Pictures are Perfect

Posted on April 8, 2020June 8, 2020 by Matthew

Digital photos are almost forever. That’s exactly what my thought was getting back into photography with digital equipment. Figured one day I might find myself in a position that I could use thousands of photos to go through.

Here I am now. Here we are now, if you are in the same boat. Pictures are perfect for looking back as a fond memory or just a reference in life. Pinch myself everyday wondering if this is reality.

The Old I-8 Bypass Rest Stop was a recovered file edited in Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and Camera Raw. I was trying to give the sign some luminescence and things got nasty quick. I moved on from trying to fix it that day and published the original image.

I already had an advance knowledge for making textures and other magic in Photoshop. Then I had a bunch of spare time with free E-learning courses. Below are the results of getting up to speed 2020.

This is two images auto-blended similar to an HDR photo with some final Camera RAW touch ups. The original plan was to use two different focal points to make up for a wide open aperture and blurry vegetation.

One of the biggest challenges of taking photos in the desert is wind and brush. The needle like leaves on the trees and brush make for some tough issues with chromatic aberration against the skyline. It’s like a green or purple digital divide between contrasting objects. In the final photo the rubber stamp tool came in handy for fixing anomalies.

I think a little blur, a little imperfection is ok. I’m happy with it as it is now looking more natural. Not everything has to be perfect.

Killer Bees & Desert Lavender

Posted on March 11, 2020October 18, 2021 by Matthew

Went out for a quick hike and captured a great series of photos with Bees and Lavender the other day. I was feeling relaxed, calm, cool and calculated in a light swarm of bees feasting on brittlebrush, creosote, and of course lavender. Some of these might make a nice coffee table book if found in the annals of stock photography on Dreamstime.

I got a nice confidence boost from my local bee lovers in the AZ Photography group and feel these are sweet enough to attract more than a few people. Which makes me think of how specific animals have a niche market. Bees, Ladybugs, birds, fish, etc. It means I need to add a better telephoto lens that meets 2020 image standards.

Still figuring out the keywording for most stock websites as I help catalog plant species in the Sonoran Desert. It’s such a specific market most of what I am taking is just waiting for a few people rather than many. Time will tell if this was a personal epiphany. In the meantime feel free to use the cover photo for non-commercial use. If you have an idea for profit let me in on it.

Link to Purchase Killer Bees & Desert Lavender on Hartshornphoto.com

A Photographer’s Niche

Posted on March 2, 2020June 8, 2020 by Matthew

I started this journey a couple years ago and find myself now saying I need to find my niche. I think it’s obvious what I am passionate about though. Needed to exercise and release some stress first and foremost.

This has been a great year for sunsets in Arizona. This one in particular is just on the edge of a storm blowing dust northward. Not the most epic one but enough to create a soft glow.

Southern View with Eastern Valley Cities

Western view - The Phoenix skyline almost looks like another mountain. — Western view – The *Phoenix* skyline almost looks like another mountain.

The cover photo is available for sale here.

Largest format available @ 16 bit 11900 x 3940 Pixels

Arizona Bay

Posted on February 26, 2020June 8, 2020 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.

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 February 17, 2020June 8, 2020 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

Burning Midnight Oil

Posted on February 16, 2020February 16, 2020 by Matthew

When It Rains, It Pours

Posted on February 11, 2020June 8, 2020 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.

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.

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 February 3, 2020June 8, 2020 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 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.

Arcosanti Daytrip

Posted on January 27, 2020July 13, 2021 by Matthew

Southern Face from gully on the visitor trail.

I like how my delivery work can turn into a day trip for photos. It’s not something I could do in an office job where they expect you to be at your desk looking busy all day.

Last Thursday I had a quick delivery to the outskirts of Phoenix and decided to see if I could get paid to go back with a trip. Otherwise that afternoon traffic in construction going East on the 101 was a no-go. I received a round trip with a group of young transplants from Chicago and they mentioned Sedona at some point.

Hmmm I was a third of the way there already. Hell why not? Right about the turn off point to Sedona my gut told me to pull off and check the map. I pull into a gas station to review Google maps as the afternoon sun was about to drop quick, it didn’t leave room for much exploration.

For some reason Arcosanti popped into my head and I Googled it. What? It’s where? No lie, I look up and was staring at the road sign pointing to Arcosanti. My observation skills were on point.

It’s a long bumpy road past some other local business or ranches. At the end is a small dirt parking lot and a paved path to the entrance. Met this orange tabby along the way.

Arcology = Architecture and Ecology

Paolo Soleri is the visionary behind Arcosanti. If you are not familiar with either check out the website it’s an entire college course once you enter the rabbit hole.

Arcosanti showcases the principals of Arcology or Architecture and Ecology. If you look back at the cover image there is a stair encasement to the right that leads to the visitor areas.

Taliesin West is where Paolo studied for a while after earning his doctorate in Italy. The use of land and architecture goes back to ancient history most of my observations are Arcosanti uses Roman and Egyptian technology for heating, cooling, and lighting.

The basic thought is we are wasting space, wasting time, wasting resources, causing pollution, and most importantly removing ourselves from nature one street at a time. An Arcologically developed city would condense populations to make use of resources more efficiently. Think of science/fiction space exploration movies with an entire city housed in one ship.

Once I made it to the third floor visitor center I took a look around and held off on more photos. Eventually I was greeted by someone and paid for the $15 tour. Depending on the time you can buy lunch and even stay the night. I was told photos were ok (free advertising) and to have a seat where this Wind Bell was on display next to the tour video playing.

As the video ended we got the spiel from our tour guide. Our tour group consisted of me and another dude, so easy day for her.

Our first stop was the ceramic workshop/amphitheater. This time of year is gorgeous for working outdoors in the shade with a light breeze. Come summer I would be interested in seeing the temps and probably will for a chance to get better night shots.

I’ll be honest my listening became selective at this point as I was there to take pictures and my camera needed attention. Our tour guide probably was glad we didn’t have a ton of questions too.

Checkout the gallery below for some of the shots on the guided tour.

Visitors Trail

There’s also a non-guided tour persay, but it won’t get you inside very far. Although a great place for a panoramic shot of Arcosanti. At the bottom of the stair encasement is the door to the Visitors Trail. The end of the trail is marked with a kite shaped awning on a single pole, which is on the other side of the valley. It’s maybe a mile long in total, down the valley, up the other side and back. A little slippery in spots, but not incredibly challenging. I did it in my driving shoes.

Future Plans

I’m going to look into the overnight stay a little more. I left wanting to spend more time making the right adjustments, catching the right light, the right angle, setting up HDR shots.

Along the way home I decided to stop and visit Bloody Basin – Agua Fria National Monument for my sunset shot. Ended up being more interested in making this composite of the Orion constellation. ~~The brightest star, Betelgeuse, is spinning off plasma as it moves through the universe.~~ Turns out what I was observing was dust.

Well anyways thanks for reading, go check Arcosanti out for yourself. Certainly worth a quick stop on your way north.

Arizona Based Photo & Design

Year: 2020