Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images

Picture: Road sign pointing to Sand Dunes at Mesquite Flat, Death Valley National Park, California

I occasionally find a sign that I think will make for a good photo. Signs are a form of communication. Photography is a form of communication. It only goes say that one can often compliment the other. I usually find that pictures of signs work best when I can combine the sign directly with what it relates to in the background.

For instance, in the above photo that I shot last fall, I just liked the obvious nature of the scene. But while I was shooting this image, I couldn’t help but recall one of my all-time favorite sign photos, also taken in Death Valley.

Picture: Driving off road prohibited – Tourist RV tavel Camper stuck in desert rocks after driving offroad next to warning sign, near Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California

I always described this photo as being “too funny, in a kind of sad, semi-unsympathetic way.

And a couple more quick ones:

Picture: Warning sign and thunderstorm clouds over Sacramento River, near Rio Vista, Solano County, California

This one I simply call, “No Fun.”

And finally, from a long while back, this image is a variation on the one that has graced the Newsletter & Blog Sign-up page on my web site. I’ve always loved that image because of what I’ve anthropomorphically referred to as the birds “defiant, yet pleading squawk.” This image, taken one moment earlier has a much different feel, as if the bird is actually reading or perhaps trying to comprehend the sign’s meaning.

Picture: Clarks Nutcracker bird on sign, apparently reading a warning not to feed the animals, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

If you’ve got any great sign photos posted up on the web somewhere, I’d love to see them. Feel free to include a link in the comments section if you like.

And remember to keep your eyes out for the signs. They’re usually trying to tell you something.

Picture: Photographer next to tracks left by mysterious moving rocks on the dried flat mud at the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California

Last fall I had my first chance to visit the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park. While walking out on the Playa, I met a photographer I’ll simply refer to as Bob, since I can’t recall his real name right now. Anyway, it turned out that Bob lived fairly close to me, and we struck up a conversation. I noticed on several occasions that Bob would come up to where I was shooting and start working the same scene. After sunset, we hung out in the parking lot, shared some nice conversation and libations. All in all, despite feeling slightly intruded on in a couple instances, I found Bob to be a nice, pleasant, and personable guy.

The next morning at dawn, I was back on the Racetrack, shooting the mysterious moving rocks and their distinctive tracks. Sure enough, just at the critical moment as the light was about to transition across the track I’d selected, changing from shadow to sunlight, Bob walks up & starts taking pictures. I’ll admit, at that point I was silently upset & frustrated. I was too polite to say anything, so I stood there biting my tongue as the sweet light quickly approached. Suddenly I remembered another photo when I’d returned to a previously scouted photo only to find an entire family sitting exactly where I wanted to put my tripod. At that moment, I decided rather than move, I would photograph the scene as it was in front of me. With a quick shift in position, I was able to make the photo about Bob, and the experience of being a photographer out in that magical location.

Surprisingly enough, what I first thought was a complete lemon of a situation, turned out to be one of my better photos from that morning. Furthermore, the inclusion of a person make the image all that much more unique from an editorial perspective.

So the next time life hands you lemons, just remember how good lemonade can taste on a hot summer afternoon.

See more of my Death Valley Photos in my online web gallery.

Picture: Sunset light on the Trona Pinnacles, near Ridgecrest, California

Yesterday I announced through my Facebook & Twitter profiles that I’d just completed a weeks long edit of a 10 day trip I took last fall to Death Valley & the Sierra while working on my book, California; Yesterday & Today. It turned out that after reviewing nearly 3100 images, I processed 635 Raw photos using Adobe Lightroom. It was interesting to hear some of the comments and feedback I received, so I thought it would be fun to share a bit of my edited results.

First, a quick note on the process side. When I import images into Lightroom from a memory card, I rename the image files based on the card, date & location, followed by a sequence number. For example 091018c_TRNA-0186 means it was the third 4GB CF card I used that day 2009, October 18th, the primary location or region, and the image file number from that CF card. I then look through each set or bracket of shots, pick the best variation(s), and process them in the Lightroom Develop module. I then export all converted images as 16-bit TIFF files, then run all images through a batch action in Photoshop to resize to 300 dpi @ 12×18″.

