South Street Seaport chilly morning

Staying in Manhattan is always a challenge due to the high cost of a decent hotel. Our favorite is the Best Western Hanbee located on Grand and Bowery. It is only 2 short blocks from Diana's apartment and is brand new. But based on the particular dates, even these rooms can get expensive (normally you can snag one for 120-140/night). We moved to the Best Western Seaport Inn for 116/night...a bargain. Excellent accommodations, fridge/microwave, breakfast, and a great locations near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge and right near the Financial District. I had one morning to get some shots, and I opted for the bridges instead of heading towards the buildings. Late March in NY does not guarantee warm temperatures. It was 28 degrees with a stiff wind off the river when I headed out the door. I left my tripod at the NYC Resistor loft where I was shooting Diana's prep, and wish I had it this morning. Oh well, do the best you can. Saturday morning is a great time in this area, very few people and no traffic. 2 hours went by in no time. Did I get the shots I wanted? I know I could have benefited from a tripod, especially this kind of work. Next time we will hope for some good rates again.

South Street Seaport bridge gallery.

Fashion Geek book rollout party

Diana’s book, Fashion Geek, officially went on sale March 12. For the rollout Diana wanted to have a fashion show in NY. My daughter is one person who goes for it. On the evening of March 19 at 8 pm, the Pop Lounge on 48th Street was popping. The previous day we spent the day helping Di finish up some pieces for the show. We were bending leads on LEDs and prepping battery cases and taking some pictures at her hacker space, home of the NYC Resistor group in Brooklyn. On Thursday evening, we arrived early to help haul in the clothes and props. Diana was busy directing the hair and makep, while her friends were busy activating all the electronics on the outfits. The gathering lasted two hours, as the four models danced on their Fashion Geek platforms and people were able to see the designs. I think the crowd exceed 100 at the peak of the evening and everyone was having a good time. MTV was filming, and reporters from Popular Science and Fashion News Daily were present. We all had a great time, and we were proud parents. The show itself was sponsored by Fashion Indie and Craft Magazine. It is interesting to see how the industry works, and the amount af networking going on at these events. Yes, NY is where it happens and things were happening tonight.

Fashion Geek prep and rollout party gallery.

Cult of Done

Right now I'm struggling to get a new incarnation of my website completed so I can officially start conducting business. This is the digital age and you cannot expect to be in business without a decent site. So the perfectionist that I am, it has become a challenge to get something done. Better late than not perfect?...I don't think so. So I ran across this "manifesto" on a blog by Bre Pettis. Here is the deal: The Cult of Done Manifesto

1.  There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion. 2.  Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done. 3.  There is no editing stage. 4.  Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it. 5.  Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it. 6.  The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done. 7.  Once you're done you can throw it away. 8.  Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done. 9.  People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right. 10.  Failure counts as done. So do mistakes. 11.  Destruction is a variant of done. 12.  If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done. 13.  Done is the engine of more.

I'm not sure where an artist would intersect with this thought pattern. Where does 20 hours in Photoshop with the clone stamp fit in, or adjusting the padding on the heading text for the 5th time? Is this the bane of creativity, or are these things blocking the creative juices from flowing? Right now I'm into this and ready to shed some of the brain constipation I am feeling. How about you?

Winter Wonderland

Ok, I left Jacksonville yesterday at 76 degrees, sunshine, and now here is my view from the Hampton Inn in Thomaston ME. Could someone please tell these guys that winter is over? It's March already. I'm here all week for a B&W Mastery Workshop with John Paul Caponigro at his studio in Cushing ME. It is very cold, with the wind chill hovering around 8 degress (yes, eight). We should get 8-10 inches of snow tonight. I hope my Pontiac Vibe makes it. I had to go to JC Penneys to get gloves yesterday. Today I was going to go out to shoot but decided to brush up on Photoshop skills instead...not a difficult choice to make. I am looking forward to meeting John Paul and learning about B&W conversions and printmaking from a master. I hope his studio has heat!

