Sean Duggan Blog

Close to the Sea

Close to the Sea  [Canon 5D]
June 14, 2009  Monhegan Island, Maine
(click in the image for a larger view)

My poor neglected blog...
It's been nearly 3 weeks since my last post here. Oh well, that's what a crazy schedule will do to you. I have been slammed with work and continuously pursued by a posse of merciless deadlines since I last made an appearance here in Blog Land. Late nights, early mornings, copious amounts of coffee, lots of work and little time for anything else. 

Tweet!
In other news, I have joined the tweeting ranks on Twitter. I won't be posting bland remarks on what I'm having for lunch or broadcasting the details of mundane shopping errands (unless it's a particularly slow news day, that is). I'll be keeping most of my tweeting related to photography, art and where my travels take me in pursuit of those activities, photo and digital darkroom tips, creative insights, workshop news, curiosities observed and special offers that I may tweet about first before announcing them here or in my newsletter. If you care to follow me on Twitter, direct your browser to http://twitter.com/seandugganphoto

Newsletter
Along with my blog, my newsletter has also been much neglected of late and my apologies to those of you who have signed up but have yet to recieve your first issue. I am hoping to have the next issue out in about a week. There will be a special announcement in this issue, as well as a special offer for newsletter subscribers only. So stay tuned...the Newsletter Cometh!

Upcoming Workshops

Real World Digital Photography II
October 4 - 10, 2009, Maine Media Workshops
Click here for More Info

There are already some sign-ups so if you are interested, please inquire about registration soon. October is a beautiful time of year in Maine. The trees are turning color and there is a wonderful crispness to the air.

Following that, I'll be in southern New Mexico in early November for a 4-day workshop on creative collage techniques in Adobe Photoshop CS4:

Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop
November 5 - 8, 2009, Mesilla Digital Imaging Workshops
Click here for more info

Basement Windows

Basement Windows [Canon 5D]
St. Thomas, Nevada  March 5, 2009
(click in the image for a larger version)

Another view from my afternoon stroll through the ruins of St. Thomas. This is the only covered basement among the ruins...filled with dried silt and dirt.  See a previous post for more detailed information on this location.

Next Week in South Florida:
My next class on Selections, Masking & Creative Collage will begin on Monday, March 16, in Delray Beach, Florida There's still room if you want to sign up.

Selections, Masking and Creative Collage
Palm Beach Photographic Centre
March 16 - 19, 2009

I also have upcoming workshops in early April in Hawaii, mid April near Morro Bay, California, and late April/early May in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Check out my Workshops Schedule for more information.

A Reminder of Tree-Lined Streets

St. Thomas, Nevada [Canon 5D]
March 5, 2009
(click in the image for a larger version)

Another view from my afternoon stroll through the ruins of St. Thomas.  Before it was completely flooded by Lake Mead all of the trees were cut down do they would not be a hazard for boaters. A few skeletal stumps remain. See my previous post for more detailed information on this location.

There Once Was a Town...

The Path of Shells [Canon 5D]
St. Thomas, Nevada  March 5, 2009
(click in the image for a larger version)

There once was a town in Nevada named St. Thomas. It was located in an arid valley near the Colorado River about an hour's drive (in a modern car) northeast of Las Vegas. The life span of this small town filled the years from 1865 to 1938. In the mid 1930s as nearby Hoover Dam neared completion, the U.S. Government purchased the town and it's residents began to slowly dismantle their homes, pack up their belongings and move away. In 1936 the dam was completed and water began to fill the valleys, canyons, and flood plains behind it, creating Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake and reservoir in the United States. Two years later the rising waters had reached St. Thomas, gradually flooding the town, and on June 11, 1938 Hugh Lord, the last citizen, rowed away. Not long after, the town was completely covered by the waters of Lake Mead. It would eventually be submerged to a depth of 70 feet.

In the early years of this decade receding lake levels casued by years of severe drought and increased water useage by the nearby Las Vegas Valley began to reveal the ruins of St. Thomas. Today the town site is completely exposed, dry as bone and overgrown with thick stands of six foot high tamarisk brush. Narrow paths dotted with shells lead down into the former lake bed and every so often you come across the foundations of a home, a school, or a hotel. It is a strange and mysterious place, ruins from a not so distant 20th century, of a town sacrificed to the thirst and energy needs of an expanding population. In the coming days I will be posting a series of images from my visit to St. Thomas.

For the technically curious, the above image was processed mostly in Lightroom 2, with a little custom toning applied in Photoshop CS4.

National Park Service info on St. Thomas
Lake's Ghost Town Seen as a Warning  - Las Vegas Sun

Next Week in South Florida:
My next class on Selections, Masking & Creative Collage will begin on Monday, March 16, in Delray Beach, Florida There's still room if you want to sign up.

Selections, Masking and Creative Collage
Palm Beach Photographic Centre
March 16 - 19, 2009

I also have upcoming workshops n early April in Hawaii, mid April near Morro Bay, California, and late April/early May in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Check out my Workshops Schedule for more information.

End of the Line

End of the Line  [Bronica SQA]
August 9, 1992  Virginia City, Nevada
(click in the image for a larger version)

This is a new scan of a neg made back in 1992 in Virginia City, Nevada. Prior to this, the image has only existed on the original neg and on a contact sheet. It's part of my project this year to give some scan love to my substantial film archives from years past. I recently posted a short article to my main web site on this topic. Follow this link to read me about this and another of my 2009 Photo Resolutions.

