PHOTO FOR THE DAY

The skeletal remains of the H.H. Nininger Meteorite Museum, a reminder that one person can make a difference.

BIG CITY LIGHTS

Well an early good morning from New York. That’s right this rat is out of the desert and on the east coast. I am here for the NEAF (Northeast Astronomy Forum) with Aerolite Meteorites and Meteorite Men and having a great time. I am also running late in getting to the booth this morning, so this is all you get in the post. Thursday night we stayed in NYC. Oh the things to capture on film (or disk as it were). More later.

METEORITE MEN - GOLD BASIN

The Gold Basin location brought back lots of memories. It was there that I hunted with Steve and Geoff for the first time, thanks to our mutual friend, the late Jim Kriegh. It was just after the Tucson gem and mineral show and Jim had invited me to Gold Basin to join him and his hunting partner, Twink Monrad. Geoff and Steve had the same invitation. Though in the company of incredible people who turned out to be good friends, I spent a good deal of my time cussing a blue streak and being generally annoyed. For you see, it was one of my first hunts using a metal detector and I wasn’t finding a thing. I got skunked. They were finding meteorites all around me. Me nada, zip, bupkis. If it weren’t for the generosity of Jim and Twink I would have gone home empty handed. Just goes to show you meteorite hunting is not easy and, like any profession, takes time to become proficient.

Geoff and Steve at my favorite desert artifact.

Steve, on the hunt.

Steve and Geoff, ready for filming.

Geoff and Steve getting ready to sail.

On the water.

We were plagued by flat tires.

Geoff, goofing around before handing over the jack.

The incomparable, Twink Monrad.

You can take the boy out of the punk band but you can't take the punk band out of the boy.

The End.

METEORITE MEN - WEST, TEXAS

I had the distinct pleasure of hunting with Steve and Geoff last February during the West (now Ash Creek) meteorite hunt and returning to the area was high on my list of things I wanted to do. On this return trip, I spent as much time as possible at the Czech Stop bakery, was thrilled to get a second chance to shoot photos of the flocks of black birds and also to enjoy that lush rolling farmland. So different than the deserts of Tucson. It had rained pretty heavily just before we got there and during shooting so we spent quite a bit of time cleaning the stickiest mud ever off clothes, shoes, cars, hands, etc.

The birds.



Grain silos.

Filming with Ruben Garcia and Hopper.

I never ran out of interesting things to shoot photos of.


A wee bit smaller than my dogs, who by this time I was missing quite a bit.

Did I mention the Texas Mud. (Yes, the mud deserves capital letters.) Trying to get Geoff's boots dry before another day in the field.

METEORITE MEN - ODESSA

Filming at Odessa crater in Texas was a great treat. I worked at Meteor Crater in Arizona for a while (way back when) and had always wanted to see the sister site in Texas. I got my wish and more. Lots of special treats, like walking around the rim of the crater and on the private lands outside the monument, for the guys and, by default, me, the photographer who was stuck to them like glue. I’m so surprised I didn’t ruin more video shots.

Grinning like a fool next to Geoff on my first visit to Odessa Crater.

We were in Texas - I had to get a shot of an oil rig.


Getting ready to hunt.


It was hot. Even when the guys weren't doing the digging.

Steve and Geoff hamming it up for me between shooting.

METEORITE MEN - ASU

One of my favorite shooting locations was ASU. I was treated to a tour of the meteorite stores. And all I can say is WOW! I unfortunately left a couple of big piles of drool for the janitors to mop up and ruined a shot when the camera guy slipped. Seriously, I was absolutely amazed at the collection they have. My favorite was the Holbrook featured below.

Does that say 3,576 g?

Geoff enjoying the ASU meteorite collection.

Geoff, Steve and Laurence Garvie (who was a wonderful host and incredibly patient to a photographer with an unending barrage of questions)

It was an arduous shooting schedule which left the guys to grab some down time whenever and where ever they could.

WHERE'S BACKCOUNTRY? (Not nearly as catchy as Where's Waldo, hmmmm)

Hi there :) this post is all about where the Backcountry Photography photos can be seen as of late. With links!

I’ve been busy with getting ready for the gem show: working for Geoff Notkin of Aerolite Meteorites and the TV show Meteorite Men, doing the photography for articles written by Lisa Marie in this year’s Tucson EZ Guide, and providing photos for the Denver, Quartzsite and Tucson EZ Guides. (cover and interior pages)

Check out the guides:
http://www.xpopress.com/ez.html

Now up - Backcountry Photography photos on the front page of the Science Channel website! Meteorite Men is about to kick off its first season so promos are on the front page of the Science Channel. http://science.discovery.com/

And, when you go to the Meteorite Men page there are more of my photos. I traveled with the crew on 4 location shoots; Tucson, Odessa, West, and Gold Basin. Most of the photos from those locations were taken by me! Check out the flash banner and photo gallery.
http://science.discovery.com/tv/meteorite-men/

Mr. Meteorite, Ruben Garcia, was on location at the West, Texas Meteorite Men shoot. You can see some of my photos on his website: http://www.mr-meteorite.net/meteoritetvshows.htm. Thanks Ruben for the photo credit.

Also, take a look at Geoff Notkin’s science blog, The Logical Lizard on the Tucson Citizen online newspaper. “Meet the Logical Lizard at Flandrau’s Science Café tonight.”.
http://tucsoncitizen.com/lizard/2010/01/12/meet-the-logical-lizard-at-flandraus-science-cafe-tonight/

And for the biggest surprise in the Backcountry Photography world – I was the videographer for the teaser/interview for Geoff’s speaking engagement for Flandrau Science Café: “From Fallen Stars to Media Stars”.
http://www.uasciencecenter.org/2010/01/08/science-cafe-meteorite-hunters-investigate-the-science-of-rocks-from-space/. Just to answer the question I know you want to ask – yes, that was done in one take; hence the wobbly camera work as my arms started to shake from holding the camera up for so long.

Check out my product photography on Aerolite Meteorite’s site for the new fall Buzzard Coulee. http://www.aerolite.org/specials/buzzard-coulee.htm