Photographic Sketchbook

Mineral Canyon May Term Trip

Mike — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:00:44 +0000

This last weekend I went with the Advanced Airport Operations course from Westminster down to Mineral Canyon Airstrip. The airstrip is a dirt and grass strip located next to the Green River just north of Canyonlands National Park. The trip was a part of the class to introduce the students to backcountry operations, camping, and basic survival skills. This was also a service project to help improve the strip by filling holes and pulling weeds along the strip. I had a great time, and I think that the students did as well. We had the chance to meet many of Utah’s backcountry pilots. And we truly appreciated all the warm welcomes and good campfire stories we were able to share getting to know each other. With that, here are the photos!

A Final Farewell to the Snows

Mike — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:52:41 +0000

For those of you living on the Wasatch Front, you’ll realize that these photos already appear dated thanks to the soaring temperatures of the last week. With the heavy melt we’ve been experiencing, I’m guessing that the best we’ll get until next winter is the odd light dusting of snow in the upper elevations. So it seems like a perfectly good time to put up what I’m guessing will be the last really snowy photos of the season. Goodbye lovely cold weather.

And hello ungodly hot weather. Perhaps this will force me to retreat to the cool mountain breezes more often than I did this winter.

Johnson Canyon

Mike — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:10:45 +0000

Sorry for the long absence. It’s been a busy last couple of months. Anyway, I’ve got a backlog I’ll try to catch up with in the next little while. For starters, here are a few shots from a short hike up Johnson Canyon. It’s a quaint little canyon just outside of Snow Canyon State Park near St. George, UT. I was down there with the flying with students over their spring break. Unfortunately for me, I got sick down there and couldn’t fly. So I spent the time trying to be productive otherwise. These are the fruits of that attempt.

Information is the currency of Democracy

Mike — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:37:21 +0000

I realize that my original intent for this blog was to not make it a political soapbox for myself. But this issue is so significant to small websites like mine. Keep in mind that as a person who creates and distributes intellectual property on the internet, I am someone who supposedly benefits from this legislation. Copyright protection is extremely important, but not at the expense of the free flow of information. So as much as I would like to break my website for the day to take part in the Blackout to show opposition to the SOPA bill in the House and PIPA in the Senate, I don’t know enough about my website to do it. So instead I’ll add a post about it. I can’t add much to the discourse that hasn’t already been said by people more intimately acquainted with each bill than myself. So instead, I’m just going to share these links. They provide a means to both educate yourselves about the issues at hand, and to speak out if you also feel that your voice should be heard. Access to information, and the right to express yourself are fundamental tenants of the American Democracy. So use them here:

Google

Wikipedia

SOPA Strike

This one especially for artists

And just so I can stay somewhat on subject, here’s my photographic contribution to this post.

Winter Aerials

Mike — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:30:08 +0000

Haven’t posted anything for a bit. So here are a couple aerials that I picked up since Christmas.

The greatest gift for your loved ones this holiday season (prints!)

Mike — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:27:21 +0000

Well, it’s that time of year again. When poor ~~hacks~~ artists such as myself desperately try to pitch their wares to the masses. As such, I’ve still got prints laying around from the Sugarhouse Art Festival. Yep, that’s right. I’ve still got these things laying around from July. They currently live a sad, claustrophobic life in a plastic bag tucked away in a forgotten corner of my house.

But this is your chance to really make a difference for these lonely prints. Buy one (or five) and let it be displayed on your, or a loved one’s wall with pride. Sure you could get that special person jewelery, candy, little used kitchen appliances, a car, or any other ‘I care about you, but only so much’ kind of gifts. Or you could say “I love you unconditionally” with prints of majestic mountain scenes.

I’ll even wrap it for free in ‘aviation themed wrapping paper’. That way your loved will be so confused as they unwrap the gift, they’ll be bound to love it when they realize it’s not just a pair of socks!

Now I understand that things are tight for a lot of people this year. I understand that more than I care to. But if you can’t even afford a small print (seriously $3, who can’t afford that?!), just use the buttons at the bottom of the page to share this with your RICH friends on Facebook, Google Plus, or Twitter.

With that, have a look through what’s available, and use the order form below.