This is the result of one afternoon and morning shoot, 72 images from Trona, California. This starts after leaving Death Valley, and ends the next morning as I was leaving the Trona Pinnacles. These images are what I would call in my “Second State” of editing. Some images may get saved in my archive for possible client variations, others may get deep filed for use in potential slide shows, presentations, workshops, or lectures. Images destined for my agents or web site will likely get one more round of processing on a per-image basis through Photoshop to optimize colors, tones, and details that might not have gotten as closely addressed when working in Lightroom. For most images, Lightroom represents the rough draft, while photoshop represents the finished work. Obviously some images need very little (if any) change from Lightroom, while others benefit from what I call the “refined massage.”

So how would I personally rank this one day’s worth of edited images? Nice, but nothing spectacular; meaning I don’t see anything here that is automatically “portfolio-worthy.” Still, I’m quite happy with the results.

And speaking of Trona, I’d like to give a huge shout-out of thanks to the very kind ladies at the Searles Valley Historical Society in Trona. They have a great collection of images and items, and would make for a very worthwhile stop for anyone traveling between Death Valley & Ridgecrest. Here are a couple images that they were nice enough to loan me for possible use in my book. Unfortunately, Trona didn’t make the final edit, …er, cut. But do please stop by if you get the chance, and tell them you learned about them from me. We’d all appreciate it. – Thanks again, ladies.

Picture: Trona Pinnacles Photo Courtesy: Searles Valley Historical Society

Picture: Bulk handling of Potash, Trona Mill, Trona, California; 1919 Photo Courtesy: Searles Valley Historical Society

Picture: Late afternoon cloud drifting into trees, Mineral King, Sequoia National Park, California

My 11-year-old son recently spent his first week away from home while attending his fifth-grade camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains. When he returned, I found out that one of the things they had done was to take a nighttime walk in the redwood forest without using any lights. Hearing about that reminded me about the times when my wife and I were in college, we would take long nighttime hikes with our friends through the redwoods located just off campus. I also wrote about this experience in a recently published article in the NANPA Currents Magazine. It is such a unique experience to silently walk through the dark forest with these huge trees hanging at the edge of your peripheral vision.

Of course, in life we know the saying how important it is to see the trees through the forest. Whether that means paying attention to the details without losing sight of the goal, or not losing the path because of all the obstacles in your way, both are very valid interpretations.

At the moment I’ve been plowing my way, slowly but surely, through a huge editing project. This image is one of those that I didn’t remember taking until I came across it during the edit. What I like about this shot is that it represents both a singular tree, highlighted by the sunlit cloud behind it, and the larger forest in the same frame. It also shows that moment between obstructed vision, which represents the concept of chaos or confusion, and the sense of oncoming clarity.

I hope everyone keeps seeing the trees through the forest, the forest from the trees, and remember to watch out for the roots that can trip you up if you’re not careful.

Gopher poking head out of ground burrow, Redwood Regional Park, Berkeley Hills, California

Photographer Jack Hollingsworth is very popular in the twitter-verse and social media circles. He has recently been posting a number of excellent weblog articles using the title premise, “I am…“. I thought I would take a moment to ride his coattails and proudly exclaim, “I am Ground Rodent.”

I know what you’re thinking, “What? Huh? … Ground Rodent?” I know it’s not the most glamorous self image one could come up with. But as Desi Arnaz would say, “Let me ‘esplain, Lucy.”

I’ve mentioned before that when wrapping up my last book project, I had to basically put myself into a state of hibernation. I was focusing on the work that needed to be done, to the exclusion of nearly everything else.

Over the last month, I’ve been picking up pieces of my business, some of which have laid dormant since my accident just over a year ago. There can be no doubt that the economy, technology, and (stock) photo industry have been continuously changing the business landscape.

