Arizona Adventures

I grew up mostly on the east coast and southeastern portion of the US. While growing up I saw some of the landscapes that the eastern seaboard had to offer but my travels were relegated to the coast I grew up on. I've recently started to travel out west. Particularly to the southwestern portion of our country. In the past 12 months I've been to Sedona, Monument Valley, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon and Zion National Park. I've quickly realized that I'm falling in love with this portion of the country for a lot of different reasons.

Since my childhood I haven't been much of that outdoor adventurer. When I was a kid I used to play outside and would camp with the Boyscouts but much of that left me as I grew up. I now find myself attracted to the natural beauty of the outdoors, especially America's amazing national parks.

I've always had an affinity for the national park system but it wasn't until I visited Arizona last year that the desire kicked up a notch. I was so blown away with Monument Valley because of how far it was from everything else, the beauty and the unforgettable stars that I was able to see. It had a feeling of another planet and it rekindled the adventurous feelings I had as a boy.

Capturing images in these types of locations is an amazing experience. The reason I was drawn to the camera was to capture images that I wanted to hang in my house and visiting these locations inspires me to do just that. Even though I sell my work, the guiding principle of all my images is if I would hang it in my house. If I've accomplished that goal then all the others don't really matter.

Since my travels to Arizona and Utah my thirst for the southwest and the national parks has grown dramatically. I'm currently working on the edits from my Zion National Park trip and you will see them when they are ready for public consumption. If you get a chance I can't recommend taking some time to wander the state of Arizona and Utah for their natural beauty and the relaxation. And by the way the stargazing isn't bad either.

The Rockhouse Jamaica

I recently had the opportunity to visit the renowned Rockhouse Hotel in Negril Jamaica. The hotel sits right on the cliffs of Jamaica and has some of the bluest and clearest waters that I've ever seen.

Rockhouse - Jamaica - Views of the villas during sunset.

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We left Chicago on a snow filled winter day in February and were delayed almost two hours due to the de-icing procedure. So much for a good start to our trip. But luckily that was the worst part of the trip. Once we were in the air the plane felt like a party bus with everyone sipping on cocktails and enjoying the relatively quick 3.5 hour flight straight to Montego Bay.

Rockhouse - Jamaica - In just a few minutes the sun changed so much.

As we landed the hills and mountains in Jamaica were hard not to notice. Everything was lush and green and once the cabin door opened I could feel the warm air revitalize my cold hardened Chicago skin.

We quickly navigated customs and headed out to find our driver. After a 90+ minute drive through winding roads and some pretty desolated villages, we found our way to the parking lot of the Rockhouse Hotel. It was tough to tell how beautiful the hotel was at night but I could tell that the morning would bring a great reveal.

Rockhouse - Jamaica - Views of the stars at night.

The next day I wasn't disappointed. The hotel sits directly on the cliffs of Negril with a small coral reef in its bay. The water was clear and the view facing west was nothing but blue ocean. Since I was only there for three nights and I missed the first sunset, I knew I would have to take advantage of the rest of the days. The first day I witnessed one of the Jamaican sunsets that everyone raves about.

The rest of the trip I spent some time wandering the resort shooting a few shots but the sunset shot was the one I wanted to get and I'm thrilled with the result. I've since moved this photo into my portfolio. Although the trip to Jamaica got started with a few bumps, I had an amazing time at the Rockhouse and hope to one day return.

Rockhouse - Jamaica - Look at that water!

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New York City

If you follow me on social media, you know that I visited New York City in March. It was nice to be able to walk the city with no specific plans or agenda. It gave me the opportunity to explore the city in a way I never have before. I had been to Brooklyn only once before but I decided to start my adventure in the Dumbo area. I explored Water Street and the surrounding area on foot, taking in the great views of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge.

After exploring Dumbo I set off to cross the Brooklyn Bridge by foot. The bridge is a timeless icon and with the Manhattan skyline in the background I couldn't help but shoot images every few steps. The symmetry of the cables paired with the ancient arches and metal skyline created a powerful contrasting subject.

