Needles Highway

I've never been to Laughlin, Nevada before.

I know many Southern Californians frequent the resorts there because it's positioned just on the other side of the California/Nevada border. So it moves legalized gambling two hours closer than a trip all the way to Las Vegas. But since I don't gamble, I never had a reason to visit.

That is, until my niece decided to get married there. Laughlin is a central meeting point for the families that live in Flagstaff, Phoenix, and parts of So. Cal. Basically it's a 3-hour drive for all of them. Me, being the odd duck in Northern California, had a 10 hour journey to the Aquarius Casino standing alongside the Colorado River.

The first part of the trip was a familiar drive south down Interstate 5. I know that route well, and even enjoy it. I tend to shoot along the way, such as my ongoing collection of highway overpass shots.

But then I had to head east instead of my normal bend to the west. And this, at the 9 hour mark, is when I was introduced to Needles Highway. The fact that a two-lane desert road with a faded yellow stripe down the middle can be called a highway is humorous. The 108 degree afternoon heat added a bit of surrealism to the adventure. Asphalt undulations up and down peppered with jack rabbits gave me the feeling of driving through a chapter of Abbey's Desert Solitaire.

Then, without warning, the road became perfectly smooth. No more potholes. The rumbling in the car cabin quieted. And the road widened. I had crossed the border from California to Nevada.

It was startling how different the two realities were. And it all had to do with funding and attention to detail. Even the searing environment of the southwest desert can be mitigated if desired.

Not long after crossing the border, I parked the Audi in a multi-story garage and rolled my suitcase and camera bag to the casino. I had a lot of work ahead of me. Weddings are complicated to photograph.

Thank goodness I had been paying attention to the details of the event. And because of that preparation, I anticipate a smooth ride.

That is, until I depart the Aquarius Casino and cross the border on Needles Highway.

-Derrick

The Cycle

I was reading a blog post on Photo Shelter about bicycles at Burning Man. There were lots of great shots of owners with their wheels. At one point the author wrote something like, "San Franciscans have an ongoing love affair with their bikes."

Yes, he made a jump there somewhere, but I just rolled with it.

I would expand that statement to all of Northern California. Practically everyone I know has at least one bike, and most of them ride regularly. I have a 2006 Marin Redwood 22 at the studio that's perfect for errands and shopping. 

Hanging upside down in the garage at home is a 2008 Cannondale Bad Boy XL that I've modified  with 700c knobby tires and comfy palm rests. Indeed I'm smitten with both vehicles. The Cannondale is one of the last models still made in the U.S. before production was moved to Asia. It has a small American flag embossed on the frame.

The fact that I know so much about each of these models speaks directly to the love affair. But why do we care so?

It's actually hard to explain. I think it has something to do with life in Northern California. The combination of beautiful weather, outstanding scenery, and mind-numbing traffic are the perfect ingredients for cycling. Once I park the car in the garage at the studio, I don't use it again other than to go home or drive to a business assignment. Everything else is on foot or by bike.

I don't shoot while riding, but recently I've mounted an Olympus Air on the handlebars of the Marin Redwood. I've done so because in the past I've missed some shots because I didn't want to retrieve a camera out of my backpack. Now, it's right there. And I anticipate that I'll be posting images on Instagram from my daily riding.

All of that being said, there's still one more aspect to this passion: freedom. When I'm riding, I only depend on my two legs to get me there. I'm not beholden to oil companies, monthly payments, expensive repairs, or rush hour traffic.

I firmly believe that people who love their bikes also love their independence. And when you get right down to it, few things feel better than that.

-Derrick

The End of Photo Help Desk

A reader wrote to me the other day asking, "Derrick, I'm wondering why you stopped doing 'photo help desk'? It was a great idea!"

Even though I appreciate his comment, as it turns out, Photo Help Desk was a fair idea at best. My original concept was based on the notion that if one person had a question, that hundreds of others were wondering about it too. So by posting and answering these technical queries, we could build an audience who were interested in photography problem solving.

