Post-processing and visualization.

The most arduous task when you start sorting images, is selecting what works and doesn't. This is no easy task! I normally can't decide and suffer from inertia.

I am always critical of what I shoot especially if it's for my own use. Now saying that once you have your selects; time to start processing those images.

Here is one image that I really liked. The image was taken at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook AZ. This has now been designated by the state as a historical site. This is one of the many treasures of early to mid-twentieth century America. Even though it's kitschy, it shows a great optimism, spirit, fun, and innocence of the time. I'm wondering if Gwyneth Paltrow the self-proclaimed critic of American taste and doyenne of all that is bad in North America has even travelled extensively throughout the country, instead of being self-indulgent nourishing her ego. But I digress; back to post-processing this image.

When looking at this photo, I get a late 50's early 60's feel for it. Now please believe me, that this is still a work in progress. In the late 50's and early 60's, advertisements, films, automobiles, small appliances, and clothing had a sense of heightened color. This is a general statement I know; but when you look at ads from that era or postcards the color is exaggerated and printed matter was grainy.

So this was my approach for this photo. After cropping then the real fun begins. In photoshop I decided to warm up the photo a bit and to clean up some of the dust spots (yes a Canon 5D is truly a dust magnet). From there I wanted to try and simulate a more late 50's feel so it's bit more contrasty and I decided to imitate a film stock (GAF) which is no longer in production.

Now I could also approach this photograph and work it as a faded image from over 50 years ago, and I'm still playing with that idea, however; there is still some work to be done on this photo. The Safeway and any other periphery in the background will have to be cloned out.

So those are some of the ideas that I had in mind. Well back to my Intous tablet and the next step for this photo. If I haven't mentioned this in past, please note: all these images are copyrighted and remain the property of the artist. I reserve all rights to these images and any use without my knowledge...well you know the rest.

Great trip and recommendations.

Finally back and finished downloading roughly 2ooo+ images. Now the arduous task of doing my selects. This photo is Artist's Lookout in Monument Valley.

One thing I must say, if you haven't traveled in this part of the country you're missing some of the most breath-taking scenery anywhere in the world.

I also encourage anyone who does make this trip, to keep their equipment to a minimum. I used a full-frame Canon DSLR and a wide-angle zoom lens for 90% of my trip. I ran into to one photographer that had one body and ten lenses. Although they were all primes, he regretfully admitted he should have taken his zoom lenses.

I also would recommend that instead of renting a compact car, that you upgrade to a vehicle that is larger and more suitable for the terrain. When I got to the car rental in Phoenix, they automatically upgraded me because they didn't have a compact. I chose a Chevrolet HHR and glad I did! It was great on gas and could take all the cow paths that I went on. It's a cross-over type vehicle and surprisingly well made. Oh don't forget you GPS, if you don't have one the rental place have them for a reasonable daily fee.

If you travel in the latter part of August or the beginning of September, make sure that you have water with you to keep hydrated. The temperatures can still hover between 98-102 degrees.

Now on to doing some of my selects.

Equipment...and what to take when you're ready to go.

So now comes the hard part; what to equipment do I take? Will this fast zoom lens do, or should I take all primes?

Well like they say, a car is a car is a car. A Porsche will get you there in style and fast, but a Toyota does the same thing; it gets you there.

So I've decided on two camera bodies a full-frame a Canon 5D and a 40D as a back up. Both have battery packs attached for extra balance and battery.

I was contemplating just bringing primes; 14, 20, 24, 50, 85, 135, and a 200 mm most of them L's. Then I thought the weight. I don't want the weight so now it'll be the same bodies plus a 17-40 mm (a personal favorite), instead of the 16-35mm, 28-135 mm, and 70-200mm IS. Nothing is complete without a laptop, battery chargers, flash unit, ND and Polarizer filters, Sony GC-1 webcam, iPhone, iPod, lightweight tripod, LaCie hardrives, and GPS. So that's the equipment list. Now I could have packed everything including the kitchen sink, or drive the Porsche but I think I'm fine with the Toyota.

Requests and a little bit of death.

When I mentioned to a number of people I know that I wanted to go and shoot landscapes, a couple of people looked dumbfounded. Others like my pal Jason Daryl thought it was a great idea. He like myself didn't think each other were outdoor kinda people. Jason Daryl is a photographic artist and specializes in the macabre and urban life, and occasionally works for Satan. A far cry from loving the outdoors and camping which he loves and will go at every opportunity.

