Next week I start a new project: 6 Days of Canon 6D Shots from Route 66. Stay tuned for posts here on my blog. For this project, I am borrowing two Canon 6D cameras from BorrowLenses.com.
The project was inspired by my friend Glenn Taylor's images from a trip he took last year. Thank you Glenn for the inspiration.
Here are a few of my favorite Glenn Taylor images from his trip - along with a little write-up.
In February 2012 I went on a photographic journey along Route 66
from Albuquerque to Las Vegas along with Rob Knight and several other of my
Atlanta-based photo friends. Rob and Keith Mendel got the basic plan together,
we set dates that worked with everyone's schedules and flew out to meet up in
Albuquerque.
We spent the first night at the Monterey Motel, a classic Route 66
style roadside motel and they suggested we have breakfast in Old Town, a few
blocks away. The breakfast was delicious and we explored the area afterward on
foot. Most of it was little shops and restaurants, but we really enjoyed
shooting the San felipe de Neri Church right off the square. It was beautiful
with the morning light streaming over it and the interior had some interesting
statues and textures.
We then hit the road headed toward Holbrook, AZ. Along the way we
stopped whenever we saw something interesting. Old bridges from the heyday of
the highway’s glory to both handmade and official Route 66 symbols. Later in
the day we came across the remains of the Bluewater Motel.
The grunge and classic
design of this Bluewater Motel sign really caught my eye. I also loved the
complimentary blue and bright yellow colors along with the rust and geometric
shapes. You can just imagine how great this sign looked when it was first
installed and turned on.
Fast forward . . . The sun was starting to set as we pulled out of the park and we
were close to Holbrook and the Wigwam Motel. We made the choice to push on and
try to get there before the light was gone and get some photos. We got there
just in time to capture some beautiful warm light on these classic cars and
unusal little wigwam rooms. We made the decision to come out before dawn the next
morning and get some HDR images of this unique location.
The Wigwam Motel office and
classic cars at dawn. I shot this as a 5 exposure HDR with my Canon 24-70mm at
a medium length. I processed this in Photomatix Pro, finishing it in Lightroom,
NIK Color Efex and Photoshop.
Fast forward . . . We stopped in Winslow, AZ. You may recognize it from the famous Eagles' song. The corner is there in Winslow at the main
intersection in town. It’s a sight not to be missed.We pushed on toward
Flagstaff for lunch making a few stops along the way for abandoned buildings
and old roadsigns until we came to Two Guns. There is a lot of history here
dating back to the native Americans and on through to Route 66 when it was a
tourist stop with a zoo containing mountain lions. Nothing is left now but the
old stone structures but they make for some great images.
Left: Standing on the
corner in Winslow Arizona. The classic Route 66 emblem in the intersection
gives this a lot of interest. I shot this with my 24-70mm and finished it in
Lightroom. Right: Stone structures at
Two Guns. The textures here make some very textured BW images. I processed
these in NIK Siver Efex.
Fast forward . . . We stopped in Williams, AZ to Seligman,
AZ. There we met and spent some time with Angel Delgadillio. His barber shop
and his late brother’s roadside stand are not to be missed. They were both
instrumental in keeping Route 66 and its history alive, especially in Arizona.
You could not meet a nicer person than Angel. If you go make sure you buy a
shirt or hat and have him sign it for you. It was the only souvenir I purchased
on the entire trip.
Left: Angel’s barbershop is
covered in history and business cards from all over the planet from people wjo
have visited him and his beloved Seligman, AZ. I shot this with my Canon 35mm
prime lens using the natural light from the window. Processed in Lightroom. And
you may notice, that’s Angel as a young man straight out of barber school, in
the photo on the right hand side of the counter. Right: I took this portrait
of Angel with my Canon 70-300mm using the natural light from the window to his
left. He posed for as long as we wanted to shoot and then signed autographs for
all of us.. He’s an American original and made the trip something sopecial for
all of us.
Our next stop was Hackberry, AZ for sunset. Hackberry has a
little roadside store and grounds containing a wealth of old cars, gas pumps,
signs and general Route 66 goodness. We shot details shots while we waited for
the sun to drop, shot the sunset until dark and then headed to nearby Kingman,
AZ for the night.
Left: Detail of weathered
oil can on an outside rack. I took this with my 35mm prime at f2.8 for a shallow
depth of field and finished it in Lightroom with a slight vignette. Right: I like the
composition of this old Chevrolet looking across the highway to the mountains
and the setting sun. I shot this as a 7 exposure HDR with my Canon 17-40mm at a
wide view. I processed this in Photomatix Pro, finishing it in Lightroom and
NIK Color Efex.
Detail shots from around
the town of Oatman. The bar in the historic hotel has many, many bills covering
every wall and ceiling area. The shovel and barbed wire wreath hang on what was
once an old pharmacy among other things and was a location for a scene used in
the movie “How the West was Won."
Fast forward . . . We arrived in Las Vegas to shoot sunset and
have an end-of-the-trip dinner at a hip steak place that Rob likes to frequent.
A great meal with good friends topped off the end of our journey. It was a
quick four days, but we packed in a lot of shooting and some long-lasting
memories of the Mother Road.
Sunset on the Las Vegas
strip from the observation deck of the Stratosphere. The magnificent view and a
beautiful sky were only hampered by the no-tripod policy. I handheld this with
my Canon 85mm prime, opened up and at 800 ISO. I used the continuous mode on
the shutter, and steadied myself to try and make sure I got at least one image
in the sequence with little to no motion blur.
• • • • •
Thank you Glenn for a super post!
Glenn and I will be leading the Atlanta Digital Photo Experience Event next year. Hope you can join the photo fun. Info on my 2014 Workshops page.
Explore the light,
Rick
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