Burning Midnight Oil
Arizona
When It Rains, It Pours
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
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
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.
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
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.
Testing on the AZ Canal
UV Lens Filter Images
I got a new lens filter for stubborn reflections that create glare. What I was looking for in the cover photo is what I saw through my polarized sunglasses. I was using a UV lens filter on the camera at the time, which filtered out the full spectrum of light colors on the evaporating whisps. It was pretty cool and something to remember. Clouds like these evaporate quickly in Phoenix even during January. So getting that shot again is possible. Today it literally disappeared.
The panorama of Camelback Mountain was taken from the Northeastern corner on the trail by the Arizona Canal Trail. I was looking for a better angle ending up at 56th St. and Indian School. Although shutting down 56th St. to get the view from the middle of the road was an idea.
The G.R. Herberger Park is the park many people pass on a daily basis and maybe say, “Huh?! I need to check that out sometime.”
And then it’s too late. Traffic is going 45 MPH in a 35 MPH School Zone and you’re trying to maintain your lane on an obscured curve with no where to pull off.
Well if you can manage to safely navigate your way there, here’s the grand entrance to SRP’s Arizona Falls on the Arizona Canal Trail. I was thinking my kid would have enjoyed seeing this.
Later on I think I would have wanted him wearing a toddler version of an orange arctic survival suit tethered to a boom. Like a toxic waste dump space walk.
The trail and park lead to this carefully designed building to fit in with the affluent neighborhood. Not the one above. Scroll down.
This one. Along with some cool views of Camelback Mountain and safety features it’s a functional hydroelectric station and museum. This also might be a welcomed stop on a mid-summer run.
Circular Polarized Lens Filter Images
A few miles down on the Northwest corner of Goldwater and 5th Ave. is another parking area with a tunnel to avoid the crosswalk, which I found on my way back to the vehicle. The photos below are images that were taken with a Circular Polarized Lens Filter .
The above shot is using a Polarized filter. It didn’t get the anti-glare effect I was hoping for. Notice the light coming in through the door towards the camera. This shot might be better at sunset with less direct sunlight and light coming from behind the camera. The angle of the shot matters.
Here’s a shot with the sun over my right shoulder. The right horse would have had the glare issues had it not been for the Polarized filter. The patina is hard to see during this time of day and angle, even with the naked eye glare washes out minute details. The middle horse did receive some extra Photoshop love.
And another photo that is hard to capture in all it’s detail. From this angle the structure never sees sunlight. Wait for the clouds and it loses luster. Nothing a tripod and patience can’t fix. I was traveling light taking advantage of a cool breezy day to do a little Urban Hiking on the AZ Canal. Next time! Because everytime is a scouting trip. The only difference is my knowledge and preparedness each adventure.
North Phoenix on a January Morning
North Phoenix was my landing spot when I came to Arizona. My uncle was kind enough me stay in a room and my first job was at Jiffy Lube on the corner of Cactus and Cave Creek. 20 something years ago. I met my son’s mother. Met some friends, lost some friends. Raised hell when I didn’t have responsibilities and sometimes even when I did. I like to look over this valley as someone who is very much apart of it. A sea of lights that continue to illuminate the dark even in stormy times.
Cloudy Days
I climbed a mountain the other day. Some people laughed at me when I got to the top. Groaning, huffing, crouching and trying not to slip like a frail old fat man. But I climbed a mountain the other day.
Dead Ends
I feel like I have hit a lot of dead ends in life. But that’s just stinking thinking. The other day I was at the end of a delivery route on the west side of Phoenix and I had to return a package. I don’t know how people travel to work in those conditions several days a week. Every road I thought I might avoid traffic ended up being congested. Eventually I made a left into this dead end thinking it would cut through to the main road. Nope. Not happening. I just parked it in defeat.
I had a couple hours to get back anyway. Life was telling me to chill and remove myself from the problem. It was literally one of those moments looking up seeing some good dust and light at play right at the crack of dawn. It gave the pause needed to get back into the rat race with my head in the clouds and feet on the ground.
Thanks for visiting! Check out Dreamstime for full resolution images.
West Phoenix Sunrise
I carry my camera with me just about everywhere as a professional driver. The final destinations are in some of the most beautiful places like on Tuesday morning outside of Tartesso, an oasis community north of Palo Verde Nuclear Plant. Delivered my last package under an orange glow creeping up from the east and the terminator line of pinks and blues in the west. Then rushed to find the angles and foreground before it all dissipated.
If that range looks familiar its Phoenix International Raceway aka ISM Raceway (Ingenuity Sun Media) . Turn around and the Palo Verde Nuclear Plant was letting off some steam.
Here’s where I fight myself on whats worthy. I have a hard time publishing the imperfect. Call it brand control. Still working towards those lenses that cost more than the camera, but I am able to capture some of what I was seeing and how I was seeing it.
Well just a few pictures made the cut this time. Until next time.
Papago Park Amphitheater
On my way to Christmas Dinner I stopped by the Papago Park Amphitheater to capture some of the most dramatic skies of 2019. Also the start to a long chill for Phoenicians use to 70-80 °F weather. If you haven’t seen it is just south of McDowell Rd between 52nd St. and 64th St.
The first version is how Photoshop rendered it using Camera RAW. It does a great job, minus some lighting issues. I didn’t get the focus perfect either as this was just going to be a project to test Photoshop’s accuracy. Focused images do help with alignment though. As far as finding that middle ground for capturing light, I went with what my I learned in my first year of photography classes. On a cloudy day use F8 at 1/250ths of a second at 100 Iso.
The second image below is what I did stitching the image together using a few different methods. I made sure to use lens correction before placing each image. Then used Auto-Align to save a ton of time. I was able to delete some pieces and heal the seams using layer masks and finally the patch tool. The differences are subtle. The little things I see are the wind blurring bushes and maintaining the same focal distance for each image.
The main idea is when I do pack up my car to go on an adventure I will arrive with knowledge of what’s working and what isn’t. Then I can work more efficiently as the chaotic skies roll over head.
