Making the Inanimate Animate and the Animate Imortal

What gives identity and purpose to a hunk of glass, or a piece of metal? 

In a still image, that is sometimes the photographer's job.  Make the inanimate, animate!  

This is an on-going quest of mine, to find ways to add that sense of motion to the still, a sense of life to the inanimate.

Or to capture and enhance the fluidity and wonder of life that already is.

Dare I ask, "How am I doing?"

Reflections in the Fall

It's been a trying few years. Personal matters have caused me to reflect upon dreams and desires, to probe heart and soul to discern what really matters from what provides only momentary contentment.

I quest to reach a balance in life; athletic and artistic pursuits bring equilibrium to the hectic and tumultuous work life.

Perhaps it is good to have to travel such a road.

It brings forth the creativity and strengthens the soul.

Wildfire!

Being evacuated from your home is never a good thing. But, in those times, you just have to make the best of it. For me, photography of the very disaster that chased us out was my outlet. Images of the Las Conchas Fire.

Photographing the Petroglyphs of Northern New Mexico

Photographing petroglyphs can be a horrible challenge. It's too bright, the lighting angle is wrong, the light is too soft or too harsh, etc. Waiting for just the right lighting or trying to modify with filters just never quite does it. Nope, the best results are had using strobes. In this example, three Canon 580exII strobes are used to light the petroglyphs at an angle that makes them stand out, and at the same time reduce the key of the overall photo just a touch.

Without strobes:

You can play with the brightness and contrast in Photoshop, but you'll never get the petroglyphs to show much better. The glare from the natural sunlight is too much. A polarizer helps, but not really to the extent desired.

Adding two 580EXIIs camera left (handheld) to light the petroglyphs of the large boulder and one 580EXII behind the large boulder to light the large spiral on the rear boulder (strobes triggered by PocketWizards and ratio controlled by AC3 Zone Controller) provides a better result.
EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM at 25mm, Canon 5D Mk II, ISO 100, 1/100th, and f22

With strobes:


Specifics:

It just goes to show, you can never have too much gear in the field! (But you do need a strong back and legs to get it there!)

Diversity Within The Species

As I continue my quest to complete my book on the lizard species of New Mexico, I periodically find myself in awe of the overall diversity in species that have adapted for life in the varried regions of the state. Recently, I have had the pleasure of close examination and study of the species Holbrookia maculata, the lesser earless lizard. The diversity across this species and across the sexes is impressive. And, I have yet to run across the longer-tailed variety of the extreme southwest corner of the state. (See my previous blog regarding my issues accessing this part of New Mexico.)

Holbrookia maculata ruthveni:
The adaptation of the narrow-ranged ruthveni subspecies to the unique white gypsum sands of Dona Ana and Otero counties of New Mexico through evolution of a bleached out appearance, is an obvious benefit. Combine the extent to which they blend with the substrate and their incredible ability to burrown into the sand in the blink of an eye and you certainly have a lizard poised for success!


White Sands


Subspecies ruthveni Specimen from White Sands


Burrowing under!


Periscope up!

Holbrookia maculata approximans:
Across most of the balance of New Mexico, and especially in the brown Mescalaro Sands, the subspecies is Holbrookia maculata approximans. This subspecies demonstrates dramatic sexual dimorphism. The female is quite vividly colored. Hager¹ provides evidence that changes in coloration of the female are used as an indicator for males of her receptiveness to coppulation. Surely, this benefit must outweigh the negative camoflage aspects of this same coloration.


Subspecies approximans, brightly colored female from the Mescalaro Sands


Same female showing subdued (receptive) coloration


Subspecies approximans, a male from the Mescalaro Sands

References:

1. Hager, S. B. 2001. The role of nuptial coloration in female Holbrookia maculata: evidence for a dual signaling system. Journal of Herpetology 35[4]:624-632.

"May I See Some Identification, Please"

Perhaps people have heard these words from an officer during a routine traffic stop (on the Television, of course). In such an instance, the protagonist probably knew he was maybe going a bit fast, or maybe he didn't stop fully at the light, maybe his registration had expired; It is generally assumed that there was an event or a situation that provided probable cause for the officer to detain the driver.

Probable cause, a necessary precursor to a vehicle stop by a law officer. Our First United States Congress, in 1791, felt a need to limit the recourse of government, spawning the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution -- the Bill of Rights. The Fourth Amendment was specifically designed to put limits on the agents of the Government, establishing the need to establish "probable cause" prior to such personal intrusions as detainment, questioning, search, and seizure. Certainly, those uniformed officers sworn to protect our borders would dutifully observe, respect, and uphold this Right?

