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.