We visited Page last week, as Ben was teaching with The Digital Photo Workshops. This was our first event with these guys, and it was just great. In my opinion, any time you can learn and laugh at the same time is a GOOD experience. Not only was this workshop fun, but it had a very friendly, non-intimidating feel. Jeff and Randy, who run the workshops, are VERY knowledgeable, yet VERY approachable and fun. The workshop ran from Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon, but man did they pack a lot into those four days. I mean HOLY COW!

The first night was classroom only and included an orientation and some introductory lessons. The shooting started the following morning, with Antelope Canyon, and what a way to start! You’ve all seen the photographs of this slot canyon. It’s iconic. But remember how I said that many of Page’s treasures are hidden? Well you could walk right over Lower Antelope Canyon, and never even know it was underneath you. You literally have to slide/climb down through this big crack in the ground, and once you’re under, a vibrant, curvy corridor of rock opens up to you. It’s a fantastic place to shoot, and all the photographers in the workshop loved it. In most places, the light is soft and beautiful. Mix that with the brushed textures and beautiful colors and you’ve got a place where it’s hard to make a bad photograph. Our group got special photographers passes so we could be down there for two hours. The standard tour of the place is one hour and you have to stick with a guide, so that would pretty much be a no-go for us. For this trip, we stuck with Lower Antelope Canyon and avoided the Upper. Upper Antelope is breathtaking, but unfortunately, it’s more crowded than Disney World. You literally cant move in there. Ben and I did a photographer tour in there during a recent visit and it was so hard to maneuver and deal with all the people around you. The guides cleared out areas for 20-30 seconds at a time so we could shoot, but it was sheer madness and would not be suited for a workshop.

Lower Antelope Canyon.

Lower Antelope.

My shot of Ben photographing in Lower Antelope Canyon.

After the morning of shooting in the slot canyon, we all went to lunch and then returned to the classroom for a few hours of photo editing and lessons. In the late afternoon, we all took off again and headed to an area called Cliff Dwellers. We would be light painting there that evening and wanted to get there in time to frame things up before it got too dark. Cliff Dwellers is about 45 minutes from Page, and is really just a few old, run down dwellings surrounded by rocks but it was a great place for some night photography. Everyone had some fun shooting there before the sun went down, and once it got dark, Ben worked his magic and showed everyone how to paint with light. He covered a lot of techniques and everyone had a blast. Ben even has an e-book on light painting that will be hitting the virtual shelves just days from now.

This is one of Ben’s lightpaintings from the Cliff Dwellers location outside Page, AZ.

This photo of me and Ben was taken by Jeff Leimbach, and I just love it! This was at the Cliff Dwellers area just before the sun went down.

The following morning, our shooting destination was Horseshoe Bend, and in order to get there while the light was still soft and pretty, we had to wake up at THREE AM. Now, mind you, Ben and I are night people. To us, three a.m. registers as night, not morning. When the alarm went off at that hour, my body was in a state of nauseated despair over the idea of waking up, leaving the bus, and hiking in the dark toward a giant cliff. LUCKILY, this feeling passed quickly. I am, after all, a photographer. I knew this would be worth it, and of course, it was. Horseshoe Bend is a spectacular sight at any time of day, but it’s very hard to get nice light that’s not to contrasty. At about 5 a.m., just before the sun came up, we got that nice light and were all shooting away.

This is another one of those places where you could drive right by it and never know it was there. Even as you’re walking toward it, the view is hidden. It’s not until you get within yards of the edge that you can even see what’s down there. Now, here’s the other thing about shooting Horseshoe Bend (other than the 3 a.m. wake-up): In order to get “the shot,” without cutting off any of the water below, you almost have to be hanging off a cliff. Literally. Personally, I’m pretty freaked out by this. When you’re shooting, it’s easy to get caught up with making a photograph and forget where you put your feet. So every time you see a shot of this scene without any rock in the foreground, you can be pretty sure that photographer had moxy.

My shot of Horseshoe Bend, just as the sun was starting to come up.

After another couple hours of classroom time, we all got back in the cars and headed toward Monument Valley (2 hours away) to shoot sunset. Just like many of the areas in Page, Arizona, Monument Valley is Indian territory, and we got special photographers’ passes to shoot there as well. (You don’t NEED a special pass to photograph there, but we were a group and we wanted access after sunset, when the gates usually close to visitors.) This is one of those epic, humbling places that makes you feel very small when you’re there. Some of the workshop attendees said they expected to see John Wayne riding by on a horse at any moment, and that’s really how you feel there… like you’re in the middle of a western movie. (Actually, a few John Wayne movies were shot in and around Monument Valley.) We didn’t have time to drive completely around the valley because every time we stopped the cars we’d get out and shoot for 30-40 minutes. And that’s really what it’s all about, right?

