Hi all,

My wife and I had a wonderful 4 days up in the Flagstaff, Az area. Got to see a LOT of new and different places we'd never been to before. On our second day there we got about 4 inches of snow, which was great for picture taking, but it ruined the eclipse for us. Oh well.

I've got at least a couple more flash cards to go through but here's just a sample of some of the places we visited:

#1 View from downtown Sedona.

#2 Fall colors at Oak Creek.

#3 More fall colors at Red Rock State park.

#4 It was snowing at the Watchtower, Grand Canyon, so we had to come back the next day to get some clear shots of the canyon. Converted this in PS to b/w.

Canon DRebel/Sigma 28-80

More to come later, or visit this link for other photos not posted here: http://www.photostor.com/schrackman/arizona

Ray

A few more:

#1 My wife spotted this barn on Hwy 89A as we were making our way down to Oak Creek.

#2 More fall colors from Oak Creek after snowfall.

#3 In all its glory, Grand Canyon from Grand View Point.

#4 Hiked down a trail at Grand View Point to get this shot. It was VERY icy on the trail but well worth the effort.

Ray

Last one for tonight...

Arizona's infamous Meteor Crater, about 40 minutes east of Flagstaff. This is one big hole! The panoramic didn't come out as expected, so I played with it a bit in ps. Too bad we can't post anything larger than 640k here, but I think you can get the idea of the enourmous size of this crater.

Ray

Hi Ray,

All of these are very nice, but I think the first one is amazing! Looks like a very cool place to visit. Keep up the good work.

I passed through there 12 years ago on a ski trip, but left my EOS A2 and lenses behind. I saw all that beautiful scenery in winter, and couldn't take a single shot-I was ready to kill myself (well, not really). One of these days, I'll have to plan a family trip through there, and this time bring at least a p/s camera. Really great shots, Ray, great presentation too. You've got a real God given gift for seeing what's around you. Thanks for sharing the inspiring photos.
Leon

I love sedona and Flagstaff. thanks for sharing these.

Did you try uploading the pano to the Pano Gallery? I'm pretty sure you can place a larger version in that gallery then cut and paste the link to all of us.

How do you get that copyright symbol? I've been looking over my keyboard and trying every likely possible key combo but to no avail.
Thanks in advance.

Leon

One word, " SPECTACULAR"!!!

Great shots! I was wondering if Sedona/Oak Creek had snow stick. Pretty odd to have snow this early or at all for us.

Not to even attempt at stealing your thread but here is one of mine of Sedona from this weekend. I think early Sat morn.
http://members.cox.net/azadrenalinezone/Sed%20Bell.jpg

I love the barn and that lone snowy tree...ansolutely beautiful as always... ;)

Thank you everyone! for your comments. I truly appreciate your input. I still have more pics to process so please be sure to check my website later tonight.

Lionheart, I use a Mac so the register symbol is easy to make by just pressing option and the letter "g" at the same time. On a pc, however, I believe you need to have a font that provides the registered symbol. This font should already be installed on most pcs, but it might take a while to find it. Hope that helps.

Brian, I didn't even know there was a pano gallery! That shows you how much I actually explore this site. But I'll check it out tonight. Thanks!

Ray

Dear Ray:

All of these are AMAZING! It looks like you had a wonderful time. :D

I think your vertical shot of the Grand Canyon is one of the best I've EVER seen. You really came home with some exceptionally beautiful pictures -- good work.

My Best to You,
Penny

Thank you, Penny! Yes, we had a great time. I could have stayed another week, to be honest. But, it's back to the grind as they say.

Since you liked the first grand canyon view so much, here's another angle of it and just as beautiful.

Ray

I like them all very much.
Very good job.

Last one for tonight...

Arizona's infamous Meteor Crater, about 40 minutes east of Flagstaff. This is one big hole! The panoramic didn't come out as expected, so I played with it a bit in ps. Too bad we can't post anything larger than 640k here, but I think you can get the idea of the enourmous size of this crater.

Ray


Been There, Done That! That is a BIG hole in the ground. I visited it in 1985. Wish I had the time to hike down to the bottom, but I didn't. If I ever get back out west, this place is on my list of places to go.

I'm with you on the panoramics. 640 pixels is very limiting, but this came out great! Thanks for sharing.

