If you flashback to yesterday I made it quite clear that I did not capture any interesting images in Bombay Beach…as I went through yesterday’s shoot I realized I wasn’t quite being honest. When we first rolled up on Bombay Beach, along the eastern shore of the Salton Sea, we were met with flooded streets, especially against the berm. As we pulled up to the flooded waters we noticed an abandoned rowboat sitting in what used to be the front lawn of a burnt out double-wide.

Maybe I would have been better off using the rowboat rather than wading through knee high water to get to the entrance of the Bombay Beach Ruins. Definitely would have made the car ride back to the North Shore a lot more comfortable.

We’ve been itching for a roadtrip, so when we discovered that we had a free day on Sunday we decided to take a jaunt to the desert for an afternoon drive – slash – photo tour. A few days ago I was talking to a friend about the Salton Sea and I realized it has been a about a year since I last visited the wondrous sight of California’s most polluted lake/sea, so it was quickly decided a trip out to the sea was in order. After checking the weather report last night I realized there was a good chance of rain (the weather report was for…rain)…but I though this would lead to some interesting photo possibilities as the storm clouds rolled in and out and puddles created some interesting composition possibilities.

So, as you look at the photo above you think to yourself, well, that’s not the Salton Sea…so you can probably surmise the trip out to the sea was a bust. The first order of business was cruising in to North Shore to find that the Ace of Spades is now, well, I think it’s about to become a public library. It’s completely rebuilt (see the Ace of Spades in all it’s resplendent glory as recent as last January 2009) with a real parking lot, picnic tables, unbroken windows and the half submerged playground has been removed. What is the world coming to? Moving on we continued towards Bombay Beach, slowing down to cross deeper and deeper mud runoffs as they crossed the highway. Eventually we made it to Bombay Beach, only to discover the the roads in to the “ruins” was flooded and the rains were starting to come down harder. Andree, the wise one, stayed in the car with Sierra while I waded across the roadway, camera tucked under my jacket, and went to investigate the opportunities. After a minute or two of slipping in the mud I quickly turned back and headed to the car. Down, but not out, we headed back towards Palm Springs and the San Gorgonio Pass with the hopes of catching the windmills at sunset. A few weeks ago we had been traveling along highway 111 and I realized it afforded some interesting possibilities, especially with snowcapped mountains as a backdrop, though the reality is it is probably a better sunrise spot.

After a quick detour up to the Palm Springs tram we found what looked to be the best spot along 111 to photograph the windmills. I would have preferred to have been higher, shooting down towards the windmills, but there were some interesting composition choices from along the highway. As I bundled up against the wind Andree spent 30 or so minutes trying to convince Sierra that it was ok for her to pee in a strange place. I’m not sure we realized we adopted a nervous pee-er. Overall I’m not sure I’m overly enthused by the windmill photos, I may have to play with the white balance to try and warm the photos, they are a tad bit cold. For my next jaunt through the windmill farms, it’s time to figure out how to actually get closer to the windmills instead of shooting them from a distance.

So, to net it out…North Shore is ruined, we couldn’t get in to the Bombay Beach ruins, almost flooded the car, and wasn’t too happy with the photos I came back with. But 8 hours in the car with Andree and the Ipod always makes for a fabulous trip.

Enjoy the week

A shot from a few weeks ago, the Huntington Beach Pier after one of the big January storms cleared. 6 foot waves were crashing in to the pier, but I was experimenting with a neutral density filter and shot a 30 second exposure, creating the blurred ocean effect. Creates a completely different atmosphere for this image.

In other news today, Andree (brown), Stacie (blue), and myself (second degree brown) tested and were promoted today. The march towards black belt continues.

Just received a 22×28 print of this image through MPix, and I must say my experience with MPix has been significantly better than with Adorama Pix. The prints via both vendors have been excellent, but the customer service through MPix has been outstanding.

The goal for the next week is to get some of the old vintage cameras cleaned up so I can figure out which one is going to accompany us to New Orleans. That and I need to start identifying potential locations for when we are in New Orleans. I’ve always wanted to capture those early morning  mist filled swamp shots and that is definitely on the card for this trip. That and some black and white shots of the french quarter using the vintage cameras.

