Kind of on a whim we decided to visit a small theme park outside of Tucson, Arizona called Old Tucson, mostly because it allowed dogs inside! This park was a functioning movie and TV show set for decades. You start in the park by seeing many movie posters of stars who walked on the same dust you get to walk on. It’s not just all old buildings though. This park is very much still alive as exhibited by this amazing Hollywood stunt show! The stuntmen demonstrated how to take a punch, how to shoot a gun loaded with blanks, and how to fall off a ladder pushed off of a ledge! This place is definitely worth checking out, and no need to leave your dog at home!
Hidden on the back of a mesa in Sedona, Arizona, the Devil’s Bridge is a stunning rock formation with a long line of people waiting to take a photo on it. There is a long way and a less long way to reach the Devil’s Bridge in the first place. Having a Jeep Renegade Trailhawk allowed us to take the less long way, as a mile of very, very rough road was bouncily traversed in the Jeep. After the still not insignificant hike to the back of the mesa, I think I noticed the long line of people before actually noticing the Devil’s Bridge itself! How does something like this naturally occur? It’s just another wonder of Nature. One cannot actually cross the bridge as it would take a hardly leap to get back to the side of the mesa, which I contemplated doing, but with much of it still snow and ice covered, that is something only possible in the summer. I did not wait in the line to stand on the bridge, but you can see Jessica in the top photo standing out on the Devil’s Bridge. As you can see, the red rock view’s from the bridge are not bad at all either!
Like many professional photographers just starting out, I photographed weddings. Dozens and dozens of weddings actually, but after a couple of years I switched, for several reasons, to being a commercial photographer. Now, I still photograph a wedding every now and then, but mostly only for friends or friends of friends, and in this case, a networking friend, Sarah. There was something about this wedding that was a first for me, with a wedding being the surprise conclusion to a renovated event hall at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque. So my challenge was to be inconspicuous with two large cameras and lenses on my person, in a room full of people who knew each other but not me, so as to not spoil the wedding finale surprise! I am happy to say I did not, and the wedding was a complete surprise to everyone in the hall except me.
Atlas Obscura is a great resource for finding odd places to stop when traveling between places. In this case, we were driving from Sedona, Arizona to Tucson and made a 40 minute detour to see the Domes of Casa Grande. Atlas Obscura describes these domes as being built around the late 1970s for computer manufacturing, but were never actually completed as you can see in the aerial drone photos below. What are the rumors for what happens in the domes and its tunnels now? Nothing less than maybe satanic worship. The area is totally fenced off with no trespassing signs as they have been slated for demolition, but still stood as of January 2020.
For regular readers of this blog, you may recognize both Kawtar and my M3. Kawtar is a networking friend who also was a headshot client 2 months ago. She has a custom of having themed photos of her made every New Year’s. This year she wanted to pose with a convertible, and it just so happened I have a convertible! We decided on a parking garage location for the shoot because it is an appropriate setting for using a car as prop. You would never know how cold and windy it actually was from the photos, but Kawtar was up for any ideas I had, and Jessica was a great assistant making sure all the lighting stayed up in the air as needed.
Linda contacted me about making headshots for her here at the JCP Home Studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico that were not stuffy. I am always happy to make the kind of creative headshots clients want, and if they want ones that allow me to get more creative than usual, that’s even more exciting for me! To start with, we only used a black background for maximum impact. Then I used a variety of different lighting styles and poses to shape different looks for Linda, even though she remained seated in the same place. It helped she brought a few wardrobe changes and was an absolute natural in front of the camera. Thank you Linda for letting me be creative and for choosing so many photos from your headshot session!
This is my second year in a row choosing my Favorite Five photos of the year. I first did this back in 2009, my first full year as a professional photographer spanning time in Tokyo and Florida. I kept up this custom until 2013. Then there was an absence as things meandered in my life and my business. However, I intend to keep this custom going strong on into the future.
How do I choose?
The diversity of photos I made in 2019 once again made it very hard to choose just five, and this year the photos are made from three different devices: my now sold Nikon DSLR, my new Sony mirrorless camera, and my updated drone.
My criteria for choosing are simple:
photos made in the 2019 calendar year
Only one photo per category
There is something about the photo that appeals to me in a unique way
Below I will post links to all past Favorite Five years. I would really be interested in feedback in the comments on what you think of my 2019 selections, and as compared to my past years’ selections.
