Peekaboo Canyon via PS Blend

Peekaboo Canyon via PS Blend, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

In my second part of my HDR blog, here is a shot where I took 2 shots of different exposure, used the Quick Select Tool in PS CS3 and used that to create a Layer Mask to select just the sky from the second shot.

Here is a picture of the results of combining 5 shots via DPHDR:


I like the blend a little better. I think the HDR shot brings out a little more detail in the shadow areas.

Overall, neither picture is perfect. I think the blend is more asthetic to me. Probably, a combination of the two would make the best picture.

Red at the Madison

Red at the Madison, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Red opened up for Seether on May 21st at the Madison Theater in Covington, Ky. They put on a nice set. Flyleaf was supposed to open but they canceled due to illness.

Seether put on a good show but it was fairly shot and they didn't play a lot from their new CD. Also, they didn't do an encore. I guess the venue was too small.

I used my wife's Canon A710IS Point and Shoot for this shot. I experienced my first ever media card failure in 10 years of shooting digital. The Sandisk SD Ultra II 2 GB card failed to let me write to it shortly after this picture. I've been unable to format it or erase any images. Quite the surprise. I didn't have a spare card in her camera case, another good lesson. In the field with my normal cameras, I always have 3-4 cards available. Of course, I couldn't take those into the theater. Alas!

Dynamic Photo HDR and Pictures from Utah

Bryce HDR, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Well, I'm back safe and sound in Dayton and I'm slowly getting a chance to review my photos and clean them up.

On this trip, I purchased RoboGeo to geotag from photos and I already owned Dynamic Photo HDR to create High Dynamic Range Photos.

In this post and the one tomorrow, I'll go over in more detail the positives and negatives of Dynamic HDR with landscape photography and compare it to doing overlay layers in Photoshop CS3.

When I shoot for HDR, I like to shoot a shot for 0 exposure, -2 and +2. For my D80, I'm able to do 3 bracketed shots with a 2 step exposure but on my D300, I'm only able to do a 1 stop step so I've been shooting 5 bracketed shots. I've also switched to shooting RAW+Jpg as I usually shoot raw and find that the JPG shots seem to make it process a little faster.

For the slot canyons, I tended to shoot a shot for the shadows and then a shot metered for the sky and the dynamic range was too vaste for a standard bracketed shot.

I'll do a couple of additional comparisons on my next post showing some HDR shots compared to Photoshop layers.

Heading Home, May 17, 2008

Today we finally head home after 10 days. It's been a long time away from the family. We got up around 7am and at a quick breakfast at the Comfort Lodge and we've packed up and we're getting ready to head to the Vegas Airport.

On our way, we're going to stop at St. George and the Johnson Farm to check out the dinosaur tracks. Then it's off to the airport.

I hope my main luggage is under 50 pounds! With tripod and spare camera pack, it's pushing the limit!!!

Moonrise in Zion, May 16, 2008

Moonrise in Zion, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

As our last full day in Zion, Terry and I took it easy while Brian and Ken hiked Angel's Landing. Our plan was to meet back at the Visitor's Center around 12:30.

Terry and I started on a trail to Emerald Pools but was told that it wasn't much today because of a lack of rain. We took the shuttle down to the Court of the Patriarchs and shot a little and then headed out of the park to do some shopping.

We finally heard from the guys around 1:30. They were at the top of Angel's Landing and said it was the scariest thing they had ever done. There was a half mile on a 3 foot ridge with an 800 foot drop-off on one side and a 1200 on the other. Plus, they had to use both hands and feet at times to climb up the ridge. If you're afraid of heights, this trip isn't for you!

Terry and I decided to grab lunch and we had a Polygamist Stout, to good to drink just one!

After some more wandering around, we finally hooked up outside the park at 3:30 and took Brian and Ken to a mexican restaurant for their lunch. We had a 39 ounce heffe-wieze beer and drove back to the lodge to take a few shots of the Watcher and get setup for sunset.

We could see clouds behind us but we never got a good sunset and we headed back to the room to pack and get ready to head out for home!

The Subway, May 15, 2008

The Subway, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Today, we decided to do the trail to take us into the Subway, a combination Slot Canyon-River.

This was a tough hike of 4 miles to the subway as the Narrows were closed because of high water. The hike started with a 1/2 mile steep decent to the Virgin River.

I started the hike with a litre of water but it wasn't enough. The trail was a scramble over rocks and trees and over the trail when we saw it. At about half way into the hike, we came across some dinosaur tracks that were very cool! We also got eaten alive by flies!

