The pass for Pecos worked for Fort Union too!  So... who am I to waste 3 bucks :)  Drove another 70 miles northeast to visit Fort Union!  When I was there it was extremely windy which made photography quite hard.  Most of the walls left standing had to be supported by additional steel structures.  But what was left of the ruins made for interesting compositions!

Information on Fort Union:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Union_National_Monument

I've been meaning to come here for a couple years now and I finally went and wasn't disappointed!  The bosque is on a major bird migration route and has thousands of various birds coming through between November and February! 

The sunsets were especially terrific that day and I hope you enjoy the pictures!  Also a big hello to Mike and his friend whose company made the trip even more fun. 

Notes to self

• Bring TC and crop sensor camera
• Dress warmly

Images from Mezzelli's "Night at the Museum".  Great dancing, lighting wasn't the greatest for photography so.. here's what I got.

The 2009 Lebanese Festival and a side event at the Riverside Founders Festival with Troupe Roja and Mezzelli's Mirage dancers

Finally the Grand Canyon! Or at least, the South Rim 

21 Jun:  Arrived with my parents and sister late in the afternoon and caught the sunset at various points along the east side of the south rim.  Alas the smog either from pollution or the controlled burn obscured much.  I attempted to clean up these pictures but it was very hard

22 Jun:  Sunrise at Mather point with a follow up at Yavapai point.  Later in the day we walked the red line along the Rim trail westward.  We almost made it, taking the bus from Pima Point the last mile to Hermit's Rest (the asphalt was very hot).  Great views!  Was exhausted after that so no sunset shots

23 Jun:  I walked from Mather point back to the village so covered most of the Rim trail on foot overall.  Again smog was a bit of an issue.  I shot the sunset at Hopi point and if I were to do that again, I would have gone further to Pima point to have more of the rocks below reflect the sunset light.

24 Jun:  Sunrise at Yavapai point!   It took 2 hours to get the right light through the clouds but it worked!

- Notes

• Argh - dirt on sensor!  I did my best to keep the dirt out but I spent many hours cleaning up spots
• Polarizer did help a bit on the smog conditions but can only do so much without overpolarizing the sky and making it look unnatural
• Water is good!
• People who do the Bright Angel Trail must have legs of steel!

As others have said, if you visit one park in Utah, this is probably it!  Bryce Canyon has a huge series of dramatic rock formations across its land which you can hike above or down in below. 

I oddly woke up at 5:30 in the morning so I decided to head in for the sunrise and I wasn't disappointed.  The light arrived over the rim of the canyon into the rock formations below and from there it was one great picture after another across the park!  Later in the day I walked down the Navajo trail (Wall street side) into the canyon and came back up the Queens Garden trail.  It was definatly worth the long climb up!

Enjoy the pictures!  After this I dropped by the Coral Sand Dunes National Park, which was eh.. so-so.. then I called it a vacation and headed home.  My legs were exhausted from 5 days of hiking up and down (or rather.. down and up in most cases) across Arizona and Utah!

I was travelling down to Capitol Reef when I saw a sign for Goblin Valley National Park and I decided to drop by and didn't regret it!  It was formally known as Mushroom Valley and for good reason.  The rocks are of many layers and the lower layers eroded away, leaving larger rocks on top to make rocky mushrooms!

While driving north on UT 191 up to Arches I saw a sign for Canyonlands' Needle Overlook so I took the side trip and didn't regret it.  It's a terrific panorama of the rugged landscape of the Canyonlands! 

It's a small world also, met a man who lived in Medina, OH.  Go figure!

One of the best known landmarks of the west!  I raced over here from Canyon de Chelly trying to get in before sunset but when I arrived, it was raining out.  But thankfully within ten minutes it cleared and the sun came out and I got these gorgeous images!  This place is DEFINATELY worth a trip during sunset!  The road though is steep and dirt/gravel so drive carefully!

