South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

"Am I willing to give up what I have in order to be what I am not yet? Am I able to follow the spirit of love into the desert? It is a frightening and sacred moment. There is no return. One's life is charged forever. It is the fire that gives us our shape." - Mary Richards

Here are two more panoramics from Arizona. They were both taken at South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona. The above image was taken from the top of the ridge line shown below. This was one of my favorite hikes while I was in Arizona, and there were hardly any other people there.

This image was taken from the trail head.

Please click on the image to see a bigger version. It is hard to see the detail otherwise.

Four Peaks

"Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books." - John Lubbock

I have finally started the process of working on some of panoramics from Arizona. This is the first one. At the place I was staying in Arizona, I could walk into the street in front of the house and look north down the street and see mountains. One morning I woke up and checked the mail, looked north, and saw the mountains were capped with snow, even though it was 85 degrees down in the East Valley that day. So, I took a drive up I-87, and took the Four Peaks pull off to catch this shot of the low hanging snow-filled clouds over Four Peaks and other surrounding mountains.

Please click on the image to see a bigger version. It is hard to see the detail otherwise.

Fun and Work in Flagstaff

“How do they taste? They taste like more.”
- H.L. Mencken

Here are some pictures I took while on assignment with Mark. I have been assisting a lot, and not shooting too much, except in my free time. I am embracing the opportunity to learn, but I am getting great delight when I do get the chance to go out in the world and explore it with my camera. Pictures are still the only way I've found to remember experiences vividly, and the longer I live, the more I am aware and thankful for this.

Amber Ale

Pizza Makin'

More Pizza Makin'

R2D2 oversees the brew master

Randall

This is Randall, from Flagstaff, AZ. He works for the National Forest Service, and spends 2-3 weeks at a time up on Mount Elden, just northeast of Flagstaff. He was extremely funny, and was a great subject. Not to mention, he was fun to talk to. Flagstaff was beautiful, and really cold. It had just snowed the day before Mark and I arrived, and still had quite a bit left on the ground the entire time we were there.

Arizona

"Dogs are not our whole lives, but they makes our lives whole." -Roger Caras

Winston lounging in the backyard of our AZ home.

Arizona!

"I live in the dry dusty desert
Where we're always short on water
And even if the sun fell upon us
It couldn't get any hotter.
~Linda Solegato"

I have become obsessed with Saguaro cactus. I had never seen one until I arrived in Arizona. There's something about their methods for surviving, and the fact that they can live to be twice as old as I'll ever even hope to live.

Saguaros have root systems close to the surface, so while they are so tall, the support system isn't as sturdy as other plants their size. To counterbalance this, saguaros grow their arms to help the plant be more balanced and stable. Saguaros swell when it rains, increasing their weight by nearly a ton. They have flowers, but they only bloom at night. The Saguaro is also a house for certain bird species (you can see the holes in the trunk from these).

Sunset at South Mountain

Click here for more Saguaro Facts

Personal Assignment #1: Food

"Education must provide the opportunities for self-fulfillment; it can at best provide a rich and challenging environment for the individual to explore, in his own way."-Noam Chomsky

In the past 2 weeks, I've driven across the country, from North Carolina to Arizona to intern with Mark Lipczynski. As of now, he is still out of town working on an assignment, so I am getting personal assignments from him, as well as the opportunity to meet, assist, and "shadow" other photographers while he is gone.
For my first personal assignment, Mark told me to find a recipe to make from fresh ingredients, and then to shoot these in their natural state, in altered states (chopped, sliced, ect.), in the final dish, and then after partially or fully eating the dish. He told me to pay close attention to how the food changes throughout the process, as well as how the image differs when a suggested human element is added. I did switch out one image (the image of the final dish), based on Mark's critique of what I showed him.
I shot all the images in the kitchen of the house I am staying in, with a mixture of natural sunlight and a clamp light with a daylight balanced bulb. Needless to say, I am missing the studio; however, this was also a good lesson in doing the best you can with what you have.

Fresh Oranges

Rice

Fresh Ginger

Raw Salmon

Fresh Asparagus

Sliced Oranges

Chopped Ginger

The Final Dish

Devoured

I will try to stay as up-to-date as possible while I am my two internships.