An Eclectic Mind

And the plant they come from.

The other day, the red Mexican Bird of Paradise plant outside my office window began shooting its seeds. Since then, I’ve been collecting them.

I like the seeds. They’re like pretty little rocks. The plant throws them all over the area at the end of its growing season, but they seldom sprout. They’re just too hard.

The red Mexican Bird of Paradise is a low-water plant that’s popular in Arizona. We have two of them on a drip irrigation system in our front yard. They grow slowly until the nighttime temperatures warm up, then grow like weeds. At the height of the season, they fill with red and yellow flowers. As shown here, the flowers attract butterflies in addition to the hummingbirds that are always attracted to red.

Time passes. The flowers fade and seed pods appear. You can see an example of one on the far left in the photo below. The seeds in the pods fatten up. Then the seeds and pods dry out. The pods split on their seams, twisting as they break apart, shooting the seeds all over. You can see a recently split pod in the middle in the photo below; there are still two seeds stuck in it. I collect the seeds because I like the way they look. There’s a bunch of them in the photo on the far right. They’re about the size of a very large pea.

A close-up of the seeds reveals tiny imperfections and cracks. But don’t let the cracks fool you. These seeds are as hard as tiny rocks. That makes them difficult to germinate. So despite the fact that hundreds of them drop in our front yard each autumn, we’ve only had two plants sprout from seeds.

When the seeds are all dispersed and the nights get cold, the plant loses its leaves. In the dead of winter, it looks like a bunch of ugly sticks. In the spring, before things start to grow, we cut them back to a few inches above the ground. Then, as it warms, the entire cycle of life begins again.

The Mexican Bird of Paradise in my front yard is featured in my Webcam, shown here. If the Webcam is up and running — which it should be during daylight hours — you may be able to see the plant’s leaves or flowers in the foreground of the image. Remember, from January through March (at least), it’s just a bunch of ugly sticks.

A few photos.

I was at the Grand Canyon on Monday for part of the video shoot we’re doing to help promote my Southwest Circle Helicopter Adventure. We spent the night and, early in the morning, I was up at dawn to watch the light come up over the canyon. Here are a few of the photos I took from the Rim at Grand Canyon Village. I’ll be putting larger versions of all of these in my Photo Gallery.

Lookout Studio at Dawn

The Grand Canyon’s South Rim village is packed with historic buildings. Lookout Studio, shown here, is one of the more striking, with its stone walls and bright blue window trim. Perched on the side of a sheer cliff, it looks out over the canyon, offering striking views (and the usual collection of tourist shop items) to all visitors. I think this shot is made a bit more interesting by the slight distortion of the very wide focal length (16mm).

Photo Details:
Camera: Nikon D80
Focal Length: 16mm
Aperture: f/7.1
Exposure: 1/200

Tree-Framed Dawn at the Grand Canyon

The view into the Grand Canyon from the south rim is unobstructed in many, many places. But sometimes a view can be more interesting with foreground items framing it. That’s what this photo is all about.

Photo Details:
Camera: Nikon D80
Focal Length: 52mm
Aperture: f/6.3
Exposure: 1/125

Grand Canyon Dawn

I can’t tell you how many photos I have of the Grand Canyon. I’ve been going there for years. In fact, I have so many photos of the place that I often don’t even bother bringing a camera when I go. But I have very few vertical shots of the canyon. In general, its wide view does not suggest turning the camera on its side to shoot. Although I think this photo can be improved, I also think it’s a reasonably good example of what how a portrait shot of the Canyon could work.

Photo Details:
Camera: Nikon D80
Focal Length: 38mm
Aperture: f/4.8
Exposure: 1/30

Traveling again.

If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from me here in a while, it’s because I’ve been traveling. I’m doing one of my Southwest Circle Helicopter Adventures in northern Arizona, accompanied by a video crew and staff writer for a respected travel magazine.

The goal of this trip is to gather about 90% of the video needed to create three individual broadcast-length videos, each of which will be made available on DVD. It’s a huge project and, so far, we have at least 20 hours of raw video footage to wade through.