After walking back into Manhattan, I stayed on foot and crossed lower Manhattan to the west side. From there I snaked my way from lower Manhattan to the Flatiron building on 5th Ave and 22nd St. I set up across the street and fired off a few shots. I was trying to get an interesting perspective of such a unique building. I thought I had the shot captured, but something told me to hang out for a few more minutes. The day had become quite cloudy, and suddenly the sun popped out of the clouds just to the right of the building. It looked like the sun was directly behind the building. I quickly fired off a handful of shots to capture the moment. The moving traffic and people made this one of my favorite photos from the trip.

From the Flatiron Building I continued north to the Empire State building, ending at a friend's house in midtown. My Fitbit friends must have wondered where I was that day because I clocked in just under 19 miles and 35,000 steps!

During the rest of my trip in New York I headed back to the Top of the Rock for some night photography. I didn't realize that One World Trade now had a white beacon at the top of the spire. I was very moved and impressed by the image of old New York (the Empire State building) with the new New York (One World Trade) and the history it represents.

On a different night I went to the top of the Empire State Building to try to get a good vantage point of the Chrysler Building. I had never been to the top of the Empire State building before. Being in the middle of Midtown, the views are not as good in my opinion as the Top of the Rock. The redeeming factor is that it's the only public building I know of that has great views of the Chrysler Building. I thought it would take me longer to get to the Empire State Building and through security so I left early. Turns out to get through everything was a breeze so I ended up standing around at the observatory deck for almost an hour in order to capture this photo. The extra time allowed me to test out the composition from different angles and ultimately end up with this shot.

I spent the morning of my final day of shooting in Grand Central Station. I got there after rush hour so the terminal was not super packed. I've read that Grand Central is not too keen on tripods so I found a good rail that I could prop up my camera on. I shot this image with about a half second exposure to capture the motion trails of the people. I really love the couple in the bottom center of the photo. Their slight motion blur and shadow as they walk toward the light created an ethereal feel against the grand architecture.

The rest of the day I spent walking Central Park and Wall Street. The Wall Street area was crowded but Central Park was relaxing. Once again I had never spent a lot of time walking the park and I was very impressed. My favorite part was the Bathesda Fountain area.

I had an amazing time walking and exploring the city. I'm looking forward to the next time I'm in NYC and can get some air time in a helicopter tour.

New York City - 2013

I few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to take a brief trip to New York City for a wedding. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to shoot but I figured I could squeeze in a few hours so I brought my camera gear.

Williamsburg Bridge from the East River.

The first day in the city I took a boat tour of Manhattan. The tour started in midtown on the East River and headed south past battery park and out to the the Statue of Liberty. It was a perfect clear day. I brought my circular polarizer to help make the colors pop and to fight the glare from the buildings and the water. It was very cool to see Manhattan from the water. The buildings seem to come right up the shoreline and dominate everything around them.

After the boat tour I had a few hours to travel the city. I wanted to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and shoot Manhattan from under the Brooklyn Bridge but we didn't make it out there. Instead I decided to go to the Top of the Rock to try to capture the sunset.

I thought buying tickets and getting up the elevator would be quick but it took a lot longer than I had thought. Fortunately I had given myself just enough time to get up to the observation deck before sunset. The views of Midtown and downtown were truly amazing and I totally lucked out with the sunset that night.

Top of the Rock - Rockefeller Center - New York

I was able to get some great shots of the sun setting over Manhattan and captured this one that is now in my portfolio.

Cinque Terre

One of my favorite stops along my recent trip to Europe was Cinque Terre, Italy. We flew from Paris to Pisa, then took the train to the town of Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre. When we arrived at the station the owner of our B&B rental, Lorenza, was there to greet us with her miniature car. We drove up a hill for about five minutes to get to the house, winding through a road so narrow there were no more than 6 inches on each side between the car and two buildings! After settling in, Lorenza brought us ice cold Italian beers and potato chips. My wife and I enjoyed our snack on the balcony while listening to the ocean and taking in all the sights. We then ventured out to explore Riomaggiore: there was one Main Street with maybe 10 shops and 6 restaurants. The town is quaint, quiet and beautiful, with colorful buildings set on cliffs along the Mediterranean.

