Slot Canyon Beauty

The slot canyons of Arizona and Uath are one of my favorite subjects to photograph. This one was taken in lower Antelope Canyon outside of Page, Az. The light levels tend to be very low so exposure times are long and a tripod is a must. My first effort of taking images in slot canyons was done on film. At least for me, it was always a matter of holding my breath until the film got back to see if my exposures where right. I now do mostly digital photography so you know what you got right away.

Urey Lemen

Aspen Light

After a significant amount of internal debate and digital alchemy (mostly cropping decisions), I have decided to use this image for the upcoming black & white show at the Albuquerque Photographers Gallery. I like the more open feeling and the shadows in this one and that tipped it for me.

I would explain how I did the B/W conversion, but since I use Nikon Capture NX for all of my RAW file development, I doubt that the steps would be beneficial to most who might read this. The software allows me to 'blend' the original (more yellow tones in the trees) to any degree, so I opted to leave a small part of the original colors in the image.

A New Gallery Member

Every now and then we, at The Albuq - uerque Photo - graphers Gallery, make a few changes. Members sometimes leave for a whole host of reasons. Long time member Val Isenhower left to devote more time to various projects. So a new member joined us. Her name is Melissa Lea. This is what she has to say about herself.

"Everyone is born with a gift from the Creator. My gift is interpreting the energetic spirit of nature through the art of photography. My photography takes a person visually to a certain place in nature. In turn, it takes one further spiritually to that place to experience its essence. I feel blessed to experience the beauty and wonder that surrounds me on a physical, spiritual and creative level. And, I am excited to share these experiences with others through my photography."

Melissa has traveled through Europe, Canada and The United States. When she travels in The US, she mostly travels the "Blue Highways" and has focused on "The Mother Highway," Route 66. Her images have been published in Route 66 Magazine and American Road Magazine.

Join us in welcoming our newest member, Melissa Lea, to The Albuquerque Photographers Gallery, located in the Poco y Poco Plaza in Old Town.

Our Guest Photographer - Bill d'Ellis

As some of you know, The Albuquerque Photographer's Gallery has a guest photographer program. A regional photographer is juried into the gallery for one month. The March guest photographer is Bill d'Ellis.

Bill and his wife moved to Albuquerque in 1987 from Bakersfield, California. Until late 2008, Bill and his wife owned a small real estate brokerage in the city. When they retired from the real estate business, they began pursuing photography and are both members of The Enchanted Lens Camera Club.

Bill says that "New Mexico is a wonderful place to live if you are a photographer and especially if your favorite subjects are scenics, landmarks and landscapes." His goal, he adds, is to find an capture a special scene that is bathed in the wonderful light found only in the "Land of Enchantment."

Bill's work will be showing at The Albuquerque Photographer's Gallery during the month of March. Come see his work and the work of the coop members.

The Eye

This is a shot from Lower Antelope Canyon outside of Page Arizona. I call it The Eye but it could also be called Birds Head. Slot canyons are one of those overshot icons of the Southwest but they are still a wonderful place to visit and photograph. The light is constantly changing not only during the day but by season as well. Upper and Lower Antelope are the two most famous slot canyons but there are numerous others in the Southwest. I have also visited Water Holes, Spooky and Peek a Boo. Give them a visit someday.

Urey Lemen

Route 66

One of my colleagues at the gallery and co-op suggested that I make more matted images of my Route 66 pictures because during her shift at the gallery some visitors had asked for matted prints of one particular image in various smaller sizes. I thought that was a good idea so I'll add a few new images to my collection at the gallery during the next week or so.

She suggested that I add pictures of the old hotels that dot Albuquerque's Central Avenue and that's also a good idea. Most of them are pretty worn. Their neon lights are broken or don't work at all, but they do reflect a bygone era when most travelers drove across country on the "Mother Road." In Albuquerque, Route 66 actually approaches and pass through the city from four directions; east-west, which is the route we typically think of, but also north - south from Santa Fe to the South Valley which was the pre-1937 route.

Even though I've photographed a lot of these old buildings, there's still lot's to photograph. Wish me luck.

Climbing Up

Copyright V. Isenhower Photography

Climbing Up is one of a series of ladder pictures I took at the Pecos National Monument. I wanted to tell tell a story of a journey. This picture was taken part way up the kiva ladder. At this stage in the journey the climber can see the sky, but still has to commit to finishing the journey. The floor is still closer than the top. Two questions this picture asks are, "What is at the top of the ladder?" and "Do I want to climb into the light or stay in the safety of the kiva?" This photo is one of 11 photos chosen to appear in the May/June 2010 issue of Alive Now, a devotional magazine published by Upper Room.