Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles

Well, what’s done is done.  I totally skipped a post yesterday.  Actually, it wasn’t skipped, it was forgotten.  Whoops.

The past few days have been nice, and I almost feel rested again.  That’s a good sign.  I just wish I had a few more days to nurture that rested and relaxed feeling.  Not to mention my hip is no longer sore, and I worry it might go right back to where it was without additional down time.  We’ll just have to see.

Yesterday my friend Josh popped by early in the a.m.  We decided to head out to the Promised Land and take a few more photographs.  Josh has never been to the Promised Land, and he’s enjoyed some of my photos from there.  I should start a photo tour company for obscure spots in Northern Arizona…. hmmmm…. almost sounds like a good idea!

As you may recall from prior climbing photos, and other photos from my visits to the Promised Land, many little nests can be seen on the canyon walls.  Since I’ve started visiting the spot I have never seen anything residing in the nests….until yesterday!

As we made our way into the canyon everything around us was alive.  Many lizards moved out of the way as we trodded along the canyon floor.  Doves popped out of bushes, and red tail hawks called out as we passed.  The most lively I’ve seen the Promised Land.

As we passed the first climbing area the canyon was a buzz with activity.  Tiny little birds popping down to the remaining pools of water in the canyon.  A quick trip to the water and mud, then right back to their cliff side homes.  There were so many birds in sections of the canyon you just couldn’t count them, you could only watch them “swarm”.  Pretty interesting.

Over the past year I’d wondered about all the nests.  When do they return, how long do they stay, and where do they go next?  What I know now is that they return….well, now.  They’re not here from August through at least April.  Why do I know that?  Because during all my visits from August to April nobody has resided in these cute little nests.  And now the nests are full.

As far as how long these little architects stay….who knows?  I’ll have to check back in and see when they leave.

The remainder of the morning will be spent sorting photos.  I went over the top yesterday and filled the card with the birds.  High speed shutter, crazed birds colliding mid-air….there have to be a few interesting shots in there.  So, it’s time to sort.  If I come across anything of interest I’ll pop it up here!

Ah, is it or isn’t it?  A real post, or just a little something to fill space?

If you haven’t noticed, we’ve got a blogging streak going here.  No missed posts this month…..

I almost blew it today!  Getting ready for bed, and i realized nothing was put up this morning.  What gives?

Well, today was a “day of rest.”  Sure, I woke up at 5 again this morning, puttered around, but then went back to bed.  Just laid back and relaxed.  It was nice, nowhere to be.

By 7:30 I was off and running though.  Totally out of tea, soy milk, and a bunch of other things.  Fry’s was my first stop, and I left there with an $83 bill, and not too many grocery bags.  I’m sure glad inflation is under control.

After shopping laundry was next on the list.  Always a fun way to spend the morning you know.  Washing, drying, folding.  Watching other people covet my dryer…..you know, the standard stuff.  There’s something I miss in having a home, a washer & dryer.  I don’t think a set would fit well in the Airstream.

For the late morning & afternoon I spent time with a few friends.  Photos were taken, dinettes were measured, plans for a desk were hashed out, and more resting occurred.  All good considering my left leg & hip have been in pain for a week!  I think I pulled something, and I just need some down time to let it heal.  That’s my hope, we’ll see.  I say this as I prepare to dig out another Tylenol…..

So, there’s the wrap.  I guess this was more than just a place holder post after all.

By the way, today’s photo is an example of a “bad” HDR.  Just didn’t work.  I toyed with it for a while, but it’s not a scene that carries well in HDR.  Not enough contrast.  The sky without clouds really doesn’t gain from dealing with contrasts…it’s all the same.  Thought I’d pass the photo along though.  Nice to know what works and what doesn’t. 

Last night I got home earlier than I have in a while.  After getting in I changed into a pair of shorts and a Life is Good T-Shirt, got dinner going and fell back on the couch.  Not long after arriving home dinner was ready and soon I was full.

