Red Rock Fix

Our original plan for last weekend was a camping trip to Sedona, but some work stuff came up and forced a change in the schedule.  Probably we'll head out that way sometime in June and expand it into a longer trip. There is a particular ruin up towards Arches that I have been wanting to shoot,  and my wife wants to go to Arches, so we'll see if we can make it that far next trip.
In the meantime, I'm revisiting a few more favorites from last Fall in southern Utah. Another one here of amazing red rock goodness from Snow Canyon... shot with my Mamiya on 6x7 medium format Velvia.

More from JT

Another quick study from a few weeks ago out in Joshua Tree. The big rocks near the right of the frame in the distance are a very popular spot for rock climbers.. you can usually find a bunch of them up there on the weekends.  Guessing they're approx. 80' high. Not for me, but fun to watch:)
Two really great camera phone apps that I have been using recently are Camera Awesome! by the folks that run SmugMug (it's free), and KitCAM, which is very similar and costs only about $1.00 (basically free).  Besides adding a kit full of shooting utilities, both come with a very good selection of useful presets for processing and framing right in the camera... and then quick export links to update to your various on-line accounts, or your regular camera roll, for later processing or storage on your computer.  The in-camera processing maintains the original exposure also, so you're not damaging anything by playing around with the more creative processing possibilities.

Evening Light-JT

Another "phoneography" example from my most recent afternoon out in Joshua Tree. Once again, a little over the top on the contrast and color compared to normal taste, but guess I'm just enjoying that look right now, for a change. My nice, convenient clouds from earlier had dissipated, but I found another way to occupy the sky:)

More on "Phoneography"

I drove out to Joshua Tree last weekend, specifically to reshoot this scene that I had made some quick studies of last year. I've been waiting for the right day, weather-wise, combined with the free time, but it never seemed to work out so I finally decided to just get in the car and go, win or lose. Didn't have high hopes when I left.. you can usually control the time of day, but not the sky, and that was crucial to my vision of the shot.  The sky was way too clear and blue when I left, but by the time I arrived, these perfect high, thin clouds had thankfully appeared and not only did I get the shot I had in mind, but a few other good ones, as well, over the course of the afternoon.

This stands as another example of "phoneography".. shot and processed entirely on my phone's cam, (which explains the blow-out in the clouds, but that is from the uber-contrast of the processing, not the original exposure). All I did on the computer was down-size it for posting here.

This is likely not my ultimate, finished version; I'll go with the more conventional version in this particular case because I want to print it, but while I had my regular Nikon setup on the tripod, I simply pulled my iPhone out of my pocket and shot hand-held from the same vantage point. I kind of like this over-the-top interpretation, though. It's a great way to change up your process, experiment and most of all have fun, as opposed to always doing it the technically "correct" way. 

Check out the kid sitting on top of the rock:)