RixFotos Blog

Ric's Epic Adventure - Epilogue: Parting Thoughts and Shots

2011-10-02T21:09:00.000-04:00

Almost two full weeks.

7 National Parks if you count my short jaunts through TheCapital Reef and Canyonlands.

Thousands of snaps of my shutter…

And not nearly enough time. I could have easily spent a week at any one of these great parks. Still, I’m amazed and thrilled at all that Isaw. It truly was the photo adventure ofmy lifetime.

Some random thoughts…

People are friendly. I had a slight bit of trepidation going out on this trip alone. Yes, I figured I would speak to my wife everyevening if I was getting cell service, but, for the most part I’d bealone. That could not have been furtherfrom the case. Photogs always seem tocongregate at the best spots and most are often willing and delighted to sharetheir love of the hobby and or profession with others. I would be out at 4 or 5 in the morning andthere would always be a few folks to share the time with. I would join strangers for a drink or dinnerafter a day of shooting. It was not alonely endeavor. Some of these folks Ihope to keep in touch with.

They come from all over. Everywhere I went, but I noticed this especially on my trip down into Bryce Canyon,I heard a myriad of languages. Some Icould identify… German, French, Swedish, Italian… many I could not. I think at least a few were from off-world. It made me feel glad that folks would comefrom far off, just to see the wonders of this great land.

Don’t forget the sunblock, water or the hiking shoes. Hey, most of the time I remembered 2 out of3.

Sirius-XM Radio kicks serious ass! During the first week of my travels I had arental with this amazing collection of stations and I wasn’t sure I could evergo back. The 70’s station and one of theBlues stations were at the top of my list.

If you are on an airplane and already feeling nauseous, donot eat. Even if it’s a four hour plustrip.

And finally, I have to go back to Arches. Especially to conquer that one hill!

Ric's Epic Adventure - Part 12: Sunrise at Mesa

2011-10-02T16:44:00.000-04:00

Thursday morning I got up at about 5:30 and headed out toshoot my final Arch. Mesa Arch isactually in the nearby Canyonlands National Park and I hadheard it was a good subject for sunrises.

When I got to the parking area at the trail-head, the lot wasalready full of cars. I guess otherfolks had heard about it too! It was ashort 15 minute walk to the arch and when I arrived, there were already a bunchof photographers that had staked out their claims with their tripods. After asking, I was able to squeeze inbetween two of them to get my shots. Unlike Delicate Arch, there wasn’t going to be any moving around fordifferent angles. Mesa Arch is also alot smaller. As a matter of fact all of the photographers were planted right upnext to it, so close you could touch it. This was so they could get the angle of the sun coming up. As the morning got brighter the under side of the arch began to glow with the warm reflection of the daylight.

I put on my wide 10-22mm lens and hoped for the best. Luckily, I was able to get most of the entirearch in the shot. Some latecomersweren’t so lucky. One suggested, “Heyguys, if we all back up 10 feet we can all get the shot and get the wholearch.”

The guy next to me said, “You’re high, Dude! We ain’t moving.” These guys were hardcore. He showed the guy that made the suggestionthat he was able to get the whole thing in his viewfinder and suggested to thefellow that next time he may want to come with the right gear. Ouch.

Another guy toward the back was setting off his flash andquickly got scolded, “Hey, quit with the flashes! Some of us are doing time-lapse, Dude!”

“Dude” seemed to be the proper way of addressing someoneduring this outing.

Anyway, as they counted down the minutes to the sunriseanother latecomer decided he could plant his tripod right next to mine. His camera was about 2 inches away and it wasdifficult for me to even adjust the controls on my own camera. I was also worried that with all his futzingaround so close to me, he would knock my camera and tripod over the edge andinto the abyss on the other side of the arch. He was Asian and did not seem to be able to speak English, so I justgave him a dirty look. I took some predawn shots then switched to a brand new card (with some difficulty because ofthe cramped space) since the one I was using was getting close to full.

The sun came up. Weall got our shots… Then I ran into a bit of trouble.

My camera was stuck in a “busy” mode. Kind of like when it’s processing an image byadding noise reduction, but it wouldn’t stop. I tried shutting the camera off, but to no avail. The camera was still stuck in its processingmode. Could the brand new card befaulty? I was at my wit’s end. I asked the crowd if they had anysuggestions. The only thing to do seemedto be to eject the card or the battery. Either option could corrupt the data on the card, losing all theshots. It was finally decided afterabout 5 more minutes that popping out the battery would be the lesser of twoevils. I took the camera off the tripod,clicked the lid open, and just before I hit eject, the camera ended its busymode and was once again working.

Relieved, that all was well, after checking the pictures, Itook a few shots hand held and then went to put my camera back on thetripod. The Asian guy that had beeninvading my personal space had moved my tripod! “Not cool, DUDE!” I exclaimed.

I got a “So sorry” in response. The sun was getting higher the moment hadpassed. At least I got my sunriseshot. I took some shots of the thinningcrowd and then headed back to camp, where I packed up and started the longdrive back toward the Vegas airport where I would be flying out of thefollowing day.

Ric's Epic Adventure - Part 11: Redeemed!

2011-10-01T23:39:00.000-04:00

After my humiliating defeat on the previous hike, I returnedto the camp a beaten man. I saw that my loud neighbors from the night beforehad moved on... well at least that was good. I took a shower, wrote oneof the blogs and then tried to get in a little nap before going on the hike forDelicate Arch. Taking a nap inside that hot tent was not cutting it, so Iopted to get a little rest inside the air conditioned car.

I must’ve dozed off for a little bit, because suddenly itwas 5:30. I still had to drive back intoArches and head up the trail. It took nearly a half an hour to get to thetrailhead. I asked some folks that had just returned how long it took to get tothe arch and they said about an hour (even though it’s only a mile and halfaway. The printed guide listed the hikein their “Strenuous Trails” category, here is part of the officialdescription…

Length: 3 miles roundtrip.

Elevation Change: 480feet

Take at least 2quarts of water per person. Openslickrock with some exposure to heights and no shade. The first half-mile is a well defined trail. Upon reaching the slickrock, follow the rock cairns… yada, yada,yada…

I lightened my camera bag as much as I could (got rid of thetelephoto lens and a few other things and headed up. It was 6 pm. If I could make it in an hour Iwould get there just in time for sunset. Hopefully.

Once again, it was hot, but at least with the sun’s lowangle, it wasn’t beating down on me. Theblood was pumping as I started heading up the “Slickrock” which is essentiallya giant hill made of rock. Oh, and Iforgot the hiking shoes again as well. Ihad to take several water breaks as I made my way up that hill that seemed tohave no end. I also forgot my trustysweat rag/bandana, so I had to use my hat to mop up my face!

Finally it leveled off for a bit, but I wasonly about halfway there. I was thinkingthat if I didn’t make the sunset I could at least get some dusk shots. I was in a shaded area, blocked by thecliffs, so I couldn’t tell how low the sun was.

As I pushed on, some folks were already heading back. I guess they didn’t want to get caught in thedark. They were saying “You’re almost there… Just around the bend…” Sure enough as I rounded the corner, there itwas! The sun was still another 5 minutesor so from setting. I snapped off aquick pick, then, chose a couple of spots to set up with the tripod. It was great! The arch is massive! I’m including a shot with some folks under itso you can get a sense of scale.

After some coaxing from others that made the trip, people got out from under the arch so that the shutterbugs could go to town. People applauded the sunset and startedheading down. I stuck around a littlelonger to get some after sunset shots and quickly debated whether or not tostay until the stars came out.

I had serious doubts about being able to make it back on myown in the darkness. Sometimes thoserock cairns(path markers) can be pretty far apart and it probably would have been prettyeasy for me to get off the beaten path coming down that giant stone hill andpicking up the path again.

While up there at the top I befriended a young married couplefrom Indianapolis,Chris and Abby. I think they said theywere celebrating their 4 year anniversary? Anyway, we were the last ones there and they offered to make the tripback with me… and am I glad they did! Chris is a member of the National Guard and had been through some prettyextensive survival training. We weren’teven halfway back yet and we were in total darkness. Abby and I had our headlamps, Chris didn’tneed one! This guy could see in thedark. With no moon, the only naturallight was from the starlight. It was along but enjoyable trip back as I got to know them. A few times we turned off our lights just togaze up at the stars. I am really goingto miss seeing such an amazing sky at night.

