Authors: Amy Horn & Vicki Uthe
One way to becoming a better photographer is to shoot more images. For a few years now, my good friend and Arizona Highways Photo Workshops trip leader, Vicki Uthe, and I schedule a photo outing a couple of times a year. We want it to happen once a month, but our schedules don’t always mesh. Luckily, this past week we both had a morning to meet so we drove to Jerome, AZ for some photo fun. With handheld cameras we hit the streets early morning while the town was still quiet. We walked one loop, changed lenses and walked the loop again. The light changed so drastically we found ourselves shooting completely different subjects on the second loop. Vicki is a Canon shooter and I own Nikon gear and we found ourselves using one of two lenses: Vicki: 11-16 mm or 100 mm macro Amy: 24-120 mm and 105 mm macro. Even with similar lenses and walking together, we captured very different images. We processed our images separately and agreed we would each submit a few of our favorites.
Vicki:
Amy:
By mid-morning we moved on to the Jerome State Historic Park, Audrey Headframe Park and then to our favorite location, the Gold King Mine. At the Gold King Mine the sun was directly overhead creating harsh shadows and flat light. But if you haven’t been there, it is a place you won’t want to miss! We both used our macro lenses to find those small details and the best light. After processing our images we only had one of the same subject – the red truck with the bullet hole window. Vicki shot it from the outside and I shot it from the inside.
Next time you want to practice, grab a photo friend or join us on a Meetup and shoot! Even if it is harsh light, take the challenge to make the most of the light.
Vicki:
Amy:
Red truck, Vicki’s shot
Red truck, Amy’s version
Amy Horn is a lecturer of photography at Northern Arizona University and an instructor for Arizona Highways Photo Workshops. View her current teaching schedule at ahpw.org or horndesigns.com.
Vicki Uthe is a trip leader for Arizona Highways Photo Workshops.