PixelatedImage Blog

Sitting in a quiet restaurant in Taos, New Mexico. We’ve got one more day before we need to be in Albuquerqe. Some of you have expressed anything from wonder to shock to consternation at how fast I’m travelling. It won’t always be this way. Sadly in order to do this trip at all I needed to front-load some of the travel and that means less time in some places that deserve much more time to explore, like Taos for example. We’ll eat, we’ll breeze through. Anyways…

One of the constraints of this trip is the incredibly limited time I’ve got at locations that deserve much, much more time. One of those places is Utah’s Monument Valley, nestled in Navajo country on the border of Arizona. Like so many places in the Americas the location itself is iconic, seen in so many films you feel you know the place by sight even if you’re not sure you can name it. The downside of such little time in one place is simply the lack of time to go deep, to really see and experience, but I’m not convinced the solution to that is to simply put your tripod in the same holes as others and resort to the postcard shot from the so-called viewpoint or lookout that inevitably sprout up around these places, most often within a couple feet of the parking lot.

A couple nights ago I had one evening to photograph in Monument Valley. So I focused not on my options but my constraints. I knew I wanted to shoot well into twilight hours, and I knew I wanted to photograph one of the more iconic spires. I also knew I wanted to use my 24mm tilt-shift and get well beyond the throngs I suspected would show up if the sun cooperated, which was looking iffy. So I wandered out into the desert on the marked trail and eventually ended up only a few meters from the trail, but a good kilometer away from the viewpoint, which as it turns out gathered quite a crowd of tripods and expensive gear and people making the exact same photograph. I found a great tree after doing iPhone test-shots with a couple others, and hunkered down for close to three hours. I took a chance. I might have wandered and found nothing at all and gone back to the truck without even the postcard shot the others got. But more and more that postcard shot doesn’t feel worth taking to me, so it’s no real loss. It’s the same reason I didn’t go to Antelope slots canyon. I’ve seen some gorgeous light there in hundreds of beautiful photographs, but I’m not sure I’m going to bring anything new to the table.

This trip is teaching me a great deal, not the least of which is the revelation of what it is I really want to be photographing. It’s giving me the freedom to leave the rest to others.

I had a funny moment in Death Valley; we were alone on the Racetrack playa and I was sitting down at my tripod after working for an hour or two to find and frame one photograph for which I was still awaiting the light, when one of the only other people within miles walks up to me, put his camera literally over my shoulder and fires off a frame. He chuckled and said his best shot of the day might just be the one I was taking. No sh*t it was, with an approach like that. But rather than make me angry it made me laugh and reminded me of the difference in approaches. For some people it’s enough to buy the gear and put their tripod in the holes of Ansel Adams, for others it’s a process that involves discovery, risk, and great reward. These days I’m happy with one single photograph from my time out in the field, if that; I’m learning I’m happier with that one hard-earned frame than I am with 20 mediocre photographs I rushed to get.

Morning coffee at Valley of Fire S.P. and a chance to look at the maps.

Today marks one month of traveling. We left Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park this morning after two nights there. The Valley of Fire is spectacular and while there are weeks worth of photography to be had, we’re still on a timeline that’s somewhat inflexible. Places like this tend to be overwhelming so I focused on the thing that most struck me – the rocks. The lines and colours of the rocks were amazing, particularly at White Domes where we spent the bulk of our time and might just have camped the first night because the campgrounds were completely filled with R.O.U.S’s (RVs of Un-Necessary Size).

Because a few readers have commented, correctly, that I seem to be in my “blue period” recently, I am posting here some images from my experimental “pink period” just to show I’m no one-trick pony. (I am a one-trick pony but I can perform those tricks in multiple hues.)

All of these were shot with my iPhone with the exception of only one which was made with my Nikon D3s and a 24mm lens. When I get frustrated these days, by lines or a complete inability to frame a photograph, I take out my iPhone and play. The total lack of options is freeing and the small size allows me to play and move about without the weight of a bigger camera. And the files are great. I submit the next deadline on Photographically Speaking next week and I’ve just included a couple of these iPhone images for the book.

Next stop Utah and one night in Zion before moving on to Monument Valley en route to New Mexico.

Racetrack Play, Death Valley.