The shot above is from the Owens Valley outside of Bishop facing the Eastern Sierras. We drove around for an hour or so on the Jean Blanc Road (a testy little dirt road) looking for a place to shoot. The late afternoon sun breaking through the storm clouds created an impressive example of god rays lighting up the foothills. This is another example why the Bishop area is one of my favorites!

The photo above, Reflections of Huntington Beach Pier at Sunset, will be available as part of a silent auction at the Bob White Invitational on Saturday, March 13th benefiting the Royal Family Kids Camp. A signed 16×20 metallic print, with black frame and off-white matte (total wall size 20×28). Normally I would sell this combination for around $400 so it’s a great opportunity to get a stunning print and help out a worthy cause. Entrance to the tournament is free, and all net proceeds from the invitational go to the RFKC. I photographed the tournament last year and had a blast watching the kids compete in their various events. The kids get quite intense, and then as soon as they are done sparring sit down on the mat and start talking/playing with their opponent as only kids can do.

I’ve been running a number of test prints as of late, testing out metallic color/black and white prints as well as true black and white prints. Part of me is quite torn, I received an order from Adorama Pix today, after close to two weeks of haranguing and badgering on my part. I originally put a two day rush on the order, and then found out a week later their black and white printer was busted. It would have been nice if they had informed me of that. They then told me, on two separate occasions, that I would have the prints the next day…and yet no prints showed up. After a third conversation yesterday…today the prints, or at least half of the prints, finally arrived. And here is where the being torn part comes in. They were stunning. The metallic black and white prints absolutely blew me away and now I’m off searching for frames. But, I’m not sure I can switch my fulfillment over to them if they have customer service issues. So far Exposure Manager has done an excellent job. And I have a 7 true black and white prints, from mpix, on the way as well (shh…don’t tell Andree, they were on sale and I couldn’t resist). And since we’ll be moving in a few months I’ll probably just end up offering them for sale (stay tuned). My incessant need to test out various print vendors is apparently your benefit. That, or my office walls are going to be very crowded.

Ok, I didn’t actually go anywhere. Between the Olympics, having a cold, and just general laziness…I haven’t been all that diligent about the updates. And I definitely haven’t been in the mode of working on a new set of photos, though I did find a number of shots from a trip to Yosemite in 2007 that I’ve always intended on re-visiting. I did sell a set of photos, finished a draft for another website I’m going to publish some articles for, and started plotting our trip to New Orleans in March!

The photo above is from a trip a few years ago to the east coast for work. I had a weekend of respite between Connecticut and New Jersey so I took my time with the drive and spent an evening perusing a small harbor on the Connecticut coast, Stonington. The next day, in New Jersey, was just downright freezing cold, requiring the purchase of a new jacket and longjohns!

Another “deep dive” (ok, maybe today isn’t such a deep dive) in to one of the photos featured in “scenes of india“.

Prior to heading to a new location I like to do research, identify interesting locations, customs, buildings, etc. in search of photo opportunities. When reading up on the city of Agra, you have the obvious locations like the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, but with some investigation I also discovered Kabootars. Kabootars are pigeons, and Kabootars Baz are people who have trained pigeons to fly high above the Agra city using high pitched whistles. This was definitely something I was interested in photographing if time permitted.

Tired from an afternoon of sightseeing I journeyed to the patio at the Agra Sheraton for a nice cold beer and cigar. When I arrived at the patio, which overlooked the city of Agra, I could see the Taj Mahal in the background, and hear the Kabbotar Baz high pitched whistles and see flocks of pigeons in the afternoon sky. Along with the Kabootars, I also received a glimpse of daily life, as kids played on the Agra rooftops.

Unfortunately a small group of pigeons a quarter of a mile away, doesn’t make for exciting photography…but I did come away with a few photos that I enjoyed, including this one. A glimpse of the Agra rooftops with the Taj Mahal dominating the skyline. I wonder what it would be like to have that in your window or visible from your rooftop every day?

