06-AUG-2007
Nightfall, Williams, Arizona, 2007
Williams was once a featured stop along the old US Route 66 highway. Bypassed by Interstate 40, Williams survives by hosting visitors bound for the Grand Canyon just sixty miles to the north. I photographed this evening street scene using one of its many tourist stores as my subject. Its large window is festooned with lights that reflect on the rear window of a parked car, while its photos nostalgically recall the Old West. I waited until an abstracted figure entered my frame and made him the focal point as he passed through it. The lights, colors, and abstraction combine to intensify the nostalgic mood conveyed by this image.
06-AUG-2007
Barbershop, Williams, Arizona, 2007
I could almost smell the aroma of this vintage barbershop as I gently pressed my lens hood up against its plate glass window. The 1/10th of a second shutter speed required both a steady hand and the use of image stabilization control. Much of this barbershop’s mood is due to the fact that it is empty. Those fifty year-old barber chairs will have to wait a few more hours for their next customers. The raw light cast by the florescent bulbs adds a hint of loneliness to the scene. If you look at this image carefully, you will spot a wall-mounted head of a deer or elk hidden in the shadows at the back of the shop. It adds a rustic exclamation point to the mood of this picture.
06-AUG-2007
Train depot, Williams, Arizona, 2007
A century ago, most visitors arrived at the Grand Canyon by rail. Today, the historic railroad still makes the 65 mile, two hour journey from Williams to the canyon, using steam locomotives and vintage railroad cars. I photographed the train while parked in Williams overnight, using a fence post to support my camera for this one-second exposure. The image is rich in the atmosphere of twilight, with the light glinting off the old tracks and the fading hint of daylight still visible in the cloud streaked sky. The silver train seems as quiet as its surroundings. In the distance, the colonnades of the original Williams depot can be seen. I rode this very train to the canyon the next morning. (For another image featuring this unique railroad, click on the thumbnail below.)
12-JUN-2007
Dining Hall, Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco Bay, California, 2007
Bleak, grim, and severe, this prison dining hall once served the likes of Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and Robert Stroud -- the Birdman of Alcatraz. The exhausted tourist sitting on the floor in this photograph expresses the mood of this place, along with the sickly governmental green walls and the barred window.
20-FEB-2007
Sunrise, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California, 2007
For me, the most beautiful sunrise shots at Zabriskie Point are made just before the eroded, vibrantly colored badlands that surround it are fully illuminated. In this image, two golden ridges embrace a single red mudsill. It is this half revealed scene that sets the mood and creates the atmosphere of this image. It is a surreal landscape photograph – made so by the textures and colors created by the first rays of dawn.
16-DEC-2006
In the old city, Fez, Morocco, 2006
The historic medina of Fez, known as Fez el-Bali, is a warren of 16th century streets, too narrow for cars. Walking them is like going back into time. The swarms of cats underfoot seem to have always been here. I use my spot meter to expose on the sun-splashed wall, allowing the shadows and the human figure to go black. The cats are backlighted. The reflected light on the dark wall at left echoes the rhythmic flow of the windows moving across the main wall from left to right. The mellow light and ancient setting for the abstracted figure reinforce the mood of this place – mysteriously enchanting, with a hint of danger.
25-DEC-2006
Smoky souk, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006
There is often something cooking in the stalls and shops of this ancient city. The air is filled with smoke and the smells are enticing. When we appeal to the senses, we must also create a mood to activate them. The delicate rays of sunlight that filter though the bluish smoke do just that here.
27-DEC-2006
Under the ramparts, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006
The ramparts that completely encircle the old cit of Marrakesh are almost a thousand years old and stretch for 12 miles in an unbroken circle. I found this group of men resting and reading at the base of this wall as dusk approached. By underexposing the image, I highlight the man in the brown cloak, and place everything but the golden wall in shadow. The resulting abstraction and the contrast between light and shadow create a restful atmosphere.
10-DEC-2006
Sweeping shopkeeper, Essaouira, Morocco, 2006
It is just past dawn in this ancient port city, and the shops are beginning their day.
I saw the flow of light on the street, an illuminated path of cobblestones running between the morning shadows. I waited until a shopkeeper stepped into that path with his broom and then made this photograph. All attention is placed on the man with the broom. An atmosphere of quiet privacy greets him. The shadowy passersby do not even see him, just as we do not see them.
14-DEC-2006
Roman sculpture, National Archaeological Museum, Rabat, Morocco, 2006
My goal here is not to describe the appearance of this piece of ancient sculpture. I am trying to convey the atmosphere of the museum that surrounds it. It is a quiet and often lonely place – we were its only visitors. I notice the window light on the marble head and used my spot meter to expose for that highlight. The rest of the image goes into shadow, suggesting the silence of time and presence of history.
14-DEC-2006
Walls of Rabat, Morocco, 2006
These walls, tinged with the pink of a rising sun, went up in the 12th century, and they are still there to remind visitors of Rabat's colorful history. Morocco's second largest city, Rabat is the country's political and financial capital. I photographed this scene just after dawn, in very low light and with a very long lens (748mm). I used ISO400, which produced a bit of electronic noise which works to my advantage. It gives a texture and a painterly quality to the image, intensifying the mood and atmosphere of the shot.
22-SEP-2006
Diner, Moab, Utah, 2006
While eating dinner in this dinner, I noticed the red and blue neon lights over the counter reflecting on the ceiling and combining with the white lights to give the place its red, white, and blue identity. After the dishes had been cleared I got up, walked to the back of the room, and waited for backlit people to enter my frame. A number did, but it was finally the man in the iconic wide brim hat that gave the image a human touch and a rough and ready mood. The mood is one of timelessness. This image could well have been made in the 1920s or 30s, the golden age of neon.