Roger Nordstrom Photo

December Trip West - Day 22 - Taos Pueblo

2012-01-04T10:33:00.001-06:00

Ever since I'd decided to head to Santa Fe and Taos I'd been looking forward to visiting Taos Pueblo. Having gotten a glimpse of Nambe Pueblo yesterday made the anticipation of Taos Pueblo even greater. Since today is also the start of the trip home I had a limited amount of time there.

So I awoke early in time to have the free french toast breakfast and arrived just as they were opening the Pueblo at 8am. Being the first to arrive I found the Pueblo vacant of other tourists and natives. There were dogs though, about a half dozen roaming around. The first structure you see after entering is the San Geronimo Chapel. The chapel was completed in 1850 and is one of the youngest structures in the Pueblo. It was built to replace the original church which was destroyed in the War with Mexico by the U.S. Army in 1847. That church, the ruins still evident on the west side of the village, was first built in 1619. It was then destroyed in the Spanish Revolt of 1680 but soon rebuilt on the same site.

Past the church is a large open common area. I'm sure this area is used for the many religious ceremonies conducted in the Pueblo. On the left side of the common area is the large 4 story structure so identified with Taos Pueblo, it was an instant magnet for me. The trip to Taos Pueblo took on two meanings for me. Of course I was there to photograph it but there was the historical aspect that permeated by entire visit.

I was just so awe struck by the history of the Pueblo. The Spanish conquered, enslaved and forced the natives into Christianity in the early 1600s, to ‘civilize’ them. In 1680 the natives organized a revolt and forced out the Spanish in the Spanish Revolt of 1680. 14 years later the Spanish raided Taos Pueblo in a successful military conquest that completed the recolonization of the area. It wasn’t until 1970 that President Nixon returned the Pueblo’s 48,000 acres of mountain land to the Northern Tiwa tribe.

Another aspect of the Pueblo’s history I find interesting is the preservation of the buildings. Chaco Canyon in northwest New Mexico is a wonderful example of an ancient Pueblonian community. Long ago vacated by its inhabitants, the site has deteriorated into ruins. Chaco Canyon dates back to the 850-1250AD timeframe overlapping with the Taos Pueblo construction years of 1000-1450AD. While the wall construction methods are different, Chaco building walls are constructed with stone with mud and Taos Pueblo walls are adobe, the appearance of the structures are quite similar. It is easy to visualize the Chaco Canyon community looking similar to Taos Pueblo if it had been maintained thru the years.

After spending a lot of time photographing and feeling the history of the large 4 story structure it was time to slowly venture around other areas of the Pueblo where visitors are allowed. Smoke was rising from homes in the early morning chill. It’s said that about 150 people still live in the Pueblo full time. I did see a few people entering and leaving their homes but not many. It was very quiet.

As the morning wore on more visitors arrived and some of the homes started opening as arts and crafts store fronts. I entered a silversmiths place. Inside the adobe walls were covered with a white plaster. It was very clean and comfortable. A small fireplace was burning cedar and provided the heat for the rooms. I also entered another place that sold fresh baked bread. It was very similar in appearance to the previous place. As I was eating some fry bread, with powdered sugar, I learned that with the exception of propane that has been added to some of the homes of the Pueblo for lighting and I assume heat the homes are as they have been for hundreds of years. It’s pretty amazing that in these modern times people will continue their traditional ways. The homes within the Pueblo are ‘owned’ by the families that reside in them and are handed down to younger generations.

I ended up spending about 4 hours in Taos Pueblo. It is a place of interesting history of a people I respect. It is also a place that I wish to visit again.

It was noon when I left the Pueblo and started my drive home. My destination for tonight is North Platte, Nebraska some 600+ miles from Taos. I put North Platte into my iPhone Navigation app and off we went. To my surprise, as I was heading east on NM160 there is the sign to Great Sand Dunes national Park. I had originally planned to stop at the park but my disappointment with the other three sand dunes I stopped at made me bypass this park. Now I was within 16 miles of it so I decided to turn around and check it out.

I’m glad I did. There are some really cool perspectives from a distance of the dunes against the mountains in the background. I was there a few hours before sunset so there were some nice shadows on the dunes. I did drive all the way to the parking area but didn’t have time to stop. The side trip added about an hour to my drive and it was an hour well spent.

Tomorrow is a travel day ending when I get home. This is going to be my last blog article of this trip. It was fun sharing my adventure with you. I hope you enjoyed the journey thru my eyes and experiences.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 21 - High Road to Taos

2012-01-01T22:34:00.000-06:00

Today I took the 'High Road to Taos' If you took the low road you no doubt beat me since it took the whole day, which was the plan. I'm going to start off with a horse I met. I was driving around Nambe, New Mexico when I came upon this old adobe structure I wanted to photograph. I got out of the car, walked up the embankment and as soon as I did this horse came walking over. Turned out to be a real sweet horse. She let me scratch her head, cheeks and neck. I'm getting braver with horses now that Carolyn is in my life.

Speaking of Nambe I drove over to the Old Nambe Pueblo. The pueblo was supposed to have a nice plaza and church. As I turned off the paved road onto the dirt road leading to the pueblo I passed a truck, driving slowly scoping me out. I waved and he cautiously waved back and I kept going. Just as I was about to enter the pueblo I saw a sign 'No Photos Please'. Seeing as though that's what I was after and wishing to respect the residence wishes I was about to turn around when a truck pulls up next to me. The lady driver rolled down her passenger window and ask if she could help. I said I came to take photos, saw the sign and was leaving. Correct answer. She smiled and drove away. The part of the pueblo I saw was exactly what I was hoping to photograph but it was not to be.

Chimayó to visit Santuario

The next stop was Chimayó to visit Santuario de Chimayó. Santuario de Chimayó was built in 1816 and is considered the most important Catholic pilgrimage center in the United States receiving 300,000 visitors per year. Some of those 300,000 visitors were there today witnessed by the people in the images.

Chimayó to visit Santuario

Apparently the church is known for it's cures and the holy dirt pilgrims take home in hopes of a miraculous cure for themselves or someone who could not make the trip. I went into the church and wish I could have photographed it but that's not allowed. A small chapel adjoining the church contained the holy dirt as well as mementos of those 'cured', shoes, crutches, pictures and other items.

San Jose de Gracia

Next it was on to Las Trampas and the San Jose de Gracia church. Erected between 1760 and 1776, this is one of the best-preserved and most representative examples of the Spanish Colonial churches in New Mexico. The church was locked so I couldn't get inside. I was particularly looking to make images with interesting aspects of the churches not necessarily including the entire church.

San Lorenzo

From Las Trampas I stopped at Picuris Pueblo to photograph the church there, San Lorenzo church. After the experience with Nambe Pueblo I was a little hesitant entering Picuris until I noticed a Visitors Welcome sign that directed visitors to the Museum to purchase a permit. I went over to the Museum but it was obvious it had closed some time ago and I was directed by a sign on the door to the admin building across the street. Of course no one was there being Jan 1st so there was no one to get a permit from. Since the church was right there I decided it was ok to make some images.

San Lorenzo

The church is a few hundred years old and has recently undergone 8 years of restoration by the residents. This was my favorite church to photograph. Since Christmas has just passed there are alot of Christmas ornaments adorning the churches. I bet the churches really look nice at night all lit up but the ornaments are a bit distracting in photographs. San Lorenzo didn't have any such ornamentation.

San Francisco de Asis

Last stop was at San Francisco de Asis in Ranchos de Taos. Construction on the church began around 1772 and was completed in 1815. It's a few miles south of Taos Pueblo and has inspi
red some of the greatest artists of recent time, Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and Georgia O'Keeffe.

San Francisco de Asis

The day ended in Taos New Mexico. Tomorrow morning I'll visit Taos Pueblo. I'm quite excited.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 20 - Santa Fe

2011-12-31T23:06:00.000-06:00

Headed down to the historic center of Santa Fe about 9:30 this morning. It was pretty quiet except for the Native Americans sitting literally shoulder to shoulder at the 'Palace of Governors', the oldest U.S. public building still in continuous use. Under a unique program guaranteeing authenticity of their products Native Americans can be found here 365 days a week from 8:00am till dusk. A few tourists were milling about looking at the crafts and jewelry for sale. The rest of the main plaza area was very quiet so Thule and I walked around a bit.

I was specifically looking for Pueblo, adobe, architecture to photograph. Now, I'll admit this isn't really my strong suit as far as photography and I do admire photographers that can do this well but I try. The problem was I wasn't seeing anything very compelling. The first thing that struck me was how commercial it was. Expensive shops of all sorts lined these historic streets. I thought there would be more emphasis on the history of the area instead of just casually mentioning it. I stopped at the visitor information to get a map and some history of the place and was given a chamber of commerce booklet. There are many preserved buildings whose history would be interesting to know.

After walking some of the neighboring streets we returned to the plaza. I noticed this smell in the air of Mexican food. Boy did it make me hungry. The plaza is surrounded by eateries and since I had Thule I wasn't going to be eating in one. Then I noticed on a street corner steam rising from a street vendor. Ah that's where the smell is coming from so I bee-lined it over to the stand and bought a tamale. They sold fajitas as well but I went with the tamale. Sure was good so I went back for another. And to top if off later in the day I had a fajita. I couldn't think of a better meal.

Around noon time some musicians started arriving and the plaza began taking on a more festive mood. In addition to the musicians people from all walks of life were milling around. Santa Fe is really an artist mecca and as such draws a wide variety of people. Not only was the plaza festive the people watching was outstanding. What this really reminded me of is a cruise port call. Locals come out to sell their wares, tourists by the hundreds, maybe thousands, expensive shops, music, etc, etc. Brought back some memories.

About 4:30 I decided to get set up with my room for the night. As I was leaving I noticed people setting up speakers and others putting out smalls bags of sand with little lights inside. The must be having a New Years celebration. We had to return.

When we returned about 5:30 there were speakers talking to the crowd of people. One person then another. I wasn't paying any attention figuring is was local politicians opening the night. Before I knew it someone was singing Auld Lang Syne and the night was over. It was 6:10pm and everyone started disbursing. We walked around a little move making a few more images then went back to the Motel 6. Did I tell you this was a nice Motel 6?

Tomorrow we take the high road to Taos.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 19 - Bosque Del Apache - Santa Fe

2011-12-30T22:31:00.000-06:00

Today started out with a big blast and ended with a real dud.

It was back to Bosque Del Apache for the morning Snow Geese 'blast-off'. Yesterday I barely got there on time today I was really early. I wanted to get a broad view of the geese so had on my 24-105mm. The geese were some distance from us and spread out quite a bit so I could get a wide view and still zoom in a little.

It is such a rush when they take flight. The blast-off starts at one end with a loud racket and quickly spreads to the whole flock. It's followed by this eerie silence. I even thought about spending one more night just to see this again but there will be other opportunities in the future.

I decided to head over to the farm area to see if the Snow Geese had landed close to the road. Upon arriving there was a nice flock not far from the road. A few years back when I first came to Bosque there was a flock of geese right next to the road. They would blast off over and over flying back to the same place. This is something I didn't see 2 years ago but was hoping for it this year. So I thought this group might provide that spectacle. As I waited they kept flying away in small groups. I'd seen this behavior before. It meant no blast off. But I did notice a number of large groups off in the distance blasting off over and over. Hoping that they would eventually work their way over to us I went back to a spot closer to them.

I got my camera ready then had some cereal for breakfast waiting patiently. While I was waiting the Sandhills were returning to the fields. There were some good opportunities to shoot them flying overhead. Eventually my patience wore out and I had to leave. In the end it was a fun morning.

Last night I decided that I would mix things up a bit and head over to Santa Fe and check out some of the history there. After a night or two there I'll drive the High Road to Taos and spend a night in Taos before heading home. Well that's the plan but my plans have changes quickly so we'll see how this one plays out.

On the way to Santa Fe I decided to take in Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Last night I looked Tent Rocks up to get GPS coordinates so my Nav could get me there. After passing thru Albuquerque I exited I-25 on to US 550. After 20 miles NM4 headed to the right for the last 26 miles. Once I reached my destination I knew something was wrong. This wasn't where Tent Rocks were. In fact there was a mountain between me and the monument. It was 3pm and the sun sets a little after 5pm and I was determined to get there.

So after figuring out went wrong I backtracked the 50 miles to the interstate and headed north another 16 miles to the correct off ramp. Ah. there's a sign pointing to Tent Rocks. I followed NM22 for about 10 miles to a left turn toward Cochiti Pueblo. I went thru the pueblo and drove about 5 miles to a remote village. I knew this was not the way to the monument so I did a quick u-turn. Well as it turned out there was a sign to the monument just after entering Cochiti Pueblo that I'd missed. Finally I'd found it but when I drove up to the entrance it was closed. I'd been thinking of heading over there in the morning since it is just 40 miles from the Motel 6. What I wasn't expecting was the big 'NO DOGS' sign. Sure enough no dogs are allowed in the monument. Their site mentions some sort of human safety concern. HMMM, that's weird. Guess what I won't be doing tomorrow and no pictures, sorry.


San Ysidro Catholic Church

So it was off to Santa Fe and the Motel 6 and what a nice Motel 6 this is. Tomorrow Thule and I will be walking the streets of old Santa Fe.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 18 - Bosque Del Apache - VLA

2011-12-29T21:50:00.000-06:00

This morning started early with the alarm going off at 5:30am, there was a blast-off to shoot. Normally photographers will get up 2 hrs before the sun rises to catch the early morning rays of sunshine. But at Bosque you rise early to see a few thousand Snow Geese take flight virtually all at once.

Individual or small groups of Snow Geese will take off and fly away until something triggers all of them and they all take off and head for the fields. The blast-off is a noisy affair with birds covering the sky. What was once a noisy carpet of white Snow Geese there is left an empty, well not really the Sandhill Cranes remain, silent, except for the Sandhill Cranes squawk, area of pond water. In a matter of seconds the sight most everyone came to see is over and most everyone head for their cars.

