Category: Travel

Shooting At The Arizona Renaissance Festival

Published February 27, 2024 / by adminjc

The Arizona Renaissance Festival is back. If you have not been to the Festival, you should go as there are so many diverse things to shoot there. You can photograph: performers, arts and crafts, buildings, people in costumes, weapons and much more.

I photographed this crystal at a booth that sells all kinds of crystals. I tried several different presets in ON1 Photo RAW to bring out the colors, and went with Vivid Landscape #VL7, then used sliders to boost the Saturation and Vibrance a little. I also used the healing brush to remove some scratches from the crystal.

You can check out ON1 here https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz Use my 20% discount code, colburn20 for ON1 Photo RAW, or its plugins. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

colorful crystal
Click to enlarge

You can purchase this image, and many other images of mine, on various products at my RedBubble shop here www.redbubble.com/people/jeffcolburn/shop

If you visit the Festival, post your comments and/or advice to other photographers in the Comments section.

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Old Spring Houses

Published February 9, 2024 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

Here you can see two of the several old spring houses made by early settlers along the Lamar Haines trail in Flagstaff, Arizona. There is one on every spring in the area. The openings used to be covered by a door. Settlers would create them to keep the springs clean by preventing falling leaves and animals from getting into the water.

Click to enlarge.

While this was great for the settlers, it suddenly removed the water supply for the animals and insects. This would mean the animals, like deer, elk, rabbits and birds, would have to move elsewhere to find water. And the settlers wouldn’t have any animals to hunt for food.

The spring houses aren’t very large, and I would have a hard time fitting through the door. But you can usually reach the water without going inside.

The Lamar Haines trail is a very nice hike and we have taken it several times. If you know where to look, you can also find Native American pictographs. But be aware that parking is very limited.

You can purchase this image, and many other images of mine, on various products at my RedBubble shop here www.redbubble.com/people/jeffcolburn/shop

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Tracking Fall Colors 2023

Published September 7, 2023 / by adminjc

Global Warming could make this an interesting season for fall colors. With the flooding, excessive heat and numerous wild fires, I’m not sure what to expect. Hopefully, the reds, yellows, oranges and other colors will be popping up soon, so grab your camera and take some great photographs of Mother Nature’s big show.

Click to enlarge

To help you get the most out of your shooting, I’ve updated my annual list of links about fall colors and where to find them. Since I live in Arizona, I’ve put together a special section for my state. But I also have an extensive listing for the rest of the country and a listing for Canada. There are also links to articles to help you take great photographs of Nature’s display of color.

As you go to these websites, you will often find many links to other sites. You could easily spend an entire day following link after link, or just go to the main pages I have listed here.

I hope you get some fantastic photographs this year. Feel free to leave a comment with a link to your images of changing colors. I’m sure everyone would love to see them. And if you have a favorite place to shoot that’s not on my list, let me know.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Leaves changing color
Click to enlarge

Arizona

  • Fall Colors on the Coconino – This Coconino National Forest site explains why leaves change colors, what trees produce what colors, and hikes to see this wonder of nature.
  • Fall Colors in Arizona – Links to sites for fall colors, broken down by the month they change color.
  • Leaf-ometer – It tells how the leaves are changing around Flagstaff.
  • The Pinal Mountains near Globe offer several trails with maples, sumacs and sycamores that change color. Colors usually peak in late October. Check out the Ice House Canyon trial, Six-Shooter Canyon trail and the Pinal Mountain Range. Ice House can be hard to find, so get directions from the Ranger station in Globe.

The Rest Of The Country

There’s a National Fall Color Hotline too, 1-800-354-4595. Call this number and choose the area of the country you’re interested in and get information on leaf color, scenic drives, peak times for the colors and other fall activities.

Aspens on the Kachina Trail kachinatrail-0098
Click to enlarge

Canada

Articles

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Photo – Water Lilies

Published May 8, 2023 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

Here’s another photo I took last year at one of the fountains at the Huntington Library and Gardens in southern California. I really liked the tranquil quality of the lily pads, water lilies and water.

water lilies in a pond.

The ripples in the water gave a feeling of movement, yet the water was still smooth enough to reflect the water lilies, adding more of their vivid color to the scene.

This image was processed in ON1 Photo RAW.

If you want to save 20% when you purchase ON1 Photo RAW, or their plugins, just use my discount code, colburn20. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

You can purchase ON1 here https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz or sign up for a free 14-day trial.

ON1 also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk to you.

Give ON1 a try, and save some money too.

Have Fun,
Jeff

P.S. Due to a medical issue, this will probably be my last post until sometime in July. I’ll try to post sooner than that, it just depends on how everything works out.

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Floating Purple Flowers

Published March 28, 2023 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

Last year we took a trip to southern California. One of the places we visited was The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. When I lived in California I visited here often. If you go, and really want to see and photograph everything, give yourself at least two days to see the gardens, and one day to see the museums. You won’t be disappointed.

Be aware that cameras and tripods are not allowed in some museums.

This photo was taken at a fountain near the main entrance. The blue flowers had fallen off of a bush, and the moving water in the fountain pushed all the blooms against these green plants. I also liked the shadows on the bottom of fountain. You will often see dragonflies and damselflies at this fountain too.

Click to enlarge

Also, check out their special events. I went there once for a Bonsai show, and stumbled onto a display of office furniture that belonged to William Herndon. He was Abraham Lincoln’s law partner, wrote the first biography of Lincoln and he’s my uncle. That was a very pleasant surprise.

