2012 - A Year In Review

Another year down and another year filled with photography lays ahead. It is hard to believe that 2012 is in the books and over. Wow, where has the time gone, seriously? Over on Google+ some of the themes currently running that many are participating in is #mybest2012  #top2012  #bestof2012 #best2012  #topphotos2012 where people essentially post their top 12 photos of the year. I figured I would participate but instead of posting all of my photos on there, I would post them on my photoblog instead. I also am doing a few more than simply 12. This is just some highlights, I have a lot more I could add in here but I will save this for future photoblog entries. It also reminds me that I am very backlogged in processing and have a great deal to do yet.

I learned a lot this year, a whole lot. Not only about photography itself either but certain aspects that go along with it. Much of it sadly is negative but as I found these things out, I made changes to switch things up and turn that negative into a positive. Sometimes it is good to rearrange things to where you have the option to do this. As the saying goes; 'When God closes a door, he opens a window" and many windows were opened for me this year.

So kick back and enjoy. This won't be in any particular order. If you are interested in seeing larger sized images, please click the photo which will take you directly to my website itself. As always, every single one of these photos is available for purchase as fine art prints and products.

"A September Remembrance - Regardless of what a lot of photographers say, there is a great deal of “luck” involved with getting a photo. I am not really sure if there is any greater luck than the weather itself. I only have control over my camera, things like fstop, exposure, shutter speeds, lenses, filters, deciding when to click the shutter. Often times I am presented with skies which are completely cloudless when I wanted clouds for instance and every once in awhile mother nature gives me something to where I am literally screaming at the sky in excitement.Fog in Colorado is a very uncommon thing and for this, I just happened to pick the right place to have as a meeting point for the first day of our annual “Fall In Colorado Photo Meetup” on the shores of Lake Estes in Estes Park. We were presented with a scene that was almost unworldly at times with the rising sun backlighting the fog and creating an almost surreal glow about it. I just wish we had weather like this a great deal more often! The title of the piece…it’s breast cancer awareness month and the colors seemed to fit that quite well.

"Ghost Light" - Last year , myself along with one of my shooting buddies headed out to the eastern plains of Colorado to do some hunting for some good old “rural decay” as I call it. We wouldn't come away empty handed. We found this old abandoned farm and decided to double back to photograph it at sunset. I was thinking that this place may be really lit up against the setting sun and I bet right (for once) The light was completely crazy lighting up the barn that you see here and illuminating the sky behind it, turning it this glowing iridescent indigo blue.

"Klaus" - This is an incredibly personal photo for me. Photographed in May 2012, it would be the last really good photo which I ever took of my dear boy before he passed in late June. As I write this, I get teary eyed as I miss him so much. he was my protector and my best friend and always there for me through thick and thin. he knew my inner most fears and my inner most secrets. He went through so much with me. He now lays at rest where I photographed this very photo at his favorite place-Chatfield State Park in a an area I call "Klaus' spot"Every time I am here, I stop and say hi and spend a few minutes with my best friend. 

"The Serenade Of Orange" - Again, another very personal image of mine. We were photographing the Sunflower fields out on the Colorado plains in the middle of no where watching a great sunset when all of the sudden a little dog approached us who seemed all but forgotten about, very hungry and very thirsty. Ironically it was almost a month to the exact day in which Klaus passed away. Needless to say I now have a wonderful short haired Border Collie laying here at my feet as I type this who has come into my life and stolen my heart who we have nicknamed "Sunny" affectionately after the fields which we found him in.

"Puppy Face" - And here he is! My new best friend, "Sunny". I simply love this photograph of him and how it  shows his playful, loving and  the very affectionate disposition he has. I processed this one in B&W intentionally and I like it how it came out with the softness a great deal. 

"Mister Big Mouth" - each and every year during Autumn I look forward to being able to photograph the annual Elk rut in Rocky Mountain National park, Colorado. This guy was something else, displaying his battle scars with a cut lower lip . I had to be patient to get the shot I wanted; something that really brought out the detail in the face and in the eyes. One of my favorite photographs from 2012, no questions asked!

