Author Archives: Michael

Grape harvest

090928vineyard_sotc

Yesterday morning found me back at Holy Field Vineyard and Winery, shooting the harvest. The grapes weren’t quite ready for last week’s visit but this time the parking area was crowded with cars and the fields filled with people picking and toting fruit.

I went to the ground for this shot and held my D700 with the 17-35 Nikkor down in the grass, blindly pointed upward. I had imagined the shot as being a silhouette as the sun was directly behind the central worker but once I opened the file in Adobe Camera Raw, I was amazed at how much detail I could actually pull out of the shadows without losing the blue sky. In the past I’ve found that the Fill Light slider would create some weird outlines along high-contrast edges if taken past 10 or so. Here I’ve cranked it up to 54 and things look fine. I’m not sure if that’s an improvement in ACR, or the D700’s files can handle it better, or if this particular shot is more forgiving. At any rate, the recovery is amazing.

That sun sure moves fast

090925fifteenth_sotc

On our way to the farmers’ market on Saturday mornings, I turn onto 15th street and see this view toward the campus of the University of Kansas. It’s always just around sunrise and the big orange ball of the sun is rising behind the twin towers of Frazier Hall. Last Saturday it was a particularly good sky — slightly overcast so that you could look right at the blood red sun. It was rising just to the left (north) of Frazier and I decided that I would start walking up to that spot in the mornings to see if I could get a photo when the sun appeared directly between the towers.

Six days later, I finally managed to have a clear-ish sky and the time available to make that walk. It was a nice morning — not quite as interesting as last Saturday — but I figure I’ll do this somewhat regularly to try the same scene in different qualities of light.

Above is a shot from just before sunrise this morning. I was initially surprised that, when the sun came up, it was already to the right of the towers. Then I remembered my lunch with a photographer friend yesterday who was telling me about his recent project of shooting prehistoric solstice markers. He was in town because he had just finished shooting a couple of them earlier in the week.

Duh. The Fall equinox was last Tuesday. 15th Street, being an east-west street, would be aligned to the sun on the equinox. I was three days late. Thinking back, Tuesday morning was dreary and rainy so I didn’t miss anything. Still… another thing to add to my shoot calendar for the Spring equinox next year.

Can somebody please turn the water back on?

090922unionstation_sotc

On our way out to Ohio last week we had a shoot in St. Louis. While there, I noticed that the fountain in Aloe Plaza — across from Union Station — was running. I’ve been to St. Louis several times and I believe this is the first time I’ve seen water in the fountain. I stopped, took a few scouting shots (one is seen at left, above) and planned to make a point of re-shooting it on the return trip a few days later.

My plan was to make use of a free morning I had on the way home and catch the fountain at sunrise. Weather willing, the sky would be a beautiful blue, the front of the train station would be catching the first rays of sunlight and the fountain would be dark in the foreground, in the shadow of the surrounding buildings. I planned to use off-camera flash to light the sculptures and put some sparkle in the water, which would otherwise be rendered silky smooth due to a long exposure. Sounds like a plan, eh?

As we arrived back in St. Louis the day before this planned shoot we made some calls to make sure the fountain would be running at sunrise. Not much luck in that department. The best answer we received was that the fountain’s schedule was “wonky” and if it was running it was running. If not, it was likely off for the season.

I decided to take my chances and left the hotel early, making my way down Market Street in the pre-dawn darkness. I found a parking space, hefted my pack onto my back and walked to the fountain just as the sky began to glow like a Maxfield Parrish painting.

No water.

The shot on the right is a record of my disappointment. I guess I’ll just have to add this to my mental shot list for next time I’m in St. Louis.

Almost but not quite

grapes

I returned from Ohio on Saturday and ran right back out the door for a shoot at a winery near Kansas City on Sunday. The plan was that there would be a large number of people harvesting grapes but that work has been postponed for a week to let the fruit build up some more sugar. I’ll probably go back again next weekend but thought I’d better get something in the can yesterday since the weather was good. No telling what next Sunday might be like. So, I made do with the absolutely terrific owners of the winery and staged a little bit of a harvest. I really like what I got but also look forward to shooting the entire process with buckets and buckets of grapes.

The Ohio trip also went well but there was always a little something that prevented me from getting what I had in my head onto the card. I usually have some preconceived idea for a shoot before I arrive on location. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. The best is what seems to happen most often and that is discovering something that is even better than what I had in mind. Certainly a lot of that happened on this trip but there were also a few shots that I would have loved to have captured that just didn’t come together. I’ll post more about those missed opportunities over the next few days.

Oh, and I finally have a shiny, new version of WordPress powering this blog. There have been a few hiccups so far but I hope to soon be able to add some new bells and whistles.

Sticky, gooey, goodness

090918timhortons_sotc

I’ve been on the road this week working on several projects. Domestic stuff — nothing outside the U.S. — but the inner Canadian in me was thrilled to spot this (and several other) Tim Hortons near Columbus, Ohio. Oh, Timmy! I knew you’d broken into Michigan but I’m so happy to see you spreading southward.

For those who aren’t familiar, Tim Hortons is like the Canadian McDonalds. Actually, they’re everywhere like McDonalds, but the menu is closer to Dunkin Donuts with some chili and sandwiches thrown in. I connect Tim Hortons with Canada at about the same level as the maple leaf. Tim Hortons IS Canada.

