I am proud to announce the Grand Prize Winner and Finalists of our 1st Juried Photography Competition – the theme was “Texture” – we were so impressed with the beautiful and creative photos that were entered. Thank you to ALL of you who entered this 1st competition!
Below is a list of the Finalists as well as a short video of their Top 10 entries – they are gorgeous!
Finalists:
“A Hard Life” – Mark Lagrange, Metairie, LA
“Badwater” – Aubra Franklin, San Antonio, TX
“Maple Leaf” – Gary Larsen, Northville, NY
“Feathered” – Mark Lagrange, Metairie, LA
“Rose” – Terri Hanshew, Phoenix, AZ
“Fern” – Wayne Anders, Marshall, NC
“Dotted Winter” – Mark Lagrange, Metairie, LA
“Window Leaves” – Fiona Keyes, Malvern, PA
“Frosty Leave”" – Wayne Anders, Marshall, NC
All photos are owned and copyrighted by the artists. Video music – “Magic” – David Arkenstone (You KNOW I love my Magic!)
If there was EVER a PERFECT place to shoot photos for HDR it is Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness in NW New Mexico aka “The Bisti Badlands” another “gem” of the National Landscape Conservation System. I had seen photos of this otherworldly place many times but wasn’t sure where it was or if I could find it – I was specifically looking for a unique geological feature called “The Egg Factory” – the rocks in this one small area look like huge cracked eggs on Mars….or one of those other planets whirling around in our solar system but certainly NOT THIS planet! I had to see this place for myself and of course, I HAD to shoot photos of it.
Bistiscape
I searched online and found a few blogs and websites with somewhat nebulous directions to this unique phenomenon and it seemed that finding it would be a true Easter Egg Hunt…I mean I did go in April not long after Easter. I sure wish the Easter Bunny was at Bisti to guide me. Essentially the directions that I found online went something like this; drive 25 miles south of Farmington, look for a marker, disregard “No Access” sign, drive to the end of a dirt road, look for tire tracks, find barbed wire fence, follow said barbed wire fence east, turn left at the wash, then south then do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around and then jump up and down and rub your tummy while chewing gum…….oh my gosh…really…….is this how the Easter Bunny finds things????? Wow – that Easter Bunny must have one heck of a GPS – I on the other hand do not have a GPS….I know, you’re shocked right? Well I DO have a VERY good sense of direction and have never needed my own GPS….usually I am with someone who has one or we just don’t need it.
Bisti Shrooms
Anyway, the point of this blog post, and there is one but as always I might need a GPS to get to it. My point is to share with you some of the HDR photos that I shot while at Bisti. I do most of my photo posting on my Facebook page and then get comments like; “Can you show us the “original” photos that you used to make this HDR?”. The format on Facebook is not really set up to do that so I thought I would write a blog post and show you the photos that I used to create “Bisti Shrooms”, which is the photo that seemed to get more requests than the others.
Basically, I shoot 3 photos 2 stops apart for my HDRs – I use Photomatix HDR software to process them and then do my final touches in Lightroom 3 – I keep my work flow simple and fast since I would much rather be out shooting then sitting at my computer where I spend a ridiculous about of time already. Below are the 3 photos that I used to create “Bisti Shrooms” HDR Photograph:
Photo #1:
Photo #2:
Photo #3:
Of course you can shoot more than 3 photos but I have and probably always will just shoot 3 for my HDRs – if it ain’t broke why fix it, right? The diversity of the landscape out at Bisti is amazing – we walked through dry cracked areas, tall hoodoos, big boulders, magical looking mushroom forms, tiny rock fields…..you name it..this is an awesome place to shoot those magical HDR photos and people will wonder where the heck you were. Just tell them you took the Space Shuttle into orbit for a few days!
If you are just learning about HDR and need some guidance, I offer an online HDR courseentitled, “Turn your Photos into Fine Art” – you can take it at your convenience and it also comes with my new companion eBooklet; “Transform your Photos into Stunning Works of Art” – in my 43 minute class you will learn the basics of how to apply Photomatix HDR to your photos – here are the details:
BETTER than BASIC HDR BUNDLE - COST: Special price – $57 (for a limited time!)
My popular 43 minute “Turn Your Photos into Fine Art” Instructional HDR Video Class
My NEW 23 page companion eBooklet; “Transform your Photos into Stunning Works of Art” (sent via email after log in)
Your personal 30 day access code emailed to you
FREE Photomatix HDR Software Trial Download
A 15% OFF DISCOUNT CODE to purchase the Photomatix HDR Software Full License
Below is my newest “Cheyenne’s VERY Cool Life” video episode that I shot at Bisti – it will also show you the “otherworldly – ness” of this amazing place
Bisti Tumbleweed
In closing, I never did find “The Egg Factory”, I know I was close though after rereading some other directions and posts. I kind of always think of my 1st trip to any new location as a scouting trip anyway – so now I know. The light was getting low and to be honest I was concerned that I would not find the way back to my car as there are no trail markers and the landscape can be very disorienting out here – it seemed to change with every step. Back to the car we went and along the way I did find some diverse and beautiful places to shoot photos in my short time at Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. Next time I will be back either with the Easter Bunny or a GPS and I will find those eggs. Something to look forward to for sure.