Scenes of India is currently available through Blurb, for $59.95+tax/shipping. The first edition is limited to 250 copies.

For information on autographed copies, follow this link.

Death Valley National Park – Mesquite Dunes (converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro)

The rains have returned and today is a slow Friday as everyone else heads in to the weekend (still enjoying that 365 day vacation!). After consultation with the doctor…yep…I pierced my own ear drum with a q-tip. How might you ask? I would suggest that if you have a Q-tip in your ear, and drop something, do not under any circumstances bend over to pick it up. I also made an interesting discovery, if we had gone in with my previous insurance I would have been paying $30 for the co-pay, + whatever they would have charged the insurance company. Simply paying cash, the visit was $50. Our healthcare system is really screwed up.

• Speaking of screwed up, the post was taken down which is a shame…for $4000 you too could have joined ZORIAH (doesn’t that sound like the name of an Adam Sandler movie?) for an intimate photo journalism class and documented the recent tragedy in Haiti. Here’s the link, that was removed after his blog post was apparently ripped to shreds by fellow webians http://www.zoriah.net/blog/2010/02/photojournalism-workshops-haiti-earthquake-intimate-group-workshop.html
• As I was perusing the work of Matt Stuart I noticed something (that I usually notice anyways, but I’m in the midst of writing a blog post and hence I bring it up)…street photography just works better in black and white. If you look at the two portfolios Matt has, one in color and one in black and white, at least from my perspective the black and white images are more powerful than the color, even if the subject matter is very similar.
• I was reading a depressing article on the future of stock photography, but came away with a fabulous link to the work of Diane Cook & Len Jenshel. Definitely a different look at some iconic locations in the west.
• PixelatedImage runs a monthly free wallpaper. I’ve done some wallpaper in the past but don’t know if there’s a real interest in it. Thoughts?

A second deeper look in to one of the photos that make up “scenes of india“, a photographic journey through India.

Jama Masjid is one of the largest mosques in India and sits in the heart of Old Delhi. The courtyard, partially seen in the photo above, can hold up to 25,000 people. The Muslim community is spread out from the mosque, with small shops and large congregations of people going about their daily lives. We made a visit to the mosque after a morning of site seeing through Delhi. As westerners we were allowed to keep our shoes on while visiting the mosque, but were required to cover them prior to entering the grounds. It’s an odd experience walking outside with cloth booties covering your shoes.

The large mosque, at the front of the square, is used for prayers. As you walk quietly through the mosque you can see a large number of people kneeling in front of the walls performing their daily prayers. It is somewhat intimidating to try and photograph in the mosque, you aren’t quite sure if it’s allowed or considered disrespectful. I can remember standing off to the side, out of everyone’s way and taking some hip shots before my desire to try and capture the scene just go the best of me and I quickly kneeled down and fired off a few composed shots. The large arches are home to plenty of men taking afternoon naps while trying to escape the direct sun beating down from overhead.

The large square in front of the mosque is a lovely sandstone orange, similar to the color of the mosque. Huge mounds of birdseed can be seen strewn about the square, the pigeons who normally feast on the birdseed scared off by the young boy running across the square.

For this shot I tried to capture the size of the square and mosque. Using a 24-105 lens I positioned myself off to the side so that I could capture the mosque without too much of the distortion that occurs when photographing a large building with a wide angle lens. Because I did not have a tilt and shift lens the towers were going to look as if they were leaning, by positioning myself to the side the leaning towers look as if it’s a product of the angle as compared to lens distortion (here’s an example from the Taj Mahal). The cloudy sky allowed me to maintain detail in the sky while properly exposing for the mosque. For most of my time shooting from this angle I was trying to capture the birds in flight when someone disrupted their feeding. But as luck would have it, in this specific shot a young kid came running through the square, scaring the birds off. But at the same time he creates a nice foreground object to help bring the composition together and make it feel more realistic than just a standard tourist shot of the mosque. You wonder why is the child running, is he late getting home from school? Does he have somewhere important to be or was he just trying to scare the birds?