Pro-bono: Our local Science Fair

   

For the past three years we have been providing photography for our regional science fair. This involves individual project photos taken during the day of judging (about 280), and taking the award presentation photos during the ceremony the following evening. This is a big fund raiser for the fair, and usually nets around $1400. Usually the fair lasts 3 days, with setup on Sunday afternoon, judging on Monday, and awards ceremony on Tuesday night. During the judging, Dorian and I visit each student to take their project photo. This year I used my small 12x18 softbox on a lightstand. Overall I liked the softer light rather than on-camera flash with the Gary Fong diffuser. Problem is the aisles were very tight and things were crowded. I also had some problem with the white balance and I should have gelled the flash and set to fluorescent. The mixed lighting made the backgrounds look a pukey mustard color. The most complex task is coordinating the image with the student. We printed individual address labels with project numbers, student names, and project names, and as we took a photo, we recorded a sequence number on each label. You cannot take all the students sequentially as some of them are being judged and you have to come back. After we insured ourselves that we got everyone, I did the post processing, color adjustments, and cropping to 5x7. Then I added the text for the event name. These files I uploaded to Costco for processing. Expect to spend a few hours doing this.

When you get your prints back then you have to affix the right label to the back of the photo. If you can get the sequence right, it is a matter of finding the next label in your sequence and placing it on the next photo in the stack. When all is complete your are ready to sell. We set up right in front of the entrance to the awards ceremony. We price the 5x7 print at $10, which nets about $9 to the fair. Most parents are good about their donations, and we manage to get most of the people that come to the ceremony to buy their child's photo. While the sales are going on I am taking photos of all the awards being presented. There are Special awards presented by individual groups and then Place awards (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). And then group shots of the State and International teams. There are usually around 200 individual shots. I process these and upload to Printroom.com so that parents can purchase these online. We make about $5 from each print or download through Printroom. 

My children were very active in the Science Fair, and so was I. I don't think most people realize what a big asset the Science Fair is to our future engineers and scientists. It is the only way they have to be recognized and the only venue they can come together to interact with each other and other adults in the scientific community. While a majority of America spends countless hours at the ballfields, this small group of incredibly bright kids are building their interests and skills in academic pursuit. I think that is an honorable direction, something that we all should encourage and support, especially in light of our current economic situation and our inability to produce anything of value to the world. Engineering, manufacturing, science, medicine? No, we are obsessed with professional sports, Hollywood, and American Idol. Most American cities have a regional science fair. Intel is the biggest sponsor of the International Science and Engineering Fair, the "Olympics" of science fair competition. Most people have never heard of it.  If you are interested, try to find your local fair and volunteer some time. You will be inspired by the children and feel hopeful that someone is taking care of our future.

TraPac

 

The TraPac container facility is located at the north-west end of the Dames Point bridge. I first saw this from the bridge as I was returning home from a shoot at Big Talbot. It is one of those times where something seems to appear from nowhere. The project was completed in about 18 months and is quite impressive. I was contacted by Powell Design Group to photograph the 14 buildings and canopies that make up the facility. Each building had it's own character, largely dictated by the specialized functions contained within. Overall there was a design aesthetic that was consistent and in harmony with the neighboring wetlands. A security guard stopped to see what we were doing and remarked that he really appreciated the design of the buildings. I took over 600 images over two days, and was fortunate that the weather was cool and the skies blue. I even got some clouds on day 2. We stayed one evening to catch the sunset.

This project was very comprehensive and I am preparing the formal licensing and project deliverables to the client. I am also going to utilize PhotoShelter to provide a lightbox and ability for others to gain access and purchase rights to the images. This is a significant step in doing business as a photographer...you must not only get the work, produce it, bill it, and manage the rights. My education continues. 

TraPac gallery.

A tour of South Florida

You would figure since I was born in FL that I would know this state like the back of my hand, especially as a photographer. Well, you know how the saying goes...something about green grass? After attending FotoFusion we headed south to Homestead FL, the city closest to the Everglades park entrance. We stayed in the trusty Best Western. I've been having a lot of luck with the BW hotels recently, they seem to be cheaper than the Hampton Inns (my "gold" standard) and each hotel is a little different. At $105 a night, queen bed, fridge, microwave, breakfast, it's a good deal. Our plans for the week were 3 days here in the Everglades, a quick trip to Key Biscayne, then driving through Big Cypress and up to Sanibel, then back to Jacksonville.

I'm not a wildlife photographer, and when you say Everglades you say birds and wildlife. This being the height of the birding season gets some people really excited. Lots of shorebirds, egrets, herons, etc. and plenty of gators. I was looking to produce some interesting landscapes and found this to be challenging. Clyde Butcher has the corner on the classic FL landscape, and you can't help but be completely in awe of his work. Finding my own interpretation of the nature of FL would certainly take me more than 3 days. I've grown to appreciate the fact that you need to be in an area for a long time in order to fully capture the sense of place. You can't just show up in your car on a random day and expect to walk away with a great image. Clyde Butcher lives right in the middle of the Big Cypress swamp and has been photographing there for half of his life. That is one reason why his images are so incredible.

