Across the Southwest » Lifestyle

Rio Grande Kayaker

Adam Schallau — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:50:02 +0000

A kayaker navigates the rapids on the “Race Course”, a section of rough water on the Rio Grande near Taos, New Mexico.

~Tech details~

Camera & Lens: Canon EOS 50D and EF70-200 f/4L IS USM lens

Exposure: f/5.6, 1/125 second and ISO 320

Filters: Hoya HD circular polarizer

Notes: Shot hand-held.

Editor’s Pick Award – Travel Photographers Network

Adam Schallau — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:00:59 +0000

I’m excited to announce that I’ve had an image selected for the Editor’s Pick award by the Travel Photographer’s Network. The photo is of an old Chevy parked behind Saint Francis de Asis Church in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. I captured this photo with my Canon G9 at ISO 80 and it was handheld.

Enjoying a sunset in Utah

Adam Schallau — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:50:05 +0000

A woman and her canine companion enjoy a beautiful red-rock sunset in southern Utah near the town of Bluff.

Please click on the image for an expanded view.

Light on the Temples, Grand Canyon National Park

Adam Schallau — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:35:07 +0000

Last light on Zoroaster and Brahma Temples, Grand Canyon National Park

Two nights ago I was photographing sunset from a spot on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon between Yavapai Observation Station and Mather Point when the sun broke through the clouds and illuminated Zoroaster and Brahma Temples. The light lasted just a few seconds and I literally got off one shot before it was gone again.

Cover Shot – Rocky Mountain Nature Photographers

Adam Schallau — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:48:53 +0000

My peers at the Rocky Mountain Nature Photographers have selected this image to be the cover shot which will great visitors to their website during the month of January 2009. This image was captured a few minutes after sunset on the boardwalk at the Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne, Texas. Located about 30 miles north of San Antonio, the Cibolo Nature Center contains over 100 acres of nature trails and wilderness and was one of my favorite places to hike when I was growing up in Texas.

Please click on the image for an expanded view.

Old Gas Station Signs

Adam Schallau — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:56:14 +0000

I spent the afternoon shooting at a cool place south of Taos that has tons of old gas station signs and memorabilia. This was another opportunity to test the low-light/high-ISO capabilities of the Canon 5D mark II and again I was left impressed.

This image was captured using ISO 800 with an exposure of 1/25th at f/5.6 and was shot with the 24-105 f/4L IS lens at 24mm hand-held with the Image-Stabilizer turned on.

Please click on the image for an expanded view.

Taos Ski Valley Fireworks

Adam Schallau — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:42:46 +0000

Let’s start off 2009 with a photo of the fireworks display in the Taos Ski Valley from last night. This was captured using the 5D Mark II and the EF 24-105 lens with a 30 second exposure at f/8 and ISO 500. I continue to be pleasantly surprised with the 5D Mark II, especially with regards to noise and image quality.

Happy New Year!

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First shots from the 5D Mark II

Adam Schallau — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:59:41 +0000

The best-laid plans often go awry. That could have been my motto yesterday. I was scheduled to meet with two clients back-to-back,and then shoot with the second client, and then photograph the Lighting of Ledoux that I wrote of in my blog entry from Friday. The first client was late, potentially cutting into the other person’s time. The weather was forecast called for snow (good), but instead it rained (bad). The rain was not really giving me the look I was after for my shots of Lighting of Ledoux, so on to plan B. My wife and I met with some friends and enjoyed an evening at the historic Taos Inn listening to some great music and watching Flamenco dancers.

I shot a few hundred frames of the dancers in low-light (no strobes), hand-held, with the 5D Mark II and either the EF24-105 f/4L IS or EF17-40 f/4L lenses. Not exactly ideal conditions to test a new camera but it was fun. All images shown here were shot ISO 3200 and up to achieve an acceptable shutter speed for hand-holding the camera. Yes, there is noise visible in the images, but it is a noticeable improvement over the original 5D and I was quite pleased with the results considering the low light and speed at which the dancers moved across the dance floor.

Please click on any image for an expanded view.

Blue Doors

Adam Schallau — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:46:11 +0000

I’ve been shooting a lot of commercial work lately as well as teaching, but I haven’t had much time to do personal work. This has lead me to explore my archives in search of images from past outings that I may have overlooked in the processing stage. This is an image I dug-up from a day shooting with Phil Noll of Los Alamos this past autumn in the area around Jemez Springs, New Mexico.

Please click on the image for an expanded view.

Picking grapes at Vivac Winery

Adam Schallau — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 01:30:15 +0000

I’ve finished editing and processing a majority of my photos from last weekends grape picking event at Vivac Winery in Dixon, New Mexico. Here are the images from the day.

Some of the photographers viewing Across the Southwest will notice that I’ve used a tilt-shift technique to minimize depth of field in some of my images from the shoot at Vivac Winery. The technique used creates a scene that gives the impression of being a miniature, or a model, because of the lack of depth-of-field.