A little after the tracks, Terry made a good move as he was about out of water and he turned around and returned to the car. We started the hike around 9am and 4 hours later we were still a ways from the Subway.

Ken was ahead of us and got to the Subway before rian and I. Brian hiked the entire way with his camera out. I took out my D300 and carried it for a while until I slipped while looking at a snake sunning on a rock. I put a small mark on the battery pack and decided it was tie to pack up the camera in my pack so I could have both hands free.

The boots and hiking stick from Zion Adventures came in very helpful as wading through the river was sometimes the easiest path.

Once I got to the Subway, I found Ken and sat down to eat a quick lunch of Tuna. Unfortunately, I misplaced the cap to my water and decided to finish it before spilling it. I also bummed a Pepsi off Brian and we all shot for a couple of hours before heading back.

The trip back was much quicker as we didn't take many stops for pictures. The worst part of the hike was the start and finish with the last .6 miles and 500 foot altitude change up a steep cliff. At this point, I was pretty wiped and took a quick snack of some oranges that Brian had. I was also regretting the fact that I hadn't purchased a carbon fibre tripod and that I had brought my heaviest pack because it had the best water protection. it combined for a 40-50 pounds I had to carry uphill. A lot of the climb was very steep and required both hands at certain points. A little over half way up the trail, Brian and Ken were a few switchbacks uphill and another couple had just past them when I heard a huge noise and a scream. A boulder the size of a vmw bug started tumbling down hill and started a rock slide. The couple were 1 min from the point of impact when they heard the rock slide start and ran back down the trail. I watched the rock bounce down the mountain, frequently several feet in the air. We were all freaked out and had to deal with getting over the area where the rock slide just occurred.

At this point, I was dehydrated and exhausted. I got over this area but was pretty wiped. Brian came down and made me give him my pack as the sun was setting and we didn't want to be on the trail that late. My pack was WAY too heavy. It was much easier to make it to the car where we found Terry waiting for us with Gatorade.

Two key things I learned : (1) Pack plenty of water or gatorade and (2) don't over pack gear.

Friday is a mellow day for me and Terry but Brian and Ken are doing Angel's Landing, a very strenuous and dangerous hike .

Zion National Park, May 14, 2008

Brian in the Rapids, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Today, we drove from Page to Zion National Park in Utah. It is the oldest national park in Utah and is similar to Yosemite or Rocky Mountain Nation Park in services.

So far, it's the most family location we've been to and some place we would bring our families. The place is beautiful.

We caught the shuttle at the Visitor Center and headed up to the last stop to walk along River Walk and do some shots on the Virgin River.

One thing we can't figure out, it seems man capris are in fashion with the foreign tourist. We've taken to calling them manpris. Terry and I have taken a pledge that if we ever see the other wearing them, we will kick the crap out of them. ;-)

Tomorrow, the Subway!!!

Rimrock Hoodoos, May 14, 2008

Rimrock Hoodoos, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

After hitting the Upper Antelope Canyon, we hit our rooms to freshen up and headed out to the Rimrock Hoodoos near the Arizona/Utah border. We had heard that they were very similar to Devil's Garden in Escalante but found them a little lacking in comparison.

Rimrock is about a mile hike from the highway parking lot but it's an easy hike.

We had looked forward to a nice sunset with clouds. Unfortunately, the storm that hit in the morning was totally gone by sunset without a cloud in the sky. In addition, the sun goes behind a ridge before sunset and we didn't get the colors we were hoping for.

Still, I'm glad we came and saw them.

We went back to Page and grabbed dinner at a Mexican restaurant and crashed out for our trip to Zion on the 15th.

Upper Antelope Slot Canyon, May 14, 2008

Spirit Bear, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

We woke up to rain and dark skies. Terry, Brian and Ken decided to walk to McDonald's to get breakfast as a Tour Bus full of French tourist were eating breakfast already at the hotel continental breakfast.

I was just hopping ingot the shower, so I joined the guys after getting ready. Surprisingly, the guys just got their food before I got there so I didn't slow them down too much. We decided to do a little shopping while waiting for the weather to clear and hit Jack-in-the-Box for lunch.

The weather finally started to clear up around 2 and we headed over to the Upper Antelope Canyon, AKA Corkscrew Canyon. We paid the $6 Navajo fee and $40 for a 2 hour photo tour from one of the local guides. The best time to see the shafts of light in the Upper Antelope is from 11:30 to 1, so we missed that and the light was very poor for general photos. One of the high points of the tour was catching Spirit Bear! it is only visible in the mid to late afternoon.