Las Vegas and the Valley of Fire
I'll be in Las Vegas this week presenting at the DIMA (Digital Imaging Marketing Association) part of the Photo Marketing Association's annual conference and trade show. I'll be making a trip out to the Valley of Fire for a photo walkabout on one of the days of my stay.

Upcoming Workshops:

Selections, Masking and Creative Collage
Palm Beach Photographic Centre
March 16 - 19, 2009

**April Workshops in Hawaii:
Adobe Photoshop CS4: Restoration & Retouching Essentials
Adobe Photoshop CS4: Creative Digital Black & White
The Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop CS4
More Info

Secrets of the Mask: Selections & Masking in Photoshop CS4
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
April 18 - 19, 2009

The Creative Eye: Digital Photography & Digital Darkrom Essentials
Santa Fe Photographic Workshops
April 27 - May 1

 

Man with an Axe

Man with an Axe [Diana camera]
September, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

This was taken earlier in the fall at the Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley, California. One of the parallel attractions there was the Lumberjack Contest. The scene above shows one of the contestants standing on a board that he has inserted into a notch he has cut into the tree trunk. After notching the tree and inserting the board, he climbs on it and carefully balances while swinging away at the top section. This is repeated a couple of times as he moves ever higher on the trunk. You can see the first board he inserted a bit lower down on the tree trunk.

I have a few frames that I shot of this scene, but this one is the best. The strong foreground/background relationship between the spectator in the hat and the lumberjack creates was the most satisfying composition of the three frames.

Sacramento Workshop in January:

Photoshop for Photographers: The Basics
January 17 – 18, 2009
Click Here for More Info

Solar Assist

Big Hat  [Diana camera]

A scan from a slightly underexposed toy camera negative livened up with some fundamental tone and contrast modification, uneven sepia toning and a solar assist for special flare effects. The original scan is below.

New Workshop in February

On Feb 14 & 15 I'll be in Monterey, California teaching Photoshop Essentials for Photographers. More details coming soon!

The Gears

The Gears [ZeroImage 6x9 Pinhole camera]
October 10, 2008  Snake River Canyon, Southwest Idaho
(click in the image for a larger version)

This is a new image from my ongoing series Artifacts of an Uncertain Origin. It was made nearly two months ago when my brother and I made a trip to southwest Idaho. You can see a photo of the camera in action taking this image in a previous post (the gears are in place in that photo, but the camera is blocking the view of them). As I mentioned in that other post, I had first envisioned this location, an area where I had spent a fair amount of time in my youth,  as a "stage set" for one of my Artifacts photographs a few months before I knew that a family trip would take me here. It was creatively quite satisfying to be able to make the pilgrimage to this special place and finally create the image that I had imagined (though I envisioned this particular view of the landscape, I had not decided on the gears as the main players in the tableau until shortly before leaving for Idaho) .

Artifacts of an Uncertain Origin 2009 calendar

View the Artifacts gallery (though this image has not yet been added)

************
Coming January & February in Sacramento, California:

Photoshop for Photographers I: The Basics
January 17 - 18, 2009
More information about this class

Photoshop for Photographers II: Beyond the Basics
February 7 - 8, 2009
More information about this class

Coming this February in southern New Mexico

The Art of the Photographic Collage
Mesilla Digital Imaging Workshops – Mesilla, New Mexico
February 19 - 22, 2009
More information about this class

Water on Leaves

Water on Leaves  [Canon 5D]
November 12, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

Another exploration of the morning droplets on the field of leaves behind our house.
Ah, the glories of autumn!

Coming this January in Sacramento:

Photoshop for Photographers: The Basics
January 17 - 18, 2009
More information about this class

Small Silver Worlds

Silver Droplets  [Canon 5D]
November 12, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

I've been really enjoying our land this autumn. Until a few days ago, we had a fine multi-layered carpet of leaves covering most of the back garden area. Rather than jump right in with with raking, we decided to leave it for a while. Our motivation in this decision was no doubt influenced by the fact that finding time to devote to raking up prodigious piles of leaves was difficult to do. But the decision to leave the leaves was also influenced, at least on my part, by the fact that they looked so beautiful.

Upon looking closer one day (something that photographers should always do!) I saw a field of perfect dew drops scattered over many of the leaves on the autumn carpet. Seeing this close-up through the lens was like being tempted with delicious candy. One was just not enough! And so, over the course of several days, when the morning light was low and bright and golden, I found myself kneeling on the wet leaves in an old pair of knock-about blue jeans, and having a wonderful time exploring the close-up landscapes of leafland.

And while these images are wonderful in color, the traditional palette for autumn photography, and I may post some of those in the coming week, they are also quite interesting in black and white. I am always intrigued by interpreting a subject in black and white that would normally seem to be a perfect fit for color. There's a creative challenge there and exploring alternative ways to see the image is very satisfying.

Technical Notes: Although these are close-up views I did not use a macro lens, but instead relied on my Canon 24—105mm image-stablized zoom on a Canon 5D. All of the the processing was done in Lightroom,including some localized work with the adjustment brush to darken the background a bit.