So I set out with modest expectations and hopes of seeing and experiencing new things. We left my brother's house in Boca Raton and headed to the American Orchid Society Botanical Gardens in Delray Beach. Included is a landscaped garden area and a 45oo sf greenhouse filled with orchids. Best of all they allowed tripods. I was challenged finding compositions with so many flowers. The facility itself contains many resources for orchid growers and is a must see if you are an orchid lover.

  

American Orchid Society greenhouse gallery.

From Delray we took the Florida Turnpike to Florida City, which is at the south end of the highway. We checked into our hotel and headed to the Everglades visitor center to grab maps. It is about 15 miles from Florida City to the park. Our sunset location was the Pa-hay-okee Overlook  (river of grass) which is an elevated boardwalk in the middle of an area of dwarf cypress trees. There were many clouds as the front was coming in and we managed to see some color. As soon as the sun went down the mosquitoes came out...they were brutal!

 

The next day we headed out to the end of the main road which is at the Flamingo Visitor Center. Along the way we stopped at an overlook right before Pa-hay-okee. Then we headed to the Mahogany Hammock.  From here there was an area where there had recently been a fire, and the palmettos were just beginning to grow back, creating an interesting scene of green shoots. From Flamingo we headed back to the Christian Point Trail. We hiked about 1 mile in and turned back, then we stopped at the West Lake boardwalk and stayed until sunset. Unfortunately the clouds had taken over and there was no color.

  

 

Everglades and Big Cypress gallery.

Our next destination was Key Biscayne NP which is due east of Florida City. At the visitor center we found out that no boats were leaving due to the weather. By now the front had moved in with high winds and cold temperatures. We walked along the boardwalk and out to the jetty. Next time we will take a glass bottom boat tour which is a great way to see the reef if you want to keep dry.

 

Key Biscayne gallery.

From here we headed back into the park and stopped at Royal Palm which is the start of the Anhinga Trail and Gumbo Limbo Trail. The Anhinga is famous for wildlife, especially gators along the bank of the canal that follows the trail. It was very crowded with people and bus loads of kids, so we opted for the Gumbo Limbo trail and from there we headed for Long Pine Key, which is primarily a campground in the middle of a pine forest. I enjoyed a cloudless sunset in the pine forest.

While visiting all these locations I became aware of the devestation caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Basically Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane had winds of over 169 mph when it hit FL, ripped through this area destroying practically all the vegetation, trees, buildings, and most if not all of the growth is new since 1992. The signs along the trail told of many of the massive oak trees which were lost, and the buttonwood trees that were felled by the storm. You can still see many of the remains of the destruction.

From here we headed back to the Tamiami Trail to Big Cyress National Preserve. We stopped at a boat slip near the Miccosukee Reserve and talked to a local guide about all the big changes going on in the area. Lots of new development everywhere until the economy tanked. Lots of people from the north moving in. We took the Loop Road Scenic Drive on recommendation from one of the rangers. Lots of gators along the roadside and great views of the cypress trees. This road is unpaved but suitable for all types of cars. It's a slow drive but well worth it to see a "real" view of the old Florida. It was back to the highway on onto I-75 to Ft Meyers, where we checked into the Best Western (of course!). The weather report said early morning lows of 28 degrees with 20-25 mph winds...are you kidding?

 

We made a quick stop at Sanibel Island. It had been many years since we were here with the children. We stopped at Bowman's Beach hoping to find a good shelling spot. Looks like we missed the low tide so the shells were disappointing. It was cold on the beach so after about 2 hours we headed back to Jacksonville.

 

Sanibel gallery.

