Home Alone (Part I)

Last night I was left to my own devices again after guests departed and the family went to bed. (A previous example here) I shouldn't be left alone too often. ; - )

Strobist Info:
One Vivitar 285 camera left, one Vivitar 285 camera right, and and SB800 slightly camera right to illuminate the front of the trunk. All fired with PW's and CTO gelled. Camera set to tungsten WB.

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Zion National Park

Liz and I spent 5 days camping in Zion National Park starting the day after Thanksgiving. What a spectacular place! Interestingly, it is hard to photograph because of the shear faces and deep canyons. Together these elements make for mixed lighting in almost all areas. To truly photograph Zion, you definitely need to shoot at sun-up and sun-down to capture the horizontal rays (which I can tell you, sun-up wasn't happening on this trip since overnight lows dipped into the low 20's). Because of the reasons mentioned above, there are many crappy pictures of Zion in the matrix. Since I didn't want to add to them, I chose not to post 'vistas' but rather more snap-shotty pics from our hike up to Angel's Landing.

This is the modest beginning of the trail skirting by a placid field of cottonwoods with Angel's Landing being the peak in the background to the left.


Here is Liz taking a little break along the way.


This is part of the mellow climb up the first 1,000' up to Angel's Landing. The last 500' feet is a completely different story with shear drops, lots of exposure, and even chains to assist with the final ascent.


And finally, the obligatory self-portrait at the top as evidence I made it. ; - )

Inuit Shaman

Liz, Shannon, and I spent Thanksgiving weekend at Dad & Deb's down in Tucson. They are collectors of very cool artwork and I have had an inclination to photograph some of it for a while now. For the first go I chose a sculpture of an Inuit Shaman carved completely of whalebone.





Strobist Info:
One SB800 fired via CLS. Flash is camera-right for the first picture and camera-left for the second picture.

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1:00 in the Morning

Okay - my story is a little different tonight than it was last night. Instead of waking up in the middle of the night, I simply haven't gone to bed yet (2 1/2 more hours will make 24 awake). As such we find (gasp!) yet another installment of 'Rehash-An-Old-Photoshoot-In-The-Blog-Again'. Forgive me - I will stop the madness here. Besides, I am going to Zion National Park next week and will hopefully have some pics from the trip to post up. Stay tuned . . .



Strobist Info:
Sun camera left and two bare strobes camera right fired using Pocket Wizards. You can tell there were two flashes if you look closely at the double-shadow of her necklace.

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3:30 in the Morning

So I was sleeping very peacefully this morning until about 3:00 a.m. and then 'PING', my eyes opened and that was the end of that. I tried to calm my mind by thinking of photography; didn't work - wide awake. So about 3:30 I got up and started digging back through my photos from the AZ Strobist meet in Jerome. I dug out another that I like and worked on it a bit. Anyway - now it's 6:30 and time to start getting ready for work. I hate rehashing old shoots on my blog, but I hope you enjoy this one nonetheless . . .



Strobist Info:
One strobe behind a shoot-through umbrella camera left and a CTO warmed bare strobe camera right both fired by Pocket Wizards.

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The Fallen

I'm not even sure how to describe this one . . . so I don't think I will (for now anyway).



Strobist Info:
One SB800 behind a shoot-through umbrella camera left fired full power by Pocket Wizards.

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AZ Strobist Meet - Jerome (Part II)

Here are 2 more from the Strobist meet-up.





Now, if I were a real photographer, I would have taken this picture. (Great photograph Carlos!)

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AZ Strobist Meet - Jerome (Part I)

So the AZ Strobist meet up was a great lot of fun. About 20 photographers and 1/2 dozen models. I will post up some more pics from the shoot when I have a few minutes to get organized.



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Overpowering Sunlight

I have wanted to play around with the concept of ovepowering sunlight with my lights but just haven't gotten around to it until now - and even then had to work with a disagreeable model! ;-)

Anyway, this is what I came up with . . .



Strobist Info:
Shot at 1/1000th ! !
2 Viv 285's at full power to the left and right of subject.

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Getting ready for Halloween

Much to my surprise, when I got home from work on Friday, Liz and Shannon had been out doing some light errands during the course of which, they stumbled upon a 'hand-candle' with wicks in each finger and bones in each finger which are revealed as the candle burns down. It was a sweet gesture and well-timed after having a tough week at work. Happy Halloween . . .



Strobist Info
2 Viv 285's left and right at 1/16the power
1 SB800 behind subject at 1/8th power

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NYC (Re)Visit(ed)

Sadly the busyness of my daily routine has kept me out from behind the camera lately. As such, in the interest of preventing my site from going too stale, here is another shot from my NY visit. I hate having to pull out the 'B Team' shots, but until I can get some sweet freshness, this is what you get.

Seattle . . .

. . . and no real photos to speak of (Gasp!).

