The secret of great vacation photos? Just relax....



Chapter 88

 In the spirit of summer vacations, I've posted a photo from a few summers ago titled, "Chapter 88" The location is a beach in a little town about 30 miles north of Puerta Vallarta Mexico.
I attempted to capture the feel of the most relaxed place I've ever visited.
Initially I noticed the book open to Chapter 88, and then the natural triangular composition from book, to bottles, vendor and back.
I shot about six variations of this picture, made easy since my wife was asleep, the book would stay open to Chapter 88. Sometimes, my best photos come when I relax and let the picture emerge as the scene changes. At the worst, I spent an afternoon relaxing in paradise. This image was my favorite of the six.  
I find I don't revisit this photo often, except in the middle of the winter for some tropical inspiration.
I hope you enjoy this photo. Now get out there and relax!
Michael

I've added this image to my web site  http://www.stillslife.com/

200 Motels - One day too many on the road

I always loved Frank Zappa's album title 200 Motels. It captures in a very simple phrase, the grind of traveling for a living.  It doesn't matter if your a musician, salesman or circus performer, the travel can be great, but at the same time a lot of down time between performances. Like the title 200 Motels, I have tried in this photograph to capture the essence of that one day too many in a tired motel. I saw this one morning in my room in a old motel in Galt California. It is the morning light just starting to peak around the curtain in the room. I thought the tear in the fabric was a lot like that one day too many. I'm tired and torn and just want to make my way home. It's a bit of a risky shot in that it is simple in composition and hopefully conveys the end of a long trip out. 

If you have followed my other posts, you probably see that in many of my photos, I try for a very simple strong graphic to represent a place and a feeling. This type of photograph seems to generate either a strong positive or negative response. It's a healthy visual exercise to try to reduce what you want to convey in a simple way. If you have some similar photos with this type of simple graphic, I'd  love to see them or hear your thoughts. .

Have a great day.

Tuesday Morning - Galt

Mike

I will be adding this photo to my web site.  www.stillslife.com

Revisiting old photographs to find a hidden image

Northern Hotel - Original

This image of the metal strap on the Northern Hotel wall was one of those things that worked out of finding a strong graphic image shooting at mid day with very bright sunlight. This photo is for all intents and purposes a black and white photo due to the white wall and strap with its shadows. I really was pleased with this version, but did experiment with  Corel Paint Shop Pro water color effect this week.  
This worked out well adding slight color to give more of a wall with old paint layers. It's not as strong a contrast as the original, but works pretty well.  I think it is equally effective but in a softer way. 
This is another revisiting of an old image shot in 2004 to come up with a different effect. The Corel Paint Shop Pro software is pretty easy to use and can add very strong effects to quite subtle changes. 
Hope you like these two versions of the same picture. 
Regards
Mike

These images are on my web site  http://www.stillslife.com/

Northern Hotel - Water Color

StillsLife: New Car Show Abstract photo subjects

StillsLife: New Car Show Abstract photo subjects: "Open Road Cadillac - Mountain Ave. The car show season is finally underway and I love to look for nontraditional more abstract shots t..."

New Car Show Abstract photo subjects

Open Road

Cadillac - Mountain Ave.

The car show season is finally underway and I love to look for nontraditional more abstract shots that make you ask, "Just what is going on here?"
The Cadillac - Mountain Ave is fairly recognizable but bends and twists the reflected images in the gorgeous 50's chrome.

In the "Open Road" photo I was drawn to the exhaust pipes exiting through the holes in the hood sides of this beautiful black hot rod.  I realized as I was looking for the shot that if I stood on a sharp angle to the hood and the street, I got an entirely different view. Are the pipes coming out of holes in the asphalt? Is this some strange Government experiment? I really enjoy the bending of reality in this photo.

I hope you enjoy these.  They are both on my website:  http://www.stillslife.com/

Thanks for looking
Mike

Everyday abstracts - Finding the unusual in everyday scenes



Shattered

Today I'm posting a few photographic abstracts that are straight shots with no photo manipulation other than cropping and color adjustment. I have a background in painting and  graphic arts. I've always liked many of the abstract and impressionist painters.  I've found as these photos illustrate, that abstract photo images are all around us. In some of my earlier blogs, you read about how I use reflection to create a new view of a common image.
Shattered was taken at an abandoned building in an old railway station in Midway Utah. The reflection caught my eye and I had to move quickly since the light was changing rapidly. I love the broken sky. This photo has been exhibited a lot and often causes a double take. 

