The summer months are coming to an end and I’m back on the road again. Of course, I have my trusty travel dog, JoJo, along for the ride. As soon as he sees me preparing the RV for travel, he’s ready to get in the truck.
Over the summer, I spent time visiting with my parents in Indiana, helping out with chores around their house. In between, I worked on projects getting the RV ready for the pending season of travel, including installation of solar panels, a complete wash and wax for the RV, and new brakes for the truck.
I was able to reconnect with one of my high school best friends, Kris. Keeping in touch with old friends has never been one of my strong suits. In reconnecting with Kris, it was like those 40 years never existed. I enjoyed talking with him as much as I did back in the late 70s.
During my stay in Indiana, I was able to do a little photography. I experimented with blue hour photography, seeing how high I had to push the ISO and what kind of processing techniques were needed to make the colors really pop.
In the case of shooting a county fair during blue hour, I was able to capture the images I wanted with an ISO of 3200. During post processing, I was able to get the look I was after using only a single frame rather than relying on high dynamic range (HDR) techniques.
I’ve noticed over the past year that in low light situations, I am depending less on HDR photography than I used to. Camera sensors and post processing software are getting so good that I can create a very nice image from a single frame rather than using HDR techniques.
For now, I will continue to shoot with HDR in mind for most of my photography. I’m anticipating a time in the not too distant future where I can abandon the need for bracketing my exposures.
Speaking of the future, here are my plans for the upcoming 2019/2020 winter season?
Tentatively, I plan on working my way towards New Mexico to do some landscape photography. I might even drift into Arizona and Utah depending on what I discover.
I say tentatively because one of the nice things about being a location independent photographer is that things can, and often do, change. I meet and talk with friends and fellow RVers. Picking up new ideas and recommendations along the way.
The first leg of my journey takes me south to the Florida Panhandle, stopping along the way to visit family and friends. Hopefully, I can avoid having to run from a hurricane this year.
After spending some time in Florida, I will begin working my way west a little at a time. I typically travel no more than 300 miles (one day’s drive) and then set up camp for a minimum of a week to do photography. Not a rule set in stone, but one I try to adhere to as much as possible.
Am I coming near your area of the United States? Do you have any recommendations of interesting destinations or attractions to photograph? Leave a comment below and tell me about it.