Trips to Jackson WY and San Juan PR
WOW! It has been several weeks of intense production. While it is good to have these "projects" finished, they have been extremely satisfying...in the travel and the shooting to be sure, but largely in the "darkroom." The magic of seeing the images come alive to reflect my vision of the original scene, occasionally surreal, massages my soul. Before moving on to these next two travels, you may notice changes to my website, which has been moved to Zenfolio. This was technically easy and bulk uploading from Lightroom or IE is allowed; they also provide for sales through commercial labs. That's not set up yet, but I will get to it soon. You'll notice a number of enhancements that make viewing easier, less distracting watermarks, and metadata are included.
UPDATE 11/9/12: The shopping cart is now enabled! I have not validated all the products, but prints from the MPix lab should be quite reliable. I will be working on this by getting some proofs from MPix in the next few days. Check out the other cool things like calendars, greeting cards, and Fotoflot. Who'd of thought you could sell postage stamps?!
Jackson WY I was excited to visit because of the vistas provided by the Grand Teton mountain range and especially for the chance to peruse the galleries, shops, and restaurants of this scenic town. I rediscovered the Brookover Gallery and spent awhile chatting with David Brookover, entranced by his new platinum/paladium prints. Fantastic visions, and as I told him, part of me wanted to put my camera away forever, but the other part of me was inspired in a deeply uncomfortable way to pursue my own. Visit his gallery or buy his book, The Road, as I did! I may tell you more about David in a future posting. In rising early (it was cold!) to try for a "first light" shot of the Tetons, I became aware of how difficult it is to photograph an icon. In this case, everyone has seen pictures, millions have photgraphed it and visited in person: What can I bring that is unique? At first, this was frustrating, but then I realized it is the journey, not the destination as the cliche goes, that is important in the art of photography. I can return again and again to capture an icon! In any event, enjoy the photographs. You can see the technical details (metadata) on the new website if you click in the upper right hand corner of any photograph, if you're interested.
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| First Light Les Grands Tetons |
San Juan PR Never had I visited Puerto Rico and so it was with great curiosity that I attended a scientific meeting, but snuck out of the sessions for a photo shoot! El Castillo de San Cristobal is an old Spanish fort that has existed on site, near Old San Juan, for 500 years. My first reaction was that there was just a lot of grey and black rock, but then I began to appreciate the fantastic textures and subtle colors juxtaposed with the blue of the sea or the clouds of a dramatic thunderstorm forming inland. Strong lines of the fortress, the old arches, and crumbling plaster drew my eye, but on reviewing the images, I was disappointed with the flat tones and lack of contrast that simple adjustments really could not improve. I turned to Photoshop and used HDR toning and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 to enhance texture and tone. Some of these are a little over the top intentionally, others are a lot more subtle and reflective of what my eye could perceive. I think my favorites are Horse Cart (shown below), Escape, and Quittin' Time San Juan PR. Enjoy!
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| Horse Cart |