Photography

HA! Busted!

 

such an epic morning. more coming.

 

5am came early. Like really early. Managed to get on the road by 5:30. Hit the gate at RMNP just after 7. On the trail at 7:30.

I wanted a longer hike this morning. Something to really clear my head. I parked at the Glacier Gorge TH lot and took off towards Alberta Falls. I had thought about hiking up the Gorge and checking out Mills, Jewel and Black lakes but changed my mind. Instead I went up to The Loch then on up to Sky Pond. So glad I made that choice.






Pass the Loch, I kinda sorta lost the Sky Pond trail. No one had been up that way although there were some boot pack trails in the snow. According to the GPS, I was off the trail just a bit and hiking up a stream bed. There were some boot and ski tracks so I kept going until they ended. Got back on to where the trail was supposed to be but it was crusty and wind blown. Dropped into a couple of holes and decided that the last 1/2 mile could wait. I didn't need to twist an ankle at 11,000'.

Got back to The Loch and made my way out of the trees and across the ice. Came around a corner and surprised a pair of women trying to take selfies in the wind.They had that look like I was some kind of ghost. My smile and good morning was not returned and they hurriedly packed up and headed up the trail. Sure, I haven't shaved in a few days but I wasn't that stinky.



I stuck around a made a few images of the lake as I hadn't done it on the way up since the light wasn't as good. Speaking of light. Oh. My. God. It was awesome this morning.



Passed a few others making their way up the trail. Stopped and chatted with a few. Makes me want to start a portrait series of people I meet on the trail. Interesting folks. Ages this morning went from mid-20s all the way to a couple in their 70s. They were awesome.

On the other side of the canyon from the trail, there were a couple of guys ice climbing. Had to stop, watch and make a few images.



After that, I hightailed back down the trail to the truck. I could stayed up there all day hiking around. So quiet. Peaceful. There's an addiction to the outdoors, and the altitude, that feels very similar to what I had for both big and deep water. It's hard to explain but I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about. I would love to be able to wake up every day with that feeling.

 

Very cool photos !

 

Roxy had her best friend from the ballet studio over last night. ABT is coming to Denver in a few weeks to hold auditions and they are both going to go. So, they needed some new head shots and a couple of standard ballet poses. Living room furniture got moved away and the studio went up. The room isn't quite big enough but it gets the job done. After we got all the 'required' stuff, they goofed off a bit and wanted some portraits together. Holy hell. I'm in trouble. Wait. I already knew that. Confirmation just continues to hit the side of my head like a baseball bat.



They're both hyper talented and just, driven. So much so, that I keep forgetting they are only 12. They're both going to Russia this summer for a couple of weeks at the Perm State Ballet School. Bec is going and I so want to be there with a camera. Tried to figure out if the 5 of us could go but it's cost prohibitive. Both of these kids have great things ahead of them.

 

Outstanding!

 

smslavin said: ↑
They're both going to Russia this summer for a couple of weeks at the Perm State Ballet School. Bec is going and I so want to be there with a camera.

I know Russia is still "the enemy" in many people's eyes, but since I have an indirect family connection to that part of the world, I know what a fantastic place it is.(to visit)

 

bec was a little freaked out at first but i convinced her otherwise. the owners of the studio here are from there and that helped too. i'm sure she'll love the direct aeroflot, LA to Moscow...

 

AxelsHumanDad said: ↑
I know Russia is still "the enemy" in many people's eyes, but since I have an indirect family connection to that part of the world, I know what a fantastic place it is.(to visit)

A little respect and courtesy goes a long way.

 

i don't do a lot of panorama images. not sure why. probably because i don't know what to do with them after i make them. once you resize them for the interwebz, they lose a lot of impact and i don't really have the wall space to hang a bunch. i've got one from telluride prepped to print for me office. 5 panels, 42"x90", should be awesome but i made this one the other day at RMNP and I'm torn.



here's the telluride one.



each has a completely different feel. i'll probably stick with the telluride one as the b&w fits my office here at the house. maybe i'll do the top one to hang in the basement in the kids' room.

 

I lean toward the B&W.

 

Hears one for you...

 

Horseshoes anyone...

 

Decided to test the 55-210 lens on my Sony A6000

55


210



A few shots from this morning. Not your typical view of Lake Hodges in Escondido, CA

 

From yesterday's trip to the backyard.

 

Wow ! just amazing !! that is a great shot UTTrundra

 

This weekend is the Denver stop of the YAGP semi-finals. We've never pushed Roxy to be a 'competition' dancer but this is a big deal for her. It will be her 4th year competing. It is an international deal with roughly 7-8000 kids competing globally. Finals are held in NYC and it's the top 5-600 kids from around the world. Most of the kids competing are looking for scholarships or full time jobs. Many directors, company owners and schools send representatives to watch. Last year Roxy won what they call the Hope Award. It is not always given out and when it is, it is the alpha award. While she didn't place in the NYC finals last year, she was one of 10 kids to be given a full scholarship to the Bolshoi Ballet's summer program. To me, that's a bigger deal and puts in perspective how hyper-talented she really is. Bonus, she's completely humble about it.