Just a quick hello from Las Vegas en route to Valley of Fire State Park. We spent a couple great days in Death Valley at the Racetrack Playa, which I’ve wanted to see for as long as I’ve known about the moving rocks. So much fun. Stayed late last night until the sun was well on its way west and the temperatures dropped enough to make all my layers just one too few, and played with my tilt-shift lens and Singh-Ray grad filters. The light you see on the rock is light from a gelled flashlight. In a few minutes we hit Whole Foods, strap the Go-Pro cameras to Jessie and drive the Las Vegas strip at dusk on the way out of town. Hope you’re all well.

Jessie in her natural habitat. Trona Pinnacles, CA.
Click the image to see a larger version.

For a truck as relatively small as Jessie (a 1993 right-hand drive diesel Land Rover Defender 90), she holds a lot of gear, which is a good thing as the trip on which I set out at the end of February will take me 10 months of on-and-off driving to complete and will take me through almost every possible weather condition. I’ll be traveling coast to coast through rainforests, deserts, mountains, prairies; almost every kind of geography North America has to offer except tundra. Sometimes I’ll be in cities, sometimes small towns, other times in the middle of absolutely nowhere, so while this is no expedition, I’ve needed to prepare for a certain amount of self-sufficiency.

Without boring you with an exhaustive packing list that details toothbrushes and spare eyeglasses and how many USB cables I have, here’s what Jessie’s carrying, inside and out. I guess I don’t need to tell you I don’t travel light.

Camping
Western Mountaineering down sleeping bag
MEC overbag for use as a summer sleeping bag
Black Diamond lanterns (1 large, 2 small)
Black Diamond Headlamps (2)
Coleman 2-burner propane stove
MSR cookset inc. pots, utensils, plates, bowls
2 x MSR 10L Dromedary bags for water storage
2 x Large Kathmandu travel towels
Assorted Kitchen goods for cooking and cleanup
REI foldable kitchen sink
3 x Nalgene Bottles
1 lexan french press for coffee
1 PETT Portable toilet for leave-no-trace camping
1 12v Cooler
1 MSR Zing Tarp
1 MSR Mutha Hubba Tent
1 Hammock
2 REI camp chairs
1 REI roll-top camp table

1 ActionPacker with a week’s worth of freeze-dried meals, clif bars, and dry foods
2 ActionPackers for all of the kitchen stuff, except the stove

Clothes
3 pairs blue jeans
2 pairs light nylon hiking pants
4 Filson long sleeve shirts, cotton.
3 Patagonia short sleeve shirts, cotton
2 merino wool t-shirts
5 pairs Icebreaker underwear
5 pairs Icebreaker socks
2 Icebreaker merino wool sweaters
1 Patagonia Retro Fleece jacket
1 Patagonia Down Parka
1 Patagonia rain jacket
1 pair Patagonia rain pants
Hats, gloves, BUFF bandanas
Merino wool long underwear (top & bottom)
1 pair Blundstone boots
1 pair Asolo technical boots
1 pair Keen sandals
3 dress shirts just in case I need to impress someone.

All these fit into 1 ActionPacker (for Rain and Cold) and 2 small MEC duffles.

Photographic
2 x Nikon D3s bodies, 9 lenses
2 x chargers, 5 batteries
1 Hasselblad 500 c/m
1 Canon G9
2 x GoPro HD video cameras
2 x 64 GB SanDisk CF cards for each Nikon body
2 FW800 CF card readers
3 Pocket Wizards, 2 strobes, gels, etc.
1 Aquatech water housing with Canon 5D and 17-40/4.0
2 Gitzo tripods, 1 Gitzo monopod
1 Manfrotto Magic Arm

All this, except tripods,  fits into 3 Pelican 1650 cases, 2 of which also hold a Kiboko bag with the gear inside.

Computer
17″ and 13″ MacBook Pro laptops
10 harddrives
EyeOne Display calibrator
Medium Wacom Intuos4 tablet
Assorted cables and dongles, etc.
2 HyperMac batteries
1 iPad, usually mounted to the dashboard so I can sing along with Josh Ritter and Mumford & Sons as I drive.
1 iPhone and a ludicrously expensive monthly phone bill
1 Virgin MiFi

Some of this fits into a large Patagonia messenger bag, some of it into my fourth Pelican 1650 case.