I’m flying with a door off and a video guy on board taking glare-free video images of what we fly over. He also has at least two POV.1 cameras mounted inside the helicopter at all times. The other video on the ground is “chasing” us — actually, he’s getting a big head start each day to drive to the airport where we’ll land before we arrive — and taking video of us landing. Then there are cameras whirring all over the place on the ground.

The writer is sitting up front beside me, taking notes and using my Nikon D80 to shoot images of what she sees. Although a good portion of the shots have some unfortunate glare — not much you can do about that when shooting through Plexiglas — many of them are really good. Like this shot she took of a herd of wild horses we overflew on the Navajo Reservation two days ago.

It’s been a busy week so far. Although I’m trying to demonstrate to the writer what my Southwest Circle Helicopter Adventure is all about, I’m also working with the video crew to make sure we capture all of the footage we need for our three videos. I’m hoping she understands that my usual clients won’t be rushing around like nuts all day.

I’m treating myself to a few of the activities my excursion guests get to enjoy. For example, on Tuesday, I joined the crew for a boat ride on Lake Powell that visited the “business side” of the Glen Canyon Dam before squeezing about a mile up Antelope Canyon (see photo) and gliding up Navajo Canyon for a look at the “tapestry” of desert varnish on some cliff walls. I skipped the Sedona Jeep tour and Monument Valley tour to work with one of the video guys or just rest up. Normally, while my guest are touring, I’m scrambling to get the luggage into their hotel room and confirming reservations for the next day. You might imagine how tired I am after 6 days of playing pilot and baggage handler.

At this moment, however, I’m sitting at the dining table of a double-wide mobile home near Goulding’s Lodge in Monument Valley. (Long story; believe it or not, the only lodging we cold get here in MV was in a pair of mobile homes that are part of the lodge.) I have the front drapes drawn aside so I can watch the eastern sky brighten for what promises to be a classic silhouetted butte sunrise. I always enjoy my dawns here at MV. Seeing the famous buttes outside my window is always surreal.

Today, we were scheduled to fly down to Winslow for lunch, then tour Meteor Crater and the Grand Falls of the Little Colorado River. Normally, the Southwest Circle Helicopter Adventure takes this route on the way to its last overnight stop at Flagstaff. But today we’ll probably go straight back to Page. I have four aerial photo shoots at Page starting on Friday morning; the money I make doing them will pay for this video excursion. We’ll do more video between those flights. Then we’ll hit the Crater, Falls, and Flagstaff on our way back to the Phoenix area on Sunday.

It’s a big trip and a bunch of huge projects. Just the kind of thing to keep me busy between flights for the winter season. But if all works well and as planned, I might be flying this route weekly in the coming spring and fall — with real paying passengers to take care of along the way.

I finally make time to do a photo walk in the sandstone canyon.

For the past month and a half, I have been living less than two miles from Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ.

If you don’t know what Antelope Canyon is, you’ve probably never read Arizona Highways or seen any of the “typical” Arizona photos out there on the Web. As Wikipedia states, “Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.” Its reddish sandstone walls glow with direct and reflected light at midday, emphasizing the texture of the swirling patterns on the walls.

There are actually two Antelope Canyons: Upper and Lower. Most people go to the Upper canyon, which is upstream (south) of the other area. Upper Antelope Canyon is a short 1/4 mile stretch of slot canyon cut into a huge sandstone rock in the middle of Antelope Wash. It features cool, swirling sandstone walls and hard-packed, almost level sandy floor. I’ve written about it at least twice in this blog: “Antelope Canyon” (September 2006) and “Four Tips for Great Antelope Canyon Photos” (April 2007).

Lower Antelope Canyon is downstream from upper. It has far fewer visitors. I think it’s more spectacular — with corkscrew-like carvings and at least two arches — but I also think it’s harder to photograph. It’s also far more difficult to traverse, requiring climbing up and down iron stairs erected at various places inside the canyon, clambering over rocks, and squeezing through narrow passages. For this reason, the Navajo caretakers don’t really limit your time in Lower Antelope Canyon. You slip through a crack in the ground — and I do mean that literally (see photo left) — and are on your own until you emerge from where you descended or from the long, steep staircase (shown later) that climbs out before the canyon becomes impossible to pass.

I went to Lower Antelope Canyon with my next door neighbor and fellow pilot, Robert, today. It had been a whole year since my only other visit. After paying the $26/person entrance fee, I told the woman in the booth that I’d been there before. She told us to go on down, without waiting for a guide.

