Thursday, April 28, 2011

Granite Swirl

Another from a recently processed batch.. I probably shot this back in early December, I don't recall exactly. This is on film, so no EXIF data.. guess I should get back in the habit of taking notes:)
There are quite a few small waterfalls on the numerous streams in my area, but I've never seen one like this, carved right into solid granite.  I'm especially pleased because I found this one completely on my own.. no one told me about it and I've never seen a picture of it, which is kind of surprising.  I had no idea there was even a stream here, let alone this nice fall, until I pulled over and parked one day to explore some rock formations and noticed sound of the stream. Following the water down a ways, I came across this.  I shot a few variations because the shape is so unique, but this is my favorite so far.. maybe I will post a couple more, to see if one gets more reaction than the others.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Some Old New Stuff

I'm just now getting around to processing a bunch of work that has been sitting (literally) in my fridge since December/January, on several rolls of film that I shot back then. So, no, we didn't just get a sudden spring snow up here, although we're not necessarily "out of the woods" for the possibility of more snow just yet:)  Unlike the instant gratification you get with digital, film is a much slower process (at least for me).. I honestly kept forgetting to get these rolls processed for the past several months.
Our property is less than 100 yds. from the edge of the national forest, so I can walk right out the font door and into the deep woods anytime I want, where there is always lots of great photographic subject matter if you know where to look.  This particular spot is just a five minute walk from my house and I pass by here all the time on my evening walks, but it's normally nothing spectacular... just a little stream trickling down through the pines and cedars. On this particular day, after a foot and a half of fresh snow, it was pretty spectacular. I had some very cold hands and wet feet after a day of stomping around out here , but it was worth it.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Sky Watch: Arizona Evening

I've pretty much finished going through and editing down my catalog, selecting and annotating images, to get it all organized and presentable for my rebuilt website.  It's finally up and running here at: www.AspectStudioPhotography.net.  The nice thing about it (and the main reason for the rebuild) is the integrated shopping cart and ordering system, which works really smoothly and easily on the front end (what visitors see) AND the back end, where I can manage and update everything so easily behind the scenes.
I looked around for quite a long time to find a hosting service that met my needs for professional quality design; easy to manage, self-fulfilled e-commerce (I do all my own printing); and slick, Flash-free presentation. PhotoShelter was the only one I found that has it all... short of a prohibitively expensive scratch-built site. I think it has a really clean, organized and interactive presentation that invites exploration and that's what I wanted.  Looking ahead, I will continue to add, subtract and reorganize, I'm sure... but I think it's pretty presentable from this point. Please check it out if you get a few minutes.
Since I've been spending so much time going through my archives and adjusting past work, this week's Sky Watch was actually done a couple of years back, at Monument Valley in NE Arizona. Only at sunrise and sunset do you get these beautiful deep desert colors of blue, purple and salmon. This is one of the iconic "Mitten" formations, seen in the setting sun's low angle light. Check out the Sky Watch page every weekend for interesting skies from all around the world.