A peaceful evening along the Oregon Coast

A peaceful evening along the Oregon Coast, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

So I decided to trek back deep into the hard drive to see what I could dig up. Man, I have a lot of unfinished images! I decided to challenge myself a wee bit with this one. The scene really didn't scream out a need for HDR (this was done with one image), but I did have to massage it a bit to really tell the color and light story that I remembered that cool evening along the west coast. I have to make it back there one day and give it the time it really deserves. As I remember, I kinda scrambled up the coast in a rather quick and non Zen-like way. In retrospect, this Oregonian landscape deserves so much more respect than I took the time to give it!

The processes I used on this one had me taking a completely different approach here in the digital darkroom and I kinda like it :)

This one is worth clicking to view larger. Check it out :)
View On Black

And for the music. Although listening to this actually transports me to memories of train travel along the Mediterranean in Europe around 1993, I still like it to this day. Sure the style is kinda dated, but the tune rocks. Enjoy :)

Along the coast of Oregon

Along the coast of Oregon, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

First off, I want to thank all who checked out, commented on, faved, and stumbled upon my last post yesterday. My stats on flickr showed over 650 view as it was on the explore page. As many of you know, it is always quite an honor to have your work viewed and appreciated, and I again thank you for that!

My image this evening might not reach that level of view I am quite sure, but I kinda like it. I had one of my camera bodies modified for infrared capture a while ago by a company called LifePixel and this was shot with it. I highly recommend it for those photogs with an extra camera body laying around.

Their site is: www.lifepixel.com if you are interested.

I'd also like to pass on a link to a video I saw yesterday. There seems to be a lot of people searching these days for new direction. Some industries have all but dried up, yet there are opportunities all around us. Sure its a search and takes a lot of drive, but rewards are abundant for those who do not loose focus of the dream. For those looking for new opportunities and challenges, this video will most likely mean a lot. Enjoy :)

Bumbling about the Oregon Coast

Bumbling about the Oregon Coast, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Bumbling....indeed how I do feel sometimes when chasing the light. This trip was definitely no exception. Its funny how the sun appears to be falling at the rate a bowling ball would when you're racing to find a place to capture this special time of day!

Along the Oregon Coast, the sea is quite cold; unique, but very cold. As I studied a few of the locals heading to the beach in this part of the country, I noticed that they seemed to be a bit more focused......perhaps sophisticated as well.....?

Just before exploring the tide pools off in the distance, I decided to plop down in the warm sand to capture the amber light that was beginning to paint the landscape in this coastal paradise. Good God, that was one of the longest sentences ever! And kinda lame too.....

Anyway, hope ya like it.....the image that is....

And, to continue a sort of recurring theme this week....music that inspired the edit:

Moonlight along the Oregon Coast

Moonlight along the Oregon Coast, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

My post this evening finds me with a bit of a backlog of shots I either have been wanting to post, have perviously talked about posting, or promised others that I would post soon. So, with all that being said, I'm not really sure why I put the headphones on and dove deep into the drive to find a blank palette to paint on. I guess it has a little to do with the afternoon I had. I decided to take a wee bit of a break and goofed off for a while today. This afternoon, I took my daughter to see The Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey in 3d IMAX. Definitely a must see!!! What a buffet of visual inspiration. It's hard to figure out what is animated, generated, and real. I guess when it all works, it really doesn't matter. What was even cooler was the opportunity to discuss the movie in a rather philosophical way with a 9 year old over dinner afterwards. Indeed, my life is good :)

A quick shout out to www.flickr.com/photos/skeletalmess/ for his cool textures that I was able to use to paint with tonight. Check out his stream!

Musical inspiration I used for the edit

Reflections on the Oregon Coast

Reflections on the Oregon Coast, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

As is SO often the case, the days barrage of ideas for my blog post are all but completely vanished into thin air. For some reason, my thoughts seem to be vividly focused on opportunities, plans, and visions of drastic change these days. What's that all about. Anyone else sharing these thoughts? Usually, several times throughout the day, an idea pops up and I think "Hey, there's a great idea to compose a blog about".....and then, soon after....poof, its gone. Sounds like I need to start twittering. Just what this world needs from me isn't it, more little tweets to add to the millions of terabits of nonsense out there. LOL

For tonight, served up for your enjoyment, the magnificent Oregon coast. Having forgotten about 15 or so ideas for tonight's post by now (must be the heavy dose of antibiotics for the swelling in my arm.....long story....), my inspiration comes from a flickr friend that is treking about Oregon this week. I have always been intrigued at how 2 people can wander thru what seems too be the exact same setting and create such unique perspectives in their art. Thanks for the reminder Rachelle....

