Change

One of the things I love about photography is the constant innovation.  Since the advent of digital photography, it seems yearly that a new and improved camera comes out.  Adobe puts out new features to their program almost quarterly.  What took me days now takes a matter of minutes.  And with all this change much of camera work remains unchanged.  These technical aspects, Shutter Speed, F/stop, ISO work the same as they did with my first camera (Pentax K1000) when I was 14.

Here is another new innovation, a new website.  All of the blogs you might read dated before this one have been moved from my old website.  I have had websites and blogs in the past, but I was never satisfied with them.  I am so pleased with this website.  It allows me to market my skill set.  You will notice there are not just galleries of photos for sale but also photo albums of my commercial work. My blog is here also.  I have gone back and retrieved older blogs and included them here.  It allows me to have a one-stop-shop for anyone interested in any aspect of my photography.   And I have some help with it so I can do more photography and bug people less with my dyslexic tendency to mess up spelling and grammar!

Here is my first blog on the new website.  I am showcasing an old photo because I am giving away a larger version of this image on a canvas in celebration of this new kick-off of website, blog, and newsletter.

It is one of my all-time favorite photos.  For one it is of my favorite place, the 250-foot rock formation known as the Lighthouse in Palo Duro State Park.  It’s not just the image that is meaningful but the making of it.  I have some significant mobility issues from a back injury.  I can go, but I am slow.  The hike to the Lighthouse is 3.1 miles from the trailhead. Then the climb to where this image was taken was 300 foot or so.  Not only did I do it, but I did it caring about 50 lbs. of photography and camp gear to spend the night.  Add to the fact that for a year, I did tons of research to learn how to create night images.  So this image represents the graduation so to speak of that research and practice and a physical accomplishment that for some might seem simple for me took a lot of determination. 

The technical aspects of the image:  you are looking at 400 images shot sequentially.  Over a period of 4 hours.  In the middle of that I decided to try to get a selfie.  My camera was on a tripod and firing automatically.  So I walked up to the lighthouse and fired a flash right at my chest.  The result was one single frame with my 30 foot shadow which I layered in last.  Those 400 photos are blended and stacked in Photoshop.  The resulting one image was then cleaned up for noise and whatnot.  Just one image, but it represents hours of experimentation and practice.  House of prep time and a major physical accomplishment physically. 

I am on most social media.  I am going to try hard to make each social media different a bit so you don’t read the same thing over.  If you are on the web you can find me on:

My website: Jim Livingston Art Website

Facebook: Jim Livingston Art Facebook

Instagram for my normal art: Jim Livingston Art Instagram

Instagram Hot Air Balloons! Jim's Hot Air Balloons on instagram

LinkedIn: Jim's Linkedin