After the exciting blast-off I like hanging around watching the Sandhill Cranes slowly wake up and go for their morning walks. They will line up in groups from 2 to 10 and slowly walk across the pond. Then something triggers them and they fly away. Unlike the Snow Geese, that leave all at once, the Sandhill Cranes leave in small groups. Eventually they are gone as well and the morning show is complete.

When I was at Canyonlands photographing Mesa Arch I met Markus, from Germany. He said they were heading to Socorro to visit the Very Large Array (VLA). I'd known the VLA was in the area but had never looked it up. I mentioned Bosque Del Apache to him. He hadn't heard of that and said he'd check it out. Well after Markus mentioned the VLA I decided to check it out.

It's about 50 miles from Socorro on the Plains of San Agustin. The VLA is a configuration of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration making it one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories. These dishes weigh 210 tons and are huge, 82 ft in diameter. You could fit a baseball diamond within one. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna from a little over .5 miles to over 22 miles. The antenna on each of the 3 legs can be spread out across 13 miles, I guess it's very large. The configuration I saw, the D configuration is the most compact of the options.

Visitors can take a self guided walk that included standing at the base of one of these giants. This radio telescope operates 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, unaffected by the sun or cloud cover. While under the dish you can hear and see it move. When one moves they all move. It's interesting seeing this 210 ton instrument making very small and precise movements. Notice how the position changed in the previous images over the course of 1 1/4 hrs.

After visiting the VLA it was back to Bosque. They had closed the southern loop road due to the terribly muddy conditions. When I drove it yesterday I was thinking cars could get stuck in this mess. But I was interested in the farm loop since the birds hang out in the farm area during the day. Traffic was rather heavy but finally I made it.

Sure enough there was a large group of Snow Geese, and of course Sandhill Cranes, looking for food and flying in and out. Lots of good flying photo ops and I took advantage of the opportunity.

Soon time came to head over to one of the main ponds and watch the birds come in for the night. First the Sandhills start arriving they same way they left, a few at a time. Then the Snow Geese start arriving in much larger groups. They don't arrive all together like they leave but the groups they arrive in can be rather large.

Tomorrow morning it will be an early rise again for the blast off.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 17 - White Sands - Bosque Del Apache

2011-12-29T11:08:00.000-06:00

Sunrise today is a little after 7am but White Sands doesn't open till 7:00. I figured I'd get there at 6:30 and wait till the gates open and get in as soon as possible. It was 6:35 when I arrived and sure enough the gate was open and I was able to enter. I thought of asking the Ranger what time he'd be there the following morning but I'd already entered the monument.

Looked like I was the first one in. The sky was getting bright but we still had a while to get setup before the sunrise. Besides photography starts before the sun rises and lasts after the sun sets. There is always the pink of the illuminated sky contrasting with the blue of the earths shadow opposite of the sun to enjoy.

We walked around a bit, setup a few shots and found a place to shoot the first rays of sunshine. Again I was feeling a lack of inspiration. I saw people streaming in, snow was everywhere, cloudless sky and still no ripples in the sand. So about a half hour after sunrise we went back to the car and headed out. Instead of the three days at White Sands I decided to cut it to just one night and move on to Bosque Del Apache. I knew what to expect at Bosque, or so I thought.

Along the way to Bosque we pass Valley of Fire Recreational Area outside of Carrizozo, New Mexico. This part of the long Tularosa Valley contains many square miles of buckled, twisted basalt lava, part of an extensive flow up to 165 feet thick and over 45 miles long that originated from several nearby volcanoes, including one vent now known as Little Black Peak, a few miles away. Also along the way is the Trinity site. On July 16, 1945 the world changed forever with the explosion of the first atomic bomb. Visitation to the site is restricted to just 2 days a year and some year I'd like to attend.

The trip to Bosque Del Apache was uneventful. I pulled in early afternoon and was surprised to see all the snow, I know I shouldn't have been surprised, as well as the frozen ponds. The birds roost at night on open water and there wasn't much open water to be found.

As sunset approached I drove around the loops looking for a place where the birds might congregate. There were alot of cars around the viewing platform, a place that has not had the best viewing in my two previous trips, so I moved on. I ended up shooting at a location on the Farm Road and fortunately we had a few clouds the sun could paint orange at the end of the day.

As I was exiting the reserve I saw why all of the people, and even more, had gathered in that area. Lots of Snow Geese were roosting there. Now I know where I'm going tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening.

Roger

(-:)

December Trip West - Day 16 - White Sands

2011-12-28T23:55:00.001-06:00

It's Tuesday December 27, Happy Birthday Kaylee. It sure was nice seeing my family again and giving them and Carolyn a chance to get to know each other. We had such a wonderful time.

Yesterday I took Carolyn to the airport for her safe flight home and after letting her off I was back on the road. I had over 800 miles to Alamogordo and knew I'd be stopping somewhere along the way. That somewhere turned out to be North Tucson, back in a Motel 6 right next to railroad tracks. I could even hear the trains blasting their horns without my aids so it was quite loud.

I got to White Sands well before sunset and headed out to scout locations for my next three days of shooting. It had been snowing in the area and there was quite a bit of snow still on the sand dunes. It was virtually impossible making an image without snow showing somewhere. Thule and I walked around a bit as sunset approached. Fortunately there was a hint of color behind the mountains as the sun set.

I noticed there were quite a few people at White Sands, more than I remember from my first trip. As I was setting up for sunset I had to be aware of the others enjoying the sunset as well from dune tops. Some no doubt made it into my images.

Another thing I noticed was the lack of ripples in the sand. The fall and winter storms had really flattened out the sand. I had imagined using the ripples in my compositions but there really wasn't any to be found.

I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. I'd really looked forward to spending 3 days here but I'm not off to a great start. I'd reserved a room for three days but when I checked in I just paid for two. We'll see what tomorrow brings with sunrise. I can always add the other day back in if things go well.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 11 - Lone Pine, Fossil Falls

2011-12-28T23:27:00.000-06:00

Last night I decided to leave Death Valley and head to Lone Pine and do sunrise in the Alabama Hills. I'd shot in the Alabama Hills once before a few years ago with my brother Ralph on one of his Eastern Sierra workshops. Many movies have been made in these hills and you have a wonderful view of Mt Whitney rising above all other peaks in the Sierra Nevadas, and the lower 48 states.

I've been staying in Motel 6es for two reason, cost and they are pet friendly. But Lone Pine doesn't have a Motel 6 so I stayed in the Comfort Inn. When I opened the door to my room it almost blew me over with pictures on the walls, a nice chair with ottoman, desk and exec chair. Pretty fancy. Another thing they have is a continental breakfast. I had planned to get to my shooting location an hour before the 7:05am sunrise. But breakfast was being served at 6:00am so I decided to stop off there "quickly". French waffles, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, etc, well it took me longer than I'd planned.

Once I did hit the road it only takes 10-15 to get to the shooting spot. I found a location and watched the alpenglow light up the mountains. Alpenglow is the illumination of high mountains before the sunlight actually his them. This is the second time I've knowingly seen it.

After an hour or so of shooting, until the light got really flat, I headed back to the hotel, packed up and headed south. Ralph had told be about Fossil Falls which was just off the highway. I had time so I stopped. The Owens Valley is home to ancient volcanic activity. Fossil Falls is a lava field thru which the Owens River flowed. The river doesn't flow any more but it's obvious looking at the falls torrents of water flowed over the 40 ft high fall. The lava has been polished and carved into interesting shapes. It would be fun to shoot there on an overcast day to even the light out. A clear blue day such as today is just to contrasty.

As I was leaving Fossil Falls I accelerated to get into traffic when my Check Engine light came on. This happened a few months ago and it turned out to be a bad oxygen sensor, that took a week to get in stock. The car ran fine and after the previous experience I didn't worry much. But when the Check Engine light comes on the cruise control is disabled. I have a very difficult time driving long distances without cruise control and the nearest Subaru dealer was over 100 miles away. When I finally did get to the Subaru dealer it turned out to be a software problem which they were able to fix on the spot. Was that ever a relief.

From there is was a few more hours and I was at my brothers house ready to spend Christmas with my girl and my family.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 10 - Death Valley

2011-12-28T22:52:00.000-06:00

Yesterday ran in to today. I ended up sleeping in the car, in the drivers seat of the car. The plan was to go back and get the camera around midnight then take it back out for moonrise. Well when it came time to get the camera I was just to cold plus I'd been sleeping anyway. So I decided to wait till moonrise and just replace the battery for the sunrise sequence. I almost didn't go change the battery cause I was just to cold, temp was 26. 26 isn't that cold if you're dresses for it which I wasn't and I was to cold to get dresses for it. The one thing I did know is a mile and a half walk would warm be a little so around 3am I headed out.

Being the brave soul I try to be I opened the car door and shook off the cold and began my walk. On the way out I was wondering how long it would take them to find my frozen body on the playa, did I say I was cold. Again I followed my GPS right to my camera, I never would have found it without that. I quickly switched batteries, change the exposure to 30 sec, f4, ISO 6400 and headed back to the car.

It was well before sunrise when another photographer arrived. I'd seen him coming and was rather surprised to see someone that early. He got there a good hr before he could start shooting and the road takes an hour or more to drive. At any rate once I got back to the car I ran it for about 15 minutes to warm the inside a little, tilted back the front seat and dozed off again.

Before I knew it it was time to head back out on the playa for the last time. I got out to my camera and finally had the opportunity to check the star trails. Remember I said I frequently run into problems. Well when I put one of the heating pads on I moved the camera. The composition I'd setup moved and cut in half of my foreground rock. Looks like the star trails came out really cool but the rock was screwed up. Oh well better luck next time. I think the Mesa Arch star trail turned out though.

I stayed an extra hour or so shooting star bursts. I was able to get 5, I think, star burst compositions thanks to the ragged mountain the sun was rising above. At the other end of the playa is a monolith called the Grandstand that I had to walk around on my way out.

Also on my way out, it's actually at the start of the dirt road to Racetrack is the Ubehebe Crater. I did stop and have a look. It's a half mile across and 500ft deep. There's a trail that leads to the bottom, a steep trail. I went down the trail a ways then was reminded of the thought that once you go down you must come back up. I decided to swallow my pride and make a hasty u-turn, besides I didn't see anyone else down there either. The crater was a cool stop. I'd have liked to spend more time but I had to get to the sand dunes, tonight's sunset location.

We pulled into Stovepipe Wells and paid for a night of camping before heading over to the dunes. The plan was to shoot the dunes at sunset tonight and sunrise tomorrow. It was about 3:00 PM, sun sets around 5:00 so it was time to head over to them. Ralph told me how to get around the public entrance and increase my chance of finding dunes with no footprints.

It was about a mile walk into the dunes, an easy walk. I got there and started looking around for inspiration. I tried a few things but nothing really clicked. A few ideas were spoiled with foot prints. Maybe I could isolate something with my longer lens so tried that. I made a few images that have some potential but in the end I found the dunes uninspiring. That coupled with my plans to spend 3 days at White Sands resulted in a change of plans. Instead of staying in Death Valley tonight I drove to Lone Pine in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Tomorrow I'll be shooting sunrise in the Alabama Hills.

After shooting the Alabama Hills I'll be heading to southern California to be with my brothers and their families for Christmas. On Friday Carolyn will be flying in and I'll finally be able to see her again. Life is Good. On Monday December 26 I will leave California and head toward New Mexico where the photography part of the trip will continue.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 9 - Death Valley

2011-12-27T22:11:00.000-06:00

Spend the night in Beatty Nevada, the gateway to Death Valley. Since sunrise is like 6:40 and I wanted to give myself 2 hrs to get to Badwater it meant I was going to rise really early and I almost didn't hear the alarm. I wear hearing aids and have a bluetooth device that links my iPhone to my hearing aids. When they are linked whatever sound the iPhone makes it gets rerouted to my hearing aids. I'd forgotten to unlink the two before going to bed so when the alarm on the iPhone went off it squawked once on the iPhone speaker then switched over to my aids, which I don't sleep with. Thankfully I heard that one squawk.

Anyway I was up, got Thule in the car, stopped for a "free" coffee and hit the road. We got to Badwater well before sunrise. There was already one photographer parked in the parking lot and out on the basin. I took my brothers advice and drove around the bend and walked out about 3.4 mile from there. I must admit I wasn't sure what I was going to be seeing out there. I've seen different formations in Death Valley but wasn't sure what this one was, all I know was my brother said this was a sunrise you must do.

Well Badwater is Bad, I mean BAD. I've seen some amazing things on this trip and this ranks right up there with the best. It's all salt formations out there. I tasted it and you could season your food with it. If you were to stop at Badwater and walk out as far as most people walk you would have no idea what Badwater was all about. You have to walk way out beyond where most people go, to where the photographers go, to really see it's grandeur.

After a couple of hours I went back to the car and Thule and we both had breakfast. It was time for the second adventure of the day.

Devils Golf Course

Ever since seeing the rocks at Racetrack I've wanted to go see these marvels but I'd always heard warnings that the road out there eats tires, lots of flats. The recommendation is 4x4, high clearance and all terrain tires. Of the three all terrain tires are the most important. So since I wanted to go to the Racetrack and my Forester had all seasons on them I needed all terrains and get all terrains I did. I knew they would be useful beyond the Racetrack but it was the Racetrack that was the real reason for getting them.

I was pretty paranoid when I got on the 27 mile road, driving maybe 10 mph. A number of people were passing me by but I was determined to make it without getting a flat. After about 2 1/2 hours I finally arrived with about an hour left before sunset. I had to remember sunset has a different meaning in mountainous areas. Sunset is when the sun goes behind the mountain. There were a number of people out on the playa where the rocks are to be found, about .6 miles from the parking area. I started on my little trek to join them.

Tea Kettle Junction

What you see is mind boggling how these sometimes large rocks move from this one hill out on to the playa then move in all sorts of different directions. Scientists only guess how they move which I thought was strange. I'd think they would have figured it out by now. One of the strange things is you see alot of trails but the rock that made them is missing. I guess people have been removing them for some strange reason. I can only imagine what this playa looked like before all of the rocks were removed by ignorant people.

