Paul Marcellini Photography

Crestone Needle, the Story behind the Image

Paul — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:25:27 +0000

I have not been making many new images lately, so I have been reviewing overlooked stuff from the past year. This one however, was taken way back in 2007. In September, after recently graduating college, I flew out to Colorado for a week or so of hanging out and pretending a real life may not have to start. After several days, my buddies decided they wanted to summit Crestone Needle, one of the 54 Colorado mountains that peaks above 14,000 feet (14,197 ft to be exact). Both were experienced climbers and had bagged many other 14er’s in years past. I was along for the ride.

The approach up was a tough 4wd road that was very time consuming and interesting to say the least. My friend’s Land Rover was having some overheating issues which had us progressing even slower but we finally made it to the trail-head. We planned to camp at around 12,000ft and try for a sunrise summit the following day.

As we starting the hike, I immediately regretting living at sea level. It was obvious this wouldn’t be easy for me. The lungs were burning and an altitude head-ache quickly set in. After what seemed like way to0 long for the distance covered, we made it to camp. It was a great little spot nestled in some evergreens not too far from the South Colony Lakes. We got a simple tarp shelter and campfire set-up and then went off exploring a bit before the sun set. It helped to forget the head-ache, but it never went away.

The stars were beautiful that night and I tried some light painting with a flashlight while I caught some star trails. This was one of my first attempts but I was quite happy with how it came out.

We then went to bed, expecting a 2am wake-up to reach the summit by sunrise. Up to this point the weather had been great, maybe low 60′s and not too windy. Well, at some point shortly after retiring to the tarp shelter, the wind picked up dramatically and the temperature dropped. Rain came in and so between the occasional waterdrops that got under the tarp, and the constant flapping, we did not sleep. Sunrise summit was pretty much done and we “slept in” until maybe 7. All of a sudden one of my buddies looked out and said the mountain was glowing. The entire face of Crestone Needle was catching sunrise light and showing exactly why it is in the Sangre de Cristo(Blood of Christ) Range. I jumped up, put on whatever jacket I had, and rushed out to take whatever pictures I could. It was freezing with the wind howling, but I managed this shot from the creek, fed by one of the South Colony Lakes. Definitely one of the more exciting experiences to see.

Due to the lack of sleep and the wet rock which would make the already difficult climb a little more dangerous, we called off the summit and headed back into town. we had a great hot breakfast that could not come soon enough. We relaxed a bit and then headed back to Salida, for some much needed naps.

So, despite not having a 14er under my belt, I definitely had a keeper image and experience to remember.

The Mangrove

Paul — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:44:08 +0000

Florida has 3 or 4 species of mangroves, the Red, Black, and White. The button wood is also considered a mangrove sometimes. This post is dedicated to the Red Mangrove(Rhizophora mangle), the one I consider the most visually interesting. Mangroves are an extremely important aspect of the coastal ecosystem. They stabilize shoreline and provide feeding, breeding, and nursery grounds for fish, shellfish and birds. Red mangroves can be identified by their tall prop roots which help supply oxygen to the flooded roots below and also help stabilize the tree. Here are some of my favorite images created in South Florida of them.

Storm Over the Mangroves

Mangrove Moonrise

Reaching

Mangrove Magic

Summer Storms

Paul — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:13:03 +0000

Its that wonderful time of year in South Florida. We are well into the storm season and it seems a daily thunderstorm rolls around in the afternoon. I have spent a good deal of time chasing these storms over the years and am excited to hopefully add some new images this summer. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten out yet but I wanted to showcase some of my favorites from the past. Standing out in the Everglades when one of these whips up is an awesome experience. For one thing, the cool winds that precede the deluge feel great when it is 90 degrees plus; and it also helps blow the mosquitoes of my skin.

The lightning shows can be incredible and the sheer size of some of these storms just helps put things back in perspective. I hope you enjoy them.

Fisheating Creek

Paul — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:16:46 +0000

Last Tuesday I made a quick overnight run up to Fisheating Creek. It is the last free-flowing tributary that feeds into Lake Okeechobee. When I got there, the water was quite high, at nearly 4 feet, which gave the appearance that the creek just faded into the surrounding swamp. I launched at Palmdale, the campground now managed by staff from Gatorama. To back-country camp, you need to purchase a day use fee, which is $3 a day. You can camp along the river, wherever you find a suitable spot.

As I hit the water around 3, it was getting really hot, but about 30 minutes into the paddle, one of our summer thunderstorms hit and it poured for the next 2 hours. I paddled through it, figuring it was the best way to stay warm and was happy, because as it ended, the light started getting good and the humidity in the air really helped the mood of my images.

I ended up shooting a lot of back-lit images, one of my favorite ways to really showcase textures and light. They can be tougher to manage, but if you can expose as much for the shadows as possible or blend multiple exposures, it really helps.

I saw several Pileated Woodpeckers and their large nest cavities in dead cypress. We used to see them a lot more in Miami, but not in recent years.

One thing that worked out for me was going upstrem(mostly west) as the sun was setting. This is another reason for a lot of back-lit images. I did try to turn around and see the scenes I had passed in different light, but was usually more anxious to see what was around the next bend(usually gators dipping under the pitch black water).

