The Return of Photo Friday and a 2011 ChallengePosted by drfl on January 14th, 2011

This year I am adding two major challenges.  One is mastering a piece of hardware that is now in my possession which I’m going to leave you guessing on until I actually get a chance to use it.  The second is to work on making more black and white images.  When I first started seriously in photography, all I made were black and white photographs.  I used to carry a camera containing only TRI-X and T-Max Kodak film and that it what I used to make images.  I slowly moved into color slide film, but I still would carry a camera with black and white film.  Once I went to my first digital SLR, a Canon 20D, I figured I could make black and white images whenever I wanted.  Guess what?  I rarely did.  This year I am challenging myself to make at least 20 black and white images that I will present on this blog.  I’m excited for these new challenges and what new experiences they may bring!

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/11, 1/125 sec., Polarizer
Toadstool Geologic Park, Nebraska

Reviewing and Setting Goals – 2011Posted by drfl on January 11th, 2011

As I mentioned in my End of Year Retrospective, with the start of every new year, I review my goals for the previous year and set my goals for the next year. This is an activity I recommend for everyone engaged in an ongoing activity photography or not. So what did my review find?

Last year I saw a fairly good growth in business, more and more people are becoming aware of my work which means that my marketing engine is working. Website traffic has grown and a great deal of interest in my work came from a diverse collection of sources. Is my marketing working at 100%? Probably not, but then again most marketing schemes do not, there is always room for improvement. How about shooting? While I captured some new and different images, I feel the need to expand my existing collections, try new things, and above all else – learn more!

So what am I planning for 2011? From an image collection perspective, I have at least 2 trips envisoned – one for Rocky Mountain National Park and another for western Nebraska. I really want to show a different side of the state than to which I accustomed. I also hope to add a couple of pieces of really unique equipment, one which may be coming this week! Stay tuned for what that may be! We can learn together (if you’re into that sort of thing.  A shiny new thing may help me lift the photography funk that has plagued me since early November. The 6-8 inch blanket of snow that just fell is also helping with that though.

From a business perspective, I hope to expand my stock offerings and collection with additional supporting imagery. So often I pick 1 image out of a couple of hundred, process it, and present it. There are several variations of my images that I simply archive, some of these may be useful to those looking for a larger variety. I do not know how I will accomplish this yet, but I hope to a have a structure and plan for this by the end of January. I also plan on expanding to new art fairs. In the past I have only attended one per year. I hope to expand that to 2-4 this year.

So what are your goals?  Share them if you like, but be sure to set some!

2011 looks to be exciting and I’m looking forward to making some new images!

Technical Details:
Falling Water Falls, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 33mm, f/16, 2 sec., ND Filter (3-stop)

A Touch of Summer – Golden MorningPosted by drfl on January 6th, 2011

Yesterday I saw the new license plate for Nebraska. It contains both the state bird – the Meadowlark and the state flower – the Goldenrod. I wasn’t impressed with the plate, both from a design standpoint, but also from a subject standpoint. There isn’t anything wrong with the meadowlark, as a matter of fact, Nebraska shares this state bird with Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon and Wyoming. The Goldenrod, however, is the state flower of two states, Kentucky being the only other one (It is also the state WILDflower of South Carolina). From a visual perspective, a solitary Goldenrod is unimpressive, which is how it is displayed on the plate. When one ventures into a field of Goldenrods, however, that’s a different experience altogether.

The color yellow commands attention. That is why so many signs and plaques are created in this color. Even a hint of yellow can grab someone’s gaze. On the plate the flower is dull (Click here to see it!). In nature, the flower is vibrant and warm.

So, I wandered into a field of Goldenrods this summer and captured a few photographs. For some reason I never processed them until now. Since we haven’t had any snow this winter (I think we sent it all east) I haven’t had much wintry imagery to make so I’m presenting a warm capture!

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 29mm, f/11, 1/250 sec., 3-stop Hard Grad
Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

The JudgementPosted by drfl on December 29th, 2010

For a melancholy winter day.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 19mm, f/10, 1/30 sec.
Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

It’s Not Too Late….Posted by drfl on December 20th, 2010

Fortunately, it has been a very busy month for me.  Unfortunately, for me that has meant less (actually near-zero) shooting and for both of us this has led to no postings. 

Today, however, I am sending out an unabashed marketing message telling everyone that it is not too late to order prints and receive them by Christmas from my print store @ http://store.journeyoflight.com. 

On the blogging side, I do hope to have a couple new blog posts by the end of the year.  I will definitely be adding an end of year retrospective as I did last year so look for that next week.  Until then, I might have an image or two pop up time allowing.  If I don’t I wish everyone very happy holidays!

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 300 f/4l + 1.4tc, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec.
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Photos of Rocky Mountain National Park – Day 7: An Amber Autumn Aspen LeafPosted by drfl on October 19th, 2010

Along the trail from Bear Lake to Alberta Falls was this autumn aspen leaf illuminated by the mid-morning sun. In this photograph, I used a small aperture to help show the aspens in the background and to provide an environment for the leaf in nature.

Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 50 CM, 1/500, f/16
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado