just got back from my first trip to Joshua Tree. amazing. nothing like the high desert. mid to high sixties in the sun, with an occasional cool, light breeze that provides a blissful combination of warm and cool. like the Big Sur coast, or Yosemite, sitting on a hot granite slab with a cool breeze generated by a nearby creek. sweet. the rock formations were amazing and seemingly endless. best yet, there was hardly anyone there! i was able to wander aimlessly, moving around the various outcrops, and even though the sun was high on my second day, was able to get great sidelight just by walking around... on another note, i am heading to SF tonight to participate in Photo Alliance's portfolio review. should be fun. when i get back, i will also be posting some images from Hakone Gardens...
high drama, the book
after months of fiddling around, i finally sent off my first pass to have it proofed! definitely a "self publish" job. i am using Blurb on the recommendation of Linde and Lito who have been very happy with the results. the book contains 29 images, including 3 panoramas, all taken in Torres del Paine National Park. i chose a platinum tone for the images, and i have to admit, i'm a bit nervous to see if the Blurb presses render the tone accurately. i will be selling it through the Blurb bookstore and from my main site, so stay tuned! here's the introduction(beta):
This is a book about wind. and clouds. and mountains.
But mostly about relentless wind. The kind of wind that eventually permeates your entire being, altering how you think and how you act. The kind of wind that, when it stops, creates moments of disbelief that give way to a psychological and emotional liberation that can, well, make you giddy.
In the fall of 2008, Patagonia's weather was different. The foliage change was a couple of weeks late, due to a warmer and drier than normal summer. The Patagonian icecap continues to retreat, as are icecaps around the world. And though the fall is famous for providing a few weeks of respite from the wind, not this year. This year, it blew. It generated white caps on the lakes, day and night. It hurled water horizontally across vast stretches of lakes and foothills. It parted the fur of foxes and guanacos, and caused humans to lean. It created a long dream of clouds and light and mountains. It made me a humbled witness.
All the images in this book were captured in April, 2008, in and around Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, over the course of a few days, and in some cases, a few minutes...
winter in the berkshires
hey. yes, i've been gone for awhile, but i'm back. i've mostly been working on a new book, which will be a separate post, probably in a few minutes. this image, "my own backyard" was taken a few weeks ago while i was visiting my parents in Pittsfield, MA. yes, it was cold. thankfully! the snow stayed on the trees and kept its fresh-looking texture. so what's the deal with this image? well, it's one of those classic examples of finding inspiration for making images in your own backyard, in this case, literally! i've looked at this old wine barrel for more years than i can remember, in all seasons, it turns out, except winter... year after year, it was simply a planter full of "hens and chickens", and i never once thought of taking a picture of it. but when i saw it this time, it was transformed by the snow and the light into, for me, a poignant reminder that even in the depths of winter, the hope for spring remains...soon there will be blooms and grass and grandkids playing everywhere. i actually took maybe 20 shots of it over the course of 4 days, all times of the day. what do you think?
the speed of wind
The wind was HOWLING! This is one of a series of a sunrise that lasted around 15 minutes. It flew by, and we almost missed it. Just 20 minutes prior, we had the classic conversation: "looks like we're not going to have much of a sunrise this morning. I say we get on the road, and hope that the weather clears later." "welllll, why don't we finish our coffee and see what happens." Yikes. The wind really made it what it was - it blew the clouds and curtains of rain and color across the Cuernos. We hung on for dear life in the wind when we couldn't shoot in the lee. More to come!
Stretching
Point and shoot. Point and shoot. No time to think. The boat is moving, the ice seems to be moving, the light is changing. Stay calm. Composition on the fly. Like a fish striking a lure, some shape registers in your brain, some surreal hue of blue flashes, and you press the shutter. No time for chimping. It is an exercise in concentration and letting go. You hope for a pleasant surprise later, even though you probably made a mental note of ones you really liked... In spite of the immediacy of shooting digital, I prefer to wait to see what I recorded, once, of course, I make sure the technical aspects are covered. Jeff Grandy once told me that he likes to wait sometimes weeks or months to look at his images, to help create distance between his potential attachment to the image and his ability to view it with fresh eyes. Makes it easier for him to answer the question, "would I stop and admire this image if it were hanging on a wall somewhere?" Great advice. This trip, I brought no laptop, much to the surprise of my companions. I managed to wait almost 2 weeks this time. Imagine that.
Patagonian Dreams
Actually, it's seemed like a good idea for some time now, but frankly, I've been stalling. I have good reasons, of course, but, um, they seem to have run out. The big motivator for now, comes as a result of a large number of very kind people who have been wondering when the heck they will be able to see some of my pictures from Patagonia! For starters, this blog will attempt to satisfy their(your!) desire, and let me obsess over the "small details" of preparing my favorites for my web gallery....beyond that, it's anyone's guess as to how this will evolve...
This first image clearly could have been taken anywhere, but it wasn't. It was taken somewhere in a place roughly called "Patagonia", in Torres del Paine National Park. In fact, when i looked up from taking this, I could see the magnificent towers, which you will be able to see soon. I guess you could call this an example of what happens when you actually look around you, instead of what you're supposed to be looking at... On a slightly different note, check out Bill Ellzey's site to see if he has posted his version yet!