Unfortunately, I’ve found the U.S. Timmys to be inferior to the native Canadian varieties. Maybe the Canadian Tims rely on some artificial flavoring that has been banned in the U.S. Who knows. I only know that when I see a Tim Hortons it makes me happy. Honestly, it’s not the donuts. It’s a symbol of a country I love. I must have been Canadian in a former life.

Oh, and the funkiness of the above images is due to the Toy Camera App on my iPhone — it randomly applies lomo-like effects to each shot. I’ll have some “real” photos from the trip once I’m back in the office.

It’s not always 5 star

A couple of weeks ago I posted about some of the luxurious accommodations that I occasionally find myself in. I also mentioned that there are times when they’re not so luxurious. My brother asked for photographic evidence. Here it is:

box by the river

This is a four foot by eight foot plywood box, four feet high, that is sitting on the bank of a river in Nebraska. It was late February or early March and it was cold. Very cold. My wife and I were there to photograph the Sand Hill Crane migration and had to be closed up inside this box a couple of hours before sunset so that we wouldn’t disturb the birds as they returned to the river for the night (Cranes “sleep” standing in the water). We couldn’t get out of the box until after the birds all left which is usually a couple of hours after sunrise.

I don’t think we were alone in that box, though. We could hear something in the straw at night but couldn’t turn on a flashlight to investigate (again — mustn’t disturb the birds) and some of our snacks were missing in the morning.

I’m not sure how many cranes were in that stretch of the river that night but I think it could have been in the tens of thousands. About half a million migrate through in a very short period of time. It was quite an experience hearing them all chattering in the night but I think once was enough for me. I’ve never had a greater appreciation for nature photographers than I did that night.

Another foggy morning

fog

Getting back into my walking schedule, I headed out into fog once again this morning. Other than a good thunderstorm, I think fog is my favorite weather. Scenes are simplified, colors muted, and it’s so quiet. A lot safer to be out shooting in than a thunderstorm, too.

Here’s one more from this morning that I tried a little texture experiment on:

tree

One man’s trash…

flea market

flea market

I’ve intended to shoot the White Cloud Flea Market in the tiny riverside town of White Cloud, Kansas for decades but it’s held only two weekends a year and in seasons where I’m usually on the road. I finally made it this year and have to say that it’s an experience. Sort of a Woodstock for junk dealers. I loved it.

All of the above shots came from the tent of my favorite dealer who was actually at the overflow flea market in the small town of Sparks. Yes, there’s so much stuff that one tiny town and its surrounding farmland can’t seem to hold it all. In fact, I think there were more dealers in Sparks and more of a community atmosphere. This particular tent proved my earlier theory that anything is cool when gathered in large quantities (the exception to this rule is food, which can become downright disgusting when seen in quantities larger than a plate). Bin after bin of toys, toy parts, house numbers, gears, etc. were a visual treasure trove for me. We bought some things, too, including an excruciatingly brightly colored ’70s-era Japanese pachinko game that will soon have a very special place in the new house.

The rack of vintage sunglasses below is from the White Cloud market but the tattooed gentleman was a vendor at the Sparks market. A great guy who spotted me photographing a John Belushi figurine and wanted me to see his Blues Brothers tattoo. All-in-all a great day.

flea market

Lying down on the job

airport shot“Tower? We see a body lying on the runway. Can you confirm?”

No, I didn’t have a trip-and-fall, I’m just doing what it takes to get the angle during my shoot yesterday with Duncan Aviation in Lincoln, Nebraska. I’m under contract to not publish anything from the shoot until the magazine comes out but Sally had no such restrictions on what she could grab with her iPhone. So there you go.

It was a great shoot. The sky wasn’t the ideal but at least it wasn’t raining buckets like the evening before. We made it work. And the folks at Duncan couldn’t have been nicer. Really, really great people to work with. If I had my own personal jet, I’m sure I’d have them do my maintenance.

It could happen.

On the drive home, it was easy to tell when we crossed back into Kansas:

sunflowers

Tough work if you can get it

Luxor Hilton

I can’t complain about my job. I try to but nobody buys it. Truth is, it’s a pretty darned good job. I get to stay at places like the Luxor Hilton (shown above) in Luxor, Egypt and take photos. Sounds pretty sweet, doesn’t it? Take a look back across that infinity pool in the other direction:

infinity pool

That’s the Nile beyond the pool and the palm trees and the Valley of the Kings lies just over that mountain.

No. It’s a pretty good life.

The downside is the upside. I never get to relax by such a pool. With beautiful light like this, you’d better believe I’m scampering around taking photos. Whether I’m on assignment or not, I have to shoot. It would be painful for me to sit on one of those lounge chairs and “relax.” Relax? Are you kidding me? No, I’ll take the 2:00 am wake-up calls and the long days lugging a backpack full of gear. It’s my job.

And I wouldn’t do anything else.

Update: Okay… full disclosure. I don’t ALWAYS get to stay in places like the Luxor Hilton. Need I tell you about the time I spent a freezing winter night by a river in a four-foot-tall plywood enclosure with a cardboard box for a toilet so that I could shoot some migrating birds? ‘Nuf said.

But I still think it’s a pretty good job.