New look for 2009

http://www.felberphotography.com/ has undergone a website update for 2009! Check out the new look and tell me what you think. Specializing in strong color themes, Felber Photography is frequently the first choice of designers and decorators when searching for the right complements for offices, casual rooms, etc.

New business venture

Felber Photography has joined forces with The Brown Barn Press (George Johnson) and created a partnership named Two Guys' Artful Images!

The business plan is to sell our photo art at Fine Art Festivals around the Southwest. This past weekend we attended our first festival in Mesa, Arizona.

We had lots of fun and learned a lot about street-side selling!

Check out our new website at www.TwoGuysArtfulImages.com.

Yellowstone N.P.

Yellowstone Nat'l. Park was a little dissappointing; very little wildlife to be seen. Not a single elk in Mammoth Village! We saw many Bison, of course, but only a couple of far-off elk; no bears, wolves, or moose.

Colors are changing in the park. The trees are turning a dull yellow or rust; undergrowth has some vibrant colors!

We took some nature hikes with the park rangers. Very informative; sometimes we managed to reach a geyser just as it began to erupt!

Glacier Nat. Park

Wildlife is plentiful in the park. Bighorn Sheep browse at roadside. The trail to Hidden Lake passes by Mt. Reynolds in Glacier National Park. A clear, but crisp and breezy day enticed us to take it. But time did not allow, so we may try another day.

Oregon Coast

Just spent a few days along the Oregon Coast. We're on the way to Glacier N.P., Yellowstone N.P., and Mt. Rushmore.

This is a picture of the Yaquina Head lighthouse. Wish there were more clouds, but I like the colors in the sky none-the-less.

My website has another image of this lighthouse, but from a totally different, and hard to get access to, direction. Check it out (you'll have to use the Browse or Inventory links, as it's currently not one of the scrolling images on the Home page).

I'll be posting more images as our travels take us to the other destinations. Keep returning to see what comes up!

Best Of Show!

This is another of my images from the recent trip to Moab, UT.

In a competition with about 130 other images, it took Best Of Show. What was particularly satisfying was that two of the three judges almost instantly scored it 99 (top score). After some deliberation, the third judge wasn't quite so kind, but still scored it well above most other images. Oh well, you can't please everyone.

When the sun breaks over the horizon, its rays strike a sandstone cliff below Mesa Arch. The red from the sandstone reflects up into the bottom of the arch. This phenomenon is visible for about 45 minutes each day. Without the red reflection, it's just another beautiful arch.

Rarely will a photographer find himself alone at this spot during sunrise. This is one of the most popular, and therefore one of the iconic, images of the American Southwest.

Moab, Utah

Just returned from 8 days to & from Moab, UT. Took a total of 11 photographers and 3 non-photographing spouses to shoot Arches and Canyonlands Nat. Parks.

We had really great weather and took advantage of it all 5 days in the parks. Shot Delicate Arch at sunset/moonrise, arriving home around 11:00 p.m.; then back up at 4:00 a.m. to get to Mesa Arch in time for sunrise. Lots of hiking to great photo locations. (Did I mention lots of mid-day naps?)

Here's a shot of a great ruin that I can't tell you about (or as the saying goes, I'd have to kill you). It's a Class 2 archeological site that has no marked trails and is not on the maps. You must ask for it by name in the Visitor's Center before they'll give you directions.

Look for more images from this trip on www.FelberPhotography.com soon.

Wedding

This past weekend, I got to shoot a wedding again. I thought I'd gotten out of that business six years ago! But it was one of my nephews, so I promised to shoot it and give them an album as my wedding gift.

Now I remember why I quit doing them; it's very hard work! Fortunately, his new bride is a beautiful gal; I always enjoy shooting beautiful people.

I just hope they enjoy the fruit of my labors.

Hand-held or in-camera meter?

Just returned from my PhoArts group meeting. It's an invitation-only group of serious photographers (say the name quickly and you'll learn a little more about us). The topic of in-camera reflective metering vs. hand-held incident metering came up and a lively discussion ensued. We all agreed the current crop of digital D-SLRs and even some point and shoots have very good reflective meters that will do a good job under most conditions. But there are some conditions that can cause poor exposures when using them. For example, when everything in the viewfinder is very dark or very light, the reflective meter will try to render them as 18% grey (gray?). Or if shooting into a gorgeous sunset with an object in the foreground, that object will be rendered as a black silhouette. But if an incident meter is used to measure the light falling onto the subject (vs. being reflected back to the camera), you will get a much more acceptable exposure. So for all you shooters who have "retired" your hand-held incident meters, put them back in your bag and use them when conditions are appropriate!

Slot Canyon Adventure

Wow! What a great adventure. This weekend, I met 8 other pro and semi-pro photographers for a two-day adventure exploring and shooting the Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons near Page, AZ.

Upper Antelope Canyon is a very easy canyon to navigate. The floor is at ground level and reasonably wide throughout its 150 meter length.

Lower Antelope Canyon is not so easy. At one end, you descend about 4 flights of steep metal stairs to the floor, which is about 90 feet below. At the other end, you step into a narrow defile in a riverbed, then immediately descend several flights of short stairs to the floor, which is about 20 feet below the riverbed. The canyon then continues descending, with perhaps 6 more stairs/ladders throughout. It is much narrower than Upper.

Both are spectacularly beautiful. As one photographer approached me from around a corner, he said, "Wow!" I responded, "Yeah; there are lots of them in here."

My thanks to Ralph Nordstrom (http://www.ralphnordstromphotography.com/) for organizing and leading our knowledgeable and interesting group of photographers!

Doo Dah Parade

Well, after living in SoCal for over 50 years, I finally went to the annual Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena. And boy, was I ever glad I did! Take a look at this picture and you'll understand. Go on, take a closer look, no one's watching.

The Doo Dah Parade is a "politically incorrect" parade that lasts about two hours. You'll see everything from political commentary (I don't think there was a Republican in the bunch), to alcohol and marijuana advocation, to just plain weird stuff -- all with a few non-uniformed bands (OK they had hats). It was a really fun experience that I'll be sure to do again.

I went specifically so I could try out my new Nikon D300 camera body. After about 20 minutes, the autofocus stopped working and the shutter would not trip. Tried flipping switches, turning the camera on and off, removing and reinstalling the lens, and cursing. Nothing helped. The only way I was able to get through the day was by focusing manually.

Next day, I took it to Nikon in El Segundo. Of course, by then, it was working and they couldn't duplicate the problem. They suspect it was caused by a poor ground between the lens and the camera, so they cleaned it and gave it back to me. Let's hope they're right.

OK, time to look at the picture again. Have you noticed the lady second from the right? You can probably use "Control, +" to zoom in (and "Control, 0" to return to normal view).