Back Home
August 2nd, 2008
I’m home again. Got here Wednesday night after two very long 12-hour days of driving. Other than being tiring, the drive home was uneventful after leaving Alliance and Carhenge. Now I’m just trying to catch up on all the things that went undone while I was away.
It was a fantastic trip, the best photo trip I’ve ever taken. Most of the credit for that goes to Brooke, who was a great model and comfortable companion for all those days. She’s a really fine person in addition to being beautiful and very talented and dedicated as a model. If you are a photographer who works with models you should work with Brooke. Seriously. She’s the best.
Of course thanks also go to RJ Berry, Blue Sheba and Kimothy who also made great contributions to the photos on this trip. They didn’t have to put up with driving for hours and hours with me in my little pickup truck, but the did do wonderful modeling work that produced some great photos.
There are many, many more photos to be edited out of this trip. I’ll most likely concentrate on that over the coming week, now that I’m getting caught up on other things.
This photo is from a spot we found while driving from Yellowstone National Park to Aspen. It’s just a place along the road. We pulled over because the sky was the “Magritte Sky” that I had been looking for. Yes, I brought a couple derby hats along on the trip looking for just this sort of situation to use one. Brooke did a great job, as always. There are lots more from this stop, so many that I may put together a small portfolio of them.
Carhenge is ruined
July 28th, 2008
One of the major goals of this trip I’m on was to finally shoot some figure photos at Carhenge. I’ve been a big fan of Carhenge since it was created in the early 1980s. I visited it shortly after it was built. Back then the creator was fighting off locals who wanted it torn down, calling it a “junkyard too close to the road” among other less polite things. It was a wonderful creation back then, eerie and mystical, sitting in a cornfield in Nebraska.
I was quoted in a national magazine calling it the most significant work of art created in America in the decade. I still believe that. What could be more American than to take an ancient mystical monument from England and recreate it in a cornfield using junk cars. It’s who we are.
A few years after my first visit I returned and found a Carhenge banner hanging from every streetlamp in Alliance. The people there had finally realized that for the first time there was a reason for people to visit their town. There are now a bunch of new motels and other businesses…most likely directly a result of Carhenge.
But soon the dilution of the original creation began. First there was an uproar about one of the most clever parts of Carhenge. Carhenge is aligned to the sun, just as Stonehenge is. As originally created, on the summer solstice the sun would rise directly below a Honda Civic. But some people were upset that there was a foreign car in Carhenge. Soon the creator removed the Civic and replaced it with an American car.
Next other artists wanted to add their own creations to the site. While I appreciate the art that has been added, each piece added has distracted from the mystical feeling of the original. Now the place is cluttered with other sculptures. The original purity of Carhenge has been lost to that clutter.
But, it gets worse. Originally Carhenge was screened from the highway by a nice little growth of trees. I once camped there overnight while my best friend, Ken, did photos throughout the night. Now all those trees are gone, replaced by a large parking lot. There is nothing screening the site from the road. A problem for figure work.
And, horror of horrors, there is now a building on the site, housing a large gift shop. Oh my. I knew that the ownership of Carhenge had passed from the creator to a foundation, but didn’t realize how harmful to the art work that had become. Also, there is now a sign saying the place is closed and trespassing is forbidden after 10 pm. Ahh, bureaucracy, rules, cheap junk sales…the death of art…the antithesis of the spirit that created Carhenge in the first place.
Well, Brooke and I went ahead and tried to make our own anti-establishment art in spite of the hindrances…it was less than totally successful, entirely due to the photographer…Brooke was great as always and working hard in a difficult and somewhat less than secure situation. I was struggling with technical difficulties. As a result there are fewer successful photos than there should be. But there are a few, and one of them is with this post. There may be more to come. But I doubt that I’ll ever return to Carhenge again. It ain’t what it used to be.