The giant rock structures you see here are called buttes, and during the course of our shoot, this word got a lot of corny abuse. You’d here everything from “Isn’t this place butte-ful!?” to “Get your damn butte out of my shot!” We stayed until just after the sun went down, then got back in the cars for the 2 hour drive back to Page.

My shot of Monument Valley.

Here is Ben (left) with Randy (center) and Jeff (right), who run the Digital Photo Workshops.

Here’s just a side note for anyone planning to visit the Page area. Most restaurants and bars close down early there. Like 9:00… even on a Saturday.  If you’re used to eating late and staying out late, this could be a bit of a frustration. After our super long day of shooting and driving, we all got back to town, looking for a place to grab a beer/cocktail/etc. and what was the best we could do? … A bowling alley. Yup. Hey, at least we’re making memories! (We actually had a lot of fun there. It was a smoke-free place called “The Bowl.”

Sunday morning was our last shoot of the workshop, and got up around 4:00 a.m. (which felt like sleeping in compared to the previous morning!) and drove to a close-by area on Lake Powell, in the Glen Canyon recreation area. It was an interesting place to shoot, but not as spectacular as some of the previous locations. We could climb around on the swirly rocks to get different views of the lake and the canyons in the distance. The clouds started out pretty cool that morning, so they were a good photo subject too.

A morning shot on Lake Powell.

There was one more afternoon of classroom time, where the guys gave a few more lessons and everyone shared their images from the previous days. In the end, a great time was had by all. I got some really nice images, made some memories, and really enjoyed the company. All of the people attending the workshop were just great… great to shoot with and great to hang out with.

I made a video from the event, and you can check that out below. If you’re a photographer and interested in joining us on one of these adventures, Ben is teaching with the DPW gang in Zion National Park and at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, both in October. You can check those out on the workshops page of www.DigitalMastery.com.

More to come!

Want some of these images for your wall? Prints are available for purchase. You can find my images from this post, as well as other photographs from the Southwest U.S. HERE.

Leaving the current bus in Mira Loma, we both caught our flights to Texas and New Jersey. My time away went as planned. Ben’s did not.  During his drive north, he encountered no fewer than three breakdowns, which weren’t a huge deal considering it’s the first time the bus has been on the road with its new engine/tranny/etc. He did get a frustrating (that’s putting it lightly) call from the person we intended to do the interior, which changed his plans dramatically. I would tell the whole story, but it’s all written up on Ben’s blog, so you can check it out HERE. To make a long story short, the bus is currently in Chattanooga getting some minor work done… the kind of work that we originally planned to have done after the interior was in place.

In other news, while Ben was dealing with bus issues, I was having a great time relaxing with my family in Jersey. I felt guilty that I was having fun while he was having… well, something far from fun. While I was there, I spent a lot of time at the house, working and plain old hanging out. I spent some time at Heritage Vineyards, which you’ve heard me mention before if you regularly read this blog. My good friend Carl is the “Wine Wizard” there, and it was great to be able to catch up with him.

I joined my parents at a winery event.

My friend Carl gives a vineyard tour one lovely Saturday.

I also got to watch the transformation of my parents’ basement, as they had it completely gutted and redone from scratch. I took a lot of pics and the difference is absolutely amazing. I’ll post a fun before and after slideshow on here at some point. I’m thinking of calling it “From gross to great.”

Anyway, I just wanted to give an update on what’s been going on before I move on to the good (as in photographic) stuff. Lots of beautiful photos from the Southwest U.S. in the next post. More to come…

A snapshot of me and my angel, Nyah.

Sunday happy hour with the family. Even Grandma has got a beer! 

Dogs have always been a part of my life and I’ve always felt connected to them. To say I am a dog person would be an understatement. I really think they have this whole life thing down pat, and they are truly the masters of unconditional love. I just love the following quote:

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.”  ~Josh Billings

I decided that I wanted to take on a project where dogs were the sole theme, and, for a couple of reasons, I chose to make this a design project and not a photography project. What I came up with was a series of vintage-style posters featuring the different breeds. They’re all so different, and they all have their own quirks, so I knew it would be fun to come up with a custom image for each one. I am going to gradually add to this collection and I expect the whole series will take quite some time, but I like that. This is what I needed.