Anyway, nuff for now. I feel like I am fading fast!

Oregon Dunes

There are a couple of times a day...very special times of the day, when the lighting is just right. Chasing this golden lighting is kinda of a crazy and maddening feeling for the photographer, especially if you are still scouting for a site. I know, cause, well, I have been there.....too many times to admit. As the golden light tonight starts to paint the trees outside my balcony in the courtyard, I am starting to get that feeling again.....C YA, off to "chase the light" again!

5 continents in 5 days - North America - Driftwood along the Oregon

In an effort to give my posts some sort of direction this week, I have decided on this little project. Five continents in 5 days. (Which basically means that I have a few images already toasted and ready for consumption....my god, did that sound stupid or what!?)

Anyway....I hope you enjoy this and what is yet to come....

The coast of Oregon is a jewel for the photographer and image maker. At nearly every turn of the road is a vista that almost sucks your car off the road. Stop, breathe, savor, and enjoy. This region should best be sampled in several days, and not the marathon 2 days that I alloted, buy hey, there's always next trip!

Details along the coast

Quite often, I have noticed recently, the actions of the day help to shape the feeling of the post I happen to choose for the evening. This is certainly no exception to this. Next week, we load in our biannual lighting rig for a corporate recognition event (an intimate event for about 20,000!), as well as 6 other events. I was certainly hoping to have all these planned and put together by now, but by the looks of the emails I have finally received today, and the ones that I should have received by now, I am far from there. That being said, this seems to be a pretty fair interpretation of my brain and its clarity this evening. (Hey, I chose this crazy industry!)

Time to get back to the grind.

Hey, it's great to have work, so I guess I need to focus on that.   :)

As the tide goes out

The more I think about it, the more I understand it. I live so close to the beach here on the east coast, but have created much better images of the West coast when I was there. Sunset = easy time of day for me. Sunrise, well, before coffee.....not so good for me.

Enjoy!

As sun sets on a short but meaningful journey

I think by now, its pretty well known that I love to travel. I embrace and treasure each and every journey I have been blessed with the opportunity to take. It is with mixed feelings, however, that I reflect back on one that is coming to a close.

Hiking in the swiss alps, moped riding in the Greek Islands, diving in the Bahamas, exploring the streets of Paris, finding new music at a music festival in Copenhagen, treking in Norway, traveling as a lighting designer with Anna Gabriel in South America, waking up on countless overnight trains in Europe, ...... I could go on forever! All these were fantastic memories. Each and every one had something in common however....a foreseeable end. Upon embarking on these journeys, there was a predictable time to come home and end the trip.

A few years ago, about 12 or so, I decided to embark on another journey. This one was a little different. You see, this journey was supposed to be one without an end....a lifetime journey if you would, with another person. At least, that was the plan. To love, learn, and grow into a much better and complete person...... a union not to be broken.....yes, that indeed was the plan.

Well, people change and life kinda gets in the way sometimes. There are some that are able to make this trip successfully, not many as statistics will tell you, but some. Sometimes I wish I was one of these privileged few, but hey, I think I played my cards as best as I could. I have lost too many tears to count over the last 2 years trying to figure it out, thats for sure! I guess like anything in life, you learn as you go and you learn from your experiences. I have to think that somehow, this is all part of making me into a better person.

This journey has been over for a while now. The train has slowly but surely been approaching the station. By tomorrow morning the wheels, if all goes well in court, will finally come to a hault. It is then when I must grab my bag and get off the train. Even though I know the trip is over, I can't help but feel I didn't see everything. Like I misread the guidebook and slept through too much of it.....a very strange and uncomfortable feeling I must admit.

I look forward to continuing my next journey, one that I have already started.......being the best father I can be. Like all my other trips, I look forward to this one!

Treking up the Beach in Oregon

Too tired to describe, yet, awake enough to post. Another long day in the events industry tonight. I hope to post a few tomorrow night. For now, please enjoy this imaged created from an infrared capture from along the coast of Oregon. Gnite...

A bay along the coast - BW

This is the the black and white version of the shot I posted a couple of nights ago (the wacky color version!) I like this one better. The Oregon coast....a magical place!