Then suddenly it hit me; coming out of this period of hibernation, I felt just like that proverbial ground rodent who pokes his head out of the ground. From a mammalian self-preservation perspective, when the rodent looks around, its only thought is, “is there anything out here that will eat me?”

From a personal and business perspective, it’s helpful to occasionally survey the landscape with fresh eyes. While we don’t need to worry about the immediate threat of predators eating us for breakfast, it is important to be aware of what changes have or are taking place. Seeing, preparing, and adapting to the changes and challenges that lie ahead can be just as critical to our own survival, as it is for the rodent to spot the owl or coyote.

A wise man once told a rodent, “If the path you take to get your morning meal leads directly toward a pack of hungry coyotes, you have three options; proceed as before and get eaten, crawl back in your hole and starve, or find a new source of food. Crawling back in your hole and starving isn’t an option, and being eaten isn’t much fun.”

Picture: Mysterious moving rock on the Racetrack Playa at sunset, Death Valley National Park, California

“Left Turn, Clyde.” It’s probably the only line I remember from the Clint Eastwood movie, Every Which Way But Loose. Looking at this image, I have to ask, “Do you ever feel like this rock?” I don’t mean dense or thick-headed (guys), but rather feeling like you need to, or are being pushed to change direction. Perhaps it’s a long thought or debated decision, or maybe it’s just a sudden urge that you find impossible to ignore.

One thing that has always stayed with me since I was a teenager was the memory of one of my best friends car, a little old black VW Bug. I remember whenever I was a passenger in the front seat, looking at a message he put on his glove box, using those stick-on individual block letters stickers you find at the hardware store.

“I feel a force, pushing me from behind, that won’t look me in the eye.”

I know there have been lots of times when I’ve felt that force myself, including recently. But looking at this rock, and the path that it has taken, it just leaves me to ponder the questions:

How long had it been traveling on that path?

What made it change direction all of the sudden?

Will something happen to it on this new path that wouldn’t have happened if it stayed on the old path?

Where would it have ended up before, and where’s it going now?

Picture: Campfire Detail, Somewhere in Oregon

Every year the Burning Man event is held in the Nevada desert. Every year I want to attend. Every year I read their policy and restrictions regarding photography taken on-site. Every year I think, “What a bunch of hypocrites.” Every year, I’ve chosen not to go for that reason.

“Written permission is required to use any image from the event commercially or publicly; no public use of any image may be made without this written consent.”

Finally, the organizers of the event have put out a call for community feedback regarding their oppressive photography policy. Below is a copy of the e-mail I sent:

To whom it may concern:

For many years I have wanted to attend the Burning Man Event in the Nevada desert. The only thing that has ever stopped me has been the far overreaching statement regarding your ownership of any photos taken while at the event.

For an event that prides itself on the representation of a bohemian lifestyle and attitude, your camera policy and terms of restriction regarding the photos used taken at the event seem to be out of sync. The policy, including the wording, sounds so much like large corporation lawyer speak, and business-suited Wall Street executive heavy handedness, has been impossible to reconcile that difference in tone between your policy and the nature of the event.

To put it bluntly, is that difference in tone that smacks of hypocrisy, and has unfortunately kept me from wanting to attend the event where I would specifically want to do creative and editorial photography. I hope you will give due consideration to changing the camera and photography policy, and simply issue an advisory that it is the responsibility of any photographer wishing to sell photos taken at the event to obtain the proper permissions and releases. if you are wishing to protect the symbol of the Burning Man itself as part of your “corporate” identity, you could always add a restriction that any non-editorial commercial use that advertises a product or service must receive prior permission and or license directly from your office.

I think that kind of policy would be a fair representation between your reasonable corporate expectation, and the mindset of the community that you have established.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration, and if you have any questions are welcome to contact me directly.

If you’d like to send in your own thoughts, please send an e-mail to cameratales@burningman.com

Picture: A California Condor at the Condor Ridge exhibit of the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Photo by Chuck Szmurlo.

Now that I’m back from a week off with my family for Spring Break, I wanted to take a moment and respond to my last post, “Why I Like Free Photos.”

