City of Rocks - Part 1

I'm doing this entry in two parts because while we were there, Bridget and I shot some 4x5 pinhole and it has taken some time to get it developed, scanned and worked up.  But I'll save all those shenanigans for next round.

City of Rocks sets just south of Silver City in he lower west side of New Mexico.  There is not that much to do besides walk around the rocks and then around the entire park, but that being said, we spent three days there and stayed busy the whole time.  Lots of hiking and grilling and sleeping.  It was V's first camping trip so we were apprehensive about her willingness to get in the tent at night and sleep.  Both Bridget and I were prepared to pack up and go to Deming for the night if need be.  But V was a trooper.  I do not think she got much sleep the first night (neither did I).  The park was visited by a group of coyotes early in the evening and then around 2 a.m. two Great Horned Owls began hooting back and forth in the park.  One was definitely close to our camp site.  While V acted as though she wanted out she never made a sound. 

Our days basically consisted of getting up super early to get to the restroom for us and the dog.  We then proceeded to walk around and through the park as the sun rose.  Then we would head back to camp and make breakfast and coffee then suit up and head out for a longer hike.  Back to camp for lunch then relax (we ran into Silver city for supplies one day and the other we tried going to a winery up the road but they were closed) then another small hike and dinner.  Batten down the hatches and call it a night.

V was hell bent to find every rabbit and jack rabbit in the park and therefore was always on point.  On top of that she loved navigating the rock labyrinth.   She would scramble up the rocks and into tunnels fearlessly.  We renamed her to Rock Dog for the duration.   She ran herself into the ground while we were there.  She was so happy and content that we now know there will be more camping in V's future.

City of Rocks has been on my radar for awhile and I really wanted to shoot some landscape photography there.  Images on Google searches are pretty abysmal.  Granted the park is very difficult to capture in a single photograph.  Landscape photography has never been something I sought out to capture.  Usually it was more of a documentation of where I was at that point in time and never premeditated.

 The Standoff

Near our campsite was a group of rocks that we passed by every morning and evening (They were near the restrooms) that I affectionately dubbed "The Outcropping."   I took pictures here every day.  Had we camped else where I probably would have gravitated to another set of rocks (And called them "The Outcropping" as well).  These were shot with a Nikon D700 in color and converted to Black and white in Lightroom and Photoshop.  Because I went drastic with my skies and highlights I could not accomplish this feet in Lightroom alone.  If you pull the blue and aqua slider to far you get pronounced white lines around certain transition areas.  I did have to use the clone tool a bit to keep that under control around the rocks.  To keep from "re-sculpting" the rock with the clone tool, it's best to use the different blending modes (In this case lighten and darken) to remove the unwanted white and black lines that form.  The blending mode keeps the rock edge true.

 The Outcroppings

As for shooting the park as a whole, this trip I found a vantage point on the trail that circumnavigates the park on the North East side looking South West.  Not sure it speaks volumes but it shows a certain idea of the park's "situation."

Next time I'll post some Pinhole examples as well as pictures of the camera and how I built it.

Observation Point

"I'm done with this city of rocks..."

FJ62 Restoration Project - Work Day 3

I've been following this project for a while and most of the accumulated photography has basically been guys hanging around a FJ62 Land Cruiser body, cranking on it with tools and that's about it.  Well this entry is no different.  Except they've now managed to drop the rebuilt engine into the vehicle.  So although tweaking will still be occurring, there is going to be different subject matter in the future to capture... and that is good.  Until then here are some more shots of guys climbing around a Land Cruiser.

 

Now that I've got my first post in 2011,  I'll try to keep posting more regularly.  I have enough projects backed up to keep the blog busy for a handful more entries.  Next time we'll switch gears to digital painting.

End of the Year

On my way back from an assignment in Ottawa (Its cold up here) and I decided to take some time to post one last entry before Christmas takes hold of my schedule.

This portrait was a test.  I've been inspired lately by the work of Dan Winters and wanted to take some of his principles into the studio and rethink my approach for certain portraits.  I was very intrigued by the idea of lighting your subject then removing the unnecessary light.  My version is a fairly simple 3 light set up.  One light with a 30 degree grid illuminates the backdrop, one light with a beauty dish placed directly behind and slightly above the camera provides fill, and finally a small strip keys the subject from stage right.  No doubt the beauty dish spilled on the backdrop some, but the spot over rides it.  The two things to note on this setup 1: the beauty dish 2: the small strip.

First the beauty dish.  I placed a sock over the the dish to soften the light and then aimed it upward to catch the edge of the lamps throw; feathering.  This way I could control the fall off of the fill light and let it taper down my subject.  I do this because it looks better than a gradient placed in photoshop.  Certainly this effect can be attained in post but not as naturally and certainly not in as little time.  This is an aesthetic choice and one that I have started to consider more.  That being, how much shadow detail is necessary.  The shot is fairly limited as to what information the audience is given.  A guy in a motorcycle jacket holding a helmet with some wrap around his neck.  So what's really important to convey is his face, the yellow scarf, and his helmet.  Not so much the pants.  Unless it was an ad for the pants, I find this to be information we all understand - He has pants on.  And that's good enough.

The key from stage right is important because its flagged a little over a foot away and the light that is let through is only a sliver along the top, long side.  This again mimics the idea of fall off presented by the beauty dish and isolates the light on his face.  This took a little while to get right only because I was sure that I did not have to flag (remove) that much of the strips light to get my effect. Little did I know.

Finally the question of exposure.  The images is definitely underexposed by all understanding of text book exposure.  I purposely left out a hair light because I did not want a true "highlight" on the face of my subject.  The specular highlights are still present and white as ever on the helmet and in his eyes.  By keeping the exposure down on his face in this particular dark setting their is a softness to the image.  The desaturated color helps keep the image from being to loud as well.  While not completely monochromatic it certainly feels ripped of life's colors but not lifeless.

PROJECT FJ62

These are a handful of images from an ongoing shoot following the restoration of a FJ62 Toyota Land Cruiser while its owner is stationed overseas in Afghanistan.  This is one of my more favorite projects right now.  I do not shoot photography this way very often and I find this to be very rewarding.

Recently completed a shoot for Sound and Video Contractor these ran in their December issue.

Now to see what 2011 brings....