Nutcracker Access

I cannot remember if I have ever seen the Nutcracker, but I have photographed parts of it for years. This time I had a little more fun with it because, one, I was playing with that 50 1.4 again and I was interested in the process of the play, back stage and actors instead of the actual play. My favorite image is that of the toy soldiers watching the dress rehearsal from the audience perspective. It reminds me of a color Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1930s image. It has softness in tone and monochromatic setting in red uniforms and red seat fabric. The center girl’s expression of concentration takes the viewer into the moment. It makes me loose myself in the moment each time I look at it. The other shots are with the 14 at 2.8 and all at 1600 ISO on the Nikon D1h. P.S. a 14 mm on a Nikon digital camera is equivalent to 21 mm on a film camera.

Beautiful But Deadly

Stark Beauty: or Beautiful But Deadly. A trip to Surprise Canyon was just that, a surprise. I have traveled over much of the region specializing in the Mojave Desert and I only say deadly because places like these can bee if one is not prepared for the elements. This is one of the few places I have found that actually surprised me in its natural diversity and eco system in such a stark and generally inhospitable land. The other areas in the Mojave are: Afton Canyon, Round Valley and Providence Mt. State Park. Although, Round Valley in the Mojave National Preserve was burned during the Hackberry Complex Fire of ’05. I created a slide show of Surprise Canyon, which as I understand it, had a road through it at one time and Mother Nature took it back. The canyon is now the center of a national lawsuit by off roaders to be able to access the canyon again. I hiked in several miles with a little climbing up waterfalls with some water, trail mix and two camera bodies with a lens range of 14mm to 600mm and yes I used it all. The writer and I did not attempt to make the eight-hour hike to Panament Ghost Town at the top of the canyon.

Ballarat Ghost Town however is near the base of Surprise Canyon. With Rock the caretaker and his dog Potlicker, the grave of Seldom Seen Slim the prospector and Charles Manson’s ‘50s pickup truck. I started to use a 50 1.4 lens, see if you can pick out which images are from that one.

Suprise Canyon
Ballarat Ghost Town

In Memoriam

After covering wildfire for 20 years, the death of five professional firefighters reminds their colleagues and journalists alike the danger involved in an unpredictable disaster such as this. Anyone could have been with them that day. I tend to get close. Experience, professional training and FULL fire gear including a emergency fire shelter help me tell the story through images. There are many ways to photograph fire; very long lenses of flames and aircraft is one way. I tend to use a 20mm lense. I feel I always stay out of the way of firefighting crews, but I also try to show them as the heroes they are. I can do this best by showing them in the real situations they work in. I often think the general public does not understand. We all love to do our jobs out there. They died doing what they loved to do.

Report:
Even as investigators continue to probe the cause of the Esperanza fire, the blaze claimed its fifth life Tuesday night. Firefighter Pablo Cerda, 23, died about 5 p.m. in Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where he had clung to life since sustaining critical burns over most of his body on Thursday, the day the fire started near Cabazon.
The fire itself was was fully contained Monday evening after a five-day fight covering an estimated 40,200 acres.
Also killed as a result of burns sustained that first day were Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto; Jason McKay, 27, of Phelan; and Mark Loutzenhiser, 44, of Idyllwild.
Investigators worked both at the fire's origin on Esperanza Avenue and where the crew of U.S. Forest Service firefighters was overrun by flames Thursday on Gorgonio View Road in lower Twin Pines.
Authorities stood by their damage estimates Monday - 34 homes and 20 other structures destroyed. The cost of fighting the fire was put at nearly $10 million.
The San Bernardino Sun: 10-31-06

--The slide show-- Large format, let it load... Then play.
Esperanza Fire Images
Full Story

Pointing To The Sky

Spending a day at the Edwards Air Force Base Open House and Airshow. I decided, in true Garry Winogrand fashion, to use a wide angle and photograph people watching the sky. Many people like 'people watching' and one co-worker said they look like they are waiting for God.

--The slide show-- Large format, so let it load... Then play.
Waiting4god

The Mother Road

Using photography to explore the world around me, or my backyard for that matter, is a wonderfull feeling. Using a camera and forcing myself to slow... down... and really see what is around me, unlike at 70mph on a freeway. Slowing down creates a more rewarding experience and memories. I have photographed Route 66 in the California Mojave Desert for years so "Seeing" it in a fresh way can be a challenge. I have found that things do change, slowly, even in the desert. There is a before and after effect. Its is a bit of an illusion because there is an infinite amount of time before and after my images.
Some of the before is at:
The Mother Road
Four slide shows:
The Mother Road Show 1
The Mother Road Show 2
The Mother Road Show 3
The Mother Road Show 4
Thanks to Lee Ann Fox, Bryan Smith and K for the tunes.

New Toy For A Different View

I have been photographing high school football for 18 years. Although it can get redundant, applying a new way of "seeing" can make for a fresh and fun experience. The Lensebaby 2.0 was the new toy du jour.


When you have been covering the same assignments for this long, it is easy to fall into a rut bad attitude of the same old thing. As we gear up for a full swing at high school football this year and the number of games I will cover, I think I need to try some new techniques, at minimum, try and have an attitude of "seeing" for the first time. You never know what will happen even if you think it will be the same.



As I was walking back to the car, after one of several pre-season stories on one of 90 teams in our coverage area, I looked down at the distinct Vans footprints I had left in the dirt on the way to the football field. I thought about what was going through my mind when I left those prints in the opposite direction that I was traveling now. I thought about the time that had passed since I had left those prints. My mood had changed from approaching the shoot to having accomplished it. I felt lighter.

Flyin' High

San Bernardino County Sheriff's aviation division will soon be receiving its sixth Eurocopter AS350B3 at about $2.6 million each. These helicopters are equipped to fight fires from the air with 180 gallon "Bambi Buckets."


I have flown in many different types of aircraft over the years, but this ride had me thinking how nice it would be to have a vehicle that you could pick up and put down anywhere anytime.