We spent time in Saguaro National Park to try and capture the saguaro cactus. Pairing the miniatures with saguaros was another one of Kurt's wish for this trip. To him (and to me) the idea of the American West was a mix of saguaros, Monument Valley and friendly road runners. We learned that 1. Road runners are mean 2. Saguaros grow only in the Sonoran Desert 3. Monument Valley is miles away from the Sonoran Desert.
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For this project, Kurt was originally looking to capture an orange-sand-blue-sky desert look, similar to the look of the scenes he photographed in Utah back in March 2013. We were set and ready to go to Utah when the weather threw a wrench in our plans. In Moab, the daily temperature highs were in the 50s and the nights in the teens which would make the project very challenging. So, we looked at our options further south within a 2-day drive from Minneapolis, with reasonable temperatures and striking desert looks. We remembered White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. White sands, blue sky, beautiful weather. We spent 8 days in the dunes so Kurt could capture the different times of day. The result is a set of still images, including a few stop motion animations to illustrate a day on the dunes. Here are a few behind-the-scene images: Edwige and I are excited to announce that we have teamed up with the creative minds at MediaMonks to create a watch face for Android Wear™
For some time we've been thinking of a way to introduce our photography in a digital format adding to the more traditional medium of the prints, postcards and books. The digital watch face is a perfect medium to share our joy of travelling and adventures with a broader audience. For this app I shot extra frames which MediaMonks has developed into stop motion animations. These animations will play as you wake your watch from its ambient state. The app will also feature hand drawn style icons to display the time and date. Edwige and I specifically chose White Sands National Monument in New Mexico as the location for the scenes. The user gets to experience a day on the dunes with the changes of light while following the adventures of the miniatures through static photographs and stop motion animations. The environment in which we photographed the scenes was at times harsh and unpredictable. But after seeing the final product produced by MediaMonks, all of the hard work has paid off! Our app titled "MiniAdventure" is available in the Google Play store today. Kurt Introducing the minis to the Grand Canyon had been a long time goal of ours. Kurt had visions of an airstream parked on the edge of the rim. In his mind, the airstream would be placed on the edge of one of the stone barriers.
He quickly found out that to get the shots that he was looking for, he would have to be on the edge of the canyon, which meant scrambling rocks and walking out above the canyon on narrow ledges. My reaction was a very strong "no way!". I always ended up following Kurt out there anyway. I would stay back to give him room and he would overcome his fear of heights and crawl on his belly to the edge. Things went well for us but I never grew accustom of the whole process and would go through a mix of fear and awe each time. On our last venture on a ledge, the wind picked up. We both agreed that it would be alright to lose a miniature and not to attempt a rescue under any circumstance. Miraculously, we did not loose any of the figures we had brought to the Grand Canyon! New Mexico Museum of Space HistoryIn our travels, we discovered how important the State of New Mexico is to scientific research and development. Over the past few days, we toured a Space Museum, a Missile Range Museum and an Astronomical Radio Observatory. The Space Museum, in Alamogordo, lays at the base of Sacramento Mountains. We could see the tall rocket on display from a few miles away. Outside the museum, there was an authentic F-1 Rocket Engine. Kurt saw an opportunity for his miniature mechanics to help out on a huge, important job. White Sands Missile Range MuseumThe White Sands Missile Range Museum is at the foothill of Organ Mountains, between Alamogordo and Las Cruces. It's an active base, carrying research, development and testing of missiles. Kurt found out that the Museum had on display the Fat Man bomb casing on loan from another museum. A miniature scientist is introducing the bomb's design to a high ranking officer visiting the base. Astronomical Radio Observatory: The Very Large ArrayThe Very Large Array (VLA) is 50 miles west of Soccoro between the towns of Magdalena and Datil. It was the most impressive display of science: 27 antennas, combined to form a gigantic one, continuously searching the sky for distant radio waves. Bringing the miniature engineers on site to repair enormous antennas felt just right! To see the final images go to the gallery The Zenith Project.
We’re back on the road for the winter! We packed the miniatures for a tour of the country, we have a few places on our list to visit in New Mexico and Arizona and a lot of room for unscheduled stops!
On our way down from Minneapolis, MN we drove through Tucumcari and the ghost town of Cuervo in New Mexico. Both towns were covered with snow and looked very different from our original Mini Road Trips Route 66 postcards series. We've had a very eventful past week. Our van died a few days before we were to make our way to Colorado and the Southwest for a couple projects with nearing deadlines. For one of the projects we needed snow, lots of it and a Christmas spirit. Being stuck in Minnesota in early November, the task seemed arduous, almost impossible.
Thankfully our prayers were answered when 6 inches of fresh snow fell on Minnesota last Monday. I have to hand it to Kurt for remaining creative in the mist of chaos. One project down, on to the next one! We finally got around to documenting our own city of Minneapolis. A few months ago our friend and framer (Steve) remodeled his shop and expressed the desire to hang Kurt's photography on his walls with one request: the scenes had to be featuring Minneapolis landmarks.
Kurt and I never formally researched and documented the city through photographs like we did other places. We figured that because we lived in the middle of it, we would take care of it another time. After we made the transition to a Travco motorhome, we started to spend A LOT less time in our own State. So, Steve gave us the incentive we needed and Minneapolis became our next Un Petit Monde project for this early fall. We (especially Kurt, who spent the majority of his life in and around Minneapolis) had to see the city with new eyes and a new mind. I thought it was an exciting challenge! During the project I felt like a visitor in my own town, rediscovering old signage and going places we usual don't frequent (the Mississippi river bank, the bowling alley, the cherry on the spoon although that one didn't work). Kurt's new work was added to the Twin Cities gallery and includes a scene of a worker doing construction at the site of the new Viking Stadium, downtown Minneapolis. This year we were blessed to experience the fall colors on the North Shore of Minnesota. Kurt wanted to document the scenery with the miniatures. A couple weeks ago, Kurt used an HO scale log truck, he modified the front cab a bit and I researched a credible location to photograph it. We learned about Heartbreak Ridge trail in the Superior National Forest. The grade in this forest road was so steep that it gave the loggers (and their horse) a heartache... The Superior National Forest was full of opportunities, Kurt felt compelled to capture a lumberjack on a log covered with moss.
On another day, Kurt focused on capturing a hiker on exposed tree roots in Gooseberry Falls State Park. A couple weeks ago we visited Iona's Beach north of Two Harbors where Kurt photographed a couple scenes. The first scene happened as we were walking on the path through the woods. Kurt noticed the beautiful light on the moss. It was the perfect spot for a hiker.
We reached the beach and it looked stunning with the pink stones and the deep blue water but according to Kurt the sun was too high and the light was casting harsh shadows. Instead, he turned to the small rocky cliff on the edge of the beach. The bright yellow lichen was standing out and there was some vegetation as well, it was a great environment for the miniature hiker to explore. Over the past couple weeks we noticed bright mushrooms popping out under trees at the campground. We located a couple of them that looked cartoon-like and Kurt thought that his miniature farmer could harvest them. Yesterday, we learned that those good looking mushrooms were poisonous :) Kurt commented that if he had known this he would have brought his hazmat crew! |
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