting out the location. I am sure they were constructed by the early settlers that pioneered the West. This one was located in the eastern mountains of California. Quite often the light is harsh when we come upon some of these places and I have to deal with the lighting conditions as they exist. I was drawn to the dead tree centered in between the standing walls, but knew the intense sun was shining in my direction and making the overall scene harsh. I shaded the lens with my hat, and I used a HDR process where several images are taken at different exposures and compressed into one image. This process enables me to maintain detail in the deep shadow areas of the wall while still retaining detail in the brightly lit foreground.

White Dove of the Desert

Nine miles south of Tucson, Arizona sits the Mission San Xavier del Bac (the white dove of the desert) located on the Tohono O'odham reservation. It was founded in the late 1600s by Father Kino, a Jesuit priest, from a town in the northern part of Italy. The mission today is still active and meeting the needs of the local community.
                                                                                
http://www.sanxaviermission.org/
http://www.sanxaviermission.org/History.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusebio_Kino

The Southwest, a rugged and diverse land

The Southwest has so much to offer for a photographer. The influence of the ancient culture of the native Indians and the Spanish in everywhere. The old mining towns in the mountains are full of things to photograph, as well has the rugged natural terrane . The Southwest is a place we keep going back to and always find new and interesting places to explore.

Storm clouds in the Heavens

While out driving around in Arizona last week I came across this old cemetery. I have always been intrigued with old graveyards and couldn't resist driving up the dirt road to where a handful of grave sites were located. As I walked around the area I could see a monsoon thunderstorm brewing to the North. The sky darkened quickly and I scrambled and stumbled to unpack my camera equipment and make my setup. Using my new digital equipment has created a new work flow for me in preparing to make an exposure. I find myself fighting with the camera a little more than in the past. In the old days, ( just two years ago) I was a film photographer and worked with a large view camera. I had a procedure when setting up my camera and composing my subject. With the many years of using a view camera my setup became a systematic routine with each step done in order. While I was in the process of assembling my gear I would be visualizing the scene, anticipating my filter choice for contrast control and how I was going to handle the light for exposure and development of the film. The camera was completely manual and didn't tell me anything.  I would set the camera movements according how I envisioned the subject should appear, and then with a hand held light meter determine the proper exposure. While I enjoy the new technology of the digital era, there are some draw backs. I really don't like all of the camera functions and programs I need to deactivate to get the camera to operate as simply as possible. Technology is great, but sometimes it gets in the way with my style of photography. I am sure there are some photographers that may not agree with me and I can certainly understand that many of the new camera functions are a great advantage to their style of photography. All of the various styles used in photography are what makes it so much fun and interesting.