SheldonBranford's photostream  

...and praying that I wouldn't take ONE...LAST...STEP... that could be my last.

We weren't really as close to the edge as it looks. We had a good extra foot or two before we plunged 3000 feet to the river and certain death. Piece of cake. Nothing to it.

We didn't even know the guy in the red shirt in upper left of the frame and his buddy, (who's not as easy to find) was up there until we heard someone yell, "ARE WE IN YOUR SHOT?"

I yelled back, "NO, STAY THERE," thinking I would have photographic proof that we weren't the craziest ones out here that day.

There was no way I was not going to get this shot -- not after driving on the dirt road from hell -- sixty miles of the the bone-jarringest, back-breakingest, kidney-punchingest dirt road I've ever had the pleasure to drive. The worst part? The last five miles. They are BY FAR the hardest.

So getting these guys in my shot was a little plus I never counted on, but wasn't about to pass up -- especially with wind gusts of thirty miles an hour sand blasting us in the face and threatening to blow us over the edge.

I was worried that leaving after sunset it would be even tougher on the road going out, but I'd be lying if I said it was -- it actually seemed easier to see the lie of the road with just the illumination of the headlights. I even got it up to 65 on some of the straightaways near the end.

Six days, four states, 2200 miles, three 16GB SD cards, over a thousand images, and I'm starting my posts with the last location my buddy Steve and I visited -- Lower Antelope Canyon, after our other two friends, Ian and Sam had already left for home -- their loss.

I've taken the Upper Canyon tour, but for the money, the light, the formations, and the relaxed pace one can take to explore and compose shots, the Lower Canyon beats the upper hands down, if you're a photographer.

No contest. Not even close. No huge crowds, no dusty open tour vehicle, no guide throwing sand up into the sun beams, and getting into the nooks and crannies of your camera.

If you have a tripod and an SLR, you get to take the Photographer's tour, which means you don't have to go with a group. You can move through at your own pace, as long as you don't take longer than two hours, which is doable.

It's also a lot more photogenic in my opinion, and a little harder to navigate than UAC. You enter from the top of the canyon, on a sturdy metal ladder. Actually, there are a few ladders through the canyon, and a couple of them are pretty steep. I think its narrower in spots, too, so its not for everyone.

I could have easily stayed longer than two hours.

Glacier National Park's Avalanche Gorge from an atypical vantage point.

Everyone has to take the money shot from the bridge along the Trail of the Cedars Bridge, (its in the fine print if you read your admission receipt) but if you hike up the creek a bit, you'll find some amazingly abstract compositions.

I loved how the moss really contrasted and popped with the red rock, and the rushing water, which is made blue by the glacial sentiments that come from the Speery Glacier a couple of miles upstream at Avalanche Lake.

I was there during the park's Centennial Celebration two years ago -- my only regret is I didn't get to stay longer.

My buddies Steve and Ian and I went to shoot the Santa Monica Pier on MLK Day, since we all had the day off work.

This was my last shot of the day. I was heading back toward the parking lot, and liked the sparse lighting under the pier. I was shooting the pilings, and I saw this old crow just standing in the surf.

I figured he'd fly away sometime during this thirty second exposure, but the only thing he did was move his head slightly. You can see some slight ghosting of his beak.

It's kind of a drab, creepy setting under the pier, while just above here are the vibrant colors of the roller coaster and ferris wheel.

A full weekend of driving with a little photography thrown in.

Had to make a quick 600 mile down and back trip to Laughlin. My wife was hitching a ride with her brother and his son, who were driving to Manteca, in northern California, and they like Laughlin as a halfway point. Oh, and the rooms are only $20 a night, which is another bonus. So we decided we'd meet at the mini gambling mecca along the Colorado River, spend the night, then drive home the next day. They started in Albuquerque, I, started in Los Angeles.

I figured I'd have plenty of time to stop and snap a few shots off at Kelso Dunes, inside the Mojave National Preserve, and just about 20 miles north of I-40, which is only a slight detour off the route to the lovely burg of Laughlin. I'm not a big fan of Laughlin, itself, but my wife won some $$ at the penny slots, so it was a win-win.

I really should have left earlier. I did make it there before sunset, but I didn't make it as far up the dunes to get to the vantage point I really wanted -- which is the big dune in the middle left of the fame -- and a lot farther away tha it really looks.

Anyway, the light was getting good, so I found a place with some relatively clean ripples, and some stray grass for a little foreground interest, and shot this. I didn't realize it, but I did snap off a lot of frames here, part of it was bracketing, part of it, experimentation -- but this one was taken 34 minutes and 91 frames earlier than the one below, and a full 180 degrees in the other direction.