I was very glad that our stay at the Page Tavelodge was almost over. I can't believe that their internet access had been down for a week and their response was for us to use the Best Western wireless from across the street. The Deluxe Continental Breakfast was pretty poor as well. It was cereal (Raisin Bran or Frosted Flakes), toast and/or bananas and oranges. Pretty weak.

Lower Antelope Slot Canyon, May 12, 2008

Key Hole, Lower Antelope Slot Canyon, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Today, we got up and grabbed breakfast at the hotel and headed over to the Lower Antelope Slot Canyon at 8:30. Just after we pulled in, a tour bus pulled in behind us. Terry and Ken rushed in and headed to the back as Brian and I stopped at the entrance and shot as the photography tour went past us.

The Lower Antelope was beautiful I highly recommend it if you're in the area! The best times to visit seem to be from 8-10:45 and 2-4. The Key Hole is lit up around 10:15 if you want to capture a ray of light. After 11, the light goes away. Primarily, you're trying to capture the walls with the reflected light. That provides the best red colors. It's sometimes difficult to avoid the sky in a photo. If you do get it, you'll have blown highlights and you won't get the pretty blue of the sky. I was taking multiple exposures, one for the shadows and one for the sky, and I plan to merge them in Photoshop later.

After the slots, we hit Pizza Hut for lunch and did a little shopping. We were planning on heading out in the afternoon but clouds rolled in and turned the sky to gray. Instead, we went over to Slackers Bar and Grill and had dinner while watching the Red Wings beat the Star in the NHL playoffs. It started raining while we were there and rained through the night.

Page Arizona, Sunday, May 11, 2008

Horshoe Bend, Page, Arizona, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Today, we drove from Tropic Utah to Page Arizona to see Horseshoe Bend and the Antelope Slot Canyons. We stopped for breakfast at Ruby's Inn and headed down the 2 hours to catch Horseshoe Bend around 1pm.

On the drive down, I got pulled over for doing 70 in a 65. Lesson: Set your cruise control and don't worry that everyone else is passing you at 80. Luckily, I got off with a warning and the gentleman that pulled me over was very courteous.

We got into Page and passed the Glen Canyon Dam. Be warned, the speed limit there is 15 and police were setup with radar and pulling people over left and right. We were going to visit the Dam Visitor Center but they have pretty tight security to get in and we didn't feel like standing in line.

We checked in to the Travelodge and discovered their internet access was down and it's been a bear to get access to upload pictures or my blog.

We drove over to Horshoe Bend and did the 3/4 mile hike. After the Bryce Canyon Rim Trails, I wasn't overly eager to stand at the edge of the canyon and take a shot. Looking through a viewfinder and tracking birds can cause a sense of vertigo. Terry and I were both of the opinion that it was better to inch out the last little bit to hold the cameras over the edge and shoot. It's an amazing sight and even with a 10mm lens on my D300, I couldn't get the outer edges. Terry got a shot with a boat that helps add a sense of perspective.

After Horseshoe Bend, we headed over to the Lower Antelope Slot Canyon. After paying $26 to get in, Brian and I were walking over to where we thought it was and didn't see an entrance. One of the local guides popped out of a crack in the ground and showed us the entrance. We were in there from 2 until 5 or so shooting. The light seems best from about 2-4. The Lower Antelope was MUCH EASIER to navigate than Peekaboo Canyon. It's also a lot taller. There was a lot my traffic than Peekaboo but everyone has told us that the Upper Antelope is crazy busy and you're lucky to get a shot without someone in it. We're going to do the Lower again Monday morning and hit the Upper on Tuesday.

We had dinner at Sonic and watched the big crows fly around. We were all fairly tired so we got into our rooms. unloaded, headed over to Walmart for a few supplies and crashed out after some beer and wine.

Devil's Garden at Night, May 11, 2008

Devil's Garden at Night, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

After shooting sunrise at Bryce Canyon, we went back to the cabin and caught a little nap to try and catch up on a little sleep. For the evening, we headed back out to Devil's Garden in Escalante to do a night shot to catch stars. We had a late Brunch at Ruby's Inn before hitting Devil's Garden and it helped us crash for a few hours.

The sky wasn't great for afternoon shots but it worked well for shooting stars in the evening.

Here is one of the shots taken at f/4 with a 30 sec exposure. In this shot, we used a flashlight to paint the rocks to allow them to show up much better without over exposing the stars. This shot is without any photoshop work. I plan to blend this with a non-painted version of the rocks to give it a natural look without over-exposing and getting a lot of noise.

