Across the Southwest

Great Sand Dunes & Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED

Adam Schallau — Sun, 23 May 2010 03:54:38 +0000

I finally had an opportunity to get out and shoot with the Nikon 14-24mm lens in a real world environment. This wasn’t so much a “scientific” test and evaluation as it was a hit and run visit to introduce my mother, visiting from San Antonio, to Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve.

The subject for the afternoon was spring runoff in Medano Creek. The wind was blowing (when is it not blowing?) fiercely and I really wanted to avoid lens changes to keep from getting sand in the camera. I needed to select one lens for the day and decided it was time to go to the Nikon. The flow of the creek and the patterns in the sand screams for an ultra-wide field-of-view.

While I intend to review this lens in detail sometime in the near future, I have to say that I’m very impressed by what I’m seeing in my images so far. The corners, always a weak spot for Canon ultra-wide lenses, are very sharp on the Nikon. My only concern when using the Nikon has been the large, bulbous front element. I’m very happy to report that after being pelted by sand for over an hour, the lens shows no signs of abuse, despite the fact that it’s not (currently) possible to mount a protective filter.

Wild Grasses Blowing in the Wind

Adam Schallau — Thu, 20 May 2010 04:55:44 +0000

Spring is here and the wild grasses and wildflowers are beginning to come out of hiding in the Orilla Verde Recreation Are near Taos, New Mexico. For this shot I wanted to capture the movement of the grasses that were literally growing out of the cracks in the canyon wall. I used a combination of a low ISO, small aperture and a 3-stop Hoya ND filter to force a longer exposure. Thanks to the long exposure and a gentle spring wind, I was able to create the image seen here.

~Tech details~
Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens
Exposure: 6.0 seconds, f/20 and ISO 350
Filters: Hoya 3-stop ND

Notes: Processed in Adobe Lightroom

It’s been 2 months!

Adam Schallau — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:51:26 +0000

I nearly forgot that I have a blog. Here’s a quick update of what I’ve been up to and what is going on.

I spent a good part of late winter and early spring writing the content for the upcoming iFotoGuide – Grand Canyon app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Look for this app to be released very soon. I’ll have more information here on AcrosstheSouthwest.net and on my Facebook Fan Page, as well as at www.iFotoGuide.com.

This past March I made another trip to the Grand Canyon to hand-deliver my print for their museum collection. This photo depicts sunrise over the canyon from Yaki Point on the South Rim. If you are visiting the park, please stop by Park Headquarters to see the photo on display. I also have an image being used at the Desert View Visitor’s Center in the near future.

In more local happenings, I had nearly a dozen images used in the 2010 Tourism Guide for the State of New Mexico…woohoo! I was also interviewed for an article about me and my photography which appeared in the Spring 2010 edition of ‘Land & Home’.

If you are a photographer yourself, you’ll understand the desire to achieve the ultimate in image quality. This has lead me to (partially) switch to the dark side. That’s right…I’ve gone to Nikon. I recently purchased a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens to use on my Canon EOS 5D Mark II via a 16-9.net adapter. I love this lens! It offers an amazing field-of-view, a bright viewfinder (nice when setting up in the dark), and it’s sharp. I look forward to offering a complete review after I get back from my next trip and complete my June workshop.

Did I mention workshops? There are still two spots left for the ‘Adobe & Light’ workshop on June 11th and 12th. Tuition is only $275.00. Checkout www.CanyonPhotoWorkshops.com for more information.

I’ve also kept busy lately leading several private workshops. I’ve had a blast working with clients from all over the United States as well as the world. Together we’ve photographed nearly every historic church in northern New Mexico and numerous locations along and above the Rio Grande.

Last but not least, I have a large print going to Washington D.C. where in a couple of weeks it will be presented to a dignitary for display in his office. I’ll share more information once the photo has been presented.

I apologize for the shameless self promotion, but I do it for my mom.

Route 66 – Getting Geared Up

Adam Schallau — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:57:02 +0000

The remains of an abandoned car on Route 66, somewhere in Arizona. Click on the photo for an expanded view.

A Day Along Historic Route 66

A Day Along Historic Route 66

Adam Schallau — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:33:34 +0000

It was known as “the Mother Road” and “Main Street America”, but it was best known as Route 66. A long section of Route 66 once made it’s way through New Mexico and Arizona, paralleling the modern day route that I often take on the way to the Grand Canyon.

Crossing the wide open desert, it traverses a magnificent stretch of real estate that most drivers simply pass by at 80 miles per hour, doing their best to quickly close the gap between Albuquerque and Flagstaff. But along the way, if you slow down, look around, you will find a piece of American history.

Over the next few days I’ll be sharing with you some of my favorite photos from Route 66. Please click on the image for an expanded view.

Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear what you think.