Time for dinner

Kind of a lame name for a photo....I mean really, ......whatever. I processed and named this image a while back and have no idea why I named it that.......but anyway....

I am kind of beat, but wanted to post a shot anyway. I just got back from a great show we did this evening. My crew rocked...as always...and the client was ecstatic! A well oiled machine we were! Eric was rockin' the house at the lighting console when I decided to leave. He was having a good time! God knows, I have run enough of these shows in my 25 years of doing this. Its nice to see someone else with a passion for the art. I have always said that lighting can make or break an evening. From when the guests arrive till the last person leaves, our talent is a crucial ingredient in the success of the event. I look forward to posting a few images this week.

But for now, here is another from the Oregon trip.

I am sure I have said it before, but I could spend weeks exploring this incredible coast. The coast where I live (Florida), albeit a pretty one, is no match for the slendor of the West! I have many others that I hope to post someday, but for now, please enjoy!

A bay along the coast

Well, although I have a file of about a million images that I can pull from to blog about daily, I still love diving in to the unprocessed and creating something with them. I hope to start Geotagging someday, because, to be honest with you, I have no idea where this was taken. Well, I take that back, kind of an idea. Somewhere along the Oregon Coast, the lighting and cloud cover was calling me to pull off to the next turnoff to capture what I could. The mid day sun was a bit contrasty, so I pulled out my infrared camera to capture this scene. I also processed a black and white that I think is more powerful, but my mind is a little focussed on the light show I am loading in in the early AM tomorrow, so I decided to post this colorful one. Hope you enjoy!

Oregon Dunes - Turning day into night

Here's another image I had hanging around in the "to blog" file. Yes, I actually have a few images ready to go in a file. Anyway, I opened it last night and had intended to just boost the levels a bit, but then ran a couple of Nik filters on it. This was captured in the late afternoon, but I love what the filters did to this image. It almost looks like we took a lighting rig out on the beach at night!

Cannon Beach on a misty morning

My initial reaction after waking up early for sunrise was one of dissapointment. However, after walking the beach for about an hour, I started to "feel" it a little bit. Shoot in color for black and white conversion in post........perfect.

Goodies left after the tide went out

As the sun was fading fast and I was chasing the light, I was all over this beach composing shots at a rapid pace. I didn't see the detail in the shadows on the rocks to the left till I started processing these a couple of days later!

More shots from the workshop to come soon. Our days are about 18 hours with the morning shoots, evening shoots, processing, and presentations. What a great group of people! The hard work has been very rewarding :)

Almost to Cannon Beach

It was another day of "Chasing the Light." As I treked up the Oregon Coast, location was was my focus for sunset times. With that in mind, I'm not sure how I boshed it up. I wanted to get to Cannon Beach by about 6PM. Well, 6PM had me at least an hour south of there. I was zig zagging and weaving up and down a mountain road that I didn't want to be on.....Oops! I eventually had to abort the mission and find a location...and quick. The sun was dropping like a bowling ball! Sounds kinda strange, but if your goal for the day is to catch great lighting, this can get a little stressful. Sad, but true! Well, after the captures were done, it was time to find a nice driftwood log to sit on and relax. The cool breeze, the sound of the Pacific waves, the smell of wood burning fireplaces and bonfires up in the dunes.....life is good!

The end of another great day

Chasing the light.....that pretty much sums up landscape lighting. Its great to be amongst natures finest creations, but when that golden light starts to appear...you gotta work fast!

Oregon Coast near Gold Beach

I tried to post this last night but had no signal for internet. This was taken just south of Gold Beach on the coast of Oregon. What a great coastline! I wish I had about a week to explore this gem of a state. I think some of the nicest people in the country live in this area!

For the last day and a half, I was traveling with fellow photographer that I met in the Redwood Forest area. We stopped at a few spots along the way, but this place was awesome! Just south of Gold Beach on the coast was a great beach with tons of rocks, tidal pools, and a great sunset. We traveled up the coast for a while today, but kind of got separated around the 3 Capes turnoff. A couple of slow cars got between us and at a fork in the road, I didn't know of he went left or right. I went left and, well, never saw him again. Russ, if you catch this, take care. Have a good trip and thanks for the company along any the way!

So, this post finds me in Cannon Beach in Oregon. The weather is fantastic. Cool and dry.......a nice change from hot and humid South Florida!

More to come!