Ah, fortune smiled on me.  A friend offered to cover my shift today so I could catch up on rest.  Thanks so much Caitlin! 

Spared from 7 days of continuous work, I took a much needed day of real rest.  First thing to do….extra sleep.  I slept until 7:30, which is not my standard by any means.  Over 10 hours of continuous uninterrupted sleep.

Here at the Airstream Chronicles we’re big fans of sleep.  It’s a great activity.  Ok, sure, it’s not an “activity”, but I still dig it in a big way!  So, hooray for sleep!

After getting up this morning I did very little.  A quick stop by Sadira’s for the morning to see about uploading some massive files.  Alas, her network connection’s upload is not much faster than mine.  Pretty shocking since she’s using the local cable provider.  You’d think they’d do a better job.

The Airstream got a proper cleaning again this morning.  Heck, I even swept my porch rug off.  Of course it’s covered in junk again already.  Maybe I’ll sweep again tomorrow morning.

After letting myself flop and unwind for a while I gave my friend Tony a call.  He’d mentioned taking a few photos today if I was up for it.  I decided we could spend a little while taking some photos, so long as I returned at a reasonable time.  Needed a nap you know.

Watching the clouds build throughout the morning I had a specific spot in mind for today’s little photo jaunt.  Williamson Valley Rd.  I’ve been there before, but during the winter.  This time would be very different.  Monsoonal clouds, bright blue skies, dried out fields, the works.  My hope was for a few interesting photos.  Glad to say, I got them!

As we headed along Williamson Valley Tony remarked he’d never been that far along the road.  It’s funny how many of my friends who are long time residents of the area haven’t explored very far.  Glad that I keep looking around.  That way I can show my friends what’s in their back yards.

After a good ride, a photo shoot in the hot sun, and even a wild dust devil that left Tony and I covering out cameras, we headed back toward town.  I decided I had a little more energy, and wanted to shoot from the western side of Granite Mountain.  For locals, Iron Spring road, and toward Skull Valley!

Getting out to Tonto Road I decided to go a little further and hit the Skull Valley corner store.  Gatorade.  It’s hot out you know…..

No new photos of the Skull Valley store were taken.  Sure, I like the store and it looks cool and all but I’ve got plenty of photos of the place.  Maybe another time.

We wrapped up our trip with a few photos on Tonto Rd.  I took a walk up a freaky rock and realized part way up that it was a class 5 climb.  Tony stayed at the bottom and observed, “That’s a bit much to get up.”

Tony was right.  Interesting getting down.  Tripod, camera connected, and a long way down.

Overall, we had a good afternoon.  We kept it short, and I got home with plenty of time to nap.  And the big plus, some new photos!

Not much else to write on unless you want to know the nap details. It was nice.  Pillows, blackout shades, blankets, you know……2 hours of nap time in total.  Add that to the 10 hours of sleeping and you get a much happier guy in an Airstream!

Things have gone so fast that I haven’t been able to put all of my ducks in a row.  I’m working on it.  And progress is being made.

Before the gallery show I’d started building a new website for my photography.  I’ve linked to it, and I’m sure you know about it.  Pretty cool setup.  It shows slide shows of shots I’ve taken.  But I hadn’t collected up the photos I wanted to sell on it.  And the slide show makes it a little hard to pick through prints.

So…..yesterday I started working on a static gallery page with Photoshop Lightroom.  The big issue wasn’t page design.  It was much simpler.  Naming the darned photos.  If you haven’t noticed, I never name my shots.  Good grief, naming photos.  Really, come on.  It’s a picture of the Dells, or a picture of a window…..call it what you like.

Well, I can’t do that now.  Ian had 3 different prints in the gallery called “Granite Dells.”  Hard to track what is what.  So I needed to sit down and name the prints.  I did that yesterday and started figuring out templates.  None of them match my current websites.  But that will change.  I’ll customize it in time….just not right now! 

