A.D. Drumm Images, LLC – Landscape, Portrait, and Fine Art Photography in Rochester MN Photography

September 13, 2010

Red Rock Canyon

Filed under: Beautiful Earth — Tony Drumm @ 7:32 pm

While I was in Las Vegas for Photoshop World, I decided to stay an extra day and maybe see some sights or go to a show. I did both. I’ll post later with some shots from the strip, but on Saturday morning, I did a tour of Red Rock Canyon with Pink Jeep Tours. They picked me up at the Mandalay Bay, then stopped for two couples at another hotel, then off to the canyon. I was happy to find the tour lobby in the hotel, so I was read when they arrived.

There are tons of tours available through Pink Jeep and a host of other tour providers. The Grand Canyon is popular, but I decided against that. I visited the canyon a long time ago, and it really isn’t all that close to Vegas. That means a long bus ride there and a long bus ride back. But the worst thing for a photographer, we’d be visiting the canyon right in the middle of the day. I want to visit the canyon again, certainly, but I’d like to be there for sunrise and sunset, and on my own terms. So that will wait.

Red Rock Canyon is actually fairly close to Las Vegas. They offer morning and afternoon tours, and I opted for the morning tour hoping the light would be a bit more reasonable than midafternoon. A few hours earlier would have been better for the photos, but it wasn’t bad. Regardless, I was able to enjoy being out in the desert and away from the bright lights and clanging casinos. Did I mention the high temperature was 108F that day? Yeah, but it’s a dry heat! Actually, it was tolerable and probably a bit cooler than that being morning and being a bit higher in altitude the Vegas.

Debbie, our guide, told us this is a desert oak tree and said there are actually acorns that grow on these small trees. Sure enough, I saw a few acorns and was able to capture this one. I think it’s interesting that they grow upward. The leaves are small but do have that distinctive oak leaf look. Debbie mentioned that many folks mistake this plant for Holly.

As we traveled along the one-way road through the canyon area, I spotted this seemingly out-of-place vehicle. A sports car, an SUV, a family car – all would be expected. A white stretch limo just doesn’t look right in this picture! I doubt the driver of the limo explored the same unpaved road we did.

One of my take-aways from Photoshop World is embrace the light. This is something of a philosophy I want to become part of my photography, and it basically means take the light as it’s given, don’t complain, don’t stop shooting. Use it and make it your own. One couple from the tour climbed this rock and posed for Debbie to take their picture. I swung around so I was shooting mainly into the sun and captured this image. I’m pleased with it, and might never have tried without this new found thinking.

I hope I never stop learning or trying new ideas.

September 7, 2010

Photoshop World – Vegas 2010

Filed under: General photography — Tony Drumm @ 9:49 pm

I’m still recovering, as it were, from my first Photoshop World. Recovering means trying to digest and process the information and inspiration packed into my head during four days in Las Vegas. I started out taking a six hour pre-conclass (the day before the official start of the conference) on wedding photography by David Ziser. David is a renowned wedding photographer and recent author of the book, Captured by the Light. His focus for classes, tutorials, and his book is primarily how to achieve great lighting. His portfolio speaks for itself.

The plethora of amazing photographers all gathered in one place, showing their techniques and points of view is awesome. It’s also interesting to compare their approaches. Their emphasis can vary quite a lot, but in all cases, the ability to interpret, control, and record light in a manner that matches their vision is foremost. I’m still processing the insights imparted by these legends.

The conference is put on by NAPP. The NAPP president, Scott Kelby, is a musician as well as photographer and Photoshop guru. (See my links in the sidebar to both Scott and NAPP.) Scott’s band, Big Electric Cat, opened the festivities on Wednesday and provided the entertainment at the PSW party that evening. I enjoyed their music, but maybe enjoyed shooting tons of photos of the band even more. Two or three of the shots of Scott show him looking right at me, but I don’t know that he actually saw me shooting away through the lights.

With my love of theatre and doing show photos, this isn’t a huge stretch for me, but it’s super fun to see if I can catch a moment here or there, like this next shot.

Scott’s wife, Kalebra, is the lead vocalist. I have quite a few decent shots of her, but catching this glance over at Scott – the look on her face and in her eyes – this is “the shot” for the night. A moment in time captured. It’s what shooting people is about. Emotion.

As you might guess, PSW is not all about classes and work. All these artistic-types know the importance of laughing and having fun. The keynote and the party were great fun. The classes were, too, in their own way. 