The ballet studio where she trains has 8 or 9 kids competing this weekend. Last Sunday, I went down to the studio to shoot a few portraits of Roxy and her partner as well as some head shots of the other kids. Those of you who stalk, er, follow me on IG may have seen the photo but here's a few others.

Since we're in the photography thread, and I've been slacking on the education thread, here's the lighting setup and an explanation.



Background is a 10x24 crushed muslin. I like it, and I have a few variations of that color scheme, but it has a tendency to slide underfoot so, I tape it to the floor. Looking into painting my own canvas background but that's a massive project which I probably won't undertake until spring.

I'm a huge fan of big soft light sources, hence the massive light modifiers. The top one is an 86" PLM umbrella from Paul Buff. Solid lighting gear and the best bang for the buck anywhere. I love the light that comes out of the 86. The one to the left is a 64". Same shape and light quality as the 84, just a little tighter. This is one of my favorite lighting setups and gives great wrap around coverage but still gives some areas to play with the shadows and create a little depth.

You may be wondering why the studio looks a little dark around the edges. This is the same trick I used when photographing the truck out in the driveway. The walls to the left and behind me are all windows. Tons of natural light. Great for dancers. Not so great for this situation. So, I set the camera to expose for a completely black image to eliminate all the ambient light. In this case, it was f/11 @ 1/250. 250th also happens to be the sync speed for the strobes I was using. After that, all I had to worry about was dialing in the strobes for the light I wanted. No need to compensate for the ambient pouring in the windows.

Time to shoot.



Roxy is competing with the 3 solo pieces and 1 partner piece. Her partner is a great kid, 13, and very talented himself. Everyone is super excited about the two of them doing this piece. Even for adult dancers, it's difficult choreography with several difficult lifts. When they dance it, they look effortless and at least 10 years older than they are.





Roxy starts competing tomorrow about 12:30 then most of the day on Saturday. Awards ceremony is on Sunday. Unfortunately, I won't be able to see anything she does tomorrow as I have a day job lunch meeting when she is on stage. Hoping to see her on Saturday but it's totally dependent on the schedules of our other 2 daughters.

Side note, kind of humorous, but, in ballet, at the beginning of a performance everyone says merde to each other. It's kind of luck good luck or break a leg with a difference. It's French for shit. Back in the day, many ballets had live animals on stage and the dancers would say merde to each other to avoid stepping in a steaming pile. In the weird way that traditions go, it stuck around and is still used today.

 

what an awful backyard. i feel so bad for you.

 

been trading emails today with an old photography colleague/friend. the conversation headed towards the himalayas and he turn me on to this guy...

http://www.ericvalli.org/photography-eric-valli/

he's now on my top 5 list. been lost in his work for the past couple of hours as that's always been the type of work i wanted to do. amazing imagery.

 

i was just digging around for some melbourne pics for @T500 and came across this one. not melbourne but san diego. @BaileyJ might recognize it. thought it worthy of sharing.



i'll gather up the melbourne images in a few.

 

Awesome pic @smslavin

 

Thank you good sir.

 

Late night gelato on the river walk in Melbourne.

 

Great B&W pic!! Sure do miss the Yarra River. How long were you in Melbourne? Hoping to get back home in the Spring.
Did you ever get see the bats? There’s a colony in Studley Park, come twilight they all fly out and they’re huge, about 5-7’ wingspan, it’s a sight to see.

 

not long enough. 3 weeks. day job sent me. didn't know about the bats. i did make a rugby match and an ac/dc concert. i didn't take a camera to either of those which, in hindsight, was stupid. had hope to make it phillip island for a race but couldn't fit it in. spent most of my time wandering downtown in the evenings. on the weekends, i just got in the car and drove. came home with all of the blinky bill books for my kids. we read them so much, the bindings wore out.

here are a few more images from downtown.























i'll put the otway and coast pictures in another post.

 

Super cool pics! Glad you like Melbourne it’s a great place. Need to spend more time there. Please post more pics

 

Some Aboriginal wood carvings in the Dandenong Ranges to the west of Melbourne

 

In place of commenting on every photo. NICE JOB to everyone. Wow. This makes me want to buy a camera and just try and copy some of the stuff I see. Great job and keep them coming! *If someone wants to PM me a decent starter camera and what lens to buy for my first "real" camera, I am open to suggestions!

 

@smslavin is the man for that I reckon

 

those are rad. wish i'd been able to get out that way. next trip.

i'll send you some info a little later this morning.