I started this post 33,000 feet over Kansas thanks to the wonder of in flight wifi. The quality is quite nice in fact a person in front of me watched part of the US Open on it. It made the four plus hours flight and made me a lot more productive. I didn’t publish from there because the photo I wanted to include below was in my checked bag so not available.
I noted in the post written before I flew out west that I’d hoped to clear my head a bit both artistically and personally on this trip. Ten days later and I’m happy to say I’ve accomplished a bit of both out here. I flew into Las Vegas, but spent the first part of my trip around Phoenix, AZ shooting the local landscape and working with several amazing models. I already wanted to come back to Phoenix before I had left the city. The people I met and worked with there were all wonderful and accomplished artists. The desert landscape and terrain is so different from what I normally shoot that I want to explore it more. In particular a late afternoon to sunset shoot I did produced some amazing work I’ll be showing later. I’m likely going back in the fall or spring when the heat isn’t quite as pressing during the middle of the day and shooting will be easier throughout.
I then made my way northward to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon. If you’ve ever thought of going there, just do it. The first glimpse surpassed all expectations I had. I can say the word awesome is used in its true sense when describing the place. The photo to the below was taken on the less visited north rim my last night there at sunset. It was the one night I was able to stay inside the park and the view of the stars that night (which I did not photograph due to dead camera batteries) were beyond humbling. I already want to come back again here and do the hike from rim to rim soon. That’s definitely not a summertime activity, though I did meet a group of young women who did just that.
After my Canyon stay I headed back over to Las Vegas for the rest of my stay. I love Vegas in doses, but I’m never that sad to leave. Early in the stay I had a wonderful shoot at my hotel with an amazing, artistically minded model. It was my only indoor shoot on the trip and I can’t wait to get through the photos. I tried some new things there and pushed out of my comfort zone a bit, but the results look to be worth it. I also had a nice desert shoot outdoors this week in a great location outside the city.
A great trip overall. I got the photos I had in my mind I wanted to get on the trip. I pushed myself artistically and personally and successfully for the most part. In the desert I actually had a tumbleweed roll across the road right in front of my car near the Utah and Arizona border just like in a movie. I watched a dust devil cross the road a few hundred yards in front of me and then fall apart before I could pull over and get a photo. I saw beautiful sunsets, smog over Phoenix from the mountains near the city, and the devastating fires in New Mexico as we flew overhead close enough we flew through the smoke. I saw bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, the fun, and the insanity of Vegas. And on my flight back I sat behind a couple that got married while out in Vegas.
Photos to come soon as I get time now to finally work and process them starting with a shoot a couple days before I left out of town.
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