The photo part of the trip is over. Tomorrow I’ll drive Brooke back to her home and the next day I’ll drive on to my home. It’s been a great trip. It’s been the most productive photo trip I’ve ever taken. We went to some great locations, but the major part of the credit for the success goes to Brooke…a great model. Thanks Brooke.
Beartooth Pass
July 27th, 2008
I’m having a quiet day in Glenwood Springs today. A much needed rest and recharge day. Kimothy called this morning to say that she wasn’t feeling up to doing a second shoot today. All the posing and stretching had left her with some soreness that needed rest. And with the pace I’ve been keeping on this trip I welcomed the chance to just take it easy for a day.
Tonight Brooke is going to work with Joel. Then early in the morning we take off headed toward home. We’ll stop to do a shoot at Carhenge, then the trip will be over. I hope to have something pretty unusual to show from the Carhenge stop…but what I have in mind is a bit tricky, so I can only hope that it will work out. If it does, you’ll be seeing it here soon.
But for now here are a couple photos from earlier in the trip. These were taken at a lake up on the Beartooth Pass. That really is an amazingly beautiful road. That’s Brooke being beautiful in the top photo and the lovely Sheba in the one at the end of this post. You’ll need to click on this last photo to really appreciate it.
Aspen Independence
July 26th, 2008
Independence Pass that is.
This morning Brooke and I got up very early and drove to Aspen where we picked up Kimothy and then we all went up to the top of Independence Pass to do a few photos.
That’s Kimothy at the top beside an alpine lake near the top of the pass. I last worked with Kimothy in 2002 at the Wave on the Utah/Arizona border. She is a fantastic model and I’ve been trying to find a time and place to work with her again ever since that first shoot. Today it finally happened. I’ll be working with her again tomorrow. 
Brooke was modeling today too, of course, and did her usual fantastic job, as you can see in the second photo today.
Tonight we’ll all be meeting with Joel and his wife, Lili, in Carbondale for dinner. Tomorrow Brooke will be working with Joel while I work with Kimothy. No doubt there will be more to show you soon.
Red Rock
July 25th, 2008
Brooke had been saying on this trip that she wanted to shoot on some red rock. Well, she remembered a place…Red Rocks Park in Denver…so we went there at dawn this morning. There were a lot of people there, even that early in the morning. This place is really in Denver…or at least right on the outskirts. There had been a movie in the park last night and there were people out gathering up the trash left behind from that. Tonight there is supposed to be a concert by Abba, I think, and it looked like some of the concert crew were already at work.
But we found a place with no one around and did a few quick shots. I think it worked out pretty well, and Brooke now has some photos of herself on red rocks.
Tonight and for the weekend we are enjoying the hospitality of Joel Belmont in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. At dawn tomorrow Brooke and I will drive to Aspen to pick up an old friend and model for a day of shooting in the mountains. On Sunday Brooke will be working with Joel and I’ll work again with my old friend. Then on Monday we will take off for our next destination.
Washed Up
July 24th, 2008
Here’s Brooke doing some back bending modeling work in front of a waterfall at Silvergate:
Brooke by a brook
July 23rd, 2008
Well, it’s not really what I’d call a brook. More of a raging mountain stream. Another place that was within a short walk of our cabin in Silvergate. I like the way the water is becoming something of an abstraction, maybe even a sort of swirling cosmos or something. And I finally found a reason to use the 12-24mm lens that I carry around and pretty much leave in my bag. I think it works for this photo.
We all had a great time in Silvergate. More evidence to follow as we find opportunities for internet access. We spent one day in Yellowstone and took only tourist photos along with the thousands of other tourists who were everywhere. No way to shoot figure work there. Maybe some day I’ll go back and spend a week in the backcountry with a model…but probably not…I’m getting too old for that kind of trip.
We spent most of our time shooting around Silvergate and driving back and forth over the Beartooth Highway from Cooke City to Red Lodge and shooting along the way. We found some great locations. You’ll see.