What I write is a true story; an event that happened to me this past Friday. An event that tries my resolve in my now four-year long quest to publish a book of photographic depictions of all the lizard species inhabitting the state of New Mexico.

 
 

Of course, to achieve my goal, I must locate and photograph the 41 species known to inhabit this varried state. Many of these species are only found in the southern reaches, resulting in long-reaching treks to near-border locals, such as those in the bootheal region.

This past Friday, my youngest daughter and I embarked on what was supposed to be an overnight trip to the region south of Deming and Lordsburg. I was particularly interested in tracking down the Yarrow's Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii) and, although it is early in the spring, the Canyon Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis burti), the Gray-checkered Whiptail (Aspidoscelis dixoni), Zebra-tailed Lizard (Calisaurus draconoides)and the Sonoran Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis sonorae) were secondary goals. All of these species are fairly restricted in their New Mexico range to this near border area.

Distribution of S. jarrovi in New Mexico

Last winter, on a day trip from Las Cruces, I visited this area. I felt like I was in a war zone; there were border patrol vehicles everywhere, and my every move was watched. A momentary stop to observe a white-tailed kite through the binoculars resulted in an almost immediate visit by the Border Patrol, who prevailed to question me on my activity. And, did not seem to hold stock in my truthful answers.

This previous experience on my only prior visit to this area gave me a nagging concern about my plans for the weekend. But, with the area weather forecasted to break 80-degrees F and the opportunity to take a much-needed day off work, we planned the trip. We packed sleeping bags, camera gear, my ever-handy lizard-catching tool (a 9-ft fishing rod with a noose at the end), spare clothes, a few other essentials, and we hit the road at o-dark-hundred. (It's approximately a seven-hour drive to reach this region.)

By about 11:00, we reached Deming and headed southwest turning south on NM 146. We made a short stop at the remains of an old farm where we observed Sceloporus consobrinus and a number of small Aspidoscelis species that just wouldn't cooporate. The flies were unbearable, so we decided to head along our way. We reached NM 9 and headed west towards Animas. Along the way, we stopped for an hour or so to hike the Central Divide trail, checking out some rocky outcroppings for lizards. Although we found no lizards, we were treated to a rather scarce view of a kit fox.

Returning to our vehicle and heading again westward towards Animas, we stopped briefly at an historic marker where I checked the map and GPS before heading into Animas. As we pulled away from the historic marker, a Border Patrol truck pulled in off the road. I continued along my way with the Patrol notably pulling in behind me after a few moments. As we neared the town, a second patrol passed us in the other lane, made a quick u-turn and pulled in behind the first. As we reached the end of the road and proceded to turn north, the following trucks hit their lights and sirens. I, of course, quickly pulled off the side of the road.

As the four officers approached, I rolled down my window. My daughter looked quite perplexed at what was going on. One officer approached my side of the car and asked what we were up to, where we had come from, and where we lived. Of course, my answers, being honest, did not seem to convince the officer who kept going further. At this point, I'm rather irritated, but with my daughter present, I respected the officer's authority; having done nothing wrong, I felt secure in my sense of innocence.

Eventually, the office asked to look inside the back of the vehicle. Of course, the other officers had been peering through windows while the one officer questioned me. At this point, my Fourth Amendment Rights are ringing in my head. Should I press my position of innocence and force this band of officers to come up with charges or seak out a court order? I could be there for hours/days, and what signal would this send my daughter who was clearly a bit unnerved by the event? No, instead I had nothing to hide -- I let them root through the back of the vehicle.

"Are you going to do some fishing?" I was asked as they saw my rod. Of course, I told them that I used the rod to capture lizards to photograph, that I was working on a book. That hardly slowed them down as they squeezed my sleeping bags and our backpacks. Finally, the officer still holding my license returned it to me and told me we were free to go. So, I then asked why we had been detained. His answer, "Because of the direction we were driving." So, driving "west" is apparently considered "probable cause"?

Let's reflect for a moment the mission of the Border Patrol, as indicated on their web site:

"The priority mission of the Border Patrol is preventing terrorists and terrorists' weapons, including weapons of mass destruction, from entering the United States.

Prey tell, how does this illegal detainment fit into that mission? How is it this Gastapo-like approach is allowed?

No matter that these civil-rights violating, albeit polite, hooligans allowed me to go along my way, they violated the rights endowed me in the United States Constitution. I feel denied my right to be secure in my person and effects, to the point that I believe a part of my state and country has been denied me.

