Fine Art Photography - Anasazi Adventures ~ Four Corners Digital Tours and Photoshop Workshops

Fine Art Photography
Fine Art, to many, can be a landscape which simply takes your breath, beckons for you to come, and seems to embody some of your soul. Such art can include highly dramatic sunsets; rainbows amplifying strong, gracious color contrasts; a cloud pattern which suggests perhaps God sends an invitation; or the stark other-worldly aspect of a primordial ‘Martian’ scene; etc.
Photography’s early path seems to start with simple shots in direct light. ‘Ere long, the fascinating challenge of light’s reflection and it manifold moods captures your camera’s eye. Soon, you want to play just at Magic Hour, that gorgeous time near sunrise or sunset which can capture the essence of our imaginative soul. Then you learn, the more capable your camera, the stronger your capture capacity.
Whatever your course into digital art, time may lead you to create that breathtaking image which wins awards, which draws gasps, which is elegantly requested ~ and, which fills your soul with such deep joy! For me, worshiping at these eternal altars of beauty is like always returning to my church, my cathedral…
Add natural history to these pleasures, include ancient Anasazi culture and its elegant architecture ~ now you engage both head and heart. History, culture, architecture, beauty ~ Let’s look around the Four Corners Region, southwestern United States, and truly take in its dramatically elegant art and beauty. Anyone who has seen such beauty would empty their pockets to simply see it once again…
In this spirit, we present Fine Art Landscapes… from National Parks to little known, isolated ruins of a once mighty Anasazi civilization, and finally, to a surprising facsimile of Mars.

Ultimately, both award-winning images and our favorites from People’s Choice and Awards appear in our Fine Art Library. These images are products of time-tested field capture and Photoshop workflow in our digital darkroom, then public acclaim. Finally, our award-winning images have undergone competitive review in a professional environment.
Wouldn’t you like to learn our professional workflow secrets? They can help your photographic career reach national, and, perhaps, even international heights!

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BistiArt > Anasazi Pleasure
High on a lonely cliff, far from today’s civilization, this small cave seems hidden from destiny or change. Yet, habitation began over a thousand years ago. Ancient Anasazi built this small ruin on the northern limit of Mesa Verde culture.
Your eye seems to escape the cave’s confines, sneak past a solitary tower in the distance, and finally, land on a small white marker at the top of a distant cliff bordering the Green River.
The sense of uniqueness, the beauty of the landscape, even the trial of getting there ~ all conspire to make one feel the Anasazi consider this a holy place.
The image is a set of handheld panoramic captures. I first tried the merge in CS2; no luck. After watching them successfully merge in a friend's CS3, getting it on the desktop, that has made all the difference.

You are looking across Canyonlands National Park, southeastern Utah.
Anasazi Pleasure acquired an Honorable Mention in a Juried Competition at New Mexico State Fair, 2007.

BistiArt > Bisti Badlands
I walked along in a field of strange Martian shapes, marveling at oddness of shape, elegance of natures eternal change, and a sense of God’s well placed scalpel. As I looked down, the long, white graceful arch of a hoodoo seemed like the eternal neck of a flying swan. A distant red hill paid marked homage, in contrast to this solitary remnant of water’s incessant work. A sense of patriotism began; the blue sky acted as backdrop to this hoodoo menagerie. But, this hoodoo should act as a frame, capturing the red, white, and blue in a unique form.
Lying on my side, my first camera caught the midday fall sun in a red, white, and blue salute to eternal life. Then, it became a first submission for an annual camera contest.

You are in the Bisti Badlands, northwestern New Mexico.
Bisti Badlands became the cover for New Mexico Magazine, January, 2006.

BistiArt > Majestic Blessing
All afternoon the clouds were building; whispy at first, towering thunderheads, then a swift rain flurry. A distant rainbow beckoned; time for some Fine Art Images. I lept from the car, tiredly clad only in untied tennis shoes after a long hike and climb, and started to run across the wet, muddy slick-rock. This capture might be rather perilous. Quickly tying errant shoes, canyon’s edge found a brief sunlight burst emphasizing gorgeous reaches of the Colorado far below.
That day of capture included Anasazi Pleasure and Storm across the Valley... the latter captures steep descent from Island in the Sky to Shafer trail west of Dead Horse State Park.
A gorgeous spring day, filled with sunlight, thunderheads, and symbolic late evening storms; one of those days avid photographers simply drool over. In one form or another, all three of these photos received eminent recognition. A single judge, a panel of state fair judges, members of a camera club, or members of the public ~ all attested to the fact that such a gorgeous day is, indeed, cause for celebrity.

You are looking across Canyonlands National Park, southeastern Utah.
Majestic Blessing acquired a People’s Choice at New Mexico State Fair, 2007. A few months before, it received Member’s Choice at Enchanted Lens Camera Club Banquet, 2007.

BistiArt > God's Hand
The weather threatened as we traveled yet again to the Bisti. Gear packed and on my back, another wilderness trek began. Cirrus clouds scudded swiftly ahead of an oncoming storm. Sunrise became morning light; softness gave way to direct light. Soon, direct sunlight turned local hoodoo faces into stark, reflecting cliffs.
Then, as if swayed by magic hand, the cloud assumed a particular shape. What seemed like fingers crept upward. These tendrils became a graceful hand, seeming to draw eye and spirit to “In My house, there are many mansions…”
While this cloud was transient, caught momentarily in hand held chance, was an Angel beckoning?

You are in the Bisti Badlands, northwestern New Mexico.
God’s Hand received a Judges award from Enchanted Lens Camera Club, 2007.