FotoFusion 2009

Dorian and I attended FotoFusion at the Palm Beach Photographic Center for the first time. This first rate gathering of photographers, editors, and teachers has been going on for years in my backyard, in fact it is a 20 minute drive from my brother's house.  Look at the program which includes many top rate speakers. The conference exceeded my expectations in all respects, although I was told the attendance was about half of normal due to the economy. I attended workshops on portrait lighting, portfolio development, travel photography, Lightroom, and legal issues. The panel discussions were very thorough, with panelists from major publications (Time, NY Times, Washington Post, etc.). I also had 7 portfolio reviews which was very helpful in validating my direction and flushing out my strongest images. Mark this on your calendars for next year...I'll be there. A few images from my shoot with Fran Reisner on "Teen Portraits in Natural Light" (yeah, Fran set up the lighting, that's why these look so good):

  

Landscapes of the Spirit

I just purchased and downloaded Willian Neill's e-book, Landscapes of the Spirit. It is an inspirational piece of work both for its photography and writing. I am a great fan of Neill's column in Outdoor Photographer and his blog. Following the work of photographers whose work you love is an important part of finding your own art. There's nothing wrong with imitating, copying, and cloning the masters, just don't fool yourself into thinking that this is your own. When the time comes I'm sure you will find your own path. We are indeed fortunate that today we are surrounded with the technology, resources, examples, and teachers of such a high caliber in photography, in fact in almost any subject matter. Have you looked at Lynda.com to see what is currently being offered in terms of online education? Over 31,000 courses, for one flat rate ($25 a month). You spend more at Starbucks in a week. Check out the site, as there is a lot of free content, like a great interview with Douglas Kirkland in an area called Creative Inspirations. I'm personally a fan of Italian designer and illustrator Simone Legno, creator of Tokidoki. There is a great interview with the designer, videos of his studio and projects.  

What a great time it is!

The Nature of nature photographers

This poem by Moshe Safdie has been widely circulated but I found it pertinent to nature photography (and photographers) and thought it was worth posting again: He who seeks truth shall find beauty. He who seeks beauty shall find vanity. He who seeks order shall find gratification. He who seeks gratification shall be disappointed. He who considers himself the servant of his fellow being will find the joy of self expression. He who seeks self expression shall fall into the pit of arrogance. Arrogance is incompatible with nature, Through nature and the nature of the universe and the nature of man we shall seek truth. If we seek truth, we shall find beauty.

Mr. Safdie is an architect who presented this at a TED conference in a talk on the uniqueness of buildings. The TED site contains hundreds of videos from leading thinkers that are presented at an annual conference. Some very thought provoking topics and well worth bookmarking for future study.

Blogging marathon over!

That was tough...13 posts in 4 days plus all the gallery updates. What a lot of activity since late August, I guess I've been busy. I think you will find some interesting stuff from August 20 onwards. Been to some interesting places. Never again do we fall behind... I'm looking forward to an exciting 2009 with lots of possibilities, opportunities, and changes ahead. You will see my plans mature as I seek to find a way through this new career. My proposed calendar for the next few months:

FotoFusion- Delray Bch FL, Jan 27-31 Doug's Photo Tour of South FL, Feb 1-5 Black & White Workshop with John Paul Caponigro, March 2-6 Doug's Winter Photo Tour of Maine, Mar 7-12 AIPAD - NYC. Mar 26 Photoshop World - Boston, Mar 25-27 (so how can I be in NY and Boston at the same time?) Look3 - Charlottesville VA, Jun 11-13 ?

Now it's on to updating the website, captioning and keywording, and backing up. Have you backed up your HDD recently? No? Call me guilty. I will have something on my PhotoShelter adventure soon. See you on the road!

First shoot of 2009

I am happy to report that I got my lazy butt out of the house to go shoot at one of my favorite locations in FL, Big Talbot Island SP. We have been having some really strange weather with record highs and cool nights. When the ambient temperature and dew points collide there's FOG! We don't have very many foggy mornings here in Jacksonville, so I was excited. Yesterday the fog lasted well past 10 AM...could I be so lucky again? Well......the alarm rang at 5 AM and I was on the road by 6, things looked promising. As I crossed the Dames Point Bridge and headed out Hecksher Drive, I could see that I was going to be disappointed. Boo. It was cloudy but no fog, it did not get cold enough. But the morning was peaceful on the beach. Please be aware that the main beach entrance is blocked so you have to find your own way to the beach.

I felt a little strange in that I had a lot of trouble "seeing" anything. I was listening the previous night to a podcast by Brooks Jenson on creativity, or the lack thereof, and how he sometimes suffers from a creative block, so he just sits in his car and reads and drinks coffee while his friend photographs. (click here and navigate to LW0463: The Rhythm of Creativity). Well that story stuck in my brain and I kept asking myself, "maybe this is going to be one of those mornings..." Bad idea. I was convinced that I got nothing, I'll let you be the judge of that. I did let the images "age" on the memory cards for a few days before processing.

On the lookout for the next foggy morning in Jacksonville.

