This has been a fantastically great trip for spectacular images. We have had good light and good weather and it has been a pleasure making new friends from China. Seems photographers from all over the world like the same things. This shot was done at the Dunes in Death Valley at dawn. When the dunes light up it is a blast as you keep seeing things you want to shoot.
A quick update, tomorrow I head out for an 8 day adventure in the Palouse. This is a region in SE Washington state that is a very beautiful area to shoot landscape pictures. I’ll be leading a PODAS workshop there with 28 attendees and 5 great instructors. I’ll update my blogs as often as I can. So starting tomorrow look for PODAS Palouse images. You can follow our blog for this trip at the PODAS Blog by clicking here. The blog will begin on Wed.
Today’s picture was made in the Neon Graveyard in Las Vegas, where old signs from the strip go where they are torn down. I focused on a red light bulb and then enhanced it in a few apps on the iPad. Kind of different so I thought I would share.
So, what do you do when you go to an industrial site (Gravel Quarry) and want to make the place look gritty and sort of apocalyptic? You use a good camera and some of the app you can find on the iPad. This shot was of a big old dump truck at the quarry, obviously not used much. I shot a variety of angles of it and this is the one I selected. I like the flat tire, low angle, and the hose coming off of it. I pulled the image into the iPAd and used SNapSpeed to adjust the drama, grit, and selective colors. Enjoy!
One day while visiting Seattle I decide that everything I shot I would do in HDR. I also decided to do this technique with the gritty look. Needed to get it out of my system I suppose. So, this was shot of an old boat at a maritime museum with three different exposures. They were then blended in photomatix.
Time to change from B&W images to some wow color. Today’s image was made on some abandoned trains not to far from where I live. I have been shooting these for several years now. They are parked on a siding off the road and pretty well hidden and they deteriorate further on every trip I make there. Actually pretty creepy. You are missing the smell that goes along with these images. To shoot this properly I had to shoot three exposures and HDR them together. Then I took them into iPad and used Snapseeed and PhotoForge to make the final image. Kind of surreal, which it is.
Made it to Ireland. Today I picked up Steve on of the PODAS instructors and Drew our Phase One support person and we headed to the LAke Hotel where we will be based until Wednesday. IT’s been an adventurous day as I had to rent a van (one of five) we will be using. Crazy thing is the steering wheel is on the wrong side and they make you drive on the wrong side of the road. Pretty crazy and add to that it is a stick shift and you have to shift with your left hand. They call this civilized. I have another few words for it. Should make for an interesting week. This is a simple iPhone shot done of the lake in front of this wonderful hotel. we bring the big guns (Cameras) out tomorrow. This is a very photo rich area and I am sure we will be capturing some wonderful photography. I’ll try to post daily but it may get busy. Days are long and light is good. More to come.
By the time you read this I’ll be in Ireland. I pre-scheduled this post and it is a follow up to yesterdays image. More from the same mechanic’s yard. This is a rusty wheel thingy.
While at my sons wedding a few weeks ago I went exploring and found this corner mechanics shop with a variety of old and rusty things. The place was a photographers dream thus for the next day or so you will see images from there. This was one that was just randomly nailed to the wall of the building. Why a license plate and a horseshoe? Don’t know but it caught my eye. There were old tricks, gears, junk, and even a truck that was sold old it had to be from the thirties. It had a big Redwood tree still on it’s bed and there was tree growing out of it. Look for more soon.
A few posts ago I published a color HDR version of the NEW Performing Arts Center – Palladium in Carmel, IN. Here’s yet another in a Black & White version. This building is so cool that I will be shooting it under different conditions for some time to come. Hope to start interior photos with the IQ 180 very soon.
I am heading to Ireland on Wednesday so the blog may be spotty as it will depend on internet connections where I am traveling. I’ll be leading a PODAS workshop and we will be visiting some magnificent locations. Look for images to be coming your way.
Another image from the Neon Bone Yard In Las Vegas. shot and did HDR post processing on all the images made here. Why? Because I made it my assignment. Sometimes when I go out shooting I give myself a challenge or assignment. This one was shoot 5 exposures of everything and put them together after. The results are interesting and lend to the abstractness of this wonderful place. Part of the secret in shooting at the Neon Bone Yard is shooting tight and shooting just elements. fun place – fun pictures.