BistiArt > Mule Canyon Towers
The lonely wind, a circling hawk, a rabbit, deer tracks... all are nature's evidence of long life in this Anasazi stronghold. Deep canyons divide long, narrow mesa ridges. Scattered along cliff walls, occasionally atop Canyon edges, for some 500 years, the Anasazi intermittently inhabited caves or built ancient ruins. Cedar Mesa, their southeastern Utah home, is a high mesa west of Comb Ridge, near Blanding, Utah.
Mule Canyon Towers is a sequence of three high dynamic Range (HDR) images. The sky, canyon, and foreground were spot metered to estimate a ±2EV capture range. This series of matrix metered images actually shows a 10EV range.
The image set was processed with Adobe Camera Raw 4.3.1 using Bridge CS3.
Strength, light smoothing, and luminosity were modified in Photomatix Pro to create a 32-bit HDR image. This HDR image showed a strong halo effect in the blue sky. The image was then saved as a tiff file for Photoshop CS3.
CS3 and this tiff file provided both an ability to sharpen, mask, then color dodge and burn for our final result. To remove the blue halo, we selected a raw 1/350s image shot. Then, with a droid layer masking, we overlaid this blue sky on our HDR image as a layer mask to lose the ugly halo.

During judging, Mule Canyon Towers scored at 11/15 for 3rd place. The principal critique was 'Darken this image and it could score a 15...' A later discussion suggested to darken between a third and full EV. Of course, that's a judge's subjective opinion!

BistiArt > Fajada Moon
Galen Rowell wrote of Magic Hour and its close relative, the Edge of Light. Direct light can turn a clear sky red. Reflected light becomes a deep blue. At Fajada Butte, we captured both an Edge and a rising Moon. Reflected moon light is actually illuminating the cliff face for Chaco’s ancient Anasazi celestial calendar.
Ancient Anasazi left a celestial calendar called the Sun Dagger as a spiral carved on a south facing cliff atop a prominent butte in Chaco Canyon. Later science imputes building wall and window orientations relate to both equinox and solstice of sun and moon. In a more practical vein, this calendar was part of timeless ancient prayer and planting rituals.
Fajada Butte contains this calendar carved on a rock wall and surrounded by large stone slabs which guide light into the spiral’s center. One slab stands 9 feet high.

You are looking across Chaco Canyon National Park, northwestern New Mexico.
Fajada Moon received a Judges award from Enchanted Lens Camera Club, 2007.

BistiArt > Cliff Palace
One hundred and twenty years ago, a lone cowboy, Richard Wetherill, checking for cattle, rode near the edge of a precipitous cliff, and found what has become a hallmark of Anasazi architecture. Through the National Park system and its publication, Cliff Palace is a familiar icon the world over.
Steeped in lonely grandeur, the Anasazi made a prodigious effort to build such a gorgeous place. Such beauty gains prominent recognition in my heart. As I watched swallows lazily flit around the Towers, I could almost imagine a baby on a kivas edge watching in delight. Perhaps a ceremonial dance is taking place. Turquoise pendants bounced and eagle feather headdress swayed to a drumbeat which echoed off adjacent walls.
Today, photographers seeking the magnificence of Cliff Palace must make special arrangements to gain access at Magic Hour. Yet, the charisma of Cliff Palace is undeniable. I tried to gauge the Sun's setting effect on the timing of one of those tours. At the close of the tour, I lagged behind to catch this image. Between dark shadow and nearly blown highlight, the raw image had that flat look shooters spend a lot of time enhancing. The ranger came back for me, patient, letting me take this final shot.

You are in Mesa Verde National Park, southwestern Colorado.

BistiArt > Sleepin' Ute Sunset
At first, your glimpse of a low, seemingly innocuous mountain range west of Cortez, Colorado, is not nearly as impressive as towering rockies north of Durango. Yet, one can see Sleeping Ute Mountain from a radius of 50 miles.
The Sleeping Ute is said to resemble a Ute Chief lying on his back with arms folded across his chest. The mountains were valued as a sacred place by the Ute Mountain Tribe. It still plays a role in their ceremonies as indicated by the “Sundance Ground”.
Sleeping Ute Mountain surveys lands inhabited between 600-1300 A.D. by some 200,000 Anasazi. These Anasazi were part of what's been called the Mesa Verde culture.
Sleepin' Ute Sunset was captured in Mesa Verde National Park one evening coming out of the park where the road begins to wind back down to the valley. The day had been cold and blustery, with high winds. A stray glance in the rearview mirror showed us the incredible sunset which seemed to highlight ancient Anasazi spirits literally dancing around Sleeping Ute Mountain.
Quickly jumping out of the car, opening the trunk where camera gear was packed, retrieving the camera, bracing the camera against the open, buffeting rear deck lid, we captured this gorgeous panorama.

You are looking across Mesa Verde National Park, southwestern Colorado.
Sleepin’ Ute Sunset received a Judges award from Enchanted Lens Camera Club, 2007.

Anasazi Pleasure
High on a lonely cliff, far from today’s civilization, this small cave seems hidden from destiny or change. Yet, habitation began over a thousand years ago. Ancient Anasazi built this small ruin on the northern limit of Mesa Verde culture.
Your eye seems to escape the cave’s confines, sneak past a solitary tower in the distance, and finally, land on a small white marker at the top of a distant cliff bordering the Green River.
The sense of uniqueness, the beauty of the landscape, even the trial of getting there ~ all conspire to make one feel the Anasazi consider this a holy place.
The image is a set of handheld panoramic captures. I first tried the merge in CS2; no luck. After watching them successfully merge in a friend's CS3, getting it on the desktop, that has made all the difference.

You are looking across Canyonlands National Park, southeastern Utah.
Anasazi Pleasure acquired an Honorable Mention in a Juried Competition at New Mexico State Fair, 2007.