So, the new “Select Prints” page is up.  In total 39 prints are currently available.  There’s an e-mail link on the page as well if you’d like to ask about getting a print.  All will be available for purchase through Ian’s Gallery.  Now you’ll know the name of the shot so you can actually get the right one. 

Hopefully tomorrow’s post will be less business and more fun.  I’ve got the day off, I’ve caught up on prints that Ian needed, and I think I’ll take a nap.  I’ll try to fill it all in tomorrow.  In the meantime check out the select prints.  You might not have seen all of them! 

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks here.  If you’ve been reading along you already know that.  Fortunately I think it will calm down shortly.

After work I went directly to Ian’s Gallery last night.  We had some custom prints that needed to be addressed, and I had questions for Ian.  Nailing prices down, framing costs, etc.  Glad to say we had the time to figure everything out and I’ve got a handle on what’s going on with my photos.  Ah, an easy moment. 

In total, 9 of my prints were sold.  Half were custom requests.  According to Ian that’s not a bad start for a first timer in a gallery.  I’m thinking it was a good start too.

We set out to only offer 1 limited edition print.  You might remember the Courthouse photo taken at night.  That was the initial limited edition.  1 of 100 was sold Saturday (glad you like it Dan).  2 of 100 should be up in the gallery today.

Due to several requests we ended up selling 3 limited edition prints.  The Courthouse, the Firehouse Plaza, and my favorite Tree.  All three are 1 of 100.  The Courthouse will remain an 8×10 print, the other two are 8×12’s.  8×12’s are the size I prefer due to the format I shoot in.

So, here’s the rundown on limited edition framed and signed prints that I’ll be selling (in case you’re interested). 

• 8×12 Limited Edition Framed & Signed:  100 of each of these will be sold.  $125 each.
• 12×18 Limited Edition Framed & Signed:  100 of each of these will be sold.  $250 each.
• 20×30 Limited Edition Framed & Signed:  50 of each of these will be sold.  $500 each.

I’ll continue doing 5×7’s as well.  They’ll be signed and framed, but not a numbered series.  Those run $50 each, and that works well.  Folks really liked them. 

In addition to framed stuff I’ll be selling just the prints as well.  If you want a poster print to do with as you like, you can get one!  :)  Frame it how you see fit…..  Here’s the breakdown on those, just as an FYI.

• 5×7 Print - $20
• 8×12 Print - $50
• 12×18 Print - $100
• 16×24 Print - $150
• 20×30 Print - $225

Well, there’s all the information of how we’ve nailed it down.  Prices can change down the road due to demand, inflation, change in commodity prices, or hyper-inflation.  :)  I think all the issues listed there are highly probable, don’t you??? 

So, now I’m done announcing the “business” stuff.  And now that it’s settled I’m feeling pretty good about it.  Want to know some of the fun stuff now???

I placed an order to MPix.com the other day for the custom prints.  I can’t print larger than 8.5×11 here as I’ve got a small portable printer (it totally rocks).  Since I was ordering a few 8×12’s I decided to try out some additional sizes.  I did a 12×18 and a 20×30 of my Tree print.  All the prints came in yesterday (overnighted), and I’m beyond thrilled with MPix.  So glad Scott Kelby mentioned them on his blog.  I’ll be using them for everything now.

Ian and I opened the giant box from MPix and I tried to figure out why the box was so big.  I forgot that I’d requested a 20×30.  Thought the 12×18 was it, along with the other smaller ones.  So it was a nice surprise to see the super large format shot.  I had it printed on their Kodak Metallic Paper just for giggles.  All I can say is WOW!

We both stared at the large print for a while.  Ian asked what I intended to do with it.  I really didn’t have a plan, I’d just wanted to see the result.  Seeing the result he insisted we frame both the 12×18 and 20×30.  He also told me I need more wall space, and a gallery eventually.  That’s way down the road and not on my radar screen, but it was a nice compliment!

