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“The night before I left Las Vegas I walked out in the desert to look at the moon. There was a jeweled city on the horizon, spires rising in the night, but the jewels were diadems of electric and the spires were the neon of signs ten stories high.” ~Norman Mailer
We drove back to the Valley of Fire this afternoon to catch the sunset. We then drove back through the northern edge of Lake Mead and found this amazing spot where the lights from Vegas were just stunning. We set up the tripod and I attempted to do star trails, but didn’t really succeed. Not dark enough. However, I did capture the stars, the moon, and light trails from all the airplanes in the sky over the city. We were here for over an hour and a half . . . mesmerized. Only a few cars passed by on the road while we were there. This shot is my attempt at doing sync flash – something MTM taught us when we shot on the Strip a few nights ago. Not sure I was 100% successful as it seems the background is out of focus. The first shot is the original with just a bit of LR4 editing.
D800e, 70-200mm VRII lens @ 70mm, 2 sec @ f6.3, 800ISO, and SB800 flash mounted on camera set at zero.
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I ended up not really liking that the background was out of focus, so took it in to LR4 and reworked it . . . adding in the starry moonlit sky from another photo I took just a bit earlier in the evening. I think I like the reworked version best.
This is my edited/reworked version.
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“I don’t believe you have to be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be.” Ken Venturi
Today is the last day of our 365 Vegas Meetup. Most are leaving today, or have left already this morning. My husband and I have decided to stay for a couple more days, as we would like to go back to a couple of the places we didn’t feel like we got enough time in . . . such as the Valley of Fire. A group of us decided to get our picture taken and the Las Vegas sign at one end of the Strip. There was quite a line up of people waiting to take pictures, as well as an Elvis personality and two Vegas Showgirls with whom you could get your photo taken if you wanted to pay them for it. We ended up standing in the lineup for quite some time waiting for all of our people to show up. I took this shot of Frank (a fellow 365’er) as we waited. I was so pleasantly surprised when I opened this up on my computer to see this amazing sunburst and the great reflection in his glasses! Score! He kind of reminds me of one of those Secret Agent types in this shot. Or a movie star!
I also love the quote I found for today that seems to totally fit the mood of this photo. Be the absolute best that you can be and you will shine beyond measure. You can certainly use what others have done to inspire and motivate, but don’t compete with others to be the best of the best . . . compete against yourself. Your beautiful aura will then leave a positive impact on everyone who passes through your experience of life. And YOU are the only one who can make it happen . . . GO FOR IT!
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“Ultimately photography is about who you are. It’s the truth in relation to yourself. And seeking truth becomes a habit.” – Leonard Freed
We arose at 3:30 this morning to catch the sunrise in the Valley of Fire – about an hour drive from the house we rented in Vegas. It was pretty spectacular, as we shot in the dark at first – learning how to do light trails as MTM drove his car down the park road towards our bank of tripods all set with slow shutter speeds. As the sun started to peek over the horizon, we all scattered in our different directions to capture the beauty. This shot below was taken well after the sun was up in an area of gorgeous red-rock formations.
I detest early mornings, but this trip was so well worth the effort of getting up before dawn!
I would do it again in a heartbeat . . .
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“To be a photographer, one must photograph. No amount of book learning, no checklist of seminars attended, can substitute for the simple act of making pictures. Experience is the best teacher of all. And for that, there are no guarantees that one will become an artist. Only the journey matters…” Harry Callahan
Viva Las Vegas . . . Day Two. We drove in a caravan out to Death Valley today. We spent most of the afternoon exploring Rhyolite, a small ghost town on the edge of Death Valley. I could have spent the entire day there – it was that interesting. There were old buildings and rail cars, and a very eclectic Museum with very interesting statues and artifacts. It’s really a Photographers paradise. We spread from one end of the site to the other . . . all immersed in our own creative juices attempting to put our own unique spin on what we were documenting here. We didn’t actually make it in to Death Valley because we ran out of time . . . and it was very cold and overcast by time nightfall came. Our intention was to photograph the sunset, and then get some star trails . . . but that wasn’t going to happen with an overcast sky. Oh well . . . we left Rhyolite feeling very pleased with ourselves and wishing we’d had more time there!
This photo was taken in an old abandoned cabin. I applied some HDR processing, and tweaked a bit more in Photoshop.
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“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.” Duane Michals
Viva Las Vegas!
We are a group of Photographers out and about on the Vegas Strip! Michael the Maven is with us, instructing us on night photography techniques . . . catching light trails, slow sync lighting, and whatever else we can soak up from him. We started at the Luxor and worked our way down to the Bellagio. Being my first time in Vegas, I was struck by the constant motion, and movement of people and lights and noise. This is when Sin City really comes alive . . . and we are there to digitally record our interpretations of it. I’m anxious to learn all I can over the next few days here with my fellow 365’ers whom I’ve know for almost a year now but just met in person. What a fun group of people.