I had been planning all along to spend the night out at Racetrack and make a star trail image. While out there shooting I was looking for places that I'd want to use as a foreground. When I found that location I marked it as a waypoint on my GPS then headed back to the car to feed Thule.

Once it got dark and all of the others were gone I went back to my spot and set up my night shot. I was going to do some light painting on the tracks but that turned out to be harder than I though so I played around making images of different light patterns. My thought was the ground would be virtually black during the star trail shot and I could use whatever foreground light painting I wanted.

I finished up the light painting then setup for the star trail. I was going to make consecutive 15 minute images until the battery ran out. The exposure was 15 min at f4 and ISO 400. All was setup and I got the process going. As I was walking back to my car I noticed I could see my breath. I hadn't put a heating pad around the lens and decided I needed to do that so went back. It's a good thing I went back since my ISO was still at 6400. I do 30 sec exposures at ISO 6400 to setup the composition then change all the numbers when making the final exposures. Well I'd forgotten to set the ISO to 400. While I was at it I also decided to try my experiment of putting a heating pad on the battery as well. It's about 7:00pm by now and the temp is about 32 so back to the car I went.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 8 - Death Valley

2011-12-27T21:09:00.001-06:00

Today was a travel day going from Page AZ to Death Valley, CA. I thought of driving to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park for sunrise but it was a 2 hr drive and I wasn't sure I wanted to do it. Well I woke up about 4:30 which gave me enough time to get there so I went.

I'd been to this state park before, two years ago. It's an OHV park so lots of tire tracks in the dunes. The sunrise turned out to be a flop and I just didn't feel like heading out into the dunes and try to find a spot with no tire track besides I wanted to get to Death Valley before sunset. so I split, but not before taking a few images of the many deer in the area.

Of course when you're in this part of Utah you just have to go thru Zion. It's a pretty awesome place not to be missed. I did get a little slap on the wrist from a ranger when he caught my stopping for a picture where I shouldn't, oh well. It was a quick pass thru then I high tailed it to Death Valley.

As I'd hoped I did get to Death Valley before sunrise and decided, based on my brothers extensive knowledge of Death Valley, to shoot sunset at Zabriski Point. I got there just in time before the sun went behind the mountains and enjoyed the sunset with another 40-50 people. But as soon as the sun disappeared so did almost everyone else. I stayed an extra hr extracting the last bit of sunlight. Since the sun set around 4:30 it was virtually pitch black by 6:00.

Tomorrow morning it's Badwater for sunrise.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 7 - Wahweap Hoodoos

2011-12-27T20:27:00.002-06:00

There are two exclamations I wish to make after today. The first is I just love my Forester and I'm glad I got the AT tires before the trip. The second will follow.

The day started with a few options but the place I'd wanted to visit since I got to Page was the Wahweap Hoodoos so that was going to be my destination. I'd never been to the hoodoos but I've been eyeing them for some time, they looked kinda cool. I didn't get going until about 10am. The only possible fly in the ointment was the forecast for rain/snow. The skies were mostly cloudy but it didn't look like we were in for any severe weather so after filling up with gas I hit the road.

I had researched the route to the hoodoos before leaving on the trip and loaded in a GPS track. While the main road was pretty obvious there were a number of side roads and having the track to refer to was a bit of a help. Getting to the hoodoos one travels from Page into Utah to the Cottonwood Canyon Road. A few miles down that road you get to BLM 431, this is where the fun driving begins.

My last solo trip to this area was two years ago when I was driving my Prius. Now the Prius gets really good gas mileage but the cars clearance is like 2 whiskers, well it's actually more than that now since I've taken it on roads I shouldn't have and some of the underside is gone. But I couldn't really go where I wanted and always had to be really aware of the roads. So last winter I bought a Subaru Forester that served two purposes. It is all wheel drive and a great winter vehicle. It is all wheel drive with high clearance that will let me drive on roads I otherwise have to avoid. Well this road to the hoodoos was one I no longer needed to avoid. In fact I was amazed at how nice it went over the creek beds, washouts and deep ruts. There were a few times I was sure the front or rear bumper was going to hit but it was not to be. Did I say I love the Forester.

At the end of the road there is a nice area to park your car right next to the Wahweap Wash. It's a very wide wash and I can only imaging the ferocity of a summers thunderstorm downpour running down that wash. The hoodoos are about 1 1/4 miles down the wash. The time of year the wash is an easy walk sinces the sandy areas are firm from the moisture and colder temps. I'd read that the hoodoos were just beyond a cliff that jutted out and I had that cliff in sight. Rounding the point there was nothing but I could see a trail leading off in the distance so we kept going. After a short distance we created a rise then.

WOW (the second exclamation that I literally said out loud). The images I'd seen hadn't prepared for the amazing sight before my eyes. Seems that those of us pursuing photography, at whatever level, are always on the lookout for the really spectacular places. Well this is one that surpassed my expectations, it might not surpass yours but it did mine.

It's amazing to see these rocks balancing on top of white spires that are 160 million years old. The first area of hoodoos, there are three, is the most impressive to me. The white sandstone appears to be melting momentarily freezing only to melt some more with the next rain. The white sandstone with their brown caps extended up the side of the plateau. What really intrigued me was all of the lines and patterns in the white sandstone as it 'melted' away. My most used lens was my 70-200 and wish I'd had my 100-400 with me instead. Of course there were the broader shots including my wide angle at 17mm which I really like. But I kept coming back to the closeups.

I hiked down to the second set. They were less impressive to me since it seemed like the white sandstone was harder than the first. There wasn't the sense of 'melting' with the seconds set. I also found it alot more challenging finding compositions although I did make a few. I think I got down to the third set although I was loosing interest in what I was seeing. It would have been different if I'd started at the third and worked my way to the first but I was anxious to get back to the first group.

I spent about 4 hours exploring the area. I kept wondering how much longer this area would be open to unrestricted visitation. You need a 4WD high clearance vehicle to get to the wash but other than that it's very accessible. I just hope future visitors will leave it as they found it, undisturbed.

Roger

(-:)

December Trip West - Day 6 - Antelope Canyon

2011-12-19T23:17:00.001-06:00

It's day 6 of the December Trip West and I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do. There were a few options that would be nice to do if there were some clouds and a few where it was best done on a clear day. Since the forecast for tomorrow is for rain/snow and it's sunny and clear today I opted for Antelope Canyon.

I'd been to both Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon before and just finished an exhibit of some of my Antelope Canyon images in downtown Minneapolis but I was looking forward to returning. Both canyons are so awe inspiring it's hard to come to the area now and not stop for a few hours.

The car actually picked which one I'd visit first and that was lower. Seems like I always do lower first partly because upper tends to be less crowded in the afternoon, not that crowding is a problem this time of year cause it isn't. I'd read that the 4 hr photo pass at lower had been reduced to 2 hrs for the same $26. But the shocker was each additional hr is another $20. The guy at the booth said that it's just gotten to popular and since upper was twice the cost as lower everyone flocked to lower. He also said next year they were going to raise the cost at upper for photographers from $40 to $80 for the 2 hr photo pass. WOW

I could literally spend all day in lower. I really like to take my time and sense a feeling for the place and photograph what comes naturally. On the one hand I envy those that discovered Antelope Canyons before they were known to the public when they could spend all the time they wanted photographing, although traversing thru lower was no easy trip. There are many drop offs that required ropes and climbing skills. On the other hand, today you have to pay for limited time but there are ladders that make the canyon accessible. As I expected the time went quickly but I'd paced myself to finish on time.

From lower I went directly across the street to upper. Unlike lower which you can drive to, upper is a few miles up Antelope Creek and you must be taken there. As luck would have it as soon as I pulled in there was a truck ready to head up. I had tried to make arrangements to spend some extra time shooting in upper, beyond the 2 hrs, and was given an extra hr. The lady owner said she would hang around an extra hour so I could say longer. That was really nice of her.

A few vehicles were parked outside upper when we arrived. There are 6 tour companies escorting tourists to and thru upper. My "tour" was to be unescorted so I could photograph at my own pace. Upper differs from lower in that upper is 'wide' at the bottom and narrow at the top, it is the reverse at lower, so upper tends to be darker. I really like the darkness and if you see my Antelope Canyon "Grains of Sand" images you'll understand why.

As my 'guide' passed by with the other tour couple I asked if I could play Carlos Nakai on my iPhone. He didn't know who Carlos Nakai was so I started playing his Native American flute music. The guide said I should do what I wanted so for the rest of the time the canyon was filled with flute music. Not only that but most of my 3 hrs in upper was spend alone with just the flute music within hearing range. Gosh it is just so terrific.

I reached the opening at 4pm, the time my "tour" was to end and the lady was waiting for me. She drove me back to my car then opened the gate so I could get back on the road. So ended my 5 hrs in Antelope Canyon and what a 5 hrs it was.

It was about 4:30 and I was heading back to my room in Page. Some clouds started rolling in and I thought there might be a nice sunset at Horseshoe Bend so I headed over there. Thule seemed like he'd recovered from his 8+ mile journey to the Wave and back yesterday and was eager to hit the trail again. As we crested the hill I could make out the bend up ahead and I noticed the sun was getting pretty close to the horizon so I picked up the page.

I'd been to Horseshoe Bend a few times and knew exactly where I wanted to set up my camera. As I approached I noticed 2 other photographers and my spot was right between them, not that we were very close together. Perfect, my spot was vacant and I was setup. I chatted a bit with the lady photographer and found out she works in the same city I grew up in in California, small world. We had a nice chat as the sun set.

It was a nice sunset and a nice way to end the day.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 5 - The Wave

2011-12-19T23:01:00.000-06:00

Today was the long anticipated hike to the "Wave". I'd been watching the weather report for Page for the last week and up until a few days ago the prediction was rain/snow. As today got closer the forecast got better and better.

I hit the road this morning about half hour after sunrise after having gotten a good 8 hrs of sleep that I really needed. There were a few beautiful clouds but generally clear. Sure looked like it was going to be a nice day and it was. Drove the 38 miles or so from my Motel 6 room and turned off on House Rock Valley Road. It was 26 degrees as I drove the road to Wire Pass trailhead. The road had been a bit of a mess before it froze solid during the night. In some places I thing I could have taken my hands off the steering wheel and the wheels would have followed the tracks in the mud.

Arriving at the trailhead I saw just 2 other vehicles in the parking lot. I'd wondered if we were going to get the full 20 people that are allowed to visit each day but it was still relatively earlt in the day. I got my 3 quarts of water strapped on to my camera bag and threw a bunch of snack bars in a pocket. Made sure I had my Spot, GPS and permit. Attached Thule and we were off.

This hike is recommended for experienced hikers. Well I could lie to myself and call myself an experienced hiker but the truth of the matter is I'm not. But I'm smart enough to outfit myself with some electronics and do some advanced planning that balances things out a bit. Prior to embarking on the trip I found a GPS track to The Wave. I got that loaded into my GPS and had a bread crumb trail to follow. I say I had a bread crumb trail to follow but that's not to say I always followed it. The first part of the hike is down a wash which is easy enough to follow. So easy I didn't look at the GPS and missed the turnoff from the wash so I had to backtrack. Once off the wash the trail was easy to follow. Easy to follow as long as the trail was on sand. Once it went over slickrosk all the foot prints disappeared. Back to the GPS and I was doing well so I put it back in my pocket.

The trail is kinda a trail but not really. With your permit you get a set of 10 pictures with some instructions. Five pictures show landmarks to head to to get you there and five to get you back, this is where being the experience pays off. Since it had snowed prior to my visit there were some snowy areas where one could see a foot path, this along with the trail over sand was the only marking. Over the slickrock there is nothing. So having a GPS bread crumb trail was helpful.

I didn't keep my eyes glued to the GPS and found myself getting really far off the track so was constantly adjusting. There really isn't one way to get there but as long as I knew I was heading in the right direction I was fine.

The whole valley where the Wave is located is almost like stepping onto another planet. It is very barren domindated by slickrock. I've seen images of the valley and the Wave and they just don't do justice to what you see when you see it in person.

Entering the wave is like taking a journey. The sweeping lines flowing up and down and around corners. I walked around quietly taking in this wonder. Since it had recently snowed much of the rock was snow covered. I could only imagine what it would have looked like if there were no snow and the Wave was fully exposed in all of it's glory. With what was exposed I would spend the next 2 1/2 hours photographing and just enjoying. The main part of The Wave is relartively small but there are surrounding areas that are just as interesting. Being just a few days before winter solstice the days are very short. With much more time one could really explore the area.

I counted a total of 10 people at the Wave today, including me. Seemed like everyone but me got their permits the day before at the Kanab ranger station. I know that the 10 online lottery permits were already given out but I guess those people just decided to not come. It does seem pretty easy to get permits during this time of year just by walking in to the Kanab office. Everyone I met there that day were friendly except for the two photographers. Guess they just didn't want to be disturbed.

Given the shortness of the day, and the hurried feeling I've been having, I wanted to get to the Wave as soon as I could. With a longer day and a slower pace, the hike would have been alot more rewarding.

Travis and I will be going on our annual trip to "sleep with the cranes" at the Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska next Mar/Apr. We have both entered the online lottery to hike the Wave. Hopefully one of us will luck out and I'll be able to go back when there isn't any snow, well shouldn't be, and we'll have a longer day.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 4 - On the Road Again after sunrise at Mesa Arch Sunrise

2011-12-18T22:01:00.003-06:00

It was an early rise, well 6:30 since sunrise isn't till 7:30. Didn't get much sleep the night before but it looked like a good morning to catch sunrise at Mesa Arch. It's just a short 2 miles from the campground to the Mesa Arch trail head but as I got closer a wall of cloud was hanging over the parking lot and the trail to the arch. I've heard you always have company for sunrise at Mesa Arch and today wasn't going to be any different, there was already one car in the parking lot.