Ian also said one more interesting thing that I thought was a joke last week.  Looking at the large format Tree he said, “This is why you can’t photograph any of the spots I’ve painted.  You’ll outsell me.”  Now, Ian has amazing paintings.  Really they’re just too cool.  I don’t think I’d outsell him.  But looking at the large format print on the metallic paper…….guess I won’t get to shoot the same canyons he’s painted! 

I wish I could share the final results of the prints, but I really can’t.  You’ve got to see the print on the metallic paper.  If you think the shots are neat on the web site you’ll be floored by the actual prints!

Oh, and I kept an 8×12 for myself on the metallic paper.  It’s way to cool.  Guess I’ll stick it up on a wall in the Airstream soon!

Yesterday was another busy day. Tom wanted to see Sedona, so Sedona was where we spent the day! Hey, give the guests what they want.

We headed up early, and before 9:30 we had arrived at Cathedral. The skies were pretty hazy, and my thought was a nice hike out of the sun and close to water. Sure enough, it was a great pick!

The hike near Cathedral is a short one. There weren’t many people parked at the lot yet, so we had a somewhat private hike along the water. Tom enjoyed the walk and the scene, and Sadira also enjoyed the trail. Glad everyone was happy with the hike.

We reached a wonderful opening where rock stacks met up with the water, and where people come to sit and take in nature. A few folks were swimming nearby, so I moved a short distance up the river, broke the camera out, and crossed the river. At the time, the skies were less hazy, and cool clouds began forming.

It was a great morning. Way too hot though! That’s the other reason I picked a hike near water.

By the way, I waded out into the water several times for photos. Really the photos were an excuse…..I should have gone swimming, the water was perfect!!!

By mid-afternoon we made our way to Jerome. I wasn’t feeling too well. Busy for the past few weeks, over excited over the show, and finally winding down & crashing…..that’s what I figured at first.

After food at the Haunted Hamburger we made our way over Mingus Mountain, and that’s where I discovered what was really bothering me.

FIRE!

There’s an uncontrolled fire near Crown King, AZ. A lost hiker started a signal fire. Signal fires in a dry desert are not a great idea. Last night slurry bomber after slurry bomber flew over head, confirming signal fires are a very bad idea.

This morning there is no open sky. No blue anywhere. No puffy clouds. Just a dark haze everywhere and a heavy smell of wood smoke. The HEPA is running, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. My head is pounding, and I hope they get this one under control soon. It’s a bad one for sure!

So, with the smoke haze I thought I’d give you a few blue sky photos from yesterday. Might be a while before we see more blue skies……..

Ah yes, yesterday is finished.  Maybe I’ll stop feeling so dang tired! 

In the category of long day, yesterday rates very high.  The morning was spent roaming the Promised Land with Tom & Josh.  Good company, a good walk, and some major changes in the canyon.

We made our way in and the sun was already at work heating things up for us.  Pretty warm early on.  And it got warmer the longer we stayed.  That’s one of those fun features of the sun folks sometimes forget!

I wanted to reshoot part of the canyon with my new wide angle lens.  I was very excited as we entered the canyon, but the excitement faded fast.  Most of the areas with water in the canyon were bone dry.  I’m sure the tadpoles were even less excited than I was.

The spot where I wanted to shoot turned out to be as dry as the rest of the canyon.  A small pocket of water remained, and a lot of aquatic life was crammed in.  The photo I was looking for didn’t exist at the moment.

Monsoons are on their way.  Hopefully the little fish in the Promised Land can hang in a few more days.

We cut out of the canyon early and headed out to Perkinsville.  Another visit to the “Cabin.”  I think Josh and Tom both enjoyed the spot and the ride out!  Good day, good day!

And now on to what you wanted to read about…..I know why you’re here for this post……but I had to do the whole suspense thing you know! 

Last night the show at the gallery went off wonderfully!  Seriously, I couldn’t have hope for better!  I think Ian enjoyed the evening too, and enjoyed showing his latest works!

