We’re leaving tomorrow for a family vacation in Europe. We’ll be eight days on the River Rhein with a little extra time at the start and the the end. And yes, I’m taking my camera with me.

I just read a great email from Brian Peterson, founder of The Perfect Picture School of Photography.  He ran an unscientific opinion pole on whether photographers felt it was OK to dramatically alter photographs in Photoshop.  Now, by ‘dramatically alter,’ Brian means to add major elements to an image that were not present in the original scene or make other major changes that alter the content of the image. 

He has a provocative blog post with the title that starts, “Every photograph is a ‘lie,…’,  In it he raises the excellent point that even those photographs that aren’t altered in Photoshop are still an abstraction of reality and thus a ‘lie.’  I recommend you read it.

What were the results of his opinion pole?  Brian reports that 41% of photographers felt that it is OK to dramatically alter images in Photoshop and NOT tell anyone unless asked.  And if asked, some would say, “It’s none of your business.”  The reason photographers felt this way boiled down to two words – Artistic License.

I have my own thoughts on “artistic license” and would like to share them with you.

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Well, no shooting with the new toy yesterday or today.  As I haven’t given up my day job yet it’s necessary to get some consulting hours in to bring home the bacon.  Besides, the client is happer when I pay some attention to them.  However, the RRS L bracket came today.  So I’ll be able to attach the camera to the tripod without having to use the long lens – always a good thing to be able to do.

But this weekend is going to be very exciting.  First of all, it’s the 1st Annual Joshua Tree Gathering, open to anyone who owns a camera and isn’t afraid to use it.  See the post.  But I’m going to attempt a series of sunrise shots from first light to the sun fully up.  The thing that makes this interesting is I’m going to attempt to do this as  360 degree panorama.  I hope I don’t have to add HDR to the mix.  Arg!

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We had some more good rain this weekend.  It was a huge storm but most of the precipitation came down up north.  The Sierra got as much as 10 feet of snow!  The state really needs it.

The aftermath in the Santiago Fire burn area relates to the green grass that is growing in profusion all over the hills.  Well, “all over” is something of an overstatement and here’s the interesting observation.  Where there was grass before the fire, these areas are covered in lush, vibrant green.  But where there was chaparral before the fire the ground is bare.  I suppose that makes sense.  That seems to be one of those things where when you know the answer, the answer is pretty obvious.

If you haven’t seen the photo journal of the days of the fire, click here.

Four new photographs from recent Zion trips are posted on the website.

If you don’t know about Zion National Park, it is one of the most beautiful national parks in the great Southwest.  Many people compare it to Yosemite but with red walls.  It is one of the many gems of Utah and a national treasure.

A classic view of Zion is the magnificent Watchman taken from the bridge above the Virgin River.  The subject may not be unique but hopefully the interpretation is.  Click to view the Watchman.

The Virgin River is responsible for Zion Canyon.  Over millions of years the river has cut through the red Navajo sandstone to give us the grandeur of the Canyon.  It’s difficult to imaging this diminutive river performing such a grand feat.  Click to view the Virgin River.

A far less visited part of Zion is the amazing Kolob Terrace.  Here are two photographs – Kolob Terrace and Jobs Head.

The first annual Joshua Tree Gathering is scheduled for January 18th through January 20th in Joshua Tree National Park.  We welcome photographers of all levels of ability.  If you’re interested, leave me a comment to this post.

It shipped yesterday, my new Canon 1Ds Mark III.  I should get it next Wednesday.  Stay tuned for first impressions.  The excitement is running high.

My brother, Roger, just launched his own blog yesterday.  I added his site to the Glogroll and will be adding an RSS feed.  I encourage you to check it out at RogerNordstromPhoto.blogspot.com.  He also has a very nice website with some of his amazing work.  You’ll want to check that out also at RogerNordstromPhoto.com.  You’ll love his work.

 Welcome Roger.

Last night we got the BLOG up and running, customized to some extent and connected to the main Nordstrom Fine Art Landscape Photography website.  Also got the first article published.  Today I figure out how to add photographs to the article.

I spent every night this past week working on Virgin River and the Watchman, a photograph that I shot in Zion National Park last month.  I’d work on in till nearly midnight and be pretty excited.  I’d place a print on the dining room table and the next morning I wouldn’t like it.  But I only made one change yesterday.  Haven’t looked at it again this morning but it’s probably pretty close.  Of course, that’s what I’ve been saying for a week now.  But this time I think it really is.