I gathered my camera bag and tripod, put on my warmest clothes and headed down the trail for the fifth time. As I approached I saw two people and one tripod already setup. The cloudy fog looked like is was starting to clear and there might just be a nice sunrise afterall. I paused to talk with my fellow sunrise watchers and they turned out to be from Germany. He spoke English very well but his lady didn't say any thing. It seemed like she understood what I was saying but she was quiet, maybe she's just shy. He was quite friendly, I was very pleased with my sunrise friends.

As we'd hoped for the sunrise was beautiful. The moisture in the air added a bit of a hazy look but the underside of the arch lit up real nice. I was surprised how long the arch remained lit. It made for sufficient time to make a few different compositions.

With sunrise behind us it was time to hit the road again. Destination for tonight is Page, AZ. But there were a few places to visit along the way. Getting right back into the run and gun mode the first stop was at Valley of the Gods.

I'd first been introduced to Valley of the Gods last spring when Travis and I went this way. We'd left Moab in a sandstorm so Valley of the Gods was seen thru a red haze. It was really pretty cool. But today was a clear blue sky day with a few white clouds, yes! The drive was nice especially when we were about half way. Some of the clouds actually cooperated. I must say I did rush to get thru the last part since I wanted a bit of time at Goosenecks State Park.

Travis and I also stopped at Goosenecks State Park last spring but the wind coming out of the canyon was like being in a wind machine. This is really a place to come in the morning if you want some images but it's just cool to see how the San Juan River flows in this goose neck type fashion.

After Goosenecks it's Monument Valley. But before the actual valley some of the buttes were being back-lit buy the afternoon sun. I just had to stop and actually pull on to a local dirt road to capture some of what I was seeing. It was so cool. I would have hung out longer but again I'm in a hurry so back on the highway and on to the tribal park.

It was about 3:15 and when I went thru the entrance gate and paid my entrance fee. I was told I could do the valley drive but I needed to be out by 5:00. What I really wanted to see was Artist Point so I took the drive pretty quickly. There was time to make a few images along the way but when I got to Artist Point I was pretty disappointed. So disappointed that the only picture I took was with my iPhone. I next stopped at North Window. That was alot nicer but since it was getting close to 5:00 I sped out. Strangely I saw people entering as I was leaving, weird.

The next event was something I'd been looking forward to since before the trip began. Seeing as though I'd been living on, cereal, milk, turkey sandwiches, pb&j sandwiches, apples, and snack bars this was going to be even better. Travis and I went thru Monument Valley last spring as well. During our brief stay we ate at the View restaurant and each had these huge Navajo Tacos. I'd been salivating for another since that visit and tonight was the night. I was in heaven and left with a very full belly.

After dinner it was back in the car for the last 100 miles to Page, check into the Motel 6 and get a good nights sleep.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 3 - Dead Horse State Park, Canyonlands, False Kiva, Mesa Arch

2011-12-18T00:11:00.000-06:00

Today was the first real day of the trip, one that didn't include any travel. I had originally planned to leave home on Saturday but a last minute decision at work meant I need to delay my departure 2 days. Originally I'd planned on spending a few days exploring Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands - Island in the Sky. But since I needed to get to Page by Thursday night for my hike to The Wave on Friday I had just one day at both parks.

There were two experiences I really wanted to do at Canyonlands. Hike to False Kiva and sunrise at Mesa Arch. With the bad weather of the previous few days I wasn't hopeful of either prospect. But today started off beautifully so there was a glimmer of hope.

The day started with a drive up the mesa from Moab to Dead Horse State Park. It was sunny up top but the canyons were all filled with clouds. I stopped at the visitor center to pay my $10 and talked to the ranger there. She was very friendly and told me you couldn't see the river and there really wasn't a view. I thanked her for the information paid the fee and entered the park.

One thing nice about Utah State Parks is they are dog friendly, National Parks are not. Since Thule had been riding for two solid days I really wanted to get him out of the car for a while. Knowing I couldn't do that at Canyonlands I got him out here.

We drove out to Dead Horse Point and sure enough the canyons were fill of clouds. One thing as a photographer is you have to be patient. While the canyons were full of clouds they, the clouds, were moving quickly. All of a sudden the clouds cleared and there was the river. A minute later the river disappeared. It kept doing this exposing different sections, sometimes large sections only to get all socked in again. There is a mile trail around the point that I would have like to walk but the clock was ticking and I needed to move on to Canyonlands.

Upon entering Canyonlands I stopped at the Ranger Station to show my Golden Access Pass. Then I mentioned False Kiva and out from under the counter came the pictures, three of them, showing the landmarks to use to hike there. False Kiva is an archeological site withing Island in the Sky. It is not closed to hikers but is not publicized either. While it's within the park is is not on any map. In fact they ask that you don't publish GPS coordinates on the internet to try to keep it somewhat hidden. But if you want to hike to it the Rangers will tell you how to find in, and find it you must. The ranger was very friendly and made a few notes on the park map and explained the hike to me. He said most of the way there were foot prints that could be followed but not on the slickrock. He also said the cairns, if there were any, were not put there by the park and might in fact lead you to where you don't want to go.

So with all that good info in hand and a huge amount of excitement I headed off to the parking lot where my adventure would begin. I'd read accounts of the trail and as I would soon find out they were quiet accurate. If one were a mountain goat you would find it a walk in the park but for me it was quiet the challenge. The beginning of the trail was quite easy to follow but the further I went the more confusing and harder it got. The pictures I was shown were very helpful. False Kiva is in a small alcove that itself is in a large alcove. You can't even see the small alcove until the very last minute and to get to it you actually hike under it then scramble up a tallis slope. One last hump and there it is.

I'd seen many pictures of False Kive and my first thought was how small it was. Of course in this tight area you need a very wide angle lens to show everything and a very wide angle lens makes everything small. Against the back wall of the alcove were some piles of rubble the ranger had told me about and asked me to stay off. There are still unexcavated spots in the alcove that are being preserved. I was happy to let them be.

Up to this point I'd been feeling so rushed, driving for two days to get to Moab, rush thru Dead Horse Point State park, hurry down to False Kiva, I really wanted to slow down. Before making any images I gave my offering of tobacco. I carry tobacco and give offerings at the Spirit Tree back home. When I visit important Indian places I like to give an offering of tobacco. Makes me feel good. After giving my offering I sat down to experience the place.

There were once people living here. Instead of modern day hiking shoe prints in the sand there were bare feet or crude sandles, whatever the Pueblonian people wore. There were storage huts, living buildings, maybe young children running around. It probably wasn't important back then, heck maybe it was, but they sure had a beautiful view from their alcove. The archeologists don't think this area was inhabited for long.

I stayed a few hours until the sunset. I never did get to the state of calm I'd hopped for. My mind was still going to fast to enjoy the experience like I should. It was wonderful being there alone and having just the sounds of nature around me. It is definitely a place to return to with one of my people.

The hike back out was quite exhausting as most of it was up hill. The air is alot thinner at this altitude which requires many stops. I did use my GPS to get to False Kiva and had my 'bread crumb' trail to follow on the way out. Sometimes I'd loose my way but eventually I got around the obsticles and with the aid of my headlamp made it out safely. By the time I got back to the car it was pitch black even though it was just 6:30 or so.

Earlier in the day I'd scouted out Mesa Arch as a possible star trail site. Since the sky was clear I decided I'd spend the night in the back of the Forester with Thule in the campground and shoot stars. After a quick 'dinner', two turkey sandwiches, to replenish my energy from the False Kiva hike it was back to Mesa Arch to setup a star shot. Not wanting to haul all of my gear the 1/2 mile to Mesa Arch I prepared everything in the car. The humidity was quite high. One problem we always run into is the lens fogging up when it's humid out. I developed a method using heating pads to keep the lens clear and it's worked the few times I've used it in Minnesota. Another problem we run into when it's cold is the batteries die alot sooner. So I rigged up another solution that I hope will keep the battery warm that I was trying for the first time.

I gathered up all my stuff and headed down to the arch. When I'd scouted it out earlier I noted some spots I thought would be good for sunrise. As it turned out one of the spots should make a good spot for the star trail and since the moon was going to rise about 9:30 I thought some of the distant buttes should get some moonlight if it's clear enough. I made my customaty dozen or 2 setup shots, check the settings and was ready to begin. It was at that point I realized I was missing an important piece of equipment, the shutter release. Crap. So back to the car I went, grabbed the shutter release, then back to my camera. Finally I got the shots going. The bummer was I lost about 25 minutes of star shots going back for the shutter release.

The plan was to do a 4 hr star trail, actually 4 hrs of 30 second exposures, Seeing as though I got a cell signal at Grand View Point I went back to the car and drove the 6 miles to the point. I wan't going to spend no 4 hrs waiting at my camera, besides there was no one else in the park anyway, and it's cold. At Grand View Point I could talk to Carolyn.

When I returned to the camera at 12:30am I found the battery dead. Don't know when it died but when I looked at the last image there was the moon as bright as can be. Bet you photographers can guess what the moon looks like exposed at f4.5 for 30sec with an ISO of 4000. I didn't do anything with the images but found this one I quite like. A moon burst over Mesa Arch.

It was on to the campground and a nice night in the Forester.

I have a remote start in the Forester. Before retiring for the night I turned the heat and fan both on high. Before climbing out of my sleeping back the next morning I started the car. By the time I did get up the car was nice and warm. What a life.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Day 2

2011-12-17T22:38:00.002-06:00

After a restful night it was another road day. Today I will make it to Moab, Utah where the trip really begins. It was another uneventful day but once in Denver I got above the clouds. The drive thru the Rockies was under clear skies and just beautiful. As I passed Vail it dawned on my why ski resorts are on the north facing side of the mountain.

I actually stopped along the way, some place in Colorado, and used my camera for the first time during the trip.

I'd almost reached Moab and there was still a little light so I decided to head up to Canyonlands 'Island in the Sky' and out to Grand View Point. By the time I got up there it was dark and snowing. I walked out to the overlook and saw clouds, just a wall of clouds. I had to take a picture of my first view at Grand View Point.

Roger
(-:)

December Trip West - Monday Dec 12, 2011 - On the Road Again

2011-12-17T09:20:00.002-06:00

My long awaited trip to California for Christmas has finally arrived. After working Sunday night and getting home about 1:30am I wasn't about to get an early start. My goal was to get to North Platte, Nebraska a 630 mile drive. I ended up hitting the road about 9am after a nice breakfast and chat with Carolyn. Carolyn was going to go on this trip with me but decided she couldn't take three weeks off work. It would have been nice to have her come along but she will be flying out to meet me in Calif on 12/23 and spend our first Christmas together with my family. While she won't be with me physically she will be with me in spirit.

The drive to North Platte was very uneventful. Weather was overcast but not raining nor snowing. It was a good start to the trip.

What more can one say about sitting in the car all day traveling thru Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska.

If your reading this post when it's originally posted you can follow my journey as I mark places using Spot. You'll be able to see the 7 most current locations that I mark. Check my location here: Where is Roger

Lastly updates will likely be infrequent depending on internet access but hang in there I'll get to them. This trip starts on Dec 12, 2011 and ends on Jan 4, 2012 so there is lots to see.

Roger
(-:)

20 Images on My Walk

2011-11-11T22:38:00.008-06:00

Today at noon time I took a walk with my dog Thule and my iPhone. Here are 20 images from that walk.

Roger
(-:)

Sculpted Grains of Sand - A One Person Exhibit

2011-11-03T08:24:00.002-05:00

I'm pleased to say that I have a one person exhibit hanging, and spinning, at the BOX Art Gallery in the Thrivent Financial building in downtown Minneapolis. The exhibit runs from Nov 1 to Nov 30 2011, except for Thanksgiving Day. Hours of the exhibit are 7:00am to 5:00pm weekdays, closed on weekends.

The exhibit consists of 25 images I've made in two trips to the slot canyons of the southwest. It is an amazing journey entering the slot canyons where water and time have carved the sandstone into interesting and varied shaped. This exhibit emphasizes the abstractions found therein.

After returning home with these images I found myself mesmerized by the different illusions I was seeing as I rotated the images around in a circle. I wondered how I might bring this experience to a viewer of this exhibit. After some experimenting I can up with a way to attach a lazy susan swivel to the back of a framed image giving the view the ability to spin the image to any orientation. 12 of the images in this exhibit have been mounted in such a fashion.

Another 13 images are framed as stationary images but are printed much larger giving you a more detailed view of the canyon. All of the images can be seen on my website: Sculpted Grains of Sand

If you are downtown Minneapolis during the month of November make your way over to Thrivent Financial and check out the exhibit. There are a few 30 minute parking spots in the alley behind the building so you can see the exhibit for free.

Roger
(-:)

Two Weeks Later

2011-08-25T07:18:00.005-05:00

It'd been two weeks since I last visited "Loon Lake". At that time we didn't have any idea when the chicks would hatch. All I knew was that as soon as they did I was going to get back up there. I'd seen many pictures of loon chicks riding the back of their parents and I wanted to see that myself. Travis would keep a vigilant eye on the nesting adults by visiting the lake every day.

As the days rolled by Travis started talking like an expectant father worrying about his little clutch of chicks. We knew that the eggs hatch after a 26-31 day incubation period but we had no idea when that incubation period started. We also knew that this was really late in the hatching window and maybe the loons first clutch was unsuccessful.

I had predicted, this isn't one of my more accurate skills, that the chicks would wait two weeks and hatch just before I was planning to return. Well sometimes you just get lucky and this time it was great luck for me.

On Thur July 14 I got a message from Travis that a chick had hatched. It didn't take but a few hours for the second chick to hatch and out into the water they went abandoning their nest. Finally we have babies and the excitement that had been simmering the previous few weeks started boiling. It was perfect for me.

