after walking to my gate last night thinking of my next portrait cactus client, i stumbled upon this little guy... making for the cherry on top of my palm springs triparoo. i've never been to an airport where just outside my gate i can appreciate native cactus species with a sunset and distant mountain views and palm trees in the background.

that, in itself, makes the palm springs airport the best airport of the year (and i've been to about 15 different airports this year).

i couldn't decide which i liked best, so i am posting all three and would like YOU to decide (in the comments section below:)

#1.


#2.


#3.


shortly after take-off, i snapped this shot of the mountains near joshua tree national park with all the recent snow they got this week. i could have paid hundreds of dollars for a scenic flight of the area, and got this view for free with my $300 round-trip airfare ticket from denver. the key: 1). sit in the back of the plane in a window seat so you don't see the wing. 2) shoot with an-ultra wide angle lens smear against the window 3) shoot through the least disorted portion of the window, which on my window was the top 4) also, i like to shoot at least 1/1000 sec to reduce possible blurring from the airplane. also, telphoto shots can be cool and if you are using a vr lens like the nikor 70-200 f/2.8, click on the "active" vr mode made for shooting in airplanes... it is one of the few times we can use the feature to our advantage.

about a month ago i posted a few saguaro portraits from a new personal project i've begun intended to highlight the personality of cactus.

this week i've been in palm springs, ca, a stone's throw from joshua tree national park to continue a project with the intent towards publication of a fine art book.

joshua tree is a wild place. my interest photographing there started with studying the work of ansel adams. about 6 years ago i visited the natioanl park and took photos with a vintage honeywell pentax slr camera (that my father gave me) with some t-max 400 b&w film. i was disappointed with the results because i was comparing myself to ansel himself... mistake. this time around i came prepared with a wide-angle lens and my creativity and lighting style. i wasn't just going to photograph cactus, i was going to light them as i would light a portrait in a style i could call "me' using a single off-camera flash (a nikon sb-600 speedlight). if additional light was necessary, i was determined to push the limits of what this small flash could do.

here are a few of my favorite images taken over the last 3 days...

some on-axis fill adds the 3d pop:


a 20 second exposure and light painted with a flashlight:


day #2. okay, it is snowing. in a desert. go figure :)


a flash was the only way to capture the snow coming down in a way that makes for a very holiday-esque feeling... me likey :)


i shot this like a groom with the groomsman in the background :)



day #3 (this morning). left at 5:15 and made the drive to joshua tree again. 18 inches on snow in one day happens once in about every 25 years, so there was no excuse NOT to go. while the roads were a bit slick, we made it safe and sound even though the park entrance was closed, so we had to walk into the park, which was totally fine with the rangers who gave us permission.

can you spot the moon?


the early morning rays:




three of my students came along for the adventure (we left a 5:15 am)... so they were treated for some updated facebook portraits:

here's gintautas ("mr. g"), who flew all the way from florida to attend my class. his son is named "juozas," so it was only appropriate that he had his photo taken in joshua tree.


then the cameras were turned and grabbed this shot... he's got a great eye and is wicked good in ping pong....

i lost a bet to him after he severly beat totally schooled me four games (in a row) of ping pong the night prior. he failed to mention his grandmother was a ping-pong champion and taught him a few tricks. the wager: a topless photo taken in the cold which was then to be used as a profile shot on facebook for 30 days. the shot was taken, but he conceded that it did not need to be posted on facebook.


lisa got the long-distance award since she traveled all the way from kodiak island, alaska to attend my week-long arcgis workshop.


here's the departing shot from this morning with the top down in the mustang convertible rental car (thanks to the fine folks at avis for the free upgrade!!!)

i stretched my creativity at the break of dawn in the mountains of phoenix on thursday. i experienced a few saguaro cactus while on a hike and found them to be quite strange beings, yet can be photographed just like a person, sans posing or make-up.


and it’s diptych neighbor at a different location and time (around 3pm).


upon closer inspection, this big guy was a bit rude.



a few full-power flashes easily over-powered the sun in this cacti portrait.


on-axis fill, off-camera sb-600 to camera left blends with natural break of dawn.


a self-portrait using an off-camera sb-600 with a cto warming gel to replicate early morning rays.

a few seconds later


zooming in to 300mm and exploring some detail:


context within in our little condo complex:


almost like smoke.