"A Fall Stillness" -  One of the things I love to do is "compression landscapes" as I call them. Basically it's using a very long lens (in this case a Tamron 200-400mm lens) to get in close to details of the landscape that the human eye would likely not see. Panning around and studying the detail and composition, it has lead to some great images which I otherwise would have likely missed. Photographed at Chatfield State Park in Colorado, I was all over the reflection and how the foothills in the background has this texture which seemed to flow downward in a pattern. I just ordered a 30x40 metallic print of this shot and I have to say, it is absolutely stunning!

"Drops Of Gold" - i have really come to love and enjoy the macro setting on my Tamron 200-4000mm lens. Not a true macro, as it only does 1:2 magnification but it has allowed me to get some shots which I otherwise would have missed entirely and this is one of them. Photographed this Autumn in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

"A Wash Of Color" - Photographed on the day in which the Mayan's said the world would end. A Doomsday sunrise if you will. I stood here freezing my keester off at Cherry Creek State Park, Colorado but was rewarded with an incredibly sky which bathed Pikes Peak and the frozen lake in a complete wash of colors. It was as if someone painted the sky and dumped the bucket over the landscape. 

"Skies Of Autumn" - This Fall, my meetup group was treated to a spectacular morning along the shores of Lake Estes in Estes Park, Colorado. As the sun started to rise, the clouds broke giving away to fresh snow covered peaks as they reflected the color. You add in the sounds of the Elk bugling and fog lifting and you have something which I think a lot of photographers would call “perfection” as far as conditions go. The famous Stanley Hotel (made famous by Stephen King’s “The Shining”) stands tall in the background. 

"Heavens Gates" -  I love fall in Colorado, it is my favorite and it is the time of the year yours truly looks forward to being able to do what I do best; photography. This was photographed at one of my favorite locations, Knights Of Pythias cemetery outside of Central City. This place is the real deal, containing the graves and headstones of those who first settled the town during it's gold rush heyday in the 1800s. Walking around in here you get a real sense of not only being alone but calm as well. It is kind of spooky but also very tranquil too.  For this shot I really wanted to get the glow that was happening as the sunlight was soaking up and reflecting against the colorful Aspen trees. I really liked how the gate played into the scene with the pathway, as if calling to visitors to come in. Stunning stuff and I can't wait to get back up here this coming Fall!

"Relaxing In the Morning Light Of Autumn" -  On a cold and frosty Fall morning I was able to photograph this bull who was starting to just stir to start his day. Awakening on the frosty grass with the dawn sunlight illuminating the area, he made for a very worthy subject. It’s safe to say that this big boy is one of my favorite Elk photographs from this past Autumn.

"Hall Of The Mountain King" -  Located outside of Estes Park, St. Malo's Cathedral (some call it St. Katherine's) has always given me wonderful images. Heck I have several in my gallery here already. However this Fall was different in that there was fog! We don't get a lot of fog here in Colorado and I raced over here to get the shot. So thick I could barely see the chapel. I love this place, it looks like something out of Lord Of The Rings or a Gothic novel.

"As If" - Sometimes you just have to laugh at the expressions of wildlife. This was one of those and I was literally cracking up while photographing this Mourning Dove. What a display of attitude as if to say "No, you won't photograph me today! Nope!"

While storm chasing on the eastern plains of Colorado this past spring, we happened upon this scene. I imagine that these Horses are quite used to this sort of weather out here where the afternoons showcase some of the most violent weather on earth. It was pretty amazing really to see them all standing out here in ranch land backed up by a severe thunderstorm that was heading towards them. It certainly made for quite the dramatic scene and one needless to say I had to photograph it.

Recent work and catching up on processing

Ahhh how times flies, it does seem though that winter is good for one thing; getting caught up on the backlog of  photographers to process! I thought that I would share a few with you all and what I have been up to as of late. All of these can be purcashed as framed and matted prints and posters over on my RedBubble site. If you are interested in them, simply click the photo.


"Summer Memories"
For this shot I really wanted to try something different and well, this is the end result which you see here. I went ahead and mimicked Cokin filters inside Photoshop to get the look and feel I wanted and desired. It is a 4 exposure blend HDR output through Photomatix.