Let me know if you ever make it out to Bisti…..I’d love to see YOUR HDR photos – Happy Hunting - Cheyenne
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – April 20th, 2012 – Fine Art Photographer, Author, Speaker and Photo Workshop Instructor Cheyenne L Rouse will have her Fine Art Photography on exhibit and for sale at two shows through July 2012. Rouse is the former owner of Ancient Light Gallery in Old Town Scottsdale and now travels the Southwest holding Speaking Engagements, Photo Workshops and Fine Art Photography Shows. She will be exhibiting her Fine Art Photography at Rare Earth Food & Wine located at 28190 N Alma School Parkway, #209 in North Scottsdale from April 21st – June 30th, 2012. There will be an Artists Opening Reception with live Jazz at Rare Earth Food & Wine on Saturday, April 28th 2012 from 4-6PM. Rouse’s 2nd Fine Art Photography show will be held in at the Santa Fe Café’ in Santa Fe, New Mexico from May 4th – July 31st, 2012. The Santa Fe Café is located at 504 W. Cordova Road and is not far from the famed Santa Fe Plaza.
Cheyenne L Rouse has been a professional photographer since 1989 and has had her photographs published in national and international publications as well as many ad campaigns. Her photographic specialty is “Celebrating the Legend, the Lore and the Landscapes of the Great American West & Southwest”. Cheyenne’s Fine Art Photographs hang in the homes and offices of numerous private collectors across the country. “There are very few artists in the world that evoke such emotion in me. Salvador Dali, Kenny G, Barbra Streisand, and now Cheyenne L. Rouse. I am truly your biggest fan.” Private Collector – Orlando, FL
Originally from Miami, Florida, Rouse relocated to Scottsdale in June 2010 after living and working in Park City, Utah for 12 years. “I love the desert and am so glad to call Arizona my home now. The Southwest is a photographer’s paradise and I love all of the beauty, history and magic that it holds, I am never at a loss for a good photograph.”
For more information or to contact Cheyenne L Rouse:
If you are planning or want to plan a trip to Southern Utah to shoot photos you will not want to miss my NEW “Cheyenne’s TOP 10 Photo Locations” Guidebook – Southern Utah Edition. My 31 page PDF Guidebook is packed with location facts, tips, helpful photo info, color photos for each location and GPS coordinates and website links so you can be at the RIGHT place at the RIGHT time to get the RIGHT photo at 10 of my all time favorite photo locations in Southern Utah. No need to circle the Southwest wondering where to be, how to get there and when to be there, I’ve done all of the leg work for you. So why not learn from my 23 years of traveling, exploring, writing about and photographing the region – I even give you one BONUS location! All this for only $5.99!
I provide you with a diverse selection of locations, from ancient ruins to rock art near Moab to sweeping red rock scenic vistas in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks to mystical rock formations in lesser known locations and much more - everything that makes this section of Utah so magical. It’s like a Photo Workshop in a book!
This is an excerpt from my upcoming Guide Book “Cheyenne’s TOP 10 Photo Locations” – Southern Utah Edition
#6 Double Arch – Arches NP – Utah
Double Arch – not to be confused with Double “O” Arch which is a much longer and more arduous hike – is a great spot for a nighttime photo session. Southern Utah is known to have some of the darkest skies in the USA so why not take advantage of the amazing show of stars just waiting to be photographed? And when I say it is DARK I mean it is DARK. It was so dark I almost felt like I was blind – I suggest getting all of the settings on your camera adjusted before you head out and I also suggest doing a nighttime shoot in the summer and not in the middle of winter when I did mine. It was a frigid December night when I shot the photo above, it had to be in the mid 20’s and my hands were frozen only adding to the challenge of shooting at night, so needless to say this was a quick photo session. All I could think about when I wasn’t standing in amazement at the scene before my eyes was getting back to the warmth of my hotel room in Moab. I knew that this frozen experience would pay off handsomely with some amazing photos and I was right.
This unique “Double Arch” is located at the northwest end of the parking lot at the Windows and the sandy trail is a short easy ½ mile long. So grab your camera, tripod and flashlight and hit the trail, be sure to use caution as you make your way along the trail you don’t want to trip over a rock or branch, even with a flashlight it is still blindingly dark. Parking is easy and of course there was not a soul around this evening – I was the only numb skull crazy enough to brave the freezing temps. As I made my way toward the arch I noticed how it kept changing how it looked, at first it looked like a human bent over trying to squeeze out of this reality and into the cosmos with just their two legs sticking out which is why I named this photo; “Milky Way Man” and then as I rounded a corner and was almost underneath this huge rock formation it looked to me like Dino the Dinosaur from my childhood days. With his long Brontosaurus neck and round body I felt like I had stepped back to the Jurassic period and it freaked me out just a little in this extreme darkness.