Big Talbot not so foggy morning gallery.

Holidays are for updating blogs

Ok I haven't updated this blog since August 20, not that anyone really cares but I was on a roll for a while. Lots going on in 4 months including my "retirement" from the day job in September, moving from Montréal back to Jacksonville, and various trips. The holidays are great with family and lots of printing for gifts.

On Chrismas Eve I received through the mail a copy of Life Images (Winter 09) published by Stampington. To my surprise it contained my submission "Three Lotus Leaves" on page 8. Check it out if you go to Barnes & Noble or Borders. What a nice present for Christmas.

So over the next few days you may see some older entries being filled in from the past...our trip to Ithaca NY, my last days in Quebec, our fall drive from Montréal through Ontario and the Michigan UP and WV to Jacksonville, another trip to NYC, and my trip to Los Osos CA. All great times and lots of beautiful scenery.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

12 Days in California: Days 1-4

Just finished a workshop on Location Lighting with Joe McNally at the Lepp Institute in Los Osos CA. What a week! My plan was to fly into SFO and spend a few days in Marin County (one of my favorite areas) then take the scenic route down CA1 to Los Osos which is a small town near Morro Bay (north of Santa Barbara). I found that most people in CA never heard of Los Osos either. Many thanks to Rex Naden, a workshop leader who graciously provided some ideas along the coast for shooting. So my week started with a long flight from JAX and two nights at the Best Western in Corte Madera. Hotel rooms are pricey in SF. This was a good location close to Pt Reyes National Seashore which was my first destination. Being on Pacific time you would think I would have a chance at catching some nice foggy sunrises on the west coast. Well...it seems that my adjustment came all too soon and I was typically missing the sunrise at 7:00. The drive to Pt Reyes first took me through Samuel P Taylor State Park which had some very nice redwoods, pines, and oaks. It was a lovely drive along Sir Frances Drake Boulevard (not!)...unknowingly to me this road is notorious for bad morning traffic and I caught the worst of it. Next time I will take the 101 up to Novato and then west to the coast.

 I reached the Bear Valley Visitor Center at Pt Reyes around noon. The sun was screaming above in the cloudless sky and it was just one of those days where you resolve to enjoy the view and not worry about perfect lighting. On the way to the coast I passed an interesting entrance to the historic RCA/Marconi wireless receiving station. A cypress lined "tree tunnel" surrounds the road that leads to the station. An impressive entrance. I was able to get to South Beach and the Lighthouse before the sun started going down at 5:00. From the lighthouse, I caught the sunset over the South Beach and as I drove home I could see the purple sky through the rear view mirror. I met Brenda Tharp and Jed Manwaring for dinner in Novato. Finally got to meet their dog Mocha! Overall a nice day for photography.

 

 Sam Taylor and Pt. Reyes gallery.

The next morning's plan was to wake up early for some nice fog in the Presidio. Could I make it across the Golden Gate by 7:00 AM? Fat chance...good thing about the Best Western Corte Madera is that they bring your continental breakfast to your room. Mine arrived at 6:30 but by the time I got everything packed in the car I was looking at 7:45. As I was driving over the bay the sun was up and bathing the bridge in golden light. I had to stop! Off the first exit there is a parking area on the right so I found a spot (not too hard on a Saturday morning), grabbed the camera and tripod and climbed up one of the concrete embankments. Another photographer was already there, probably snickering that I was arriving about an hour too late. So I sacrificed what was left of the fog for some bridgework. I can't say that it was worth it but I can't resist this bridge. I did not know about the access from the south (San Francisco) end. Only bikes are permitted to cross...no pedestrians. There is a lot of construction going on with chain link fences everywhere around the base. After about an hour here I decided to head to the Presidio, now that the sun was in full force.

I drove along Lincoln Blvd and then randomly looking for the main visitor center so I could get a map. This is a big place. Tons of joggers and cyclists on this Saturday morning. I ended up at Inspiration Point, from there I followed a map to the Officer's Club/Visitor Center. I asked the young lady there where the cedar groves were, she gave me this funny look and said she had no idea...just walk around. Geesh, every minute the sun was climbing higher and you know what that means. Back in the car I drove through the National Cemetery which was a very moving place. I was a bit self conscious photographing in there so I shot from the car.

Back onto Lincoln I spot a grove of trees near Park Ave. I pull into the parking area for Maintenance Building 682. The sun was coming up over the trees and the light was spilling through the grove. As I grabbed the camera and tripod I could see that some of the cyclists were stopping to take a picture...it was really a surreal effect with the sun going through the haze around the trees. I was so excited!