"Winter Rising"
Now this is a shot which has eluded me for a long time. I wanted wanted a shot of the Moon rising over a cliff face like this, and finally after years I was able to get it. It is interesting to note the compression a 400mm lens can give you, thus making the moon look quite large.


"Alpine Winter"
I have to admit, this shot was a bear to expose for with the light being so diffused and trying to balance it all evenly. Not to mention I was being pounded with wind from the inevitable snowstorm that was fast approaching. Standing at close to 13,000 feet on the alpine, with this kind of weather coming in, is the last place you want to be. Needless to say I didn't stick around to long. Worth the challenge though I think!

So that is what I have been up to as far as processing goes. I will share some more later on
Happy shooting!
JohnTechnorati Tags: photography, photo, photoblog, photoshop, Colorado, Nature

The Rudeness Amongst Artist's

I am not sure if it has been a full moon since, oh I don't know, the 19th we'll say of this month of June or what, but what in the heck is in the air lately? One thing I have never understood is the rudeness among artists....not just fellow photographers but artists in general. For those of you who don't know, I am a Gallery Moderator on deviantART for Photography>Animals, Plants & Nature. Some of the things I have seen have just been downright disturbing, from someone saying that "maybe if you had a REAL camera and not a camera phone....." (said image was shot on a Bronica!!!) to someone telling a photographer to stop saying something in their replies to people on their very own photography, not just telling, but demanding, all the way to someone slamming another Gallery Moderator because she is French and therefor is a elitist. On and on, it goes on.....

This isn't just limited to deviantART however, I have seen the same kinda of things just about everywhere else BUT fredimiranda.com and Naturescapes.net I am not sure why people simply can't be more respectable to others, especially their fellow artists and why it seems many have a hard time figuring out that not everyone is going to like everything. It is a given, and as the saying goes, "You can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time" Amen to that. If you see something you don't like on the TV to you continue watching it? No, you change the channel. The same can be said for an image you don't like, if you see one you don't like, move on to a different one. Don't slam the artist. Respect the artist. Putting something down is usually caused by not understanding something.

I guess I have just been amazed lately by what I have seen lately....we are all artists, we all have passion in everything we do....I may not like Lowrider cars very much I sure as hell respect the time and effort these guys put into their rides. They are as much as part of the car world as Hotrods are. Appreciation and respect....seems many need a lesson on what is all about. Just because this is the internet doesn't give you a right to slam someone on their work. Trying to understand and trying to appreciate does wonders folks.....

Anyways, here are a few more recent shots that I have recently taken....











Technorati Tags: devianyart, kkart, photography, photo, blog, Colorado, nature, outdoors, landscape

Countrified!

I have this obsession with images of nature and images of a rural setting, and when they come together it just always seems like such harmony is being created.

Captured yesterday outside of the Mount Evans Wilderness area here in Colorado, by the Chicago Creek Camping area, I am not sure I can find all the words to put this shot into perspective but I will try my best.

One of the great things about Colorado is exploring, it seems down every road that you have never traveled on, something photographic is always there within seconds, and this was one of those places, I have always wanted to explore this area some but just never really have, maybe it's fact I have always thought it was a rough dirt road, but while it is a dirt country road, it wasn't rough. The creek and river flowed right next to the road with old beautiful country cabins dotting the landscape next to it, when I saw this sitting in the yard of one, covered by wildflowers. I actually almost missed the scene completely, but luckily I JUST saw it. I didn't have the lens on really I wanted, as I had my Tamron 200-400mm on my camera at the time, but decided what the heck, and had at it.

It is hard to describe the sounds I heard when I was shooting this, but let's just say that between the constant buzzing of Hummingbird's, the soft roar of the river, and the very strong scent of wildflowers mixed with the incoming rain, THIS was SERENITY defined! Not a sound of man anywhere, nothing, nada.



Technorati Tags: Landscape, outdoors, nature, country, rural, Colorado, rustic, season, Mount Evans,

Something To Ponder

Some of you may recall the recent journal I wrote titled "Ponder This" and this Tuesday morning, while reading my Twitter stream, once again, I saw a post that made me think and kind of made me take notice, you can say.

