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!
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.
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.
For the third year in a row, and the fourth time overall, I volunteered in Help-Portrait. This annual event happens in cities all over the country where photographers, editors, and organizers give back in the form of making portraits for families. The organizers were really, really good this year as there were at least triple the people that were able to visit Help-Portrait! Here are some of the families I photographed including a 4 day old baby!
One of my own personal favorite photos of all time that I made involved Christmas lights. These shots are quite different from that one, but one thing remains, I like Christmas lights out of focus better than in focus! Strings of lights make are an excellent opportunity to test out the bokeh quality of a lens, and my new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens impressed me with roundness of the light circles due to its 9-blade design. I took the lens mounted on to my Sony a7R IV on a stroll around Old Town Albuquerque during the annual tree lighting event, but the tree itself was not interesting to me to photograph. Much more interesting were these hidden shots I found around small stores and down old alleyways. Scroll down for a top photo tip!
I had the opportunity to present the story of how I became a professional photographer at 1 Million Cups this week here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a chance for me to really think about what was the start of my path to becoming a professional photographer. I realized it began back in 2001, on a trip to Thailand and Cambodia. I invite you to watch the video below to hear the full story. I begin presenting just a couple minutes into the video.
