Jake Peterson’s Blog

Okay we didn’t break any law but it makes for a catchy title. It seems i can’t go without posting a series of Black and Whites from a ghost town or rustic building. I JUST GOTTA! Something about the area that forces me to think in such dimensions. In this particular case i was playing around with a giant drill, at least i think it was a on old giant drill, looking up at the gears in the inside of it. I actually pointed the camera straight up underneath it, at different angles to get this first shot. It turned out kinda cool so i did what no photographer likes to do, i laid down and shot up.

These other two were more selective but still fun. The whole idea is really the repetition in the gears and wood creating simple yet engaging patterns. I turned them into B&W’s because of the eerie feeling that comes from watching too many movies of old mine shafts and saw mills with zombies and ghouls and bodies getting cut in half, you know the typical horror youth stuff. What can i say I’m still a kid.

Anyways, black and white is a useful tool to use but it can be over used, it is for sure not for every image. The trick as with any image is when it right to be used, when does it help communicate what needs to be said. I chose it for these three because the gears are representing an old technology just like black and white photography was at one time the only type of images able to be captured. Now of course it also has to do with the simple fact that i just liked them with no color and saw them in my head before i took them that way. Just more to think and play with….hmmmm me thinking scary.

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

One of the large beliefs is that when it is the middle of the day and the light is considered harsh, it is best to not shoot. Well this isn’t true. Mid day light can be used just as long as one is aware of the higher contrast, stronger shadows and of course the dreaded blinkies. Being more selective and working around these elements can led to some great shots. For instance this shot above was taken in full sun light, the white medal of the scrap piece on the left is somewhat lost information but still understandable, and the shadows haven’t taken away any critical information. In this shot i’m actually making it more intense to give it that hot, bright day with a heat shimmer coming up off the ground look. If you’re shooting in midday light make the scenario work around that light.

Rustic buildings are always something i like to work with. Being up in Montana i have the chance to work with a lot of ghost towns and mining towns, but the trick is finding the buildings that actually have interest to them. The one above here caught my eye because of the buckets below it. Now all the buildings have the same wooden slat sides and well it’s nice but not really interesting outside of just being a pattern. The buckets and window break it up. What got me wondering about this wall was the window seal wasn’t under the window nor were the buckets. So i was curious what were they used for or why put over there? Simple little items make all the difference.

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

The mercantile store wasn’t the only place of interest at Law, the entire museum has a huge collection of vehicles and trains that are fun to play with. Something that needed to be taken into affect was we got there at 10:00 and the light outside was harsh. It was kinda funny too, we were expecting a big storm to come through that morning and instead we ended up with no clouds but clear skies. This Plymouth in front of an old gas pump caught everyone’s attention. The challenge was getting the information in the car and buildings to show due to them being back lit. Dad played around with HDR’s while i went with a more straight shot approach. To be honest the car wasn’t as interesting to me with the lack of clouds, i was looking for something else at the train station. So i’ll go back to the car later.

Whenever i go to a train station or train junkyard, i’m always on the look out for that tunnel view shot. Since trains cut through the landscape, travel through tunnels and are longer than the eye can see; it just seems to make sense that the image to captivate that motion and machinery is in the same feel. This one is closer to what i was looking for but still not right. This was taken inside one of the train cars that we were allowed to walk into. The only light sources in this car were behind me and in front of me, so the car seemed to emulate that tunnel it had to go through at some point with the light in front and at the end.

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

As I’m sure you all realize by now, one of the best parts of the holidays is getting to together with friends and family. Jeff Cable and his family came up as they usually do around the holidays and of course Jeff wanted to go out shooting, which is good for Dad and me cause it gets us out of the house and gives us a chance to explore the Sierra’s some more. Dad of course knowing the Sierra’s so well already recommended we head down to Law’s Train Museum which I had not been to in years. One of the really cool things about the museum is that we can go into the buildings and see some of the authentic gear and items from the 1800′s.

The first building that we went into had a number of odds and ends mostly cause it was a general store at one point. There were two pairs of shoes in the store that caught my interest, the baby shoes up top and the boots on the bottom.  One of the issues that presented itself at the start was we were shooting inside with very little light. There was enough to get sharp images but everything had a dull tint to it that i didn’t like. So by switching white balance from auto, which i normally shoot at, to cloudy the temperatures warmed up and a more warm look was exposed. The shoes themselves were more intriguing to me because of the story that they told. How many kids wore those shoes and walked the streets of this ghost town before they even knew where they were. How much mud and sweat went into these work boats as they went through their daily routine. As i looked at these shoes i wondered what other stories they held and how our shoes will be measured once behind glass.

Images captured with D3, 70-300 AF-S VR, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, SB800, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

Every year seems to go by faster and faster. In September i was wanting the semester to be over and now here i am sitting in my living room back home. I’ve only been home for a few days and so much has happened. Between catching up with the family, spending time with the big Sis, skiing and of course playing in the snow, there just hasn’t been time to go out shooting. I didn’t want to leave things hanging after my last couple posts so i went out and played with the snow on the trees and icicles on the branches. I’ll probably get out more after the holidays which of course means more blogging to come.

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

WOOT! It’s the last day of the semester, my one and only final will be done with today and then it’s homeward bound. It’s been a long and somewhat miserable semester academically so i thought i would bring a more comical and uplifting note to it by showing this shot of one of my grizzly friends from Brooks. I can’t forget this big guy because he was the only bear up there that sat in the middle of the base of the falls and starred at the salmon. He was also a rather large older looking fellow. I like how he sticks his foot out, reminds me of Winnie the Pooh. Here’s to one semester down and one hopefully long winter break.

Image captured with D3, 600f4, TC-14e, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

I realize it’s a bit late in the week to blog but that’s how it goes sometimes. I think I’ve been enjoying the time off from classes a little too much and got behind on posting. I did get out this past weekend but as it goes with photography i got skunked. It happens it quite often and there’s really nothing that can be done about it. Well that doesn’t stop me. Since i was going through images before i head home for my break i ran across this one from Yellowstone. I never could get enough of that frost on the pine trees. Of course the snow only looks like that after a good storm, it melts and falls off soon afterward.

Images captured with D2Hs, 70-300 AF-S VR, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

It has finally come done to the last week of classes and I am super excited. Yesterday was the last day of projects for me which means all i have left is one annoying final. Happy, happy, happy. This also means that this weekend i can go out and shoot as much as i want wihtout the thought of having to get back early for school work. I thouhgt i would share my excitement by posting this shot of a couple Red Fox pups at there den up in Alaska. They were very playful one evening and between the bear shooting Dad and I were doing, we photographed them. They were amusing, quite a challenge to keep a straight face while watching them play. Even now while writing this i can seem them jumping on mom wanting here to play too.

Images captured with D2Hs, 600f4, TC-14e, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

However upsetting the tittle might be, i am actually referring to the weather. It’s finally that time of the year again when the temperature drops and the snow never melts. Today was a cold day well into the negatives and it never warmed up. With the end of the school year approaching, my time for going out and enjoying the area is limited. I thought i would show these two images from Yellowstone since i was thinking about the natural patterns made in the snow.  A simple shot with a simple b&w conversion done later.

This obviously isn’t about the snow but more about the current and bubbles in the water. It was the division between the dark and light almost right down the middle that made this really interesting to me. Even natural it would seem, has a evil and a good side. I would do my scary laugh now but I’m tired.

Images captured with D2Hs, 300f4, on Lexar UDMA Digital