Once I felt unwound I headed outside and saw colors in the sky changing.  Another amazing Arizona sunset was taking place.  I’ll tell you, I don’t think I’ll get tired of Arizona sunsets.

I’m lucky enough to have several interesting perches in the Granite Dells behind my Airstream.  Often I’ll head up into the rocks just to look around.  Last night I decided to take a look around once again.  This time I went up without the camera.  Sometimes you just want to go up and watch the pretty sunset.  Sorry I left the camera, I’m sure you would have enjoyed it.  But once in a while it’s nice to keep a sunset for yourself. 

Yesterday I took a quick trip over to Watson Lake in order to take a few photos of the Granite Dells from the shoreline. I couldn’t stay long, work was calling. Not literally of course, but you get my meaning.

Now that I’ve started playing around with some new techniques (7 Point System & HDR) it seems I can’t find the time to go out and shoot super interesting subjects. Sure, I’ve gotten a couple of neat photos lately, but I want to roam around more. Plus I’m not getting home from work until after 7 every day.

That means I’m missing sunsets, missing out on the crazy lizards running around here, and totally taking a pass on the gangs of Quail moving around the park. You’ve got to watch out for those quail gangs….they wear their colors you know!

Thursday will be a day of rest, but I don’t think it will be super restful. Groceries, laundry (I miss my own washer & dryer), cleaning, maybe a nap. I hope somewhere in there I find the time for a few photos. I’d love to get North of Paulden and do some larger expanse shots. Or maybe down to Skull Valley again, I have a few photo ideas there.

If I’m wrapped up all Thursday maybe Friday will be a fun day. At least there are 2 days back to back off. Haven’t had that in a little while!

Oh, and I haven’t forgotten adding other favorite links. Yesterday’s were a start. Next week I’ll include some more photo links and blogging links (plus a few more financials). But not today. I’m already running behind, and work starts earlier today.

Looks like I won’t go off for a few quick photos this morning…..bummer. Maybe I’ll find time this evening as I’ll be home before 7 tonight.

After a pretty amazing response to my first big series of HDR shots I thought I’d make a few available in print. Like my Arizona Prints Gallery I’m listing six 4×6 inch prints. Click on any photo to see the full sized shot. And enjoy!

[Show as slideshow]

Click on any photo above to see the full sized photo. Or feel free to try out the slide show option. Honestly though, clicking on a photo is cooler.

This set can be purchased as 4×6 inch postcard prints. Mail them or keep them on hand. These are high quality prints that can be framed, or used as postcards. It’s all up to you

$10.00 (plus shipping and handling)

Every day I spend the morning catching up on the latest.  Prudentbear.com, Kitco.com, Bert’s site, Tour of Amercia’s site, and more.  I thought I’d tell you about some of the “more” today.

Photo Ideas

Well, I always check out Bert’s Blog to see what the Gildarts are up to.  Plus I enjoy Bert’s photos, and normally I wish I was out with them……keep teasing me about coming up to MT this summer Bert….I’m listening! 

Beyond checking out Bert’s site I have several more I check regularly.  My new favorite is Scott Kelby’s Blog, Photoshop Insider.  Fantastic site, and I’ve got to point out a recent post.  Last Friday at the Photoshop Insider site there was a post regarding backing up your drives.  It was perfectly timed.  See, a friend had a drive failure, called me in a panic, etc.  I’d actually told them last year their computer was on it’s last leg.  Slow, a problem child, etc.  Not a good scene.  The best part….the computer is used in my friend’s business, but they didn’t see the point of a new system.  The failure still didn’t drive it home.  Check out Scott’s article, and BACK UP!

Just to let you know, months ago I did a HUGE post on backing up.  Do you remember it?  Did you backup?  If you didn’t, please don’t call me in a panic when your system totally fails.

Sorry for the aside….back to photo sites.