Last time I brought him samples from Death Valley, "cause you never know when you want to clone yourself a little bit of death," he said. So with that I'll be collecting some samples from the Petrified Forest, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Monument Valley, and the Grand Canyon. For everyone else, I'll send them a photo a day to show them what they're missing. Like I've said nothing beats being out in the desert. Jason Daryl mentioned he would like to travel in Mexico by motorcycle. I told him the Baja would be great. Riding from San Diego to Cabo with your camera would be a cool thing to do.

Final Travel Details.

Now even before I attempt to configure my kit, I want to ensure that all the little things are done and booked.

So with the car, I've chosen a compact and will insist on a Toyota Yaris or Corolla. I prefer a sedan over a hatchback be cause of equipment considerations. Out of sight out of curious minds; the last thing anyone needs is to see camera equipment exposed (excuse the bad pun).

As for the CDW (collision damage waiver), if you have a Gold or Platinum card from any of the three big credit card companies you'll be covered. Double check with you card company what they cover. In my case, American Express will bring it to zero deductible but, won't cover personal liability.

As for the hotel, try and get one with free WiFi cause you can do any online file back-up as a precaution if any of your hard drives fail. The hotel that I've booked is clean, cheerful, and safe plus it's close to all the major freeways. Always try and review if you can what other patrons have written about the hotel you're staying in.

The hotel I'm staying at is not like the Plaza nor the Wynn. The Highland Country Inn in Flagstaff received 3.5 to 4 star ratings out of 5 from most travelers. It has free WiFi, complimentary HBO, fridge and microwave. Since I'll be out for the majority of the time, the price is right.

Location research from a distance.

The Internet has become an invaluable tool for research. Now friends told me that Internet is a marketing device, advertising tool, porn sideshow, and shopping mecca for exotic goods and services.

It is however; besides being all of that good or bad depending on the person's perception; a tool for research and exchanging ideas. It is community, despite what some sociologists or psychologists may say that it isn't.

Google is also one of the most valuable search engines that I have used, and is my choice. Ask, Yahoo, Bing, AltaVista, and Lycos are others that people use. But for me Google has been extremely invaluable when doing location research.

I would also recommend other sites as well such as luminous-landscape.com, fredmiranda.com for their forums and essays on various locations. National Parks also has a great website that lists parks by state, and handy tips that you can review, that website is www.nps.gov and I highly recommend that you visit it.

As for photographic reference and locations, I recommend going to the forums and looking at the work. Simply ask what the pros and cons were shooting in that location. For example; I was debating on shooting either Lower Antelope or Upper Antelope Canyon. I quickly found out a couple of things. The first was that for Upper Antelope Canyon is the most popular out of the two slot canyons. There is a photographer's rate of $50.00 and a minimum of twelve shooters would be escorted for two hours. There would also be some traffic control as well so it would give the photographer time to capture some images.

That didn't sound to appealing, neither did the idea of traffic control. What I did learn was that Lower Antelope Canyon was not as well travelled and that a four hour "Photographer's Pass" was only $26.00 unescorted. This sounded more appealing and I e-mailed the Navajo group responsible for Lower Antelope Canyon, and they gave me a lot of great information including the best shooting times.

I didn't realize that not to far from the Lower Canyon that I was close to Horseshoe Bend and and that I could shoot around dusk. So that would be one day's worth of shooting which includes travel time of four-five hours from Flagstaff to Page.

So you could blue-print, road map, or build a shooting itinerary from just doing your research prior to leaving. Combine that with the information from the navy, and all you have to do is tweak your days when you want to shoot.

Sun, Moon, Time, and the US Navy.

One of the most important things to a photographer is light. At the turn of the last century, photographers and camera men in the infancy of film used available light.

That's where skylights were desired for stills photographers and where the backlot came into play. Now photographers use electronic strobes in studio or portable units when on location. For landscape the photographer relies on natural light. Above is a photo that was taken on our day trip in Death Valley. This was taken between 6 and 6:30 p.m.; dusk. Even in March the richness of the color is unbelievable.

So I'm planning to go to Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend. I'm planning ahead for sunrise and sunset. Where does one go to research this information? The US Navy! Yeah the navy http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php . This site is truly remarkable it will aid a photographer who isn't familiar with a geographical location regarding, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, and new and full moons. It will aid you in times for these locations.

Next post is more research.

Back to business.

I know I've been neglecting and updating my blog, but boy have I been busy. Here's a mosquito killer that I photographed a couple of days ago. From what I've been told it's a mosquito killer, who knew?

