Sept 29: Behind the Scenes

Here's a sample video for how I create my action stitch photos.

It starts with a concept. I find the line, the angle, the lighting, etc.

I shoot the background, to be merged as my canvas.

I shoot the action, to layer on the background.

I blend everything together, and clean it up.

Sept 27-29: Rogue River

The crew.

Calm water and forest fire weather.

Sun beams through the smoke.

The skies clear on day 2, in the canyon.

Even in foul weather, this one brightens up the day.

Rowing through the still water.

A beautiful driftboat, fishing for Steelhead.

Everything converges for the rapids.

Shooting the middle chute, with only inches to spare.

A chance to relax, for 45 feet.

Sept 29: Hung out to dry

The sheets came in just before the rain.

(Another cliché in the title?)

Sept 27: Deer in the headlights

I couldn't resist the cliché.

Sept 17-21: Peach Harvest

As the sun sets on summer, the peaches ripen in the back yard.

They are soft to touch, sweet to smell, delicious to taste, and of course, stunning to see.

They number in the 100s, filling all bowls.

Each peach is pitted, peeled, and diced by hand.

The diced pieces are beautiful, just like the raw peaches.

The kitchen is trashed, with an assembly line of whole fruit, scraps, diced fruit, and miscellaneous tools and ingredients.

The diced peaches are chopped finely in preparation for making jam.

Sugar and pectin join the slurry on the stove.

The boiling jam is poured into cans.

The cans self-seal with heat.

Each batch produces 2.5 pints of jam.

14.5 pints are made the first day, in just a few hours.

The diced peaches are also used for fresh pie.

Raspberries are the secret ingredient.

The pie wins no award for appearance, but takes grand prize for taste.

Pre-mixed pies are prepared and frozen, to be enjoyed when peaches are no longer in season.

The remaining peaches are diced and frozen, to be used throughout the year.

The final tally: 485 peaches processed, 39 jam jars filled, 3 pies baked, 10 pies frozen, 16 bags of fruit frozen.

The numbers would be higher, but much of the crop is spoiled by birds, bugs, weather...

And tortoises.

The last peach of 2009 has been picked and processed. Summer is truly over.

Sept 20: Spider Revisited

As promised, here's the Widow outside with more detail.

Sept 20: Sleeping Widow

I found this on my stairs, inside the house. It's the first Black Widow I've ever seen. I caught him in a Mason jar. I'll take some shots outside tomorrow, then release him to the bushes.

Sept 19: Fall Weather

Fall in the mountains brings evening lightning storms. I lazily shot this from my back yard. The storms are so quick, though, that it would have dissipated before I could find a better location.

Sept 17: Spoiled Rotten

Here's a new take on Food Photography: use a macro lens on some bread that's been sitting out for a month.

Sept 10: Ride With Me (again)

Check out the video here.

Aug 26: Ride With Me

8 hours: Salt Lake to Missoula

Aug 7: Night Rush

With a large project closing, I am rushing to get the details completed.

Aug 6: Summer Rain

It rained hard all day, while I worked inside.

Aug 5: Wind Tree

Multimedia experiment, using DSLR still frames to create video.

Aug 4: Relaxing Sunset

After a long day, it was nice to sit and watch these clouds.

Aug 3: Lazy Stars

I ran this for 5 hours in the backyard, while I slept.

Aug 2: Warm Sunset

Another sunset, on the road back into MT

Aug 1: Skipping Stones

Watching the sun set while skipping stones at home.

July 31: Freeway Clouds

More shooting through the sunroof, driving through Montana.

July 30: Landscape Shapes

This is all I shot today, as shapes and textures to be used later.