This past weekend, I participated in the Boulder Fall Festival which is my final art show of the year.  It was great to meet many of you at the various shows which I did this summer and fall, and thank you for all of your comments regarding my work.

If you did not get a chance to stop by a show this year, my work will be at gallery nrc during the month of October.  This Friday will be the First Friday Art Walk, so if you are in the area please do stop on by the gallery.

I am also starting to look at shows for 2011 and will make an announcement during the spring once I know the schedule of shows.

In late 2008 I did some scouting of locations near Denver International Airport, and in December headed out to one of those locations with a photographer friend.  Parked on the side of the road we watched the aircraft depart after dusk on a mild evening.  As the aircraft took off we photographed trying to catch the lights of the plane go through the night.  One of the issues is that after sunset most of the aircraft depart to the west.  Where we were located if the aircraft would take off on the south runway, it would usually turn to the west prior to reaching our location.

After some time, I was getting ready to give up when an aircraft started a turn to what it looked like could be to the southeast and near our position.  Quickly adjusting the camera, I open the shutter and started counting the number of seconds.  I wasn’t sure when the aircraft would be out of the frame, but once it was even with me I knew that was more than enough.  With the 45 second exposure the light from the airport illuminates the bottom of the clouds which were present in the distance.  Also at that length of exposure you start to get slight movement from the visible stars.  The amount of movement of the stars depends on their distance from the north star.  I wasn’t sure at that time if this image would be the one I was hoping to obtain, but once I got home I knew this would be a keeper of an Aircraft Departing.

If you are thinking of taking a similar type of photograph please consider the following items prior to heading out:

• Be a safe distance from the airport as there are many security concerns these days.  A safe distance may help with some of those matters, but do be smart about your location.
• Respect private property.  If there is a fence don’t jump it or sneak through an opening.  If you would really like to access some property in order to photograph especially in a farm area inquire ahead of time and be honest with what you are looking to do.
• Be a safe distance off the road.  For this photograph we were not near a busy road, but one with a high speed limit.  Make sure that you are well off the road with your car and self. Additionally don’t position yourself just over a hill as drivers will not see you until they are close. If you can, use the car to also protect you from oncoming traffic as well as light pollution.  Normally I will be parked on the shoulder and photographing further down so I am not next to the car, however in a location where it can help shield me if needed.  Also know the law for area and if a reflective vest is needed where you are photographing.
• Dress for the time of year.  After a while it may start to get chilly being in one location.  Have additional layers of clothes available to add if needed or be ready to call it an evening if you are not prepared for the weather.

Have you photographed anything with paints a line in the night, or know of anything else to try with a long exposure?

Last week in Behind the Picture, I featured Snowy May Day which is a photograph of a tree in Denver’s Washington Park.  This week the same tree is featured however with a little different look.  You may recall the original image was in May during a late snowfall and it showed the grass in various locations.

In early 2009, after an overnight snowfall I decided to revisit the location in Washington Park and capture the same tree but in a different season.  Arriving before dawn, I made my way over to the location on the slick snow and ice and set-up for the image.  Once I captured the same image as before, I decided to move around a little bit to try a few different perspectives.  One challenge in this was to not create too many tracks in the snow as I was not sure if a shot would be using the snow in one location as an element to the picture.  As I moved to the right, I liked having the boat house in the image and worked to capture the stillness of the morning.  As people were out jogging and walking in the park, bringing in the tracks along the bottom of the frame became an important element as well as capturing the motion of the ducks.  This motion from the ducks helps convey the time element of the Morning in Washington Park.

Thank you for everyone who stopped by the Downtown Boulder ArtFair, Highlands Ranch Arts Festival and Evergreen Arts Festival the past couple of months.  It was great to meet everyone who stopped by the booth and talk about the images on display.

I have added an additional show to the schedule for the month of September in Boulder which takes place on September 25th and 26th (Saturday/Sunday).  The Boulder Fall Festival is located along the Pearl Street Mall and features “food, brews and music with the added excitement of a Children’s Carni­val and more than 30 artisan booths.”

I do hope to see you at the festival in a few weeks.