Devil's Garden proved to be one of my favorite spots around Bryce Canyon and Escalante. The interesting this is that there were a lot more foreign tourists (mainly French and German) than Americans. I guess the strong Euro has made it easier for travel!

Bryce Canyon, Sunrise May 10, 2008

Thor's Hammer, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

We dragged ourselves out of bed at 5:15 after a few hours of sleep to head over to Sunset Point to get shots of the sunrise on Bryce Canyon. Terry was the first one out as he wanted to catch the sun crest the rim of the canyon.

The tire patch job Brian did yesterday has held and we were in good shape. I met a guy with his 3 daughters shooting a 15 year old Hassleblad as I shot my D300 (tripod) and D80 (hand-held 70-200mm VR).

We finished up around 8 and headed over to Bryce Point for some more shots. We saw some California Condors but they were too far away for my 70-200mm lens.

We stopped at Ruby's Inn and grabbed some breakfast. We couldn't take another meal of trail mix and jerky!

We ended up at midday back at the cabins exhausted and took a nap before heading out at 3:30 for Devil's Garden for sunset shots and night shots.

More to come for Saturday!

Devil's Garden, Afternoon May 9, 2008

Devil's Garden, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Two entries in one day! After our escapade to Peekaboo, we went back down the dirt road to hit Devil's Garden for sunset and night shots.

The sky was beautiful, as you can tell by this shot, but clouds started rolling in and we didn't get the golden sunset we were hoping for. Devil's Garden was so cool, we're going back this afternoon to shoot the sunset and do night trails.

Devil's Garden is certainly one of the coolest places we've been AND IT DIDN"T REQUIRE HIKING!!!

After the Navajo Trail in Bryce Canyon and the hike to Peekaboo Canyon, it was a good change of pace.

Escalante, Morning of May 9, 2008

Peekaboo Slot Canyon, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Yesterday, we went to Escalante to find Peekaboo Slot Canyons. The colors were very cool but the hike to the slot canyons required a lot of decent into the canyon and a lot of sand!

To get into Peekaboo, we had to climb about 8 feet. Ken went in first and we handed up tripods and camera gear. I wore my ThinkTank belt system and that was a big MISTAKE! It was hard to turn sideways to get through a lot of the openings. There were also a lot of people that came through. It was a popular place!

The exit to Peekaboo was pretty tight. Terry and I climbed over Lemon Squeeze, were Terry almost broke his foot, and finally exited with no idea how to get back to the parking lot. We could see it but we had trouble finding the trail back to the bottom of the canyon. The hike back up the trail was pretty strenuous but we got back and headed back to Escalante for lunch. On the way back the dirt rode, we picked up a rock that put a small hole in the left rear tire. Brian "The MacGuiver" Woolum bought a tire repair kit and we've been as good as new ever since.

Bryce Canyon, May 8, 2008

Ken and the Tree, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Today, we got up at 5am to the sounds of a massive ice/rain storm. It looked like the morning was washed out but the weather here is strange! By 6:30, it had cleared with very few clouds in the sky.

We drove to Sunset Point and did the Navajo Trail to Sunrise Point. It was long and the hardest day for me as I didn't bring much water. You have major inclines at the entrance and exits so the climbs up the trails were killer after the 3+ mile hike!

We went to Inspiration Point and got back to sunset too late for shots of Thor's Hammer.

All in all, it was a good first day in Utah!

Bryce Canyon at Sunset - Sunset Overlook

Bryce Canyon at Sunset - Sunset Overlook, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

I'm in Utah for the next 10 days with Terry Watson, Ken Kennard and Bryan Woolum. We flew into Las Vegas and drove up to Bryce Canyon. We got to the overlook at 5:30 pm to scout out sites for sunrise and sunset pictures for 5/8.

Unfortunately, it is icing and raining this morning. Luckily, it clears up later and we're looking at where we want to shoot midday and evening.

Reflector Terry

Reflector Terry, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Today, the Focus Photo Club did a Model Shoot geared at the Senior Portrait group. John Heckler gave a presentation to start the day with a discussion of fill and flash light in the day.

It was fun getting the kids together and watching the other photographers group around.

Terry Cavanaugh was a CHAMP! He didn't bring a camera to shoot, although he can teach everyone a thing or two, but he helped tremendously with reflectors and helped us with our lighting.

Thanks Terry!

Less than 1 week until Utah!

In less than a week, I'm off to Utah to see the Antelope Slot Canyons and Bryce Canyon, to name a few spots. Ken, Brian, Terry and I are off to Utah and Arizona for 10 days and it should be a blast.

I hope to post pictures here each day.