Thursday (Friday) Fotos… Green With Envy

Photo by Valerie Millett

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! The theme this week was green (in honor of my three of my colleagues who all wore green yesterday to the office) and we received some beautiful images! Thanks for sharing and don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook and subscribe to the blog for stories, contests, interviews and more.

Oh! One more thing: if you really love the images in this post (or any other post for that matter) don’t forget to share with your friends and family!

That would be mighty kind of you.

Enjoy!

P.S., don’t forget to tell us where you took your image or we can’t include in our gallery.

Si An Ele Sutton | West Fork Trail

Timothy Paul Johnson | Scottsdale

Si An Ele Sutton | Sedona

Lindsay Klettenberg | Lake Havasu City

Peggy Coleman | PHX

Patricia Watkins | Cornville

AP Photography | San Francisco Peaks

Karoliina Urso | Bradshaw Mountains

Valerie Millett | Horton

Rainshadow Images by Audrey Kanekoa-Madrid | Catalina State Park

Susan Kordish | Skull Valley

Alisha Johnson | Williams

Timothy Paul Johnson | Piestewa Peak

Ron Pelton Jr | Beaver Creek

Butch Waz | Flagstaff

Teresa Howell | Tucson

Tammy Kelley | Sedona

Kerry Ashby | Willow Springs Lake

Norma Woodward | Seligman

Brittany Wright | Desert Botanical Garden

Teresa Howell | McDowell Mountain Preserve

Reid Helms | Bloody Basin Road

Wendy Dunham | Tucson

Sarah Dolliver | Sedona

Debbie Angel | Avra Valley

Jillian Danielson | Lake Havasu

Toni James | West Clear Creek

Ed Taube | South Mountain

Photo by Valerie Millett

Rory Beymer | Gilbert

Jeff Maltzman | Sonoita

Jag Fergus | Prescott

Rory Beymer | Off Arizona 77

Sarah Foster | Tonto National Bridge State Park

Kerry Ashby | Oak Creek Canyon

Norma Woodward | Hereford

Gaelyn Olmsted | North Rim, Grand Canyon

Michael Schnack | White Mountains

Valerie Millett | PHX

Sophia Zoe | Flagstaff

Harrison J. Elkins Photography | Mt. Lemmon

Laurel Rufibach Powell | Inside Biosphere 2

Harrison J. Elkins Photography | Tucson

Jacque Alameddine | Alpine

Ed Taube | Beaver Creek

Holly Langrall-Haygens | Sunnyside

Brittany Wright | Sycamore Canyon

Jake Case | Oak Creek

Sophia Zoe | Cornville

Robert Stieve Likes to Hike

Editor Robert Stieve-slash-author of that one book, Hiking Guide: 52 of Arizona’s Best Day Hikes for Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall hit the trail yesterday and posted some pics of Oak Creek’s West Fork Trail. Just another day in the life of our boss… who also happens to be very busy researching and working on our June issue. Check it out:

Photographer Paul Markow on Kodak

Paul

It’s always sad when a grand old company like Eastman Kodak fails. I spent the first 25 years of my career using the unquestionably best photographic products in the world. Kodak film and papers were the best products money could buy, and Nikon had no rivals. Unfortunately, Kodak, like some other venerable companies (U.S. car companies GM, Ford etc.) and a Japanese company called Nikon, forgot how to compete. They believed they could rest on their well-earned laurels and that no one would ever use their rivals. Kodak in particular disregarded the power of the professional user, saying that we only accounted for 5 percent of sales. That’s like Nike saying that the NBA only accounts for 1 percent of their sales, so they can ignore Michael Jordan. People do follow the pros, even if they are buying an amateur version of the product. My father always said, “all you have in business is lead time.” All of these companies gave up their lead time and let their rivals close in and then eventually pass them. General Motors and Ford, after 30 years, are finally starting to compete with Japan again, and Nikon has only recently started making worthy professional cameras to close the gap that they had given Canon. As for Kodak, it gave its innovative leadership away to Fuji and that, combined with the company’s inability to transition to digital, created the death spiral that culminated into last week’s bankruptcy.

It saddens me that this has come to pass. I loved Kodak and was proud to use their products. I believe, and this is only my opinion, that the arrogance of “Too Big to Fail” is what leads to this conclusion.

 ~Paul Markow

Friday Fotos: Landscaping Job

Photo by Photography by Saija

Arizona certainly lends itself to some gorgeous photography… the landscapes are simply magnificent and the proof is in this week’s gallery. We said landscapes and the landscapes posted to our Facebook page were stunning. We received so many images — and folks are still posting — so thank you!

Enjoy the beauty that is Arizona and don’t forget to share this post with your friends and family who don’t live in our fabulous state…We think they’re going to dig the photos!