We visited Seattle for 9 days and I have no 'photographs' to speak of damnit! But the first night we were out, I was tackled on a Seattle street by my buddy during drunken horseplay. Did I mention I had my D200 in my backpack and heard a resounding 'THUNK' when I hit the ground?

After that I was terrified to take my DSLR with me anywhere because each one of us fools was rowdier than the next and I thought I would rather come home with my D200 in tact. So what do we get instead? A pic from my years-old point and shoot at 3 megapixels. (I probably wouldn't have even posted this except I have been so busy and neglecting my photography as well as this site - so I didn't want my rabid readers to lose interest because of dormancy - insert smiley winky face).

Anyway, this pic was taken while wandering the streets of Seattle after a daylong binge at the KEXP BBQ (shortly after fearing the destruction of my D200 mentioned above and while tending to my bloodied knees and elbows).

NYC Visit

I was recently in NYC on business.

This is the view from my hotel room on the 38th floor looking west across Ground Zero to the World Financial Center (the building in the middle is where my office is).


This is a view of Jersey City looking across the Hudson River. This photo was taken from behind my office in the picture above.

Wicked Tired

I have been burning the candles at both ends lately. Finance Manager by day; hack photographer by night. I just received a promotion and . . . am learning a new job, am training my replacement, am preparing for a business trip to NY for a week, am preparing for vacation to Seattle the following week, am trying to be a present boyfriend, am trying to be an engaged Dad, am trying to finish back-to-school shopping, . . . am wicked tired.



Strobist Info
SB800 in shoot-through umbrella @ full power over camera and slightly right
2 Viv 285's left and right at 1/16 power postitioned to capture only the specular highlights
Shutter 1/250 @ f20

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Candle Holder (Part II)

Man! I had so much fun last night experimenting with the lighting setup of the candle holder! Here are two more pics from last night. Similar to the Part I below, there is very little processing (just the minimum: levels, a lil' sharpening, etc.)





Strobist Info
1 Viv 285 shot through umbrella slightly camera right at full power
1 Viv 285 camera right at 1/16th power
1 SB800 camera left at 1/16th power

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Candle Holder (Part I)

No retouching - just adjusted levels, reduced image size, and applied unsharp mask @ 80% and 0.5 pixels.



Strobist Info
1 Viv 285 shot through umbrella slightly camera right at full power
1 Viv 285 camera right at 1/16th power
1 SB800 camera left at 1/16th power

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Your Fear Attracts It . . .

Strobist Info
1 Viv 285 through umbrella camera left at full power
1 Viv 285 high camera right at 1/4 power for highlights
1 SB800 camera right 1/4 power gelled for color shot at background

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Shannon and Aleah

Shannon and Aleah had a great time goofing off together Saturday.

The obligatory 'rabbit-ears-behind-the-head' shot . . .


Aleah's hair done princess-style . . .


Strobist Info
2 Viv 285's left and right
1 SB800 shot through umbrella camera left.

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Mogollon Rim - Summer Storms

The family and I went camping with some friends this past weekend up at the Mogollon Rim. We had some crazy weather; lots of thunderstorm activity. Here are a few photos taken from camp.

Campsite:


Looking south:


Looking north:

Scared Of Your Own Shadow

My grandmother bought me this hand-carved/hand-painted wooden zebra when I was 5. She bought it stolen off some scary dude on the street probably trying to score money for drugs. There is still a handwritten price tage on the bottom for $95 (and that was 30 years ago!). The background is an actual zebra skin that Liz bought while on safari in Africa.



Strobist Info
One Vivitar subject left
One Vivitar camera right
One SB-800 overhead illuminating background

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Cold Snap in Phoenix . . .

. . . the temperature has dropped 8 degrees . . .

. . . . . . and I'm friggin' freezing! Oh wait,

no, I mean sweating my ass off!

Anyway - here is a reminiscent memory of winter . .

Mogollon Rim, AZ taken in December

Sidelit Self-Portrait

Nothing fancy - sidelit self-portrait. This was actually one of the test shots to get the exposure correct of the two flashes on the sides; once complete, I was going to add a third diffused light to illuminate the center of my face a little bit. Turns out I like the effect better without the third light in the center.



Strobist Info
Two Vivitar 285's to the left and right of subject and slightly behind (maybe 30 degrees?).

If I Had A Nickle . . .

. . . for every time I lost that F'ing lighter and had to use my super-powers around the house (which I do not like doing) to light that g'damn candle . . .



. . . well, I'd have one nickle. ; - ) Oh damn - I made a funny (sorry; too tipsy to post properly - I'm going to bed now).

A Hundred And Whatever . . .

. . . who cares - it was friggin' HOT today. Nothing like a cold beer on a hot day (a Friday at that!) after a long week workin' for Da Man! ; - )



Strobist Info
Two Vivitar 285's: Both fired full power. Vivitars are on either side of subject and gelled magenta. Corrected white-balance for magenta gel turned all sunlit areas green.
ISO: 100
Aperture: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/125

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Turkish Monk Wine

When Liz was in Turkey over 20 years ago, she bought this bottle of wine from monks on Elizabeth Island off the coast of Istanbul.



