Category: personal

Garbage leads to Beauty

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Tuesday night is trash night in the Anderson household – and whether mild and comfortable, or sub-zero and bone-chilling, it’s my job to gather all the bags and roll things out to the curb on my appointed night.  Last night was no exception.  However, even in such mundane tasks as “taking out the trash”, one can find beauty and art if you are open to it.  Thankfully, I was on this night.

You see, not only is it trash night, but this also is going to be one of the coldest nights I can remember in Colorado – we are on pace to be at 17 below zero by morning!  Like I said – bone-chilling!  In our house, that translates to fires in the fireplace.  A bundle of wood costs around $3 and it heats the entire house to where we almost have to open windows.  So, we needed no encouragement to add the warmth of a fire last night.

Also, as an admitted “guy”, there is nothing more fun than poking and stirring a fire, whether it be in a fireplace or in a campsite.  So, my face was naturally glued to the fire for most of the evening.  Twist twist, poke poke.  Then a log here and there…and some old cardboard I tore up to throw out (remember, it was trash night).  The smell of the crackling wood and ash is still lingering in my mind too.  That, combined with a nice red vino made for probably one of the most relaxing evenings.

Fireplace Flames

It was quite relaxing too…and even Tracy joined me for a few minutes of quiet time just gazing at the embers before finishing things up for the night (a.k.a. the trash).  The flames from the fire, still flickering inside my head, were doused by the chill of the air on stepping out to the garage.  The frost already on the door was right there, in my face, reminding me of how cold it actually was/is outside.  (Bone-chilling, in case you didn’t get that yet.)  And right then, it hit me – frozen snowflakes of ice on the window – with the light coming down behind it…just gorgeous!

Cold and Ice

When thinking about these two images, and how much I liked them, it dawned on me further that these are great examples of how juxtaposing themes can work really well together…and it all came from taking out the trash!  The point:  keep your eyes open, the next dose of inspiration can come from anywhere, even the most mundane task on the planet!  And wit an amazing contest going on now – this is as good a time as ever to keep your artistic eyes open!

The Woosh of the Wind!

Jason4 Comments

Journal Entry #1 – 2011 – Snowmobiling in Copper Mountain

Date:  January 1st, 2011
Location:  Copper Mountain Colorado
Temp:  -20 Fahrenheit
Wind:  10-20mph
Wind Chill:  -41 to -45 F!

What is this a great day for?  You guessed it – a snowmobile ride!  Seriously, I went on just such an excursion the morning of the 1st!  I layered up in my best winter gear:

  • Layer 1 – Thermals (long underwear)
  • Layer 2 – Lounge pants
  • Layer 3 – Blue Jeans
  • Layer 4 – Snow suit

It worked quite well as I never really got all that cold!  I took off from the house in Keystone CO where we gathered for the holidays with family, and drove the 45 minutes from 9900 feet to the 11,000 foot mark.  Nearly two miles above sea level now where the air is downright thin!

 

Snow and Ice in the Air
Snow and Ice in the Air

It was a nice tour, led by the well-regarded folks of Summit Concierge and their services across the Colorado Rockies. The tour guides were friendly, we got some handling time in a track loop to familiarize ourselves with the equipment, then they split us into two groups of six for some pretty exciting scenic views.  One group was a family or two, then the other was mostly adults (myself included, although I felt like a kid – adrenaline surging as we whipped around at about 30-45mph on our Polaris snowmobiles!).

The Whole Gang!
The Whole Gang!

As we crossed the mountains, with snow-covered pines, and gorgeous mountain-scapes.  Of course once we rode above the timber line, the scenery was just the white snow against the slightly paler misty sky.  It wasn’t snowing as at that temp, it’s just too cold.  Instead tiny bits of ice dusted the sky with hints of bluer skies behind the flakes of snow and ice.

At the summit!
At the summit!

I did imagine that we would get a bit cold in our extremities, as we whipped along.  After all, with a -20 gauge on the thermometer, 20mph winds and us tooling around with another 30mph of wind, it was likely very nearly around 50 below zero! But the handles of the Polaris were heated!  As you moved, the heat increased to snuff out the effects of the wind.  When we stopped I even took my gloves off to pull out the camera for some photography!  No gloves!  in 40 below temps!

Heated Handlebars Below...
Heated Handlebars Below...

The camera though, did not have the pleasure of heat, so it didn’t last too long, even inside my external snowsuit to shield it from the bitter cold.  I got perhaps 45 minutes of shoot time from the two batteries I packed.  The point and shoot fared better as it was inside my own snow jacket pocket, closer to the warmth of my own core heat. But it even capitulated to the cold after being taken out for a mere 20 minutes!  I found this out at one of the rally points…

Rally Point Break
Rally Point Break

Regardless, it was a great ride, with half pipes, remarkable scenery and even a stop for hot chocolate halfway through (the tour guide started the heaters as we began the trek)! For the adventurous – this is definitely one to consider when  you go to book your next adrenaline tour!  It was a great way to usher in the New Year!  How did you celebrate the start of 2011?  Share your thoughts, shots, and feedback in the comments below or via email.  Don’t forget to share socially too!