Over the course of the next few days we spent many hours in our kayaks on the lake. "Loon Lake", actually the real name is North Lake, is a small lake surrounded by bog that has just one good area to enter with kayaks. Beavers occupy the lake and have built a dam that increases its size. We were quite aware that our presence on the lake might stress the Loons, so much of the time on the lake was spent exploring the shoreline. Heck it was just fun finding a few dead trees to hold on to and just sitting there enjoying nature.

One thing I noticed right away from my previous trip. During that first trip aLoon was sitting on the nest under a hot sun panting all of the time. We were sitting across a little channel in the shade with our drinks and snacks listening to Thule snap at flies and mosquitoes (we had insect repellent on so weren't being bothered). But this week we were out on the water in our kayaks under the hit sun trying to stay cool. Meanwhile the Loons were on, and under, the water living in their element. Quite a contrast it was.

I finally got to see loon babies riding on the back of their parent. Watching them for hours and hours gives one a little peek into their lives. The plan for me is to return every two weeks and watch them grow into adulthood. So back again in two weeks I will come.

Roger
(-:)

A Day with a Loon

2011-07-11T07:55:00.013-05:00

It was July 4th weekend. Having failed to find any suitable wildlife on my previous trip north and since Travis was laid-off due to the State on Minnesota shutdown I wanted to drive around with him and see what we could find. You see, he's a wildlife magnet.

We first headed out to look for and shoot some lady slippers. It didn't take long for us to see a deer. Deer are generally not all that exciting to see, since they're rather abundant, but it was a good start. We found the lady slippers, past peak, and shot some pretty iris. Then Travis suggested we head up to a lake and look for some painted turtles that just might be sunning themselves on some half submerged rocks.

So off we went. We got to the lake and began our search for turtles however there were none to be found. As we were scanning for the turtles Travis turned to me and said there's a Loon nest. Now Travis had, just earlier in that same week, shot Loon eggs one day then Loon babies the next. His timing was perfect. How unlikely is it to see another Loon nest in the same week? Did I mention he's a wildlife magnet.

We quickly set up our cameras and quietly watched the Loon for the next hour or two. We did see the two eggs in the nest and hoping they would soon hatch decided to come back the next day. The following day, a Saturday, we arrived about 9:00am.

When we first arrived the Loon, having heard and seen us approaching, was lying very low in the nest, not moving a muscle, attracting no attention to herself. For some reason we thought this Loon was the female, she just had a motherly sense about her. We quietly got positioned, sat down on out chairs and waited.

It didn't take long for her to raise her head apparently realizing that we were not a threat. She kept an eye on us for a while but never lowered her head again.

The Loons picked a very nice and picturesque spot to build their nest. It was certainly very convenient for us allowing us to remain somewhat obscure under the canopy of trees.

It was not a particularly hot day I'd say in the low 80's but out in the sun it could get pretty warm especially for a black bird like a Loon. She spent most of the time on the nest panting. Every once in a while she would close her mouth like she was tasting something then go right back to panting. It was quite obviously quite warm for her.

Then all of a sudden she slipped off the nest and into the water. It was at this point that I felt comfortable that we were not bothering her or stressing her. She swan around, preened herself and hunted for food for about 5 minutes.

She slowly worked her way back to the nest and waited what seemed like a long time before crawling back on the eggs. These eggs were certainly not going to get to cold when she was gone. If anything her sitting on the eggs will keep them from getting too warm in the mid-day sun.

She settled in back on the nest for a few more hours.

A couple of times during the day she would cast her eye skyward. I didn't know what she was seeing exactly but she was sure curious about what was overhead. Predators to Loon chick before and after they hatch are snapping turtles, eagles, gulls, ravens and many others. Keeping an eye on the sky is a wise activity.

As the day rolled on we sat in the woods comforted by the shade and breeze that blew most of the day. I must admit a small feeling of guilt. Here we were nice and comfortable while the Loon was sitting out in the never ending sun panting to beat the band.

About every 2 1/2 hours she would go back in the water to swim, preen and catch a snack. On one dive I saw her come up with a minnow that she quickly devoured.

Each time she went back in the water she would lift out of the water to stretch her wings. It was always really fun to shoot this sequence and when she did it the sounds coming from our cameras sounded like quiet machine gun fire...click!...click!...click!...click!...click!...click!...click!...

All the while, well at least most of the time, we could see her mate out in the lake. He would get close and we thought they might trade places but then he's drift off to the other side. Most of the time we stayed far away from the nest and I figure he did that to keep any attention on him and away from his nesting partner.

We spent a total of 9 hours watching the Loon on her nest. I had never before sat and just simply watched nature for that amount of time. I had to be reminded that the sounds I was hearing were sounds of nature and not man made. I am so used to ignoring man made sounds that this was enlightening. Sitting thru the day with the Loon gives one an appreciation of what they go thru during the 28-31 day incubation period.

The Loons weren't the only wildlife we saw that day. Dragonflies were constantly buzzing around having their fill of insects. The painted turtles we'd hoped to see the day before made their appearance, climbing out of the water to find some warmth on a log. Around 5:00 in the evening the beaver came crusing by the dam they'd build presumable inspecting it for any repairs that needed work that night.

I told Travis this will be one of those days that gets etched into my memory.

Roger
(-:)

June Moonrise at the Spirit Tree

2011-06-21T07:27:00.008-05:00

It had been a while since we'd shot moonrise at the Spirit Tree. Last month our attempt was foiled because of the clouds and this month was almost a repeat. I'd left home at noon on Friday so I could bet up to Grand Portage in time for sunset and the subsequent moonrise. Turned out sunset was a bust but the sky showed some possibilities for the 10:30pm arrival of the moon.

We got down to the tree moments before the moon started it's climb above the horizon. As I was setting up my first shot I saw a red light on the horizon next to the Rock of Ages lighthouse. It looked like a boat from a distance then it dawned on me, it's the moon and it was awesome. (I figure the streak in this image is a lightning bug because there was one flying around and it's a bit curvy.)

As you can see the moon was a beautiful red glow that reflected nicely off the water. It's illumination was still quite low and soft.

As the moon rose it's color began changing and I changed my position as well. Instead of composing an image with the moon I opted to silhouette the Spirit Tree with the light of the moon and the texture of the clouds.

A variation on the previous image is to make a five minute exposure primarily to blur the clouds, softening them and giving them an interesting pattern. While the stars will make small trails hiding the moon keeps the moon from taking on an oblong shape.

Shifting position again I found this composition I really like and one that I've never found before. A light breeze was blowing enough to blur the leaves in the upper right as well as some of the smaller branches of the Spirit Tree. The moon is pretty much dead center but it really works in this case.

Without moving the camera I just had to make a self portrait of me looking up into the crown of the tree. The scale of me with the tree is totally off due to the nature of the wide angle lens I'm using. Using my intervalometer I was able to delay the beginning of the exposure for a few seconds so I could get into position before the shutter was opened.

Now that the moon was well above the horizon it was time to go around to the from of the Spirit Tree and make some images using the light from the moon. This 30 second exposure has a light similar to daytime but has a unique quality only produced by the moon. (The stars also gives it away that this is a night shot.)

Lastly is an image of Travis patiently waiting for me to finish up, he had to go to work later that morning. He did a great job sitting still for the 30 seconds required for this exposure.

Our evening at the Spirit Tree was more that I could have hoped for. When we first got down to the tree a loon called out to welcome us and then called out as we were leaving to bid us farewell. It was also nice enough to be down at the waters edge in just a t-shirt and feeling very comfortable.

In 2 weeks when I return the moon will not be visible and the stars will shine brightly against the black sky. Sounds like a good night for northern lights.

Roger
(-:)

Red Fox on the Reservation

2011-06-20T21:55:00.008-05:00

I'd seen this fox 3 weeks ago and was able to get a few shots of it. However those images were on the CF card that was in the camera when it was lost, therefore no fox pictures. I was kinda bummed since it was a nice looking fox. I'd heard there was a fox in the area that had a litter of kits so we headed over to where they were last seen Saturday evening.

Sure enough the kits were playing and the momma fox was watching over them. The kits were running around as we were trying to take pictures of them.

Then all of a sudden I heard a thunk and it was Thule jumping out of the car window I'd mistakenly left open. As I went to grab him the momma fox let out a bark and the kits ran and hid. I got Thule back in the car and he started his own chorus of barking.

The momma fox was really checking him out as he's letting everyone within a mile know he's there (he has a loud obnoxious bark). She kept circling the car, leaving then coming back. Except for one little kit that ventured in front of our cameras for a short period the rest of the kits stayed hidden.

I'll be looking for these foxes again on my next trip but this time Thule won't be disturbing them, I hope.

Roger
(-:)

Videos from 2011 Southwest Trip

2011-04-11T07:30:00.009-05:00

Between March 17 and March 27 my friend and traveling companion Travis embarked on a Photo Adventure. We made many stops on out way from Minnesota to Page, Arizona and back. Along the way we made a number of videos that in essence took you with us on our journey. I invite you to get a beverage of your choice and spend a little time visiting with us some of those locations.

The story unfolds here:

2011 Southwest Trip with Roger and Travis

Roger
(-:)

Alstrom Point

2011-03-24T10:39:00.006-05:00

It was a place I had heard about for a long time but had never visited. Our trip to Page Arizona was to feature Lower and Upper Antelope Canyons and trying to get to hike to "The Wave". Everything else was optional including Horseshoe bend and Alstrom Point. (We had as much luck with "The Wave" lottery as I do with PowerBall even the odds are much better, we lost.)

On Tuesday we spend 6 hours in the Antelope Canyons, 4 in Lower and 2 in Upper. It was a magical time. We got out of Upper around 5:00pm and since the sun set after 7:30 we decided to head over to Alstrom Point for sunset.

As we were driving out there, it's a long drive, I kept looking at the sun thinking we weren't going to make it but since I'd never been there I wasn't sure so we continued on. As we got closer it became obvious something was wrong.

Before getting to the Point the sun had already set but all was not lost. Before the actual end of the point there is an overlook were we decided to stop. That was a really good decision. The sandstone cliffs lite up with a warm glow that just captivated me. The water was a deep blue and the view before my eyes was just awesome. I told Travis we should return the next night.

Wednesday we decided to drive out Cottonwood Canyon Road for half a day then drive out to Alstrom Point the second half. The drive to Alstrom Point is quite interesting by itself. You feel like you're driving thru a moonscape and the boulders that strew the landscape having fallen from the adjacent buttes are just huge.

But today we got to Alstrom Point with plenty of time to spare. As expected the road to the end was very rough. I bought a new Subaru Forester just for this type of road and it served me well. You definitely need a high clearance all-wheel drive vehicle if you plan to go see this spectacular place.

We found the perfect location at the very end of the bluff. We were also lucky to have this whole place to ourselves where quietness ruled. While we go out to places like this to make images we don't loose sight of the beauty around us. When the shooting was done we just sat on the edge of the point and marveled at what was in from of us. There was no sign of man, well the lake is a sign of man, but no man-made structures that you so often see.

I will definitely return, maybe next December.

Roger
(-:)

A Day at Antelope Canyon

2011-03-23T09:01:00.008-05:00

Since I discovered Antelope Canyon in December of 2009 it has been a goal to get back as soon as possible. When Travis and I were planning our trip to Nebraska to shoot the Sandhill cranes I figured this was the time. So after shooting the cranes we headed west to Page, Arizona. Yesterday we spent the day shooting both Lower and Upper Antelope Canyon. Here are a few images from the day.

We shot Lower Antelope Canyon during mid-day from 10:00am to 2:00pm. The 4 hour photographer pass gives one a good amount of time in the canyon but it just doesn't seem long enough. The first four images are from this trip thru the canyon.

After doing Lower we headed across the highway to the parking lot for Upper. After a bite to eat we headed up the wash with a guide around 3:30 in the afternoon. The canyon was quite dark given the time of day we visited but it was light that I really liked. The subtle light accented the darkness of the canyon. Upper is darker inside than Lower and I like my images to reflect that quality.

The following four images are from Upper Antelope Canyon.

This next December I will be traveling thru Page again on my way out to California for Christmas. Guess where I'll be stopping.

Roger
(-:)

Anne, Shelley, Travis and I Snowshoeing

2011-03-06T21:30:00.005-06:00

The morning started off really cold, relatively speaking, it was -4F. We got up for sunrise which did not disappoint. Anne had wanted to hike to this waterfall only she knew about, something she'd wanted to do for a long time. So she invited Shelley, Travis and I to go along.

We're trying to figure out which way to go. Good thing Anne was with us to guide us in the right direction.

One of the many cool things about hiking with Shelley is her eye. She is always seeing things on the side of the trail to investigate. (She used to be a photographer too)

This is one of the things she found. Don't have a clue what it is though but it's kinda cool.

When in doubt follow an animal track. Speaking of animals we saw 2 wolves as we were hiking this road. I wasn't fast enough to get a shot of them plus they were a ways in front of us. Travis got a decent shot though, he usually does (-;).

Notice how Anne's wooden snowshoes are about as long as she is tall? We're just standing around taking in the day. Did I mention the day was spectacular for a snowshoe hike.

Did someone bring a bottle of wine along? If they did I didn't see it, darn !!

Travis and Shelley stopping for a pose.

Shelley animating while Travis decided it's time to move along. Shelley and I tended to lag behind Anne and Travis. Actually I didn't see much of Anne since she led the way. Shelley is a walking encyclopedia about Ojibwe customs and history. As we walked along she told me about how the Indians would pick up small pieces of birch bark as the walked along. When it came time to start a fire, which they did regularly, they wouldn't have to go looking for kindling, they already had it. She also told me when they found dead logs in the forest they'd lean then up against a tree so the wood would dry instead of rot. When they needed firewood it was ready to go.

One one occasion when we were stopped I heard this popping. We both investigated and found a nearby birch tree popping every once in a while. It was just like it was growing right before our ears. It was quite exciting for me since I rarely hear things like that in the forest with my poor hearing. It was also really wild to actually hear a tree actually growing.

See I told you. It was a very beautiful day.