Tom and I arrived at 4:45.  I brought my laptop hoping to access a higher speed network.  No luck on my part.  Ian couldn’t remember his wireless router’s password.  Ah well, I’ll have to borrow somebody’s network to load more than a Gig of photography to my large format printer’s site……  I’ll figure that out later.

Right at 5 people really started showing up.  My former neighbors Bill & Shari were the first to pop in.  From that point forward it was a constant stream of folks.  I spent the better part of the evening chatting with people who came, and occasionally I got to sneak away to take 5 away from the gallery.

The evening went well, and Ian was happy with the count of signatures on the guest book.  His one year anniversary went pretty well!  And I noticed from time to time that he was wrapping up a print of two, and they weren’t always mine.  :)  So it went well for both of us.

It’s at this point I’d like to note that Ian stored his roll of bubble wrap in the gallery’s rest room for the evening.  Running out of room and all.  But when visiting the facilities I felt extremely safe with all that bubble wrap near by…….  Just saying. 

Several of my prints went off the wall pretty early in the show.  The center piece was already spoken for, and it got picked up by the end of the night.  A few holes dotted throughout my framed works.  Pretty cool.

The coolest part was the number of custom orders.  Folks liked the prints, but they wanted them larger….much larger.  We’ve got several request for custom sizes of my favorite tree (you know the one).  In addition, we’ve got a request for a very large gallery wrapped print of another shot from the tree series.  By large I mean bigger than 4 foot wide.  Ah, large.

Well, there’s the wrap.  A lot more went on, but I’m getting ready for a ride up to Sedona for the day.  Gotta finish packing the Versa.  The show was great, I did better than I expected, and tomorrow I’ve got to get cracking on what I believe is 4 or 5 custom orders that need to be filled this week.

Oh, and I’ll be letting you know about print availability online at the end of the week.  Just find me a super high speed connection for a night and I’ll be set!

But everybody else is doing it, so why can’t I?

See, it’s been months since someone mentioned HDR to me.  I’d never heard of it, considered it, pondered the possibilities, etc.  But when I found the first sites by Ben Wilmore, Trey Ratcliff, and several other well known photographers I found some very consistent shots.

• Heavily contrasted subjects.
• Interesting cloud formations.
• Cool buildings.
• Amazing night shots.
• Oh yeah……and “THE OLD ABANDONED TRUCK.”

Heck, if all the masters of HDR shoot the old abandoned truck I’d better take a whack at it as well, right?

The key problem…..I hadn’t found the right truck.  You’d think it would be easy.  Spot an old truck across a field and run up to shoot it.  The problem…..getting “shot” for doing it.  Barbed wire fences, testy bulls, giant “No Trespassing” signs, or freaky folks sitting in front of the old truck.  It’s not as easy to find that truck as I first thought it would be.

This whole line of thinking reminds me of an outing with Mike of “I am Mike” fame.  The lone tree shot by moonlight.  I don’t think I ever told the whole story, and maybe I will someday.  All I can tell you is that fence hopping occurred, we wandered into a cow pasture in the middle of the night with 4 people, hand guns were in packs for snakes (I had no hand gun), and several cows made a bee line for us while we tried to take photos.  In the end, I ripped my favorite pair of shorts on a barbed wire fence, I underexposed my photos, and we all ended up on the Granite Dells shooting moon reflections in Watosn Lake.  Ah yes…..all for photos!

Today I hopped zero fences.  My shorts are fine.  No cows made a beeline for me.  And nobody in today’s party was packing a handgun for snakes.  Overall, things went well.  My other friend Mike (different one) brought me to his parent’s place.  Horses, cows, miniature horses, and “the old truck.”  Ah, that worked out well.

Many other photos are sitting in Lightroom right now.  I still have to sort.  Some wonderful shots including one shot that got ruined by a nosy horse nose actually getting put on my lens while I was shooting.  Needless to say I pet the horse and then wiped the lens off (yup, horse snot).  Apparently horses can be hams too.  3 horses in the shot totally messed up by one horse’s nose.  I think it was bothered not to be in the photo.