Since I’ve really developed an interest in HDR I’ve been checking out a few of the heavy hitters in HDR.  One of my favorites is Ben Wilmore.  Go figure, the guy is traveling the country with a big RV, doing lectures, and taking his photos.  Amazing.  Another tech person on the road making his way.

I’ve also been reading Stuck in Customs.  Talk about some amazing photos!  Trey Ratcliff is the site host, and he’s an amazing photographer!  Seriously, go look through his portfolio and tell me he’s not.  His shots were the ones that inspired me to try out HDR myself.  Months ago someone mentioned HDR to me, and when I did a Google search I found Trey’s site……  By the way, his site is slow to load.  See, it’s full of super cool images, so be patient.

Bit off more than I can chew……

Well, I’ve got more links for you, but there’s your start.  See, I had a few phone calls this morning (already), and now I need to get ready for work.  Yup, work on Memorial day.  I’m out of time.  I type fast, but when distractions come up the blog takes a little longer to complete.

Oh, and I’ve got Thursday and Friday free, so look for some new photos later in the week.  If you have any requests or ideas let me know! 

I haven’t gone out with the camera in a few days.  Not for lack of interest mind you! 

We’ve had quite the weather change in the last few days.  From sunny & 80 to overcast and 60.  Not complaining.  The heat coming up so quick was quite the shock.  That combined with my recent excursions to Phoenix left me wondering, “Will this be some super hot summer?”

Fortunately the cool off here reminds me that I’m at a high elevation.  Heat ups won’t last too long, and Prescott has an overall comfortable climate most of the year.

A site update

For those Windows users out there, I wanted to let you know I’ve repaired an issue that has been causing problems with the Internet Explorer browser.  Off and on I’ve heard that IE browsers get hung up on my site.  Well, I found the last issue.

Months ago I had been hacked, notified, and I corrected it.  Apparently other hacks exist out there.  Nothing malicious from my site, but a redirect away from my site to another.  Specifically, somebody inserted a little IFRAME tag into one of my links to another Airstream site.  I had to delete the link, and re-insert the link without this little tag.

So, you should now be able to happily browse the site again.

Nice to know the hackers find my site popular enough to screw with, eh?

I’ve gotten many questions privately regarding the HDR process. People really want to know how the process works. I can completely understand.

Months ago I found a web site talking about HDR. I was investigating the process after speaking with another photographer about how I shoot. He suggested I look into HDR, as it was a technique that he thought would work with some of my landscape shots in the Dells. Boy howdy, he was right!

So, today I thought I’d talk about the process, and about the 7 Point system as well.

The current photo to your left is an edited photo (not HDR) that I used the 7 Point System with. I only spent about 5 minutes on it. The shot was a little too dark, the white balance was off a bit as it was an extremely overcast day, and very little blue showed through in the sky. You’ll see the original photo next, and I think you’ll agree it was a touch washed out.

The 7 Point System is extremely helpful in knowing what to do in Photoshop. For this photo I worked in the Camera Raw editor. Nothing more. No masks, no layers, no painting with light. I could definitely improve this image some more, but I didn’t want to spend a long time on a quick shot for this post. Realistically I could have used Photoshop Lightroom’s Develop module and done the same quickly.

So, where did this edited photo come from? It was the 0EV exposure I shot as part of a series to create an HDR. When creating HDRs you want to take at least 3 photos at different exposure levels. With each exposure you get different levels of detail. A -2 EV will give you a lot of dark space, but the bright space making it through is usually not clipped. Your 0EV shot shows a bit of everything, but might not have the most extreme contrast. Finally, an over exposure will blow out your highlights (clouds and sky) but it provides a more accurate depiction of things like the foreground in a sunset photo.

Normally when you shoot a sunset the foreground is DARK. Or it’s a silhouette. Whatever the case, in order to get the detail of the foreground you need to over expose. When that happens the sky turns to junk. So, you need a few exposures.