Plus these questions and answers would appear in search engine results, bringing new people to the site. And if things really got cooking, readers would add their wisdom via the comments, thereby making Photo Help Desk a valuable online resource.

Unfortunately, none of that happened.

The reality was that people were generally only interested in their specific questions, and not the site as a whole. So the exercise devolved into the very interactions that I was trying to get away from, which is me answering emails one-on-one about specific photography problems.

And with no measurable site traffic, there was no hope for any sustainable revenue model to support it. Things being the way they are, if there's no revenue, I can't afford to do it.

I have left Photo Help Desk online, at least for another year. There's a lot of helpful information there that I want to continue to make available. And I will still answer questions to the site as I have time. But for all practical purposes, we're closed.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still glad I tried it. Every new venture teaches me a bit more about the online business world. And I certainly gleaned a few lessons from PHD. The most valuable being, that tech support is a very personal matter.

-Derrick

Clumsy Photographers

Photographers should be reporting the story, not creating it. But my word, we have been in the news a lot lately.

The latest episode was when Usain Bolt [was] Floored by Segway-Riding Cameraman.  The fastest man in the world run down by an out of shape journalist. Thank goodness he wasn't seriously hurt. Add this reported incidents of shooters causing bike racing accidents, damaging precious objects, and being disruptive in general.

The first rule of medicine is to do no harm. I think we should adopt this for our craft too. Being nimble (and aware) while we work to ensure that we don't get the shot at the price of others.

I'm always touched, and a little embarrassed, when I notice that someone on the street has stopped while I take a picture. They didn't want to ruin my shot. When I lower the camera from my eyes and see them patiently standing there, I immediately wave them through and thank them for their courtesy. For the rest of the day I make sure I'm extra aware of those around me.

If I'm wearing a backpack, I'm quick to remove it when entering a train, tram, or bus. And I try never to block anyone's path with a tripod.

I talk a lot about nimbleosity from the photographer's point of view. Traveling light has many benefits for us. 

But I also realize that stepping lightly through the world as I photograph it is a kindness to others.

As we used to say in the wilderness...

Leave only footsteps and take only memories.

-Derrick

Reinvent Again

"So, what are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet," I replied while tugging on my left sock that was already straining against its heel. "But I'll think of something."

On this day, if you were to ask me what the most important ability was to survive as a sole proprietor, I probably would have replied, "the ability to reinvent oneself."

This is a challenge that makes many folks uncomfortable. For example, If your idea of a job is to log 8 hours a day, then collect checks on the 1st and 15th, then running a business probably isn't for you.

I know a lot of people say, "If I just had that one great idea, then I'd be set." How about 10 great ideas? Because that's what you're going to need to make a career of it, that is, unless that one idea is really, really good.

Case in point: Steve Jobs co-founded Apple and has 5 amazing revelations attached to his name: the original Mac, the iMac, iPod/iTunes, the iPhone, and the iPad. All of them were refinements of existing technology. Dare I say reinventions? Steve was fired from Apple after the Mac, resurrected himself twice (NeXT and Pixar), before returning to Cupertino for four more curtain calls.

So what's a guy like me, who doesn't have a Thomas Edison lightbulb glowing over his head, do to stay in the black? He constantly creates.

I was in the audience when Steve Jobs debuted the iMac. Apple was on the rocks at the time. The economy was bad. I'll never forget what he said that day.

"We are going to innovate through this recession."

I loved that. No excuses, no whining. It was the only game plan that made sense. I have all sorts of variations on this theme, such as: "When the going gets tough, the tough innovate." And of course, there's the classic, "Innovate or die."

There's a reason why I'm bringing this up. Once again, there are changes in the wind. I'm not going to let them blow me over. Instead, you'll be seeing new ideas coming from me soon.

"Are you worried?" she asked.

"Actually, I'm not."

-Derrick