Note to self:  Don't get antibiotic ointment on your finger then touch the lense by accident and shoot a bunch of shots :(

Just the first stop of my NE Arizona and Southern Utah Trip!  And yes.. there were cows there.  I couldn't resist.  The 14-24 was a great lens for all of this wide angle stuff on its debut!  Although this is the second time i've been here, it's still impressive.

The 36th annual Dayton World A'Fair!  Dancers from all over the region demonstrating the classic dances of the world as well as many booths filled with regional foods and decorations!

http://www.aworldafair.org

Things I learned

• Focus Continuous, Single Shot, Dynamic Focus Area with 51 point tracking is necessary
• Dark background = -1 ev compensation with center evaluation

 Enjoy the pictures!  The performances I enjoyed the most were the Egyptian Breeze dancers and the Kenyan Acrobats.  This is worth seeing if you're in the area!

The lovely Zattana at Mezzelli's 3rd Annual Spring Recital! 

El Moro National Monument:  The ancient home of Pueblo indians.

One of the major features of El Morro is a waterhole filled with melted snow off of the bluff that was used by many historical travellers who then wrote their thanks on the rock, now aptly named Inspiration Rock

This was a fun little trip with a short but tiring hike with photography gear up the bluff!

http://www.nps.gov/elmo/

Post Honeymoon shoot of Judy and Jason Honabarger at Old Town, Albuquerque, NM

The wedding of Jason Honabarger and Judy Banet on 10 Jan 2009 at the Kirtland AFB Chapel, Albuquerque, NM.

Photographers:  Alan Louie, David Montminy, and Angela Campbell

Pictures from the great White Sands National Monument in New Mexico! Awesome sunsets! Just make sure that you bring your GPS so you can find your car again... and then not leave it in the car.

Pictures from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Black 10x20 muslin background with 2 SB-800s as main lights.

Post processing Settings

• Velvia +2, Shadow and highlight as necessary, Noiseware auto, sharpening

Things I learned

• Look at all aspects of the frame before shooting
• Stretch before modelling
• Communicate!

Happy July 4th! Albuquerque's July 4th celebration at Balloon Park

Things I learned

•  ISO 200, F8, SS between 1 and 4 seconds
• Tripod mounted, remote release, manual focus

Jen and Buddy's Wedding at Paako-Ridge Golf Course Photos by Alan Louie, for Jimmy Do's pictures, see http://jimmydophoto.googlepages.com/weddings

Post processing Settings

• Velvia +2, D-Lighting 20 as needed, USM broad, USM sharp, Noiseware Pro

Valarie Blackwell-Truitt Community dance Concert.

Post processing Settings

• Shadow 10 (optional), noiseware Professional, velvia +1 on EB pictures. USM broad/sharp

2007 Louie-Woo-Kocher-Gilbert-Ware Xmas!

Things I learned

• BRING TRIPOD
• Check DOF at edges of a straight line audience vs a curved one
• Going full manual flashes is rough after relying on iTTL for so long, umbrella flashes were directed inward from the sides at 1/2 power with another behind camera aimed at the ceiling at full

Zattana's Halloween Costume

Things I learned

• SLOW DOWN, concentrate on both composition and technical setup, lighting got low and shutter speeds too slow

Leslie's day off!  So more snapping!  Concentrated on things other than the regular events this time.

Quick trip to Vegas for Creech AFB! Had a bit of time off to explore!

Things I learned

• Aerial shots = hard. Balance between high ISO, at least 1/60th shutter speed, and any f-stop I could get (I gave up and went 2.8). Add in two dimensional vibration for more difficulties. Cities are dark too at night.....
• Take pictures earlier in the trip such that cancelled events can be gone back to (Treasure Island pirate ship due to high winds)

Middletown Ohio Balloon Challenge! Ran into OVCC, big hello to Mike, Terri, Steve, and EJ!

Things I learned

• *cough* measure the exposure WHEN the balloons are lit.. not when the whole place is dark! 
• Probably should have stuck on a polarizer to reduce glare
• Maintain over 1/100s shutter speed during balloon glow as balloons do drift

Biked 15 miles (and back..) with my camera equipment to take pictures of acrobats and bellydancers! Worth it? YES. Just gotta remember the suntan lotion...