A few more:

#1 My wife spotted this barn on Hwy 89A as we were making our way down to Oak Creek.

#2 More fall colors from Oak Creek after snowfall.

#3 In all its glory, Grand Canyon from Grand View Point.

#4 Hiked down a trail at Grand View Point to get this shot. It was VERY icy on the trail but well worth the effort.

Ray

All of them are beautiful. I really like the last two shots (the Grand Canyon). The next to last one looks like an aerial. Thanks for sharing these with us.

BTW, did you get any shots of the eclipse?

A
#4 Hiked down a trail at Grand View Point to get this shot. It was VERY icy on the trail but well worth the effort.

Ray
I like that one best, but the rest were all great shots!

All of them are beautiful. I really like the last two shots (the Grand Canyon). The next to last one looks like an aerial. Thanks for sharing these with us.

BTW, did you get any shots of the eclipse?

Thanks Robert! Unfortunately, on the night of the eclipse there was too much cloud cover in Flagstaff to be able to view the moon, sad to say. That's the night we got 4 inches of snow.

And thank you Jekl and ChickenSandwich for your comments as well. I really appreciate your compliments!

Ray

Schrackman....... These are all gorgeous! I could not pick a favorite, between the beautiful area and your great talent.... its amazing.

Thanks for posting these!

Schrackman....... These are all gorgeous! I could not pick a favorite, between the beautiful area and your great talent.... its amazing.

Thanks for posting these!

Thank you, Clicker! I appreciate your kind words.

Please check out a couple panoramic photos of the grand canyon and sedona I just put up last night: http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showgallery.php?cat=509&password=

Ray

Thank you everyone! for your comments. I truly appreciate your input. I still have more pics to process so please be sure to check my website later tonight.

Lionheart, I use a Mac so the register symbol is easy to make by just pressing option and the letter "g" at the same time. On a pc, however, I believe you need to have a font that provides the registered symbol. This font should already be installed on most pcs, but it might take a while to find it. Hope that helps.

Brian, I didn't even know there was a pano gallery! That shows you how much I actually explore this site. But I'll check it out tonight. Thanks!

Ray


I asked Nat about that a couple of weeks ago. She said with a PC, you hold down the "Alt" key while you type in "0169" and that will give you the copyright symbol. Use Word (I think it will work in Word Perfect as well) and try it, then just copy and paste it into your photo.

I asked Nat about that a couple of weeks ago. She said with a PC, you hold down the "Alt" key while you type in "0169" and that will give you the copyright symbol. Use Word (I think it will work in Word Perfect as well) and try it, then just copy and paste it into your photo.

Thanks Speed :)
The alt+0169 doesn't seem to work (probably needs a number keypad which my mini keyboard lacks) , but Word does have a way to do it.

I just put up a larger version of the meteor crater pano, in case anyone is interested: http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=5450&password=&sort=1&cat=509&page=1

Ray

How about this for a perspective on how big Meteor Crater is?

This was taken from a commercial airplane, 30,000 feet up. Focal length 54mm.

Hi all,

My wife and I had a wonderful 4 days up in the Flagstaff, Az area. Got to see a LOT of new and different places we'd never been to before. On our second day there we got about 4 inches of snow, which was great for picture taking, but it ruined the eclipse for us. Oh well.

I've got at least a couple more flash cards to go through but here's just a sample of some of the places we visited:

#1 View from downtown Sedona.

#2 Fall colors at Oak Creek.

#3 More fall colors at Red Rock State park.

#4 It was snowing at the Watchtower, Grand Canyon, so we had to come back the next day to get some clear shots of the canyon. Converted this in PS to b/w.

Canon DRebel/Sigma 28-80

More to come later, or visit this link for other photos not posted here: http://www.photostor.com/schrackman/arizona

Ray

Hi Ray,

Looks like I should spend more time on the Viewfinder board, I am glad I haven't missed your tread. My favorites pictures happens to be the very first one, the red barn in the snow and the perfectly centered tree in the snow (a clever composition, it usualy wouldn't work but it definately doe's in your case!!).