The exposure to the left is the 0EV (on my light meter) shot. Pretty dark and ominous. Lacking a lot of color and detail. Did I take a bad photo? Nope, this is what the scene was due to lighting. Did it look like that to me? Nope, I definitely saw it different than the camera.

The first photo on this page was derived from this exact picture. Ah, the 7 Point System really can help with a “bland” photo. I’m so glad I’ve finally realized that using Photoshop isn’t some evil thing. Instead, used right it can really help you accurately recall a scene that your camera sensor just couldn’t bring in the whole way.

Our cameras always have a fixed aperture you know. You can select the amount of light and your exposure time when shooting a subject. Now, let me ask you, when you view a scene does your “aperture” in your eyes stay the same? No. Your pupils dilate, change the light coming in, and your eyes get to readjust for all sorts of light levels. It’s hard getting the whole scene with one fixed setting at a time. That’s where HDR comes in. Oh, and by the way, I’m not expert, but I get it, I finally get it, and it’s cool that someone realized blended exposures could show the viewer more!

Next I’m going to show you the -2 and +2 exposures side by side. Those two shots plus the one above went together in order to create the final HDR.

As you can see, the over and under exposures wouldn’t make for great photos alone. The under exposure (super dark one) shows you no details of the rocks at all. But take a look at the sky. Darker blues, darker elements to the clouds. The sky’s detail comes through a little more.

The over exposure on the other hand shows you all of the foreground. You really get to see the rocks of the Dells. But the sky’s detail is almost washed out. Not great. Maybe the 7 Point system could help with the brighter shot, but the dark one wouldn’t get too far……

The fun part is the fact that if you combine the 3 exposures (-2, 0, +2) you can get all the detail out of the 3. Take a look at the last image in this post and you’ll see…..

This image is the final HDR image. A shade different than any of the pictures you’ve seen so far, yet it’s just a Tone Mapped combination of the 3 images. It doesn’t look like any of the original shots, but it was derived from all the color and light information in the 3 photos.

In addition to combining the photos you also get to tone map the shot. You can increase the color strength of the image in order to get each color to really pop. You can reset the White and Black points to enhance bright areas and shadowed areas. And you can work on the contrast in the photo through a Micro Contrast and Micro Smoothing tool.

I currently use the Photomatix Program, and the Photomatix Plugin in my Adobe Photoshop CS3. There are other programs out there for HDR generation, and each has its own name for tone mapping, but all of them do the same thing.

So, not only are the photos blended, they are then worked on in the Tone Mapping within Photomatix. I can push the colors up or down, enhance light and shadow, and make my own attempt to really represent how my eyes saw the scene. And if I want I can also enhance what I saw. It was pretty drab out there when I shot this photo. Nice to take the drab out of it.

Since I arrived in Prescott I’ve been fascinated by the Granite Dells, Granite Mountain, and most of the national forest surrounding the area. I’ve been amazed by the scenes around me, and I’ve shot too many photos of the area. Many of those shots end up on the blog.

Over the year I’ve had many comments from readers about the area. Everyone gets that the rocks are amazing and the area is beautiful. Many people have commented on the neat photos coming out on the blog. And I’ve been glad to share the area.

The disappointment for me has always been the fact that none of the photos I’ve posted have truly captured how vast some scenes are. The Dells always seemed flat in my regular photos. While readers get to see the rocks I always thought they didn’t really see the rocks. With the HDR technique I think I’m finally showing you how dramatic the scenes are here.

Well, hope you enjoyed my longer explanation of HDR. If you’re interested in trying this out feel free to drop a comment with your questions. I’ve posted links to HDR tutorials before, but I’ve found every one lacking. I finally found a book that really helped me understand more about HDR. It’s not a “simplistic” book. A little technical actually, but if you can push through the technical I think you’ll find some great pieces of information. The book is, “The Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography,” by Ferrell McCollough.