Here are the first couple of posters I’ve created so far. I will gradually add on to these and create a gallery and a book. Enjoy!

Happy May everyone! This month’s wallpaper features one of my Antelope Canyon images. I shot this in Upper Antelope last year in Page, Arizona. If you ever head to the area, know that there’s both an upper and lower Antelope Canyon. The upper canyon is much more open and features much of the iconic sunbeams shining down through the red canyon walls. The lower canyon is just as beautiful, only it’s a much more condensed space and there are FAR LESS tourists. (If you’re claustrophobic, however, lower Antelope is not for you.)

I chose this month’s image because I’m anticipating our upcoming return visit to Page next week! Ben is teaching with the Digital Photo Workshops gang and we’ll be shooting at a lot of the beautiful Page/Lake Powell locations. If you’re a photographer (whether seasoned or amateur) and you like last-minute adventures, I believe there’s still some room in this workshop and we’d love to have you! Check it out HERE.

Anyway, enjoy the image!

To download, click on the thumbnail for the size of your computer screen. When the large image opens, right click (or Control + Click on Mac) and click save image.

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One of the great things about living on the road is you get to do touristy stuff without actually being a tourist… and without actually being on vacation. Ben and I had the bus getting worked on at a shop in Mira Loma, CA, which is about an hour east of Los Angeles. The place has RV hookups, so we were able to stay on the bus during the time it was parked there. We were both getting a lot of work done (wrapping up an e-book and researching stuff for the vintage bus project) and I wanted to find a fun distraction. With L.A. right next door, that wouldn’t bee too hard, right? I thought about Disney Land, but then remembered Universal Studios. Anyone who knows me even the littlest bit knows that I’m a movie NUT. My film collection cannot get big enough. As you probably know, Universal is a theme park revolved around movies and the making of movies. Perfect!

I bought the tickets online and got a great deal. They had a special where you get an annual pass for the price of one day pass. This was nice because we ended up spending two days in the park. The first trip was only for a few hours in the evening and the next was a full day spent in the park. If we happen to return to southern California in the winter, maybe we’ll visit again. I had been to Universal years ago (when I was 16) and a lot has changed since then. There were a few attractions I remember but a lot of new ones as well.

Here are some of the things we saw, and my take on them:

The Studio Tour & King Kong 360 3D
This was the first thing Ben and I did in the park and we both really enjoyed it. This is one of the attractions that has been around for a while, but I was surprised to find some new additions to the ride. The tour takes you through the Universal Studios backlot where loads of movies and TV shows are filmed. I get a kick out of seeing the sets and props used in some of my favorite movies. You also go through some working sets where they show you how a lot of the special effects are done. The best part of the ride, however, is the King Kong segment, which is currently the largest 360 3D experience in the world. The tunnel your car goes into is literally a giant screen, creating a seamless 3D environment that puts you right in the middle of the action. You wouldn’t think that a tram car ride would cause you to hold on to the seat backs in front of you, but this one does! If I had to pick, I would say this is the best attraction in the park.

Revenge of the Mummy^SM – The Ride
This is one of the rides that wasn’t there during my last visit, and it’s probably the most thrilling attraction in the park. It’s an indoor roller coaster that reaches speeds up to 45 mph and goes backwards as well as forwards. I liked the Egyptian crypt-like setting you move through before you’re catapulted into the darkness. I admit it… I screamed like a little girl. My biggest complaint with this ride was the length. It was WAY too short. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait a long time to get on, because it would have really bugged me to wait an hour for such a short ride.

Jurassic Park®
I had been on this ride before, and I enjoyed it this time as much as the last! It’s a “river ride” that takes you through Jurassic Park, where you’re taken through a beautiful setting with waterfalls and dinosaurs. And of course, about half way through the ride, things start to go wrong and this sets the stage for the 84-ft plunge at the very end. (Again, I screamed like a little girl) The whole experience is very well done, and I totally recommend this one, even if there’s a long line. (Going on this ride, and listening to the Jurassic Park theme music while in the park led me to revisit the movie again the other day. I just love Stephen Spielberg!)

The gates open to Jurassic Park in Universal Studios!