Back at the bottom I thanked them for their company and wesaid our goodbyes, they still had a 4 hour trip ahead of them in their car. Hope it was a safe trip, you two!

I wasn’t done shooting for the night. I decided to drive down toward Balancing Rockwhere I ran into a few more nightscape photogs. I took several shots of the rock and then did a long exposure with somestar trails.

It was really only about a 20 minute shot and probablyshould have been maybe at least an hour, but I needed to get back to camp so Icould get up early for my final morning of shooting before it was time to startthe journey home. Anyway, I’m callingthis one “Star Child” cuz it kinda reminds me of the end of 2001: A SpaceOdyssey!

Part 10: Epic (Adventure) Fail!

2011-10-01T10:28:00.001-04:00

When I returned from the restaurant Tuesday night, all I wanted to do was hit the hay, er, sleeping bag. Unfortunately, my neighbors in the camp right behind mine thought it was okay to party until 2:30 in the morning. The camps at this off park site, were very close together. These people were probably no more than 15 feet away from me. It was 2 guys and a girl and the longer the night went on, the louder she got. Let me tell you, you haven't heard "Hey Jude" until you've heard it with an off key drunk German accent.

In the morning I was wiped and got kind of a late start. After breakfast, I headed back into Arches and took some shots as I made my way to the end of the park, where the Devil's Garden hike begins.

About a mile into the hike is Landscape Arch...

I imagine it's called that because it kind of blends in with the landscape until you get closer to it and can see the sky through the arch. It's very long and thin and I wonder how long it will be able to defy gravity. Then it was on to the Double "O" Arch. This part of the hike is listed as "difficult with many elevation changes, rocky footing and some exposure to heights," meaning cliffs.

They weren't kidding by calling this "difficult." my heart was pounding as I gained elevation. Shortly after I started this part of the hike, I climbed a rocky hill to a point where there were some large rocks you had to climb up and around, right next to a nice little drop off....

The rock surface was pretty smooth, like an idiot, I had put on my sneakers instead of my hiking shoes. On top of this, my photo backpack was weighing me down and I was a bit off balance. With the tripod attached, it was probably close to 30 pounds. Other folks were having trouble negotiating that area, going in both directions. Some needed help. With the hot noon time sun beating down on me (unlike Bryce Canyon it was a much warmer day and there was no cloud cover), I made a decision to turn around and go back. I wimped out and was very disappointed and depressed about it.

On the way back I was muttering things like "Hikes are for people that don't have cars" and "They should either move the roads closer to the arches, or the arches close to the roads!"

I planned on hitting Delicate Arch (probably the most famous) in the late afternoon. Another difficult hike and it would be even hotter. We'll see how that went in the next installment...

- Posted from my iPad

Location:Arches National Park, Utah

Part 8: Have a Bryce Day

2011-09-27T18:09:00.001-04:00

Bryce Canyon was pretty low on my list. I had never heard much about it but several folks I know talked it up. And what the heck, it was on the way to Arches from Zion so I thought I should check it out.

After driving to a few of the overlooks, I decided to go for a hike into the canyon. All I can say is WOW. The place is magnificent. It feels as if there is a magic to the land. Formations and views that shouldn't really exist except maybe in a Road Runner cartoon.

I combined two of the suggested hikes. The Queen's Garden and the Navajo Loop. The park paper calls it "The World's Best 3-Mile Hike!" It took over four hours to get to the bottom and climb my way back to the top. It seemed like I had to stop every 50 feet or so to take another picture. Good thing too, because I needed lots of breaks before reaching the top. The guide listed it as a moderate hike. All I can say is good thing I quit smoking 4 years ago.

When I got to the top, I treated myself to a beer, it was bliss.

Tomorrow, I head to Arches. It was at the top of my list. Now it seems like it's got a lot to live up to after Bryce Canyon.

Right now, it's a little after 10 at night and a fellow from Germany just invited me over for a beer. It'll be the second best beer I've had all day!

- Posted from my iPad

Location:N Camp Ground Rd, Bryce Canyon

Part 9: The Road to Arches

2011-09-27T18:04:00.001-04:00

I was on the road fairly early from Bryce Canyon... Well after breakfast at Ruby's Diner, it was probably a little after 8 am. Btw, if I didn't mention it before the "Ruby" family seems to own the whole town. What little town there is, anyway.

I decided to take the scenic route, that would bring me off the beaten path...

It also brought me through Capitol Reef National Park. Now this REALLY is Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote territory.

After all the stopping to shoot photos it probably took me about 8 hours to get to Moab where I checked into the first campground I could find (nothing was available in the park).

After that I headed into Arches National Park and after a bit of scouting, I picked out a spot to shoot my first Arch. The daylight was waning, so this was gonna be it for the day. I stuck around for about an hour after sunset for some more starlight pictures and as I walked back up the trail, I nearly bumped into another photog that was trying his hand at star trails. My headlamp pretty much messed up his shot as I headed back up the path in the darkness. We got to talking and then ended up having dinner and a beer together back in town at a fine dining establishment known as Bucks. Sorry I messed up your shot, Keith! I probably should have at least paid for his beer!

After that I got back to the camp and turned in at around 11:00... in what became a very long night...

to be continued...

- Posted from my iPad

Location:McCormick Blvd,Moab, Utah

Ric's Epic Adventure - Part 7: Zion Country and Beyond!

2011-09-26T01:10:00.001-04:00

I'm writing this from my campsite in Bryce Canyon. This is a much quieter spot than the one I had just outside of Zion, yesterday. Guy was snoring 2 tents down and it was LOUD!!

Spent much of the day shooting and hiking in Zion. It is impossible to convey in photos just how big and fantastic this place is. Parts of it seem Middle Earth like. I wonder if Tolkien was ever here.

Around 3 in the afternoon, I decided I better start heading to Bryce. Haven't seen any of the park accept the campground yet.

After I set up e tent, and was politely told by a ranger that I had set up in an RV area (he let me stay where I was, though) I headed out to get something to eat. This "town" if you can call it that, doesn't have much. In contrast, the town just outside of Zion was a happening little place. Anyway was in a weird little restaurant that was packed to the gills with a bus load of tourists. It looked like it was gonna be a long wait. A couple came in after me and we decided to share a table. It didn't seem right me taking up a whole table by myself. They were from Oregon and were also on a photographic journey. And guess what? They paid for my dinner!

It's amazing the amount of photogs I have met on this trip. Some are professionals, while others, it is their passion/hobby. One guy in Yellowstone put it best. He said "This is my boat." All of them have been willing to share their excitement, enthusiasm and tips with me. When you are standing outside with a stranger at 5 in the morning, you both realize you're a little crazy... I mean passionate.

Anyway, the fire is dying, time to go to bed, it's gonna be a cold one... Supposed to be in the 40s tonight!

Here's a few parting shots of Zion National Park...

Location:N Camp Ground Rd, Bryce Canyon National Park

Ric's Epic Adventure - Part 6: On the Road (and in the air) Again

2011-09-24T11:51:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was a day of travel. It was another early start at around 4:30 am, because I wanted to get in some more practice at some star lit landscapes. This was from the same location I was at the previous morning (an area known as Mormon's Row, about 20 miles north of Jackson). I should have started even earlier. Soon dusk was approached and the stars were getting washed out. On some of the shots you can see the light from a car streaming by way off in the distance on the horizon. I'll have to see if I can photoshop those out later. I also used my headlamp to throw a little light on the buildings.

As the sun came up, I drove several miles north to get another view of the Tetons in the early morning light...

...And then just before 8 am, I got in the car and headed back to Cody. It was about a 3 and a half hour trip back up through the lower part of Yellowstone. As I drove by some beauty spots that I had missed before, I had to ignore the urge to pull over and take some more shots. I was mostly successful.

