The Strip's M&M Store

Vegas is a great place for street photography. There's a story dedicated to candy. How weird is that.  But lots of folks just pass it by.

"The Wave"

Coyote Buttes North is an incredible place, protected by the BLM.  In other words, one has to get a permit to hike there and it is the luck of the draw these days since it has become  popular all over the world. I was there Presidents' Weekend of Feb 06 with Emily, and Christmas Day 07 solo, so this was my first time for a look in the Fall.  Differences in lighting, precipitation, and cloud cover all affect the look of the place.  My cousins were absolutely thrilled that I was able to get a permit for a nearly perfect time of year for that hike.  Words can't describe the beauty.   It is well worth the 2 hours of time hiking each way (even with that hellacious uphill trek in sand for the last 15 minutes or so).   Here is a sampling of the imagery.  I'll put more on my website shortly.   http://lindsaywaite.zenfolio.com/

We found "Wave 2" (also called "The Second Wave") after a bit more exploring.  Just as extraordinary, if not more so.   We stayed over 5 hours, reluctantly heading back to avoid hiking in the dark.

Downtown Henderson, Oct 6 2011

It was hard to find shots that I wanted to use this week.  I was looking for something I hadn't seen before; hence, the popcorn and the skeleton.  I was drawn to words: office, unlawful, fence.  The woman in The Rainbow Club, perplexed or annoyed or maybe just having heartburn, interested me.

It's hard finding time to get everything done.    I want to work on "The Wave" pix.  Just knowing that it is still there, in all its majesty, is important to remember.

Kelby Photowalk

I decided to join this activity to get motivated to do some shooting on The Strip at night, which I haven't done for years.  It's a great opportunity to capture unique images of people.  It's funny how one's perspective on this town changes after one lives here for a period of time.  My first impression of Vegas, as a tourist, was a combination of shock and awe.  High art and low art are blended, side-by-side.   Architecture in places is crass; in others, classic and beautiful.  There is a historical center (downtown); there are buildings built and torn down in a matter of years.  It is a fun town, drawing people from all over the world. It is a lonely town, where so many people are from somewhere else and come and go constantly. Here are a few moments in time on a Saturday night in Vegas.

The City Center shoot

Did Aria get named based on the musical concept, or just the Italian word?  It certainly is a fine-art kind of a place, great for photographing art pieces.  Sculptures ended up being the subject of several of my favorite photos.  Cirque du Soleil-influenced art is everywhere, from inside the buildings to art galleries which are along the entranceways to the the main buildings.

I am reviewing a book I bought last year but didn't understand until now since it includes Photoshop methods to convert color to black and white.  Finally it makes some sense.  I followed the procedure for doing some editing in Camera Raw - the split toning technique.  This technique appears similar to the black and white layer technique where you adjust the tonal range of a number of colors which then affects the tones of the blacks and grays.

It's so easy to slip into a state of editing photos where time just flies by.  It reminds me of video editing.  I remember one night when Jenny I worked on our crime video  at Towson University's editing studio the whole night.