Other Stuff
1 ActionPacker for personal stuff, medication, toiletries, laundry soap, etc.
1 ActionPacker with spare parts for the Land Rover
1 ActionPacker with miscellaneous bits and pieces that in normal life would go in my office. Envelopes, pens, spare Moleskine journals, folders for receipts, a couple novels I’ve got no time to read.
1 Think Tank Retrospective 30 satchel, my primary working bag when I’m shooting.
1 Timbuktu Doctor Duffle for weekend trips.
1 North Face Base Camp Duffle, L, rolled up tight, for international travel.

Land Rover
1 Large First Aid Kit
1 Fire extinguisher
1 Hi-Lift Jack
1 full-sized matching spare.
1 Gerber camp axe
1 fold-up shovel
1 tow rope
1 tool kit
1 set charge cables
1 inverter hard-wired into auxiliary battery to charge electronics
1 spare inverter
2 Atlases
Garmin GPS

The top of the Defender is my home, an Autohome Columbus Variant, the Large one, mounted on Thule racks.

Corwin and Jessie. Pinnacles, CA.
Click the image to emBiggen.

I’ll discuss security and logistics in future posts, both of them significant concerns that took a little planning, but that list should satisfy the curious. As I have time I’m happy to reply to comments and questions.

A friend just alerted me to the fact that the book I am this very moment writing has been posted to Amazon.com for pre-orders. Which means I need to get my butt out of the Land Rover and into a chair where I can finish the writing. It also means I can tell you about it a little more freely.

Photographically Speaking is the fourth in a the Vision Trilogy and before y’all get on my case about the mathematical impossibilities of a 4/3, I direct you to the recent trend in Four-Thirds cameras. Same deal. Regardless, it’s the logical follow up to Within The Frame and Vision & Voice. Where Within The Frame was about the role of vision in our work, Photographically Speaking is about the way we express that vision. The subtitle you see on the cover above is still being tweaked but reflects the core of the book – this is a book about how we express ourselves through the language of the photograph. Here’s a somewhat lengthy clip from the Introduction (ok, it’s pretty much the whole Introduction) that explains it better:

The notion of communication and expression are key to this book. If in the past I’ve overused the word Vision too much, this book runs the risk of overusing the word expression. As important as our intent for a photograph is, it remains only inside, unrealized, until it is externalized. Poets, songwriters, painters, dancers, jazz pianists, comics, and countless others, all have their own ways of getting the inner stuff out. We have the photograph. Not the camera; the photograph. The camera is merely the tool. The photograph is the very expression of that inner thing bursting to get out. How we make that photograph, with the tools at our disposal, and how close it comes to expressing what we hope, determines how successful that image is. To do that well, we turn to the language spoken by the photograph.

It’s like this with all art. The cellist uses the cello, but it’s only her tool. Her language is music, with which she expresses herself, through the skilled use of the instument. The mournful adaggio echoes in our soul and brings us to tears because she knows the language of music so well she can wield it with the nuance and subtlety needed to strike our deepest parts. She knows what she wants to say (vision/intent) and the music lets her do that right up to the limits of her own ability to wield her tool. The poet uses language in the same way; the broader his vocabulary, the greater command he has over grammar, and the more creative he is in juxtaposing one word with another to create new meanings and implications, the more clearly he can express himself.

Photographers, too, have a language. It is awareness and use of that language that allows us to move on from merely having vision to being able to express it. That language is unique to us alone, though not unconnected to the language employed by painters and graphic artists. What we share is the frame and the constraint of two-dimensionality.  The better we know the language, the greater our expression. It is in this sense that this book is called Photographically Speaking.

But there’s another sense too, and that sense is what first suggested this book. I often teach photography in the context of workshop tours in places like India, Nepal, or Kenya. I don’t usually lecture or even hold formal classroom sessions during these times because I mostly assume that anyone coming that far already knows the basics of their craft. If you show up for a workshop with a musician you respect and want to learn from, they aren’t likely to have you doing scales all week. You can do that on your own time. What we do, instead, aside from spending hours making photographs, is talk about photographs. Almost every day I ask my students to each submit one image that we can talk about. We have certain rules, but mostly it’s a free-for-all with the goal of learning to speak about what we see within the frame, what elements are there and what decisions the photographer made that led to this particular photograph, and what it says.

