Everyone it seems has a recommendation on how to name your image files.  There’s the cryptic file name assigned by your camera such as CRW0123.   Programs like Lightroom allow us to modify the name when the files are imported.  Many people recommend adding the date to the camera file name.  I like to add the date and the camera model to the file name since I now (fortunately) shoot with two cameras.

But when I’m ready to add a photograph to my portfolio (those photographs I wish to display and sell), I go with a different naming convention that I wish to share.

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Come to the desert next weekend and join us at the 16th Annual Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival.  It runs Friday, 4/4 through Sunday 4/6.  You will see some spectacular art in a variety of media.  And while you’re there, venture into the park to enjoy the beautiful wildflowers.

To get there go east on I-10.  Just past the exit to Palm Springs is the highway 62 exit.  Take it to Twentynine Palms, about 40 miles distant.  Drive through the center of Twentynine Palms on 62 and start out the other side.  Turn right on Utah Trail.  The festival is at the National Park Visitor Center just a couple of blocks away.

See you there.

I certainly don’t want to presume to hold myself up as the definitive expert in shooting Antelope Canyon but I wouldn’t mind sharing my thoughts and welcome feedback from anyone who has shot there and has similar or dissimilar impressions.

Anyone who has been to Antelope Canyon in northern Arizona just outside Page knows there are two canyons - Upper and Lower.  They are about five miles apart.  The two canyons are distinctly different.  Let’s start with Upper.

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There’s a companion photograph to Pas de Deux that was announced yesterday – Guardian Angel.  It’s the same rock and Juniper but from the opposite side.  And in this image they change roles.  Actually, this portrays their relative sizes a bit more realistically.  The story of how it was taken is not quite as interesting.  It was one January day and was more of a grab shot.  But the photograph brings a message of comfort that I like.

Both Guardian Angel and Pas de Deux are part of the California Desert collection.  Check it out.  It contains photographs of Joshua Tree National Park and Death Valley National Park.

Enjoy.

A new Joshua Tree photograph is posted on the website.  I call it Pas de Deux and the reason should become fairly obvious when you see it.  New Joshua Tree Photograph

You may find the story behind it interesting.

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This image started in a bit of a disaster.  If you’ve ever shot in Upper Antelope Canyon outside Page, AZ you know that you park your car, get into your guide’s truck and are carried about three miles up a dry wash to the canyon entrance.  It wasn’t until we arrived and were in the darkness of the canyon that I discovered the ball head on my tripod was frozen.  Our guide had dropped us off and returned to the parking lot so I was forced to deal with the situation and ‘work with what I have,’ (my motto).

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In the first posting on personal style I discussed how the tools we choose affect the finished photograph and thus our personal style.  There’s one more aspect of tool selection that needs to be mentioned.

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Ever since I attended my first workshop two years ago I’ve been pondering personal style.  At first I had no clue as to what my personal style was.  But as time has gone by and I become more aware of the kind of work I produce, the idea of a personal style is starting to become clearer.  So, I plan to write a number of posts on personal style and my journey of self discovery.

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I’m finding working on the Antelope Canyon images I shot last month is a powerful, moving experience.  No other images that I’ve shot or worked on have produced such a strong emotional response.  Granted, there are many times when I get very excited about an image I’m working on.  But each one of these Antelope Canyon images speaks to me and each communicates a different message.  The feelings I get from them range from sensual to terrifying to enlightening to spiritual.

See for yourself; what do you think?

Several weekends ago I make a quick trip to Joshua Tree National Park to work on a sunrise assignment.  I left home at 2:30 and arrived in the park about an hour before sunrise.  The sky in the east was already growing light.  I grabbed my camera backpack and tripod and headed out into Lost Horse Valley to an outcropping of rocks from which I planned to shot.

Scrambling to the top I took off my backpack, set it down and started setting up my tripod.  I turned around to see my camera bag sliding down the rock,  heading towards the edge.  I dove for it, stumbled and we both went over the edge.  The fall on that side was only six or seven feet.  The other side would have been a lot worse, more like 20 feet.

I remember thinking, “Oh my God, I’m going to fall.”  I don’t remember landing but I do remember watching my backpack rolling all the way to the bottom.  Fortunately I wasn’t hurt and either was my camera gear.  We had a good shoot that morning and I got the shots I had come out for.

Here are some pictures taken this weekend when I was out there again, reenactment of the scene.

Be Careful out There 1

Be Careful out There 2

So, here’s a friendly caution.  We’re landscape photographers and we often find ourselves in wonderful, solitary settings far from the madding crowd and at times when less inspired people are hours from stirring from their warm beds.  Mother nature is seductive in her beauty and we can easily be lulled into a sense of comfort that may not always be justified.  We must not forget that one false step, one slip and we may end up injured in a place where no one would find us.

So let’s all be careful out there.