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Denver Colorado

Thu, 07 May 2009 23:05:17 -0700

I'm goin' out to to Denver to see if I can't find that lovin' Colorado girl of mine - Townes Van Zandt

Click the image for a larger view

I'm currently in Denver this week for a four day iPhone development workshop. While here I have been taking advantage of my evenings off and exploring this beautiful city. I fly back to Arkansas tomorrow night.

Earlier this week I set out to get a skyline photo of Denver. However with me on foot and not knowing the area at all, I quickly ran out of good light. You think someone would research these things beforehand, go figure...

This evening I knew pretty much where I wanted to be. I spent a good 4+ hours walking around the downtown area, taking around 80+ shots. I figured I could sleep when I get back home, it's not everyday you get to be in such a great city.

I managed to find a good vantage point for a skyline photo, but I was not 100% happy with my results. For one I was competing with high-line wires. I had to get really creative and almost into the river to get a shot without them in my way. Why would someone hang these things in my view???

As I prepare for my last day of training I am a little disappointed that I was not able to make it out to Red Rocks Park. Ok, so I'm a lot dissapointed... I will for sure be planing a vacation sometime soon to come back.

Below are a few of my favorite photos from this trip.

Ozark Wildflowers

Sat, 02 May 2009 03:49:54 -0700

Yesterday I picked up Ozark Wildflowers by Don Kurz, a field guide to common wildflowers found in this area I love to call home.

The guide covers around 355 types. It's broken down by color and list the flowers in order by the months they typically bloom. So it makes identifying what you are looking for super fast.

It has so far been a very interesting read, with lots of great facts about each flower. It will be taking up a permanent spot in my already too heavy camera pack, at least during the wildflower season.

This book will serve not only as a field guide but as a new personal goal to seek out and photograph as many of these I can find.

Freak Hail Storm

Fri, 01 May 2009 20:27:00 -0700

Large hail rained down the size of quarters and and half dollars for a good 15 minutes today. It sounded like a war zone. I ventured out to the edge of our covered patio with my camera before making a quick retreat back to the safety of the house.

Wilderness and Wildflowers

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:52:01 -0700

Low wind and overcast skies made for a wonderful day out in the Arkansas wilderness. With no cell phone signal for miles and miles I was able to really get away and relax without my usual constant "need" for being connected. I think this weekend was exactly what I needed.

I got up before sunrise and headed out for the Buffalo wilderness in Boxley, Arkansas. I had hoped getting out early would reward me with an elk or two, but there were none to be seen. However, the kayakers were in full force getting an early start as well. Car after car kept piling up behind me as I slowly drove through the valley looking for wildlife.

With no luck in the wildlife arena, I headed out to the Smith Creek Nature Preserve. I parked at the gate, and with no escort this time I would have to hike in. And what a great day for a hike, with the weather in the low 70's it was perfect!

Wildflowers carpeted the ground with an array of colors, I quickly switched my lens out for macro and made my way slowly down the mountain photographing everything I could find. There are so many types and colors of flowers and I was unable to identify any of them out in the field. I really need a book to take along with me.

With overcast skies it was also perfect for waterfall photos. There was a decent amount of water in the creek, a bit low but still some really great cascades to be photographed. I hiked all the way down to the natural springs that feed the creek. And if I remember correctly I believe it's either 2-1/4 or 2-3/4 miles down. Either way it really felt more like 5 miles, Yikes, I need to do this more often. You find out real quickly just how out of shape you are when you push yourself out of an office chair and get out and start exploring the outdoors.

After eating a relaxing lunch at the springs, I was mentally preparing myself for the hike back up the mountain, If I thought the hike down was rough the hike back up was really going to be fun. Luckily, about half way back up I saw Harvey Williams and his wife Terri, who were out at the reserve checking on a rare flower in the area. They were kind enough to offer me a ride back to the top!!! THANK YOU HARVEY!!!