I had a few things with me that I didn’t have on my last visit. First and foremost was a tripod. I’d left my tripod behind on my last visit, thinking the light would be bright enough not to need it. Wrong. This time, I had a sturdy tripod I’d borrowed from Mike just for this trip. The only problem was, the tripod was old, its legs could not be spread independently, and the tripod was stiff from age or disuse. I also had two lenses I didn’t own last year: my 10.5 mm fisheye lens and my new 16-70 mm zoom lens. I packed light, bringing just the tripod and the camera with those two lenses. Rather than use my camera bag, I put the lens that wasn’ ton the camera in a fanny pack, along with a bottle of water and a lens brush.

We arrived at about 11:20 AM and the place was unusually crowded. But Lower Antelope Canyon is large and everyone spread out. Most folks only made the walk one way, taking the stairs up and hiking back on the surface. We would have done the same, but we ran out of time. We were in there until 2:30 PM; Robert had to be at work by 4 PM.

We made our way through the canyon slowly, stopping to take photos along the way. Positioning the tripods was extremely difficult sometimes, as the canyon floor was often only wide enough for a single foot to stand in it. My tripod really hindered me, but I made it work. I think Robert (shown here) had an easier time with his. We were two of dozens of photographers, most of which were very polite and stayed clear of other photographer’s frames. This is the biggest challenge at Upper Antelope Canyon. I find it stressful up there, as I told a trio of photographers from Utah. Lower Antelope Canyon is much more relaxing.

Near the end of the canyon walk, I was worn out. It wasn’t the hike as much as the struggle to find the right shots and get the tripod into position. I felt as if I’d had enough. So when we reached the last chamber before the canyon got very narrow (and muddy) and I laid eyes on those stairs, I realized it would definitely be better to take the easier route back. I took this shot with my fisheye lens, which was the only way to get the entire staircase in the shot. If you look closely, you can see Robert’s head poking out near the top.

I took about 95 photos while in the canyon. Some of the better ones — along with some to illustrate the story — are here. There’s a better collection in my Photo Gallery’s new Arizona section. I’ll probably add others — as well as shots I’ve taken around Lake Powell lately — soon.

If you’re ever in or near Page, AZ, I highly recommend taking the time to visit one of the Antelope Canyons. Even if you don’t take a single photo, a walk through the canyon is something you’ll remember for a lifetime.

Has the ease of digital photography eroded the craft?

The September 2008 issue of Arizona Highways magazine proclaims that it is “The Photo Issue.” If you know Arizona Highways, that might seem a weird idea. After all, Arizona Highways features truly extraordinary photos of Arizona in every issue. What makes this issue different?

The main difference is a pair of articles highlighting the work of two professional photographers, George Stocking, who works with digital equipment, and Jack Dykinga, who works with film. There’s also a portfolio of black and white images, many of which appear to have been taken relatively close to where I live in Wickenburg.

My Change from Film to Digital

But it’s the digital vs. film argument that intrigues me. I used film for years and continued to use it for what I considered my “serious” attempts at photography until 2003 or 2004. Back in college, I took a semester-long photography class which introduced me to photographic composition and gave me basic darkroom skills. When Mike and I moved to New Jersey and had a basement, we set up a darkroom. (We still have the enlarger and other equipment in storage.) I had (and still have) two Nikon 35mm SLRs — a matched set of N2002s that can share lenses. I’d put black and white film in one camera and color in the other.

I’ve had a digital camera since the mid 1990s. (Yes, I was the owner of an Apple QuickTake.) As technology improved and prices came down, I upgraded regularly — at least once every two or three years. I bought pocket-sized point-and-shoot models — mostly Canon PowerShots — that I’d carry in my purse and use when I wanted a decent-quality photo when I was out and about.

[At this point, I'd originally written a summary of our experiences with a Pentax 67 for aerial photography. In an effort to shorten up this post, I pulled it out and posted it separately: "Our Foray Into Aerial Photography."]

Years went by. I realized I was using my pocket-sized digital cameras more than my SLRs. A lot more. In fact, for a while I wasn’t even sure where those SLRs were.