From the buyer’s side, I likened using Creative Commons image to being like stealing candy from a baby because it was so easy. All you had to do was pay attention to a few restrictions, the most common of which was properly crediting the photo. However, one of the comments highlighted a misunderstanding regarding the principle of “share-alike.” That, along with other points are prompting me to write this rebuttal: “What I don’t like about free photos.”

To be clear, photo buyers are like vultures. It’s their job to scavenge through heaps of material to find something that fills a need. If they find a photo that is free, what reason on earth would they have to keep looking or pay for something? Even when they have a budget for photo usage, they are under absolutely no obligation to give that money away if photographers don’t ask for it. (BTW, I have the greatest respect for photo buyers and photo editors. In fact, I offer those services as part of my own business.)

I think the greatest problem is that Read the rest of this post »

Picture: Shelter on Mount Whitney’s summit, Sierra Nevada, California; Photo by Justin Johnsen

I know it must sound crazy at first; why would a professional photographer be happy about other photographers giving away their work for free? Given the dire warnings about how microstock was driving the stock photography industry in a race to the bottom regarding prices, what could be lower or worse than free? People that have known me over the years have heard me speak repeatedly regarding my thoughts on photographers valuing their work. In fact, when people ask me what is the one best piece of take away advice I could give them, I always say “Value your work.”

But yes, I’ll admit it. I’ve discovered I like free photos. When I was working on my latest book project, there were some modern subjects where I wanted photos, but could not practically get them myself. Given that I was already doing a massive amount of research for the historical photos, I started searching around to see what viable stock photo options I could find. Many stock agencies had usable shots, spanning the pricing spectrum from Rights-Managed to Microstock. Although the publisher had a budget for the historical photos, any money spent for modern photos would come out of my pocket. This put me in the same role so many other photo buyer finds themselves, namely deciding what will work, and what will it cost me? As someone who has made a living off selling stock photography, I found it awkward walking the razor’s edge between Read the rest of this post »

Picture: Large rock boulder balanced on edge, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Last week I posted this image on my Facebook business page. I’ve mentioned previously that I don’t do “art speak” or give my images artsy titles. However, on a few very rare occasions an image will speak to me, giving me a title. As I stared into this image, the name that came to me was exactly reflective of where I find myself in life; “Seeking… Balance.”

Ever since I was in college, I tried to use “balance” as a one-word mantra for how I wanted to live my life. And so it is, as I reflect on the last 12 months, I find myself coming through the tail end of the most out of balance period of my personal or professional life. I don’t have any shame or embarrassment in saying that, since it was a matter of circumstance and self-inflicted decisions that conspired to tip the scales. The important thing to recognize is when things are out of balance, you take corrective steps back toward the fulcrum. When life is out of balance, it’s something our soul instictively feels and understands, yet our rational thinking brain sometimes just can’t latch on to the exact reason. For myself, I can say that there is great joy to be found in working through or eliminating those things that carry you away from your point of balance.

And like it is with life, so it is for us as photographers and with the images we make. When I work with other photographers on a consulting or portfolio review basis, it’s easy to tell if their compositions feel balanced. One of the things that most intermediate photographers (those that are just starting to get good) find surprising is how a very small visual element can carry a huge amount of compositional weight. Often in a landscape, this might be something like a small bright rock in the foreground or an out of place branch on the edge of the frame in the sky. They seem to know in their gut that something isn’t right, but they’re not sure what it is. As soon as I cover up the distracting element, their image seems to fall into balance. To show them how much weight that small object holds, I ask them to watch what happens when I pull my hand away. You can literally see this “Ah Ha!” moment in their eyes when they realize that something so small could tip their entire composition completely out of balance.

And with our pictures or in life, it can be one big thing, a lot of little things, or a combination of both that can send something tumbling off balance. When I look at the picture above, it’s just as easy to think that some day an earthquake will send this rock tumbling, as it is to think that given enough erosion, it may reach a point where nothing more than a gust of wind will send this rock crashing to the ground.