Midnight Madness, a get-together Thursday night at 10 PM,  lived up to its name and the guarantee that attendees would not learn a thing about Photoshop there. I have to say I loved all the cheesy contests and shenanigans. I often think it must be a blast working on David Letterman’s or Jon Stewart’s shows in the art departments, putting together the graphics and Photoshop work, even when it appears on air for just seconds. The NAPP folks who worked on Midnight Madness must have had a blast, too.

Yes, lots of fun. I really did attend classes, too, though! I just didn’t take photos. I needed to keep my attention on the instructors to absorb all I could in the one-hour sessions. Oh, and the Expo – where the vendors hang out and where attendees like me tried not to drool too much. But I’d rather drop a few bucks there than in the slots down the hall in the casino. I like the odds. Spend carefully, and the return on the investment could be good indeed. If not financially, then artistically.

August 26, 2010

Dani’s Senior Pics

Filed under: General photography,Portraits — Tony Drumm @ 9:05 pm

Children grow up, don’t they? A high school senior is nearly an adult, and senior portraits seem to provide a glimpse into the subject’s adulthood. Dani was a great subject, in part because of all the ideas she brought to our shoot. I’d take her ideas and try to make them happen. This shot was my favorite of the day. I knew it would be my favorite as soon as the viewfinder met my eye. Wow! I can remember when Dani was born, and here she is a woman. Where does time go?

But a high school senior is still a child, too. And, she’ll hopefully keep that spirit for a very long time. Adulthood isn’t always easy or fun. We need to jump with joy when the moment is right. Everyday life doesn’t need to be constantly serious.

When I pick up my camera, I think I feel a bit like this. I forget everything else, any problems and worries, and just try to make a good photograph. I think this is a value of art that we don’t often consider. It’s a meditation of sorts – it clears the mind, it frees us from the world beyond ourselves and our subjects.

Controlling the light is so important in a shoot like this. Even with the sun fairly high in the sky, we can use shade, reflectors, and speedlites to bend the light to meet our need. Post-production tools help, too, but can only polish the light the camera saw.

I had a few of my own ideas going into this shoot. Knowing we had a Ferrari available, I saw this shot in my head when I was scoping out the Plummer House. Danielle was game for it and gave me the attitude I thought appropriate for this shot. I was thinking this was a woman ready for a night on the town – a mansion, a super car, a gown, yeah – let’s go.

And some shots just show us a girl in transition to a woman. Older girl? Younger woman? Here you can see both people in one photo. And I’m happy to play a small role in capturing this time in this young woman’s life.

August 15, 2010

Toby and Katie get married

Filed under: General photography — Tony Drumm @ 2:14 pm


This weekend, I’m in Columbia, Missouri for my nephew’s wedding. While they hired a local photographer for the day of the wedding (which is actually today!), I’m going to bring some of my gear to the event for sure! Yesterday was the rehearsal of the ceremony which will be taking place outside.

The site is a vineyard along the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, as you can see in some of these shots. There is a nice spot set up for weddings with paving stones for the walkway and the area for the bridal party. Here is a shot looking down toward this spot from the main building.

Katie and her dad are marching down the aisle. Weather is always a factor for outdoor ceremonies. With our recent heat and humidity in Rochester, I was wondering what we’d have here in Missouri. The temps were about 10 degrees higher than Rochester with as much or more humidity. The rehearsal was what I’d call sweltering. But the entire wedding party seemed to take it in stride.

I seem to be taking a lot of photos outside in the middle of the day lately. And, as I’ve mentioned too many times, the light is just not great for photography. But Lightroom helps me even things out a bit, and the noise performance of the 5D MkII helps, too. I’ve been using my 24-105 EF-L f/4 lens a lot since I bought it, and I’m liking it. It helps having such a photogenic couple, too!

During the rehearsal, I saw a photo of the couple standing with the river gently framing them. So, I asked Toby if I could take some shots after the rehearsal was done. I let them cool off inside first. Most everyone was dripping with sweat – except Katie, for some reason! I brought a portable round diffuser which we used to tone down the sunlight, and captured the top photo above of the couple. This shot is Toby and his big sister, and I loved their expressions. What great kids! Kids – yeah.

The building overlooking the ceremony site has a couple stories with walls of windows. They provide some nice light inside, but they’re mirrored and block a lot of the sunshine. Still, there were some moments and willing (or more than willing) photo subjects. A youngster in some soft lighting is always a shot worth taking. A nice expression, head cocked to the side, and who couldn’t take a great photo?

