Cal Rice Photography

Interpreting Images

Photographs may exist for several purposes.  Some images are to adequately document a trip or place to bring back memories for those who were there.  The pictures are not necessarily artistic but remembrances.  Some take pictures to share with others.  This may take the form of an album, slide show or prints to hang on the wall.  A third category is to artistically represent some person, place or thing.  Finally, there is the more abstract artistic image which may be not be recognizable, in terms of what the object was, but stands on its own as a piece of art.  Today I will share three such images.  I will also share what I see in the image, but you may see something completely different, and that is fine.  All three images were taken in Antelope Canyon near Page, AZ.

Star Trails Set in Stone

I find this image very peaceful.  My first interpretation was this appeared to be looking at star trails, that one might get with a long exposure photograph (on a clear night) with a hill or mountain in the foreground.  The North Star would be out of the image to the lower left and there would be a very low light on the horizon in that direction.  Another meaning to this picture, for me, is “Monk at Prayer”.  I see a Monk kneeling at the altar in the foreground with the sweeping cathedral arches in the background.

Petrified Mummy

It was only after altering this image to black and white that I saw the mummy image.

Rock of Ages

This formation near the end of Lower Antelope Canyon is one of my favorite images.  From a purely technical artistic standpoint the eye enters from the left and flows down the curves.  The bottom is slightly darker than the top of the image so our eye tends to move from darker to lighter – thus moving up through the image.  When we get to an edge we need something to keep our eye from flowing out of the image.  At the top, right where the image becomes lightest, there is a black rock (shadow) pointing down, right down the center “slide” of the image to take our eye back to the bottom again.  From an emotional standpoint I named this Rock of Ages from the old hymn of the same name; Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me, Let me hide myself in Thee.  These rocks have evolved over millions of years when this was under an ocean, a bog with dinosaurs walking through it (dinosaur prints are still visible in the area) and a tremendous upheaval.  So clearly this is truly rock of ages.  One definition of “cleft” is fissure.  Truly this is a fissure where the rock has opened up.  As I stood there all alone in the quiet canyon it was easy to think that this spectacular fissure was truly created for me.  Although I entered the canyon another way, a person could certainly descend into the canyon down this wall.  There are certainly opportunities to hide within this fissure.  The rock at the bottom provides a perfect hiding place.  Finally, considering the total hymn,  hiding behind the rock one can look up and see the heavenly light.

When you see a piece of art, especially if something about it appeals to you, take some time and think what its meaning is for you.

Horseshoe Bend

When a river carves a path similar in shape to a horseshoe, it often is called a “Horseshoe Bend”.  There are several of these on the Colorado and Virgin rivers in southern Utah and northern Arizona.  Over thousands of years when the river came to harder rock it would turn seeking softer rock to erode.  The first two pictures are of the Horseshoe Bend near Page, AZ.  It is only a couple of miles south of town.  There is a nice sized parking lot and then about a half mile hike to get to the river.  The view is from the top of a bluff, about 1,000 feet straight down.  The legs of my tripod were about 6 inches from the edge of the bluff.  I saw some people crawling on their stomach’s to peek over the edge and take their picture.  I have also known of people to crawl up to the edge and then hold their camera over the edge, but without getting their head out in the open space.

In the second image you get a better feel for the height by seeing the photographer up on top and close to the edge.  Color differences occur from shooting until dark one evening and then returning early the next morning.

The third image is from a different horseshoe bend.  This one is in Dead Horse State Park near Moab, UT and the Canyonlands National Park.

Dead Horse State Park

Antelope Canyon

Photographing in the slot canyons of southern Utah and northern Arizona is an amazing experience.

Antelope Canyon

People often say a picture looks better than the real thing.  In the slot canyons that is definitely true.

Antelope Canyon

The canyons are quite dark – most of my exposures were from 1/2 second to 30 seconds.  When it is dark our eye does not see color well.  However a camera, by using a long shutter speed can absorb color.  So, within the canyon, one may be able to tell whether the color of the rock is somewhat red, yellow or purple, the eye does not see the brilliance that can be captured by a camera.

Antelope Canyon

These images were recently captured in Antelope Canyon (both Upper and Lower) near Page, AZ.  The beauty of an image can make one forget that all of it is solid rock.

Flowing Water

1/60th of a second exposure

One of my favorite objects to photograph is flowing water.

We were at Drake’s Bay on the Pacific Coast at the southern end of Costa Rica.  The shore of the resort was rugged lava rocks.  By going out on the rocks one can watch the waves move by and then flow back into the ocean.

Here are two pictures; the first one taken at 1/60 of a second and the second at 2 seconds) taken at the same spot about three minutes apart.

Flowing Water - 2 sec. exposure

Using a fast shutter speed (1/100 of a second or faster)  freezes the water droplets in position. Using a slow shutter speed will show the flow of the water.  The slower the shutter speed the more it smooths out the water flow.

Spring Flowers

Spring is a time to get out the camera, take a walk and enjoy the new flowers.  Everywhere we have lived there always seems to be special wild flowers.  In addition, if you are lucky enough to be near a botanical garden, there are the wonderful planted flowers.  Recently I was at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska.  Last fall they planted 32,000 tulips which were now in full bloom.  As you walk through the area it is almost impossible to take a bad picture.  Some tips for taking even better pictures:

1. Include multiple colors
2. Make the lines of color run at an angle, rather that directly horizontal or vertical in your image
3. Look around the edge of the viewfinder to direct your attention to everything that is being included

May you enjoy the beauty of spring and capture it in some memory images.

Costa Rica Three Toed Sloth

Three Toed Sloth

Walking along a trail on the southern Caribbean cost of Costa Rica, I came upon this three toed sloth. Normally the sloth is high up in a tree and visible only as a hairy ball. This one, at my level, smiled and reached out his arm seeming to communicate with me and invite me into his world.
Via this web site I wish to invite you into my world. My world consists of images of nature, people and commercial work. More and more, my images are developed to stand artistically on their own, with less concern about documenting reality.
Before the invention of photography in the late 1830’s, many painters worked to document reality, whether it was a person’s likeness or some other scene. For the next 150 years the presumption was photography would be the documentation medium and painting would be the “creative/artistic” medium. The advent of digital photography and computers has opened the door for the photographic image to enter the “artistic” arena.
This web site is a way to show my work as well as share some of my thoughts and experience. By reading my blog I hope you are exposed to some useful photo techniques as well as share some of my passion for creating unique images.
If you are interested in purchasing an image, please contact me for availability and prices.