 

After my appointment with the trees I drove to Crissy Field, parked, and walked towards the bridge. The wind had picked up and there was a rest station appropriately named the "Warming Hut." Then back on Lincoln to Baker Beach where there is another good angle to shoot the bridge. By this time it is high noon and I continued on to an area called Land's End, grabbed a sandwich, and then found Hiway 1 and started driving south towards Monterey.

The Presidio gallery.

The next stop was at the Pigeon Pt lighthouse. I always find lighthouses very interesting both physically and metaphorically. Usually built on a small spit of rock, typically where the weather is brutal, just to house a bright beacon to keep ships safe. The stories surrounding each structure and the lighthouse keepers is always fascinating.  Onwards to catch the sunset in Santa Cruz. Isn't it crazy to be driving with your camera knowing that the sun is setting and you don't have a place to go. Luckily I found a park with beach access just in time. As the sun settled onto the water the camera was in place.

 

I did make it to Monterey, another Best Western. This one was $69 per night, includes fridge and microwave and free breakfast. You can't beat that! Today's goal is to make it from here to Los Osos on Hiway 1. First stop, Point Lobos State Reserve. My intention to rise early seems always to be...well a good intention. Never works out. I was in the park by 8:30 AM, the sun was going to be very strong but a front was moving in. As I parked my car at the first trailhead there was a volunteer and a park ranger talking, so I started asking questions and before you know it another 45 minutes passed. Believe me what they say is true, don't try to do landscape photography in direct sun. As good as you "think" your image looks in the viewfinder and on that tiny LCD, the contrast is way too high. It was good practice, and the views along the coast were incredible. Point Lobos is a fairly large park with many trails along the coast. I was lucky in that the park was relatively empty. As the afternoon wore on the clouds rolled in, the wind picked up, and temperature dropped.

 

From Pt Lobos it was on to Big Sur and the classic California coastline. Driving on Hiway 1 is a real experience. I pulled off the road at a turnout to watch the sunset, and when I lost all the light, I had 50 miles to go on the twisty roads to Los Osos. Yikes!

 

Pt. Lobos gallery.

12 Days in California: Days 10-12

With the workshop over, I had 3 days of making my way back to San Francisco. Time to retrace my journey north on Hiway 1 with a stop at Big Sur. Wouldn't you know they closed Pfeiffer State Park for the rest of the season because of the fires and road repair. This is the big area directly around Big Sur...major disappointment. I decided to stay at the Big Sur Lodge which is at the entrance to the park and figured I would find something interesting on the 2 trails that were still open.

Montana de Oro gallery.

From Los Osos I woke up early (hooray!) to head up to Montana de Oro and Morro Bay State Parks. The wind was blowing hard and it was cold (well cold for me) but I was determined to finally get some morning light. Montana de Oro had a eucalyptus grove and a great coastal area but honestly the weather was pretty bad. After some shots here I headed out of town through Morro Bay SP which was very small. Got lost finding gas and finally got onto Hiway 1. Stopped at a few turnouts for some pics. The coast is incredible. I also saw in the light what I drove through in pitch blackness. You know why they put a 25 mph limit on those curves...because it you run off the road you literally go off a cliff into the sea. Yes, has-ta la vista, you are a gonner.

The rain started up and by 4:30 I checked into the Big Sur Lodge and got a nice cabin for $135. Most of Big Sur is a major tourist trap because it is in the middle of nowhere and the choices are slim. Dinner plans? Got a burrito and apple at the local gas station...cost me $12, ouch, but I was good for the night. Rain meant no sunset so I was relieved not to have to chase a location for that. From the weather report it looked like the front was locked onto the coast with crummy weather all weekend, so the plans for the morning were in the air. I think I'll sleep in. The next morning the rain let up and I rushed to the window to make sure that I didn't miss a gorgeous sunrise. Why can't we let it go? So we miss the most fantastic sunrise ever to happen at Big Sur...what's the big deal? It was a late breakfast at the lodge restaurant and then onto the Buzzard's Roost Trail right across the street. How convenient. The rain had let up, it was cloudy, and the wind died down, lovely conditions for a hike and some pictures. I had a great time and ended up taking 4 hours covering 1/3 of the trail (never did the portion that climbed to the top of the ridge).

  

Big Sur gallery.