Springfield Morning was another image that I noticed out of my hotel window. Lots of layers, distortion and the grid of the window frames make this common picture pretty unusual. It's hard to know where inside ends and outside starts.

Manhattan #3 is a shot from the roof top of an Art museum. Framing the artwork with the gray building behind made for a great contrast of color with the building and again causes a double take trying to figure out what exactly is going on.

I hope you find this a useful tip.
Michael
These image are on my web site StillsLife.com

Springfield Morning

Manhattan #3

Photographing your kids - Capture the emotion of growing up.

 As my daughters have grown over the years, many of the photographs show the expression that responded to , "SMILE FOR THE CAMERA!"
While these certainly record many holidays,  sports events and awards, my favorite photographs are when I have captured the joyous and not so joyous moments in their journey to adulthood.
The first photograph is the pure joy of a sudden cloudburst while visiting Orlando. Dancing in the rain while all around her ran for shelter. 
The bottom photograph was a quick shot taken just before a Christmas party. The soft focused Christmas tree in the background sets the event, while Caitlin's expression is all about the anticipation and excitement of Christmas. 

The middle photograph is one of my personal favorites, even though my daughter did not agree at the time. This was taken after a very disappointing loss, when her training, practice and  best effort came up a bit short. To me this is a personally  important photograph that represents not just loss and disappointment, but the resilience and ability to go back and try again after failing. Many of our failures are actually our best moments as we apply what we learned from a disappointing moment.

These type of shots are so memorable long after the vacation or sporting event.  I find myself reliving the moment in these pictures. The next time you are out with your kids, capture the candid emotions as well as that posed smile for the camera shot. I think you will find the candid shots will become your personal favorites as well.

Have a memorable day
Michael

What's the worst that can happen? Another way to have fun with those average photos.....

I was reviewing a couple of images,recently that had a surprising bit of success, from just playing with effects just for fun. Corel, Photoshop and other software programs have given us the ability to change and modify images in ways we never dreamed of in the old dark room and airbrush days. 
I've found that sometimes I spend too much time thinking about what will please others vs. doing things that I like.
The original images were pretty average photographs from my files. The chairs were along Route 66 in Seligman AZ and the Pontiac taillights were take at a local auction in a poorly lit livestock building in our local fairgrounds.  I have a background in graphic and sign painting. I use this as a way to go a bit wild with my Corel Paintshop program just for fun. The key is just opening up to trying a lot of things that you would not typically do.
The chair photo became a postcard that was selected to be part of the national postcard museum from an open submission.
The Pontiac was selected for a couple of automotive art exhibits in California, was used as a T-shirt and as part of a car show poster.
The best advise I can share from this is to have fun and do what pleases you. There's no "right" picture, just various views of the same thing. 
 These experiments help develop and define your view of the world around you. Have a great time.
Michael

Reflections - The picture, in a picture,in a picture....

Many times I have to remind myself that when I try too hard to find or make a photograph, the result is a photographic version of "Writers Block." I repeat the same photographs and come home with pretty predictable results. In photographing reflective surfaces, we instinctivly reach for the polarizing filters to reduce or eliminate reflections. Over the last few years I have found that a little more time really looking at reflections as a part of the story vs. a technical problem to be solved has opened me to many possibilities for interesting images.
The first image of a hot rod fender, not only shows a great flame paintjob, but tells the story of the show within the reflections of the street , people and scenery reflected in the fender. A shot of the fender minus the reflections or of the street scene would not be as dramatic. 
The pond surface reflecting the winter storm clouds approaching again sets the mood of the storm about to sweep across the pond.
The final image of the tire and wheel, would not be nearly as interesting without the 41 Willy's reflected in the hub cap. It's suddenly not a pictue of a wheel but a story of the event. Obviously this requires a bit of trial and error, and I have many "self portraits" of  my camera and I looking back at me through the reflective surfaces.
In many cases, I don't fully see the effects until I review the images later. This technique of allowing the unplanned or unconventional image to come to me has helped me expand my vision and see the scenes within the scenes.
I hope you will find this technique useful. Please feel free to share your results of using this technique.   Michael