The Simpsons Ride^™
This one was a bit of a surprise, because I wasn’t expecting much here. It is, after all, a virtual roller coaster. In other words, you’re in a car that doesn’t move all that much, in front a a giant screen. The idea is that you’re on somewhat of a runaway roller coaster in the Krustyland amusement park that has suddenly been taken over by a madman. To be honest… this ride was very cool. The screen is more like a giant dome and the movements of the car you’re in really give you the sensation of being thrown around in the air. Ben and I were both surprised at how much we liked it. Another cool thing about this attraction is that it’s more than just the ride. As you’re waiting in line, you are entertained by screens that introduce you to the characters and set the stage for the actual ride. That’s one of the things I like so much about the Disney parks. You’re still experiencing stuff as you wait in line. (Because let’s face it. Waiting in line usually sucks.)

The Special Effects Stage
This attraction is actually a show that happens a few times a day. It’s an entertaining peek into how a lot of movie effects are done (and how they WERE done in the past). The show is fun, but I felt that it was geared more toward kids. I kind of felt that half of it was about the effects and the other half was about laughing at the poor volunteers they use in the demos. Don’t get me wrong. The quality of the show was good, and if you have kiddos, you should go. It just wasn’t totally my cup of tea in that I would have preferred to learn more and laugh less at this one.

The NBCUniversal Experience
This is kind of a mini museum featuring loads of famous movie props, wardrobe pieces, awards and facts. If you’re a movie fanatic like me, you definitely want to walk through here. It’s a smaller attraction, but it evokes a whole lot of nostalgic feelings from some great moments in Hollywood.

Terminator 2® 3D
This is a 3D show where the audience is put in the center of the unfolding drama at  Cyberdyne Systems. Despite the fact that I’m not really a Terminator fan, I thought the effects are very cool and I liked how the show merged live action with film. Here’s a warning though… prepare to be very cold near the end of the show!

The little English village-like block
No, that’s not actually the official name for what I’m talking about. It’s not really mentioned in the park guide, but there’s a little area in the park that’s set up like a quaint little village, with a pub, cafe and shops. I really enjoyed walking around this area and it wasn’t that crowded, which was great!

This was Mr. Bean’s Mini Cooper. It’s an iPhone shot that I played with a bit in Photoshop.

There are definitely more things to do and see at Universal. I didn’t mention all of them, because we didn’t DO all of them. There were some things that were geared more toward kids including a Curious George attraction, Shrek 4D, and the Animal Actors show. We also didn’t get to see the Waterworld show because our timing was always off there. One of the good things about this park is that you really can see the whole thing in one day, if the lines aren’t insanely long, that is. It’d probably be better to split it into two days and go at a more leisurely pace though. Adjacent to the park is the Universal City Walk, which is a huge shopping area with loads of restaurants. I’d make sure to leave some time to check this out, and perhaps dine there after visiting the park. (If you really like to shop, you might want to leave a LOT of time for this place)

More to come…

After Photoshop World wrapped up in Washington D.C., Ben and I flew back to the bus, which was parked in Las Vegas. The bus has spent a LOT of time parked in Vegas during the past year and I was really itching to move on. (We absolutely love our friends there, but we wanted to set out exploring again) After a day of bus maintenance in the city, we headed toward Joshua Tree National Park. I had only been there once before, and I don’t even think it counts because we were only passing through and I was in the park for a total of two hours. I was excited to get out and explore some more.

We parked the bus in an RV park just outside the town of Joshua Tree, (Finally! A view that didn’t include the Stratosphere hotel and the beam of the Luxor!) which was about 15 minutes away from the park entrance. In the morning, we met up with our friend and fellow photographer Sean Mahoney, and had breakfast in town at a place called the Crossroads Cafe. If you’re ever in Joshua Tree, I highly recommend this place. The menu items were all unique, delicious and VERY vegetarian-friendly. The place also has a really fun vibe to it.

Before heading into the park, we stopped at a funky folk-art site called the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum. The artist had constructed these sculptures out of found items that ranged everywhere from metal scraps to household appliances. Very unique place. We were there in the middle of the day, so it was a good place for some HDR photography.

An art installation at the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum/folk art site.

Once inside Joshua Tree National Park, we did two hikes, starting with the Barker Dam trail. While the water level was too low for making any interesting images at the actual dam, we shot a lot of the landscape during the course of the trail. The trees are so unique and we had fun shooting the general scenery. I shot a lot with my fisheye lens because I just loved the way it exaggerated the goofy expressions of the trees. To me, Joshua Trees are like something out of a Dr. Seuss book!

Sean and Ben rock the fisheye glass at Joshua Tree National Park.