Good thing Cody has a small airport. I got there about 40 minutes before the departure and still had to turn in my rental. Flew outta there on a small commuter, connected in Salt Lake City, then onto Vegas. During that flight I met a very nice couple from Montana and we chatted for most of the short trip. I even bored them with some of my photos.

Once in Vegas, I headed to Advantage Rental Car where I let the guy convince me into getting an upgrade (10 more bucks a day) into an Altima. He explained that the compacts didn't really have any extras and with all my traveling, I would really want something more in a full sized vehicle. My last rental, a Hyundai Elantra had a Sirius-XM radio, and man, did that really spoil me. I figured I'd better get the upgrade.

To my disappointment just a regular radio. From what I can tell the big perk is keyless operation.

yay.

After about 2 more hours of driving (now with the trusty but previously neglected iPod plugged in), I got to the Comfort Inn in St George, Utah. They couldn't find my reservation. I thought I might have to be setting up my tent somewhere in the dark, and I was pretty exhausted. Luckily I had the confirmation number and they had it... Not under Easton, but under my wife's hyphenated last name... O'Connor-Easton! When I had called to make the reservation the day before, they had asked if I had used Comfort Inn before and I gave them our phone number so they could check. It was under my wife's name. I guess they didn't think to change the name to the guy that was making the reservation or the name on the credit card I was giving! I always knew that hyphenated last name was gonna come back to haunt me!

Diane... I love you and I miss you and even though you couldn't make the trip, it's like you're still with me! I just don't have anyone teling me where to drive... Except of course the GPS, which I have named "Diane 2"

Btw, when I started yesterday morning it was 28 degrees, and 14 hours later when I was driving out of Las Vegas it was 103!

So, now it's on to Zion National Park!

- Posted from my iPad

Location:St. George,Utah

Ric's Epic Adventure - Part 5: Teton Time

2011-09-24T00:49:00.001-04:00

Spent the day on Thursday shooting the Grand Tetons from several different locations. Of course the best time is sunrise, but you can only be in one spot at a time, so many of the shots I got were from midday.

Here's a few...

And I even took some shots where there wasn't a Teton to be seen!

And ended up eating dinner in Jackson at The Cowboy Bar. In case I didn't mention it before, cowboys are big in these parts. The barstools were all saddles which gives new meaning to the phrase "saddling up to the bar." Despite the cowboy motif, my beer had a slight sic-fi bent...

That's OB-1 as in Obiwan Kenobi from Star Wars in case you didn't get it, or possibly aren't a nerd.

One last parting shot. Advice for the bathroom...

Oh, and in case I never mentioned it, you can click on any of the pix for a bigger view. The app I am using for the iPad likes to use these incredibly small thumbnails. When I tried to enlarge them a bit, the photos became kinda digitally artifacty.

And no, "artifacty" is not a word.

More tomorrow...

- Posted from my iPad

Location:U.S. 191,Jackson,United States

Ric's Epic Adventure - Part 4: I Think I Hear a Mountain Lion

2011-09-22T10:12:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I did one last tour of Yellowstone. It was a gorgeous day and it was nice to see some nice clear blue water, especially after spending a few weeks covering all the muddy streams and rivers left over from tropical storm Irene. Saw several more Bison but no other wildlife accept for the small butterfly that kept landing on me and my camera.

Next, I headed through Grand Teton National Park to Jackson, Wyoming. Right now, I am waiting for the sun to come up to light up the mountains, but thought I would try getting the shot under starlight as well. While standing out here in the dark, I could hear something rustling around in the weeds. I hope it doesn't eat me!

- Posted from my iPad

Location:Antelope Flats Rd,,United States

Ric's Epic Adventure - Part 3: Buffalo Bill Country

2011-09-21T08:11:00.001-04:00

Finding the time to post these blogs is a little tougher than I thought it was gonna be. Right now, it's a little after 5 in the morning and I wanted to post a quick update before I was on the road and out of cell service again... Well, now it's almost 6 am because the app on my iPad just crashed as in was getting ready to post! So here's a quicker update...

After a big day in Yellowstone on Monday, I decided to hang out in Cody yesterday. The main downtown area is maybe about 5 blocks long, but the actual town stretches several miles in all directions. Yeah, they even have a Walmart! But most of the downtown either caters to cowboys or cowboy wannabes with plenty of saloons and shops selling cowboy hats and boots. As a matter of fact, the town is named and was partially founded by one of the most famous cowboys of all, William "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

Just outside of the main downtown area is the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, a really fine museum all about BB and the Old West.

As the day wound down, I returned to some of the overlooks I had seen on Monday just outside of town and after the sun set, I had never seen so many stars! I'll try to post some of the star shots later. They need a bit of tweaking.

Oh, and many of the shops sell Bear Spray. I didn't buy any and this is probably the closest I'll get to one, courtesy of the BB Museum...

- Posted from my iPad

Location:Cody, Wyoming

Ric's Epic Adventure - Part 2: Yellowstone!

2011-09-20T13:40:00.001-04:00

Sunday night, when I got to the motel from the Cody airport it was dark. So I really wasn't aware just how different my surroundings were until I got up Monday morning and took a look out of my motel door...

Well, it was like waking up in a different world! I think one of my first thoughts was how BIG everything is out here. Soon, after breakfast I headed out to Yellowstone. Its about 60 miles away to the East Entrance, and it's not exactly a quick trip. Especially because I kept getting distracted by the sights from the road and I would have to stop the car to grab a few photos. This area, not far from Cody, is called "Holy City" because it supposedly resembles the ancient city of Jerusalem...

Finally, I arrived at Yellowstone. The place is massive. I did the southern part of it, which consisted of a stop at Yellowstone Lake, a short mile hike to Natural Bridge, a lot of steaming boiling water holes and I finally ended up at Old Faithful at about 3:30 in the afternoon. Here are a few of the highlights...

I stayed for 2 eruptions of the famous geyser and hit the road again at about 6 pm. It was overcast and I was loosing light pretty fast. But it seemed every time I travelled another mile or so, there were more sites to see, so it was pretty slow going and i wasn't going to be able to do the Northern part of the park until another day. Fortunately, my delays put me in the exact right spot when the sun started breaking through after a brief rain. There was an amazing rainbow, that I was taking a picture of as I was driving, looking for a place to pull over. Once I found a spot, the rainbow had already started to fade, but behind me was a breathtaking sunset and a perfect way to cap off my first visit to Yellowstone...

For many of these shots, including the one above, I took multiple exposures, so I can process some "HDR" type shots when I get back. Speaking of getting back, I didn't get back to my motel room until almost midnight, so today I am going to explore Cody, before returning to Yellowstone tomorrow!

- Posted from my iPad

Location:Yellowstone National Park

Ric's Epic Adventure - Part 1: The Adventure Begins

2011-09-18T15:27:00.001-04:00

After a very long Summer, my 2 week vacation is finally here. This is the first time I had 2 weeks in a row off since the early '90s, and man, am I pumped!

Right now, i'm waiting to get on the first of three flights that will eventually take me to Cody, Wyoming, where I will be trekking to Yellowstone National Park tomorrow. This will be the first of several National Parks I intend to visit and i'm hoping to get a lot of great pictures.

Anyway, I seem to have gotten off to a less than auspicious start. As I made my way thru airport security I was told that I was randomly selected for a more thorough search! Maybe I was looking suspicious with my giant backpack filled with photo gear.

After making it successfully thru the screening process, I'm told by the kind folks at Continental Airlines that my backpack will probably not fit in the bin, so it is going to have to be gate checked. Not good... Be back soon...

On the plane now... It's a smallish commuter to Cleveland. My seat is both a window and an aisle. I was able to move the camera and 3 lenses into my padded messenger bag, so i'm glad I brought it. What I didn't bring was a jacket. I left it in the car when my wife, Diane dropped me off. She called just before I boarded to let me know. It may get down to the 20s in and around Yellowstone so, I may already know what my first purchase will be.

That's it for the first report. Just touched down in Cleveland and I have full bars so I'm sending this puppy now! This may be a bit of a learning process since it's the first time blogging from the iPad!

- Posted from my iPad

Location:Albany International Airport and the sky!

Steeplechase!

2011-08-07T14:55:00.002-04:00

click on the pix for bigger views!

Last week's best shot at the track was taken with a remote shutter on a mini tripod sitting in the grass right next to the hurdle where the horses jump for the Steeplechase races! I set up the camera, but it was actually WTEN producer Dave Mink that pushed the button on the remote. I had my hands full with the TV camera. My Canon 7D was set to take continuous shots in rapid succession once the shutter was pressed in the hopes of getting a decent one. Surprisingly, the camera was still going off when I went to retrieve it, even though my pal Dave was no longer pushing the button. Let's just say there were an awful lot of images to erase!

Besides cropping for more of a panoramic type shot, there was quite a bit of editing done to this photo... Here's the original...

First off, I increased the saturation in both the sky and the grass and upped the contrast just a little. There was another camera on the ground in front of the banner covering up the C and the H, so I had to get rid of that and rebuild the letters...

Next, I cloned out the people's heads that are peaking over the hedge. That's me, Dave Mink and intern Jenna Cottrell under that lead horse...

There was also a distracting red helmet over the lead horse's hind quarters...

I got rid of it. For the pic, I think we'll just assume that the jockey on that horse was riding a couple inches lower!

That's about it. The shot was taken with my 10-22mm lens at f/4.5 at 1/2500 sec with an ISO of 400!

Surviving the Summer of Hell

2011-07-30T16:37:00.025-04:00

For my day job, I, along with some of my WTEN cohorts have been sentenced to covering all 6 plus weeks at the Saratoga Race Course' 2011 season. Everyday we come up with track related stories for the news and have to be done in time to man the cameras for LIVE coverage from 4 to the end of the news at 6:30.

Last week leading up to opening day, we dealt with a heat wave with hot and humid temps well into the 90s. We got to conclude our first official week with a heavy downpour. Most work days have ended up being between 10-12 hours long and sometimes I actually forget what day of the week it actually is! Its like the hot and sweaty version of Groundhog Day, except in the movie Bill Murray awoke every day to Sonny and Cher singing "I Got You Babe." At the track, they play Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" at the end of the final race, usually about the time we are getting for our last LIVE hit. This will go on until the track closes for the season on Labor Day, which right now, seems an incredibly long way off. Thank God for the overtime which will help pay for a 2 week vacation I have coming up toward the end of September. Right now, I just have to survive until then!

Shot taken by intrepid reporter Christine O'Donnell of Ric Easton trying to stay cool at his camera perch

Anyway, to try and keep my sanity throughout this seemingly endless gig, I am grabbing my DSLR and snapping shots whenever I get a free minute. Hopefully, every once in awhile, I'll get something pretty good.

The best shot of this first full week of racing is from under the rail during Wednesday's first race. Since photographers are not allowed right next to the rail during a race, I set the camera on a small tripod and had to use a remote trigger to fire off the shot. Went with my wide 10-22 lens to get the rail in the shot. Here it is...

It was pretty much hit or miss, there were a lot of shots with horses either just leaving or entering the frame. This was one of the few that seemed framed perfectly. I do wish the horses and the jockeys were a little sharper. I probably should have gone for a faster shutter speed, as 1/400th of a second may not have been enough!

The Painters' Truck

2011-07-23T10:07:00.000-04:00

Spent all week up at the Saratoga Race Track (for my real job as a videographer for News 10). It was a HOT week. Temps in the 90s, 3 days in a row. Expected to be there again today.

Anyway, a lot of folks were working in the heat, getting things ready for yesterday's Opening Day. These painters had been touching up the infield and had finally called it quits at about 3 in the afternoon on Thursday...

What I found fascinating was their truck. Old, rusted and paint speckled, it was a thing of beauty...

I had actually wanted to get a shot of the 2 guys with the truck, but they were not really in the mood to pose for pictures. So I settled for reporter Christine O'Donnell and Sports Anchor, Drew Brill!

Click on any of the pix for a bigger view!

Check out the main site at www.RixFotos.com

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And... they're off!

2011-07-10T17:39:00.005-04:00

Well, the 2011 season at the track is still a couple of weeks away, but me and my pal, John Nilsen of John Nilsen Studios headed up to get some pix. We were up there on Saturday afternoon scoping things out in and around the town and track and returned before sunrise this morning to get the horses on their early morning workout.

Took some HDR pix of the track as the sun was coming up and I'm amazed at some of the colors that show up. Some of which don't seem to go together. Maybe its time to back off and go for a more naturalistic approach. Anyway, here's a sampling and don't forget to check out John's stuff right here!

One of the main gates at the Track

The shot of this street in Downtown Saratoga is supposed to emulate the selective focus that those tilt shift lenses can do. The effect often makes the subject look like it may have been a toy model. This was created in Photoshop, since I don't have any of those tilt shift lenses!

Here, I'm on the ground looking up through the starting gate at one of the camera towers at the track.

The Carousel at Congress Park

Happy 5th of July! (on the 6th!)

2011-07-06T08:31:00.002-04:00

The day after the big fireworks party on the Plaza, all was calm and quiet as the sun headed down. Knocked off a couple of shots with the wide angle lens, gave it a little HDR treatment with Photomatix and got rid of some bothersome lens flare in Photoshop.

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-05T10:13:00.000-04:00

Every 4th of July, I try to find a different spot to take shots of the amazing fireworks display at Empire State Plaza. This year a couple of my potential locations fell through (could not get on top of the buildings I wanted to!) and I was thinking of skipping the shoot. However, yesterday, I decided that I really didn't want to miss this once a year event. So after work (yes, I had to work yesterday), I started scrambling.

As I was crossing over the Hudson River into Rensselaer, I noticed the bridge work that was being done and one of the lanes was closed. I swung over into the closed lane, got out of the car and had a pretty decent view. However, it seemed like a fairly dangerous location and with folks rubbernecking, they might not have noticed me. There was also a good chance that the cops would have spotted me and kicked me out. Somewhat regretfully, I rejected the location.

After checking out some other spots from across the river I headed further up into Rensselaer and came across some folks that had an amazing view of the Plaza. I had actually taken a skyline shot from there almost 20 years ago, before there were any houses. Its such a great view that every year they host a Fourth of July viewing party with their friends and family. They graciously granted me permission to set up and shoot the show! I'm not gonna reveal the exact location, because I'm sure they think their annual 4th blowout is big enough! But, I just wanted to say thank you for letting me crash your party! Oh, and I owe you an enlargement of your favorite shot!

Click on any of the photos above for a bigger view!

Same place, different wedding...

2011-06-20T21:12:00.000-04:00

Two weeks after I assisted my friend, Elaine shooting a wedding at the Glen Sander's Mansion in Scotia, I returned there (this time Elaine helping me out) for another wedding shoot. It was a very nice wedding and a fun day... even though I had just been stricken with the dreaded Lyme Disease! The day after the shoot I thought I had the flu. If only! I've been on antibiotics since and feel much better. They caught it early, so no biggie!

Anyway here are some of my favorite shots from Maria and Chris's special day!

Capitaland in HDR

2011-05-25T15:58:00.000-04:00

Today, I found a new perch for a shot of Albany (click on the pic for a bigger view). This is from the roof of a new(ish) office building on Broadway. I really like the new view. Instead of just the iconic Empire State Plaza, you can see much more of Albany's varied architecture. It looks like a real city! Although, I'd like it better when they finally get that crane away from the Capitol Building. The above shot is an HDR image of 5 different exposures combined. This may become one of my favorite spots and I'll have to check it out during different times of day. Below is the original exposure...

Wedding season...

2011-05-22T20:44:00.000-04:00

Assisted the very talented Elaine Ciccarelli in a wedding shoot this weekend. My first of the year. I was the second camera, trying for those more candid moments. Here's one of 'em. Another shoot in 2 weeks... I'm gonna have to find more comfortable shoes!

Bringing out the beauty in Albany's Cathedral

2011-05-15T10:48:00.000-04:00

Recently, Albany's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception underwent a huge restoration. As a matter of fact the outside of the renewal project is still going on. Inside, the place is stunning. But its hard in a photograph to bring out the true beauty of the place. There are a lot of details that you can see with the naked eye (as you adjust to the darker areas) that is kind of tough for the camera to pick up. At least in a single shot. So, I thought this might be a good subject for the an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo.

Again, the idea for HDR is to bring up the shadows and calm down the highlights using numerous exposures. Here's a before and after (click on the pix to make them bigger)...

To get all the detail I needed I made a total of 7 shots. In addition to the first exposure (the before picture above), I made 6 more shots at varying degrees of under and over exposure. Then, using a program called Photomatix, all 7 shots were merged into a single image...

After the processing the image looks a little flat, so then I went into Photoshop for some additional tweaking, upping the contrast and adjusting the colors and saturation a bit. I was happy with the final product. You can see a bunch of detail in the brickwork, and the bright light from the stained glass windows is not blown out.

After I took that first shot(s), I tried again with a much wider view. I put on my 10-22mm lens and zoomed out to get as wide a shot as possible....

I wasn't quite all the way in the back, but fairly close to it. As you can see, because I am using the super-wide lens, I have some perspective distortion going on with the pillars. So after again combining 7 shots, I also used the Lens Correction tool in Photoshop to straighten things out...

Now, as I was going on to the next step of tweaking up the contrast, etc... there were two little details in the shot that bothered me (they were also in the first vertical shot). There were two large electric fans toward the front of the church. I cloned them out as best as I could...

Again, after the final tweaking, I was pretty happy with the final result. Click on this final pic for a fairly large view...

Star Trails... 1st attempt

2011-05-11T20:47:00.000-04:00

Next September I'm heading out west and want to get some star trail shots at Arches National Park and the surrounding areas. I thought it might be time to do a few practice test shots. Here's the first attempt. This is about a half hours worth These are actually about fifty 30 second exposures piled on top of each other in Photoshop. I think it'll work better with no clouds in the sky. When I combined all the shots the clouds seem to form a kind of stepping pattern. This wouldn't happen in a single super long exposure, but from what I have read, really long exposures create a lot of noise in the digital image, hence the need for a bunch of smaller exposures. Hopefully, by the time I head out on the vaca, I'll have this all figured out! Btw, that weird line near the horizon was a plane.

Goodbye, Stuyvesant Photo

2011-05-09T19:08:00.000-04:00

I just found out that my favorite photo shop is closing it doors. It's last day is tomorrow. Always sad to see a great business go. This one in particular. Their staff was friendly and knowledgeable and their customer service couldn't be beat. These guys will be sorely missed by every photog in the Albany area. Take care, gang... and thanks for all your help over the years!

Springtime for Oakwood

2011-05-08T11:35:00.001-04:00

Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, that is. Drove by on my way home from running errands yesterday and decided to swing back around and take a few shots. The cloud cover to the right brought a big but brief rain shower about an hour later.

I gave it a bit of the "HDR" treatment in Photomatix and further tweaking in Photoshop. I'm pretty satisfied with the results. I'll have to head back there during a nice sunset!

Brave New World....

2011-04-30T22:36:00.002-04:00

...is not the name of the web project that of pal of mine, Dean, is directing and producing. For now he is keeping the title under wraps. But it is the name I am giving this image (click on the pic for a bigger view!)...

I had the pleasure of being on the set today, where I snapped off some pix of the production and came away with this publicity type shot! I'll have more news on this project as it becomes available, so stay tuned!

Super-Moon!

2011-03-21T11:51:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday was the night of the much heralded "Super-Moon." That's when the moon is 14% brighter and a wee bit bigger cuz it is as close to the Earth as it gets. I thought it might be a good photo op. I wasn't the only one! There were a few other photogs staking out their spots on the edge of the Empire State Plaza overlooking the rest of the city. Anyway, here is the best of what I was able to get...

The problem with the "Super-Moon" is that because its so bright, you really can't see any definition in the moon itself. If you want to also expose for the foreground, anyway. I should have gone the night before, when the moon would have appeared almost full, but would have risen an hour earlier when there is plenty of daylight left.

My buddy John Nilsen took a really nice timelapse of the event... Here it is...
Supermoon Timelapse from John Nilsen Studios on Vimeo.

Happy Spring!

2011-03-21T11:31:00.000-04:00

OK, so its the first day of Spring and of course, its snowing outside. I have always found it real tough to get out there on the Winter days and shoot some pix. Here's a few shots from this past Winter where I actually got motivated enough to do so...

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-06T09:14:00.000-05:00

Last night I was with the rest of the NEWS 10 crew as we put on the "Light the Tree" special. It was a long day, but at the end (and during the special) the tree was lit and the fireworks went off. I managed to set down my video camera long enough to grab this shot. Had to use a high ISO speed (3200) because I was without my tripod, so there's a fair amount a noise in this pic, still... I'm pretty happy with the way it came out!

Walkin' in the boneyard

2010-10-31T13:28:00.000-04:00

Last night, on the eve before All Hallows Eve, my wife Diane and I took a walk through Oakwood Cemetery to see if we could scare up any spooks. Well I was there to take some pix, not quite sure what Diane's mission was. She didn't even bring a stake or Holy Water for protection. We didn't see any ghouls, but it could have been that we got out of there too early, as the only light we thought to bring was my flash for my camera. Next time we'll be better prepared.

The mandatory flowing water shot...

2010-10-24T10:27:00.002-04:00

Made it up to Thacher Park yesterday. And although it was an extremely overcast day, I was able to get a couple of nice shots, including this little waterfall. After I had gotten this photo from a nice safe position, I had climbed down on the wet and slippery rocks (I really have to get hiking shoes), to get a lower angle.

Turns out, I should've saved myself the trouble. I like the first shot better! Yes, I know it's somewhat cliched, but now I can scratch "Flowing waterfall" off my photography checklist.

Anyway, even though the sun only peaked out a couple of times, the colors were beautiful and it was a great day for a little hike!

You can go home again... on a ladder!

2010-10-19T22:03:00.000-04:00

About 20 years ago, I took the above long exposure photo on (gasp) film! It was from an overpass and gave a nice view of the highway going in and out of the city of Albany. I always thought I could do better. First off, I broke the rule of "thirds" by putting the skyline smack dab in the middle. Secondly, the shot wasn't as sharp as I had hoped. Even though I was on tripod, there must have been some wind or movement to cause the blur. I had always planned on going back to that bridge, to try again. Especially in these days of digital photography where you can take as many shots as you like and don't have to worry about using up film.

Unfortunately, a few years after I took that original shot, the city erected this 8 foot tall fence...

The fence was much too tall for my tripod and the mesh was too small to shoot through. Every once in awhile I would wonder if there was a way to get around that fence. After thinking about it for quite some time I recently came up with this...

I wrapped my monopod tightly around the ladder and was able to get just enough reach to shoot over the fence. I wrapped an extra strap around myself and the camera and as I stood on the top rung, I rested the camera lens on the top of the fence to try to give it a little more support. Even with that, whenever traffic crossed the overpass I was on, the bridge would shake a little, causing my long exposures to blur. So I could only take the shots when there was no traffic on the overpass. The exposures were averaging about 20 seconds. Long enough for the cars to travel the length of the curved road.

Now in that original shot, I felt that the white streak of the oncoming headlights was too much and that the red streaking taillights would have been better if you didn't see the the start of one of the trails. Ideally, I wanted one lane of oncoming headlights and two lanes of the taillights. This proved to be quite a challenge. There were long stretches when there was no traffic at all. These particular roads come from ramps that don't get that much action in the evening hours. Also, my hands were getting a bit cold as the sun went down and my fingers were clutching the top of the fence for support. At one point, a police officer stopped his cruiser and wanted to make sure I wasn't a jumper! Once I told him what I was doing, he wished me luck and drove off. And as luck would have it, I never got the exact shot I needed when there was no traffic shaking me and my camera around. What I did get was a shot of the two lanes of taillights and three minutes later, another shot of the oncoming headlights. Then, in Photoshop, I was able to combine the two shots into one...

There was also some cleaning up to do. I had to get rid of that crane that had been marring the skyline for about a year now. And because of the double exposure, there were some stars that were repeating their pattern because of their movement across the sky. And later (after some suggestions on the RixFotos Facebook page), I also got rid of the sign.

After taking much care to get a level shot, I decided to tilt the whole thing to make it a little more dynamic. And I came up with 3 different variations. Here are the alternates...

By a small margin, the folks on Facebook, liked this full color one the best...

What I find interesting are the changes over 20 years. At one point, those little reflector signs from the original photo had been removed. You can also see grass growing through the cracks in the pavement on the side of the road. And finally, the dark trees hugging the curve now obstruct the highway a lot more than they did in the original shot. Well, after much long windedness, that's about it. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the new shot (all three of them)!

That baby's a classic!

2010-10-16T00:08:00.003-04:00

Speaking of old vehicles, (see last post), last Summer I was visiting my sister and her family out in western Ohio and one evening her husband Jack and I jumped in the truck to search out some dilapidated barns when we came across this beauty...

There was a bunch of people hanging around outside and I asked if they wouldn't mind if I took some shots of their barn. The woman who seemed to be in charge (at least of the kids that were running around her) said that would be fine, and folks always want to take pix of the barn. So, while I left Jack with the job of making small talk I started snapping away. When I rounded the corner, I saw an old Mercury sitting inside...

I went in to take a closer look. The thing looked like it had been sitting there for years. I took a couple of shots, trying to find the best angle, when one of the gentlemen who had been on the property said, "Do you have permission to take pictures of that car?" I had said that I had asked permission to shoot the barn and I assumed it would be ok to shoot what was inside it. (Never assume!). Apparently the folks that stay in the house are renters and the barn doesn't really belong to them. The guy said that the owner of the car wasn't around and that maybe I should go back to the outside of the barn. He then told me that he had offered to buy the car from the owner, but he wasn't selling. Really, did the thing even run? It looked kinda like a wreck! I acted sort of interested as I went back to taking shots from the outside, but I was kinda bummed. I had only taken a couple of pictures in there and I felt I hadn't quite gotten "the shot." The messed up Mercury reminded me of those possessed cars in those Stephen King books, like Christine and From a Buick 8. I kind of felt it was a missed opportunity.

Anyway, I finally went back to the pictures tonight, to see if there was anything worth salvaging. This was the best shot I had gotten of the car...

It was ok, but it wasn't exactly evoking the mood I had felt when I discovered it. The backlight was way too bright. I should've taken the shot at dusk and even lit the car. So I started messing around in Photoshop. What I ended up with looks more like an illustration from a horror comic...

Again, I wish I had been able to take a few more shots, but I think I captured the moodiness I was hoping for and even given the car a little life.

Click on any of the pix for a bigger view! And don't forget to visit the website at www.rixfotos.com!

HDR: Round 2

2010-10-14T17:27:00.003-04:00

Looking back at those small previews on my last post, I was a surprised that the pictures didn't look all that different. The changes are more subtle. This time, I went a little farther with HDR shots and hopefully will demonstrate better what it can do for a photo. Click on the images for a bigger view...

This is the original shot of an old tractor in a field. I got a nice blue sky with the polarizer filter (not to mention some weird pattern effects in the windows that weren't visible with the naked eye), but the details in the shadows are pretty much lost. Here's the HDR version...

Now, you can clearly see the inner shadow areas of the tractor, although the wheels on the left seem to have a bit of a blue cast to them. It probably wouldn't hurt to do a bit of color desaturation on them. The sky is also a more even blue.

Then, I took it a wee bit farther...

This time those tires were REALLY blue, so I took my own advice and turned them back to grey. One thing I noticed, is that I really start to get a lighter haloing effect where the skyline meets the trees, especially on the right side. All in all, its looking less like a photograph and more like an illustration. Another thing that you probably can't see in the preview is that the more the effect is applied, the noisier/grainier the sky gets. Anyway, thanks to John, the owner of the tractor for allowing me to shoot it!

Next pic. Before HDR...

After...

I wondered if this one would present a problem with the moving water, since I am combining 3 shots for the HDR effect. Overall, I was pleased, but I did go back and brought in some of the more natural looking water from the original shot in a few troublesome areas. There still is a bit of lightening of the sky at the tree line. Not sure if I'm ok with it or not. What I do like is that the colors really pop!

Ok, now hopefully when I hit "publish" on this Blog-thingy, all the shots won't look the same again!

First Foray into HDR

2010-09-25T20:01:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm late to the HDR party. I finally downloaded the Photomatix HDR Demo and gave it a whirl.

For those unfamiliar with the term (and there probably isn't many of you left) HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. Essentially, it can allow you to see photographs more like your eye remembers seeing the original scene. You have probably noticed that when you take a picture of a sunset, either the sun is washed out, or is you exposed properly for the sun, all the other detail in the photo is too dark.

Basically, when you shoot for an HDR photo, you take three pictures. The first is properly exposed, the second is under-exposed so that the highlights are not blown out and the final shot is over-exposed to bring out the detail in the shadows. Then you use an HDR program to merge the three shots together. Depending on the settings you use, you can go from a more realistic looking photo (where the shadows and highlights are all properly exposed) to a more painted effect. Just do a search for HDR and you'll see all the stunning images that can be created.

Ok, so with all that, here was my first attempt. (Click on any of the pix for a bigger view) The first shot is the original...

Here's the first run thru with Photomatix...

You'll notice I really pumped up the color saturation, but also, you can see more detail in the big white cloud and also in the trees and rocks on the left side of the shot that was mostly in shadow.

I ran it thru Photomatix one more time with slightly different settings. This time I adjusted the color balance to give it a slightly warmer look and brought out the shadows even a little more...

Not quite sure if either one of these shots quite does it for me and you can tweak endlessly. Still, I'm anxious to continue working on these... Maybe I'll head out tomorrow and try again!

Truth, Justice and the Albany way....

2010-07-25T17:41:00.003-04:00

Some of you know that in my day job, I'm a videographer for a local news station. Well, these days it's not often that I have the time to do something a little more creative... or even fun... Well this story was the exception to the rule... enjoy!

Thanks again to the Albany Super-heroes for going along with every one of my crazy ideas! And keep on keepin' those streets safe!

Favorite shots for June

2010-06-30T21:29:00.008-04:00

This first shot was taken at the Americade Rally in Lake George. It had been raining most of the day, sometimes really pouring. But as night fell the skies cleared up and I was able to get this shot through the spokes as another bike outfitted with neon lights zoomed past. I like how the blur of the cycle ihn the background kind or lines up with the spokes on the bike in the foreground!

Nothing like a great June wedding! I got a chance to see how the Canon 7D performed in low(ish) light at a high ISO. I was very happy with what the camera was giving me in the church, even when the ISO was set to 3200! Of course, it was tough to take a bad shot with such a beautiful couple as subjects! Now if only the official wedding photographer could have stayed out of my way through the proceedings! Anyway, CONGRATS to Pam and Tony and thanks for making Diane and I part of your special day!

Finally, last Monday on my way home from work, the skies cleared up after a light rain and I had a feeling there might be some nice sunset light. So I turned the car around and headed to my favorite (but scary) spot. It's the highest ramp that leads from I-787 to the Empire State Plaza. Not much room to pull the car over, and I had to keep an eye out for traffic, but it was worth the shot. Maybe one of these days I can get the State Police to officially block off the road for me so I don't have to worry about getting hit!

www.RixFotos.com

Really?

2010-06-23T22:44:00.006-04:00

So, Diane and I are walking around Boston and we decide to get some pix of us outside of the famous Cheers bar! After taking separate shots of each other, I saw another couple doing the same thing. I offered to take a picture of both of them if they would do the same for us.

I was of course, too polite to check his work. I mean, how much could he screw it up, right? This is what I got. Really, Dude? You're kidding me, right? Ahhh, a memory to treasure forever! I wonder if he does weddings?

www.RixFotos.com

Inner beauty... at the NYS Capitol.

2010-06-03T22:19:00.009-04:00

The Capitol of New York State is such a striking building from the outside, that I often forget what a beautiful place it is inside as well. So, while the front of the building is covered in scaffolding during some needed renovations, I decided to take some shots inside one of New York's architectural treasures. I'm still loving how the Canon 7D is handling low light situations. All of these were hand held... No tripod!

Hot Spring Night

2010-05-01T22:12:00.003-04:00

Yes, it's been a long time since my last entry into the blogosphere. I hope that from here on out, I will get to this much more frequently...

In any event, there is nothing like a new camera to get the juices flowing again. This past Wednesday, I became the proud owner of the Canon 7D. I am still learning my way around it and so far I have been mostly testing in low-light conditions, since it is a pretty big leap from my 5 year old Rebel XT.

Anyway, Diane and I went out to the Snow Man Ice Cream Shop in Lansingburg tonight and I made sure to bring the new camera with me to take advantage of "Magic Hour." When we got there, the light was just about right and there were some nice ominous dark clouds hanging overhead, I should have taken some shots right then, but we decided to get in line and get the ice cream first. Not wanting to get ice cream on the camera, I left it in the car! The line was long and I kept watching as the light was quickly fading. By the time we had gotten back to the care, it was completely dark, but I thought I would take a few shots anyway.

I took a couple of shots at a high ISO (3200) and then dialed it back down for a few long exposures, to get some trailing traffic lights. Just then an ambulance zoomed by with all it's lights blazing and I caught it just as it passed in front of the ice cream shop!

www.RixFotos.com

Welcome to New Mexico

2009-10-29T20:43:00.008-04:00

Some of the names in this blog have been changed to protect the innocent, ambivalent and or righteous.

So, the wife (Diane) and I went to Albuquerque and stayed with some old friends. With the hubby at work and the little one in school, my buddy... let's call her Mary, was freed up to show us around! One of our excursions involved heading to a scenic area in the Jemez Mountains.

Mary was driving since she knew the area… and has always been a little leery of my driving. You see, she was my reporter and I her photog back in the days when we ran the Investigative Unit for the TV station we both worked at. She usually drove so I was the one that would be hanging on white knuckled as she would say… “Watch this… here’s a little sumpthin’ my ex taught me…” or.. “I saw this in a cartoon once!”

So there we were in mine and the wife’s rental… Shortly after we turned from the main road to another not so main road, we came upon ten or so cars stopped in traffic. This came as a surprise since although we had seen a few signs that said “Congested Area” and “Drink Carefully!” this was the first time we had actually seen any traffic during this particular trip.

Priscilla… oops! My bad! I mean Mary decided she did not want to wait for the traffic to clear so she started to ride along on the narrow shoulder as I kept reminding her “Rental! Rental!” When we got around the other cars we could finally see what the hold up was. A pick-up truck had turned over on its side and its load of split wood was spread out all over the road. There were a couple of people out in the middle of the mess appearing to be trying to clear the way. I got out to help as well, figuring the faster we cleared the way, the faster we would be on our way.

After finding out no one had been hurt, I noticed one of the wood clearers was not doing a particularly good job. This was apparently the driver and he was shit-faced. Lets call him Cletis. His condition was quite understandable since it was shortly after the noon hour and hey, that’s hard work hauling wood! Anyway, Cletis would pick up a piece of wood and throw it anywhere. Half the time, back in to the pile he was trying to clear. He was also doing a lot of swearing and belly-aching and stumbling, when the other guy, a big bruiser that we’ll call Duke, made a comment that maybe this wouldn’t have happened if Cletis wasn’t so plastered.

Cletis looked up. You could barely see his eyes because they were half shut and very red. He squints in our general direction and says something rather disparaging concerning sexual preferences. I turned to Duke and said that I thought one of us had been insulted. Duke said he was pretty sure it was him. Now looking at Duke, he was about the last guy you would want to call an Effing Fa---t! Duke looked like he could crush Cletis like a tin can.

Cletis was now swearing and raving and making semi threatening gestures as he was holding his piece of wood like a club. I suggested to Duke that maybe we shouldn’t get him riled up while he had a potential weapon (though he probably would have fallen over if he had attempted to use it). At Duke’s mention of the police, Cletis dropped the wood and started looking for cover. He walked up to what looked like abandoned or run down houses as he looked for refuge. Duke asked me to keep an eye out for the cops as he kept an eye on Cletis and followed him around as we stumbled on a rickety porch attached to an old house that did not face the road.

I went back to the car and Pris, I mean Mary said, “C’mon! Let’s get going!” I explained that it was my duty to wait for the cops and assist Duke in apprehending this ne'er-do-well. Pris said that they were already here and waved her hand vaguely in some nondescript direction. I looked around but didn’t see any cops. I made sure that Duke and Cletis were still in my sites and I looked up and down the road for the police. Most folks were still in there cars. There did appear to be a couple of paramedic types, but they were just leaning against their vehicle enjoying the show.

I went back to the car and was again assured by Pris that they were here. This time she kind of pointed in front of her. Again, I saw nothing. I rolled my eyes, got in the car and hoped my new best friend, Duke, could handle the situation. A few minutes later we saw two cop cars whiz by us. “See, there they are!” Pris exclaimed.

For the rest of the day, I told Pris that I was disappointed in her and that Justice was my middle name. Of course that is not my real middle name since it had been changed to protect the righteous!

Anyhow, we did manage to see some beautiful sights and were back home just in time to pick up Pris’s (ok, I gave up on Mary) daughter from school. I’m sure Duke would understand.

Pix from the trip should be up soon at...

www.RixFotos.com

Balloon Fiesta Bash!

2009-10-11T23:06:00.006-04:00

Well, after the disappointing experience at the Adirondack Balloon Fest last month, the second time turned out to be the charm! This time we did it right... Headed down to Albuquerque for their annual Balloon Fiesta and had a great time. The weather was perfect (though a little chilly at 5am!) and we were treated to some amazing sights. Hundreds of hot air balloons took to the skies in what is known as the biggest balloon event in the world! It was very eerie being there at 5:30 in the morning, in complete darkness, with thousands of other folks. On Saturday (the busier of the two days we went) it was like the population of a small city as folks set up their lawn chairs and ate breakfast burritos from one of the many vendors that were up and running. One of the big highlights was the "Special Shapes Rodeo" where balloons came in all shapes and sizes. One of the most popular was a big giant Darth Vader head! News reports had stated that Darth made it to the Fiesta just in time after being held up in some shipping debacle in China!

Our only concern was that traffic was so heavy getting out of there on Saturday morning, that we were worried we would miss our flight back home! As we were sitting there stopped dead in the parking lot, I looked longingly at the balloons still in the sky, unencumbered by traffic jams! Of course they have to go where the wind takes them.

We also toured around some other places in and around Albuquerque and I'll have plenty of new shots on the website shortly. In the meantime, if you are on Facebook, you can check out some of the pix of the Balloon Fiesta right here! I'll be back soon with another story or two of the trip. For now... vacation is over and its back to work tomorrow. Ugh!

www.RixFotos.com

Balloon Fest Bust!

2009-09-27T07:56:00.005-04:00

Headed up to the Adirondack Balloon Fest in Glens Falls, NY with the wife early Saturday morning. By early, I mean we left the house at 5am with expectations of getting there between 6 -6:30 (based on how long it took me last year with traffic). We made great time on the Northway, and arrived at the exit just before 6. Then, we hit the traffic. It took us over an hour to move less than half a mile.

It really was an unbearable situation. We did not see any cops directing the traffic until we got to the entrance to the airport. They really needed to get some help out there in the morning to manage the traffic. Folks were inventing their own lanes, cutting in front of others... it was mayhem. Our only thoughts as to why it was so much worse than when I came up the year before, was that Sunday it was expected to rain. So Saturday was really going to be the only shot.

Finally, we scrapped the official directions and improvised a shortcut using side roads, that we weren't sure were going to lead us where we needed to be (no map or GPS!). Anyway, after being able to cut ahead of much of the traffic that was in front of us, the sun was now up and every once in awhile we could see a glimpse, through the trees, of some of the balloons taking to the air as we approached the Glens Falls Airport. Some of them could be seen risinig out of the golden mist. It would have made a great picture, if I wasn't still stranded in the car. As we got to the airport we could see that folks were already leaving. Not a good sign!

We finally parked our car at 7:30 and there were many balloons still on the ground, or to be more specific, grounded. The mist had turned into a very heavy fog and the balloonists didn't have enough sight distance to launch. It was cold (in the '30s) and you couldn't see much through the fog, so we decided to have breakfast in the hangar and wait for the fog to lift. Well after breakfast, the fog was still there, but the balloons weren't. They deflated and packed it in, presumably to have better luck with a launch in the evening.

We left and headed up north to check out some of the scenery. While there were some Fall colors, we were still at least a week away from peak. Still, we had a nice day taking the gondola to the top of Gore Mountain, driving around and exploring. I managed to take a few pix. We made a short stop in Saratoga to drop off a print to be matted and then headed home, too tired to head back up to Glens Falls and deal with the traffic again for the evening's activities which were still a few hours away.

We got back to the house about 11 hours after we left it, ready for a nap. Hopefully we won't have as much bad luck at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico, next week. Looks like we just may have to get up earlier!

www.RixFotos.com

Covering the Prez!

2009-09-21T16:51:00.004-04:00

It felt like a half season of "24" And like Jack Bauer, my long day even involved the POTUS (President of the United States). He was to arrive in Albany at approximately 11:00 am and arrive at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy at about 11:30.

Cue the ticking clock...

2:00 am:
The day started when I got up after managing to get 3 hours sleep.

3:00 am:
Entered the station and loaded up the LIVE Truck. The morning producer told me he was gonna want some nice bump shots like they had last night at 11:00, where from outside the automotive tech center you could see into the building from the raised overhead door. That meant I wasn't going to be able to park right next to the side of the building near the media access door. Oh well.

3:32 am:
As my reporter Mark O'Brien and I rode in the LIVE truck, Art, an engineer also followed in the Satellite Truck. We weren't quite sure why we had both, but ya gotta be prepared!

3:45 am:
First road block... Barriers were set up at the entrance. Two big LIVE trucks circled the area, trying to find a way in.

3:55 am:
After discovering other closed areas, I got out of the truck, moved the barriers and let both our trucks in. We saw that the big overhead door was still open and you could see a huge American Flag hanging inside. We decided to set up so there was a good view of the doorway.

4:35 am:
Received a call from the Assignment Editor who got in at around 4. "You can't be in front of the building, you have to move to the side!" With 20 minutes to go before the morning show would start, we had to break down the truck, move it, raise the mast again, re-tune in the shot, and set up the camera again. Fortunately, Chief Photographer Bob Edwards had arrived shortly before and assisted!

4:52 am:
Gained access to the side door. If we hurried our asses we could go live from inside.

5:00 am:
LIVE! News 10 in the Morning! Mark does his first cut-in, then I get a beauty shot of the room for the bump shot coming out of the first block. Things go smoothly as Bob and Art set up for that main event on the risers, getting the second camera hooked up. Everything is fine until...

5:44 am:
Mark and I get told by the Secret Service that we have to shut the camera off as they begin a sweep of the room. This takes place 90 seconds before we're supposed to go LIVE again. Mark ends up doing a "phoner." The SS say that we should be able to power up again soon.

6:34 am:
After phoning it in a few more times, the Secret Service now says we have top break down the camera and leave the building. Um... ok. It's now gettin' a little chilly outside! The sun should be up soon!

6:40 am:
More photogs and reporters and LIVE trucks from other stations show up. I eat a baloney sandwich and a banana.

7:00 am:
Everyone scrambles trying to get their cameras set up on the risers, before we get kicked out again for yet another sweep. My second camera (for cut-aways) is set up behind the main camera. Things get a little cramped on the riser! Tempers flare! Not really... we're too tired.

7:30 am:
We are all booted out again for the final sweeps. Release the hounds!

7:55 am:
I open up all the doors and hood of my truck so the sniffers can snif. I hand off my reporter to another photog. They will do some story on the "outside." The waiting game begins.

9:15 am:
Pick up my official credentials. Re-enter the building and wait some more.

Shortly after 11:00:
Lydia starts co-anchoring from the site, waiting for the POTUS to arrive. This is her first day on air at out station after working at one of our competitors for years. Nice way to start!

11:50-something:
OBAMA in the house! Bob shoots the speach. I take the wide-shots and cutaways and manage to snap off a few pix with my SLR.

12:30 pm-ish:
That's all folks... well not really, but the Prez makes a quick getaway. I get a bunch of reaction interviews with reporter John McLoughlin, then shoot some more for Lydia.

2:00 pm:
Regroup with everyone at the truck.

2:40 pm:
I bid the rest of those suckers farewell as I head back to the station, then finally home (Hey, I got there first!)

4:00 pm:
Enjoy the debut of News 10 at Four from the comfort of my own home.

Cue "24" ticking clock sound... tick-boom--tick-boom--tick-boom...

I would like to thank my enlarged prostate...

2009-09-19T12:35:00.003-04:00

I've always heard that the best time to take pictures is in the late evening or early morning when the light reaches that "magic hour." The evenings were never a problem, but gettin' up for shoots at the crack of dawn always seemed like a good idea the night before, not so much as the morning approached, though. I had been meaning to get up to the track for an early morning shoot for a couple of years now, and this past season I finally did it... more that once.

And it's all thanks to a little something that ain't so little anymore. Lately, I have been getting up on the average of about 5 times a night to go to the bathroom. Since a good nights sleep had become a thing of the past (if I wasn't getting up to go, I was dreaming about going), I figured why not take advantage of the situation and get those morning shots I had always been thinking about. So, without even the help of an alarm clock, I was off to the track a couple of times and was also able to get some great pre-dawn shots during our recent visit to Bar Harbor. With another Balloon fest or two around the corner, I think I should be in pretty good shape.

Hopefully the quality of my photos won't take a giant hit when I have a procedure to shrink my prostate in mid October. Maybe I'll finally have to invest in a new alarm clock and discover the wonders of drinking coffee. In the meantime, I'd just like to say, thanks again, Prostate. You went above and beyond.

http://www.rixfotos.com

Welcome to the RixFotos Blog!

2009-09-12T12:58:00.002-04:00

Some of the posts in this blog will talk about specific photographs or picture taking trips. Others may focus on my adventures as a Video News-Photographer at the local TV station where I work. I'm thinking of this as a kind of photographer's diary. For this first post, I'd like to talk about one of my favorite shots!

This photo is from our recent vacation to Bar Harbor, ME. We were visiting my wife's sister and her family. We had been to Bar Harbor a bunch of times, but this time I thought I would try to get some images I hadn't captured before... That meant getting up really early! Three times I got up before sunrise to try to get some early morning shots. I was rewarded each morning with different conditions. The first two times I headed up Cadillac Mountain. The first morning was pretty fogged in but I did manage to get some sunrise shots through the fog. Second morning was clear and I got a great shot of the Islands off the coast. The top of the mountain was packed with visitors at 5am! There were even a couple of lunatics that had ridden their bikes to the top! On the third and final morning, I decided to try another location. So I headed to the Bar Harbor Yacht Club, set my tripod up on the dock and took some long exposures before the sun rose. These sailboats resting on the peaceful water was my favorite of the bunch. Shutter was open for about 8 seconds and I used my flashlight to "Paint the light" over the dock, so that it would stand out a bit. I loved the stillness and the light of the early morning out there. The only thing that broke the mood was the fact that I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes!

There was some slight Photoshop tweaking done to the image. Mostly adjusting the levels slightly so that the printed version would display well. I also cloned out a paint blotch in the dock near the bottom that I found somewhat distracting. There's another one further up the dock that I left alone.

The unaltered version won the 14th Facebook Photo Shootout! It's basically a contest for fun where photogs are given a secret ingredient (a word or phrase) that has to be incorporated into the photo and a time limit in which to take the photo (usually 2 or 3 days). The secret ingredient for this particular contest was "Beauty." There were a ton of great shots, but somehow this one was able to squeak by the rest!

Anyway, that's it for the first post. Comments are always welcome! Oh, and if for some reason you haven't discovered the actual site, its at www.RixFotos.com!