2011 Milestones Part 1 - 16 January 2012
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Layson Albatross Portrait - Midway Atoll: File# 1125096 Link To Original Image 2011 was a banner year for adventure let alone photography. I might've done more work, more photography work in other years if you only base the metric on how many photography dedicated trips I made. 2011 was special because of the extreme of the trips I made. While not as many as the shorter trips I've made in years past. But, certainly enough big trips to make the year memorable. JANUARY & FEBRUARY Let's start at the top of the year. In January and February I discovered POV video cameras. Those are the little video cameras that can make high resolution videos. What was compelling to me was I could attach these little cameras to my helmet or bike and tell stories about my trips using my motorcycle. You can see what I'm talking about in this video.
I placed the camera on my helmet and on the handle bars to the left. Then, I added some cool music. After being a still photographer for so long, the added dimension of editing moving images isn't the easiest thing. Still, it's a lot of fun.
Since my first POV camera, I graduated to a Go Pro Hero II which you'll see later in this blog.
MARCH
I don't have anything to show for March except being gone most of the month for work. Unlike other big work trips I've done this year, March didn't have much photographically. Oh well. It happens.
APRIL
This month as the previous four years is affectionally called Chicken Month. That's because it's when I support/host a photo workshop associated with the Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival in Milnesand New Mexico. I had full participation this year--unlike the previous year. No, this year I did not get lost on the way to the blinds from the cars in a pre-dawn hike. Everyone was very happy.
Unusual for me was I didn't shoot all that much this year. Perhaps having five years worth in images was a factor.
Lesser Prairie Chicken Dancing - Milnesand, New Mexico: File # 1122393 Link To Original Image Even in a light year, the chickens were abundant. The biggest worry was a large grassland fire just prior to the festival. The fire ravaged a large portion of the Prairie Chicken Preserve putting into question whether the "show would go on". It did, fortunately. MAY This was a great month. It included a wonderful work trip to Washington DC which meant a tour of the Mall and it's many surrounding museums. The image below was taken just as we were leaving the Metro next to the Air & Space Museum. BTW, I first visited that museum when I was 14 not a couple days after it opened.
Subway Entrance - Washington DC: File # 1100816
The neat thing about this image is it was entirely composed and created within the iPhone environment. From capture, adjustment, to publishing on my website, it was all done from the iPhone. That's a very fantastic statement if you consider the concept a bit.
The end of the month was highlighted by a relatively short trip to Southern Utah. While I'd been there many times, I'd never been to Natural Bridges National Monument. My trip took me up north to the border with Colorado and New Mexico. Then, on to Natural Bridges.
Along the way I stopped to shoot one of my favorite features, Shiprock, near Shiprock New Mexico in the Navajo Nation.
Shiprock & Flowers - Navajo Nation: File# 1123568 Link To Original Image I had never been to Natural Bridges National Monument. Really, I wasn't well prepared for doing real shooting there and classified this visit as a Scouting Trip. I'll return. Maybe it'll be in 2012. JUNE Except for a weekend trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico I have nothing to show for June 2011. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that because there's fantastic imagery out there somewhere. JULY This month started relatively slowly--recovering from the inertia of June, I guess. But, it finished on a high note with two events. First, my only visitors of the year, my friends from Massachusetts were here on their Epic Trip West which included a visit to my house. Then, I traveled to Moab where I hadn't been in a couple of years. This was all done on my bike with a couple of very long days in the saddle. Still, it was a great trip. The best was camping out at Canyonlands National Park. This was the first time I took images in the middle of the night taking advantage of my Nikon D3's superior low light performance.
Starman - Canyonlands National Park, Utah: File# 1123977 Link To Original Image
Courthouse Towers - Arches National Park, Utah: File # 1124061 Link To Original Image Of the many times I've been to Arches National Park, more often than not, I'm blessed with crystal clear skies. While that makes for very pure imagery, having puffy, even popcorn like clouds adds a dimension that you don't get with clear skies. This particular morning--my last in Moab this trip--I was blessed with just this. AUGUST The most significant photographic event of August was the acquisition of a new camera. Not Nikon's latest and greatest digital SLR. It was a simple point & shoot made by Cannon. After much hemming and hawing over which small portable camera to buy, I bought the G12, Cannon's top of the line, semi-pro camera. Really, it's a great little thing with lots of potential for many reasons. Most importantly it's small and the sensor in good light does a great job. This next image was my first attempt at panoramic photography using my new tool.
Whitesands at Sunset - Whitesands National Monument, New Mexico: File # 1130112 Link To Original Image