We all stopped for lunch after we were done at the vineyard. This shot involved a mix of ambient light and flash. Shooting the flash back off the upper wall behind me produced a pleasing butterfly lighting pattern which works well on such a young face. These brothers love having their pictures taken and want to see the result on the LCD. I, in turn, love practicing my craft with such willing subjects.

Sometimes, you get the shot you have in your head. That’s a feeling that’s hard to beat.

August 7, 2010

The Olmsted County Fair

Filed under: General photography,Rochester — Tony Drumm @ 9:03 am

Olmsted County Fair (click for more photos)

 I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, home of the great Ohio State Fair. When I was young, I took art lessons from an artist down the street. It was fun, and one thing he always had us do was enter our artwork in the fair. So, I would go to the fair every year and visit it multiple times since we had to take our work there and pick it up. I also learned to enjoy aspects of the fair apart from the rides (which, by the way, I did enjoy) and the Grandstand.

An aside: For a time, the Ohio State Fair raised the entry fee, but made the Grandstand free. During that time, I saw some very cool acts: Hermin’s Hermits, The Association, Rare Earth. Just had to arrive early!

I dropped the lessons as I got older, but once I was driving age, the Fair would be a fun thing to do on a steamy summer evening. I learned all the back ways to the place and could almost always avoid much of the traffic. It would be easy to visit the fair two or three times during its run. I would always visit the fine arts building, see what the current crop of kids were doing as well as the professionals. I’d look up what my old art teacher had submitted that year. I learned from him that the artwork you are most invested in, spend the most time on, and feel the most attached to, isn’t always the artwork that catches the judges’ eyes. That painting you did on a whim in 20 minutes wins the First Place ribbon instead. Valuable lesson.

Columbus is in Franklin County. Having the state fair right there, less than five miles from home, I never visited the county fair until years after I left Ohio. But here in Rochester, we’re quite a ways from St. Paul and the state fair. The county fair is right in the middle of Rochester, and it’s a place to visit for some funnel cakes or carnival rides. It’s a place to take the camera for some people watching.

I set out yesterday afternoon, camera in hand, to find some people to shoot! It was IBM’s day at the fair, so there were plenty of IBMers with their families. There was a tent set up with picnic tables for relaxing and a few airbrush tattoo stations to paint kids’ faces. And, I saw a few adults taking part.

I headed over to the animal barns. Lots of activity there, with folks brushing and washing their prize creatures. Looked like some judging might be taking place, as well. It was fun to walk around looking for interesting shots and people just enjoying themselves. And a girl’s long hair pulled by gravity while she was being held upside down.

It was warm, and the sun was giving us mid-afternoon light (less than great), but shooting opportunities were all around.

August 1, 2010

RCT’s Artists’ Happy Hour

Filed under: General photography,Rochester Civic Theatre — Tony Drumm @ 2:09 pm

RCT hosted an artist get-together on Friday evening. There was a nice turnout, and the musically inclined artists entertained us. While painters painted and singers sang, I pulled out the tools of my artistic trade and snapped a few shots.

The sun was getting low and there were some fairly thick clouds which fortunately held onto their moisture. So there was light, but I did boost it a bit with a flash set one or two stops below my exposure, and a yellow gel gave me a bit warmer color balance. There’s a hint of a shadow in the shot above that I’d rather not be there, but so it goes.

We were outside the theatre on the patio. Most of the folks sat, sipping wine or “patio punch” (not sure what all was in that!), and discussing life. But this woman was busy with her small paintings.

Mitch showed up along with his trap set. Mitch plays for Lost Faculties and said he just happened to have the set in his vehicle. I met Mitch when he served on RCT’s board of directors. He’s become something of a fixture in Rochester, and it was fun chatting with him. I’m reminded of all the years I played percussion back in elementary and high school. Playing in a band is a lot of fun, and they say drummers are sexy. Well, yeah, that’s what I’ve heard.

I’ve seen the owner of this arm other times at the theatre for musical and poetry events. His tattoos were intriguing, and I found this shot. I like the warmth of his arm and the warmth of the guitar. Tattoos mark his skin, but the guitar is pristine. Just seems interesting to me.

Mayor Brady stopped by. No matter your political leanings, Brady has been a huge supporter of the arts in Rochester. He’s a regular patron on RCT’s opening nights, and I wasn’t surprised to see him Friday night. I saw him again Saturday night at another theatre group’s production of Oliver. Gregory Stavrou, standing next to the mayor, is RCT’s executive director.

Like the photowalk last week, it’s fun to take the camera to other events and see what images find their way onto my memory cards. When shooting for yourself, it’s easier to experiment and just see what jumps out at you.

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