Those snowshoes of Annes are really great on the flat snow. But I was up on a little hill that needed some grippers on the bottom of the snowshoe to get the traction needed for climbing. Well Anne needed to find another way around the obstacles in the river.

I think Shelley needed a little rest so she plopped down on her back. No, actually she decided to back up which doesn't work so good when the back of your snowshoes digs into the snow and stops while your body keeps going. Oh but the snow is soft.

We ended up turning back before we got to the falls. There was so much junk in the stream bed we decided it was best to turn around. So we hiked back to our car, actually Travis truck, and went back to Annes place where she cooked us a very nice meal. Anne is heading to Nashville to pursue her dream in the music business and before we left she treated us by singing a couple of songs she wrote. Thanks Anne.

It was a beautiful day with beautiful people.

Roger
(-:)

A Snowshoe Outing with Travis

2011-02-10T22:00:00.010-06:00

One of the things I was really looking forward to doing on my last trip to Grand Portage was to snowshoe up the ridge to the top of Mt. Josephine. We were starting from Hwy 61 where we left Travis' truck. The plan was to do something different, well different for Travis since this was my first time snowshoeing Mt. Jo. Instead of returning to the truck we were going to hike down the hiking trail back to Travis house where we would use my car to go pick up Travis truck. We set off about 1:00 in the afternoon.

During the prior week, on his days off, Travis broke a trail up to the top. Mind you we were traveling a route that has no designated trail, something we often do, but he is quite familiar with the route. I certainly appreciated his effort since it made the going much easier.

You gotta believe I was impressed when we left the highway and started down the trail he had made. I'm thinking to myself that this hike is going to be a piece of cake with a trail like this, much better than the hiking trail.

You can almost see the pride on his face as he stands next to his masterpiece trail.

But wait he soon turn off the big wide trail onto this skinny one. I stopped, hesitant to continue on. With a little encouragement Travis was able to convince me it would be OK so I followed.

It was a beautiful day for a snowshoe hike. The forecast was clouds and snow and I had hoped we would be going "snowshoeing in the snow" (that's an inside joke in case you don't get it).

But the day turned out to be just beautiful with temps in the upper 28s and some sunshine to boot. There were some interesting formations of undisturbed snow along the way.

And shadows. What does this look like?

And how does snow wrap itself around a branch like this? Weird.

Speaking if weird how about this snow fall.

Being the good guide that Travis is he regularly checked on me to make sure I didn't get lost. I appreciate his concern.

At one point we got together to plan our assault up Mt Jo. (actually he was figuring out why my camera was displaying weird things and this was a test shot just to check the image review. I thought this accidental image is pretty cool.)

Almost to the summit. What a beautiful view, huh!

Travis is certainly enjoying the view.

We do goofy things sometimes while we're out. hahaha

Sometimes Travis would get quite far in front on my. He kept assuring me that I wouldn't get lost and just follow his trail. (Good advice since I did make it back)

Here's Travis hiking along enjoying the beautiful day.

The next moment I find him resting, just plopped down in the snow. (Actually he fell and it was pretty funny to watch. I didn't feel bad for him since he already had a few chuckles watching me fall, I fell alot. Thankfully the snow is soft.)

After his 'rest' we finally made it to the top of Mt. Jo. What a view it is out over Waswagoning Bay and the Susie Islands.

The view back to the west was a mighty fine view as well.

Out over Grand Portage Bay the sun was shining thru the clouds making some quite nice sun beams.

It was starting to get late and this was the last image of Grand Portage Bay with Pete's Island. It was time to begin out descent down the mountain.

If you've ever climbed Mt. Jo you know it is a climb, not just hike. The trail is steep and in some places steep and rocky. It was quite an adventurous trip down, trying to keep from sliding off the trail and down the mountain side. My snowshoes have grippers under the ball of my feet and I used them alot. But every once in a while my weight would shift back and my snowshoes became skis. My feet would just fly out from under me. I must have fallen a half dozen times coming down that trail.

We finally got down to level ground. It sure felt good walking normal again. Back to Travis' house we went then back to pick up his truck. We were both pretty sore by the time we got to his house but that was expected and it actually felt pretty good. I think we hiked about 3 1/2 miles in almost 5 hours. We had a good dinner at the lodge then an evening at his parents capped off a fantastic day.

I'm looking forward to hiking Travis' trail again but this time returning back to his truck. Once is enough snowshoeing down the hiking trail.

Roger
(-:)

Artist Point on a Stormy Friday Afternoon

2011-02-09T21:15:00.013-06:00

Last weekend my plan was to head up to Grand Portage and spend the weekend with Travis. Originally I was going to head up after work on Thursday but work made me change those plans so I headed up Friday morning.

The plan was to shoot along the shore as I drove north but I really didn't see anything worth stopping for so I just ended up driving straight to Grand Marais.

I was meeting my friend Don Davison in Grand Marais to give him some Lefse. He said he was heading out to Artist Point to shoot the crashing waves. I figured I had a half hour or so and decided to head out there with him. I'm sure glad I did.

The weather was quite mild, for February, in the upper 20s lower 30s. Even with the wind blowing it wasn't to bad. The lake was rather angry and was putting on quite a show.

This was the first time I was using my new ice cleats and they sure worked out very well. Ice abound on artist point and I was very sure footed with the ice cleats. We walked around shooting these images.

A half hour turned into a good hour and a half as I worked myself all over both sides of Artist Point. By the time I returned to the car I was exhilarated and soaked.

I stood in one spot knowing I was going to get some spray but got alot more than I was expecting. Got my clothes soaked and my camera all wet. The camera was fine and after changing my pants back as the car I was reasonably dry.

From there it was off to Grand Portage with some treasures in my camera and a great experience behind me. Just another grand day on the North Shore.

Roger
(-:)

Making Silky Water Images

2010-10-13T07:42:00.012-05:00

I'm asked how I get silky looking water. This treatment is done quite often and some might say it is overdone but I just love the effect. All it takes is a tripod and a means to make long exposures. I've got something for you to try. Before looking at the image below watch the video first.

Click on the image above and take a look at the 30 second video of Hollow Rock Creek. Watch how the leaves move and rotate, how the bubbles move and rotate, the way the water falls and the reflections on the water how they dance around. The way we see this scene is quite different than how our camera sees when we have the camera expose the image for a long time.

Click on the image above and see how the camera sees the same scene after a 30 second exposure. Using a special filter I'm able to cut enough light from hitting the sensor so I can make this very long daytime exposure. Slowly the movements of the water and leaves and bubbles and reflections expose on the sensor. Nothing is sharp unless it has no movement, like the rocks, and what is moving smooths out into silky reflections, lines and movements. Makes for a neat image.

If you have a tripod and a camera that lets you make long exposures try this out yourself. You'll want an overcast day or late in the afternoon when the water you're shooting is in the shade. And play around with the length of the exposure. Often times just a few seconds will do the trick when a 10 second exposure would over do it.

Roger
(-:)

Manido Gizhigans

2010-10-11T06:51:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday I was fortunate to be able to go to the Spirit Tree for sunrise. This tree is growing out of a pile of rocks a few feet above the waters of Lake Superior. It has withstood centuries of abuse at the hands of this often times violent lake and continues to stand strong. It is an important and spiritual place to a culture of American Indians who traditionally honor and celebrate nature. When visiting the tree there are artifacts left behind by those that come to honor it. Such things as a rock placed on one of it's weathered roots, shiny coins, a tied up bag of tobacco or simply a small pile of tobacco. There is significance to these offerings some of which I've heard explained and others that remain a mystery.

It has been two years since I first visited Manido Gizhigans, Spirit Little Cedar Tree. I've been able to experience this place at all hours of the day and night, all seasons of the year and when the lake is acting out it's many moods. I've heard the ice sing like you can only imagine and the sound of the Loon call on a calm and silent night. Each time I visit I spend a quite moment at base of the tree placing a pinch of tobacco at it's base, placing my hand on it's trunk, gazing up to it's crown and receiving it's spiritual strength.

I've always felt a little awkward about the ritual I go thru at the tree. My culture and upbringing does not do such things nor do I understand the significance of such places by the Native Americans like I should. I've felt like I am in some way cheapening a spiritual act that's so much a part of a different culture. But on the other hand it is a culture I greatly respect even thru my ignorance and is a culture that I would like to be part of if only on the fringe.

When I first laid an offering of tobacco at the base of the tree two years ago it was a time of big change for me. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to think or say or do. What I realized was the Spirit Tree was something in which I found strength. It seemed to help me with the turmoil in my life at that time. It was and still is a place of spiritual energy left by thousands of people that have honored the tree before me, a fountain of spiritual strength. I'm still not sure how the Native Americans make their offerings but I do know how I do and the spiritual strength I receive.

Roger
(-:)

The Spirit Tree is closed to non-Native Americans however there is a public viewing platform from which the tree can be seen. My close personal friend Travis is a member of the Grand Portage band of Ojibwe and always accompanies me to the tree. Others may know of the tree by it's more popular name, the Witch Tree. I personally detest this name. It's a name given to the tree by a non-native and conjures up an image that is totally opposite of the feelings I have of the tree. In my vocabulary it is the Spirit Tree.

Fall Impressions

2010-09-30T20:36:00.004-05:00

Last weekend I continued my fun with the camera.

With these type of images you either like them of you don't. Not much in between.

Put me in the camp that loves these. Not only do I enjoy looking at them they are alot of fun to create.

Let me know if you like them too.

Roger
(-:)

Fall Abstracts

2010-09-21T22:11:00.006-05:00

The maples along the ridges inland from Lake Superior were coming into some nice color. Using just the movements of the camera the first five images were made.

These first 4 are pinwheels of color. It is a trial and error form of photography that I particularly like. Most of the time the images are just throw away but some capture my imagination.

These images are made by a combination of spinning and zooming. All were made while looking straight which presented it's own problem like trying not to fall over while your spinning back and forth.

Finding a dense red maple gave me the opportunity to fill the frame making this fun image. It's a star burst of color.

The maples off the ridges were still quite green amongst yellowing birch. This colorful road is lit by the morning sun giving it it's warm glow.

Whereas the previous 5 images were made by moving the camera this image was made letting the water do all of the movement. The reflections on the surface of the water can produce some interesting graphic images. This part of the Cascade River was in the shade while the trees were brightly lit with the blue sky directly above. This 1/20 second exposure was my favorite.

Roger
(-:)

9/11 Remembered

2010-09-11T23:43:00.005-05:00

I went to get my oil changed today. It was such a beautiful day and since I had Thule with me I decided to take an hour long walk. As I approached the Northdale Blvd bridge over Hwy 10 in Coon Rapids I noticed alot of flags with a firetruck on the Main Street bridge in the distance. The bridge became my destination. For the 5th year in a row a group of patriots have gathered on 9/11 to remember that terrible day. Many of those on the bridge were military veterans from all branched of service. Having served in Vietnam myself I felt some comradery with them. I just might don my US Army hat and go join them for a spell next 9/11.

Daniel is the man responsible for starting this even off 5 years ago. He tried to join the military when he was young but got kicked out because he had disqualifying physical conditions. And if you think he would make a good Santa well he does that as well.

As I was walking over to the remembrance I was thinking about how sad it is that it takes this kind of event to bring our country together. Our country is so polarized and decisions are made based on the outcome of the next election and not for the good of our country. It saddens me to think it will take another 9/11 to get up back together again, if only temporarily.

Roger
(-:)

A Weekend Up North

2010-08-23T21:57:00.008-05:00

It was the night of the Perseid Meteor shower peak. The meteor shower was supposed to start after midnight. My buddy and I were in a great spot for some meteor shower photography. There was just one problem. As you can see there were a few clouds handing around. In fact so many clouds in fact no heavenly bodies were to be seen. However the glow from Thunder Bay some 30 miles away was providing some interesting silhouettes and colors. All was not lost, photographically, and there is always next year.

The Pigeon River was calling so on Friday evening we paddled four miles up stream enjoying a wonderfully calm evening with the sights and sounds of the northern Minnesota wilderness. It's quite interesting paddling these waters and envisioning the history of this river. The Indians have used this waterway for centuries before the time when the Europeans came when they guided voyageur and the transportation of pelts then on to the lumber days when stands of trees were felled and floated down the river to Lake Superior. It's almost overwhelming contemplating these historical events as you paddle down this quiet river.

The Pigeon River was running very low that weekend. A lack of recent rain has caused everything to slow down. This includes Partridge Falls. My experience with Partridge Falls from the last few years has been one of thunderous high energy. One could hear the falls from a distance and you could feel the spray when beginning the decent to the base of the falls. That was not the case this weekend. Partridge Falls showed what was behind it's veil of water.

So low was the water flow we were able to step across the Pigeon River at this spot. The rock on the left side is the US and the right side is Canada. It's pretty amazing to be able to cross the Pigeon River with one big step.

A constant draw for night time photography, actually any time of day photography, is the Spirit Little Cedar Tree. This was a particularly important weekend since the annual Grand Portage Pow Wow was taking place. Indians from all over Minnesota, Canada and surrounding state gathered for the Pow Wow. No doubt this was an important spiritual place for these Native Americans to spend time and make offerings. We stayed away from the tree during the day so as not to interrupt anyone's quiet time with the tree and only went down long after the sun had set.

It is a special place the Spirit Tree. This is without a doubt my favorite place on the North Shore.

Roger
(-:)

A Different Look at a Flower (you gotta check this out)

2010-08-01T21:37:00.005-05:00

Back at LeeAnns garden for few hours today I tried a couple of new things. On a number of flowers I shot a sequence of images ever so slightly changing the focus from the closest item to the furthest item I wanted in focus. Then once I got home I used a program called Helicon Focus to create an image using just the parts of each image that is in focus. This flower was shot at f/2.8, an extremely narrow depth of field at this distance, but I shot 20 images. Helicon Focus generated this highly detailed image.

Another thing Helicon Focus can do is create a 3d video of the flower. I have uploaded this video to my wen site for you to see. The quality is not as good as the version from the software but it is very cool none the less.

Access it by clicking here

Hope you agree this is cool. I made a few more images like this that I've yet to work on.

Roger
(-:)

LeeAnn's Garden in July

2010-07-29T07:05:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week I was back in LeeAnn's garden. After the storm we had a few weeks ago I was concerned LeeAnn might have lost some of her garden but she grows strong plants. They withstood the fierce winds marvously.

Hope you enjoyed these latest images.

Roger
(-:)

Radio Tower along the Shore at Midnight

2010-07-24T10:03:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, July 4th weekend to be exact, I was heading up the North Shore rather late on a Thursday night. Approached Palisade Head I decided to take some time and see if I could compose a star shot with Palisade Head in the composition. It was almost midnight so the sky was about as dark as it was going to get and moon was just starting to rise. I went down to the overlook and didn't see anything compelling. The angle was just to great trying to get Palisade Head, which you photograph down, and the stars, which you photograph up, in the field of view. So I went back to the car and on my return saw the radio tower with the stars in the background. This looked rather cool so decided to do some shooting here.

The first image was a 30 second exposure. I tried to get the to light on the top of the tower to match up with the last star in the handle of the big dipper. The alignment was close but not where I really wanted it. Backing up any more would have put me over the embankment.

I made a couple of 30 second exposures then decided to do a star trail image. There are a couple of ways to shoot star trails. One is to open the shutter for the length of the exposure and the other is to take a series of shorter exposures and blend them together. I hadn't done the blending method in a while, at least I hadn't done a successful one in a while, so decided to do one here. The exposure was set for 15 minutes and the image above consisted of 5 of these 15 minute exposures. The images were then blended together with a program called Image Stacker that resulted in this composite.

After the series of 15 minute exposures the moon was up to the point where it was providing some illumination so again I made another 30 second exposure. A little more of the ground around the tower can be seen.

It was almost 1:30 by now and there was still a good hours drive to the trailer at Grand Marais. Got all of the gear into the car and we were off.

Roger
(-:)

Beautiful Gardens

2010-07-12T23:21:00.003-05:00

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting two wonderful gardens. On Saturday I visited Brenda and we enjoyed a beautiful Saturday morning, along with our combined 4 dogs, in both her back yard and her front yard. I had brought over some Peonys for her to add to her garden.

(Before I left she fed me this wonderful beef au jous sandwich. It was heavenly.)

I had brought my camera with me but didn't take any pictures. We just yacked all morning. (-:)

Then Saturday evening and again Sunday morning I headed down the street to LeeAnn's garden. I walk by LeeAnn's every day on my daily walk and it always tugs at me to stop or at least come back. With the other projects I'm working on it's hard to get over there but I made time last weekend.

It was breezy both days which made for a few challenges. Doing the kind of close-up work that I like to do is an exercise in patience waiting for the subject to stop moving. Since I also like a shallow depth of field you hope when the subject stops moving it is still in focus so you can snap the image.

One thing that works really well in this situation is the magnified mode of live view. Not only can you get precise focusing but you can also monitor the movement of the subject and when it quits moving snap off an image. It's also a good time to use my plamp to 'help' steady the flower. It's not perfect but it really helps alot. Not only is the plamp useful for keeping the plant from moving you can also use it to reposition the subject compositionally.

I'll quit talking now and let you look at the rest of the images in silence.

Till next time, Thanks for looking.

Roger
(-:)

Thule's Big Adventure

2010-06-22T06:37:00.006-05:00

This summer I was determined to do more kayaking than the previous years. But there was a lingering problem, what to do with Thule while I'm out kayaking. A couple of weeks ago Travis and I were checking out our kayaks and I decided to sit in mine, we were on dry land. It had been a couple of years since I'd been in the kayak and I noticed how open the cockpit was. So I decided to get Thule and put him in the kayak with me. Well it seemed to work but how would he react to being on water.

A few years ago I had a ski boat. Thule would go out with us and he really liked it. But on one occasion I was fishing and surprise surprise I caught a fish. Well as soon as the fish came into the boat and started flapping on the floor of the boat Thule got spooked and jumped over the side of the boat and to the surprise of everyone ended up in the water. I keep a harness on him so it was easy to bring him back into the boat. Not knowing if he really learned his lesson I've been a little concerned when introducing him to new water adventures.

A few weeks ago we went out to the Susie islands and took Thule with us. True to my form I was a bit concerned as to how he would react. After all Lake Superior is alot colder than an inland lake. At first he wasn't exactly sure what was going on but it didn't take long for both of us to get comfortable with this latest adventure. Now he can't wait to get into the boat and go for a boat ride.

So last weekend I confidently approached taking him in the kayak with me. I had thought he would have to pretty much sit on my lap so I was wondering about the comfort factor but it was worth a try. I got into the kayak, almost tipping it over on the process which must have given Thule a lot of confidence, then pulled him into the kayak with me. I could hear him say 'what the hell's up with this' as he looked around for a quick exit. Once in I quickly realized there was plenty of room for both of us with him between my legs. We puttered around a bit by the dock working to ease his anxiety. Using his harness I strapped him into the kayak which made it impossible for him to get out even though he was obviously getting more comfortable with this new adventure. We paddled up the Pigeon River to the Grand Portage State Park area and once it got shallow I unhooked him.

Once unhooked he was able to stand up and turn around so he could see where he was going. By this time he is totally comfortable with the kayak. The next thing I wondered about was how he would react to seeing animals. He showed an uncharacteristic interest in the Canada Geese which I found rather interesting. As we kayaked toward Pigeon Bay we ran across a group of 3 otters. As soon as Thule saw those he perked right up and followed their every move but didn't try to move about or bark. A while later we saw a bear swimming across the river. Thule didn't see the bear when it was in the water but did once it got to shore and went bounding into the brush he perked right up. Of course he came was very interested but didn't get real excited. The next test will be when we see a moose. The moose will linger giving Thule more time for his excitement to grow. But I think he'll do just fine.

During the kayak trip he would want to lay down and relax. However the kayak is not like his bed at home and when lying he had to strain to get his head above the opening in the kayak so he can see what's going on. I couldn't believe how much he had to strain to keep his head outside the kayak and was thinking he was going to have a sore neck that night. A couple of times he just put his head in the cockpit and rested it on my leg. But most of the time he was sitting up having a ball.

We paddled a couple of hours that day. It was a really good first trip of what will be many more. So my problem of figuring out what to do with Thule while I'm paddling is solved. I'm looking forward to our next adventure together.

Roger
(-:)

Thanks to Travis for these wonderful images.

It was a Bear of a Weekend

2010-06-21T06:44:00.003-05:00

I have been to the North Shore of Minnesota dozens of times. In all of those trips I have seen 2 bears, and one of those bears was just a few months ago. Usually the best view of the bear is of it's rear end as it quickly dashes into the woods never to be seen again.

Travis noticed the bear as we drove south on Hwy 61 just a mile from Grand Portage State Park and the Canadian border. I quickly turned around thinking the bear would already be gone but no it was still there.

Having been caught without my camera in similar situations I keep it close now ready to pull out and start shooting. As we pulled off the road I started shooting and to my surprise the bear just continued his business of searching for food. It was totally unfazed as I crept the car a little closer every once in a while looking up from its digging efforts.

It moved to a couple of spots while slowly building an audience. Thule got quite excited and just had to let out a bark or two, actually more than one or two. Eventually the bear retreated into the woods after putting on a show for a few minutes.

It didn't stay in the woods to long before bounding across 61 stopping a few more cars in their tracks.

We saw this bear on Saturday. As we were kayaking the Pigeon River returning from Pigeon Bay we saw a another bear. This one was in the river swimming from the Canadian side to the US side. I first thought it was a moose but Travis quickly corrected me. WOW another bear. But for some reason the bear turned around and swam back to the shore where he came from. Once there was sufficient footing the bear disappeared into the brush.

So it was really a Bear of a weekend.

Roger
(-:)

More from LeeAnn's Garden

2010-06-14T21:19:00.003-05:00

Here's a few more from LeeAnn's garden.

Roger
(-:)

A Morning in LeeAnn's GardenSunday

2010-06-13T20:05:00.005-05:00

Finally a terrific day to photograph LeeAnn's Garden again. The day was overcast with little, if any, wind, just perfect. Yesterday I started getting ready to head over there but then it started raining and rained the whole day. I had a wonderful time finding various compositions for a couple of hours.

It is still early in the summer, actually it isn't quite summer just yet, and there will be many more opportunities to shoot LeeAnn's Garden.

Roger
(-:)

What a weekend for Lady Slippers

2010-06-07T22:26:00.014-05:00

I've had the good fortune to find Lady Slippers twice in the wild. Once was last year and the other a few years ago. On both of those occasions the Lady Slippers were obviously past their prime. Last weekend I could not have timed it better. Both locations where I'd seen Lady Slippers before had fresh new blooms. In fact both locations had flowers that hadn't completed opening yet.

The yellow Lady Slippers were taken on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation. It was a chilly foggy damp day with an ever so slight breeze slowly moving the flowers. The late afternoon light made photographing these flowers an exercise in patience as we waited for the flowers to stop moving prior to making the image. With wide open apertures and shallow depth of field we were able to get a reasonable 1/125th of a second or so. Stopping down though quickly elongated the shutter speed to 1/20th.

Sunday, on my way home, I stopped at Cascade River State Park and checked out a place along the trail where I had seen Lady Slippers a few years ago. Sure enough there were a couple of clumps of these beautiful pinkish-red flowers. The morning was overcast but mostly dry with just a little dew on the vegetation. Again there was a slight breeze but the light was more intense than the evening before so achieving a moderate amount of depth of field was possible. In fact I was able to stop down to f/22 with my 100mm macro lens. I photographed these flower for about an hour before the sun came out.

No doubt when I return to the North Shore in 2 weeks these flowers will totally different. I feel quite fortunate to have witnessed these gems so close to their initial bloom.

Roger
(-:)

Lee Ann's Garden Revisited

2010-05-17T20:31:00.002-05:00

I walk by Lee Ann's Garden every day so I've been watching it grow but have just not taken the time to stop yet. Well that all changed tonight. With sunset getting so late now I can spend some time photographing her garden again.

Unlike last year when I started shooting later in the year I'm getting somewhat of a head start on this year. I say somewhat since the tulips are past their prime but many of the plants have yet to blossom.

Last Sunday I stopped and talked to Lee Ann a bit and noticed these beautiful Columbine. These were going to be my first subject. I didn't spend much time tonight before the mosquitoes drove me away. I am glad I finally got over there tonight as it will be the first trip of many.

Roger
(-:)

Hike to Fort Charlotte

2010-05-10T22:26:00.005-05:00

Last weekend we spent the afternoon hiking to Ft Charlotte more or less along the Pigeon River. Ft. Charlotte was the western terminus of the Grand Portage where the voyagers would carry the 90 lb bales of fur the last 8.5 miles down to the stockade on Lake Superior. As with so many other trails used by the Europeans this trail was shown to the Europeans by the Native Ojibwe whose ancestral home this trail traverses.

The following images are some of the things that caught my eye.

Roger
(-:)

Antelope Canyon - Different Perspectives

2010-04-28T06:34:00.004-05:00

I've been spending some time with images I made at Antelope Canyon last December. In addition to the normal adjustments like white balance, contrast, luminosity, etc, I've been rotating the images. It's quite interesting how the same image looks totally different depending on the perspective. Looking at the top image the line between the dark and light receeds but the same line in the image directly above protrudes.

The same things happens with the horizonal compositions. When rotating some of the image I get a totally different 'feeling'. I can feel safely nestled in a smooth fold in the rock but rotate it 180 degrees and I feel like I'm going to fall.

It's a fascinating journey I'm taking thru Antelope Canyon, from my digital darkroom.

Roger
(-:)

The Blind

2010-04-12T20:47:00.005-05:00

On March 27, 2010 my buddy Travis and I spent the night in a photography blind by the Platte River on the Rowe Wildlife Sanctuary. This was Travis' fourth visit and my first. We first started talking about the trip when Travis told me about it last June. It wasn't long thereafter when it became an entry on our respective calendars.

Photographer blinds can be reserved on the first working day of the new year. So Jan 4 was marked on my calendar. I called as soon as they opened and was the first to get a blind reserved. I really wanted the get the blind 2 days before full moon and I was lucky to get March 27.

We entered the blind at 5:45 in the evening knowing that once the door closed we couldn't open it until it was opened for us the next morning after the cranes were gone. It turned out that time came about 10am. While it wasn't very cold, only getting down to the low 30s, when the door finally opened we were greeted by the warmth of the sun.

It hasn't taken us long to begin making plans for next year. This annual event is one I will not often miss in the coming years. Spending a night with the Sandhill Cranes is quite a memorable experience.

This was our 4'x6'x8' home for the night. It was very comfortable for 2 people, but my butt hurt after sitting on the stool for so long. We even got a good night sleep. I can't speak for Travis but once I took my hearing aids out it got real quiet. Sometimes those of us that don't hear so well have the advantage.

Roger
(-:)

Friday March 26, 2010 - Sunrise on the Platte River

2010-04-04T14:59:00.002-05:00

Roger
(-:)

Night Descends on the Platte River

2010-03-31T21:14:00.005-05:00

Evening is approaching in central Nebraska and the Platte River is once again coming to life. Sandhill Cranes have stopped here on their annual migration to the northern breeding grounds.

Having spend the day foraging for food on the surrounding farm fields, the night brings them all together on this 30 or so mile stretch of the Platte River. They begin by gathering on the surrounding fields.

Masses of cranes take to the air and begin landing in the shallow waters of the Platte. It's a busy time on the river and the ever increasing number of cranes means an every increasing level of chatter.

As cranes land there are more that take their place in the sky. The cranes become a blur of activity.

Steadily the surrounding fields empty and the Platte River becomes the nightly home to a half million migrating cranes.

As darkness takes over the land and with most cranes safely on the water the night is still young.