About 4 or 5 miles upstream I found a nice sandbar island to set-up camp. One problem besides the low ground, was most of the shoreline has cypress knees jutting out everywhere. A hammock would work great, but I did not have a rainfly or insect shield for my hammock, so I stuck to the tent.

After setting up camp, I paddled around some more, as the light was really getting good.

As I said earlier, with the high water, the creek overflowed in areas that created “backwater bays” or rooms where the current was pretty much non-existant. This next image was one of those areas.

I fell asleep to an incredible amount of frogs calling and the barred owls were also out in force, probably hunting those frogs. Hopefully, my little Iphone recording will play for you. Frogs on Fisheating Creek

I woke up and paddled back, again with nice back-lighting, but was tired and the creative juices weren’t flowing as much I guess.

If you get the chance, I definitely recommend visiting Fisheating Creek, a great escape from the city.

Image of the Month: June 2010 The King in Monochrome

Paul — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 23:20:43 +0000

One of my favorite black and whites from Kenya. I was planning to try and get different images, and not focus on the common animals like lions. But when I saw this male and his 2 buddies waking up to prowl, I could not deny how awesome these cats are. I was snapping away as the light was fading, and was extremely happy to come away with several images of this beautiful lion. For June only, this image is available at discounted prices. The image will be printed on Epson Lustre Paper with Epson Ultrachrome K3 inks. These are guaranteed not to fade for over 100 yrs when properly cared for.

Apalachicola

Paul — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:23:16 +0000

The last part of my road-trip was a few days in Apalachicola National Forest and surrounding areas. It is Florida’s largest forest, at just under 600,000 acres. It also has a stellar burn program and the pinelands were a joy to wander. I noticed a bunch of painted white rings on the pines and came to find out they are the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker host trees. The RCW is an endangered species and I was happy to see several of the little guys while exploring the forest. I saw a lot of wildlife, including box and snapping turtles, turkey, deer, water moccasins, a fox squirrel, gators of course, swallow-tailed kites, opossums on a weird quest, maybe for a female, and a gray squirrel/snake scuffle that the squirrel won. Unfortunately, it was also tick abundant;I can put up with mosquitoes, but not ticks.

I was happy to see the bogs with carnivorous plants, the showiest being the pitcher plants. They gain additional nutrition by luring insects to the mouth of the pitcher, where they fall down the slippery walls and can’t get out. The plant then digests the insects and absorbs the good stuff.

Anyways, here are a few of my favorites. Let me know which ones you guys like.

These little carnivorous plants trap insects with sticky drops on their modified leaves.

My new car and home on the road.

Busy Busy….

Paul — Sat, 15 May 2010 17:50:56 +0000

Sorry for the lack of new blog posts, I went up to the Smokies, then over to Nashville and down to Apalachicola National Forest. I had a blast on the road trip and got home at the beginning of May. I have also been working down on Big Pine Key with the Institute for Regional Conservation removing exotic plants. So I am staying quite busy at the moment. Anyways, I figured I would just put up a couple images from the Smokies while I had some time.

One of the only "icon" shots I have ever taken. I like to have my own original images but the light on this was too nice to pass up.

There was a whole group of these Swallowtails soaking up a pee spot. Seems it got them a bit drunk. I helped this one out of the water after the image was taken.

Wall Filler!

Paul — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:03:55 +0000

I have been completely impressed with the image quality of the 5d2, but hadn’t pushed it too much in print size just yet. I am sorry if this is a repeat to those on Facebook, but I wanted to let everyone know that most of my images in the past year have been taken with the 5d2, and those should all look great at 40″x60″. And to show you, here is Mangrove Magic, as a gallery wrapped canvas. It is as wide as a queen sized bed, if anyone has an empty space up there. I really wish I could print all my 5d2 files this big, because it is awesome to see them at this size.

Image of the Month: April 2010 Morning Buck

Paul — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:59:56 +0000

I am going to be up in the Smoky Mountains in a few weeks and this image was created on my last trip, in October 2009. This was taken in Cades Cove, on a nice chilly morning. The fog and deer couldn’t have cooperated better, and as the sun rose, it helped define the distant mountains and cast a nice warm glow over everything. For April only, this image is available at discounted prices. The image will be printed on Epson Lustre Paper with Epson Ultrachrome K3 inks. These are guaranteed not to fade for over 100 yrs when properly cared for.

2 Moods

Paul — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:57:29 +0000

I recently came across an image from my trip up to Hillsborough River State Park last summer. I had overlooked it because I had taken a much bolder and “better” image the following day. This first image was forgotten but as time has distanced the experience, I feel both hold their own, for their separate moods. Some may consider one too strong and prefer the subtle cooler tones of the other. I just figured I would put both up and show the contrast of moods and how light affects a scene.

This first one was taken in the late hours of the day. It was mostly shaded and thus the light was cooler in tone.

This second image was taken just after sunrise with a nice fog hanging in the air. It was a much harder image to process and manage the light, but the effort was worth it in my opinion. As you can see, there is a lot more warmth to the image. Both images are limited editions of 100 and can be purchased on several surfaces.

For a current Pricelist