Nockamixon

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Got out bright and early this morning for a short but oh, so satisfying ride at Nockamixon. Sadly this was my first ride of the rapidly diminishing summer. On a brighter note; I got to ride today! I’m pretty out of shape so I just took my time, taking in the sights & sounds at an easy pace. The early morning sun cast long shadows down the dusty trails. It was picturesque to say the least. I really enjoyed myself. Couple of iPhone photos below from this morning’s ride.

Seaplane

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Occasionally, I go through my Adobe Lightroom library and come across images that I hadn’t processed or dove too deeply into adjusting. Such is the case with these images I took in 2019. This old Cessna 206G docked in Long Lake, NY always catches my eye. There’s certainly something beautiful about this old brown bird. I love seeing it up in the Adirondacks.

Medium Format

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When they say: “That medium format look”. Yes, I agree. What is it? Is it just super wide? Is it the impeccable detail? is it the buttery bokeh? Yes to all three. It’s what you see below.

.6 Sec at f/9.0, ISO 500, 42.6mm (GF 35-70mm) using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

Tyler Art School

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This morning, I popped into an abandoned art school a few minutes away from our house in Elkins Park. Stepping through a busted out window, and through a haze of buzzing flies, I was immediately glad that I’d at least packed my asbestos mask and flashlight; there was plenty of dust throughout the dimly lit and boarded up building. In search of an interesting scene, I climbed the dark staircases between the identical dorm room layouts on each of the four floors. I found myself wondering why this school closed down. The rooms were small, even by older standards. A set of twin beds, stand up closets & drawing desks with tilting desk tops, rounded out each room. I’d have loved to go to art school; I wish I did sometimes. A cafeteria & dining hall occupied the first floor. A lounge on the second floor held two pool tables and a foosball table. seemed like a nice set up. At age 43 this morning, I found myself standing in the damp darkness, huffing noisily through a sweaty asbestos mask and missing dorm life. ha!

When I got back to the house I was eager to process these images. Through a quick search of the Tyler Art School I gleaned that it was donated to Temple University in 1934 by the family of financier George Elkins. Temple recently sold the site to an International Evangelical organization, previously busted in an embezzlement scheme… woah!

1/80 Sec, at f/9.0, ISO 2000, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1.8 Sec at f/9.0, ISO 125, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1.1 Sec at f/7.1, ISO 1000, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1/13 Sec at f/10, ISO 1250, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1/13 Sec at f/9.0, ISO 2500, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

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Looping the Loop Three

1/80 Sec at f/5.6, ISO 2500, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

Looping the Loop Two

1/60 Sec at f/4.5, ISO 2000, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

Looping the Loop One

1/125 Sec at f/4.5, ISO 2500, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

Lush

1/17 Sec at f/5.0, ISO 500, 43.3mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

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1/40 Sec, at f/4.5, ISO 125, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1/500 Sec, at f/5.2, ISO 800, 53.6mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1/3200 Sec, at f/6.4, ISO 500, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

1/20 Sec at f/14, ISO 125, 35mm using Fujifilm GFX 50sII

And his name is Dax.

I’m a father! My son, Dax, is now just a little over 8 weeks old and I have finally found two precious seconds to sit down and get these thoughts out here at the blog. It has been quite a harsh reality check; being blessed with the responsibility for our beautiful baby’s life. I can’t say I mind taking care of little Dax at all. I have no problem changing his diaper, feeding him or getting up at night with him; I like making him comfortable. That’s the name of the game anyway: keep him comfortable and in doing so; healthy. But the reality check that I’m talking about, and which I wasn’t totally prepared for, was the sudden stoppage of all extracurricular activities. This all gets put on the back burner. And that’s fine, Dax is and should be the center of my focus, but let me just say this: I miss camping, wheeling the jeep, and am watching this hunting season already start to slip right by. - Toodaloo! It’s OK though. I’d much rather take care of my son and for now I’m content just imagining our future adventures in the wild when he’s old enough to come along with Daddy.

My son Dax

Dax, just a couple days old, at the Nockamixon Spillway.

Snowmotion

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A buddy dropped by Uplandphoto headquarters this weekend to show me the mods he’s done to his new Rubicon (soooo nice!). After jibber jabberin’ about all things jeep and how we both wish times were “normal” again, we decided to take the Jeeps out back, behind my house and play in the snow for a while.

The below short video was shot using my GoPro Hero 7, the footage was then transferred to my phone where I did all of the editing using the GoPro app. It was quick, easy and fun - Nice job GoPro!

Check out these bad Larries!

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I’m officially giving a shout-out to my girlfriend Monica for the excellent t-shirts she made for me a while ago. I just think they’re so cool! Thank you!

RIDE

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Got out and hit the dirt for a sweet ride the other evening. I intended to make a full riding video from the clips I was taking but after a while of setting up cameras and capturing footage, I realized that I just really needed to ride and save the idea of making a real riding video for another day. The conditions were perfect. Dusty, dry, single track, cool temps, bright sunlight… it was amazing and I was reminded of just how much I love mountain biking. Below are 52 seconds of my day.

Whiteface

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This past weekend I was lucky enough to spend a couple of nights in the Lake Placid area of the Adirondacks. A trip to the top of Whiteface Mountain yielded some decent photos but now I am really longing to go back for some sunrise images from this mountain top. It was a gorgeous weekend up in the ‘Dax though, and the leaves have already started to change.

35mm, 1/640 second @ f/8, ISO 250

Around the campfire, I tried my hand at astrophotography as well. My exposures were a little too long and so the stars are not crisp and sharp in the image, but I think that the vibe relates to the viewer well enough. Pass the marshmallows.

16mm, 20 seconds @ f/4, ISO 250

Episode 1

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It’s been a long time since I put out a wheeling video. I’m relatively happy with this one, however I’m still working on my game. I really need to plan out my story line before I start capturing footage. What I’m talking about is the need for each video to have three intentional parts: 1) a beginning, 2) a middle/challenge and 3) an ending/resolution. This keeps the viewer’s attention and is just more satisfying. Interesting perspectives, camera angles and B-roll sequences make the film even better, but if you haven’t got a basic story line, the video doesn’t really go anywhere and just ends up being a series of unrelated clips. I’m gettin’ there. Another thing that I really need to do is to start using my DSLR. I have an amazing Sony A7 III that I use primarily for stills. This camera performs exceptionally for film making and I just need to start using it. GoPros are great; they’re handy, simple, easy to use and can be mounted virtually anywhere, but their fixed focal lengths don’t allow for creative control and filming at shallow depths of field with that nice buttery bokeh.

Nevertheless; I give you my most recent wheeling video. And with it comes my venture into episodic pieces on my YouTube channel. Although this isn’t my first video, I’m calling it Episode 1 and hopefully there will be many more to follow. Enjoy!

Create

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One thing that keeps me sane and gives me a lot of enjoyment is creating. It could be anything: creating a dish, creating a video, a poem, a friendship… creating an adventure. Creativity makes life interesting and in my opinion, keeps it fulfilling. You grow when you create and when others appreciate what you create; they grow as well. Just pop over to Instagram or Pinterest for some serious growth opportunity!

Sometimes I get a little bummed out if it’s been a while and I’ve been stuck in a creative rut. When this happens I break out the phone and start shooting whatever is around me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: iMovie (On everyone’s iPhone) is an amazing little application that is both incredibly underrated and underutilized. Anyone can use it; it’s simple. Below are a few examples of short, fun sequences I’ve put together using only my iPhone. Give it a try sometime. You’ll thank me later!

Golden hour... in the skies.

Ba-gaaaawwwwk!

A rainy day at the office.