Then we planned a trip to Alaska in June 2007. I wanted to be “serious” about photography. So I bought a new camera, my first digital SLR: a Nikon D80.

I picked the Nikon because it would use the two lenses I already had: a 50mm and a 28-85mm. I brought it all along on the trip and took some photos. They came out okay. I realized that I was just snapping away, as if I were using one of my pocket cameras. I wasn’t thinking about shooting. I was being a tourist and taking tourist photos.

Here’s an example. This photo, which I call “Mercury,” is one of my favorites from the trip. The light is bad, but I really love the reflection of this boat. When you consider I snapped over 300 images in two weeks on this trip and I saw some amazing things along the way, I find it odd that this should be one of my favorites.

In my defense, we had a relatively tight schedule and limited means of transportation. We covered a huge area in about 2 weeks. It was an area we didn’t know, so I had no ideas of where to go for a photo shoot. The weather was overcast with bad light for a few days. And then there was Mike, who hadn’t come to take pictures. He wanted to see as much as we could. So we didn’t really have the best conditions for photography. It was more like a scouting trip.

But having the camera and knowing its capabilities, prompted me to practice the art of photography. It’s become a serious hobby again.

Jack Dykinga’s Thoughts on Digital Photography

And that brings us back to the Arizona Highways articles.

From the article highlighting Jack Dykinga:

Dykinga thinks the ease of digital photography has contributed to an erosion of the craft. “Just because you can, you do,” he says. “The images are completely disposable. You can keep shooting digital all day, even through the worst light, and although none of it might produce great pictures, it might still be marketable. You can correct it all in Photoshop. That starts compromising your values. Where, if you’re really going after just one or two shots a day, you’re concentrating all your efforts into one thing, like throwing a shot put.”

This is an interesting twist on something I’ve been saying since starting to use my digital SLR. I’ve been arguing that the ease of using a digital camera gives you the power to experiment. Unlike Mr. Dykinga, I’m not a professional. I’ve never sold a photo and don’t expect to. I’m still learning and I expect to continue to learn forever.

When I used film, I’d go out and shoot and come back and get the photos developed — or do it myself in a darkroom. It could be days or weeks between the photo shoot and actually seeing the images. There was a cost involved, too, and the more I shot, the more it cost. These are not good conditions for experimentation.

But when I shoot digital, I can immediately see, in the back of my camera, a tiny version of the image I just shot. I can check exposure at a glance. I can zoom in to check focus. I can turn on automatic exposure bracketing and let the camera make multiple versions of the same image so I can see which exposure works best. I can also snap various images of the same subject from different angles to experiment with framing, focus, and exposure. Because it costs the same to shoot 300 photos as it does to shoot 3, I don’t have to worry about cost.

This is, of course, what Mr. Dykinga is saying. But while he’s talking about professional photographer getting lazy by shooting a bunch of stuff without really thinking about it, I’m shooting a bunch of stuff to learn more about what works so I can think about it.

I do agree with what Mr. Dykinga says. But there’s no way that could convince me to go back to film. I can’t afford it — in time and money — if I want to be a better photographer.

Mr. Dykinga has the ability to go to a place and see the shot before he even unpacks his camera. He’ll spend a lot of time with his complex and somewhat archaic equipment to make a handful of photos. They’ll all be incredible masterpieces of fine art. This comes from a lifetime as a photographer, doing it every day for a living.

Me, well I’m just trying to learn how to increase the quality on a higher percentage of what I shoot. I’m at the point where I won’t take a photo if I know it won’t come out good without a lot of help from Photoshop.

I think what Mr. Dykinga is trying to say is that serious photographers should not get lazy about photography. We should think about every shot and try to make every single one a high quality work of art.

I’d like to do that. I just need more practice to learn how.

A Final Word about Arizona Highways

Arizona Highways is a great magazine about Arizona. It’s published by the Arizona Department of Transportation, and other than ads about Arizona Highways publications, it’s ad-free. It features excellent photography and articles about Arizona history and activities.

If you’re interested in photography or Arizona, I highly recommend subscribing — or at least picking up an issue at the newsstand. It’s only through our support that this fine magazine will continue to be published, as Arizona faces budget shortfalls that threaten its existence. Be sure to check out various books and other publications listed in the magazine and on its Web site.