This image was processed in ON1 Photo RAW.

If you want to save 20% when you purchase ON1 Photo RAW, or their plugins, just use my discount code, colburn20. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

You can purchase ON1 here https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz or sign up for a free 14-day trial.

ON1 also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk to you.

Give ON1 a try, and save some money too.

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Photo – Floating Bones

Published January 27, 2023 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

Yes, those are real prehistoric bones, and yes, that is a real skull of a saber-toothed cat, Smilodon fatalis.

Click to enlarge

I took this photo at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. They have a block of resin with these bones embedded in it to show the average density of bones in the asphalt of the tar pits. FYI, there is no tar in the tar pits, it’s all asphalt.

The resin block is in a glass case. To prevent reflecting yourself in a photo, put the end of your lens directly on the glass. And play around with angles and background light sources to get different lighting effects in the resin. The light coming through windows and glass doors changes throughout the day, so keep checking for interesting lighting.

You are not allowed to use tripods anywhere in the building, so bring a string tripod or monopod. Because of the lighting, you will need to use a high ISO or slow shutter speed. And be sure to check out the atrium. It’s small, but packed with many things to photograph.

I processed this image with ON1 Photo Raw. Check it out at https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Aspens At Sunset

Published November 7, 2022 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

These aspens are growing in a burn scar. While a forest fire is a tragedy, it clears out all the trees and brush from an area, so when the aspens quickly grow back, and change color, you can easily see their beautiful leaves.

Click to enlarge

I processed this image with ON1 Photo Raw. Check it out at https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Tracking Fall Colors 2022

Published September 8, 2022 / by adminjc

Soon, fall colors will be here. The reds, yellows, oranges and other colors will be popping up everywhere, so grab your camera and take some great photographs of Mother Nature’s big show.

To help you get the most out of your shooting, I’ve updated my annual list of links about fall colors and where to find them. Since I live in Arizona, I’ve put together a special section for my state. But I also have an extensive listing for the rest of the country and a listing for Canada. There are also links to articles to help you take great photographs of Nature’s display of color.

As you go to these websites, you will often find many links to other sites. You could easily spend an entire day following link after link, or just go to the main pages I have listed here.

I hope you get some fantastic photographs this year. Feel free to leave a comment with a link to your images of changing colors. I’m sure everyone would love to see them. And if you have a favorite place to shoot that’s not on my list, let me know.

I process my images with ON1 Photo Raw. Check it out at https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz

Have Fun,
Jeff

Leaf in a log

Arizona

  • Fall Colors on the Coconino – This Coconino National Forest site explains why leaves change colors, what trees produce what colors, and hikes to see this wonder of nature.
  • Fall Colors in Arizona – Links to sites for fall colors, broken down by the month they change color.
  • Leaf-ometer – It tells how the leaves are changing around Flagstaff.
  • The Pinal Mountains near Globe offer several trails with maples, sumacs and sycamores that change color. Colors usually peak in late October. Check out the Ice House Canyon trial, Six-Shooter Canyon trail and the Pinal Mountain Range. Ice House can be hard to find, so get directions from the Ranger station in Globe.
Aspens on the Kachina Trail kachinatrail-0098
Aspens on the Kachina Trail kachinatrail

The Rest Of The Country

There’s a National Fall Color Hotline too, 1-800-354-4595. Call this number and choose the area of the country you’re interested in and get information on leaf color, scenic drives, peak times for the colors and other fall activities.

Leaves changing color
Leaves changing color

Canada

Articles

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Photo – Sunglasses at Laguna Beach, California

Published May 19, 2022 / by adminjc
Canon Rebel T5i / Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS at 70mm / 1/40 / f/5.6 / ISO 100 / Hand Held

Hi Everyone,

The circumstances around this photograph are strange.

We were at Laguna Beach, California, walking around main beach. We went around a tall rock, and my wife, Linda-Ann, spotted these sunglasses. They were sitting on the rock exactly as you see them in the photograph.

At first, I thought someone put them there as they roamed around, but there wasn’t anyone else in the area. And why would someone put two pairs of sunglasses on a rock and leave?

I’ll never know why they were there, but I liked the composition and took this photograph. And yes, I left them there as we continued exploring the beach.

It’s not all that uncommon for me to find things lying around. I’ve found money on the ground, including a $20 bill last week. The most I’ve found was $80. I love windy days that blow money around.

I’ve also found large store-bought crystals, jewelry, wallets with nothing inside but cash, tools, hiking gear, lens caps and filters, fossils and more.

It’s nice to look up, but it pays to look down.

I processed this image in ON1 Photo Raw as I no longer use Lightroom or Photoshop. I find ON1 to be faster and easier to use, and it gives sharper images. It costs less than Photoshop too.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments about this photo, or photography in general.

Check out ON1 Photo RAW at https://on1.sjv.io/Zdvkjz

Have Fun,
Jeff

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What’s In My Bag – Protect Your Knees

Published January 9, 2022 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

Check out my latest video on how to kneel on the ground and rocks without your knees hurting https://youtu.be/cpPx9-scvGw

Northern Arizona has a lot of cinder and sharp basalt (hardened lava) as the region used to be very volcanic. I often have to kneel on hard ground, rocks and even fallen trees. I’m no spring chicken, and this hurts my knees. I’ve found an easy and inexpensive solution to this problem that you can use too.

Check out my other videos on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcd8nqgH0CiaveaIlKbE1mA/featured

Have Fun,
Jeff

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