The Log Cabin Cafe is still the wonderful place it was when I first discovered it 20 years or so ago. And their cabin was a great place to stay while we did our photo work in the area. I highly recommend it both for food and lodging. Check it out. They don’t have a web site, but you can find listings for them on line and you won’t have any trouble finding them if you get to Silvergate, which consists of about a dozen log cabins along the road.
Today we said goodbye to Silvergate and headed south through the park. We didn’t make great time and are spending tonight in Laramie, WY. Tomorrow we’ll drive to Ft. Collins, CO, and stop to take a look at the photo show at the Center for Fine Art Photography, both to see the show and to see Dave Rudin’s prints in the show. It’s a great thing for Dave R to be included in this show which was juried by Kim Weston.
After the gallery stop we’ll go on the Rocky Mountain National Park and try to find some places to shoot. We’ll camp for one night there and then go on to the Aspen area for the weekend.
There should be more regular internet access from now on, so expect more frequent postings since I have a lot of photos that I’m very happy with to show you. Brooke Lynne is a great model and Blue Sheba also did a great job hiking and posing and even getting into the freezing mountain stream at one point. Lots of photos to come as I get time to edit them and do posts.
Silvergate
July 21st, 2008
The truck is all fixed. We made it over the Beartooth Pass to Silvergate on schedule. It’s probably a good thing we didn’t follow the plan and camp at the Top Of The World Resort at the top of the Beartooth Pass. There was a motorcycle rally in Red Lodge, MT, last weekend. When we went by the Top Of The World on Saturday it was packed with bikers. Now I don’t mind bikers, being one myself, but that was not exactly the remote wilderness experience I was expecting at that location. So it’s just as well.
Best Laid Plans…
July 18th, 2008
Well, the air conditioner on my truck being broken is a bigger problem than I thought at first. Seems the bearing on the compressor has gone bad. That means it could seize up…will seize up at some point…and that would destroy the serpentine belt that drives all the other engine accessories like the alternator. So it has to be repaired.
That means spending tonight in the town of Buffalo, WY, instead of on top of the Beartooth Pass. The part is on order and the local mechanic will replace it in the morning at a substantial cost. There goes the budget for the trip. But it was going to break and have to be repaired anyway, and it didn’t strand me out on the highway in the middle of nowhere, so I’m not complaining.
Buffalo is a nice little town with lots of nice people. The hotel is very nice with a pool and hot tub. So life is fine. Tomorrow it should only take about 5 hours to drive to Silvergate, so there should still be time to stop on the Beartooth Highway for a few photos.
Meanwhile here are a couple of Brooke from our last evening of shooting in the Badlands. I thought those purple flowers were pretty and couldn’t pass up the chance to do a shot with them. And I thought it was time to show a closer photo of Brooke with the rock of the Badlands. Those rocks are very rough. Brooke has a bunch of scratches, but they are not real bad and should heal up quickly. She’s been doing a wonderful job and is just simply beautiful, so I’m very happy with what we’ve shot so far and I’m really looking forward to the mountains and waterfalls that we will be in for the next week.
Badlands Dawn
July 17th, 2008
Brooke and I were up at 5 a.m. today for dawn photos in the Badlands. It was worth it.
Tomorrow it’s back on the road. We’ll rise at 5 again and head out to drive up the Beartooth Pass. We plan to spend the night at a campground on top of the pass. The weather forecast for Cooke City, down off the mountain, is for a high of 70 and low of 40. It might be a little chilly up there.
Today was 10 degrees cooler than yesterday’s 95 degrees. That’s a good thing since the air conditioning on the truck died today. The compressor had been making some loud noise the day before, and this afternoon the output of cold air stopped. Since we’ll be in mountain high country for the next week or so, I’m not going to worry about getting it fixed until I get back home. I’ll just hope for no more 95 degree days on this trip.
Don’t know about internet access until we leave Yellowstone in about 5 days…but if I can get on line I’ll post more from the trip.