What first surprised me when I started  teaching this way is how universally hard it is for photographers to talk about photographs. To some degree, I get it. If we were all good with words we wouldn’t likey have turned to the camera to interpret for us. We don’t always have the words. However, I think the situation is more dire than a lack of words; it’s a lack of understanding. We simply don’t know how to think – and therefore to speak – about photographs.

It is always amazing to watch my students become comfortable with this process, begin to work through this stuff and become able to think about photographs. Without exception that process helps them create stronger photographs that more closely align with their vision, their original intent. So that’s the second meaning of the title, Photographically Speaking. Greater awareness of the language leads to an expanded and refined ability to use that language to express ourselves. We’ll use the process of speaking about photographs to teach us about the language of the photograph, and in turn to make us stronger photographers. In part this book is an effort to re-create those teaching times that I’ve seen so many times in places like Venice or Kathmandu, opening the eyes of students to the power of a photograph when the visual language is wielded well.

In a sense, this book is the logical follow up to Within The Frame, and the one out of which Vision & Voice would have more naturally flowed. Both books are different conversations about similar things, all of them connected by the idea that a mindful approach to our photographic process – being conscious of what we want to say and how we want to say it- will lead to images that are more able to express that unique inner voice that seems to prefer the camera as a means to getting those words out and onto paper. In our case the words are the elements around us, the paper is the print. We’re left with arranging those elements within the frame. Vision isn’t the goal. Expression is the goal. That’s where the visual language comes in.

This book is meant to simply introduce some key concepts in language that is as accessible as I can make it. It’s not meant to be a substitute for more academic books about composition and visual literacy, if your interests eventually run in that direction. I do, however, believe that you can understand visual language, that you can create expressive and compelling photographs without diving into academics and million-dollar words. I believe that a grasp of what’s going on within the frame, and a mindful approach to creating photographs that speak this language, is enough to create powerful photographs that express or communicates something within us.

So there it is. I’ll talk more about it in the coming weeks and months. Despite the jokes, I am well into the writing and have most of the words down, and am meeting my deadlines. At this point the book is slated to be released at end of August this year. Click the image above to go to the Amazon.com page. There’s not much there just yet, but I assume it’s coming soon. Thanks to all of you who’ve read the past books and thereby made this one possible. I hope this one’s as helpful in your journey as the past ones have been.

Golden Gate Bridge at twilight, Nikon D3s, 24mm tilt-shift lens.

Sitting in the home of a friend in Los Altos, CA this afternoon after a marathon session of “find the $100 part.” Jessie’s been running great but her temperature gauge has been pinned on red since I started this adventure – not usually a good thing. Concurrently my second battery, which was rigged to charge laptops and batteries and iPads, etc, died. So the electricians fixed the battery/electrical issues yesterday after a maddening drive into Hayward via Oakland via My GPS is a Moron, and while they were doing that they noticed an issue with my fan which is why the temp gauge has been spiked. Anyways, blah blah blah. Took phone calls all over the country and across Canada, a bunch of emails and Tweets, and thanks to a couple savvy Twitterers, I found a guy who pointed me to another guy who told me to call a third guy and all three guys know each other (and belong to the same Land Rover cult as I now apparently do) and between us we found the part in New Orleans and it’s en route and should be ready to go when I am back from Chicago this Monday. All part of the adventure!

I’m in Peoria this weekend teaching, then a couple days camping with a friend down the coast. Corwin comes on the 23rd and it’s road trip time again; we head south to Death Valley and then east. Here’s a shot of Jessie bringing down the property values at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental in SF. Excited about being back on the road and shooting. It’s been a few days and I’m eager to get back to it!

Lake Tahoe. Nikon D3s, 35mm (Sigma 24-70.2.8 EX), 30 seconds @ f/16. ISO 800. Unfiltered.

