Found this on a hike - Zermatt in Switzerland

Found this on a hike - Zermatt in Switzerland, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

There's usually a moment within the window of time that I give myself to explore the art....a point at which I have to ask myself "Is this a keeper, or am I creating a piece of serious garbage!"

I had a few challenges with this one, I must admit, but when I decided to let go, paint in a few textures, and just enjoy the process....it started to come together. Now, mind you, it could still be judged as a rubbish, but thats ok.....

And for all you Fathers out there....I hope you enjoyed your special day!

Matterhorn on a misty mountain afternoon

Matterhorn on a misty mountain afternoon, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

"The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there." -
Robert M. Pirsig

There is something very settling and familiar when exploring about an area like Zermatt. Seems like no matter where you are, one of the most majestic of all mountains called the Matterhorn always seems to be looming off in the distance - like an old friend there to comfort you, ya know. (my gosh, where in the world is all this going?!) Nowhere I guess.......now what?

Hmmm, how about a little about the image?

I had to do a bit of work on this one. The light was kinda flat and even, so I played with painting a bit of contrast in here in there to create more of a sense of depth and texture. There always, at least when I was there, seems to be a mess of clouds around the peak (like the time-lapse I took when I was there). I'll link to it on the blog if you want to check it out. In this case, the sense of mystery helps a bit (I think). Hope ya like :)

A hike in the Swiss Alps - Zermatt

A hike in the Swiss Alps - Zermatt, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

I've been searching for "themes" of sorts to tie in my blog posts for the week, or at the very minimum....nuggets of wisdom. Not sure if any of that makes sense in the slightest, but yet I plunge forward....

Music is powerful. It is quite often the catalyst for setting the mood when I head out for capturing the feel of the location and......(good grief, this is going absolutely nowhere....)

aaaanyway, hope you like what I created in post. I applied a bit of a painterly look with Topaz and of course, photoshop. And as far as the music that drove the mood? (I guess thats the theme of the week....The music that drove the mood!)

A break in the Swiss Alps (while the timelapse camera clicks away)

A break in the Swiss Alps (while the timelapse camera clicks away), originally uploaded by Photomike07.

I had a few ideas while on this little trek up in the Swiss Alps, and here is one of them. Before I left the States for my trip, I had tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to procure a room with a great view of this most majestic of mountains. My thought was that the camera could live, safely on the balcony, whilst clicking away all day for a time-lapse capture. Well, I started thinking, how about a nice little break during a hike to do the same thing? I must admit, after loading a little Pat Metheny into the ipod playlist, throwing the hood over my head, and just sitting down to enjoy the view and fresh air for a couple of hours, I was in heaven!

Somewhere in Zermatt

Somewhere in Zermatt, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

After a long trek up in the Swiss Alps, my legs were shaking as I approached the bottom of the last path. Throw a flat country Florida guy into the Swiss Alps for a day, and thats what you get. For a short couple of days, I severely abused my out of shape body for the exchange of some incredible scenery, fresh air, and relaxing moments near the Matterhorn. Of course, with my trusty Nikon kit at my side, I captured a few images along the way.

I did something a bit different on a few of these outings on this trip. I decided to record my thoughts as I was setting up for the shot with my G10. This location was one of them. I remember rambling on as I set up this shot about why I was taking it and what I hoped to do with it. I am sure I sounded like quite a dork, hahaha. Anyway, I hope to edit a few of these video clips soon and incorporate with some editing tips as well.

Musical inspiration from the edit.....Enjoy!

The view from Riffelberg today in Switzerland

The view from Riffelberg today in Switzerland, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Having "unplugged" a bit over the past few days, I must apologize for those who happen to peek at the flickr stream and blog every now and then. My days have been spent exploring countless locations here in centraI Europe. I look forward to posting a quick wrap up soon after I return as well as posting images over the weeks ahead. Before I head out in the AM to train it back into France, I decided to hijack a ride on a wireless connection here in Zermatt, Switzerland and get an image out. I took an incredible hike today, dodged a few clouds, captured a cool timelapse, and recorded a few videos. One is of the technique I used on this panorama of the Swiss Alps. Look for it soon. Well, thats it for now......as always....more on all of this later :)

Stopping to smell the, well, whatever they are! (and a little reflection on life)

Stopping to smell the, well, whatever they are! (and a little reflection on life), originally uploaded by Photomike07.

First off, I am at another one of those moments that finds me scrambling for an image that makes sense. My evening posts, as is the case tonight, often challenges me this way. So often we go about our days with total oblivion about the moment we are in. The mind often takes on these journeys into the future, hoping for new opportunities, better days, greener grass..... or perhaps the opposite. A reflection of days gone by......the good ole days as it were, " I remember when", if only it were like yesterday. It can be maddening. It sometimes seems impossible to enjoy the now, yes those precious moments, the only moments actually, that you are in total control of! Right here, right now, that is all you have in essence. Savour it, grab a hold of it, live it.....you never know what the future holds. Sure, it is foolish not to plan for the future, but to loose focus of the now is when the real fool shows its face.