All of these images and others can be viewed at my web site at:  http://www.stillslife.com/  

Thanks to Mom- Happy Mothers Day

Thanks Mom.  Thanks is a pretty trivial word to express all that My mom, my wife and my oldest daughter and my sister  have given to their children and their families.  My mom  gave my sister and I, with a quite presence, a sense of humor  and great determination, the ability to work hard, love deeply and appreciate each day God has given us. In turn, my sister has guided her son Taylor in a similar way to manhood. My wife Robyn has an unlimited capacity to love us all and instill her character of hard work, love and learning that has transformed our daughters into great women. Jennifer, my oldest daughter, is in turn raising three wonderful kids with her determination, creativity, sense of humor.  Mom thanks so very much, and thanks to all moms for a job that's never really done. 

Happy Mothers Day .  Michael 

Every picture tells a story....

Today I thought I'd share how I modified a photo from what I saw to what I felt. The initial photograph was taken of the Christmas lights at mid day in the summer. The composition intrigued me , but some thing was missing. The setting was an old fence in a steel mill town that had seen better times. When you are there you feel the abandonment and hard times. My original photo recorded the scene, but conveyed little emotion. Initially I set this picture aside for quite awhile, but in reviewing it ,I remembered how I felt not what I saw. I opened the photo in my Corel paint shop to spend a little time experimenting with cropping and adding a more painterly feel. This simple photograph, now looked and felt like the town with everything a little grimy and neglected. . After any photo trip, I hold off on deleting any images and often return again to see what memory the picture triggers, and then see if I'm able to recreate the memory and emotional response from my visit. I find that by stepping away for a while from a photograph, that when I revisit the image I see possibilities that I did not see initially. This image has generated a lot of positive comment from people who view it. I hope you enjoy the story behind the photograph..  

Regards .  Michael



Milltown Christmas



Original

  .

Can you see what I see?

The subject of today's post is about looking at a photography subject from every angle and possibility. The two photos in this post are of the same subject taken on the same day and within minutes of each other. On an early morning walk, I saw  the light coming in under the bridge from the East. I took a few shots and thought I had captured a good photo.  I continued walking under the bridge, and glanced back at the bridge. What a surprise, the better picture was behind  me.                                                                                                                                                     

As you can see, the picture taken back toward the bridge appears entirely different, and to me is far more interesting with a completely different feeling. 

This greatly  helped me recognizing that often a better photograph only requires a look from a different direction or perspective. I hope this tip will help you find great photographs that you may have walked past or not noticed.

College Ave Bridge -Looking East

  

X marks the spot - College Ave Bridge looking West

Good Luck. Michael

Bonneville Speed Week - "What'll she do?"

"What'll she do?"  Since man first drove an automobile or motorcycle, the need to find the limits of speed have driven racers to speed trials from  the beaches of Florida, the dry lake beds of California and the Salt Flats of Utah. The first speed attempts at Bonneville were for bicycles before the turn of the century. For over a hundred years drivers and crews spend all year building their cars and motorcycles for the annual attack on the salt.                                                     Bonneville Speed Week is in many ways unchanged, with every type of vehicle from 400 mph streamliners to motorized bar stools and ancient Deuce coupes. If it can move under its own power, there is a class to run it in. This is the last great grassroots motorsport with none of the mega million dollar teams and sponsors. It's a gathering of gearheads of every age and from every town and country you can imagine. This is a unique event that needs to be experienced by every enthusiast  at least once. A growing number of spectators drive their hot rods across country to experience the salt. Much like the Grand Canyon, words and pictures can't convey the sound of a car running at full throttle for over four miles as it disappears over the horizon followed by a plume of salt.

 The very nature of this event makes the cars, drivers and crews accessible like no other motorsports event. At night a short drive into Wendover is like a scene from American Grafitti as the streets and parking lots fill up with classic hot rods and muscle cars. As a photographer, the unique light and sky at the salt flats are  an amazing setting for photographs. It is an addictive experience. Once you visit speed week, it's hard not to return. The racers talk about "salt fever". It is a real phenomenon. It only subsides a bit between events, and then, the afflicted return for their annual treatment. There doesn't seem to be a cure, but why try.  I'd recommend a case of the salt fever for every gearhead.  