This one comes from danielwharmby (Daniel Wharmby, a California based professional editorial photographer some of you may know, his website is here and if you aren't following him on twitter, you should be! Like NOW!) What he posted just made sense. Pure sense;

--My instructors used to say "There's no point going around the world if you can't tell a story in your back yard."

Now how true is THAT!? How often do we sit around dreaming of being able to go and shoot somewhere exotic, while often we don't realize the incredible locations we have at our very own dispose. I know often I do. There are a billion locations here in Colorado that I still want to shoot, and haven't yet. Heck, it was only a couple years ago that I discovered one of my favorite gems to shoot, South Valley Park, which is tucked away in a subdivision here in metro Denver of all places. It is one of the best kept little secrets around, and is like a mini Garden Of The Gods kind of place.

How often do you guys get out and actually explore where it is you live and shoot? Have you ever checked your local parks and lakes? You might be quite shocked, I know I certainly have been several times.

Often it seems that paradise is close by, but rarely we see it. However when you open your eyes and starting to take notice, you start to notice the very things which are around you! And believe me, beauty isn't always that far away!


South Valley Park, Colorado....a little local gem of a location almost in my backyard

How The Time Does Fly

Ahhh how time flies!
In the last coup0le of months I have been busy, as in VERY busy....sorry I have been afk on here for awhile now. Been shooting a lot, became a Gallery Manager for Photography>Animals, Plants & Nature on deviantART (my account is here) joined twitter here and have been shooting like a madman!

  One of the things that I have accomplished though as a GM for deviantART is being able to bring in some of the VERY BEST in the Nature Photography world, and interviewing them. Recently I have had the opportunity to interview two very huge infleunces on my work, Guy Tal & Judd Patterson. (click links to read the interviews)

  I also have been shooting quite a lot lately, always processing photos, the never ending story huh? Anyways, onwards and upwards as I say!


Magpie captured in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park on New Years Day.

Recent Works

DA: Winter Approaches.... by =kkart

Winter Approaches....

Captured along Trailridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado...I believe looking towards Storm Mountain....(how fitting a mountain name, huh? )

At an elevation of close to 12,000 feet high when I shot this (as you can see I am actually above the tree line here) this scene was majestic, eerie, solemn, stoic, and downright ominous. It was cold, the wind whipping by me at over 40MPH at times, and basically with no surrounding shelter to cut the wind back, except the backside of my car, it was enough to make my eyes water something like a faucet! Now here is the eerie part....and I have never seen this outside of Colorado...

At times the wind would stop it's outflow from the approaching winter storm, and you would hear the rumble of thunder....this is an effect we call "Thunder Snows" here in Colorado, in essence, a thunderstorm but also a snow storm, and yes, lighting is a regular occurance, and all things considered, when THAT started happening, and I was teh tallest object on the Alpine Tundra, my keester got back in the car faster than you can say "BBQ'd Johnny at 12,000 feet! All you can eat!"

The Alpine Tundra is an incredible place, very fragile, and is frozen usually more than 8 months of the year. It is as though time stands still up here, but at the same time, in spite of it's beauty, it also carries a real danger with it!

Processed in HDR
Singh-Ray CPL
Hoya UV


DA: The Dawn Of Paradise .... by kkart

The Dawn of Paradise

Shot yesterday morning at Lake Estes in Estes Park, Colorado....this was just quite a scene to behold! Sure, I froze my hands off (steel tripods aren't know to conduct heat real well lol ) and had to keep running back to the car to thaw out my fingers. But what a time! It has been awhile since I have done any real long exposure work, and I have been meaning to get back at it...on this I used an ND4 and my CPL, taken on my Minolta 18-70 DT lens. The light and color was changing ever so fast, it seemed like every passing second it was different...and this was the first shot out of about 75 I took, later the sky would turn totally orange along with the water,....those are yet to come. It was sheer serenity I tell ya!

