1991 - Big Bend Photo Workshop

LEAVING DALLAS On Stemmons Freeway at rush hour, of all things. We even got to witness a pile-up as a piece of duct pipe flew out of a truck to our left and bolluxed up a couple of cars trying to get out of the way. Whew! That was close. Leigh is at the helm (it's her vehicle, after all) with Carolyn riding shotgun. Roger and I bring up the rear.

STRE-E-E-TCH!!! Carolyn does her stretching exercises as we pull over for breakfast and a confab.

LEIGH HAS SURPRISES We all gather 'round to see what Leigh and Carolyn have brought forth.

MMM. . . DONUTS! Go ahead; you know you want one. But which one?

SUSAN DOES HER STRETCHES Well, hey, it's still early yet. Who could blame her?

CAROLYN She kind of looks like Susan Sarandon in those sunglasses, doesn't she?

DOUG (ME) AND QUENTIN Quentin was our resident foreigner (English) on this trip.

RICK AND HIS TROPHY Well, most of it, anyway. They didn't last long. Rick's the leader of this pack.

RICK, JUDY(?), AND QUENTIN I'm not positive, but I believe the girl's name is Judy. It seems right.

QUENTIN What more can I say?

YOU ARE HERE Looking to see how far we've come and how much farther to Monahans Sandhills, our first stop.

BACK ON THE ROAD And here we go again, on our way to fun in the sun.

AT MONAHANS SANDHILLS Rick hides out in the shade of a tree to record our first stopover.

CHRIS REGAS A renowned Dallas photographer, Chris came along as one of the instructors. He's always a lot of fun to be around and he always brings tequila (see bottle in left foreground).

SETTLING IN Everybody pulls out their gear in preparation for our first foray into the desert.

LOVE THAT INFRARED Sometimes infrared film just goes off the chart, as it did in this shot. You never really know what you're going to get with it, which is one of its fun aspects.

SUSAN This is Rick's honey and one of our instructor-types, as well.

OFF WE GO This was shot with Kodak Tri-X film at ISO 1600. Notice Peggy at lower right with the white Panama hat on. Looks normal, doesn't it?

PEGGY IN INFRARED And there goes infrared, taking the light and running with it. Amazing.

SETTING UP We're all getting ready for our first shooting of the day. The light seems to be failing.

PEGGY DOODLE For whatever reason, Peggy decides to decorate Larry's belly. Hey, it was there.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT Larry appears justly proud of his new belly tattoo.

OKAY, BACK TO WORK Or at least to think about getting back to work.

HI, GUYS! Peggy, Rick, and Susan at work.

NUDE STUDY Even Pam, the other model, gets into the act.

NUDE STUDY #1 I'm sorry, but I can't remember this girl's name for the life of me.

NUDE STUDY #2 The shadows of the grass really add a nice texture

INFRARED LANDSCAPE WITH TRACKS I found these animal tracks particularly fascinating.

LANDSCAPE WITH NUDE There will always be something appealing about sand dune ripples, especially with a lovely subject added.

MEDITATION

SUN WORSHIP WITH FLARE I actually like the lens flare in this shot. It adds a certain appeal.

DANCE LIKE AN EGYPTIAN Okay, a little fun had to be had, as well. All work and no play, you know . . .

CHRIS IN REPOSE Back in camp, Chris takes a load off and smokes a stogie. If you look closely, you can make out that he's also wearing one of his prop masks.

RIO GRANDE RIVER AND CHISOS MOUNTAINS AT SUNSET This is taken from the Rio Grande Overlook viewpoint on the nature trail in Rio Grande Village Campground.

PEGGY TAKES HER SHOT She's also using the same camera I'm using -- the Nikon Action Touch, no longer in production. It was the best camera ever. I sold a lot of those things, thanks to my field testing while on a hot-air balloon crew.

PEGGY

TAKING IT ALL IN

NEXT DAY Here we go again, this time to Ernst Tinaja, one of the most intriguing places in the park. Yes, Leigh -- I'm taking another picture of you.

WANT A BITE OF MY BANANA?

MILLING ABOUT SMARTLY That's what we called aimless meandering in the Navy.

LEIGH AND JERROL PONDER You never know what will come about from this type of activity.

LET'S DANCE You see what I mean? It's always something.

AT ERNST TINAJA Here we are at a place with some of the most remarkable rock strata. I love this place.

STUDYING FOLDS I'm always amazed at how rock can be pressed and folded like this. Just think of the forces it took to do such a thing.

TINAJA WITH NUDE Here is the tinaja itself being used as a backdrop for nude studies.

NUDE STUDY

NUDE NAPPING No, this was not set up. Pam just decided to take a little break and I took advantage.