LARGE PRINTS: artwork approx. 18×24, 3in matte, ready to hang or frame

Online Price: $70

MEDIUM PRINTS: artwork approx 11×14, 2in matte, ready to hang or frame

Online Price: $35

SMALL PRINTS: artwork approx. 4×6, in protective sleeve, ready to do whatever you want with it…

Online Price: $3

SHIPPING: Shipping will be extra unless we can arrange a time and place near me for you to pick up your order.

ORDERING: Just email this order form to manningphoto@gmail.com. I can take cash (in person), check (in person), or all major cards.

Let me know if you have any questions. And stop debating already. You read this far. Just buy one. You know you want to….

Happy Thanksgiving

Mike — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:41:32 +0000

Here are just a few shots from a recent trip up the Lake Blanche trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon. I went up just as a storm was clearing out. The mountains tend to hold the storms at the mouths of the canyons for a day or two after they have cleared out of the valley. This is a great time to get up into the mountains as the clouds and snow obscure and alter otherwise familiar landscapes. When I’m up shooting these scenes, the world is softly breathing. The only disturbances are a breeze working its way up or down the canyon, water rushing down the streams, and snow sloughing off of trees and rocks. The trails are nearly empty. But there is a very powerful energy buzzing around in the storm. And it’s an amazing opportunity to soak up the beauty of these still wild mountains.

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peach will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” -John Muir

Have a great holiday and express your thanks for our still wild places.

Springtime Wanderlust

Mike — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 05:45:47 +0000

As I continued to dig through the backlog, I came across a roll of film that I had completely forgotten about. I found it in the back of the film (cheese) bin in the fridge. Obviously, I had no idea what it was, so I threw it in with the rest of the film that needed developing and peddled off to the lab. Later, as I was pulling rolls out of the film dryer I got a look at the roll.

I quickly recognized that this was a roll I had shot last spring just as life was starting to pop back into the valley. I had simply wandered around the neighborhood shooting whatever was interesting. However, this was a very important day for me. I’d been very sick for the previous couple of months. Five doctor trips, four courses of antibiotics, 2 packs of Emergen-C, and countless boxes of over-the-counter meds later I was finally returning to the land of the living. This was the first day I really felt the energy to do something about the wild cabin fever I’d built up. And I kind of like how it turned out.

Occupy SLC – G20 Protest

Mike — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:21:40 +0000

My personal favorite shooting is journalism. So in that spirit, I decided to cover the Occupy SLC march on downtown Salt Lake to protest this year’s G20 Summit in France.

The protest was met with a mix of reactions, but largely positive. Many cars passing by honked their horns and gave peace signs or raised fists to express their support. The march began in Pioneer Park and meandered its way into the financial district of downtown Salt Lake City. There the protesters occupied several street corners, and handed out fliers to those who were interested, to raise their concerns over the G20 Summit.

So with that, here is a little photo essay of the march.

Occupy SLC

G20

7 Frames of Julia

Mike — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 04:41:29 +0000

Recently, I was trying to get caught up on a big backlog of shot film. But before I could begin to tackle the mountain of undeveloped rolls sitting in my fridge, I had one last roll left that needed finishing. I had only been able to shoot half the roll, and there were still 7 frames remaining. I considered just throwing away the frames to get the roll developed. But I can’t stand wasting film. So I thought about taking a quick walk around the neighborhood. But I wasn’t feeling any inspiration looking down the street. So I walked back inside, disheartened and frustrated as I began formulating an excuse to myself as to why I didn’t have to go develop film that afternoon. After all, I couldn’t waste 7 frames. Amusingly enough, my last chance was to check Facebook. I decided to see if anyone who may want to be photographed could possibly be browsing that afternoon. As luck would have it Julia was online, and had 5 minutes to help me deal with that pesky foot of film.

Now Julia is one of the most incredible subjects I have ever photographed. I’ve learned she needs no direction from me. So we agreed that we’d both just do our things and see what came out. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if that turned out well. These photos are essentially untouched. They’ve only been scanned (auto exposure), and resized/sharpened for the web. No cropping, no curves adjustments, no healing brush. It’s just Julia over 5 minutes, and 7 frames.