By the way, if you’re a full-time RVer who is now interested in these photo techniques…….don’t blame me for filling your rig with books. It’s happened to me, and I’m finding ways to make space! And if you’re going to fill your rig with books, make sure my book is among them!

As most readers know, I’m a “Full-Time RVer”. Sure, the Airstream isn’t rolling all over the country, but that doesn’t define a full-timer at all. Folks in this category live in an RV full time. That’s it. The travel is a bonus.

Right now the travel would be painful given gas prices. So I’m happy to be a stationary Airstreamer at the moment. I sure would like to go to a few places to take photos, but I’ll wait a while. I wonder when my Titan can be solar powered……?

If you’re not familiar with Airstreams, or more specifically my Airstream, you don’t have the largest amount of space to work in. My Airstream is 25 feet long and 8 feet wide. For those who are mathematically challenged or are unsure about devices known as “calculators”, 25×8 yields 200 square feet of space. My first apartment by myself was an “efficiency”, and it was 450 sq ft. You can’t fit a ton of stuff in that amount of space, but that’s what I’ve got to work with.

With my spacial constraints I still manage to have every amenity I need. My kitchen sink, a cute stove, microwave, a claustrophobic shower, etc. And with all of my small tech devices I cover everything you can imagine for an office, entertainment center, etc. Part of my gadget hoard includes a full set up for photo development while on the road or at rest.

Probably not too shocking. You’ve seen many photos out of the Airstream Chronicles site, you know I post regularly, and I talk about watching DVDs and other fun stuff.

Given all the recent HDR photography I thought it would be useful to talk about what goes into my portable photo lab. What does it really take to produce cool travel images, how much space does it take, and how does it fit in to a full-timing lifestyle?

So, what’s in my little bag of tricks? Here’s the list:

• Macbook Pro: This is the computer I use every day. I’ve been using it since the Spring of 2006. It’s my entertainment center, productivity center, e-mail box, web device, blogging tool, etc. It’s also the hub of my photography setup.
• Photoshop CS3: Photoshop has to be one of my most used programs lately. Photo editing, resizing, & retouching all take place in Photoshop.
• Photoshop Lightroom: Probably the coolest photo management program I’ve ever seen. When I off load photos, Lightroom is the program I choose.
• Photomatix Pro: This is my newest program. If you like the recent HDRs I’d suggest checking out Photomatix.
• Canon 40D: The newest addition to my camera bodies. I picked up the 40D because it has a built in image sensor cleaner. If you’ve ever lived in AZ you’ll understand why the sensor cleaner is necessary…..dust is everywhere, all the time.
• Canon 30D: Ah yes, I’ve got a 30D as well. I’ve been extremely happy with this camera. My only complaint is the fact I keep having to clean the image sensor thanks to all the dust here. It’s now my “indoor” camera (you know, macro photos….).
• Canon SD550: The SD550 is no longer in production. I bought this “Digital Elph” years ago. It’s a wonderful little camera. It’s also super small. Many of my shots during my travels in 2006 were taken with the 550. Simple little point and shoot camera for those moments when you don’t feel like breaking out a big camera. If you want something similar check out the SD1100.
• Canon Selphy: This is my tiny portable printer. I make cute little postcard prints with it. The color quality and speed of this printer are amazing!
• Canon IP100: I just purchased this super small photo printer within the past 2 weeks. With some of my latest photos I wanted to print 8×10 and 8.5×11 photos. The IP 100 is ultra slim, and the color quality is fantastic. I’ll write a longer review on the printer after I’ve passed the 1 month ownership marker with it.
• Crumpler Bag: My newest camera bag is a Crumpler. A compact and stylish carrying case.
• Lowepro Camera Backpack: If I need to carry “everything” the Lowepro is the bag I use.
• Canon Lenses: I have too many lenses….. My primary lens is a 28-135mm Image Stabilized lens. I also have a 17-85mm IS lens that came with my 30D (it’s my second favorite lens). The bulk of the photos you see here have been shot with the 28-135 or the 17-85. My other lenses are “specialized” for only certain shots.
• 2 500GB MyBooks: Currently I’m running 2 Mybook external hard drives. My Lacies have been filled, and they’re now stored away. The MyBook drives store all of my photography, ITunes library, system backups, etc. 1 drive is the primary drive, 1 drive backs up the primary drive. These drives take very little space, and they store so much.

