Bill Leyden's Blog

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Bruce Dorn is a Canon Explorer of Light. He is one of those truly magnificent image-makers who needs no instrument to find the light. Ask him for assistance in any lighting situation, and he will instantly say something like, “why don’t you try ISO 160, F 4.0 at 1/1000 sec.”

And of course it will be perfect.

While shooting in interesting light with just your typical Sedona subject matter, I couldn’t help noticing that whatever I was shooting must not have been as interesting as what was going on upstream, for the two men my senior in the background could surely trump my wisdom. So I made this image to remind myself to try to keep a wide perspective.

Must be great haps upstream!

What a treat to be invited to Willits, CA to spend some time with Kitty and Creek. These are two fascinating people, that make a very special pair. I was honored to be in their home to make an image that fills me with emotion:

Kitty and Creek Norris

Wow! What a gorgeous day at Hermosa Beach!

Some of my favorite images of healers, healing and the healed.

One of the unique places in the Western States:

Beautiful day or not, Wolf and I need no excuse to venture out to record his in-the-moment flute improvisations.

I love stopping by the Joshua Tree Retreat Center whenever I can. I am glad I did so early this month so that I was able to capture this wonderful image.

Fire Ceremony in the Mojave Desert

Canon EOS 60D
Lens: 18mm

If you had told me about a Munchkin Cat a month ago, I wouldn’t have believed it. But here is Regina showing the goods!

Regina and her Munchkin Cat

A brisk 45 degree morning with winds gusting to 45 mph and sand that stopped the van a mile from the venue was not enough to stop Michele Gauger’s group from spending a morning at the dunes. Here, Hillery Ilikea Aguiar-Galloway strikes a wonderful pose against the wind in front of the ‘big dune.’

Amargosa Dune

Although I hid my camera in my vest most of the time, about an hour of shooting left my lens grinding when focusing. Luckily, I ended up at the WPPI convention, where Canon cleaned my equipment for free. Thank you!

I can never refuse Wolfs Robe when he calls. I was happy to have my friend, Bridge along to hold the light pistol to open up some of the shadows from the strong Arizona sun. Normally, I prefer to shoot under cover, as my late friend and mentor, Monte Zucker would do. But Wolf has his favorite spots.

Here I turn his body away from the light and have him look back toward the sun:

Wolfs Robe

Of course you don’t see Bridge holding the light pistol:

Using a light pistol to 'open' shadows.

Next time I’ll bring a hat and more sun screen.