We’re settled in San Francisco now, Jessie and I. Dave Delnea leaves us soon, and heads back to Vancouver on the 14th, which we’re none too happy about, but Corwin comes on the 23rd to take his place and in between the 14th and 23rd, I’ve got meetings and a limited edition Tweet-up (details below, keep reading) and a conference in Peoria, Illinois that I’m excited about on the 19th, so there’s lots going on.

When we got to San Francisco we moved into the Marin Headlands Hostel, one of my favourite places in the Bay Area, and have been getting work done, shooting the Golden Gate Bridge in twilight, and getting out a little further up the coast. Love it here! I woke yesterday to text messages and emails about a tsunami that kind of dissipated before it hit shore, but provided some panicked entertainment and a reported comment from the Bay Area ferries manager that “we’re telling people to be careful with their coffees.” My heart goes out to the victims of the tsunami in Japan; mercifully it had lost its power when it hit land in San Francisco.

The shot above is from Lake Tahoe, one of the only images I made on a 12-hour drive that brought us almost from what was almost the California coast to nearly the Nevada border before putting us into a cheap hotel in South Lake Tahoe on our way back to the coast. Looking at my photographs so far it shouldn’t be hard to guess the themes I am working with, but I’m loving the moody blues of twilight, long exposures, my Gitzo tripod and my Singh-Ray ND grads.

Three of the four Gitzos that rattle around the back of Jessie. Dave Delnea uses two so he can shoot time two time lapses at once, or set up one time lapse with one while shooting stills with the other. I only use two when I need to feel nearly as manly as Dave.

On March 16th I’ll be hosting a very small, by-invitation Bay Area Tweet-up that is open to all. And I mean that in a very biblical “many are called but few are chosen” kind of way. Here’s how it works. Y’all are invited, but there’s only room at the venue for 20. It’s in San Francisco, at 7pm on the 16th. Reply to this post with a comment that you want to come and be sure to include your name and email address. We’ll email the first 17 with location details about the venue, and you’re in! Please be sure you can come; with only 17 spots it’s be a shame to give the spots to folks who just kinda think they might be able to maybe make it, ya know? You’ll have to cover your own drinks and food, but Peachpit (my publisher, and the unofficial sponsors of this min-Tweet-up) tells me there could be some books given away, and I’m happy to sign them, especially if they weren’t written by me. It’ll be informal but we’ll have a chance to meet and connect. Want to come? Leave a comment and we’ll let you know!

Safe and sound in a cheap-ass $60 motel in Lake Tahoe and about to hit the hay. Today was a long drive and a little frustrating. Seems we got skunked a couple times, not the least of which was a decision to leave the coast, head inland and shoot at Lassen Volcanic National Park which was, as it turns out, very closed. So we drove and drove and had a fantastic time but that was it, just driving. Lots of it. 12 hours, I think. Tomorrow we’ll head back to the coast and wind up in San Francisco. In the meantime, a quick glimpse of two of my favourites from Bandon Beach, OR. I know they’re small. Sorry. Bigger versions will appear in other media – books, etc, in the future. These exposures were between 6 and 20 seconds, f/3.5-ish, with a Nikon 24/3.5 tilt/shift lens on a big Gitzo tripod and Singh Ray 3-stop ND and ND grads.

Really hoping to do a tweet-up in San Francisco, watch the blog for details, but if it’s really quickly thrown-together it’ll be announced on Twitter instead. Follow me @PixelatedImage so you don’t miss a thing.

Jessie in the Redwoods. Photo: Dave Delnea.

After days of non-stop rain we’ve left the coast seeking shelter and hoping that the Sierras give us a couple days without the rain. Snow would be fine, but I’m done with rain for now. We’re now in Redding, CA after a night in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Before we got to the Redwoods, which to be honest we blew through with only a stop for Dave to shoot Jessie and for me to fiddle with fuses and fix the windshield wipers, we stopped for lunch in Oregon, had another bowl of spectacular clam chowder and a great micro-brew and some time with the wildlife at a cheesy little diner/marina/bait store.

Today we’re off to Lassen Volcanic National Park with high hopes of finally dragging the cameras out in weather that we can actually photograph in. But with or without a single frame, this journey is a blast!

Join Jeffrey Chapman and I in Oaxaca, Mexico for a one-week photographic adventure a little closer to home than the workshops I’ve done until now. Focused on the Day of the Dead festivities, this workshop will sell out quickly. We usually sell-out within a day or two, and most of our workshops are much further away, so this one will go even faster.

