The dark purpleish patch below the helicopter is the mouth of a gorge. It’s the same gorge you see on the left site of the previous photo.
At Night
There’s Ghosts in them thar Hills
Here we go!
POI# 4
And then there is Jim. When I got my very first 35mm SLR (which I still have BTW) he would tolerantly let me “take pictures” of him anytime anywhere! Early morning even before coffee (yikes!) or, more formally, as I attempted to practice the finer points of portraiture.
As well as having almost infinite patience for these artistic quirks, Jim was a very handsome guy, – it was impossible to take a bad photo of him. For years I mistakenly attributed all those good photos of him to my emerging photographic talent, and I coasted on this grand deception for ages until, over time I actually did become a pretty good photographer. (And it wasn’t till much later a portrait pro pointed out the various flaws in my subsequent portrait photos, that I came to know the embarrassing truth – my early success was a fluke and the beauty was all Jim and not me.)
POI #3
What can a nature photographer learn from a wedding and portrait photographer?
Well, if you’re me and the wedding photographer is Patty Boge, an awful lot! Patty and I worked together at a software development company. We didn’t work in the same department and didn’t really see each other too often (with 125 employees on 2 floors I didn’t see too many people too often!!!). But one day she mentioned that she was leaving the company because she was going to devote all her time to her photography business. I remarked that that was pretty cool and that I also knew my way around a camera. She wanted to see some of my photos so I put a few on a CD for her.
Next thing I knew she has shopped it around to all her pro photographer buddies who apparently were impressed enough to want to meet with me to talk about my “work” and help me advance in a new career. And the rest, my friend, is a story that you already know.
So I have a more than profound appreciation for Patty – it was her that got me into the biz!
The Big Split
At first glance this massive gap in the mountain side does seem pretty eyepopping…till you look closer at the size on the truck in the on-coming lane – the scale is even more unbelievable.
A massive scar upon the land, land created by unimaginable forces, and for millions of years it was “rock solid”, unchanged except for the impreceptable weathering of nature. And now it just serves to demonstrate that there’s just about nothing some dynamite and an engineer can’t do.
POI #2: Man Ray
Man Ray was a surrealist artist and photographer creating images around the turn of the last century. Much of the pop culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s were either directly or indirectly inspired by his art works and images. His work “the lips” were used for the Rocky Horror Picture Show’s ads. Many musicians including R.E.M. and the Red Hot Chili Peppers used his art as inspiration in either lyrics or album covers.
I like his daring, and his willingness to do things differently. His main message that resonates with me, especially relevant today, with all the coolness digital art offers:
“Of course, there will always be those
who look only at technique, who ask ‘how’, while others of a more
curious nature will ask ‘why’. Personally, I have always preferred
inspiration to information.”