Tag: travel

Happy Trails

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Dave and Wiley

A couple of years ago I was along on a group ride through Colorado where we came upon the coolest outdoor gallery of chainsaw sculpture near Mancos. There was no one around to ask about the work but we did spend an hour or so walking through the place and admiring the creative genius of the artist. As we rode away but I had already decided that I would get back there as soon as it was feasible. We finished our trip a couple of days later and I broke away from the group to return to Cortez and Mancos to photograph the sculture as well as an abandoned auto wrecking yard I had spotted on the road out of Cortez.

When I returned I met the sculptor, Dave Sipe, and spent several hours with him as he showed me around his studio and shared stories of how he had come to Mancos several years earlier. I really loved his whimsical, tongue in cheek approach to his work and decided that I wanted a piece for my own art collection. I loved his buzzards, one of which is in this image, and originally that was what I planned to purchase but when he showed me the Wiley Coyote Happy Trails piece I knew that it was the one for me. I agreed to his price and asked that he allow me to take his photo with my purchase to which he happily agreed.

I really like to shoot portraits of people in their element and this image of Dave fits perfectly into that idea. I love the color and imagery that surrounds Dave and the fact that everything in the image is hand crafted by him. His expression captures the playfulness and enthusiasm for life that infuses every piece that he makes and speaks volumes about his zest for life.

I have returned a couple of more times to see Dave and to see what he is creating; the last time was three years ago when we were taking a motorcycle ride to see Mesa Verde. On that trip I did purchase one of his buzzard sculptures which watches over me as I type this post. I haven’t been able to get back through Mancos since then but I hope to return next year if everything goes as planned with my photography business.

I chose to use Topaz Adjust to process the image because I knew it would emphasize the colors in Dave’s work and lend an air of whimsy to the final portrait.

Thunder Under The Bridge

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Fireworks under Clark Memorial Bridge
Thunder Under the Bridge

This image was taken during Thunder Over Louisville which is billed as one of the largest fireworks displays in America. Thunder Over Louisville occurs every spring as the kickoff event of the Kentucky Derby Festival. For this shot I went under the Clark Memorial Bridge to get a different vantage point from the typical fireworks shot. By including the bridge’s architecture I was able to take a rather mundane subject and give it a sense of scale.

I processed this image in Aperture 3 and Topaz Adjust which really added punch to the texture of the stonework and enhanced the colors in the fireworks. The composition is balanced by the strong diagonal line of the underside of the bridge deck and the curve of the arch on the left which also reinforces the arc of the fireworks as they stream down from the sky.

 

Pixoto Photo Duels

Posted on by Nick Roberts

The image above was taken in South Dakota with an iPhone 3S which fits my personal mantra that the best camera you have is the one you have with you.

For the past two months I have been participating in Pixoto.com photo duels. I have been able to see work from around the world and compare my efforts with those of my fellow photographers. The plus side for me is the satisfaction of winning an award for my work and the knowledge that photographers from around the world have seen my work and voted yea or nay on it.

I don’t know where Pixoto is heading but I feel pretty safe putting my images on their site. They watermark everything with a simple copyright © symbol with the photographer’s name; in my case it is  ©Nick Roberts. They state up front that the photographer retains all rights to the images that they submit to Pixoto.

I find it interesting to see what they pair up in the image duels, (I participate enthusiastically), which show the varied approaches to photography from around the world. It is very gratifying to see that your image has been selected by your photographic peers as the best in the duel, and ultimately the category, whether it is for the day, week or month.

I encourage all of you who come here to view my work to take a serious look at the Pixoto.com site and try it out for yourselves. I think you will find it very gratifying and helpful. By the way I need to mention that it is free for the present time and you can earn posting credits simply by participating in the “Image Duels”

This link will take you to a page at Pixoto.com where you can see many of my images that have won awards from the Pixoto Community. http://www.pixoto.com/speeddemon2/awards

Then and Now

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This image was taken at the 2010 NSRA Streetrod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. I titled it “Then and Now” because of the juxtaposition of the modern form of travel, the jetliner, with the Buick which would have been the way many people travelled in comfort and style in 1948.

I liked the big green Buick in the foreground and wanted to use it as the foreground anchor. The diagonal lines on the pavement serve to reinforce the angle the cars are parked as well as directing the viewer’s eye into the scene. I saw the jetliner making it’s approach to the airport and knew immediately that I wanted it in the photo. I shot several frames as it descended for landing and this one caught the airplane in the spot I liked best because it is framed by the clouds.

When I’m working at a car show the size of the Streetrod Nationals, over 10,000 cars typically, there is no way to shoot when the sun is low in the sky. The gates don’t open until well after sunrise and they are closed by early evening. Since I am shooting in some of the most unflattering light a photographer can get I must rely on subject matter and composition to get memorable shots.

I used Topaz Adjust on this image which helped bring detail back into the shadows while preserving the highlights. Topaz Adjust also does a fantastic job of accenting the texture in an image. In this image it enhanced the pavement texture as well as the clouds while punching up the colors of the entire image.

Navajo Highway

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This image is from Arizona along the road out of Flagstaf heading east. I was taken by the alien looking landscape and decided to stop and shoot a few frames before heading east. I climbed up on one of the mounds of clay to get a better composition and to get a sense of the place.

This image is almost straight from the camera. I used a polarizer to cut down on reflected glare. The composition uses the rule of thirds as well as letting the highway become a leading line. All processing for this photo was done in Aperture 3.