Month: February 2020

Arizona Bay

Posted on by Matthew

Updated the cover with a subtly adjusted image to reflect a journey to undo the negative thought process in my head. Where the stark contrast of right and wrong is extreme at times. Not everything is evil. Or wrong. We all are trying to figure this out in the shortest amount of time as possible to be successful in life. Maybe one day catch a wave in Hunnington Beach, CA with some friends.

I was out driving around as usual and saw the sliver of the moon setting right behind another beautiful sunset. The colors are enhanced, but they are there. We normally can’t see them, like Donald Trump’s spray on tan. It takes a minor adjustment to a 30 MegaPixel photo to expose fine gradients and subtle tones. Then It takes some painting and advance photo editing skills to make the comet.

The idea behind this I believe is through Bill Hicks. A little before my time, but Keenan Maynard and the Tool band honed in on it and wrote Ænema. If you listen to the lyrics I honestly feel that way being an adult that still has that little candle of naive innocence only to be crushed by shitty people.

I went to this thought as I tend to think about the big picture. So looking at that sunset I think about what was creating it. The refraction of light angled against our dirty atmosphere. Really dirty.

There are plenty of solutions. Some people think the solution is destruction and rebirth. Sure sounds good to me. So does changing the culture we’ve created.

Poetically philosophically the title is,

“The End was Beautiful. Arizona Bay had the Best View.”

This image is adjusted to show the polluted sky from the top of the tallest palm tree down. Taken downwind from Los Angeles to Phoenix.
This image is adjusted to show the polluted sky from the top of the tallest palm tree down. Taken downwind from Los Angeles to Phoenix.
Polluted Sunset in Arizona
A Theoretical Comet hurdles towards California creating Arizona Bay similar to the Gulf of Mexico. Inspired by Tool and personal feelings about the bullshit in this world.

Dreamstime PlugIn

Posted on by Matthew

Recently installed the Dreamstime Stock Image WordPress Plug-in for sharing photos with a link to buy them if interested. The featured image of the Jumping Cholla Fruit and the Saguaro below were downloaded straight to the WordPress Media Library.

*Little technical note on my side it showed an error after downloading, but that is a small comment error in WordPress. Check the media library and filter the photos by the current month to find them. Happens with regular uploads also.

Human Sized Saguaro in North East Phoenix
© Matthartshorn44 | Dreamstime Stock Photos

When It Rains, It Pours

Posted on by Matthew

Desert Scout

Today was a productive day after being down with the flu for a week. Glad to be back in action even at 3/4 speed. I was trying to find a way to Red Mountain and might have stumbled onto a desert scout that those big signs warn people about. Joking aside I was in a secret location in North Mesa, the picture below is more benign.

Desert Scout
An antelope squirrel at attention on top of rock pile in the desert.

The Storm of February 10th, 2020 in Fountain Hills

After getting some great stock photos of the Sonoran Desert. I had to go back home and figure out how to pay bills. Currently I drive rideshare and delivery, which is awesome for someone that needs thousands of pictures to make money selling stock photos.

The route went back East to Fountain Hills, where I got to see the storm develop with a mountain top view. I took my time, usually I am trying to set delivery records. Tonight I finished just in time to catch the squall that hit about 6:30 PM. I was leaving the last neighborhood and saw a dead end. The Airborne Ranger in the Sky was looking out tonight. Reviewing the weather radar, a squall formed over Gilbert hitting Fountain Hills right as I made my last delivery. I popped my trunk and just started shooting.

Cloud to Cloud

It took about 700 shots to get these three. I didn’t have time to focus man! A raging storm was throwing out lighting and I was laying down suppressive fire in response. Petting the Pig! Working that Canon 5D MKIV like it was one anyway.

Alright lesson learned. Again.

I need to look into new approaches for catching lightning. I think these were cloud to cloud. I honestly don’t remember hearing thunder. This time I just used the button, but the last time I would shoot ten frames at a time on tripod. Next time going with time lapse like I know I probably should. It’s tough to be in the right place at the right time to set-up though.

It did give me a bit of a chance to play with settings, but figuring out the best settings is challenging. I was parked at the bottom of  very dark fishbowl surrounded by mountains. Lightning caught at the right moment would act as a flash.

Here’s what worked for these shots on a Canon 5D Mark IV.

  • F/3.5
  • 1/60th of a Second
  • ISO 6400
  • Canon EF 28-135mm (@28mm) f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Zoom Lens
  • White Balanced for Flash

The flashes were violent and the incoming wind howling through the canyons deafened any other noise.
It was coming straight at me!
Good sense took over as the lightning grew brighter.

Patience

After sleeping on the files I discovered some more beautiful shots and reworked these a bit. I am creating a sequenced video file also, but probably will abondone my grand scheme for it. Note to self. Try video next time. I am not sure what I captured, but it certainly is a weather phenomenon. It looks like the lightning is remaining in the same general area. And some shots appear to be balls, but that’s probably due to the camera being out of focus.

Case of the Mondays

Posted on by Matthew

I’m having a case of the Mondays with some sinus issues. Days like these I spend thumbing through the Internet. I realized it’s been about a year since I updated my profile photo, so I took advantage of some natural sidelight.

My current social media profile looks a little rough and serious, which isn’t very approachable. So I was thinking a softer more intimate photo might be good. Then Harper joined in. Her motivation was to get me to let her outside.

She likes to give the love back with kisses, hugs and petting. We first met at Lost Our Home Pet Rescue. She climb right up on my shoulder and marked me hers. We bonded pretty quick.

Harper is an affection cat that can’t get close enough to show me her love. I’m a pretty lucky cat dad.
I’m looking at my phone for remote shooting.
My oily sick forehead catching that light. Harper is aware of the camera and doing her best to look away.
Harper going in for some tongue.
Harper is giving me a hug. She pets me back too.

I think my 3rd and 4th grade pictures look similar, sick as a dog. People who know me, know I wear my emotions on my sleeve like a badge. It’s tough for me to be anything I am not. Guess a more professional photo can wait.