From Big Sur I drove to Monterey and stayed again at the Best Western. Best $65 deal in town. The rain came down in sheets and I settled in. My thoughts surely were continued rain throughout the next day. Sleep in!! The next morning I was awakened by the pink sky of a gorgeous sunrise...OMG, the rain stopped. So what is the plan for the day? I happened to glance at one of those hotel books on Monterey and noticed that Michael Kenna was exhibiting at the Monterey Museum of Art...keep reading...exhibition Feb 9 - July 13...missed it. The title: The Elkhorn Slough and Moss Landing. I remembered that Moss Landing was a city nearby. Hmmm, good enough for Michael Kenna, good enough for me. Onwards to Moss Landing.

As I started driving north the sun was going in and out and to my surprise a huge rainbow appeared on the ocean. I was approaching Sand City (appropriately named) and wanted to find an exit that would take me to the shore. I got off but found myself in the wrong lane to loop to the shore, and ended up back on 1 going north. I was driving like mad to get to the next exit and then backtrack. All this was happening while I had the rainbow in clear sight. Finally when I found the backroad to get to the ocean the rainbow had all but disappeared. So much for that. Moss Landing was ahead and I could not wait to see what Michael Kenna found there.

As I approached the main entrance I could see a car stopped near the gate. A closed gate? What was this? There seemed to be cars in the parking lot, but the gate was locked. I read the sign: Parked closed on Mondays. WTF? Of all the stupid things...who decided this? There was only 1 other location open, a boat ramp. What a disappointment. Just couldn't believe it. I wasted my morning shoot for a boat ramp? Well, I headed for the boat ramp hoping for a happy ending. By this time all traces of any clouds had disappeared, the sun was in full force in a blue sky. Just a lovely time for landscape photography. Well the boat ramp confirmed my complete and utter disappointment. After now seeing Kenna's portfolio, I should have made the best of it to photograph the fence posts, sea gull droppings, and power plant smokestacks, but I just called it a day and decided to move on to San Francisco. I had a great 12 days, lots of great shooting, and some days you just enjoy driving around in Castroville - the artichoke capital of the world!

FCTM Fashion Show

My daughter Diana Eng never ceases to amaze. She just presented a keynote and fashion show at the annual FCTM (FL Council Teachers of Mathematics) conference in Jacksonville held Oct 16-18 at the Hyatt. Diana's presentation "A Mathematical Fashion Show" covered the use of mathematics in fashion design, followed by a runway show of her recent designs. Diana Middleton of the Florida Times Union produced a great article for the paper.

Diana is a very focused and determined individual willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill her vision. I take a lot of inspiration from that. Is learning from your children a return on investment? I'm enjoying it.

The final roadtrip home: Montréal to Jax - Part 2

Musining MI is a nice small town. In the October cold rain, the streets were quiet. I could see this place hustling during the heat of the summer, but now it was bordering on total desertion with just a few locals tending to their business. One thing about cold, rainy, off season days...the parks should be empty! We planned on two days at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, day 1 exploring the west side and day 2 driving over to the east. One of the main roads through the park was closed, so we needed to make a big loop to get to the other end.

   

The first day was a bit ridiculous. Winds at 30-40 mph on the lakefront blowing cold rain. I've shot in the drizzle before but this was insane. There were periods of reprieve. In fact seriously, I find changing weather conditions more productive than bright cloudless days. Day 2 the rain let up but the wind did not rest. At Sable Falls we had a chance meeting with Nancy Rotenberg...what a nice surprise. Go figure, what are the chances? Nancy's work is very influential in my development and I experienced one of her great workshops at the Adirondack Photo Institute.

 

Michigan UP and Pictured Rocks gallery.

From Musining, we took H13 south to Lake Michigan, then east on H2 towards Mackinaw City and hook up with M119 (the famous Tunnel of Trees) between Petosky and Harbor Springs. Our goal was to reach Flint MI by dark. The rain seemed to follow us as we stayed slightly ahead of it. Along H13 we took a small side road which turned into an ATV trail. Some really nice foliage but I was wondering what we would do if an oncoming vehicle approached us...there was no room to turn around. After about a mile of getting totally lost we were deep in the Hiawatha Forest and  decided to backtrack and eventually found our way out.

