Cliff Palace Details

Cliff Palace is one of the more popular attractions at Mesa Verde National Park.

Spider Rock

Spider Rock is in the middle of Canyon de Chelly National Monument near Chinle, Arizona in the Navajo Nation. The spire stands 750 feet above the floor of the canyon. According to native lore, it is the home of Spider Woman one of the most honoured deities of the Dine (Navajo People).

The day that we were there, a sand storm was blowing through. We were told that it was the remnants of a hurricane that had moved up from Mexico but lost all of it’s moisture on the way. The winds gusted up to 50 miles per hour, making camera stabilization a priority. I braced my tripod against the guard rail for maximum rigidity.

In the best light…

Forms and Textures

It’s been a few years since our trip to the Four Corners area of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.

Dynamic Duo

I actually found out that my friends Darwin Wiggett & Samantha Chrysanthou had released two new eBooks on oopoomoo.com back in March, I’m finally getting around to reviewing both of them. Although, ostensibly the books are aimed at a beginner audience, Composition Basics and Learning to See are valuable for more experienced photographers as well.

Composition Basics gets into detail on tone and color, under the heading of Primary Elements. Secondary Elements covers Line, Shape, Texture, Pattern and Perspective. They also cover Weight and Tension, both concepts that I need to work with more. Visual mapping is something new to me as well. I haven’t gotten as far as actually marking up copies of my images, but that might be next. In workshops that I’ve taken with Sam and Darwin, I’ve been lectured on Pokies, Blobs and Mergies (you’ll find out). Examples is something of a study in exploration. How you could get past viewing an icon and find more.

Learning to See is more of a companion book to Composition Basics. I see it as “get over yourself, shut up and shoot”. It’s full of Self-Assignments; which I will get around to eventually. Learning to See is a much harder book to describe. You’ll want to read it with a notebook nearby to jot down ideas from Self-Assignments to complete in the field. If you’ve ever thought about “your own style” this is a book you should study thoroughly

Composition Basics is for sale at $15 and Learning to See is $10. The best deal is to buy both eBooks at the same time for $20 and save yourself $5. They are a must have in the library of anyone learning photography. A dynamic duo of photographic education from a dynamic duo of authors.

In the best light…

Rundle Reflection

Instead of going for the usual grand landscape with the mountain and the sky, I concentrated on the reflection in Vermillion Lakes in Banff National Park. I liked the way that the cloud hung in the sky and was mirrored in the still water. The bit of color from the sunrise accents the triangles formed by the upside down peaks.

In the best light…