Our second day in Cinque Terre is when the real adventure began. The area is known for hiking trails that connect the "cinque terre", or five villages. Although two of the hikes were closed due to recent landslides, we were able to hike the two most difficult hikes. Our first hike started from Corniglia, which is up high on cliffs, a few hundred stairs up from the train station. The stairs were worth the trek: Corniglia is a beautiful town, also overlooking the ocean with picturesque, winding roads through beautiful buildings. We walked through the town and visited the local church, which was unexpectedly ornate with beautiful, old architecture. For lunch we got a focaccia pomodoro sandwich with tomato, mozzarella and basil - a perfect treat to fuel us for our first hike from Corniglia to Vernazza.

The 90 minute hike from Corniglia to Vernazza is the second most difficult in the area. It started through the streets of Corniglia then wound through nearby lush vineyards. The hikes up and down hills offered breathtaking views of the town. About half way through the hike, Corniglia disappeared and we found ourselves immersed in the mountainside facing the Mediterranean. The trail led us several hundred feet up, then back down the mountain towards Vernazza. As we approached the town we were struck with an impressive view of the town jutting out into the water.

Vernazza looking North from the hiking trail.

After a pasta lunch at a cafe along the water, I took a few photos of the town but the sun was too bright, so I scouted locations for later. We hopped back on the local train and headed to Monterosso to explore a bit more.

We stepped off the train to the largest of the towns, Monterosso, famous for its beautiful beaches. We explored the main strip of hotels and restaurants, and enjoyed an excellent dinner at Via Venti: gnocchi with crab, seafood risotto, and a local white wine from a Cinque Terre vineyard. After dinner we went back to Riomaggiore to capture shots at sunset.

On day 3 we took the first morning train to take photos of Vernazza at sunrise. The town was so peaceful with no tourists and few locals around. As the sun rises from behind the mountain, I was able to get great light for shots of the village just after sunrise. We enjoyed a quick Italian breakfast of champions: ham, cheese and tomato calzone and a chocolate pastry, then headed out to start our next hike from Vernazza to Monterosso.

I'd seen pictures of this trail online and knew I wanted to hike it early to grab a photo for my portfolio. As we wound our way up into the hill I saw the shot. We were looking directly down into the bay with Vernazza in perfect sight. The composition was amazing and the light was perfect. I love the organic view of the coastline without tons of people in the shot.

We continued on the winding trail up and down several paths through the mountain along steep cliffs and a few waterfalls. The views were amazing but this hike was a lot more nerve racking than our first. A few sections of the trail were no more than 2 feet wide with a 10 foot drop off. We finally got to the final stretch on our way into Monterosso: about 300 steps straight down a hill. The hike was exhausting but a great experience. The rewards for an almost 2 hour hike were the gorgeous view of Monterosso in the distance, an amazing lunch of lemon marinated anchovies and salmon salad by the water, and a relaxing afternoon on the beach. Instead of taking the train back to our house in Riomaggiore we took the local boat which stopped along each of the five villages. The evening weather was great for a boat ride and the photographs were even better. I was able to get some of the shots I was waiting to take of each village. I ended the day with a few more sunset photos from Riomaggiore followed by another delicious dinner of local seafood, pasta and wine.

Our last full day in Cinque Terre was the first overcast day and the temperature dropped to the mid 60's. We decided to explore the towns of Manarola and Riomaggiore. Manarola is similar to Riomaggiore with a main street and a town square, but with more shops and restaurants. We walked down by the water for a breathtaking view, then took a path just north of the Main Street that led along the mountain. The view back into the city was breathtaking. We explored the town's cemetery and church, then wound through a maze of tiny streets and ended up near the rows of vineyards in the middle of town at a lookout point with a beautiful ocean view.