Having been spared a good hours hike I felt I had the energy to see what else the wilderness had to offer me.
I made a few passes through Lost Valley, Ponca and the Steel Creek area, before stopping to hike the Lost Valley Trail up to Eden Falls. This hike was for the most part flat with clear smooth trails, I can't say that hurt my feelings, :-)

The creek was mostly dry and I had very little hope that there would be any water at the falls. But to my surprise they were flowing fairly nicely, nothing like some of the photos I've seen, but not too bad. However, with Lost Valley trail being more accessible there were a lot of people and it seemed everyone wanted to get directly into the falls, so this made getting photos of the falls a bit of a challenge. After waiting about 10 minutes I decided if I were to get any photos of the falls without people in the shot, I would have make my intention and presence known... So I waded knee deep out into the middle of the water, set up my tripod... and wow, it actually worked, people got out of my way.

All and all it was a fantastic day, I walked away with a few hundred photos and a clear relaxed mind. Below are a few of my favorites from the day.

Photographing the allusive "Wood" duck...

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:54:21 -0700

Ever had "one of those days"?? Well today I had mine!

Ever since I purchased my new 400mm lens I have been scouting for subjects to photograph with it. I drive like an old man scanning the trees, the wood lines, ponds and pastures looking for my next great subject.

Today on my way back from lunch I spotted a little pond behind one of the buildings in my office complex. Basking in the cool water were three beautiful Wood Ducks.
I raced back to the office, grabbed my camera and headed back to try and get some good shots.

Trying not to scare them off, I eased my way slowly down behind the tree lines creeping ever so quietly. I found my position, checked my exposure, held my breath and focused my lens on one of the beautiful ducks.

To my surprise and embarrassment I quickly noticed my subject was in fact a "Wood" duck rather than a real Wood Duck... You know one of those fake decoy ducks...

So surprised, embarrassed and empty handed I headed back to work.

Maybe tomorrow, :-)

Boxley Day Trip

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:51:18 -0700

What is better than a warm spring day in the Arkansas wilderness? Well... how about a personal private tour from a great Arkansas photographer who knows the area like the back of his hand!!

Today I had the great pleasure of be guided through the Smith Creek Nature Preserve by Harvey Williams of Cove Creek Photography, a really great guy and excellent photographer. Harvey volunteers for the Nature Conservancy and has special access to areas of the preserve that are otherwise a little more difficult to get to by foot.

Other than the horrible weather, and by that I mean bright blue skies, which is not so great for waterfall photos, I had a fantastic time. I walked away with some really nice photos, at least I like to think so.

Walking in would have taken me a weekend of hiking and probably getting lost a few times, but we were able to cover a lot of ground thanks to Harvey's Rhino ATV.

The wild flowers were in full bloom and they made the dry wilderness floor sparkle and come to life with vivid color. Thanks to Harvey I actually have names for what I was shooting, though I still managed to get a few of them wrong.

It was a little windy so doing macros was quite a challenge. I ended up with a good number of blurry photos, but luckily Harvey was prepared with some screens to help shield the wind, so I credit him for any good ones I did manage to get in focus. Thanks Harvey! Next time I plan on bringing a macro tent.

Smith Creek Nature Preserve is an amazing place, a true photographers paradise. If you have never been I encourage you to visit, you will not be disappointed.

PhotoInferno.com

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:49:28 -0700

Today I was contacted by world-renowned photographer Will Crockett of BogenCafe.us and ShootSmarter.com. How cool is that?

No, he didn't contact me to praise my great photography skills or ask my advice on his next big shoot. :-) HA, I hope you pick up on my sarcasm here, there is no way I could ever compare my skills to those of such a great photographer.

Will actually contacted me to inquire about a domain name I have been squatting on, PhotoInferno.com. I registered that domain almost 3 years ago. I had great intentions of developing a great community website for photographers to host under photoinferno.com. Though life, work, and many other factors have kept that goal just out of reach. Honestly a website of that scale is no small undertaking, especially when I would be building it in my (HA) spare time...

Will was interested in naming a new seminar event the "Photo Inferno" and was inquiring to purchase the domain from me since it's currently sitting stale.

Honestly I hate to part with photoinferno.com. Part of me still wants to start developing a great community website. I'm not talking about a site like flickr, I'm talking about a site where photographers of all skill sets come to LEARN, and SHARE their knowledge of photography. I know there are a lot of community sites out there already, but... While these sites contain a great wealth of information, most lack in design, usability and intuitive layout. Being a web developer and a photographer, I feel I can bring the best of both and develop a community that not only looks great, but is easy to use, it's intuitive, and it keeps its users coming back.