So, you’ve seen the obligatory “old truck” HDRs.  Since that’s all satisfied I can move on to other subjects (until the next cool old truck I see).

The other week I went up to Flagstaff.  You might remember the trip.  A new wide angle lens was purchased that day, and I had fun playing with it.  I’m still enjoying the lens.

Sadira suggested we go take a look at a local church, as she liked the architecture.  It was pretty unique.  Especially the pink.  Seriously, the photo you’re seeing is accurate to the reality of this church.

The gargoyles along the roof of the church just didn’t work for me.  Pink gargoyles?  Yeah, they’re really warding things off.  Would you take a pink gargoyle seriously?

No?  Me either.

I will say, the church does make for an interesting image.  While not my favorite from my visits to Flagstaff it is a memorable shot.

Just thought I’d share, as it’s not something you see every day! 

No, we’re not having a “heat wave” here.  This morning it’s 57 degrees in Prescott.  We’ll probably see something near 90 today.  But without humidity you can stay comfortable in the shade, no problem.  Walking downtown yesterday I stayed in shady spots on the square, and I was pretty darned comfortable!

That’s not the same story for folks in New England.  They’re running from 60 to above 90, but there’s high humidity.  I remember those days.  Breaking a sweat no matter what you do.  Plus most every house in New England has no AC!  Eeek!

Last night I spoke with one of my sisters.  Her little ones were fussing big time.  They couldn’t sleep.  Fans fail to cool well with heat and humidity together.  While we talked I sat outside my Airstream in the shade.  A light breeze was blowing, and I was happily comfortable.  I wish they lived closer, they could come here for a few days and get comfortable.

I know, Arizona is HOT.  It sure is….in some areas.  Phoenix is looking to hit 109 degrees today.  Boy, that wouldn’t be fun, even though it’s a dry heat.

Fortunately I don’t live in Phoenix.  Less than 2 hours away Prescott sits at a much higher elevation.  That gives us cooler temperatures every day.  While Phoenix climbs to crazy temperatures, we climb to reasonable temperatures.

Last year we had a week here that broke 100 every day.  It was hot!  The AC struggled.  But sitting out under my awning I always found myself pretty comfortable.  I can handle a week of that again!  Glad it’s not humid here!

To everyone back on the East Coast…..sorry gang!  Pay a visit sometime.  Try the Fall, it’s cooler then and you can really explore the area!

Ah, days off.

Personally I’d like them to become more consistent.  By that I mean I’d like to pick 2 days in the week and have them off each week.

Actually, 3 days would be better than 2.  Just saying…… 

So, what to do with the day off?  How about some laundry?  Yup, the standard laundry day.  I sure wish the Airstream had the room for a washer and dryer.  But let’s face it, living in a 25 foot Six Sleeper doesn’t allow for much washer and dryer room.  I sure wish it did though!

Normally on my days off folks can find me between 8 and 10 in the Point of Rocks laundry room.  It’s a happening spot full of happening people.  Why just this morning I ran into……. uh ….. nobody.  Ok, not the most happening spot after all.  But it is located in a wonderful park!

After laundry wrapped up I visited with my neighbor Ed.  We talk politics, economics, photography, and anything else that interests us.  Ed is a pleasant guy.  Like me, he’s a full-timer.  He and his wife live in a Class A rig a few sites away from me.  He used to own a large door manufacturing company, finally retired, sold the home and hit the road.  Like me, Ed found Prescott and here he is!

Following Ed’s visit I had another friend pop over.  Adobe Lightroom questions.  And some new photos shared.  Tony went to Monument Valley and a few other super cool spots recently.  The photos made me want to hook the rig up right now and roll out.  Alas, work tomorrow. 

See, I didn’t even mention how gas prices factor into the travel decision!  How are people doing it now though?  There’s my question!

By noon I headed into town.  Sadira’s portable drive had been acting up, so I made a backup of it for her “just in case.”  I ran by her shop to drop it off, say howdy, and take a walk around town.  Today was a perfect day for a walk.  Really.  Blue skies, nice breeze, cool in the shade, no humidity.  Exactly the type of day I expect in Prescott!