Strobist Info
Two Vivitar 285's: Both fired 1/16 power. Vivitars are on either side of subjects (gobo'd to prevent light spill on the background) and shot through diffusers (copy paper)
ISO: 100
Aperture: f10
Shutter Speed: 1/125

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Chairs

Liz and I are spending the weekend house-sitting for our friend Brad. His house is nicer than ours so it is sort of a mini weekend getaway. I figured in between movies and general laziness, I would try to take a few pics (what better than not having to pick over my own crap to find something to photograph).

I chose chairs . . .


Strobist Info
Two Vivitar 285's and one SB-800: All fired 1/4 power. Vivitars are 45 degrees on either side of subjects (gobo'd to prevent light spill on the wall behind) and SB-800 is on floor behind subjects and gelled blue.
ISO: 100
Aperture: f11
Shutter Speed: 1/250

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Back Indoors . . .

. . . and practicing dark field lighting with diffused light. So basically I am back to photographing crap I find around my house. This time it is a small wooden carving I bought in Jamaica a long time ago.



Strobist Info:
Two Vivitar 285's 45 degrees left and right through diffusers (printer paper) at full power.
One SB-800 overhead at 45 degrees through diffuser (napkin) at 1/4 power.
Shot at f29 with all strobes about 1 foot from subject .

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Grand Canyon, AZ (Part II)

Here are a few more photos from our trip to the Grand Canyon.

A willing model . . .


The beautiful Ribbon Falls. For a sense of size perspective, you can see a guy standing at the bottom of the falls in a blue shirt.


This was a cool rock formation higher up on the cliffs around Ribbon Falls.

Grand Canyon, AZ (Part I)

I recently spent 4 days at the Grand Canyon. A few friends and I started at the North Rim, hiked down, day-hiked/explored, and then hiked up the South Rim. All told, we hiked 30 miles and gained/lost 13,000 feet of elevation. Friday night's overnight lows at the North Rim were in the high 40's. Saturday's daytime highs at the bottom of the Canyon exceeded 130 degrees in the sun. The combination of extreme temperatures, heavy backpacks, and extremely strenuous hiking made this one weekend of leisure that certainly had to be earned.

Here are a few pics from the weekend. Stay tuned, there will be more . . .

Looking north from the South Rim.


After Day 1 at the bottom, I wanted to see the part of the Canyon we were in from a higher elevation. So Day 2 I hiked up 1,200 feet above camp and headed towards the Colorado River. This is a view of the switchbacks at the bottom of the South Kaibab Trail ending at Black Bridge (which can be seen at the bottom center of the pic).


This is one of the cabins at Phantom Ranch. We slept in tents during our stay but periodically visited the Canteen at the Ranch for Lemonades, Cocktails, and a little AC.


Finally, here is a deer skull we hiked past along the trail.


As I said above, stay tuned because I will be posting some more pics soon . . .

Telluride, CO (Part II)

It took a little leg-work, but we were able to find a fantastic campsite that edged up to a beautiful meadow and looked across to a 14,000+ ft. mountain (I think it was Mt. Wilson). Here are two shots of the kids (and me - the big kid) goofing off taken from near the tents looking towards the fire pit (exposure/strobist information at bottom is same for both shots).

Shannon & Casey (or should I say Billy the Kid and Jesse James!)


Corissa & I


Strobist Info
Two Vivitar 285's and one SB-800: Fired full power. Vivitars are on either side of subjects and SB-800 is 45 degrees camera-left
ISO: 100
Aperture: f11
Shutter Speed: 1/250

Telluride, CO (Part I)

The family and I went up to Telluride, CO for a little R&R in the mountains. We (Liz, Shannon, & myself) met up with Jeff (Liz's brother), Jenn (his wife), and Casey & Corissa (their two kids). We had a blast sitting up in the mountains for a few days and soaking in the energy of beautiful Telluride. We just arrived back in Phoenix a few hours ago and are exhausted so I have only one picture to post for now (I will post more in a few days).

This is Bridal Falls and the 'house' atop the falls used to be a hydro-electric facility that provided electricity to Telluride years and years ago - it is now an historic monument.

"I hate you . . . "

" . . . and you're not my real Dad!"

Ha ha - of course my Little Bear doesn't think that but this sure is a nasty look.




And this one? I guess this one is the "it's-104-degrees-outside-and-I'm-stuck-inside" look. He is quite a ham for the camera.



Strobist Info
Two Vivitar 285's: Fired 1/2 power on either side of subject
One SB-800: Fired 1/4 power directly in front of subject
ISO: 100
Aperture: f29
Shutter Speed: 1/250