The Sandbox (part 2)

In "The Sandbox" part 1, I was talking about my love for photography and how it keeps me coming back for more, like a child returning to their sandbox. Well, here we go again... I'm returning to my sandbox with another picture of an old truck. It's kind of funny in a way, but for me, these old trucks tell a story of how life was not too long ago. Maybe it was a harder life back then, or one of excitement and adventure, but whatever the case may be, there is a story to be found in these old cars and trucks of yesteryear.

The picture of the old fire truck (above) was taken some time ago at Goldfield Ghost Town, which is near the Superstition Mountains, just East of the Phoenix Valley in Arizona.

The Superstitions are another one of my favorite places to wonder around and explore through photography. I have shot there many times, everything from Landscapes to Family Portraits, and every time is like a new adventure, like a child returning to their sandbox.

Behind the Lens

Photography location: Tempe Center for the Arts. For this shoot, I had the opportunity to work with local talent, DJ (actor / model) regarding some portfolio work and head-shots. This was a fun shoot, DJ was easy to work with, the weather was beautiful and everything went smoothly. These are the kind of shoots we all strive for as photographers... the nice and easy ones!

The Sandbox

I shot this image a couple of years ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I’m not sure what it is or why, but there is something about this old bucket-of-bolts truck that I love. It’s not really a great shot, and there is nothing special about it, but for whatever reason I keep coming back to it. Over the past couple of years, I have reworked this image far too many times to recall, turning it from color, to sepia, to b&w, to canvas, and most recently… what you see now.

I have played with different layers, I have applied different textures, I had added simple effects, but in the end, no matter how I change and photoshop the image, it keeps me coming back like a little boy returning to his sandbox… and that’s the beauty of photography and artwork, it should keep you coming back for more.

Behind the Lens

On assignment and assisting my buddy / mentor, Ken Krehbiel (Imageworks Photography) on a commercial shoot in downtown Phoenix at City Hall. Ken asked me to stand-in on some test shots, above is one of these shots. It was hot and humid that morning with temperatures climbing to 105 degrees. By the end of the photo shoot, both Ken and I were drenched in sweat... I joke about it now, but I swear, I lost 5 lbs that morning and got really dehydrated.

Behind the Lens

The shoot location was a side alley of an industrial business park in Mesa. It was Saturday afternoon and things seemed nice and quiet. I canvassed the area and made sure if I shot there, we would not be in the way of normal business traffic. The set up and prep-work was easy; things were off to a great start. Half way through shooting, a police car slowly approached checking out what we were doing. I gave the officer a wave and he was on his way. About five minutes later the officer drove by again, even slower this time. It looked like he was on his CB radio; I figured he was running my license plate or something, no big deal, I continued shooting. The officer stopped his car for a brief moment, keeping a close eye on the photo shoot, the officer was still talking on the CB. I decided to go over and confirm with the officer that everything was okay. I started walking towards the police car when all of a sudden, tires starting squealing, lights and sirens were turned on, and in a cloud of dust the officer was gone. Looking back on what happened, I figure that the officer was doing nothing more that just watching the photo shoot when he received a dispatch call… funny though, at the time, it seemed like he was going to come over and ask us to leave, like if we were in the wrong for being in the back alley. HA!