To purchase this image, click on the photo above.

The hardcover edition of “scenes of india”, is available through blurb for $59.95 + tax/shipping.

For signed copies of “scenes of india”, click here

Over the next few weeks I will be profiling some of the photos from my first publications, “scenes of india”.

The first photo profiled, Fishing At the Feet of God, is also the cover shot for the book. The photo features the Taj Mahal, as seen from Mehtab Bagh across the Yamuna River. The Taj Mahal and morning storm clouds are reflected in the Yamuna River while a group of 5 kids can be seen fishing from the river along a little sand bar in the middle of the river.

The process for making this image were somewhat more involved than just shooting the Taj Mahal. Prior to our trip to India I had done some additional research on photographing the Taj Mahal, specifically trying to find some angles and shooting locations that were outside the standard tourist shots you usually see. I found a number of spectacular shots from across the Yamuna River, and specifically Mehtab Bagh. When we arrived in Agra we did the standard tour of the Taj Mahal. I talked to our driver and he was very adamant that it was not safe for me to travel to Mehtab Bagh, especially by boat (which was my original plan). At the hotel I talked to the concierge about my desire to find a boat to take me across the river so I could photograph the Taj Mahal in the morning, and they were very clear that it was not safe for a westerner to make such a trip. I explained why I wanted to make the trip and the concierge stated that one of his co-workers was a photographer and knew of a great place to photograph the Taj Mahal. He would be working in a few hours and would call me when he arrived. Fantastic. So, a few hours later the concierge calls and I head down to the lobby to meet him, and as luck would have it he had a great place for me to photograph the Taj Mahal. Mehtab Bagh, across the Yamuna River…which if you recall is actually exactly where I wanted to go! But, once again, he stressed it probably was not safe for a western to make this trip by boat across the river. After some negotiating he agreed that it would be safe for me to make the trip by car, and we made arrangements to hire a hotel car to drive me to Mehtab Bagh.

I was able to convince Dablu, my sister’s father-in-law, to join me on the early morning trip (we had a morning off planned, and the rest of the traveling party was planning on relaxing in the hotel after a long train trip and sight seeing the day before). An hour drive in Agra traffic saw us arrive across the river at Mehtab Bagh. Mehtab Bagh, or the Moonlight Garden as it is also known, offers striking views of the Taj Mahal in the Yamuna River. As we arrived at the site, we were greeted by some local kids begging for cash. Seeing as we were the only two people at the site, outside of the little rascals, they decided to accompany us on our walk. Not to beg for money, but rather to stave of their boredom. As you can see from the photo a set of storm clouds rolled past the Taj Mahal, creating a fantastic backdrop in the mid morning sun. The clouds also reduced the glare from the sun, and evened out the shadows. For this specific shot I located myself in front of the 5 kids fishing in the river. I spent about 15 minutes in the location, so by this time they had stopped focusing on me and went back to their task of fishing in the river. The dynamic range of this shot made it challenging, the kids are heavily shadowed in order to maintain detail in the clouds and white marbled Taj Mahal. Dodging and Burning, using Viveza 2.0, was required to even out the highlights and brings back some of the shadow detail.

Outside of “Reflections”, this is probably my favorite shot from the set at Mehtab Bagh. It’s a different take on a classic travel shot of India, the Taj Mahal. The storm clouds and reflections create an interesting canvas around which to place the much photographed Taj Mahal. The kids fishing in the foreground brings the image back to reality and helps portray everyday life in the area. For them the Taj Mahal isn’t a 7th wonder of the world, but just part of their everyday life. And of course there is the luck of the draw, the Taj Mahal being closed on a Friday morning in preparation for a special activity in the afternoon allowed me to photograph the scene without the normal crowds you would see on the dais in front of the Taj Mahal.

To purchase this image, click on the photo above.

The hardcover edition of “scenes of india”, is available through blurb for $59.95 + tax/shipping.

For signed copies of “scenes of india”, click here