Hangin' With a Friend

Jeremy Wade Shockley, staff photographer for the Southern Ute Drum takes a day off. He says I have to see Mesa Verde National Park. Who am I to argue?

Grab a strong cup of coffee for the road.

Good to the last drop.

Climbing out of Balcony House cliff dwelling.

Workin' it!

In the zone.

Inside a kiva at Spruce Tree House dwelling. 

End of the day, enjoying a cold one.
(OK, yeah, different shirt, different day. Big deal. You get the idea! ;^})

Beautiful place, great day. Thanks, Jer!

Instagram/Facebook? PicYou?

A while ago my friend Jeremy sent me a link to Ed Kashi's blog where he discusses the potential for a rights grab by social networks. Go have a read. It's very interesting.

In line with all that, the recent acquisition of Instagram by Facebook for a whopping 1,000,000,000 dollars has created a not so mild disturbance in the Instagram universe. Not too sure why but it bugs me, too. Could be that I've read one too many negative stories about Facebook and privacy and their owner... could be that I have an inherent aversion to big takeovers--inevitably they always want to make the product "better" but just fuck it up... I don't know.

But the fact that I've learned (thanks to Ed Kashi's post) that Instagram has language in its terms of use that says essentially, yes you own your photos, but we can use them whenever and however we like, has made me take a closer look at PicYou. For one, they are for the moment still independent. And for two, if I'm reading their terms correctly they say, you own your pics and we will not use them. 

That's enough for me to give PicYou a whirl. I'll let you know if I think it's worth the change.

Cheers.

Teaching and Learning

Joe McNally has put up a post called "Making Window Light." It's yet another of one of his informative posts, explaining in great detail how he works on the road. He continues to generously share many of his secrets about lighting, about how to travel light and still make images that will knock the socks off your client. All with great humor and wit.

The same is true in person, as I discovered when I attended one of his one day workshops last year. (see here) We all laughed quite a lot and learned even more. If you ever have the opportunity... take it! There'll be no regrets.

Go read the post linked above and learn some new groovy way to achieve that soft window light look with a few strobes. Then put it to practice. I intend to!

Meantime, I'd like to share a few images. After reading Joe's blog I was reminded of the many times I've made actual window light portraits. Most of my favorites were in front of one particular window in my home. Best look comes from cloudy days, but shade works as well. As long as no direct sunlight is coming through, you're good. (unless you really do want that, but that's another thing altogether)

In any case, here's to good light... and good teachers!

Really? More snow?

It is Tuesday, February 9th, 2010. 8:49 PM. It is snowing... again! There may be as much as 12-14 inches dumped on us by this time tomorrow. This is, of course, on top of the 24-30 inches the region is still digging out of! This kind of weather is unheard of in DC. And that is evidenced by the response and the reactions. Just not prepared. Freakin' everybody out. My buddy Jeremy will no doubt laugh at this... understandably, too! Really, we got nothing on Durango... but still, this blows!

But you know what? It is beautiful.

Anyway, if you're in the DC area and have power and internet connection and are reading this... hang tough! Spring is still coming! 

(I think.)

Olmsted Island

"To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."--Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. regarding the National Parks.

Just off the C & O Canal towpath, south of the old Tavern Visitor Center in Potomac Maryland, there is a raised boardwalk with a series of footbridges that leads to Olmsted Island. At the end of the walk is an overlook which affords a spectacular view of Great Falls.

Protecting rare plant species found only in this unique habitat by concentrating all foot traffic in one place, the 1/4 mile long boardwalk and the overlook embody the spirit of conservation expressed in the above quote. It is a very small footprint upon this large yet fragile landscape. Thanks to Mr. Olmsted and like-minded others and their inspired words and deeds, future generations will be able to enjoy all the many and various aspects of our National Parks, including this island, the flora and fauna within, and that wonderful view of those turbulent falls.

The images below are a small representation of this area. All were shot from either the boardwalk or the overlook.

Jeremy Wade Shockley

This is Jeremy. I met him a couple years ago at a workshop in Jackson, Wyoming. His photo-essay of the Meade Ranch was well received by all. And I'm talking people like David Alan Harvey, Jodi Cobb, William Albert Allard, and James Hill. His work is sensitive, thoughtful and moving. Everyone out there quickly learned he was a great talent.

He visited the east coast recently and we had a chance to hang out and shoot. It was great to hear his thoughts about photographing people. I learned a lot. You can check out some of his work... right here.

As a thank you for sharing some of his insights, I took him out to the Falls--in a driving rain storm with crashing thunder and cloud-to-ground lightning no less! But hey, that's just the kind of guy I am! Luckily, it blew through fairly quickly and we were able to get out to the overlook for some shots.

I chose to focus mainly on the man. (We don't often get to show up in front of the camera) In the first image I just threw a little fill light on him, 1/2 CTO gel and a slightly underexposed background. In photo #2, I lifted the camera above my head and tripped off three or four shots, hoping for the best. I like how his hat stands out against the whitewater below. Last shot was at the house. Simple window light... nothing better than that.

Anyway, it was a great visit. Thanks Jeremy. Catch you next time in Durango!