Rick Allen Photography Blog

Happy Holiday!

rickallen1231 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:33:51 +0000

It has been a really crazy last several months. Business at 3M have been wildly successful, especially given the fears and trama of the recession from earlier this year. And my photography has taken several major leaps this year. Greg’s book, for which I retouched all the images, was finally published. I got a major promotional job for both Jackie Collins and Andy Garcia. I’ve been working on retouching all of Greg’s previous books - quite the opportunity and quite a job. And I’ve had the pleasure of shooting multiple models this year.

This post is really to wish you all a wonderful and a happy holiday. Stay safe, as we all look forward to a terrific new year.

Rick

NOCA Gallery to be posted this weekend

rickallen1231 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:10:47 +0000

The NorthCascadesPhoto.com contest ends this weekend, and for a contest with hardly any promotion, it drew some rather talented photographers. Images were truly across the gamut, from people in campsites to vistas along Hwy 20 to aereal shots to remote hikes into the the highest elevations of the Park. One might imagine that the skill level of the photographer was equally diverse. Some were “point-and-shoot”-ers, whereas others were of professional skill level.

Now it is my turn to organize the photos and then to create a list of finalists from which a panel of Park Service Specialists will select the final winners. While only one image will win the LowePro Dryzone Camera bag, there are several truly excellent submissions. And I hope to talk the Park Service into posting more than one on their Home Page … (Michael, are you reading this, hint, hint).

I hope to create a Gallery on RickAllenPhoto.com exhibiting all submissions and then to have them dropped onto Flickr. The panel will decide upon the best few and then will separately announce when they will be posted.

Thanks to everyone who submitted images and who helped with the contest.

Rick

Day 3 - North Cascades NP

rickallen1231 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:33:31 +0000

Three weeks will certainly be too short a time to do this place justice. I spent a couple of hours on one of the shortest trails trying to get the right shot. I also met a couple of couples originally from MN but now living in Vancouver. Met another couple from FL. Then went to the NC Institute Learning Center to see about shooting the Mtn School which starts next week.

Connie was good enuf to clear some space for my prints, which means I had to finish my retouching and print several images. Low and behold, Snow Leopard OS X wipes out your print drivers. So here I am w no Internet access and no way to access Epson.com for my drivers.

I guess I know Im in the wilderness now!

Rick

Day 2 - N Cascades NP

rickallen1231 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:22:49 +0000

The end of Day 2.

I have been much busier than I assumed for the Residency. Shortly after meeting up w Cindy, I realized there were 3 Artists in Residence present. Greg, a geologist and sculptor, was literally finishing a 3 yr project. Becky had returned from her Spring Residency to hang 3 large paintings on the Visitors Center. Gregs and Beckys deliverables will stay with the Park for many years to come. At best, I expect my photos to be exhibited for a few weeks or months. Not bad, just a different medium.

My first assignment was to document the other two AIRs, as they completed their Residencies. Almost immediately I was asked by Seattle City Light to document part of a trail that they donated money to rebuild. And then back to the Visitors Center to complete a shot of Greg with his artwork.

This morning was all about post, as it rained almost the entire day. When I took a break at noon, I did the Trail of Cedars hike, shooting one of my previsuLized shots, a big leaf maple leaf in the dark of a hollowed out large cedar. To find this on my 2nd hike was either great or horribly commonplace. Back to the Visitors Center to work on the photos where others could watch. (no one asked any questions). Met two couples from Louisiana - I recognized their accents. Then drove up to the top of the mtn where the glacial melt feeds the pipe for the power plant downstream. Beautiful scenery, but treacherous and inaccessible landscape. Ken Burns got his footage from a helicopter. Then the logistics of groceries. The closest grocery store is 35 miles away. No running to the corner when u need milk.

Rick

1st Day - Cool and Clear

rickallen1231 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:30:39 +0000

I finally arrived for my a
Official First Day on my assignment. Stopped several times along Hwy 20 coming in to shoot the Skagit River and fog banks as they were burning off. Hard to get a unique perspective that others probably have shot thousands of times. But thats the nature and challenge of the assignment. Im excited to get started and see where this goes.

Oh yeh, theres cell service at the Visitors Center. Still uncertain about Internet access.

First Images In the Can

rickallen1231 — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:29:31 +0000

After driving way too many hours all of it with spectacular weather, it finally rained about 60 miles east of North Cascades NP. Driving through the Park on the Hwy 20, I couldn’t miss taking an image of Diablo Lake - as everyone else does: “Reflections of an Overcast Sky.” The dark areas are breaks in the clouds. Doesn’t look that great to me either when it is so small, but a larger version looks pretty interesting at least at this point in my stupor.

Will take a break for a couple of days visiting friends in the area prior to hitting it hard starting on Tuesday.

And so the Adventure Begins

rickallen1231 — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:58:14 +0000

The car is packed, and the trunk is too full. Those who know I can pack for a 3 week biz trip in 1 suitcase would find my packing list totally out of character. Indeed, it is. But why not use the space if it is available.

The last little detail, that being autographed DVDs by Andy Garcia were mailed today to arrive on Saturday. Thanks Andy and Kathy!

And 1 submission for the best photo of the park has already been submitted. And a good one it is. I can only hope others will rise to the challenge.

See everyone soon!
Rick

Preparation nearing completion

rickallen1231 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:31:08 +0000

Lots of last minute details completed in preparation for my trip.

www.NorthCascadesPhoto.com completed. Flier and posters have been designed, printed, and FedEx’ed. Website completed and electronic submission process tested and validated. Greg Gorman donated the LowePro Dryzone camera bag for the best submission.
collected a entire set of door prizes for the 3 public presentations I have to give. Andy Garcia worked with Disney Studios to get DVDs of his recent animated movie, Beverly Chihuahua - which he agreed to sign before sending them off to me.
I didn’t know until watching the preview of Ken Burns’ “Nation Park System - America’s Best Idea,” that Andy is also one of the narrators, so his participation has special meaning.
new home page for my web site completed. New set of pictures completed and downloaded onto the front page (which now has a changing photo).
finished all of my retouching jobs required prior to departure: Andy Garcia’s 2 movie posters, Jackie Collins’ 5 publicity photos, Spencer Peter’s 4 photos for his martial arts stunt group.
completed a packing list. Tried packing everything into bags and seeing how everything was going to load into the trunk of my car. Oooh. It just made it.

What does one bring for a 3-week photo shoot? When the weather is expected to bridge the warmth of summer and the cool of winter. When I am traveling to a rain forest. When I was asked to bring along my Epson 3800 printer (try putting that in your car!) along with 17×22 paper. During the last week, I was told that we would be going to Hozeman where we would camp. Wow! Camp - that means an entirely new set of things to pack.

Now all I have to do is complete all of my work objectives before leaving.

Lack of New Content

rickallen1231 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:33:15 +0000

The lack of new content on RickAllenPhoto.com may seem to the casual visitor as a death spiral for a web site, but truth is there are lots of “behind the scene” changes. Expect a new look in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, the casual viewer will not notice anything, which is the primary objective. All changes should appear seamless to the user.

Limited Internet in North Cascades NP

rickallen1231 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:35:09 +0000

I was asked to blog during my gig at North Cascades NP. With the internet mostly unavailable, no 3G service, and Edge available at least in the main areas, what to do?

iTunes Apps to the rescue. As the TV commercial says, “An app for almost everything.” This post is a test that it works.