We made it back to Riomaggiore for lunch at our favorite restaurant, Il Grottino where we again indulged in the lemon marinated anchovies, shrimp gnocchi, our favorite seafood spaghetti and of course a bottle of local wine. After lunch we visited the town church and the castle at the top of the village. The clouds hovered over the top of the mountain and made for a beautiful sight. On our way home we visited local shops and bought dinner to eat on our balcony: fresh tomatoes, prosciutto, cheese, fresh-baked focaccia and Italian beer - a great feast to celebrate the end of our trip to Cinque Terre.

We definitely fell in love with Cinque Terre and can't wait to go back. Each town has a unique charm and serene vibe. I would highly recommend anyone visiting if they have the chance.

Paris

Vive la France! I recently enjoyed my first visit to Paris, France. From the architecture, wine breaks at cafes and museums to scooting around the city in our friend's Clio, it was a truly amazing experience. The subway system makes it very easy to get around the city and we were able to explore most of city's neighborhoods during our 5 day visit.

French Tricolour1/250 Sec - f11 - Iso 400 - 70mm — **French Tricolour**
1/250 Sec - f11 - Iso 400 - 70mm

We got several recommendations from my wife's favorite TV chef, Ina Garten. One was for breakfast at Cafe Varenne off the Rue de Bac subway stop, a favorite of Ina's and where she and Jeffrey have breakfast every time they land in Paris. As expected, it did not disappoint! Freshly baked croissants, frothy, fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, Mariage Freres hot tea, and the best omelette we've ever had. Afterwards we walked around the quiet, quaint neighborhood where I found several unique photo ops:

French Balconies 1/50 Sec - f11 - ISO 400 - 42mm — French Balconies
1/50 Sec - f11 - ISO 400 - 42mm

French Scooter1/1000 Sec - f4.5 - ISO 400 - 70mm — French Scooter
1/1000 Sec - f4.5 - ISO 400 - 70mm

We went to mass at Notre Dame then spent some time exploring the church and the ornate facade:

Notre Dame Cathedral1/30 Sec - f4.0 - ISO 3200 - 16mm (HDR) — Notre Dame Cathedral
1/30 Sec - f4.0 - ISO 3200 - 16mm (HDR)

Notre Dame Cathedral1/30 Sec - f11 - ISO 400 - 28mm — Notre Dame Cathedral
1/30 Sec - f11 - ISO 400 - 28mm

After Notre Dame we went to the nearby Ile Saint Louis - a little island behind Notre Dame with beautiful quaint streets and the famous Berthillon ice cream - a treat not to be missed! Nearby is a cafe named Esmeralda - a Hunchback of Notre Dame reference, no doubt - where we enjoyed one of our many afternoon wine breaks.

Cafe Esmeralda1/5000 Sec - f2.8 - ISO 400 - 42mm — Cafe Esmeralda
1/5000 Sec - f2.8 - ISO 400 - 42mm

Bar Brasserie1/2000 Sec - f2.8 - ISO 400 - 70mm — Bar Brasserie
1/2000 Sec - f2.8 - ISO 400 - 70mm

We climbed to the top of the Arc de Triumph one evening during sunset - the winding, tiny staircase was endless and tiring, but worth the view:

Paris from the Arc de Triumph1/6 Sec - f11 - ISO 100 - 16mm (HDR) — Paris from the Arc de Triumph
1/6 Sec - f11 - ISO 100 - 16mm (HDR)

No trip to Paris is complete without visiting the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. We saw both only from the outside but spent time relaxing nearby to soak in the incredible views. Outside of the Louvre I used two ND filters and shot 2-4 minute exposures to blur some of the crowds for a unique shot.

The Louvre1/200 Sec - f11 - ISO 100 - 16mm (HDR) — The Louvre
1/200 Sec - f11 - ISO 100 - 16mm (HDR)

Eiffel Tower1/500 Sec - f11 - ISO 320 - 16mm (HDR) — Eiffel Tower
1/500 Sec - f11 - ISO 320 - 16mm (HDR)

Paris is a beautiful city; one that I can't wait to visit again.