It’s going to be a great weekend!
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“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but the 400-pound woman perched in front of a slot machine, oozing bum-flesh off her stool as she balanced a cocktail and cigarette in one hand and robotically tugged the slot arm with the other . . . that’s still with me.” Brian Sack, Banterist, June 15, 2006
There’s alot to be said for that statement. This is my first trip to Sin City, and as glitzy and glamorous as it is, I was quite amazed at the people who sit mesmerized by these machines for hours and hours just plugging in their money and oblivious of anything going on around them. I was shocked that in the first hotel we stayed at – we had to walk through a smoke-filled casino to get to the elevators that took us up to our room. My eyes were burning and my throat felt thick and tight until we got to our room. There at least, the air was fresh.
We did go down to one of the many restaurants that flank the casino to get a bite to eat for dinner. I have to say . . . we had some of the best Chinese food I’ve had in a long time. It was excellent food, excellent service. I guess that’s part of the draw here, cheap really good food! Unfortunately, we won’t go back to that hotel because of the “smokey” experience.
Since our reason for being in Las Vegas has nothing to do with gambling, drinking, partying or, well – whatever else Sin City is known for . . . I’ll fill you in on the rest of our adventures in the next few posts.
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“The real pleasure was having the chance to enjoy being weightless, and the other was to spend some time looking out at this beautiful Earth that we’re all lucky to inhabit.” Robert Crippen
Today is Baby Girl’s second birthday. Papa G and I spent the day out and about with her just having fun. We went to the Chabot Space and Science Center in the Oakland Hills. It’s a great place to take kids . . . fairly new and lots of great activities. One exhibit was all about weightlessness in space. In this one, I pressed the button on a touch screen, then stepped on to this mat with Papa and Ella. A message said for us to JUMP! When we did – it snapped out picture. It’s supposed to look like we are weightless in space! It didn’t turn out that great – but it was a lot of fun. There was an option to e-mail it to yourself . . . so I did and thus it becomes my 365 for today!
We head off to Vegas for the 365 Meetup tomorrow . . . I’m going to miss the little one so much. I’ve been with her every day for the last four weeks!
Hmm . . . I wonder who is going to go through withdrawal more . . .
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“In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” Alfred Stieglitz
I’m 305 days in to this 365 Self Portrait Project. There are approximately 30 of us left out of a couple hundred that started. Few of us have met in person . . . but we’re doing a meetup in Las Vegas this weekend. This has been in the works for a few months now . . . with about half of us showing up – some of us with our spouses and one fellow coming from as far away as Sweden! We range in photographic abilities from amateur to Pro. We’ve rented a big house that many of us will be staying at. It’s going to be a blast for sure . . . with “shoots” planned for different scenic areas around Vegas. Michael Andrew himself is showing up . . . so very exciting. To top it off . . . I’ve never been to Vegas . . . this is a first for me. I’m not really a night lifer, drinker, partyer or gambler . . . I am just interested in soaking up all I can about Photography from everyone that will be there. (oh – Baby Girl was just helping me pack . . . Mommy won’t let her go to Vegas with us! )
And . . . what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas . . . right??
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“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Mahatma Gandhi
Bathtime is one of my favorite times with Baby Girl. She so loves the water, and is so joyous and happy when she’s in it. For this shot I used my Gorillapod and hung the camera from the shower door frame to get a perspective from above. I then processed it using PS CS6 filters to get this grainy effect. I had to be careful which photo I used, as I discovered that from this view . . . most of the shots were not appropriate for posting on the internet!
My Grandchildren are so very important to me . . . and I want them all to grow up knowing that they are loved completely by their Grandma/YaYa. That’s why I don’t just talk about it. My actions back up what I say. I don’t buy their affections, I give them my time and my love. I’m well aware that I am compensating for something I feel I lacked growing up. No matter, as it’s a win-win situation!
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“There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one’s self, the very meaning of one’s soul.” Edith Wharton
My “bestie” and I headed off this morning to do some “shooting” out at a local Regional Park. I’ve never ventured out there before, and was curious. There’s a big reservoir that is apparently quite busy in the summer with swimmers and boaters. We saw quite a few fisherman today . . . one with a good catch.
It was a very gorgeous day, though a bit on the cool side especially in the shade. Regardless, we enjoyed the relaxed morning just hanging out together taking pictures of whatever took our fancy. I set up this shot where we were actually standing in the crook of a tree that is just off the bank with the lake in the background. I rested my camera on a picnic table that was just a few feet away, and set the timer to shoot off 3 photos. I’m not really happy with my hair in this, and I didn’t like the color in the original, so I used Nik Silver Efex Pro to convert to B&W.
And . . . I just like hanging out with this guy.
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Nurture Self 365 