Will was only willing to shell out a few hundred bucks and some of his DVD lessons for my domain. It was actually a fair price for a domain I paid only 10 bucks for.

While I truly wanted to help him out, especially being who it was, I felt no real motivation to part with it. A few hundred bucks is not going to change my life. Plus If I didn't already own photoinferno.com and I found it for sale, I'd probably be willing to shell out a few hundred bucks to get it for myself.

So after seeking advice from a super web savvy guy, I decided that what would really motivate me to part with photoinferno.com would be a new Canon 5D MKII. Street price of about $2,700. I even tried to sweeten the pot by throwing in not only the .COM, but the .ORG and the .NET domains as well.

Will Crockett kindly declined my counter offer. Hopefully I didn't offend him too bad.

Yeah, I guess it is a steep price to pay for a $10 domain name, but...
As domain names go, it’s fairly short, it is composed of two correctly spelled words, it's memorable, easy to spell, and you immediately know it's related to photography. Plus I own the .COM, the .ORG and the .NET domains for PhotoInferno, so I pretty much have the market where that domain in concerned. It's worth a $2,700 camera to me.

So what would you have done?

Winter Wonderland

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:42:25 -0700

When I made the request for today off from work I had no idea the treat I would be in for. I woke up to a light snowfall and freezing temperatures. My plans of vegging out quickly changed to a day outdoors with my camera. I've been hoping and waiting for a good snow day and today wasn't half bad.

I started the day out at Ann Falls, a great little waterfall in Bella Vista. I was hoping the snow was a little heavier further north and I wasn't disappointed. It was great! I parked downstream and slowly started my way up the creek bed being careful not no slip and break a leg, or worse my camera or lens!!

I spent a good hour and a half at Ann Falls and was able get several photos, though I had to keep taking short breaks to warm up my hands.

I made the mistake of layering up too much. I did a lot of hiking around Ann Falls and it left me damp from perspiration. I didn't really think anything of it until my next stop at Tanyard Creek. It was 12 degrees and I quickly found myself freezing. I only spent about 30 minutes there, long enough to get a few shots at each spot along the way. It was all I could take so I packed it in and headed home to process my shots.

I'm still hoping for a big snow, today was nice but I'd like to see a good 4-6 inch snow before this season is over!!

Below are a few photos from todays shoot.

Happy 2009

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:24:45 -0700

I am amazed how fast this past year has slipped away. Is 2008 really over??

2008 was a great year for my family and we have so much to be thankful for.

We purchased our first home after 14 years of renting. This was such a huge milestone for us. My wife finished up the larger part of her dissertation and I should be calling her Dr. Shull by spring (fingers crossed). I also launched my new blog and gallery website (a personal milestone). I had 3 photos published in the Capture Arkansas coffee table book, and another three photos published in the NWA Peekaboo magazine. My wife cut the apron strings and let our girls attend a week away at summer camp. My girls got their first puppy. And countless other blessings.

Professionally 2008 was also a great year. The company I work for has had continued growth and success. We just moved into a great new space, complete with an authentic Silver Joes Coffee bar and lounge. I've also been learning Objective C, a launguage used to build iPhone applications. We are expecting our first app in the very near future.

I hope you have had a great 2008! I can't wait to see what 2009 has in store.

Satch

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:03:50 -0700

So last night I drove 4 hours to pick up an early Christmas present for my girls. They have been asking (begging) for a dog for a long time now and up until recently I've avoided the subject. I don't know if it's the time of year or maybe I'm just getting soft, but I finally caved in. I kept this a secret to my girls, I wanted to make it a huge surprise.

We started talking seriously about the subject for about a month or so now. After much research (and debate) we finally decided the best pup for our family would be a West Highland Terrier. The closest breeder was a good 4 hour trip, but it was well worth it. The look on the faces of my girls was priceless, they were so surprised, excited and thankful.

Today we decided on a name, "Satch" named after the late great Louis Armstrong.

A great new addition to our family and a great new subject to photograph. Below is one of the first photos of Satch. Isn't he adorable?