none of these images have been color enhanced in photoshop in anyway... they appear as shot. God’s magesty strikes at odd times.... sometimes right when you least expect it but need it most :)

last fall i was topping off gas at costco and met howard hall who neared completion of 6.5 year restoration of his 1931 ford victoria (355 chevy engine with 700 r4 transmission, gulp). just as i was about to drive off, i noticed he was having car troubles so i offered to help. it was one of his maiden voyages and the car wouldn't start. i felt for him, gave him my card, and offered to shoot his car just 'cause. he called me a few months later and took me up on my offer. sunday night we made guys night all about photos and cars (and a few beers).

howard's 6.5 years of patience invested in his beautiful restoration shows. gotta love that painted tangelo pearl color, too!


shot in broad daylight in a mini-cave at red rocks amphitheater. photo stats: f/2.8 at 1/125, using a 70-200 at 140mm, ISO 400, handheld


i love the sunset appearance, juxtaposed nicely with the tangelo :)


and from the rear, showing off the agressive forward rake (a trait of hot rods in those days :)


and here's howard with his toy: (shot in broad daylight. f/8 at 2 secs, 200mm, ISO 400, on tripod)


a little artsy shot to spice things up:


then we added a little flash flavor:


the secret formula for the shot above goes something like this: red rocks at night + 1 strobe manually triggered about 8 times + 1 mini soft box for diffusion + nikon d80 at f/13, iso 200 + 30 seconds = our favorite shot. for those inquiring minds, here's the shot straight out of the camera (note remnants of my light painting):


this mini-project also happened to to be #12 on my list of 101 photo goals in 1,001 days. inspiration for the light painting came from the video featured below. if you are interested in getting your car shot, contact us by clicking here.

sublime, simple landscape photography of barns have been around since the turn on the century (the last one, that is). focusing on composition, light, and staying warm, i headed into the nowhere in south dakota in search of the random barn to try out an idea. the first three didn't have what i had in mind.

sans front door, the painted green room caught my eye as I drove down a dusty road. with no 'private property' signs in sight, this was a suitable location. i placed a single nikon sb-800 on the floor, and did a test shot (see below), which turned into a cool self-portrait.


i imagined a perspective of an old-school landscape juxtaposed with sterile reality.... something nostalgic, but creepy. steven king lurks around the corner...

i stumbled upon this old house yesterday en-route to aberdeen, sd. the great plains has a rich, subtle beauty -- a nice contrast from city life. the breath of fresh air was less than welcome this morning, thanks to zero degrees + wind chill.

this morning nicole and I slept in after shooting andrea & ryan's wedding up in winter park, colorado. stay tuned for the blog posting in a few days. we walked around low-key 'main street' winter park and grabbed a little self-portrait reflection in a christmas tree ornament hanging in a local park. it was grand just to be tourists in a small town an hour's drive from our front door! all the colorful holiday decor was out in full display, which is no less exciting than when we were kids.

being a kid in the passenger seat looking out the window with a camera can be a fun thing. last night while driving back from our fun friday night date, i whipped out our trusty 50mm f/1.4 lens boosted the ISO to 1600 focused on the dashboard and waiting for something cool to happen. we passed a cop pulling over someone (they probably deserved it).


then another.


mundane city lights inspired this shot, reminiscent of the seriously somber soundtrack from the 2004 movie, 'crash.'


and my favorite shot pulling into our driveway. i would love to see this blown up to a 40 x 60, printed on a canvas wrap, and hung in a gallery with a little red 'sold' sticker.

denver isn't wildly know for our sunsets like hawaii & california. the culprit: our rugged front range topography facing due west blocks the sunset. but just outside the kern-photo condo, i was able to grab a shot of a really cool sunset from last night looking north from our patio.


a few minutes later the sun warmed up the clouds to perfection (our office window pictured).


literally as i was blogging about last night's sunset, yet another killer sunset appeared. check this: you can see the photos from last night on the monitor and while tonight's sunset is featured prominately outside.

here's the kern-photo crib. yes, here hangs a georgia o'keefe inspired turquoise steer skull above r. j.'s first published cover of carmelo 'melo' anthony of the denver nuggets.

r. j. has been collecting seed pods since who knows when and has amassed a collection ranging from your standard pine code to the martian-esque specimens. why? 'kernel' translated from german to english means 'kern', our last name (according to babelfish). which leads us to our pop quiz.