I'd be curious to hear a little about the post-processing that was involved here. Your series have unique aestethic which I find very strong and that I have rarely seen.

regards

Seb

I just put up a larger version of the meteor crater pano, in case anyone is interested: http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=5450&password=&sort=1&cat=509&page=1

Ray


Ray,

I checked out the larger version and it is awesome! Thanks for putting the link up.

How about this for a perspective on how big Meteor Crater is?

This was taken from a commercial airplane, 30,000 feet up. Focal length 54mm.


Great shot Kelly!

How is it you keep finding clean windows to shoot out of? ;-)

Speed, the windows are never clean. But when you're pressing the lens up against the window, the noseprints aren't a big factor. I do have to remove the "film" of window and atmosphere in my post processing.

Hey, this suddenly reminds me of a question:

I see the crater. Where is the meteor?

Speed, the windows are never clean. But when you're pressing the lens up against the window, the noseprints aren't a big factor. I do have to remove the "film" of window and atmosphere in my post processing.


Gotcha! You're a talented girl. I wouldn't know how to remove that stuff in PS. The shot looks great though!

speed, it really is just a levels adjustment.

I can't use auto adjustment on these aerial shots though, because ps brings out the most unusual colors from the soil. Lots of iron greens and reds. It's neat, but unrealistic.

Hi Ray,

Looks like I should spend more time on the Viewfinder board, I am glad I haven't missed your tread. My favorites pictures happens to be the very first one, the red barn in the snow and the perfectly centered tree in the snow (a clever composition, it usualy wouldn't work but it definately doe's in your case!!).

I'd be curious to hear a little about the post-processing that was involved here. Your series have unique aestethic which I find very strong and that I have rarely seen.

regards

Seb

Hi Seb,

First, thank you for the kind words. I am pleased that you enjoyed the photos.

As for post-processing, it all actually begins in the camera itself. The DRebel, like many other digital cameras, allows you to customize certain parameters for contrast, sharpness, saturation, etc. I've set these to my liking, and for these particular photos I chose to use the cloudy setting for white balance to provide a bit more of a reddish tone to the images (to bring out the natural color of the soil in Arizona). When I brought them into photoshop, I slightly adjusted to the positive the saturation of the reds and yellows, used selective color to lighten the whites, adjusted curves to the lower midtones, adjusted contrast, added unsharp mask, and finally adjusted levels for all channels to 8 on shadows), 248 on highlights, and 1.02-1.05 for the midtones slider, and then added border. It's not really that complicated and doesn't take very long, and it's how I like to "process" my pictures for a consistent asthetic. Hope that answers the question.

Ray

How about this for a perspective on how big Meteor Crater is?

This was taken from a commercial airplane, 30,000 feet up. Focal length 54mm.

Wow! That is a great aerial shot, Kellybean. We were told that to walk around the crater would be a 2 mile hike. That's how large that hole is. Of course, it's just a pimple in comparison to the size of the earth itself.

Ray

Ray,

I checked out the larger version and it is awesome! Thanks for putting the link up.

You're welcome. Glad you liked it! A wide-angle lens, however, would have really helped me out here. But it looks like I'm getting one for Christmas. Wahoo!

Ray

Hey, this suddenly reminds me of a question:

I see the crater. Where is the meteor?

The rest melted away on impact or exploded into a gazillion tiny fragments.

Ray

Hi Seb,

First, thank you for the kind words. I am pleased that you enjoyed the photos.

As for post-processing, it all actually begins in the camera itself. The DRebel, like many other digital cameras, allows you to customize certain parameters for contrast, sharpness, saturation, etc. I've set these to my liking, and for these particular photos I chose to use the cloudy setting for white balance to provide a bit more of a reddish tone to the images (to bring out the natural color of the soil in Arizona). When I brought them into photoshop, I slightly adjusted to the positive the saturation of the reds and yellows, used selective color to lighten the whites, adjusted curves to the lower midtones, adjusted contrast, added unsharp mask, and finally adjusted levels for all channels to 8 on shadows), 248 on highlights, and 1.02-1.05 for the midtones slider, and then added border. It's not really that complicated and doesn't take very long, and it's how I like to "process" my pictures for a consistent asthetic. Hope that answers the question.

Ray

Hi Ray,

I am taking good note of your explanations. It is always interesting to learn how another photographer works. Thank you for sharing your methods.

Seb