It's the last day in this my blog series: 6 Days of Canon 6D Images from Route 66. Each day I posted a few of my favorite images along with some photography tips – from the "Mother Road."
On Days 1 I posted a picture of Robert Randazzo, owner of Absolutely Neon in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since then I have posted pictures of cool neon signs, classic cars, awesome buildings and beautiful landscapes – along with a bunch of photo tips.
Robert, with his kindness and generosity, added a wonderful human touch the Route 66 experience, as did two other folks we met: Angel Delgadillo (above) and John Pritchard (below).
Angel owns Angel's Barber Shop in Seligman, Arizona. Angel has been dubbed the 'guardian angel' of Route 66. He is a founder of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, established in 1987 to campaign for "Historic Route 66" signage on the former US highway. Similar initiatives have since been established in every U.S. Route 66 state.
We only spent a few minutes with Angel, who welcomed us, as he has done with hundreds of others, into this small shop with a big smile and a warm handshake. Angel is one-of-a-kind, but we need more people of his kind – people who love what they do and who want to bring joy into the lives of others.
A bit of photo tech talk: I carefully composed the picture of Angel so that his reflection in the mirror and the photograph of him as a young man were in the frame. You can learn more about composition in my on-line classes. Also, I used the Paper
Toner filter in Nik Color Efex Pro to tone the image. Info on the plug-ins I use is on my Save on Plug-ins page.
John is a man with a big heart in a small (and awesomely cool) car. He owns the Hackberry General Store – the only store in Hackberry, Arizona. His store has been called the "Mother Load of Mother Road Memorabilia." You know why as soon as you open the door.
Like Angel, John is a kind and giving person.
I had seen many pictures in which John's Corvette was parked outside his store, but none of him in his car. So, to get the shot I wanted, we asked him to move his car out of the shade and into the sun – twice – which he did with a smile.
I know John is very small in the picture above, but as small as he is in the frame, I think he adds to the photograph. I used one of the Old Photo filters and Image Borders in Nik Color Efex Pro on this image.
Below is a close-up picture of John and a picture of his car parked in front of his store. To me, the picture of just his car/store is not as interesting as the picture above.
The tip for this post is simple: get to know the local people wherever you travel. They will add to your travel experience.
As far as a photo tip goes: When photographing people, take a portrait and an environmental portrait, that is, a picture of a person in his or her environment.
I hope you have enjoyed this series. It was an awesome road trip.
You are invited on my next road trip: My Southwest Photo Caravan. Info my 2013 Workshops page.
If you are interested in buying a Canon 6D, check out Adorama.
If you want to rent one, perhaps for a road trip, check out BorrowLenses.com.
All the gear I packed for this trip is listed here.
Explore the light,
Rick
P.S. Here's a final tip: If you go on a road trip, rent a cool car. You are worth it! A fun car will enhance your "ride." Here's a shot of our Route 66 hot wheels. It's a Dodge Challenger RT - one of the cool cars in the Hertz Adrenaline Collection.
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