2013 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta - Patterns

The sun sets lower on the horizon, the chill of winter sets in, the days slip away to  grey, and my thoughts turn to color and light...

As you walk around at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta one thing that quickly strikes you is the abundance of color, shapes, and patterns...

Bert Hardy once said "everywhere I look and most of the time I look, I see photographs."  

That's how I felt as I walked the grounds, weaving between the inflating balloons.  Even the balloons that were partially inflated caught my eye, as the colors and patterns folded back on themselves.

I never got tired of looking, or taking photos.

When it was all over I was left with a feeling of wonder, as seeing hundreds of balloons fill the sky at once made one feel like a child, when the littlest things could be filled with a sense of magic...

You can buy prints from the 2013 ABQ International Balloon Fiesta here

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 18-55 DX

The doors at Dal al Islam

When I first visited Santa Fe in February I quickly became fascinated by the doors and windows I saw downtown, and this has only grown stronger since I moved here in June.  I even spent a morning walking around the Canyon Road area specifically to take photos of doors and windows, as I've written about previously.  Whenever I'm walking around, whether it's in Santa Fe, Taos, or wherever, I'm always on the look out for an interesting door, window, or old building with character...

A couple of months ago I saw a photo of the mosque at Dar al Islam, an Islamic Eduction Center located just outside of Abiquiu, in Georgia O'Keeffe country.  I had no idea this existed, since I hadn't seen mention of it when researching that area of New Mexico.  After a little research online I decided that I needed to see it.  

After one attempt at finding it (didn't write the directions down, tried relying on memory and missed the turn - which turned out to lead me to another small town and an unexpected photo op I'll share in the future), I headed out again to Abiquiu on a casual drive, with the intent of stopping by as part of my outing...  After driving down a side road for a couple of miles, then up a bumpy dirt driveway for a bit, I came upon Dar al Islam.  I took a moment to check in at the office and say hello, and then spent some time walking around the main complex, which consisted of the main school complex, garden, and mosque.  After rounding a corner my eye caught this door.  I was drawn to the wood door, the recessed entry, the geometry...

A little farther along the same side of the building were these doors.  Again I was drawn to the wood doors, the recessed entryways, the shadows, the geometry, the balance between the doors and the window.

After rounding another corner, then another, there was this doorway...

And to the right of that was another door of the same style.  The door was recessed even further, but within the shadows there was another wooden door and small window...

The whole experience was a pleasant surprise.  Dar al Islam sits alone on a bluff with Plaza Blanca, "The White Place" - an area that was the subject of a number of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings - looming in the background.  A beautiful building situated in a beautiful setting...

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 18-55 DX

Art Alley

Sometimes the most interesting things pop up in the most unexpected places...

In September 2012 I was walking around downtown Rapid City, South Dakota, wandering around really, trying to get a feel for this western town when I came across an alley that was covered, end to end, in paintings, artwork, graffiti, whatever you wish to call it.  I took a stroll down the alley, took a few photos, curious...  What made it interesting, from a photography stand point, was that even the utility poles and dumpsters were covered with paintings, giving a photo a sense of depth...

Eventually I came across a teenager, a skateboarder, and casually said "what's up?" as I walked past.  He replied "just waitin' for paint" and that's when I wondered if what exactly this was...

Every now and then I've thought about this alley, when I see graffiti, and I finally got around to doing a bit of research.  Apparently this place is referred to as "Art Alley."  From what I can figure out with the information available, Rapid City has adopted a "live and let live" attitude regarding this alley, letting "kids" do their thing in the hopes that "doing their thing" will stay in this area.  Art Alley is well enough known that websites like Yelp and Trip Advisor have multiple reviews of it listed and recommendations as a place to see when visiting Rapid City...

Buy prints here

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 18-55 DX

Gear Update

Last March I wrote a post outlining the gear I use in the field, and the software I use to process photos.  The gear remains the same, but which lens I use frequently and how I process photos has evolved a bit, enough so that I thought it was time to revise and update that previous post...

Hardware:

My camera body is a Nikon D7000.  This replaces the Nikon D40 that I used for over four years.  After taking 13,347 shots with the D40 I decided it was time to upgrade to something that packed more punch.  After much deliberation I decided to stick with Nikon’s DX format (you can read more about that here), and the D7000 was the best DX format camera available.  At this point in time I’ve taken about 7,200 shots with the D7000, and have been consistently impressed by the camera’s performance and the resulting image quality.

I have four lenses in my bag right now, all Nikon Nikkor glass: the Nikkor 10-24 DX, Nikkor 18-55 DX, Nikkor 55-300 DX VR, and the Nikkor 85 DX VR Micro.  The 55-300 VR used to be on the camera when I went out hiking, or when driving so I can grab a shot of whatever I came across, near or far.  In the last couple of months this has changed, and the 18-55, the “kit” lens that came with the D40, a lens that I rarely used in the past, is usually on the camera.  It’s small, light, and sharp, and the wider angle of view more closely fits what I've been photographing since I moved to New Mexico, landscapes and environmental shots (doors, windows, buildings).  Occasionally I opt for the 10-24 when I head out.  This lens allows me to go even wider, or to push in real close to a subject and immerse myself in the image.  I love this lens and it’s really changed the way I approach some subjects.  I also have the 85 VR Micro which I use occasionally for macro shots of flowers.

Another major shift in approach is that I started using the RAW file format when shooting.  At first I used the RAW+JPEG crutch, but quickly abandoned that to shoot exclusively in RAW.  I file this gives me full control over the final image, allowing me to adjust exposure, color temp, etc. as needed.  Using this file format in conjunction with Adobe Lightroom (see comments below) has been the greatest step forward in my work over the past year.

All images are processed and stored on a MacBook Pro 15" with Retina Display, and backed-up on two Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1.5 TB Portable Hard Drives.  I also have an older Seagate 160 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive that I’ve had for years, which I've recently "semi-retired" as I've filled it to capacity. 

Software:

I started Adobe Lightroom 4.3.2 in March.  Before making the jump to Lightroom I was using Apple Aperture 3.0 to process my photos, and I occasionally dabbled with using the Topaz Adjust 5 plug-in within Aperture.  I used both for a little while but now use Lightroom almost exclusively.  I feel that Lightroom gives me the right tools to organize and process my photos.  The other reason that I gravitated to Lightroom is that the amount of product documentation vastly outweighed that available for Aperture.

I also have Photomatix Pro 4.2.4 installed for producing HDR images.  I started producing HDR images using bracketed shots this past June.  For certain subjects - like landscapes, buildings, and old automobiles - I love the end result of using the method of processing photos.  Using this process has been both exciting and frustrating, and on occasion I've leaned towards "over processing" photos so they look hyper-realistic... The latest shift I've made is that now, about 50% of the time, I use Photomatix Pro to merge several bracketed photos, then I finish processing that image in Lightroom, giving me the blended exposure look, with a greater dynamic range of light, of HDR, while keeping the finishing touches more realistic...

Support:

I have a Manfrotto 190XPROB Pro tripod with a Manfrotto 496RC2 Compact Ball Head, a 200PL-14 Quick Release Plate attached to my camera, and a Vello Two-Axis Hot Shoe Bubble Level that fits in the top of the camera.  

With the exception of the tripod, all of this gear - including the MacBook and two portable hard drives -fits into a Lowepro Pro Roller Lite 250 AW roller bag that will fit in the overhead bin of most aircraft.