I had one of those "real life" realizations this evening.

I was honored to be asked to run lighting for a benefit concert for a friend this evening. John and I had a few laughs, OK, a million laughs, in the early 90's when he worked with me. Driving across the country (a couple of times actually) has a certain way of cementing a relationship with someone. Sure, he moved onto bigger and better career opportunities, but as the years past, all it took was a few minutes of recollection for us to start cackling away the memories. Life takes us all on our individual journeys, but good friends become the landmarks by which we remember the trip by.

So why was it so hard to walk out of the lighting booth and say hi to him tonight? I timidly walked up to his wheelchair during intermission, a space in the theatre reserved for him, his wife of 15 years, and his wonderful 3 children, and prayed to God to help me find the right thing to say.

You see, a couple of years ago, on what started out as a normal South Florida morning, John set out on a little fishing trip. Out with a few friends to enjoy a day off, there was no way to know that his trip back to shore would eventually find his way to a new life and a challenging one for his family. A brain aneurism can do that to you I guess.

As I tear up, I kinda want to spare the exact details of him and his condition as its too difficult to imagine the internal pain he must be in. (not to mention his family). I hope he recognized me......I think he did, though it was a bit hard to tell. I can't even fathom the amount of strength that his family must endure just to get thru the day! My thoughts this evening are indeed with his family and close friends.

Now, right now, that is all you can be guaranteed to have ...... it can all change in a flash, so enjoy the present as it is in fact a gift!

Chillion Castle in Montreux - Photo painting

Chillion Castle in Montreux - Photo painting, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Every once in a while, I think its a good idea to revisit an image. This one has a kinda significance to me for 2 reasons. First, during this trip a couple of years ago, my passion for photography was reborn as well as my initial dabbling into the world of HDR imaging. In fact, this one was absolutely the first one that I ever processed. Second, not since my backpacking days of the early 90's had I been back to Europe. Having recently separated from my wife, this trip seemed to be a way of "finding myself".....just like some of my earlier trips. I am still looking by the way. Funny how that can be a lifelong search isn't it?

So, anyway, I felt that this shot could use a little work with some techniques I have been working with. My intention was to give it a "painterly look" as well as pump up the vibrant color that I remember so well from that trip. Hope ya like :)

Swiss Chalets

Swiss Chalets, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

The average post starts out with an inspiration. Something that happened during the day, a reflective moment, a rant.....now that I think of it, there really is no average post for me. More often that not, it actually begins with the image. Fifteen or so odd years ago, I had no idea what could eventually be of this image. For whatever reason, us photographers are kind of possessed. We are on a constant search for the next image.....dragging bags and packs of excessive gear to incredible places. Why is that? For me, it is quite simple. There is a beautiful world out there! I find great happiness in gathering and sharing those moments. Travel becomes a full time sensory overload as you open your eyes to the world. Scanning your surroundings for unique situations, color, patterns, light, emotion, .....the whole world becomes quite cinematic!

Wow, I am completely off track here....again....

I was inspired to post this image tonight based on an incredible artist I met. More on her in a minute....

I have always been inspired by paintings. How someone can create the illusion of reality, light, and emotion on a canvas has always intrigued me and to be quite honest, made me a little jealous. Perhaps taking a brush to canvas is something I really need to try someday. Put that on the bucket list I guess....

So, at the event that we did this evening, I met an artist.....a painter of live events. I hope to post an image of her at work tomorrow evening. She started the day at about 11AM when we were finishing up the lighting focus and tweek. With a blank canvas, she spent the day capturing the incredible setup, florals, architecture, hanging cherry blossoms, lighting, and as the guests walked in.....she proceeded to paint a few of the guests into the painting. I have never seen anything quite like it before!

My image for today, tough not painted by hand, is my art. Thanks for the inspiration Agnes!

Check back tomorrow for a shot of her at work and a link to her incredible artwork!

Around the lake in Montreux, Switzerland

According to Wikepedia:

Montreux is a municipality in the district of Vevey in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was a haven for Catherine Barkley and Lt. Frederic Henry in Ernest Hemingway's classic, A Farewell to Arms.

It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population of 22,897Montreux lies on the north east shore of Lake Geneva at the fork in the Roman road from Italy over the Simplon Pass, where the roads to the Roman capital of Aventicum and the road into Gaul through Besançon separated. This made it an important settlement already in Roman times.

Blaa Blaa Blaa......

I know it as one of the coolest places to spend mid July in Europe.....at the Montreux Jazz Festival!!! See you there :)

 

Slide Scan Project : A hike in the Swiss Alps

Any day in the Swiss Alps is a great day indeed. One of the coolest things I remember about my hikes in the Alps was how easy it was. There were a lot of places in Interlaken, Luzerne, and Zermatt that had cable cars for skiing in the winter season. They usually ran these in the summer to give you the chance to get to the top of mountains and then hike down. There was even a place that you could take a bike up to a place via bus and bike the whole way down. Now thats biking!