I’m on the road in Oregon right now and internet time is sparse and used for more personal updates on the trip with Jessie, but if you want more on this fantastic workshop, and the last one I’ll be leading in 2011, then follow this link HERE, or click the image above.

Dates are October 29 – November 5, 2011. The rough itinerary is below and all other details are on the website linked above. See you there!

The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is an important traditional holiday in Mexico. Family and friends gather to remember, pray for and celebrate friends and family members who have died. Traditions connected with the holiday include building elaborate alters honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds and other favorite foods and beverages of the departed. The intent is is to encourage visits by the souls, so that the souls will hear the prayers and comments of the living directed to them. The modern version of this celebration dates its origins to the indigenous observances of thousands of years ago and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, who was depicted with a skull-like face on may artifacts. In Aztec mythology, she is Queen of the Underworld and keeps watch over the bones of the dead.

We will photograph in the markets as people make their purchases for all that is needed for the decoration of the altars of the dead and the corresponding festivities, which are both serious as well as jovial. We will photograph in several cemeteries as well as the parades (comparsas). We will also photograph the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Oaxaca’s historic center and the archeological site of Monte Albán.

This photographic adventure is in the spirit of the best-selling Within The Frame. It is a tour about the passionate discovery and photography of people, place and culture, with emphasis given to going deep not wide, and pursuing that most elusive of photographic necessities—our vision.

Day One — Oaxaca
Arrive in Oaxaca, meet-and-greet dinner, orientation and prepare to begin the photo expedition the following morning.

Day Two — TLACOLULA, MITLA & TEOTITLáN DEL VALLE
After breakfast we will head to the town of Tlacolula for one of the Oaxaca Valley’s oldest and largest markets. We will also visit the town’s main church, the Parroquia de la Virgen de la Asunción, which dates from 1531. From Tlacolula we will head to Mitla, an archeological and UNESCO World Heritage Site that was once home to approximately 10,000 during its peak around 1350. Mitla means “Place of the Dead” and was the principal ceremonial center of the Zapotecs. On our way back to Oaxaca, we will stop in the village of Teotitlán del Valle, where nearly every family is involved in weaving wool on traditional hand looms, a tradition that dates to pre-Hispanic times.

Day Three — OAXACA, XOXOCOTLáN & SANTA MARíA ATZOMPA
We will spend the day exploring the historic center of Oaxaca and the impromptu Day of the Dead celebrations, with live bands, that invariably meander their way through the streets of Oaxaca. In the evening we will visit the Old Cemetery of Xoxocotlán, where many of the Day of the Dead altars are decorated with the same items that were used on the ancient Zapotec tombs in Monte Alban. If we feel like moving on to another cemetery, then we will go to the village of Atzompa, where residents hold candlelight vigil in the cemetery from around 11pm until dawn.

Day Four — OAXACA, COMPARSA SAN AGUSTíN ETLA & OAXACA SAN MIGUEL CEMETERY
The daytime will be devoted to exploring more of historic Oaxaca. In the evening we will visit the Day of the Dead parade in San Agustín and then Oaxaca’s San Miguel Cemetery.

Day Five — MONTE ALBáN & SAN FILIPE DEL AGUA CEMETERY
In the morning, we’ll visit Monte Albán, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Oaxaca Valley that was the capital of the Zapotecs from around 500 BCE to 750 CE. In the evening we will visit the San Filipe del Agua cemetery.

Day Six — ZAACHILA & CUILAPAN DE GUERRERO
Every Thursday, thousands of Zapotec-speaking villagers stream into Zaachila to sell, buy and socialize at the weekly market. After spending some time enjoying the market we’ll visit the unfinished Ex-Convento de Santiago in Cuilapan de Guerrero.

Day Seven — Oaxaca
On our last full day in Oaxaca we will return to the Mercado Juárez and many of the beautiful colonial buildings, including the Catedral de Oaxaca (on the Zócalo), the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad and the Templo de Santo Domingo.

Day Eight — Oaxaca
The morning can be spent exploring more of Oaxaca’s historic center before its time to say our goodbyes to this beautiful city.