A few hours with David Sidwell...

11/24/2004 05:04:35 PM · #1

There are so many great photographers at this site that I would like to meet in person that I could not possibly list them all.

But I was fortunate enough to meet one of them, David Sidwell, while he is visiting here for Thanksgiving in the Phoenix, Arizona USA area.

The visit was much too short. I spent some time with he and his family at an old ghost town (Now a tourist trap) called Goldfield and later hiked along the justly famous Superstition Mountains on the Siphon's Draw and Jacob's Crosscut trails. That was fun for me.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate with good weather which explains why most of my images are indoors at Goldfield of rattle snakes. :)

I saw his and know that Sidwells images are better than mine, but thought I would share a few I took with him anyway. :)

Here is one example:

The others of mine I processed are on PBase at:
//www.pbase.com/azleader/dsidwell

Kylie

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35

11/24/2004 05:07:36 PM · #2

Great shots. What a great time you two must have had - you are both awesome photographers.

11/24/2004 05:09:13 PM · #3

Originally posted by Kylie:

Great shots. What a great time you two must have had - you are both awesome photographers.

I can assure you, Kyle, that he is much better than I. :)

Kylie

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35

11/24/2004 05:11:48 PM · #4

Originally posted by stdavidson:

Originally posted by Kylie:
Great shots. What a great time you two must have had - you are both awesome photographers.

I can assure you, Kyle, that he is much better than I. :)

Ok - but I can assure you both that you are both far better than I! Seriously, great work comes from you both and I am happy that you got to meet one another.

11/30/2004 01:40:59 AM · #5

Okay, I'm finally putting a few of my shots up from my very pleasant trek with Steve Davidson. I have several more, but they are waiting for when I have time to work on them. Looking at these during posting, they look a bit sloppy, so I'll be at them again soon, I guess. But they do give an indication of what they'll be like.

Steve and I met in Goldfield, a former ghost town, and before going to the Superstition Mountains, Steve was kind enough to accompany me and my kids to the reptile exhibit in Goldfield. I haven't worked on any of my snake shots yet, but I have worked on this one:

I have many from town; I guess I'll post them at a later date. You history buffs will like them. We then headed out for the mountains:

We went on this trail, to the center of the group. I can't remember the name of it, but it was pleasant, despite overcast skies:

It was kind of funny, since I had earlier mentioned to Steve how sad it was that we had so many clouds in the sky! He claimed that in Arizona, folks got their cameras when clouds appeared! I guess it was for good reason.

We were almost to the mountains up that trail, when we noticed that the sunset was coming fast. A thin band of clear sky was visible between the clouds above and mountains below:

As the sun steadily moved lower, the sky got very red and dramatic. I did not change the colors in any of these images:

I also discovered a new technique. With the sky changing so stinking fast, I had to get those cactus into position, but I didn't have a ladder nor was I close enough to use the cactus as I'd have liked. So I put my camera's timer on and lifted my tripod and camera way above my head. The Sony has a swivel body, so I was still able to see the viewscreen with enough time to position the shot as I wanted. It was fun!

Soon the sun was right above the clouds and we could clearly see the thin sliver of brightness start to enter the clear area of the sky. It was amazing to see both of us leap into action! We ran down the hill to find a place where we could get some interesting saguaro into view. I used the tripod-over-the-head technique again several times and shot right into the sun. I used quite a fast shutter speed; slow speeds caused weird haze and lens flare (which was kind of cool, but I couldn't use the shots very well). Here's one of them.

I noticed that Steve was shooting as fast as I was. The sunset with sun in view lasted about 6 minutes! Steve was a great trek partner. He is good in converstation, friendly, and always interesting. He gave me some good photo tips!

A few days later, the skies were more cooperative, and I captured these in other parts of the state:

. . . . .

All in all, it was a grand time, and the real delight of my Thanksgiving visit was meeting Steve. Thanks Steve for a wonderful time!

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

11/30/2004 02:09:34 AM · #6

Hey Steve, I really like your shots! Looks like you got some very nice ones. I remember you taking your time on this one. It turned out very well!

And I'm glad you got a good shot with the strange cholla cactus grove we came upon. This one is very dramatic and striking!

On the phone you mentioned that you got a lot of snake images. I like this one a lot. Nice and menacing. The tones are particularly nice here.

Thanks again for a great time!

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

11/30/2004 07:40:20 AM · #7

wow...what a trip! great shooting all the way around!

Message edited by author 2004-11-30 07:40:43.

soup

Canon EOS-30D

11/30/2004 08:00:18 AM · #8

sounds/looks like you both had a good thanksgiving.

11/30/2004 09:09:35 AM · #9

Here are my thoughts...

The disturbing part of the visit with David:
With his camera held high in the air on the end of a fully extended tripod and hands above the head, he still is able to get a more level horizon then I do with the camera held in my hands. There is something eerie about that.

The great part of the visit with David:
David taught me the super duper, super secret techniques that all the great photographers use to turn ordinary, scuzzy snapshots into ribbon winning DPC masterpieces. They are so elegantly simple you won't believe it!

Here they are...

Oh, wait a minute... under threat of dismemberment and penalty of death, Sidwell forced me to sign a non-disclosure form against my will.

Dang! Sorry. And they are all so easy, too.

BAMartin

Apple iPhone 5

11/30/2004 09:15:50 AM · #10

I am so sorry that I missed this opportunity to shoot with two great photographers. Hopefully I will have the opportunity again real soon.

Barbara

11/30/2004 09:22:09 AM · #11

Originally posted by BAMartin:

I am so sorry that I missed this opportunity to shoot with two great photographers. Hopefully I will have the opportunity again real soon.

Barbara

David is not around, but perhaps we can organize something here soon in honor of your recent transplant to the great southwest. That would be fun.

11/30/2004 02:52:32 PM · #12

Originally posted by stdavidson:

I'm glad you remembered, Steve. I didn't want to endure the 13 hour drive again just to dismember you.

11/30/2004 02:53:46 PM · #13

Hey, maybe I can come down again! Taking photos sounds much more fun than dismembering Steve for divulging Photoshop secrets!

Originally posted by stdavidson:

Originally posted by BAMartin:
I am so sorry that I missed this opportunity to shoot with two great photographers. Hopefully I will have the opportunity again real soon.

Barbara

David is not around, but perhaps we can organize something here soon in honor of your recent transplant to the great southwest. That would be fun.