Desert Bighorn – Curecanti Recreation Area

Adam Schallau — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:03:10 +0000

This big guy was definitely aware of me and actually seemed very willing to strike a pose. This photo has been sitting in my archives since last September and I finally got around to working on it this morning. It’s always a wonderful experience to see a magnificent creature like this in the wild, photographing it is a nice bonus!

~Tech details~
Camera Canon EOS 50D
Lens: Canon EF300mm f/4L IS USM lens
Exposure: 1/500 second, f/6.3 and ISO 320
Filters: none

Notes: Processed in Adobe Lightroom

A Winter Morning in the Forest

Adam Schallau — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:45:07 +0000

A winter morning at Grand Canyon National Park. The canyon was completely socked-in so I took a stroll through the forest.

~Tech details~
Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens
Exposure: 1/6 second, f/16 and ISO 100
Filters: none

Notes: Processed in Adobe Lightroom

A visit to Chaco Canyon

Adam Schallau — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:52:52 +0000

A place far from the modern, civilized, world. A place of extremes with brutally frigid winters and scorching hot summers. A place that was once inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloans and was perhaps the trade and spiritual center of their world. A place called Chaco.

Located in Chaco Canyon in far northwestern New Mexico, Chaco Culture National Historical Park protects some of the largest Ancestral Puebloan ruins in the American Southwest. Among these ruins is Pueblo Bonito, the largest Great House in the park which is believed to have been inhabited between AD 828 and 1126. Covering nearly two acres of land it was once four stories tall and may have contained as many as 800 rooms.

Photographically speaking, Pueblo Bonito is an extremely exciting subject to work with. I suggest that photographers come prepared with ultra-wide angle and medium length zooms to capture the interior of the pueblo. The photo of the T-shaped door above and the photo looking up through the pueblo on the left were both created using a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L lens at the 16mm setting on a 5D Mark II camera.

The exterior of the pueblo can be captured using a a full-array of focal lengths from ultra-wide to telephoto. The photo on the right was captured with my Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS lens set at 150mm. I chose this lens to isolate the back wall of the pueblo against the canyon wall, both of which were bathed in a warm, late-evening light.

In a few days I’ll be sharing more photos from my trip to Chaco Canyon and will be discussing additional photo opportunities in the area.

Ice Fishing Article in New Mexico Magazine

Adam Schallau — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:58:00 +0000

I’m very excited to share with you the completed product of the first magazine assignment that I shot. The January 2010 issue of New Mexico Magazine features an article titled ‘Ice Breakers’ by Arnold Vigil with the photos shot by yours truly.

Most people know New Mexico for it’s beautiful deserts and canyons as well as it’s tremendous Spanish and Native American cultural sites. But what a lot of people don’t know is that we also have beautiful mountains and high-altitude lakes. The mountains between Taos and Angel Fire, the Sangre de Cristo Range, have peaks reaching to over 13,000 feet above sea-level with many lakes scattered amongst them. The largest lake in the range is 2,400 acre Eagle Nest Lake.

This past February I spent a good part of an extremely cold winter day on the ice at Eagle Nest Lake State Park photographing ice-fishermen braving air temperatures in the mid-teens. People from all walks of life, young and old, were out on the ice. I could not have asked for a better group of people to be the subjects of my first magazine assignment. Everyone was very approachable and extremely eager to share their knowledge and love for the sport of ice fishing. I’d like to thank everyone who shared their day with me.

For the camera equipment junkies that might be interested in the equipment I used for the assignment, I can tell you that I primarily used a Canon 5D Mark II with the 24-105/4L lens, and the original 5D with 17-40/4L lens. Shooting with two camera bodies made it much easier to shoot. The last thing I really wanted to do was try to change lenses in the cold air and blowing snow.

Cypress on the Guadalupe

Adam Schallau — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 04:31:57 +0000

Sally and I made a trip to Texas over the Thanksgiving holiday to visit family in the San Antonio area. While we were there, we had an opportunity to spend some time exploring the Guadalupe River near the town of Comfort. I love the Guadalupe and have canoed it many times from Comfort to Guadalupe River State Park, and my great grandparents had a home on it near New Braunfels at one time.One of my favorite subjects to photograph are the cypress trees that line the banks of the river such as this example at James Kiehl River Bend Park.

James Kiehl River Bend Park is a new park dedicated in memory of United States Army Specialist James H. Kiehl from Comfort, Texas. Spc. Kiehl was killed in action on March 23rd, 2003 after his convoy was ambushed in Iraq. He was assigned to the 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas.

~Tech details~
Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens
Exposure: 1/2 second, f/16 and ISO 50
Filters: Hoya HD Circular Polarizer

Notes: Processed in Adobe Lightroom

Sunset from Horseshoe Bend