Postcard from Yuma - Tank

While this photo may look like it was taken during the North African campaign in 1942, in fact, I took it less than a week ago at the Yuma Proving Grounds, a large military testing facility (1,300 square miles) located just north of Tucson. There, just off of Highway 95, there is a large collection of tanks, rockets, and artillery on display for anyone to see.

The YPG has been around since 1942. Much of the equipment on display here has seen action in WWII, Korea, Vietnam and even the Gulf War. They were all tested here prior to being put into action.  If you go there, you may notice a lot of dust off in the distance from moving vehicles…more than likely current model tanks on training missions…and don’t be surprised if you hear some rather large booms as they also test artillery and bombs here.

I just could not resist this shot of one of the older tanks with a longer gun barrel, using a wide angle lens. Now you may notice that this photo looks a little different than most photos. That is because I processed it using some new Photoshop filters that recently acquired. It gives it a bit of a painterly appearance, although, in my opinion it remains a photograph. Once I began playing with this new filter, I started doing some other photos, some of which may appear here in the future.

I really like this picture very much. If you ever get down to the Yuma area, be sure and visit the YPG’s display of military hardware. Also, look to see if you can spot the secret airbase that the Army says does not exist.

Postcard from the Canyonlands–Mesa Arch

Every morning, exactly at sunrise, something special happens at Mesa Arch. For a few minutes, the bottom of the arch takes on a bright orange glow, giving photographers who get there early enough, a chance to take a special image they will treasure forever.

On this day, only a few days ago, I got my second chance to see the glow. Two years ago, I was there, but the sun rose behind some clouds, giving the glow a very muted glow. But on this day, the sun rose in all its glory, unobstructed by clouds, or anything else for that matter…and Mesa Arch lit up.

Mesa Arch is located in the “Island in the Sky” section of Canyonlands National Park, on the edge of a cliff that overlooks some marvelous Canyonlands scenery. It is off the road by about 1/3 of a mile and requires a hike in darkness to get there before sun-up. My friend Dave and I made the hike and arrived in plenty of time to set up our tripods, mount the cameras, and select our lens and image settings. We were not the first to arrive as another photographer had beaten us there and was set up, ready to go. Before the sun came up, we were joined by 8 other photographers.

You see, Mesa Arch is not unknown in the photography world.

Never-the-less, we were ready for the sun to make its appearance…and it finally did, in all its glory. The arch lit up and soon thereafter, the canyons below also got enough light to make a great image. We all shot and shot and shot until the glow finally started to fade.

It was a glorious morning made better by the fact I got the shot I always wanted to get. By the way, this was Dave’s 4th attempt to get the shot and he was happy also to finally achieve his goal. Life is good.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Postcard from the Arches–Turret Arch

 

I am back in Tucson after a nearly week-long photo expedition to the Moab, Utah area. With this comfortable little city as our base, my friend and fellow photographer Dave Forester and I traveled to both the Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Both of us have been this area before, but it is always great to come back here for the beauty and to capture specific images that we did not get before.

We did the greatest portion of our shooting at sunrise and sunset, the so-called “Golden Hours” of photography. On some days, the light didn’t work out…on others, it happened exactly as hoped. So, all-in-all it was a successful trip. And you will be seeing some of the results here.

One of the things I wanted to experiment with was HDR photography, which stands for High Dynamic Range. This is a relative new area of photography, made possible by special software and multiple exposure shots. 

To be more specific, HDR is the post-processing of a series of images, combining them, and adjusting the contrast ratios to do things that are virtually impossible with a single shot. To accomplish the photography part, you take anyway from 3 to 5 exposures of the same scene at the same time, each one at a different exposure. In my case, I shot 3 quick exposures…one +1 stop, one at –1 stop and one at the normal exposure. I let the camera’s on-board light meter determine the exact exposure.

This is Turret Arch at sunrise, right after the sun’s rays first fell on the arch. Again, I combined all three exposures to come up with this photo…and in comparing it to a perfectly exposed single shot, this is a much better image. The big difference is that a one shot photo could not capture the brightness of the sky with so much of the ground in shadows. The ground would be way too dark or the sky way too bright.

It is close to what I saw with my eyes that morning…remember a single digital photo only can capture an image with a variance of 3-4 stops…while the human eye has a range of 10 stops.  That is quite a difference. HDR photography allows one to make an image close to what the eye sees.

There will be more HDR photos coming your way soon, so stay tuned.

Postcard from Chicago–The BP Bridge

Another fascinating architectural wonder of Millennium Park is the BP Bridge, a 935 foot-long pedestrian bridge that snakes it way up from the Park, across Columbus Parkway, then down to Daley Bicentennial Plaza, Grant Park and Lake Michigan.  And snakes is the operative word here as it winds its way up over and down.

It is difficult to photograph the bridge as a whole unless you are in an airplane or helicopter…so I can just show you parts of it here. I find it to be a photographers dreams because of its unusual construction and its twists and turns.  Its fun to create images from different angles both on and off the bridge.

For a pedestrian bridge, I found it quite wide as you can see from the second photo. The walkway is covered with weather-resistant Brazilian hardwood boards.  It has a gentle 5% grade which makes it easier on folks with handicap issues and there is no railing along the sides. The sides of the bridge are made of stainless steel.

Photo #3 shows the bridge crossing Columbus Parkway and how close it is to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion…and how the bridge and the pavilion designs blend together.