Cincinnati Zoo - Zoo Blooms

Things I learned

• Remember to switch back to full matrix metering from spot metering from theatre work.. duh
• Use tripod more for steady shots on a single target. Lost about 3 good looking ones due to just a bit of vibration
• For IR, shoot full manual and work with the histogram

Another OWCC event to the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati! Neat place, a bit crowded but lots of neat flowers!

Things I learned

• Mmmm... dark. Pushed ISO up to H0.3 but shutter speed was still a bit slow. Had my flashes but didn't pop them to keep lighting consistent 
• Learning the 105 micro VR, nice little lens, sometimes it's perfect, but sometimes it's a bit long.

Took a quick drive out to the Cox Arboretum (in between rain showers). Took a few interesting shots to amuse myself with in Capture NX and Photoshop.

My first outing with the Ohio Valley Camera Club! Good to meet them all!.

For 7 bucks I can't quite say this was worth it, but I got a few somewhat interesting shots out of it. Used the 70-200 2.8 VR for most of the shots and because of the lighting, was shooting at ISO 640-1200 wide open. Which was a mistake. Wide open = depth of field of a piece of paper. So most of the pictures I am unsatisfied with because I really couldn't see in the dark. But if I closed down any, my shutter speed would have went from hard to impossible. Lots of people bumping into the tripod

Things I learned

• DOF of a 2.8 is zilch

3 years later.. i'm back! With a 70-200 as my mainstay I was snapping away

Things I learned

• Camera seems to be 1/3 or 1/2 stop underexposing.. might want to compensate for that
• 70-200 + 1.4x TC is still perfectly fine for shooting from the WAY back. Albeit heavy

Got a tip from a friend about this place so I went! Fairly political w/ lots of 'vote for me' signs but still some fun!

Things I learned

• Carrying umbrella or raingear in Ohio.. must remember that
• Pictures below are not white balanced because i'm lazy :) i'll go back later and fix them up

Whew, it's been a while since I've posted anything, but most of my work has been for my unit and I can't quite put that stuff up! (promotion ceremonies, military functions, etc). Anyways this is the 2nd event with my oh so awesome Nikon D2X :) and it worked beautifully in its baptism of fire(works)!!!!

Things I learned

• ISO 200, F8, and anywhere from 2-10 seconds still works great.
• Expose for the shoreline if at all possible
• Get that remote trigger ($$$)
• The Destin bridge actually dampened the vibration from passing cars quite well, although I had headlights coming from the side which didn't help either my night vision nor exposing anything with that at an angle
• Using Nikon Capture 4.4 now in my processing (since Photoshop CS1 ACR can't handle D2X files), it's a dramatic change which makes processing a much longer process, but I have to say I like the results.

Take 3 at swingdancing pictures, tonight's focus was to learn more about the backlighting situation and see if anything came out of it. It was... a learning experience and it's definitely hard to get the right combination of light for what I'd consider an interesting picture.What is my fascination with the backlight? At first glance it's all about underexposed pictures, but it's not to me. It's all about contrast and simplicity, I love a 'simple' picture with just a few strong elements in it. I don't want a complex scene where the observer needs to take a minute to soak it in, I want the viewer to look exactly at the subject and, in this case, almost feel the dance taking place. The sharp contrasts in the picture gives it an edgy feeling. Another aspect of the backlit pictures is the obscuring of identities, they no longer are individuals we know, but represent anyone out on that floor.

Next project out here? I wonder how the lighting would look if I place both flashes together for one strong strobe in a single location. I would have to place myself correctly to take advantage of this, but a strong lighting from one side, and deep shadows in the back could make a picture. Who knows, let's find out :)

If anyone would like the full sized jpg of an image below, please drop me an email at aklouie@hotmail.com with a description of which picture you want, and I will get you the file as soon as I can. Thanks!