My Joshua Tree pic. These trees remind me of something out of a Dr. Seuss book!

The second trail we did was called Hidden Valley. It was similar in landscape to the last trail, and I shot more of the same stuff. Ben also spent a lot of time here shooting example images for his future seminars. At the end of this hike, the sun had us pretty zapped and we headed back to town to get a bite to eat. When the sun started to set, we headed back into the park and that’s when the good stuff started. Both Ben and Sean are huge enthusiasts of night photography, and I’ve been getting into it a lot as well. Lightpainting is such a fun way to shoot, and I love that it’s really easy to create a look that’s unique and a style that’s totally yours. My one struggle with night photography is the cold. If you know me at all, you know that cold is not my friend. BUT… I do struggle soldier through it when the shooting is good enough. This night didn’t get TOO cold so I got pretty lucky.

For the night shooting, Sean scouted an awesome place for us at an area called Jumbo Rocks. We set up while there was still some light in the sky and took some ambient shots. When it got dark enough, we started to experiment with different lights. We started out with regular flashlights, which is how I got the image below. Then, Ben and Sean decided to get a little fancy. They took a bunch of different-colored keychain LED lights and swung them around on the end of a cord to get all kinds of effects. The winning image was Ben’s orb shot that combined lightpainting with a regular flashlight as well as the giant ball made out of the colored LED lights. He’s going to include this technique in his new e-book on lightpainting, which we’re putting the finishing touches on right now.

My lightpainting. Considering I’m still pretty new to this kind of photography, I was really happy with it!

This is the shot I got of the same scene before it got dark out.

Here is Ben’s shot of the night. © Ben Willmore 2012

By the time we were finished our night shooting session, we were all pretty ready to crash. We had planned on returning to the park the next day, but the wind had picked up to such high levels that would have made shooting (or even walking) extremely unpleasant. Ben and I instead spent the day working and then went back to the Crossroads Cafe for dinner. From Joshua Tree, we moved on to Palm Springs for the annual Photo Festival. More to come!

That’s right. It’s that time again. Another Photoshop World! I’ve stopped counting how many of these I’ve been to, but I’ll never get tired of this conference. I’ve said it before on this blog, but the energy there is simply amazing. There are a slew of excellent classes to take, but it’s really so much more than that. It’s about having fun, getting motivated and being inspired. Oh yeah… and you happen to learn a lot in the meantime! In fact, you learn so much that you feel as if all the excess information may start oozing out of your brain by the end of the event. There are classes for people of every level, and the instructors are all incredible (Heck, I’m marrying one of them!).  When I first started attending PSW, I got the added bonus of being able to hang out with a bunch of folks with the same passions as me. If you’re a photographer, and don’t have many photographer friends, then you know what a big deal this is. (I still get that bonus, but my world has changed since those first few PSWs, and now my circle of friends includes a lot of photographers.)

Ben teaches his class on Adjustment Layers in Washington D.C.

There were a lot of added bonuses at this event. First of all, it wasn’t in Orlando… yay! (There’s nothing wrong with Orlando, but the past several east coast PSWs were there, and it was getting a wee bit old for those of us regulars) This year we all converged in Washington D.C., which leads me to the next bonus. The cherry blossoms were in bloom! We were so lucky here, because they only bloom for a few short days of the year. The day before the event, a bunch of us headed down to the Tidal Basin, where much of the “pinkage” was happening. I might not be into the color pink, but in this context it was just beautiful! The city looked like a painting. The third bonus was that my best friend of over 20 years, Amanda, attended the conference! She’s been dabbling in photography and I knew she’d have a good time. I was excited for her to see how different this was from most conferences.

The capital was painted pink when the cherry blossoms were in bloom

The whole event went great, as usual. I attended several classes, and Ben taught three. Adobe always does a big presentation in the keynote, and this year’s announcement was the launch of Photoshop CS6 and the release of the beta version.  In the evenings we’d meet up with friends for dinner and cocktails. These days, I look forward to PSW because of the friends I see there in addition to the conference events. It’s always like a little reunion and I just love being in a hotel where you know half the people staying there! We were in D.C. from Thursday until Tuesday, March 27 when we flew back to the bus in Las Vegas. From there… we headed to Joshua Tree National Park. More to come…

Anyway, Ben and I met our friend Rich Heritage, director of sales and marketing, for some shooting and wine tasting. We totally lucked out because our visit overlapped the very short blossoming of the peach trees and there are TONS of them at the vineyard. We stopped at the tasting room, filled our glasses with some Cabernet Franc, and then headed outside just in time for sunset. I know… wine, photography, springtime… it all just sounds so awful!