Reid Helms | Near Bartlett Lake

Gaelyn Olmsted | Vermilion Cliffs, House Rock Valley

Karen Seargeant | Watson Lake

Bob Dennin | Grand Canyon

Jag Fergus | Sedona

Christopher Boats OShana | Lockette Meadow

Brittany Wright | Superstition Mountains

Jag Fergus | Watson Lake

Tom White | Sedona

Norm Cooper | Cape Royal North Rim GCNP

Jake Case Photography | Grand Canyon

Susie D Bechtle-Mason | Grand Canyon

David Van Meter | Near Gila Bend

Bruce Gibbs | Snowbowl

Boyce Lancaster | South Mountain, PHX

Jake Case Photography | Baldy Mountain in the Hieroglyphic Mountains

Nicole DeVito | Ventana Canyon, Tucson

Lizard Flats Workshop & Studio | Wickenburg

Rich Helmer | Sedona

Alex Phrasavath | Grand Canyon

John M Lutz | Apache Trail

Ed Taube | Grand Canyon

Norma Woodward | Sedona

Photography by Saija | Superstitions

Lindsay Klettenberg | 89A

Ellen Downing | Fort Defiance

Colleen Hoyt | Lake Powell

Sherry Palmer | Lost Dutchman State Park

Karen Hannah Baker | Hulsey Lake

Miguel Corzo | Sedona

Tom Kelly | Sedona

Billie-Lynne Fife McMahon | Lookout Mountain, PHX

Susan Kordish | Backside of Mingus Mountains

Peter Coskun | Lake Powell

Miguel Corzo | PHX

Jackie Klieger | Monument Valley

Rusty Albertson | Sedona

Christopher Boats OShana | Cave Creek

Andy Blackledge | Peralta Trail, Superstition Mountains

Ardala Evans | Grand Canyon

Tom Corey | Sunset Crater

Jackie Klieger | Oak Creek

Peter Coskun | Superstition wilderness

Lindsay Klettenberg | Near Lake Havasu City

Brittany Wright | Lake Pleasant

Ron Pelton Jr | Sierra Ancha area

Gaelyn Olmsted | Grand Canyon

Photography by Saija | Sedona

Laurel Rufibach Powell | Coronado NHS

Photo by Photography by Saija

Ardala Evans | Canyon de Chelly

Susie D Bechtle-Mason | Mt Humphreys

Randy Stuart | Horseshoe Bend, Page

Norm Cooper | Sedona

Valerie Millett | Sedona

Norma Woodward | Painted Desert State Park

Kodak Files Chapter 11

It’s a sad day for many photographers today — the company that gave us the first hand-held camera has filed for bankruptcy. You can read about their Chapter 11 filing from Reuters below……… and don’t forget to check out our blog post about Steve McCurry and the Last Roll of KODACHROME.

Eastman Kodak Co, the photography icon that invented the hand-held camera and helped bring the world the first pictures from the moon, has filed for bankruptcy protection, capping a prolonged plunge for one of America’s best-known companies.

The Chapter 11 filing may give Kodak, which traces its roots to 1880, the ability to find buyers for some of its 1,100 digital patents, a major portion of its value.

It may also help Kodak continue to shrink a business that still employs 17,000 people, down from 63,900 just nine years ago.

Kodak also obtained a $950 million, 18-month credit line from Citigroup so it can keep operating during the bankruptcy process, which it expects to complete in 2013.

“This is a necessary step and the right thing to do for the future of Kodak,” Chairman and Chief Executive Antonio Perez said in a statement on Thursday.

A Word From Our Photo Editor…

Photo by Logan Brumm

So, what makes a good photo? Well, it’s not up to me to say, which is why I asked the master (a.k.a our photo editor), Jeff Kida, to share his thoughts on YOUR images. From time to time, Jeff will give you his feedback — what worked and why, plus a few tips — on the images you post to our Facebook page.

Let’s start with this photo by Logan Brumm. Logan submitted this photograph when we asked our Facebook community to post their pics of stars.

Here’s what Jeff had to say about Logan’s photograph.

Logan did some serious thinking and pre-planning for this shot.

• He lives in Flagstaff where we have very dark skies (not much human caused light pollution)
• He chose to shoot just before the Perseid meteor shower in mid-August. This means he was more likely to capture an added element streaking across the sky, which of course happened.
• He chose to look south toward Phoenix which produced a yellowish glow in the horizon from 150 miles away. This gave really nice separation between the dark sky and the mountains.
• He framed his horizon line very low making this image about the sky, as it should be.
• He used a high ISO (1600) and a wide lens opening (f 2.8) that allowed him to capture the Milky Way in a 27 second exposure which kept the stars looking like pinpoints and not streaks.
• There’s an added bonus of a red beacon glowing across the water from a distant mountain top. This adds one more point of interest to a very nice photograph.