  

From here H13 runs into Lake Michigan. Going west on 2 to Manistique we stopped at the lighthouse, and then onwards to the Mackinac Bridge. There is a nice visitor's center at the base of the bridge on the south end, so we stopped for some photos. Then onwards to find M119. It's a bit of a haul to get to on backroads but worth it. Everything was still green and lush, the trees literally formed a tunnel. Traffic was somewhat heavy and we did not stop. The road is primarily residential and developed. We got to Flint well after sundown. From Flint it was on to Columbus OH.

Makinac Bridge gallery.

The final roadtrip home: Montréal to Jax - Part 3

Sometimes I like taking the road less traveled. Interstates are nice but you can't really see or experience America sandwiched in between 2 tractor-trailers and eating at Cracker Barrel. Driving through Ontario and then Michigan was actually enlightening, to see the farms, the small towns, and the locals going about their day, totally separated from the hustle and bustle of the city. Well, the rain finally let up...lets see it's been 5 days of downpour now. We took a "shortcut" to get from Flint to Columbus, at least that's what I was told. We passed an old drive in movie that I now wish I had stopped to photograph. Plenty of old gas stations, barns, and shops. The highlight of our stay was meeting Emma our grand-niece. As you can see she is cute as a button and we spent plenty of time getting some good pictures.

   

We left Columbus and headed to Canaan Valley, WV...yahoo! I was familiar with this place when I attended the very first NANPA Regional event held here in May 2006 (my gallery from this event). The foliage was in good form, and the weather...well it seemed like the rain had caught up with us. We felt like we were jinxed, out comes the camera, down comes the rain. As you can see the overcast skies worked in our favor. I would rather dodge the raindrops than deal with the full sun. We debated staying one more day since I missed the morning fog in the valley. I have a tough time catching that fog! We decided to head out per schedule, one more night in Cornelius, NC and then home at last.

   

Canaan Valley Autumn gallery.

Lightroom resources

My adventure into Lightroom has begun. The web has so much to offer, and it it easy to get lost in what is available. From the Adobe site Lightroom product page you can go to the Design Center for a bunch of related links for tutorials and help. A good Lightroom forum can be found at http://www.lightroomforums.net/

George Jardin's blog (former Adobe Lightroom evangelist) http://www.mulita.com/blog/ There are several Podcasts and interviews that are VERY insightful for Lightroom and photography in general. Unfortunately George left Adobe in July but his podcasts are still available on his idisk. Grab them now before someone takes his site down. I spent several hours last night listening to interviews with Jay Maisel, Steve McCurry, Greg Gorman, and others.

Lightroom Tutorial Podcast #45 The Lightroom Catalog - Part 1, or “Where Are My Pictures?” is particularly insightful on what is going on with Lightroom file organization, and why most people (including me) are completely confused with a database approach vs. a file browser approach. Then listen to the interview with Maisel, Gorman, and Resnik (Podcast #42) to ask yourself why you are bothering to go through all this to store your images.

On an unrelated note, I ran into this link for interviews with great contemporary photographers http://bermangraphics.com/gallerypress.htm

Enjoy!

Lightroom 2.0 upgrade

Today I upgraded my Lightroom to 2.0 and re-confirmed my commitment to the software with my wallet. I promised myself to work through my internal resistance to change workflow, and now I am narrowing my excuses. Adobe is doing a great job of hyping the new release, and I am always a sucker for a good sales pitch (bought a few Magic Bullets a while back). I've started going down the Lightroom path at least 3 times, and now I am going again. There are several big mental obstacles to overcome and it means just setting one's mind to the task and doing it. Old habits are hard to break and this old dog needs to learn some new tricks. The first big rock to overcome is convincing yourself that your existing tools and ways just cannot accommodate what you want to do. Here is my situation:

I have been shooting digitally since 2004 and have amassed around 280 GB of photos, mostly RAW, numbering in the neighborhood of 28,000 images. These are all organized on several external HDDs, my 1 TB drive has everything as a master archive, a 250 GB has 2007/2008 and is my "working" drive, and an additional 160 GB drive has 2006-2004.

I am tired of looking for images based on memory of when and where they were taken. As I venture into selling stock, I need to be able to not only find images but keywording is essential. If I take the time to title, caption, and keyword an image I only want to do this one time for all eternity, and I need a place where this can be done efficiently and in an organized way. I'm not going to re-enter the same title for my pBase site, Zenfolio site, PhotoShelter, etc.

Although Canon DPP has served me well, it is time to move on. The editing tools in LR are far superior, and the integration with Photoshop is designed to help your workflow.  I'm looking forward to the upgrade.