Sharing Some Processing Secrets

Yes, you read correctly the title. I thought that I would go ahead and share some of my secrets with you guys and how I process my photos. Why? Well why not!?!? I get a LOT of notes asking me "How did you do this and that?", "Can you help me with.....?", "I am curious how you got the look of such and such shot.....", etc. etc. So I thought that I would go ahead and basically tackle everything in one journal. So buckle up. go grab a cup of Joe, pull up a chair, and get ready to dive in! Away we go!

I shoot everything in RAW. And I am of the FIRM belief that if your camera has the ability and capability then you should be too. About the only exception I can see is if you are a sports shooter and your camera can't do 8fps in RAW when you need it. In reality, I don't know of anyone on DA who does that kinda work. There probably is somewhere though. There is just NO excuse for not taking your images in th ebest possible settings and at the highest quality allowed.

The whole creative process is essentially 2 fold for me. Basically when I am out in the field shooting, I know how I want a shot to look already. I study the composition and choose an angle which I feel works, cropping in camera, trying different focal lengths, etc. This is usually part one, so in my head I know what I want. Now this can and often gets totally turned around 180 degrees when I download my shots and I start the post work processing. Often times, I will change the way I wanted the shot to look in the field, inside PS. B&W, Sepia, Cropping, etc. Often I edit and then I compare..mentally and physically. Sometimes I like it how I shot it, other times, I prefer something else.

Now some of you may be surprised by this next one lol My camera's white balance is almost ALWAYS set on 'sunset' white balance. Why? Well...basically what I have discovered on my camera is this---when I shoot this way, everything has a yellow & orange tint, and often these colors are very hard to expose for correctly. By having my white balance as such, it allows me some greater flexibility when I go to edit my shots. Seeing as I shoot in RAW, my white balance is totally adjustable. So I can always fine tune it, but doing it first in camera allows for a lot of speed and also accuracy. I first started doing this last Autumn when I was shooting the colors of Fall, and since then I haven't changed it really.

Filters. A Circular Polarizer is absolutely mandatory, and Neutral Density filters are not far behind.

I use essentially 3 RAW converters in my workflow---Lightroom, Photoshop's ACR, and AcDeeSee Pro Photo v2. So why 3? Because they each do different things. There really isn't one whole solution that I have found yet when it comes to editing RAW files. Lightroom can do things AcDeeSee can't and vice versa. So I will use one if I am wanting a specific look & feel for a shot.

LucisArt is used in almost EVERYTHING I process. One of the great things about this program is it's ability to recover specific areas of dynamic range in a shot, like adding the sun's highlights on the blades of grass. The info is already contained within a photo, but by using LucisArt, I am able to bring that out farther.

Fred Miranda Photography Plugins & Actions are used constantly for final results. The "Intellisharpner" plugin is the greatest thing since sliced bread and I also use the "Velvia" and "B&W Workflow Pro" with regularity as well.

Layer Masking...and what a Godsend that is! Live it, love it, breathe it! For those of you who wish to see a technique similar to mine using layer masking, but a lil more in depth than mine, head over to the BlueHourPhoto Blog for a video demonstration.

I shoot almost 100% of my shots in ISO 100, and sometimes use ISO 80 or 200. Rarely ever will I shoot above that....unless I need a shot off FAST. But generally, I shoot in lower ISO ranges.

HDR. Sometimes I know when I am shooting a shot if it will be HDR, other times I don't know til I am editing. Some shots are made for the technique while others don't work at all for it. Not all shots have the look and feel that is right for it IMO.

I actually don't use my tripod much unless I am needing a longer exposure say with waterfalls, or if the light is low. I know I should, and don't get me wrong, I do use it, but often when I am shooting, I sometimes need to be fast, cuz I am holding up traffic behind me while I am out in the middle of the road! lol

I use Noise Ninja exclusively for Noise Reduction in post work and every shot incorporates it and often combined with layer masking as well. It is an essential part of my workflow.

Every single shot I take has the curves, levels, and exposure adjusted. Call it fine tuning if you will. Again, essential part of my workflow.

I don't have or use a dedicated Macro lens, instead I use my Minolta kit lens, an 18-70mm zoom that has 1:2 Macro capability, along with a set of macro filters (close up diopters) that screw on the end of my lens and can be stacked for greater magnification. These are cheap, 10- off ebay! And they work excellent!


