Well it has been a little while since I got a new post on here but not from the lack of trying. A few other new offerings have been added the last couple of weeks that are now available here. The New 2013 Kansas Calendar, 2012 Holiday Special and New Archival Posters!

The 2013 Kansas Calendar has been something I have wanted to do most of the year and it was time to stop wanting and start doing! Choosing images for a calendar can be time consuming if one lets it be. I did spend a fair amount of time going through images. This being the first calendar offered of my work I spent more time than needed thinking everything had to be perfect. Truth be known customers really don’t care how much time goes into something like this they just want a quality product at a fair price as they should. It was a fun and interesting project non the less getting things the way I wanted and I have to say I am very pleased with the result. Check it out and order you one up, hey order a bunch and give them as Christmas gifts! OK, enough of the salesman speak.

The 2012 Holiday Special was decided at the same time the calendars arrived with the idea of offering the new products I have produced recently as one nice little neat package with great savings! The special includes the 2013 Kansas Calendar, an 8×10 matted fine art print and the new Flint Hills Portrait of a Land eBook on CD. The 8×10 matted print that is offered is the cover of the calendar which is appropriately entitled “Somewhere”. There is something about this image that moves me in to a certain mindset and great appreciation for not only the beauty of the Flint Hills but for nature in general.

“Somewhere” the image that almost didn’t happen! It was made the morning of June 3rd of this year at 6:11am. It was during a 3 day stay at Chase County State Lake just west of Cottonwood Falls Kansas. I had planned on rising before sunrise and make my way out into the hills in search of a nice sunrise scene. Around 5am my eyes slowly opened to the darkness I looked at the radar on my phone (isn’t technology great) only to see heavy cloud cover blanketing the area with rain very likely at any time, Bummer! I laid back down in my sleeping bag and thought, well I could head out and take a chance that rain will stay away for awhile and maybe there will be a break in the clouds or, I could stay right here all nice and cozy in my tent and get more sleep. I still can’t believe I consider sleeping over being out in nature but sometimes I do. I laid there for a little bit longer until I notice the sky beginning to lighten up in the east. Not only was it lightening up there was actually some color beginning to develop! What! I need to get my butt up and moving! As anyone well knows who is in to taking photographs there can be a small window of time that the light is spectacular sometimes only minutes or even seconds until the color is gone. OK, here’s a little uninteresting fact about myself, I don’t move very quick in the mornings. I usually need a cup or two of motivation to get me going. But I found something out about myself that morning, when the sky starts to show it’s beauty coffee will only slow me down! I’m not sure how many seconds it took for me to throw some cloths on and put the camera gear in the truck but I guarantee it wasn’t many! Out I took from my campsite to the nearest area I knew had open views of the land. Luckily it was only a few miles away. I made one quick stop as the sun was still some minutes away from rising and made a few shots but it wasn’t what I was looking for. Back in the truck and slowly on down the country road I went. Then it started, drops on the windshield! Oh no not yet! A light sprinkle had started but about 30 seconds later there it was! This Enormous Double Rainbow, right in front of me! I think I started hyperventilating or something, I had to find a spot to get this picture and I had to find it Now! To heck with finding a spot I had to start taking pictures Now! Out of the truck I flew (I assumed I put it in park I don’t really remember) out to the fence line, lens cover off and I remember having to keep wiping the front of the lens off from the drops of rain hitting it. The first image was taken at 6:06 and the last at 6:12 with 11 images made. This rainbow lasted a total of 6-7 minutes and then as fast as it appeared it was gone and sprinkles turned in to rain. I really didn’t know what I had captured or if any of the shots would even be any good. I remember thinking there could have been drops of water on the lens or I could have smeared the water and not got the lens wiped off good, did I get the exposures right so the colors would show? As far as focusing on something I really couldn’t due to the low light and not much there to focus on besides the rainbow and small sliver of land I composed the scene with. I relied on the infinite focusing mark on lens and simply hoped for the best.

When I finally looked at the images on the cameras lcd a few minutes later I knew I liked what I saw but there was still now way of knowing if they were really any good. I was going to have to wait a couple more day until back at home and look at them on a large monitor. Back to the campsite I went heart still pounding from adventure I just had and the wonder of nature just experienced. Good images or not my day had just started out with a bang and I understood once more why I love this so much.

That’s the little story behind “Somewhere” the image that almost didn’t happen and is now the featured cover image of the new calendar.

Last but not least included in the 2012 Holiday Special is the new eBook “The Flint Hills, Portrait of a Land” on CD. I have talked previously about this eBook and my love for the Flint Hills of Kansas. Many of the images from my last 5 years of journeys into this remarkable land are included and I am proud to have spent the time to put this together for others to enjoy.

New Archival Posters, are now available as well. As of this post there are two new images now offered as fine art archival posters. Posters are printed on heavy enhanced matte photo paper with a one inch white boarder. The bottom boarder will feature description and or title of image. These are truly stunning prints with all the same quality as the gallery prints. Autographed and offered in three unique and standard sizes. 18×24, 22×28 and 24×36 inches. These sizes will fit standard off the shelf frames and of course can be matted and framed to larger sizes. All fully guaranteed 100% satisfaction or your money back! And the other great thing about these poster prints are the prices! $79, $89 and $99. OK, now the catch (you know there has to be one right.) These will be a very limited offering of the prints from the gallery, as mentioned as of now only two images are offered presently but more will become available. They will be specifically chosen by myself and the offerings can change. As new images are offered present ones may be discontinued.

It has really been fun to put together new offerings for others to enjoy and I hope these and all the future products will not only make it easier to own unique artwork but will bring years of happiness to all who enjoy them. Thank you everyone!