As I contemplated what I wanted my photo to be, I decided that I liked the view of “Milky Way Man” better than “Dino the Dinosaur” so I wandered slowly and carefully back to my original spot and set up. I was armed only with my headlamp since too much light is not a good thing either, it is so dark that every time I turned on my headlamp to double check the settings on my camera it took too long for get my eyes to get readjusted to the pitch black. I found that if I kept the light off once I got to my shooting spot that my eyes actually started to pick up some light from the stars. And as I looked up I just couldn’t believe how many stars were in the sky – it was a spectacle that many will never get to see and I felt so fortunate to be able to witness this wonder of nature.
I aimed my camera, not that I could see anything but pitch black through my viewfinder, I hoped I was aimed at the right spot with Double Arch at the bottom of the frame with a vast sky full of stars at the top. I set my camera to ISO 1600 and opened my aperture to the widest f stop which was F.4 for the wide angle that I had on. I set my lens on the infinity setting for focus and got my cable release ready to rock and hoped for the best. I clicked off a few shots from 15 seconds to 30 seconds to see which would work best, I settled on about 20 seconds after looking at a few of the images. I was able to see a faint image in my LCD monitor and it helped me to make sure the horizon was straight in the shot and that’s about it. I can’t stress enough about how dark it was but it WAS SO DARK!
After shooting for about 30 minutes I could take no more of the cold, my fingers were frozen and I was shivering too much to even think. I slowly made my way back to the car and after I warmed up a bit I drove back to my warm and cozy room in Moab. After a nice hot shower and cup of tea to warm me up I decided to have a look at what I shot and was very happy with the outcome – the stars were bright and the images were crisp. It was worth all of the shivering and fumbling around in the dark. Nighttime photo sessions can result in the most magical images, it takes patience and determination but the rewards can be spectacular. So why not try something different on your next trip to Southern Utah but be sure to do it in the warmer months – I certainly will. Maybe you too can find your own “Milky Way Man”.
“Cheyenne’s TOP 10 Photo Locations” – Southern Utah Edition is the 1st in my series of “Cheyenne’s Top 10 Photo Locations” PDF Guidebooks – I will get you to the RIGHT place at the RIGHT time to get the RIGHT photo!!!! Also soon to follow will be Arizona and New Mexico Editions.
We are busting at the seams with Fine Art Photographs on Canvas!!!!! As I prepare for my upcoming show in Santa Fe I have to pick and choose which photos will be displayed for the 4 month show. As much as I would LOVE to take all of my ‘babies’ with me I cannot – so I have to be ruthless in my choices.
“Park City Truck” is one of my most popular LIMITED EDITION (1/150) photographs but due to some very minor wear & tear on the edges of the canvas I will not be taking this piece. It is stunning and the GOOD NEWS is that it can be YOURS! Like I said there is some very minor wear & tear on the edges of the canvas from being moved around in the gallery and taken to and from shows. In no way does the wear take away from the beauty and feel of this stunning photograph and it is sure to be a showstopper where ever it is hung in your office or your home.
Gallery Tag Price
I am offering this 26″x36″ Limited Edition Giclee on Canvas for a HUGE 60% discount – notice the Gallery tag with the original price of $895 – I am offering it NOW for the amazing price of $358 (+$47 S/H US) – this photograph is personally signed and numbered by me.
This Limited Edition Fine Art Photograph is printed on heavy weight Museum Quality Canvas with archival inks and a UV coating to protect it for years to come. This is the 1st in a series of 150 photographs that were printed and as such it is the MOST valuable – and it can be yours for this amazingly low price.
This old delivery truck has been sitting along what is known as the Rail Trail in my former home of Park City, Utah – it is a wonderful piece of nostalgia that time has only made more beautiful. Please contact me via email if you would like to own this piece of nostalgia at chey.rouse@gmail.com or you can call me at 435.640.6880. We can complete the transaction via PayPal and the Giclee will then be securely boxed and shipped to you ASAP – it’s that simple.
Today I am so excited to announce the release of my NEW Ebook on Amazon.com – “The Journey Back to Creativity – How HDR Photography Changed my Life” - It was the beauty of an old red truck and the magic of HDR that “inspired” me back in the the world of photography after an extended hiatus and I have never looked back. I was a prolific and successful photographer shooting adventure sports stock photography for over 17 years and when the world started going digital I decided I was done. I put my camera back in my bag and didn’t pick it up again until years later – this time of course I broke down and went digital. Learn how I achieve the look and feel of my HDR photos and how this “High Dynamic Range” journey changed my life. I share with you simple tips and tricks that work for me and why the HDR process is so perfect for me and my photography. I now embrace a digital world that I went kicking and screaming into with open arms and what an amazing journey it has been. If you are curious how HDR can make your photos come alive you won’t want to miss this ebook – who knows maybe HDR will change your life too.
You can view and read my new ebook on your iPad, Kindle, Nook or other E-reading device - if you don’t have one of those new fangled E-reader things (and I don’t either) you can download the FREE Kindle reader program right to you PC or MAC desktop and read it from there – that is what I do. Just click on the link for the FREE download - http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=dig_arl_box?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771 or go to my “BOOK” page here on my blog for more ebookstore locations and information and to see my other published books.
I hope you will write a review once you are finished….I would REALLY appreciate it! Thank you and ENJOY!