So before I start some corrective photoshop work on my friend Droo's stuff, as well as, our friend the mosquito killer I thought I'd update the Phoenix trip.

So research is important, and so is getting there. So I already know where I want to be, so now I'll have to plan where to set up a base camp.

Base camp? Yep a base camp. During my seven days, there are three areas that I want to go to; Monument Valley, Page AZ, and the North Ridge Grand Canyon. Other areas are the Petrified Forest, and if at all possible Montezuma's Castle or the Sonoran Desert. So a base camp is workable where you can plan for the following day and with the help of Google you can roughly guestimate the length of travel time to each location.

So if you're in the Northeast like I am; you have options. The one that I chose was to research everything through Expedia. Yeah you heard me Expedia. Not only did I book a non-stop flight (I'll always pay extra for that happily) I also booked discounted car rentals and hotels through them. In the past they have worked for me regardless if it was for work, or for pleasure. I booked a car from Budget and a swell little hotel in Flagstaff that is in the center of where I want to be; plus I get free WiFi and that's a bonus. Not even the Wynn in Vegas offers that!!! Expedia works with a number of vendors which offers you the best value possible. I'm sure there are others, but Expedia has never let me down.

So doing the research through Expedia helps you focus a bit more on researching some of your locations from a distance. So I highly recommend using them and the nice thing is that you can see ratings and peoples impressions or rants on the accommodation.

Next: researching sunrise, moonrise, sunset, moonset times on line.

Research

So the next step is research. Research can take on a number of things such as; budget, travel, hotels, car rentals, locations, and equipment so perhaps what I'll do is break it down and start with each of the topics listed.

As with anything, each will help contribute to the end result. Without each component in place and planned for, it could make or break you. Or the end result may suffer.

Reasons

A friend asked why I was interested in doing landscapes. Well I guess I have to owe it all to a number factors, plus to a number of very talented photographers. Julianne Kost's work is phenomenal and Scott Bourne, Art Wolfe, and Matt Kloskowski are constantly breaking new ground. So there are a couple of reasons to name a few.

In March 2009, I was at a conference with a friend John W in Vegas. John is a very talented sports shooter. He loves sports, and he loves surfing. He follows and shoots as much as he can. So he'll shoot in the Carolinas, Hawaii, Australia, California, or anywhere there's a board. John understands and respects the sport and photographs the athletes and the lifestyle connected with it. In any event; John suggests that on the last day in Vegas, that we do a road trip to Death Valley. How could I be not be intrigued and agreed. So we both check out of the Wynn and jump into our rental car with all of our equipment. Now we have more equipment than personal luggage. Go figure it's the nature of the beast.

We're on the road at 3:30 a.m. to Death Valley. Now there is sooooo much in Death Valley to photograph, that both of us decide on the way of where, what, and when to stop the car. This was going to be a fast day of shooting. Once we started to leave civilization into the desert I was hooked. No traffic, people, obstructions of any kind. It's just quiet.

We shot like we were hired by National Inquirer. (John in the picture above.) We drove the rental car like we stole it. We were more like the paparazzi. Not the best way to photograph landscape. It was madness we even shot around noon!! Whoa!! But, we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

I mentioned to John that I couldn't believe the beauty of the desert and how quiet it is what solitude landscape photographers must have and how methodical in their planning they must be. I really believe that they work with what is presented to them and have a deep understanding of the environment. I know some shooters that would want to light the entire scene, but the challenge is to work with what you have presented to you.

John quite jokingly said, this is like one big construction site. Well we're both from large cities in the Northeast so there you go, but there is something about the Southwest or John Ford country that is admirable and noble and the challenge of photographing it as presented.

So those are the reasons. So what next? What to shoot and how to plan it.

Planning stages.....

You're interested in shooting landscapes? You wanna go where? Do they have a Four Seasons? Those are the questions that I've received from colleagues, associates, and friends.

So are you bringing your lighting kit? Is this a commercial shoot? Let me give you some tips if it's a car shoot, or if you're on location with the agency. These I'm sure are well meaning suggestions that myself and others are getting from those we know.

All I can say is thanks, but no thanks I'm just going to shoot landscapes. Funny enough only a couple of people understand. Others wonder how does one, or anyone transition from doing commercial, fashion, portraiture, food, or sports go into doing 'landscapes'.

So there's the reason to start a blog. Hopefully I can pass on any information or knowledge that I've acquired. If any landscape shooters have any suggestions, or see that I may be going a precipice, just holla! (as my nephew would say).