While walking through town I stopped by “The Art Store” to pick up some covers for my latest prints.  Can’t have them getting coated in dust!  Of course while walking through the alley near the store I couldn’t resist taking a few photos of the mural on the wall.  I wanted to see what it would look like in HDR.  I’ve been wanting to try it out for quite some time.  And I’d say it turned out very interesting indeed!

Oh yeah, it also gave me the opportunity to toy around with my new wide angle lens some more too!  What can I say?  I’m hooked on the new lens!!!

I puttered around town for more than 1 hour and 45 minutes.  I would have stayed longer, but there’s 2 hour parking along the streets.  I don’t want a parking ticket.  So I headed back to the Titan and made my way home.  Late lunch, a few phone calls to friends and an e-mail to a Mac client of mine who is currently on the road.

The rest of the day has been spent just hanging out at the Airstream.  A little cleaning, a little re-organizing, and emptying out my Dyson vacuum cleaner.  A Dyson for a 25 foot trailer?  Of course, it’s for an Airstream folks!  :)  Plus it can get dusty here with the winds in the Spring you know.

I’m not sure how the day will end.  I think I’ll sit back and toy with a few more photos.  Maybe I’ll sit in the shade next to the Airstream for a while, enjoy the breeze and watch the crazy lizards hopping around on the rocks.  It’s all a possibility.

Just another good day in Arizona………….

Well, I got the call yesterday.  Which call you ask?

The one I’ve been waiting for!  Good grief, what other call would I be talking about?

On June 28th at 5p.m. a select grouping of some of my photography will be opening at Ian Russel’s Gallery of Fine Art.  Ah, that was the call, wasn’t it? 

I’ll tell you, I was surprised by some of Ian’s selections, but hey, he knows this business better than I do.  So, I defer to him.  :)  I’m so excited that a bunch of my favorites will be featured in a well known gallery.  Best part, June 28th is Ian’s 1 year anniversary for opening his new gallery.  Nice to be included in an important event for him.

I’m also happy to say he had a heck of a time selecting the photos he wanted at the opening.  Too many good ones, only a limited amount of room to hang them all.  There will be 10 smaller prints (5×7) matted and framed.  We’ll do one 8×10 limited edition image as well.

The limited edition print will only have a run of 50 prints, signed and numbered by me.  What’s the print….?  Can’t tell ya!  :)  I already have one person insisting they get the #1 print.  Unfortunately he’ll have to show up at that gallery to round it up if he wants it (sorry Dan).  But you know the time and place.  If anyone else wants the #1 print, all you need to do is show up before Dan. 

By the way….this changes everything with Imagekind.  I’ve got to resort my photos that I was going to put up there.  With the stuff going into Ian’s my selection drops a little.  All the shots that hit the gallery will be exclusive to the gallery for the time being.  That’s that.  So I’ll need to take some time reselecting what hits Imagekind.

Finally, sorry to all the RVers here.  I know, way off on tons of photo stuff.  I’ve got a bunch of posts I need to do about full-timing, and I’ll get back to those soon.  Just remember, all my photo stuff gets done in my Airstream.  My home, my studio, my base camp while traveling to new places……and I’m looking forward to new places.  The initial response to my listing photos suggests I might get to travel again soon…..and take more photos of those places.

Well, off to get ready for work.  Hard to contain my excitement.  Now I’ve got to check with the other 2 places regarding prints they want to list! 

Oh, one final random thought.  I have 4 one of a kind prints that won’t be created again.  They were test prints from 2 different printers (I wanted to see their quality).  All 4 are cool, and I’ll be listing them here soon.  2 are poster prints, two are matted “stand outs” (I’ll explain that sometime).  Once I’ve got my bearings regarding the photos I’m listing I’ll post those 4 prints and pictures of them here….just thought you might want to plan ahead!