I Always Wanted to Photograph a Rocket Scientist

• Corporate Photography

I have photographed at companies that were in the aerospace business and always thought it would be great to photograph a rocket scientist, like someone in front of the space shuttle. There are plenty out there working for the defense industry, but I never quite landed that client.

So I decided to setup my own rocket scientist and photograph them in a style looking cold war and Eastern Europe. This is my wife with a lab coat on, wearing German WWII motorcycle goggles, holding a rechargeable battery with a 20′ long yellow extension cord duct taped to it. And a 5′ model rocket ‘enhanced’ in Photoshop.

Photographing Interesting Rock Formations

• Nature Photography

This image is from Capitol Reef and while I am no geologist I found this rock interesting in the late light. There were multiple layers on top of each other and each had a different pattern to it. They were thin and separating and if I was to guess the ripples indicated that water flowed across at one time. Or maybe wind? Sand dunes? Just guessing! Anybody know?

Using HDR in Poorly Lit Landscapes

• Nature Photography

I was teaching a workshop last weekend: The Business of Outdoor Photography at the Cascade Center of Photography and then had a chance to run up to Sparks Lake in Oregon and do some shooting. There is a beautiful mountain there hidden by the clouds and as you can see, and the light is horrible.

So I bracketed for HDR which once processed makes the white clouds have lots of detail. Since the color was poor as well, then a B&W made for a more interesting image.

In Photoshop I punched up the blacks a little more and then lightened the center of the image a little bit more to draw the eye.

Making Fun of Friends With Photoshop

• Flash & Strobe Lighting, Portrait Photography

Last weekend I co-taught a workshop with Christian Heeb and David Cobb on the Business of Outdoor Photography which was held at the Cascade Center of Photography in Bend, Oregon.

While I was demonstrating wireless strobe lighting outdoors, something important to outdoor photographers, I asked David to stand in as my model.

As you can see by the expression on his face, he was very excited at the invitation to model for me.

For the technical aspects read on….

On Assignment at The History Channels Ax Men Reality Show

• Corporate Photography

Every once in a while a cool project or assignment comes along. That is what happened when a client of mine asked me to go photograph at one of the sites of The History Channel’s Ax Men TV Reality Show. How could I refuse?

I have photographed logging, the timber industry, and paper manufacturing for companies like Georgia-Pacific, Westwood Corporation, and International Paper, so I am familiar with working in the woods and safety issues.. While I always enjoy getting into the woods with anybody including these guys, the fact that this assignment was a TV reality show certainly raised the ‘coolness factor’.

My wife and I however, have a closer connection to the show than this assignment. My wife’s family; my mother in laws side in particular, are from Vernonia, Oregon, where this show began. In fact, one of the historic buildings in town is named after my wife’s grandfather. The first two seasons I think were exclusively filmed in Vernonia before the production company branched out across North America to film other crews.

The Arrival of Summer Wildflowers

• Nature Photography

The wildflowers are emerging!

We really had a strange spring in the Central Oregon Mountains. It snowed 3″ last Thursday and that’s after some days that were almost 80 degrees.

While it can snow anytime of the year here, it looks like the warming is here to stay and with that comes that summer wildflowers. We don’t really have spring wildflowers. They arrive in June and leave in August depending where they are located.

Canon 5D 17 - 35 mm lens at 20mm

The back of my property has Shooting Stars all over the place and I plan to photograph them shortly, but thought I would share some images form wildflowers along the Deschutes River from last July.

These are starting to show and I hope to get there and see what’s out and hopefully photograph in the next week or two.

Here are some more shots as well:

Exploring the Business of Outdoor Photography Seminar, June 29th – July 1st, 2012, in Bend, Oregon.

• Seminars & Workshops

The Cascade Center of Photography will be conducting a seminar called: Exploring the Business of Outdoor Photography, June 29th – July 1st, 2012, in Bend, Oregon.

If you have a passion for outdoor and nature photography and wish to make money and even a living at it, this seminar covers all the territory. Many photographers have very marketable images, but no idea how to get them to market, let alone, into a clients publication. The business is competitive and the sooner you learn how to shoot for the market and who buys your photography, the sooner you can realize a profit. But if you have no experience, where do you start? This workshop will show you how

My 5 Favorite Photo Locations In One of My Favorite National Parks

• Nature Photography

Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is without a doubt one of my favorites parks to photograph. I have been there many times and and even taught a workshop there once and I got to thinking about it as I archive some of my photos from there.

This is not a park that is heavily over run by people and photographers like Zion and Bryce. Yet, in my option it offers a more diverse landscape for photography with some remote locations that are quiet stunning.

I have been there many times, I have yet to reach some of the furthest reaches of the park like the far southern end around the Halls Creek Narrows, but have photographed quite a few locations within the park. There are many great places to shoot like Capitol Gorge, the schoolhouse, and more and I have shot them all, but these are my 5 favorite places to shoot:

1) Chimney Rock

You cant miss this location because it is right next to the highway with a large parking area. You can get close or some great angles from across the highway as well. I think sunset is the best time.