A Quiet Corner

Here is another image from Arizona. This trip came after some involuntary downtime from photography. I went with a plan to practice some new things and break some old habits. The desert light provides many opportunities, especially to get re-inspired following the dreary midwestern winter. I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do.

This quiet corner appeared in an art plaza near downtown Sedona. It was a very enjoyable place for a few minutes of mid-morning sun. The walls kept away the sounds of the street, as did the murmuring of the sycamore leaves.

As you can tell, there is a lot of range of light in this scene. Yes, this is an HDR-processed image. Three images, with a bracket of +/- 1EV. Tone mapping was done in Photomatix Pro and final finishing in PS CS4

Montezuma's Castle - Arizona

One of our stops while on vacation was at Montezuma Castle National Monument. This is a well preserved Sinagua Indian cliff dwelling. The Sinagua people lived in various types of structures throughout the Verde valley.



The Montezuma Castle site was originally settled about 1000 years ago, and abandoned about 400 years later.

These photos were shot in Raw and post-processed in Capture NX2.

Sedona - The Chapel

This image was taken in Sedona, AZ during our recent trip. I enjoyed the shape of dome and crucifix against the blue sky with the wispy clouds.

Image taken with a Nikon D90, 35-70mm F/2.8 lens. PP in CaptureNX2 and Photoshop CS4

Sports Shooting - The Cactus League

We spent three days of our trip to Arizona in the Phoenix area so that we could attend Cactus League spring training games.

The quality of the baseball is a mixed bag, especially at this point of spring training. You see front line players, and guys with numbers in the 80's and no last name on the jersey.

But the weather was fine, the seats were great, and the camera was occasionally pointed in the right direction.

The slideshow contains some of the best plays (and expressions) from three games with six teams. And look twice, the plays at the plate are by two different catchers for two different teams.

Spring Break - Arizona

We are in Arizona for a spring break get-away. There have been many photo opportunities and images taken. Just no time to post any!

As an appetizer here are three images from our time in Phoenix and Sedona.



There will be more images to come, including baseball from the Cactus League.

I've been shooting with nearly all my gear. Very little PP on these first images except to re-size and sharpen.

Support the World Cup in Kansas City !!

This year we will see the World Cup of Soccer being played in South Africa.  There is a major effort underway to have the World Cup played here in the USA in either 2018 or 2022.

Kansas City is one of the cities that moved forward as a possible host city.

You can support the effort of Kansas City and the United States by indicating your support below.



You can also visit the USA 2018/2022 Committee learn more about the bid being made!