Hope your travels are safe.  Michael  

StillsLife-Photo Site

Route 66 - Road trip therapy

Do you feel the need for an inexpensive escape and relief from the stress of daily life?  I found a great cure for the winter blues for about $200, that will leave you refreshed and ready to return to the challenges of modern life. Recently I attended at trade show in Las Vegas. Being a veteran of many of these shows, I was anxious to break away from the bright lights and casinos.  Hertz has a well kept secret with a fleet of 800 specially built Corvettes. Five hundred are coupes and three hundred are convertibles. This is not your typical rental fleet car. These were specified for Hertz with virtually every option offered. These cars listed at over $80,000. They have a special  engine option with over 400 HP and a low restriction exhaust with paddle shifters and adjustable suspension.  My wife had never been to the Grand Canyon, so a plan was hatched to take as much of the old route 66 as possible to the Grand Canyon.   After crossing the new Hoover Dam bridge, we headed to Kingman Arizona. At Kingman, we took Route 66 to Peach Springs and on to Seligman. This section is about 160 miles of beautiful two lane highway through some canyons and across wide desert valleys. The Corvette just ate up the miles. In the empty high desert, I was able to exercise all 400HP. This is an amazing car. We drove nearly 500 miles with 25 MPG due to the six speed automatic transmission. The great sound system went unused ,since the sound of the low restriction exhaust across the desert was a soundtrack not available on Sirius or I tunes.  Along the way are about eight of the Burma Shave signs. If you are under 50, you probably have never seen these signs with their series of rhymes. Burma Shaves ad campaign was one of the first highway ad campaigns started in the 30's. This campaign made Burma Shave a household brand and ran from the 30's until the late 50's. The Rusty Bolt trading post in Seligman, is a must see stop that offers all kinds of Route 66 memorabilia and is a really funky place to visit. I even spotted a tattered post card of a Shelby Cobra taped to the wall near the cash register that was signed by Carroll Shelby on a trip through many years back. From Seligman, you have to combine the freeway and some of the old Route 66 until you exit  just past Williams to take highway 180 North to the Grand Canyon. Williams old downtown is a remainder of Route 66 and is worth a stop. The Grand Canyon has been written about, photographed and painted for well over 100 years. I won't attempt to do this natural wonder justice, other than to recommend that if you have never been, GO!  If you have visited before, it is always different and changes minute to minute depending on the weather and the season. We watched a snow storm move from the North across the canyon while we had a hot toddy in the Grand Canyon Lodge. We left to return to Las Vegas in a snow storm, not a condition suited to a 400HP sports car with wide low profile tires.  Arriving late in the evening, we had a late dinner and relived our adventure.  I found that a little Corvette - Route 66 therapy is a bargain compared to the cost and uncertainty of any health care program. I've now driven all but a few hundred miles of Route 66 over the years. I'd make this section a priority for your personal bucket list.  Travel safe.  Michael

Jade Mountain - The ultimate Carribean vacation retreat

This last week I was able to spend a week at the Jade Mountain Resort in St. Lucia. If you are considering the ultimate luxury Caribbean holiday, honeymoon or special occasion, Jade Mountain is unsurpassed. You may have seen articles and television features about this resort, but the experience surpasses anything you may have read and seen. I could spend a lot of time discussing the dramatic architecture, wonderful food and drink  or the magnificent scuba diving, but I would have neglected to share the Jade difference. It is simply the people. The resident owners Nick and Karolynn have the most friendly and attentive staff of any place I have traveled. Everyone is dedicated to your experience and with a staff of 4 people for every guest, our every need was anticipated. More importantly, these people rapidly become close friends and feel much like a large family.  The photos below were taken from our Sanctuary, not a room in the traditional sense, but a magnificent wide open work of architectural design. Jade Mountain is adjacent to the  Anse Chastanet resort, that is owned and operated by the same owners. Anse Chastanet carries through with the same wonderful staff to make a stay a very personal and memorable experience. The lower photo of the Pitons was taken from Anse Chastanet. As you can see views are dramatic from both properties. We will be hosting a scuba diving group trip in October.  This is a real jewel of a spot for your next special vacation.  Regards, and happy travels.   Michael