Well that be about all that I can think of at the moment, if anyone has any questions, just feel free to ask me, and I will do my best in answering. I know there is a lot more that I do, but it is early yet and my brain doesn't function it's best at this time of the morning on Sunday's lol

I hope you all are having a nice weekend. Mine is going pretty good. Yesterday's photoshoot in Rocky Mountain National Park yielded some nice results. A little about that real quickly----it was rather challenging for me, as I was with a friend and we left late. But I was of the mind set that this would be something different, shooting in not optimal and harsh lighting, so I took it as a challenge. And if anything, it forced me to look and see things differently, and to look closer and not so much at the massive view styled landscapes, but something of a more intimate and closer flavor...immediate surroundings. I came out doing pretty good. Now if someone can just hold off the tourists...sheesh what a damn zoo it was. To many people, now ya know why I leave at 4am! So there were like 20 cars pulled off the side of teh road, all these people had their lil cameras taking pics, we pull up and here is this HUGE Bull Elk standing in a river in the middle of the forest 15 feet from the road. I roll down my window to fire a shot off with my 75-300 and all the sudden....I see someone ass in my frame! I was all 'wtf.....they are to close!" And I back off my lens to see this VERY GOOD looking redhead in a miniskirt, about 25, and I yell out, "you are to close to him! you are putting yourself in danger!" And she looks back at me, like I am being rude. So I say "Never mind the fact that your ass is a closeup in my 300mm and is about to be plastered all over the internet too! Not that I mind, you have a nice ass, but hey! Just a FYI!!!"..she moved but by that time the damn Elk was gone! Ugh people!
A few shots down below from RMNP......enjoy!
---John












Technorati Tags: Colorado, Photography, Photo, Tecnique, Photoshop, Rocky Mountain National Park, Processing, RAW, nature, Outdoors, landscape

Only In Colorado

Only in Colorado can one go on a photoshoot and be driving through a blizzard in the mountains, only to come back down to Denver 2 hours later and have to start ducking Tornado's & Hail! The image below was captured as I was coming back down into Denver on a rural stretch of country where I would dearly love to own a piece of land someday.....enjoy!

Thunderstorms On the Farm

Captured yesterday 5/22/08, outside of Chief Hosa, Colorado. Some of you mayhave had about our crazy weather here in Colorado yesterday withTornado's and all that jazz,....well, here is a story for ya all......

The storm you see in this photo is the very storm which would spawn a Tornado outbreak north of Denver and basically level the town of Windsor, Colorado. I drove through this storm while heading to Lake Dillon, to do some shooting, which is pretty high up in the mountains.While going through it in the mountains, I basically drove through ablizzard. I knew that if this storm kept heading East, it was going to be bad as Denver was warm and the humidity so high, 94% which is rare,because it usually stays at about 10%....all that and the storm colliding with said air makes for some dangerous conditions.

Heading back, after Lake Dillon, I detoured some when I saw this barn and just had to get it...the rain stopped for just a second, which added somenice atmosphere for the scene as a whole. Especially with those storm clouds! It was so quiet, almost spooky, just the thunder is all ya heard and the occasional Blackbird.

The Early Morning Creative Drive

"Morning On the Colorado Plains"
A Sunrise Morning greets travelers on Colorado's E-470 Tollway Highway, coming and going to Denver International Airport; DIA. Pike's Peak stands like a sentinel in the distance along the Front Range


Ya know, as odd as it seems, we all have our most creative times of the day. I used to be a nightowl spending late nights painting and drawing when I was in art college. Now it seems I have come full circle in a way. I 'spose having trouble sleeping tends to do that to one's soul and mind, but there is something to be said to be awake when your side of the world is all but asleep. It is quiet, it is serene, and it is tranquil. I find these early morning hours the best time fro my creative juices and blood to be flowing. I generally use this time to edit my photographs, browse photography sites, answer comments and questions on my DA and RB accounts, and become inspired.

Strange though, and how it became like this I shall never know. I will say one thing though, it certainly has allowed me to catch some sunrise images..has it ever!