This final 1/2 second exposure captures the active cranes as they move about the river. The noise level is very high in the late evening. It's like the cranes are sharing stories of their day with each other.

These images were made in a group blind at the Rowe Sanctuary near Kearney, NE. We had driven all day from Elk River, Minnesota and found out on the way the group blinds were sold out. But the timing was right and Travis decided to take a chance. Luckily for us there were 2 no-shows so we were able to join the group. This was my first experience taking part in this annual migration and it was a great way to start our weekend.

Roger
(-:)

Note: Click on the image to see a larger version.

Ice that Once Was

2010-03-15T22:06:00.005-05:00

As we explored the shoreline, the weekend before last, we looked for different and interesting ice formations. This small chunk of ice was 'frozen' to the block of ice below. As the water moved back and forth the ice chunk went up and down and this little piece held on tight.

These next few images were made at Hollow Rock. An ice bench was still in place so one could walk right out to the hole in Hollow Rock and is was at the entrance where these images were made. Just beyond the entrance the ice ended and the water was open to a depth of 3 to 4 feet. The ice around Hollow Rock made some interesting vertical patterns.

Along the sides of Hollow Rock's hole water would melt and run down then freeze in rib like patterns like you see here.

Once of my favorite patterns were these two holes the just looked to me like the eyes of a ghost, Casper specifically. I worked around these ice holes looking for a composition that eliminated most of the detracting background while keeping the holes as large as possible. Since there was virtually no color in the scene I converted it to black and white and added a little sepia tone.

It was a little later in the morning, a couple hours after sunrise, when we visited Hollow Rock. With no cloud in the sky a blue cast fell on the snow. Our eyes, rather our brain, knows that snow is white so compensated for the cast and we really don't realize it is there. But the camera doesn't know any better and captures the blue cast. But in this image the subtle detail in the blue light emits a delicate beauty.

It's been 8 days since these images were made. The weather on the North Shore has been unseasonably warm. These ice formations have melted away with most of the remaining ice along the shore.

Roger
(-:)

Ever Changing Icescape

2010-03-15T06:34:00.003-05:00

As the waves, small waves, rolled it they would carry ice chunks with them. Each wave tends to sweep away ice chunks left by the previous wave and leave behind new ice chunks.

I made a number of images of this ever changing icescape trying to catch an interesting arrangement. But in reviewing them I liked this short sequence.

Consider this a verticle Icescape Triptych.

Roger
(-:)

Abstracts in the Ice

2010-03-12T06:38:00.003-06:00

This little puddle can turn into a photographic adventure overnight. With temps during the day in the 40s lots of melting is going on. At night it gets below freezing which firms things up and makes little puddles like this.

Enabling macro mode on my Canon G11 allows for real close compositions. Your imagination can conjure up all sorts of designs and patterns in the ice. There were two puddles in this area so Travis and I each had a puddle to shoot.

The challenge was the bright blue sky above. I was trying to cover as much of the sky as possible with my body while still getting a nice composition. A side effect of that is reduced light which calls for a high IOS, 400 in this case, and a long shutter speed, 1/13 to 1/40 of a second. Successfully blocking the sky was a futile effort but was somewhat effective.

Next time you're walking around keep your eye out for these hidden gems. I've made some pretty cool images in the morning after the water freezes in a gutter, Gutter Beauty.

Roger
(-:)

A Morning at Red Rock Beach

2010-03-09T20:44:00.003-06:00

We rose early Sunday, well not that early we got up around 5:30 since we really needed the sleep. Sunrise was going to be very different from the sunrise we had the previous morning at Wauswaugoning Bay. We had decided that Red Rock Beach was to be out destination this morning so after a little to eat off we went.

As is the case along the North Shore there is very little snow and ice. We were hoping the small bay at Red Rock Beach might freeze so we'd have some ice on the lake with which to compose. Well that didn't happen, the lake was ice free.

I stayed along the shore while Travis explored the rocks near by. There wasn't much time between our arrival and the suns peaking above the horizon but I wasn't in a real hurry to shoot. I was just enjoying my time and seeing a North Shore sunrise again. I set up my tripod and make this first image then found a little ice formation and hand held the second.

While focusing of some previous images I liked what I saw when the whole image was out of focus. Feeling the desire to play a bit I fired off a couple of blurs and like the softness of this one. Just then Travis calls to be from the rock above telling me he found a neat hole in the rock I should come and shoot, so off I went.

It was a very tight fit getting my tripod setup between the snow/ice bank and the hole, I also got my butt really wet and cold sitting on the ice. I stopped the lens all the way down to maximize the depth of field and to get the star pattern you see here, OK truth be told I stopped down for the depth of field and was real pleased when I saw the star patterned since it's a product of stopping down and I didn't think about it when I composed the shot. This one was my favorite of that morning.

During the whole weekend photography took second place to just being back on the North Shore experiencing the sights and sounds and feelings and friendship I'd been away from for 4 months. As it turned out the images I made this pst weekend turned out exceptionally well.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy bringing them to you.

Roger
(-:)

A Morning on Wauswaugoning Bay

2010-03-08T07:34:00.008-06:00

It has been a few months, almost 5, since I was last at Wauswaugoning Bay. Wauswaugoning Bay is located on the north side of Hat Point on the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe Indian(s) reservation. The reservation lies at the tip of Minnesotas arrowhead bordered by Canada, to the north, and the great Lake Superior to the east.

Wauswaugoning Bay is the home of Manido Gizhigans, Spirit Little Cedar Tree. I was in Grand Portage for the weekend during the opening of the North Shore Photography show in Grand Marais, 40 miles to the south. Four photographers, including myself of course, rose early Saturday morning to shoot sunrise at the Spirit Tree.

The Spirit Tree is sacred to the Ojibwe people. The trip always starts with an offering of tobacco. I carry tobacco in my camera bag for these times, not all of which occur at the Spirit Tree. It is a special place, a source of positive energy and strength from the many people that have passed before me. A time for quietly reflections.

The sunrise this morning was especially eventful. The soft pastel colors in the sky glowed on the horizon and cast beautifully warm colors on the lake. The morning was very calm, absolutely no wind. Lake Superior was calm as well seemingly taking slow breaths as it slept with the ever so slow rise and fall of the ice.

The ice on the lake was quite thin. As the lake took each breath the ice by the shore would softly creak. But out away from shore where the ice could bend with the lakes movement an eerie 'wooshing' sound could be heard. I had never heard this sound before. It was mezmerizing. I simply stood still listening to the music the ice was playing to us that morning. My friend Travis had told me about the music and I was so much hoping to experience it. I got lucky this morning. The winds came up later in the day and blew all of the ice on to shore. During this weekend it was a one day event.

Turn your speakers up and go listen to the sound at Ice Music.

Roger
(-:)

North Shore Photography Show

2010-03-07T20:28:00.003-06:00

On March 5, 2010 a show opened at the Johnson Heritage Post in downtown Grand Marais. Seven Minnesota photographers combined to display over 100 photographs in a truely wonderful show.

Travis Novitsky, Don Davison, Bruce Johnson, Bryan Hansel, Paul Sundberg, Jon Wood and myself are the seven photographers in the show.

The Artist Reception last Friday night was very well attended. Over 100 people signed the guest book but it's estimated the more than twice that amount were actually in attendance.

The show continues thru the month of March. If you are in Grand Marais on Thursday thru Sunday be sure to stop by from 1pm to 4pm. Your eyes will be delighted with the vision of seven different photographers.

I've included a pictures of my display as well as the display of Travis. In my haste to get home yesterday I didn't get pictures of the other photograhers displays.

Roger

Foot in the Door 4

2010-02-07T20:49:00.004-06:00

Opening on Feb 18, and running thru June 13, Minneapolis Institute of Arts is showing 'Foot in the Door 4'. Once every 10 years aspiring Minnesota artists are called to submit one work of art to this show. The artwork is limited to one cubic foot or in the case of two-dimensional art one square foot. My submission i......s the image you see here, one of my favorite images from 2009.

This image was made on Oct 1, 2009. I was on my way up to Grand Marais. A storm was raging, minus the rain, all along the shore. I just had to stop and figured the picnic area at Cascade State Park would be a good place. Thule and I headed to the shore and found a nice little area to get out of the brutal force of the wind. I had to come out ... ... See MoreSee Moreof 'hiding' to make this image and had to firmly hold my camera and tripod during the 20 second exposure. I made alot of cool images that night but this is my favorite.

Printing the image for the show took a few twists and turns. Being that the size restriction was limited to a square foot eliminated the 12"x12" framed image since the actual frame size is 12 1/4"x12 1/4". In retropect they weren't measuring so I could have gotten away with it but I'm particular about following the rules. I tried cropping the image square but that didn't work. Then I tried printing an image such that I could have about a 1/2" mat all around it. That looked horrible. Then I thought of Minor White and his prints. They were small, something you had to get close to see. I liked that idea and printed an image 4"x6", cut a mat 10"x12", mounted it and really liked it. I usually mat duotone with a standard white color but for this image I used some light brown mat I had laying around. It really sung to me. I had my print. But I had to deal with the 12" frame restriction. I settled for a 9"x11" frame and had to buy two frames, one 9"x12" and the other 11"x14", to construct the frame size I desired.

I'm quite pleased with the way it came out. There is something about the small size that I really like.

Roger
(:-)

The Northern Elephant Seals of Piedras Blancas

2010-01-21T22:12:00.002-06:00

I had visited my aunt and uncle in their home in Cambria a couple of times in the 1980s and I had never heard of the Elephant Seals. So I was quite surprised when my cousins mentioned the rookery just a short distance from San Simeon, and Hearst. Now I would have remembered Elephant Seals from a previous trip so I thought something funny was going on.

Well it all started in the fall of 1990, long after my last visit, when fewer than 2 dozen elephant seals showed up in the small cove just south of the Piedras Blancas lighthouse. The spring of 1991 saw about 400 elephant seals coming to molt. January 1992 saw the first pups being born which marked the beginning of an elephant seal population explosion. 1993 about 50 pups were born, 1995 600 pups were born, 1996 almost 1000 were born. Now the rookery is home to about 15,000 elephant seals.

Saying the rookery is home to about 15,000 is a bit misleading since the elephant seals spend the vast majority of their time in the open ocean, from eight to ten months of the year.

From what I understand I visited rather early in the birthing/molting/breeding season as the older males, adults and sub-adults were arriving. During this time there are lots of challenges for prime territory. There wasn't a time when I didn't see at least one but more like a couple pairs of seals challenging each other. It was a busy place.

Pregnant females also arrive and begin giving birth. Birthing peaks in mid-January with about two births an hour by the public viewing area right off Highway 1.

These seals are absolutely huge. At birth they weigh about 70 lbs and gain weight quickly to about 300 lbs by 4 weeks of age. Females grow to 9-12 feet and weigh between 900-1800 pounds. Males grow to 14-16 feet long and weigh in at 3000-5000 pounds, or more.

They look like blobs of blubber laying on the beach but when they want to move they can do so very quickly. One thing I found quite humorous was watching the groups of them lying together. When one seal would move on one side of the group the blubber would shake almost across the whole group so another seal 5 over would also move.

I would have loved to spend more time there and will definitely return.

Roger
(-:)

Hearst Castle

2010-01-16T23:33:00.004-06:00

My cousin Joanne works at Hearst Castle, in San Simeon, California. She used to be a tour guide but is now a tour guide supervisor, responsible for making sure your tour of the castle is a memorable and enjoyable experience for you. Joanne is so into the history of the castle and is a walking book on the place.

Joanne took Leah, my cousin and her sister, on two private tours of the castle. The night I arrived we toured the inside which was all made up for Christmas. It was raining outside which created a really neat moody environment. The next day we went over to the castle a few hours before she started her shift and walked around the outside. It is the images I made outside that I've included here, didn't make any indoors.

I'm not going to try to give any info on the castle in this post. If you want more, and believe me there is a whole lot more, Google Hearst Castle and your bound to strike it rich.

The first image is the first sight Mr. Hearst's guests would see having just stepped out of their chauffeured vehicle.

One of the guest houses looking up from the terrace.

And the same guest house from the other direction. Not a bad view, eh. It is in this guest house that Hearst lived prior to his death.

Adam and Eve statue.

I was struck by some of the graphic elements I saw.

It's a beautiful place the Hearst Castle is. I couldn't imagine what it was like to spend time there and have the run of the place, except for the 3rd floor of the main house which was Hearst's private floor.

The view from the top of the hill is just stupendous as you can see. If you're ever along the central Calif coast it's worth a stop. (And say 'Hi' to my cousin Joanne (:-) )

Roger

Zion National Park

2010-01-16T22:43:00.004-06:00

Next stop, rather pause, after Coral Pink State Park was Zion National Park. I had driven thru Zion the year before right at dusk. It was quite dramatic with very low light so I hadn't stopped to make any images. I had that memory in my mind when I drove thru this year. The sun was quite high in the sky, not the greatest time for photography, and very different from the previous year. As such I only made just a couple of images.

This first image is Checkerboard Mesa. I used a HDR technique where 6 exposures, in this case, we made 2/3 stops apart. By doing this you capture the full range of tones from hilites to dark shadows. A program called Photomatics is used to blend the images together and gives the photographer controls for making final adjustments. It's a technique I need to work alot more with to get it right.

I was most intrigued by the sky and clouds that day. It was really a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly and the temperatures quite mild. This tree just stood out so nicely with the sky in the background and the clouds really mimic the shape of the tree.

I was struck by the contrast of the green pine trees against the red rock of this area and made a few images along the road. In deep shadow the tones were contained and with a little digital darkroom adjustments it makes a pleasant image.

Unable to take the scenic drive the previous year, well I could have taken it I just wouldn't have seen anything since it was dark, it was on my agenda this day. It was a nice drive but nothing really captured my fancy except for the trees high on the ridge with the sky and clouds behind it. So another tree, sky and cloud image, sometimes things run in cycles.

I left Zion pleased that I had driven thru. It's another jewel in the jewel box of the Southwest.

Roger