Images from Omaha trip!

You would think that images shot when I went to Omaha would be shown before images I took while on my Rockport trip. Well, it seems that I am editing things a little out of order and just now sat down and took a good look at the work from the Omaha trip. The top image was taken at a run down Car Museum in northern Oklahoma. It is full of neat old cars but they are dusty and the building needs some work. I almost wish it had fewer cars with more room to work and photograph around each one. Not much light either, but that can be a good thing at times. The image below was found in another small town in the area. This old truck is just about to be completely covered up with vines.

After the first day of the Omaha show ended on Friday evening, I decided to stop and look at the Thomas Mangelsen Gallery. It is located right behind a parking garage where I had left my vehicle all day. Some pretty cool nature and wildlife photography. I also noticed The Diner which was in the same block. I decided to shoot it after the show was over on Saturday night. I tried to get there before it was completely dark and shot five exposures which were combined with Photomatix Pro. The bottom image was taken in Galena, Kansas which is just west of Joplin, Missouri. It was about 10:00pm when I took this and any light from sunset was long gone. I shot numerous compositions with a variety of exposures. During the long exposures I used some flash and even some colored gels with some of the flash. After looking at what I had shot, I decided that I liked a natural look the best.

Busy, busy, busy

Wow... has it been crazy the last two weeks. My show in Omaha, Nebraska on June 26-28 went very well. It took most of the following Monday to drive home. This only left about three days to replace quite a bit of inventory that I would need for my next show in Rockport, Texas which would be held over 4th of July weekend. It seemed like I worked almost non-stop printing and stretching canvas but Thursday evening I was loaded up again and was off for Rockport. My brother, Allen, went with me. We made a stop in Salado around dusk to photograph the "City Garage". I had photographed it back in May but felt I could do some more with it. The first 2 images are from our stop at City Garage. Both are HDR images that were created in Photomatix Pro from multiple exposures. The top image still needed some manual blending of exposures to get it looking its best. Its also a challenge to decide what color balance to use because its a mixture of fluorescent, incandescent, and natural light. Auto white balance on the camera did a poor job. The white balance of the "81" sign is quite different in these 2 images.
Yesterday was spent driving home from another successful show in Rockport. We took the back roads and looked for interesting things to photograph. It seemed for awhile that every small town had a Rialto Theater. We found some other interesting subjects but I'm not sure if I got anything I would consider outstanding. The bottom image was taken in Sinton, Texas.

Travelin' Home!

After a successful Memorial Day at the show in Kerrville, I packed everything up and was on the road just after 6:00pm. I didn't have any definite plans. Just drive until I see something I want to photograph. That happened just on the outskirts of Llano and I took the first image. Five weeks of wet weather had the area quite green and wildflowers were still blooming. Actually it was probably much greener now than it was in early April when the flowers are usually blooming their best.
On the square in Llano is the old Lantex theater. I arrived just before sunset and decided to photograph it in the waning light. About 45 minutes later I figured I had done about all I could with it. I started to drive away and noticed the lights under the entrance had just come on. I circled back and parked the truck where I had just been. I got my camera back out and took this image. The others weren't the same without the added lighting.
After leaving Llano I figured I could make it to Temple before getting a room. This would also give me a chance to check out the City Garage in Salado, about 20 miles from Temple. I got there about 10:55. The lights were on so I got out and started shooting. I like this image but I do want to get there some other day to shoot it before the sky goes completely black. At 11:03 I was shooting one more composition and suddenly the lights went off. On a timer I guess. I had arrived there just in time.
The last image was taken this morning after leaving Temple. Too bad the field in the foreground wasn't covered in wildflowers. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Safetly back home!

Well, I made it back home last night with quite a few new images. Usually I know immediately which images are the best but sometimes months or even years later I review the work and come up with a few more winners. Sometimes new processing skills or just a little different vision than I initially had will cause me to see the work a little differently at a later date. Only time will tell.

Blue Swallow Motel

This first image was taken in Tucumcari, New Mexico. We decided Thursday to drive there in order to shoot some of the old signs and Motels around sunset. Route 66 goes right through Tucumcari and many of the original businesses are still there and many are still open. About 6:00 pm it was starting to get dark but it seemed that many places did not have their lights on. Several Motels we wanted to shoot were dark. The window of time to get the light I wanted is short, so I ran into the Palamino Motel and asked if the lights were going to be turned on. I was told they weren't working and he was trying to get them fixed. I took some quick shots without the lights and headed to the Blue Swallow. No lights here either. I ran in and asked about the lights. I was told that if you don't stay at the Motel you must make a donation to get the lights turned on. Sure enough there is a jar on the counter that says NEON. I make the comment that I would go broke if I had to pay everytime I took a picture, but I take out all the ones I have in my wallet and put them in the jar. Four bucks! I think that got me about 4 minutes. The lights came on and I set up in the spot that I had already determined to be where I wanted to set my tripod. I composed the image and focused then shot a series of exposures. The next thing I know, the Blue Swallow and the colorful thing on the ground by the mail box is turned off. The "T" on Motel wasn't working either. Fortunately I got the shot I wanted and a little Photoshop magic turned the "T" back on.

Petrified Wood Station

This second location was found Tuesday right after we left Gary's house in Grand Prairie. We were going to drive north and planned to end up in El Reno, Oklahoma. This took us through Decatur, Texas which is about a 45 minute drive from his house. We took a detour which would lead us to the town square. Before we got there I spotted the Petrified Wood Station and said "Stop the Car". We got out and took some photographs but we knew we needed to come back some other day at a time when the light was better. High noon is almost never the best time to photograph anything. After driving quite a distance from Tucumcari on Friday we realized we could make it to Decatur about 5:30pm. We arrive back at the PWS on schedule. The restaurant next door is closed so it has no cars parked in front of it. That's a good thing, but there are not any lights on. At 5:55 still no lights. Suns down and we are running out of light. I have been telling Gary that maybe they are on a timer and come on at 6:00pm. He thinks I'm dreaming. He is putting his tripod back in the car at 5:56 when the small Texas Plaza sign lights up. I'm thinking...YYYYYYYYes!!!!!!! Four minutes later the Texaco, the pumps, and the PWF sign come on. Time to shoot. I have hardly taken a set of exposures when off go the lights again. About five minutes later they come on again for a few minutes and then go back off. We have seen nobody around this place but I wonder if somebody is at the light switch in one of these buildings and is laughing at the torture he is putting us through. A few minutes later the two windows on either side of the door come on plus some over head lights in the carport. I had forgot they were there. Another minute later the rest of the lights come on and stay on until we leave. I have time to shoot more exposures with all the lights on. I also shot the station from the other side. I like that version too, but have not yet processed it. You would be surprised how much time I spent on this one. Photomatix doesn't always blend everything together perfectly and you have to fix it manually somehow. I'm happy with the way it looks. Hope you like it too.
More images from the trip will be coming.
Clark