Big Fat Fatty Fat road trip update #2

Well I have been in Flagstaff for a couple weeks now and have started traveling some after helping Gordon get caught up at the brewery. I have been bouldering at The Draw, the Anvil Boulders in Sedona and have been to Jacks Canyon which is a pretty dang cool sport climbing area outside Winslow Arizona (yes the Winslow from the Eagles hit song). I also went to the Grand Canyon and to a really cool canyon formed by the Little Colorado River. The weather has been in the single to low double digits at night and in the low fourties during the day and generally sunny. Everyone in Flagstaff that I have met is nice and very friendly and helpful and I have also been learning to brew beer while I am here.













Looks like we will be spending the weekend in Joshua Tree National Park climbing and riding motorcycles in the desert! Stay tuned!

Big fat fatty fat road trip update #1-The Beginning

Hello~
Well we are safely here in Flagstaff AZ. We left Asheville the morning of December 27th at 8:00am and arrived here in Flag at about 2:00pm (4 pm eastern time) on the 28th. I have learned a lot already and here are some of the things I learned after driving 2150 miles on I-40.

1. Driving across Tennessee is freaking long.
2. Arkansas looks like Alabama
3. Oklahoma doesn't look like it has much going for it...at least when viewed from I-40.
4. Texas smells like cow shit.
5. New Mexico is pretty cool lookin'.
6. Flagstaff is at the base of an active volcano in the middle of the desert and covered with snow.


We had some fun times on the long ass drive so that was cool. I was able to locate a new hat at a truckstop in Arkansas....still working it into a useable hat though. We immediately went to Gordon's house where we offloaded Britney (my dirt bike) and my guitar and some camera gear and came to the brewery where Gordon brews beer and began drinking. Road weary and buzzed I found it no problem getting to sleep as we had only taken about an hour long power nap on the drive here. So far I have met lots of cool people and expect to be meeting many more. Well thats about it for now. Here are a couple of cell phone images for ya and once I learn how to edit video I will post a video from the drive out.

7-11-2009

well I missed a night because I was at the Pub....I guess that happens sometimes. So in exchange for that I will not only post todays picture but also a picture of my makeshift softbox thing that I used for the beer picture. The large arrow points to the direction the photo was taken in and the smaller arrow points to a second flash for backlight that is kind of hard to see. Anyway...onto the bizz....

Goal : none
Number of Tries : 1
Setup : one flash mounted directly on tripod below camera aimed skightly up at full power one flash on a mini-pod at 1/4 power low camera right at 1/4 power.
Canon 40D : iso100 - f11 - 1/200th of a second
Editing : a little desaturation in photoshop and thats about it.



and the beer shot set-up

#3 July 7th, 8th and 9th

SO i have been getting these posted on time on my facebook account but not here so I will post all 3 on one blog and hopefully keep better track of the blogging aspect from here on out.

July 7th
Goal : none
Number of Tries : 4
Setup : one vivtar 285hv low and left at 1/4 power the other high and camera right at full power.
Canon 40D : cant remember but i know it was at 1/200th of a second
Editing : edited in photoshop for levels and saturation then painted the shady area in at the bottom to get rid of some clutter.



July 8th
Goal : professional looking product shot of two of mans greatest inventions...beer and Marzocchi suspension
Number of Tries : 7
Setup : Built a product soft box out of a cardboard box and wax paper. one flash shooting directly down into the the box and another from directly behind. Upper flash was at 1/4 power and rear flash was at full power.
Canon 40D : cant remember but i know it was at 1/200th of a second
Editing : Cropped and bordered with a slight levels adjustment.

(i will post pictures of the home made soft box when i get home)




July 9th - Creek
Goal : post a picture....
Number of Tries : 2
Setup : Tripod, cable actuated shutter release
Canon 40D : cant remember
Editing : levels adjustment in photoshop

well..image #2. Gargoyle. Basic...i had a busy night.
Goal : none
Number of Tries : 1
Setup : 1 vivtar 285hv at camera left 45 degrees slightly up at 1/16th power
Canon 40D : 1/200th sec. at f11 1/200th iso 100
Editing : not too much really...just some cropping. i like the texture of this little guy.....

Well the first image of my 365 project is here! As I said earlier I have set some rules for myself to make this more difficult which will hopefully result in me learning more. So here is image #1 7-1-2009.

Goal : none
Number of Tries : two
Setup : Two Vivtar 285hv flashes fired with CyberSync triggers. Both mounted 45 degrees at camera right. one flash at 1/4 power the other at 1/16th.
Canon 40D : 1/200th sec. at f25 ISO200
Editing : RAW Brightness adjustment, convert to jpeg imported into CS2 for levels, desaturation and border.

Well I think the time has come to jump on the 365 bandwagon and start a photo a day for a year. For many this can be an easy task for others it can be difficult. I will fall in the later category simply because I am a masochist and want to. My goals will be to post a quality image every day for one full year. Another goal will also be to get the shot on the first attempt. Anyone can take a million shots making adjustments every time but in order to really get that once in a lifetime shot a photographer must know his camera and settings intimately so that is what I am going to focus on. The only exception will be for composites that I take that require multiple frames or HDR images. I will also be shooting exclusively on full manual (which I do most of the time anyway). Photoshop will be involved but that is the nature of the digital beast. Anyway...look for my first post tonight and hopefully I can keep up with this....we will see!

A photo for your viewing pleasure: