"Catch Lights".....

Have you ever wondered how to make a photograph better of a living thing?   "Catch Lights"....  Look at the photograph below and notice the three little reflections in the eyes.  This is a mannequin photographed in Las Vegas. Who dresses like this?  Cover the photograph so you only see from the nose up.  Cover the nose. The eyes are alive!   Very large sky lights in a large mall provided the light for the eyes.

Do the same with the photograph below.  Amazing!  There is no question without the catch lights it is a mannequin.  The mole under the right eye is a nice touch! 

What makes for good light?  A window, fill flash or a very large light colored wall can produce incredible catch lights.  The photograph below has my daughter adjacent to a large window.  The sun is the most natural light there is.  Did I really just say that?  Kinda explains my jr. high science scores.  The sun is the largest light source also.  There I go again!  The larger the light source the softer the light.  

The lizard below was photographed in Costa Rica.  I was laying on my stomach going in for a kiss.   This guy was huge.  Look at his eyes...he is very alive!  Don this ones for you...."them there catch lights are awesome!"

Bad Hair Day..........

Nikon D200 600mm  f4.0,  at f4.0 - 1/2500  Aperture Priority

Perusing over 13,000 photographs brings a flood of memories.....

Two years ago in early May my goal was to find a "Freak" Elk that I had come across late in 2005.  To my surprise it only took me most of one day, some hiking (a couple of miles), two lunchables, bottled water and a package of butt wipes.  In our family we call the small packaged moisturized hand wipes - "butt Wipes". Normal diaper changing requires the same product.  

An elk with an antler growing out of his head in the wrong place probably has few friends.  The unusual growth is just above his eye and crazy shaped.  During the rutt the year before at full girth and spread, he had no cows.    I remember a similar problem I had many years ago.  No cows.  The right portion of the antler seemed normal with 7 points.  A half of a trophy!  The other side was a combination of a spoon like a moose antler and two separate antlers growing out.    My attempt to consul him brought some self criticism. One time when riding with my brother I commented on a rather large individual crossing the street in front of us.  My brothers response was  " We don't make fun of you".  Humility sucks!  My judgment of this elk may be totally out of whack.  In fact at Cabellas a freak anything seems to be a prize.    So I move on and save this photo in my Favorites file.  Or maybe I should create a freak file.  This elk would be the only photo in the file......except a picture of me on those days when I leave for work and my wife catches me at the door and says are you wearing that outside and to work?

Death do us part......

Nikon D-3 24-70 f2.8 (-1.33 EV) NIK Color Efex Pro 2

What happens when we die?.......

I am not one to give a sermon about life after death, or resurrection.  When a loved one dies the emotions created are as powerful as any one person can experience.   Our lives proceed slow at first, but eventually at full course.  Because we lost a loved one our paths may vary since their death.  

While in Virginia City I visited the local cemetery.  I usually end up taking a peek at the local burial sites.  Especially communities like Virginia city that have an unusual founding,  or an extremely diverse people.  Great respect should always be given to the place where one is buried.  I always feel a spiritual connection when touring the place where a family, friend(s) or government acknowledges ones past existence.   My father is buried in a location that has beautiful trees, and a manicured lawn.  Beauty surrounds his burial plot.   Not much of the same "beauty" in Virgina City.  The cemetery fits the area, and the climate but more importantly it fits the "rugged" nature of the people that founded the city.  There is no grass,  the trees are not abundant and there is little order to where burial plots are located.   

I was moved to tears (Don and I have that in common).  Entering the cemetery through a gate that must be at least 100 years old I stopped and took in what was before me.  Every type of marker (head stone) imaginable.  What "reeked" from this location was history.  I walked through this  small fenced in area without a word.  I had a prayer in my heart that I was not walking on any burial plots.  As you see in the following photographs there was plots with beautiful marble head stones, rock, and wood with some that had no indication at all as to who was lying at rest there.  The quotes on some of the head stones took me to my knees.  I cried. 

With my photographs I attempted to create the mood that I felt.  It was a clear sunny day. Beautiful by any standard.  But as I photographed and experienced each plot I was lost in the history of each person.  My experiences there was more black and white than in full color.

Some plots had fences completely surrounding the plot.  Most of which were Iron fences.

A beautiful Grave marker.  Note that it is for a 4 year old infant.

"Rest Papa Rest"  How can that not move you!

No name, no family, nothing........

As compared to this beautiful stone....

No marker, a couple of silk flowers....someone showing respect for someone....

 How long before Mary Martin's plot is an "unknown"?....

I was tempted to stand some of the tipping head stones ...like Sarah's head stone.    Write Mary Martin on her wood marker with permanent marker.  Instead I realized each and every one of these individuals are just that..an individual.  Their plots are like each of them..unique.  It was not my place to do more than make a record and leave so others may have similar experiences.

The good Old Days....

Nikon D3 24-70 f2.8 (-2.7 EV)  NIK Color Efex Pro 2.0

In Silver City I ran across an old, I mean OLD Ford truck.  It is as dead as Ford Motor Company may be soon but much more beautiful!

Don't tell Dan....

Nikon D3 24-70 f2.8 (-1.0EV) NIK Color Efex Pro 2.0

Ok! I know that I have a lot of Maverik work to complete....

There are a few items that I am late delivering to the grand "Pooh Bah" Mr. Murray. I am on the road and it may be expected that I will work around the clock! HA! Not so. My sanity (I hold it sacred) is wearing thin these days. My free time doing my itsy bitsy hobby is the glue that keeps me sane and lowers my Xanax supplements. I took the opportunity to run up to Silver City today and shoot some "Old Stuff". Silver City is a mere 8 to 10 miles from one of the sites I previewed...(Lucky ME!). It is a photographers candy store, a contractors Home Depot, a new hair cut for Penny, silver on a Harley for the "Old Guy" or even falling at 150 miles an hour towards the earth with nothing but a grin and a parachute for that "Onsite Guy". WOW I LOVE IT!

Dichotomy of what I did today...

A new day....no lost vehicles.

I am in a new area today looking at three sites for new stores.  My role today and tomorrow is to interview new contractors (being that this area is new to Maverik).  Equally as important is to visit each site to consider utilities, soils, existing features and many other issues relative to developing each property.  It is something I really enjoy.  I am fortunate to be working for a company that is still growing and doing a lot of right things.  Just a few miles away on the same highway is an uncompleted development.  My curiosity took me onto the site.  It was obvious that a contractor was near completion at this development.  It appears that most if not all the underground utilities are in place.  The roads have been cut to sub grade.  Everything is being over taken by weeds and debris.  A lot of effort and expense had gone into this development.  It is so very near completion.  Was it a shortage of funding?  Or maybe an overzealous developer that had not followed proper channels?  The development covers a lot of acreage possibly as much as 100 or more acres.  Someones vision not able to be completed.  I expect that within the next year just a few short miles down the highway a new Maverik will be doing a "bang up" business.  My hope is that the unfinished development I witnessed may restart anew and be completed someday. 

Who Do You Call?......

I have not blogged for a while...believe it or not I went to Arizona for a couple of days without my camera.   A few days turned into a week.  I was miserable.   Everywhere I looked potentially framed images where passing me by.  I will never leave home without my camera again!

Today I had a solemn reminder of my great love, admiration and appreciation for the friends that surrounded me.  While I was whimpering in Prescott, Arizona, Chad Call and Kelly Irons where laboring at my house.  Concrete work is very demanding especially the flat work at my home.  With a positive attitude and a masterful technique they placed over 12 yards in my yard.  These gentlemen are true friends.  They took on the task without my oversight.  Not that my oversight was needed.  It's just that it is my driveway, at my house and they did it for ME!  I know that I can call them with any need and they would be there ASAP.

This afternoon I found myself lost in the middle of thousands of parked cars (at the economy parking lot at SLC airport).  When I left town a week ago I parked near #6 or #7 pick up spot.  Today I DE-bussed at #7.  The Nissan Titan was nowhere in sight.  I did write the drop off location down last week.  I guess it was lost in my rage when I realized I had to stay over the weekend in AZ.    Though my rage did uncover a credit card I thought I had lost.  Anyway WHO DO YOU CALL when you have lost your car at the airport?  Let's see... I can hear it now.. (laughing out loud) "you what?"  or "call AARP" or maybe "you've lost it".     My emotions were creeping to the surface.  Walking back and forth for almost two hours was making me very tired and weak.  The shoulder bag and two pieces of luggage totaled over 100 pounds.  Delta weighs everything these days.  My wife was teaching, my son and daughters did not answer.  I had ran out of people I could truly threaten if they told anyone.  Then I realized I have a friend that is always good to me.  Penny arrived about 15 minutes later.  Her laughter was restrained.  We drove up and down the aisles.  To my extreme surprise (and I think hers also), the truck was where it was supposed to be near #6.  In the end I did not lose it I just lost IT.  Another very good friend had come to my rescue.  Truth be known I shed a small tear while driving home thinking about my good life and my incredible friends.  Singing to the song from Jonathan Livingston Seaguls "Dear Father" didn't help.

Ten Years!!!!!!

What a wonderful surprise today to have my friends and associates at Maverik take me to lunch for my 10 year anniversary at Maverik.  Dan Murray the great "Pooh Bah" of the Real Estate Department organized the little get together.  I really appreciated it!  Today an individual asked me how many stores I have built in the last 10 years.  I honestly do not remember.  What I do remember is the good times....

• Always observing the ongoing loss of Dan's memory (hee hee).  
  
• The fair and supportive management style of Dan.
• The always supportive nature of the Call Family (the owners).
• Decent compensation (1/2 of Dan's)
• Many hours on the road enjoying new scenery and environments.
• Making a lot of new friends and learning from them (even the older ones..Kelly).
• Laughing at myself (not  too much).
• Laughing at others (often).
• Photographing often!
• Having a real time radar at my side (Penny).
• Challenges, everyday but not insurmountable.

God has seen fit to allow me to have a wonerful job, great eyesight, reasonably good health, a somewhat positive outlook on life but most importantly a beautiful, loving and extremely supportive wife. 

I look forward to another 10 years of working then speeding off to the next photograph!

Long ago....not far away.

Last week I had a fun opportunity to go see some moderately unknown petroglyphs in southern Utah.  I'm always looking for reasons to get out my camera and go shooting.  This was going to be another fun photographic adventure!  In the end it humbled me.  I was very surprised at the very short four wheeler ride from the ranch to the site.  An even shorter walk and I was standing in front of writings/pictures dating from hundreds or maybe thousands of years ago.   So simple yet incredibly powerful to me.  The experience reminded me of the struggles and lifestyles of the person(s) that left the messages on the rock wall.  Many things in nature have vanished, become extinct, or have been more reclusive to the general public.  There before me was an incredible display of someone's talent from long ago.  I felt honored and privileged to be standing at this location visually consuming the renderings on the walls before me.  Did the person(s) that presented the drawings have a certain message?  Is this a depiction of the lifestyle of that time period?  Or was the drawings doodling by a bored teenager?  Whatever the intent or non-intention it was thrilling for me.