Things I learned

• Consider putting the lighting sources closer to the ground instead of way up high
• Tilt the primary lights towards the target area if at all possible (may need new hot shoe brackets) What the subject is wearing definitely can make or break a backlit photograph. Dark clothed men = women hanging out there in the middle of nowhere.
• Travis, Meagan, Ashley and Phillip are awesome, but we already knew that right?
• Massive lens flare! Perhaps move the lights further on out angle-wise. Didn't have quite such a problem last time due to getting closer to the subject with the lens. This time I focussed on getting feet into the picture and that opened up the range of view for all sorts of nasty stuff
• When shooting normally with flashes to the rear, try putting both flashes directly behind camera and shooting crosswise, will force the camera to remain in a single location, but at least the shadows will not fall across dancers.
• Given all the attention now that this little site is getting from swingdancers, autocross racers, friends and family.. I better clean this up and make it a bit fancier.

Take 2 at swingdancing pictures, this time with a pair of SB-800's mounted about 12 feet above the floor aimed crosswise across the room Post processing SettingsThings I learned: - I like to blind people with my flashes - Need to watch out for people dancing - Flashes need to go higher to avoid having the shadows extend to the next group behind them, but not so high that shadows are prevalent under the noses/chins - Need an SB-800 mounted on the camera for a bit of fill flash and for superior rangefinding when focusing. - Stick the hood on the 18-70 lens if doing this backlight attempt again to reduce flare.

Pictures from the Denver Botanical Garden

Pictures from the Garden of the Gods and the trip to Colorado Springs from Grand Junction

A leg around Colorado's Southwest! A trip around the San Juan Skyline from Durango, to Cortez, to Ouray Box Canyon

Pictures from the Great Sand Dunes National Park

It's extremely cold and windy in February! I also had sand in all of my gear :(

Munitions Directorate's Wingman Day. I got away with being the photographer :) Although I got my workout running around with my equipment!

Things I learned:

• 70-200 VR.. heavy...

This time I came with 2 umbrellas powered by SB-800s on AA's (I got my Gearheads batteries a week later), happy with the lighting, I missed critical focus though a few times. I need an SB-800 mounted ON the camera itself for the more powerful AF assist.

Things I learned

• Dark sweaters don't like to be focussed on

Pictures around New Mexico. The scenic trip up to Taos and from Sandia Peak

Pueblo Indian Ruins in Pecos National Park

Pictures from Old Town in Albuquerque, quite the tourist trap.

The beginning of my Albuquerque trip! I started at the Gardens by Old Town.

I will say upfront that I am very disappointed with my work here.

There were a lot of great pictures ruined by 2 things, out of focus (I was much farther this time), and the tripod jiggled and this was accentuated by the long range! *sob* But I will present what I thought is worth showing. Don't ask for any of these except the first one to print!

Things I learned:

• Stabilize tripod with everything I can if it's windy and long range
• Gotta figure out how to pre-focus on fireworks.....

Went to this with my friend Kelley! Had front row seats on the pier.. although I did want to rip the head off of the kids behind me by the end of the night for acting like.. well.. can't say it in polite company :)

Things I learned:

• Stuck at 2 stop ND filter in front of the lens, definitely helped in extending the exposure time!

Pictures from the National Botanical Garden in DC

Various pictures of artwork and buildings around Washington DC

Happened to see this one the day of as I popped onto the internet to check out events going on. I was planning to check out Eden Garden out towards Panama City but that can wait! Definitely not even in the same class as the Ohio Renaissance Festival but it had some interesting sights.

Things I learned: 

• Tripod good, being tall is good too. There was another photographer there a good head shorter than me... I had a significant height advantage to peer over crowds (with camera on tripod jacked way up high and me on my tip toes trying to peer through the viewfinder to focus
• Still working on this fill flash thing. I'd love to use it except in really bright mid-day light, even stopped way down I am exceeding the 1/500 sync shutter speed
• I need a big sign on my head saying "I do not work for the newspaper!"