Rich picked a perfect spot that overlooked a field of peach trees and I focused mostly on shooting panoramas. The colors were just gorgeous! Check out some of the shots below.

Click on this pano to see it bigger. The peach trees were gorgeous!

I got this shot of Rich right before the sun disappeared over the horizon.

Once the light was dead, there was only one thing to do… drink more wine! We headed back to the winery and got to taste some barrel samples. It’s always amazing when you get to taste a wine in its “baby stages”, then again once it’s bottled, and then AGAIN when it’s peaking. I’ve been able to do that with a lot of Heritage wine, starting with their 2005 vintages, and I SERIOUSLY cant wait to taste what they produce in the future. But alas… wine is often all about the waiting game. (Which is why I’m not a winemaker. Patience is not a virtue I was blessed with!)

If you’re ever in South Jersey, pay Heritage a visit. You wont be disappointed. (They even do winery tours on weekends. I’ve been on so many of them I could probably give the tour myself.) Cheers! More to come…

]]> http://www.thepixeldiaries.com/blog/springtime-in-jersey/feed/ 0 http://www.thepixeldiaries.com/blog/the-cost-of-staying-mobile/ http://www.thepixeldiaries.com/blog/the-cost-of-staying-mobile/#comments Sat, 07 Apr 2012 23:53:44 +0000 Karen http://www.thepixeldiaries.com/?p=1193 After two unforgettable weeks in Hawaii, we returned to the bus in Las Vegas. (By the way, going from the rainforest to the desert does nothing good for your skin. Ouch.) Though we had lots of great times in Vegas over the past year, I was itching to move on and start exploring elsewhere. Unfortunately, that would have to wait. The bus had been needing some attention, and it was best to get some maintenance and repairs done in the city.

The two main things we needed to deal with were a broken generator and some fried house batteries. These were not minor things. In fact, they have been hampering our lifestyle quite a bit lately. Having a working generator enables us to get “off the grid” so to speak. It allows us to park in more places, such as national parks, state parks, and any other interesting areas without RV parks. The batteries contribute to this as well, keeping the power flowing while the generator isn’t running.

The engine dude talks to Sean about the generator. I stand by and pretend like I know what’s going on. (Ok, that’s kind of a lie. Sean did a great job of explaining things, so I wasn’t exactly clueless)

We met up with our great friends Sean and Louise, who I’ve mentioned before here on The Pixel Diaries. They are full-timers as well, and Sean is great at troubleshooting bus issues. He’s been helping us out a ton lately. They accompanied us to an engine shop where the generator was worked on. I wont go into details, but what it came down to was a crack in one of the major generator components, which had to be replaced. If you’re into this type of bus geekery, check out Sean’s post, which better describes the whole scenario.

Next up on the list was new house batteries (the batteries that run the interior stuff, not the engine stuff). Sean and Louise joined us for a night at the Mainstreet Station RV park in Vegas, and Sean and Ben spent a day tackling this project. And let me tell ya… it’s not like changing a car battery. The battery bank is located in an alcove inside one of the bays, and we had to unload the whole thing. Here’s where we learned how much crap stuff we we hauling around! Yikes. They first had to remove the old batteries from their awkward location and then figure out how to get the new ones in. Mind you, each of the three house batteries weighs 175 pounds.

We had to unload an entire bay in order to access the not-so-conveniently located battery bank.

While Sean and Ben did all the grunt work (sweating, cursing, etc), I lingered around with a video camera recording the job. You can see my little vid below. We finished these projects (like how I said “we” as if I had anything to do with the repairs?) just in time to fly out again. Our next stop was New Jersey to visit my fam and then to Washington DC for Photoshop World. More to come…

Happy Spring, everyone! This month’s image is from Acadia National Park in Maine. I’ve been to a lot of national parks, and I’ve got to say, Acadia is still one of my favorites. So beautiful! I thought the colors of this one were nicely suited for April, so I hope you all enjoy it!

For the dudes out there… I know this isn’t exactly the manliest image in the world, so I included a second free wallpaper as well this month. I shot the second photo at a car show called “Back to the Fifties” in Minneapolis a few summers ago. I just love shooting old cars… the kind with a lot of character, ya know? This event was full of them!

To download, click on the thumbnail for the size of your computer screen. When the large image opens, right click (or Control + Click on Mac) and click save image.

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