And finally, for those that read all the way through the journal article, here’s a short video I took from my Flip HD Video (Christmas Present):

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Making Resolutions…

Jason6 Comments

Do you like New Year’s Resolutions?  I don’t.  We always make vague references to “become better with portrait work” or to “improve my flash techniques”. There are countless others of course, but you likely get the idea – resolutions are often too vague.  Even when it comes to the classic ones of “lose weight” and “eat better”.  The problem lies in the inherent nature of such resolve.

While the effort and idea are splendid – they are vague by definition and thus, difficult to define success in achievement.  How would you define “better” or “improve”?  There is also no accountability when these statements are made.  So, when making resolutions from a photographers point of view, it helps to define your resolutions clearly, and to share those resolves with others, so as to make yourself accountable.

My goals?  Funny you should ask, because I have the same goal I made last year – to shoot at least one project each and every month.  And I did it!  Here’s the project I did for each month:

The goal for the year was to shoot more and write less.  While I still plodded away at the blog in an effort to provide continued content for the readers here (and I hope you enjoyed 2010)…more effort went into advancing my own photography library in 2010.  The stakes are raised for 2011 though.  As you may have noticed, some of the “shoots” weren’t as planned or dedicated photo shoots as others.  The Pumpkin Patch outing was definitely a multi-functioned event!

So, for 2011 – my goal is to go on an outing with photography as the primary focus! And, here I am happy to report that the month of January for 2011 has already been covered with a snowmobile outing on January 1st!

 

It was indeed quite the outing, and I learned quite a bit about shooting in extreme cold weather.  More to come on that as I put together the assembly for publication later this week.  Another shoot might be forthcoming on the same vein, so more is also pending there as well.

Pretty exciting (although my wallet is nervous!) for 2011.  Sort of a photo/travel/expedition blog post will be something to look for each month during the upcoming year!  If you have any places in the area (i.e. Colorado/Wyoming/etc.) that you would like to see me capture, say the word so I can take it into consideration sooner rather than later.  I’ve got some irons in the fire already scheduled for certain points during the year, but nothing affirmative as of yet.

What about everyone else?  Have you made any concrete resolutions?  Do share them in the comments or via email – an upcoming podcast will likely take some of your thoughts, comments, and feedback into consideration!  Happy New Year all and keep on shooting!

Using On-Camera Flash?

Jason7 Comments

As much as we like to promote moving your flash off-camera, there are times when using that little pop-up flash can be really fun!  One such time can be when it’s snowing outside!  A little wind to help kick things up also helps.  Here’s a few shots I took earlier today on an outing to Keystone, CO when the weather conditions were just about perfect for these fun effects!

Using Flash in the Snow - #1
Using Flash in the Snow - #1

Using Flash in the Snow - #2
Using Flash in the Snow - #2

Using Flash in the Snow - #3
Using Flash in the Snow - #3

Using Flash in the Snow - #4
Using Flash in the Snow - #4

Now granted, these are nothing that would ever been usable for fine art or stock type work, but it’s always fun to experiment, and this is one such case where on-camera flash works particularly well.  There’s other times when using on-camera built-in flash can also be useful though, so don’t be afraid to experiment.  Where have you had success with on-camera flash?  Share your own thoughts, perspectives and shots in the insight

Winding the Clock Back…

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Windy CLock
Windy CLock

Today isn’t Friday…at least in my head.  Today is really Thursday night!  I am winding the clock back a day just because it’s been a super busy week.  In addition to the regular job, still adjusting to the time change, and prepping the house with the honey-do list, I’ve been prepping for a very exciting shoot I booked a short time ago.  It’s gonna take about two weeks of preparations, and with a shoot date of Dec. 3rd, the clock is ticking…

So, to give myself another 24 to catch up, ya know what today is?  Yup, no blog Friday!  Have a good weekend all, and we’ll see you back here bright and early on Monday for another week of photo goodness!

Be sure about your ballhead…

Jason5 Comments

A good tripod really consists of two components – the legs and the head.  Without the legs, you get no stability, and without the head, there’s no way to mount a camera to the legs.  With so many options out there not only in terms of vendors, but also in terms of head types and styles – there’s a lot to choose from.  One of the most popular types of heads is the ball-head. I’ve owned just such a ballhead for a number of years now – the Manfrotto 488RC2.

 

The Manfrotto 488RC2 Ballhead
The Manfrotto 488RC2 Ballhead

Continue reading “Be sure about your ballhead…” →