QUESTION: a 'kernel' is:

a) the central component of most computer operating systems
b) an atom stripped of all its valance electrons
c) a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat
d) the name of 'lilo & stitch's experiment 014, an experiment in the disney animated series 'lilo & stitch'
e) all of the above

ANSWER: "e) all of the above" (source: wikipedia)

inspiration for the project lies in the range of possibilities between the aforementioned extremes. true that, yo. so on with the developing seed pod project, item #20 in my 101 goals. the kernel's secret recipe is in the works and the test batches look like this:

illyarrie (eucalyptus erythrocorys)


bushy yate (eucalyptus lehmannii)


stay tuned for the completed series of 16 pods in all (to hang in an arrangement of 4 by 4). comment below and shape the destiny of the project!

i dug around in the kern-photo archives for flowers that sing 'get well, nicole.' 1-800-flowers can't deliver these puppies:


hope works in the favor of even the little known things in life.


okay, so it's not a flower.... but a flower helped to make it. this little guy was from my mom's garden, so i know it is good to eat and makes still me smile. hopefully it will do the same for you, too!

I haven't given myself any self-propelled photo projects since Dozen Espressos, so this evening I strolled around the Route 66 in Albuquerque in search of Electric Color in electric boxes. I used one 50mm f/1.4 lens, no filters, no flashes, no tripod: just available light, a dash of traditional dark room cross-processing techniques, and some in-camera color saturation. Check out the complete flash gallery here >> (Be patient as it loads, it is worth it. And if you want to have some fun, refresh your web browser and see a whole new composition).



Sometimes some of the most mundane objects can be miniature works of art.


Primary colors opposite on the color wheel give wonderful juxtaposition and vibe!

Diggin' through old photo archives, I stumpled upon these two favorite images taken at the Botanic Gardens in Washington, DC several years ago with a loaned 105 macro lens from the National Geographic Society. These two images are among my favorite every taken with this amazing sharp lens (we usually use the lens for close-up ring shots and the occasional portrait. I have always thought this one resembles an oil cool painting (Nicole's eye and camera was behind this one).


This one reminds me of a dozens birthday cake candles.


And this cactus reminds me of those little cellophane Asian noodles!

I've always admired my Mom's wonderful garden.... she spends so much time, really loves it, and the colors, textures, and shapes really show!




However, it is little buggers like this that make a gardener's life a bit more difficult.

So tonight I was feeling kinda down with me being gone for so long. My 12 days in Alaska have been action packed, but I am ready to head home tomorrow at 11:30pm. I decided I couldn't sit my Anchorage hotel room any longer and had to get out. I gave myself one fixed-focal length camera lens and no tripod and set out on a self-prescribed creative project. I noticed this town lives on espresso. Dinky drive through-espresso are scattered here and there, sometimes in predicable places (like vacant lots on major intersections) and sometimes not (behind barbed wire in a Bail Bond parking lot). They have color to say the least. Considering this town experiences the midnight sun in the summer (thus, the need for coffee) and practically no sun in the winter (thus, the need for coffee), I find my urban Alaskan experience illustrates the land of the extremes. Twilight lingers for hours, but I gave myself one hour to photograph as many of these things as I could.

77 minutes later, I found and photographed 12. Here's how I saw them >>

Happy zooming!

Sometimes I forget just how BIG Alaska is (and as a geographer, I should know that!). Spending almost two weeks there teaching GIS for the Bureau of Indian affairs, gave me great time to explore what this place has to offer. See the entire gallery for more >>



Kinda reminded me set from 'X-Files' or 'Lost'....I totally stumbled upon this while exploring Talkeetna, Alaska and looking for a good view of Denali, the highest point in North America.


Sometimes I forget to look at the small things under our nose, like this tiny leaf melting snow, slowly, slowly, slowly over the past weeks (note the subtle ice rings).


"I'm not lost, I'm exploring" (a favorite R. J. quote).


Denali on a clear day as seen from Talkeetna, AK.

We dig art projects. Fridgehendge, just outside of Sante Fe, is a great place for creativity. A buddy of mine, Kyle Olmon, introduced this place to me and anytime I'm near Sante Fe, I try and sleuth it out. The lighting was gorgeous and it was a spectacular creative place and time for produce what I call "Fridgehenge SQUARES." Check out Gallery 1 and Gallery 2.

So abstract.....they make your mind just wander! On day you may see work just like this hanging on gallery walls!

We spent some wonderful time up in Crested Butte Colorado skiing with the family. The snow was wonderful, the weather was great, and the color was tremendous. No wonder they call this place COLORado! See for yourself >>
 






R. J. was jazzed to see his name not once, but twice!