As we drove away, I appologized to my daughter for the freedoms infringed and impressed upon her the hope that her generation does far better than mine and my parents with respect to protecting, upholding, and enforcing our Constitutional Rights. We headed home after speding only a couple hours in the region we had driven 7 hours to explore for lizards.

Spending the night in this area was to me clearly out of the question, as was heading any further south towards the border or the Coronado National Forest where we had intended to camp. Strangely, it is not the illegal aliens or the drug smugglers I fear, but the officers of my own government. If asked today, I would tell you that I will not return to Hidalgo County, New Mexico; to complete my book may require other means, if I am able to complete it at all.

I am reminded of the words of Thomas Jefferson, "The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first." It appears we have failed to hold our government in check. Liberty is falling. One thing is certain. If or when I complete this project, the forward will discuss the new age Gestapo, The Department of Homeland Security.   

Lesson 2: Composing Perspectives

Another lesson for my TQ friends...

When an image grabs your attention, stop and ask yourself why. I expect that most of the time, the answer has to do with a unique, different, or compelling perspective. For powerful images, perspective is one of the most influential tools the photographer has in his aresenal -- the others being control of light and color, selection of depth of view, and the representation of motion. In this lesson, I will focus on some general considerations (their really are no "rules") for rendering a 3D scene into a 2D format.

The "Rule" of Thirds
You have perhaps heard of the so called "Rule of Thirds". This "rule" is simple, but very powerful, and following it will quickly result in improved image composition. In general, the idea is to place your main subject off center both top-to-bottom and side-to-side such that it is framed about 1/3 the frame width from one side and about 1/3 the frame height from either top or bottom. Additionally, the subject should then lead the viewer into the image. This representation creates a dynamic image composition. Of course, rules are made to be broken and this one is really more of a guideline than a rule. The point is to try not to fall victim to the common trap of always centering your subject. Centering the subject is an easy thing to do since most of us use the center focus point to autofocus the subject, and remembering to recompose before snapping the image is not always natural. Your goal here is to discipline yourself to focs and then always consider recomposing the frame before tripping the shutter. Here's a few example images to consider the effect the composition has on the overall impact.

    
Keep your subject off-center for greater impact; try to keep the overall flow in towards the center of the image.

Get Into It!
It is often important for the artist to sacrifice for the shot. When you want an image to stand out from the crowd, you need to do the same. Think about unique angles for protraying your subject. Be prepared to sprall on the ground or climb a tree (be mindful of safety and other considerations, please) if that is what it takes to get the shot. Putting yourself out there is often the difference between an impactful image and one that falls dead. Often, photographers will put their models through amazing feats to get the shot, but wouldn't think of doing similar gymnastics themselves!

    
These images were all taken with me laying on the ground.  In the balloon shot, I was actually on the ground, flat on my back.

The Effect of Focal Length
Composition of the subject within the frame is just one component of perspective to consider. Another powerful tool is focal length selection. Focal length selection can have a dramatic effect on the final image. Not only does it have a marked effect on DOF, but it allows you to compress or expand the background. Moving to a longer focal length, you'll find that you can be more selective of the background whereas a wide-angle lens will show all, making it harder to eliminate distracting background elements.

Focal length also has an effect on the feel of the image. Short focal length lenses from about 24mm (35mm full-frame reference) and down will begin to distort the image, bending straight lines in a fisheye manner, especially at the edges of the frame. This can be very appealing in certain instances, such as architectural photography and certain scenics. Combined with a high DOF (small aperture), imagery with these lenses can take on a real different feel.


This image was taken with a 24-70mm zoom lens at 24mm. The wide angle and high aperture accentuates the leg and provides an element to draw the viewer into the image.

Of course, long focal length lenses provide a means to get close without encroaching on your subject, which makes them ideal for wildlife photography. But because these lenses also allow the photographer to compress the background or highlight what would otherwise be almost inconsequential elements of the background, they are often used in on-location portrait work as well. Consider how to render a sunset behind a model on the beach. A wide angle will show a broad range of the horizon, the setting sun being a small part of that horizon; whereas, using a telephoto, the sun can be a second focal point for the image.


This image was taken with a 70-200mm zoom lens at 98mm. The longer focal length allowed me to select a small set of Christmas lights as the background.


Your Asignment
For this lesson, you will shoot and post at least 3 images.
Image 1:
Find a willing (or inanimate) subject and compose a picture demonstrating use of the "rule of thirds".
Images 2 and 3:
Again, with your willing (or unable to do otherwise) subject, shoot images at two different focal lengths. The objective is to observe the effect on the background. Longer focal lengths will compress the background whereas short focal lengths will expand the background. Post a couple shots that dramatically demonstrate this effect.