There’s the list in a nutshell. Amazingly enough, this stuff takes very little space. My cameras and lenses fit into my Lowepro & Crumpler bags. Between the two bags everything is put away all the time. The bags fit under my credenza in the Airstream, and there’s plenty of room for more stuff to fit under there as well. The printers can both be stored in an overhead compartment and plenty of room is leftover for other items. Finally, the Macbook sits out on my dinette.

If you rounded up all these items you could stack them on my couch and leave room for 2 people to still sit on the couch. Pretty small amount of space for all the equipment does, don’t you think?

Do I have other little odds and ends? Sure I do. I got almost everything listed, and really for most folks it might be over kill. 1 camera pack, 1 camera, 1 printer, 1 computer…..you’d have your own portable lab too. I’d strongly suggest using Photoshop, Lightroom, and Photomatix (if you’re interested in HDR photography). With all that in hand you too could have a compact photo lab that you’ll be extremely happy with.

Yesterday I received a great comment from Granny J…….

“I’m fascinated by the pix you’ve been producing, Rick. Very eerie. You have turned The Dells into a science fiction world.”

I like the fact Granny J found that the photos crossed into Science Fiction. I’ve found HDR photography to be surreal, hyper-real, and occasionally great shots that just plain boggle my mind. Some of the super famous HDR guys create stuff that hurts my brain. But I’ve never thought the photos have a sci-fi quality…until now. Granny J has a great point, we’re crossing some kind of major boundary with HDR.

The boundary is a pretty simple one. From photography to painting with light. HDR has some additional artistic license involved. You’re trying to create a more dynamic contrast in a photo that you can’t get with only one photo. 3-5 photos merged can really show you so much more contrast in a scene.

You might notice today’s photos are rather small. They’re not really, you can click on them to see a larger version. Just playing around with blog options you know.

Also, you might recognize “The Tree” from several of my sunset photos. I blame Bert for my fascination with that tree. In a few shots he took an amazing sunset photo through the tree. Fortunately since then I’ve taken my own as well. And now I’ve got an HDR of the tree that wowed me. This morning I merged the photos and I was thrilled with the results! Alright Bert, your turn my friend!

After all the HDRs I’ve displayed this week I thought I would take a step back and not shoot any more for a bit. But yesterday big clouds moved in. A weather front has taken us from the 80’s to the 60’s. Fronts always make for dramatic scenes, and this one made for dramatic HDRs!

I’ll tell you, with all my time at work I’m tired and sore. No, not lifting big stuff or anything. But my muscles have been so tight! My back is killing me, and it’s hard to get a good night’s sleep lately. The lower right section of my back is killing me. I find myself sleeping on my side a lot! And even the walk into the Dells last night was a tough walk.

You know how much I love the Dells, so I must be sore!

Fortunately I’ve got Friday off (Dr appointment), and I’ll rest during the afternoon…..unless I see a really contrasty scene that I must shoot.

Well, hope I haven’t overdone the HDRs. If nothing else I bet all the readers here now have a deeper appreciation of why I find the Dells so compelling. Instead of the flat photos of the area you’re now seeing a surreal view of the rocks….and when you walk among them they’re pretty surreal too!

Oh, tomorrow I’m thinking about blogging about my portable photo lab. Let me know if you’re interested in that topic or not (leave a comment). Otherwise I could write about the challenges of dish washing in an Airstream or something.