After the park opened, some of the bridge's foibles became apparent. The bridge has had to be closed during the winter because freezing conditions make it unsafe. Since the bridge is over an expressway-like trench of Columbus Drive, shoveling the snow onto passing cars is not an option and the Brazilian hardwood would be damaged by rock salt. The city not only mandates that the bridge be swept and washed daily, but also that the parapets be wiped free of fingerprints.

It is called BP Bridge as British Petroleum (of gulf oil spill fame) paid $5 million for the naming rights.  Believe me, there was some controversy over that.

If you would like more in-depth information about the bridge, its design, construction, aerial photos, and controversies, check out the interesting article on Wikipedia.

Postcard from Chicago–More from Millennium Park

 

In my last entry, I showed you the Chicago skyline as seen through the trellis works of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Now, here are 2 photos of the pavilion itself:

The first photo shows the pavilion as seen from the Great Lawn. Now, you can see how the trellis connects to the stage…and by having people in this photo, you get a better feel for its immense size. As I said last time, the Pavilion itself seats 4,000 people and the Great Lawn, under the trellis, accommodates an additional 7,000 people. The Pavilion stands 120-feet high, with a billowing headdress of brushed stainless steel ribbons that frame the stage opening and connect to the overhead trellis of crisscrossing steel pipes. It was designed by Frank Gehry.

The second photo, which I photographed last spring on my first visit (which explains why there are tulips in the photo), is the side of the pPvilion.  The structure which rises above the stage needs to be seen from all angles to be appreciated.

As I wrote this blog, I suddenly realized how much a role architecture played in my last visit to Chicago. Besides Millennium Park, I saw photos on display at the Chicago Institute of Art of the many buildings designed by Louis H. Sullivan as well as architectural remnants from his buildings that have been demolished over time. But, I also got to see a few of his buildings that still exist today. Amazing structures…way ahead of their time.

In addition, I also visited the home of another famous Chicago architect and one-time apprentice to Sullivan, none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. A future blog will cover my visit to his home in nearby Oak Park. 

Postcard from Chicago–Millennium Park

Millennium Park in downtown Chicago is an architectural wonder…amazing structures that defy description and must be seen to be believed! You have seen some of those wonders here before…the Fountain with the changing faces of Chicagoans, the Bean (of course) and a few others I have not shown you (but will).

I love this picture of part of the Chicago downtown skyline as seen through part of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, home for concerts and music festivals. In a future edition, I will show you the stage which deserves its own blog to be really appreciated. What you see here is a huge trellis that connects to the stage. The trellis supports the sound system, which spans the 4,000 fixed seats and the Great Lawn, which accommodates an additional 7,000 people.

Enough of the explanations…just enjoy this photo…the vertical straight lines of the Chicago skyscrapers as seen through the curved lines of the pavilion's trellis. It’s a photographer and artist’s dream…straight lines offset by beautiful proportional flowing curves, with some lovely autumn colors thrown in for fun…so pleasing to the eye.

Such a beautiful downtown.   

Postcard from Chicago–Marathon

We were up early and out the door by 7:00 AM on Sunday Morning, 10/10/10. My friend Susan and I took a bus to a Green Line elevated train station, then headed north into the Loop to transfer to a Pink Line train.

So what were we doing up so early to get a Pink Line train? We were off to watch the Chicago Marathon from the Pilsen Neighborhood as the runners came by at mile 19. Chicago’s Marathon is one of the biggest and most important marathons in the world (one of the five top marathons)…38,000 runners competing to run 26+ miles in the fastest times possible. Of course, only a handful of world-class runners are part of that crowd and they are in it for the money, competition, and glory. The rest are just amateurs who want to push themselves to the limit of their endurance and better their existing times.

In Chicago, the Marathon is a big deal…streets are shut down, bus routes are changed, a hundreds of thousands of people line the 26 mile raceway. For us, it is an exciting and moving experience to see this event, and even in our small way, to participate. More on that later.

As we rode the elevated train through The Loop, we could see thousands of runners crossing the Chicago River on the LaSalle Street bridge heading north on the first part of their journey. That in itself was amazing to see.

We chose to go to Pilsen as it is mainly a Hispanic section and we were told they really put on an extravaganza for this event….and our information was correct. Pilsen residents were cheering, banging on drums, holding signs encouraging their favorite runners and celebrating this major event.

We got there just in time to see the lead runner heading down 18th St. As I said earlier, the runners had already done 19 miles when we saw them. We joined in the crowd cheering them all on. Most looked in pretty good shape, but a few showed signs of exhaustion. Ambulances and police were there to assist any runner who needed help.

Soon, the number of runners passing us got larger and larger. Walking down 18th Street, we came to the Gatorade and water stations where runners could refresh themselves.  There were a ton of volunteers to help with that.

Soon, we came to a number of large children’s swimming pools, filled with water and sponges…and volunteers handing out water-soaked sponges to any runners that wanted them. They appeared to be short of volunteers, so Susan and I grabbed some sponges and started handing them out.

That morning, we gave out hundreds of sponges to runners. Some of them had enough energy to thank us, which I found amazing. For that moment in time, I was part of the Marathon and part of Chicago…and it felt very good.

The Marathon itself lasted long into the day. We even saw runners down on 33rd St. as we headed home in the late afternoon on the El. Of the 38,000 who participated, just about 36,000 finished. All 23 of the wheelchair participants also finished…as did 8 runners from the Achilles Team of Wounded Veterans. The first nine finishing runners were from either Kenya or Ethiopia. Those guys can run.

It was very special to see these runners and wheelchair participants from all over the world. It was a highlight of this Chicago trip, for sure. When I get some extra time, I will post some of the best photos from the Marathon into an album and post them to the Net. Will let you know when it is done.