It’s been such a long time since I’ve been out to actually make landscape photographs…too long. Another person who takes pictures was visiting from California this weekend so we drove up to Mt. Rainier National Park and got rained on, stalked by park rangers and ate hot pockets. Here’s the image that resulted from an afternoon of waiting for the mountain to come out and play.

Not the ideal photographic conditions for the shot, but I was more pleased just to be in good company and out in the wilderness again after a busy past few months. Enjoy! -vK

If there had to be a classic car I would ever want to be my own, it would be what you see above. Enjoy my friends!

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The 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe were a sensation from the day of their introduction, for a number of good reasons.

First, the 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe lineup was fabulously good looking, substantially bigger and more impressive than before. For the third time in as many years it was fully restyled by Harley Earl’s Art and Colour Section, and more than ever it resembled the costlier Buick.

Wheelbase of the 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe was stretched to 116 inches, which the ads carefully pointed out was the same as the 1929 Buick had been. Overall length was 1953/4 inches, an increase of 31/2 inches, and weight was up by a hundred pounds or so.

Interior space was substantially greater, providing three inches of additional hip room. Running boards were concealed and headlamps were blended into the fenders.

The engine of the 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe was heavily revised. A redesigned cylinder head with a slightly higher (6.5:1) compression ratio raised horsepower to 90 from 85. (Early in the model year, Ford, which since 1934 had claimed 85 horsepower for its V-8, decided upon further reflection that it really developed 90 horsepower, and revised its advertisements accordingly.)

New pistons were fitted, while valves, rocker arms, and water pump were all reworked. Influenced by the nation’s preoccupation with the war then raging in Europe, the revised 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe engine was called the “Victory Six.”

The United States had become, in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words, “the arsenal of democracy,” and Detroit, churning out the materials of war, was busier than at any time since the onset of the Depression a dozen years earlier.

In response to the inflationary pressures that were building as military production kicked in, prices of the Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe models were increased by anywhere from $29 to $61. The Master 85, meanwhile, had been phased out at the end of the 1940 season; henceforth all new Chevrolets were to be equipped with independent front suspension.

Times were good. Americans were back to work, and even with the higher prices, the 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe was widely perceived as a bargain, and model year sales posted a substantial gain. -vK

This image was originally made back in the extremely HOT summer of 2008. Though not an EDR image made by careful bracketing, this image uses Off-Camera-Flash and some 15 separate images to accent certain parts of the melting vehicle as well as that tractor WAY out there int he field. From there, it was brought into CS4 the individual layers were adjusted for effective contrast and saturation. Layer masking it with other images, which represented the individual elements of the photograph, it was then converted to black and white. The fog and the headlight beam were added in post.

Thank you to everyone who gave their feedback in regards to the contest images being submitted this year. It means the world to me that you’d take the time out of your day to give me your opinions! -vK

Funny thing about this photo, I didn’t need to ask them to look up…the stars were amazing!!! The heavens were aligned properly, the subjects were both pretty and handsome, and the setting quite literally perfect!

Congratulations Chris and Sam!

About the Shot
D300
SB-800 through a white satin shoot-through umbrella
iTTL with the help of a SU-800 -vK

I had the pleasure of photographing my friends wedding this past weekend and I must say, I’m beginning to see themes emerging from my work. First a motor-head wedding and now, a wedding in the country complete with hay bales, cowboy hats, and dusty boots!

I originally had an idea of how I was going to photograph the rings, but then I saw this emerge from that brain of mine when he went to adjust his hat.

A huge shout out to my wonderful wife for gripping for me on Saturday! She. Is. Awesome!!! -vK

It hasn’t been a long time since I’ve made an image…it’s just been a long time since I’ve posted something. Call it a “refinement” period, call it a blue period, call it “I’ve been too freaking busy to spend time on flickr”.

The best part about the last couple on months though…images like this. Enjoy!

Here’s the preset for Lightroom: High Key Sunshine

Enjoy! -vK

Composed of 16 images stiched in Adobe Photoshop CS4. Shot with a Nikon D300 fitted with a Sigma 10-20. Enjoy! -vK

If you see anything you like, you may order your own here. Thank you and Enjoy!!!

Deep in the heart of…faith., originally uploaded by Doug van Kampen.

One of the more memorable moments of my trip out to New Mexico, besides the fact that I completely surprised my Dad, was the moment I walked into the place you above. They had just received a new batch of sun-dried chile and were cooking tamales in the back room…the smell was beyond incredible. It was like nothing I have ever smelled before…I quite literally wanted to eat the air. It was that good!

Seven years previous, Corrie and I had walked in here and purchased a cross made from the metal of the old roof of the sanctuary. The cross hung on the wall in our home for the last seven years, until we moved to Seattle, during which time it became lost among our things during the move.

We are now in possession of a new cross which is actually three in one, depicting the trinity (father, son, and holy spirit), made from that same metal roof, which was originally installed on the sanctuary during the late 1800′s. We had hoped we would be able to acquire another… -vK

Shot at f/16 with a 35mm f/2 Nikkor lens, this image represents the result of using the sun to your advantage and balancing the light to create an image that looks as though it could have been taken in the studio but in reality, has been taken outdoors in bright sunlight. The key here was closing down the aperture just enough to darken the background for separation and then blast the subject with an AB-800 through a white satin umbrella at full power to make a correct exposure. A fine result….