What it's like to drive off road 10 miles in Cibola County New Mexico

March 26, 2020 in Photo Story

What it takes to navigate 10 miles offroad where no roads go

This week I made my second trip this month to the El Morro area of Cibola County, New Mexico on a rural land real estate shoot for Hemingway Land. Regular followers of Jason Collin Photography will note that rural land photography is a frequent, and large part of my business. However, I never really detail all that it involves logistically, and then physically, to do a shoot like this that takes me 10+ miles down poorly maintained dirt roads in my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk.

Car Photography Published in Bimmer Life Magazine for BMW CCA NM

March 11, 2020 in Business, Photo Story

My M3 in print

It is still a big thrill to see my photographs in print in a magazine. So when the very first issue of Bimmer Life Magazine arrived in the mail with my photos on a 2-page spread, photo credit, and being mentioned by name in the article itself, I got a rush. The gray M3 convertible above is my own car as well, so my photos and my car in Bimmer Life Magazine! Thank you to Dan for making this happen by getting me to submit these photos to him in time in turn for him to submit them to Bimmer Life Magazine in time.

Submarine Rock Sedona Arizona Drone Video Fine Art Photography

January 09, 2020 in Drone, Nature & Wildlife

Red rocks for explorers in Sedona

Sedona, Arizona is famous for its red rock mesas. I wanted to see one that could not easily be seen just by driving down a paved roadway. Such are the conditions that were the catalyst for seeking out Submarine Rock. Only serious off road vehicles can make it out to this mesa, or you could go on a long hike on foot to reach it as well. The trusty Jeep Renegade Trailhawk made it, and allowed me to fly my drone and take out my camera to share this video and these photos with you of this majestic and mysterious landscape in Sedona.

Grand Canyon South Rim in Snow Fine Art Photography of Arizona

January 02, 2020 in Nature & Wildlife, Fine Art

A return to the Grand Canyon after 20 years

After 20 years I returned to the Grand Canyon to find quite a different landscape. In March 2000 there was only patchy snow/ice along the south rim, and as I hiked all the way down via the Kaibab Trail to the Colorado River, the temperature actually increased as I descended. Visiting now in December 2019, the winter season presented Grand Canyon views dominated by white. Snow blanketed all the trails, viewpoints, and even the walls of the canyon itself. In fact snow was all I could see at first because the entire canyon was filled with clouds, or mist, or cotton candy for all I could tell. Finally, after several hours the clouds lifted and the Grand Canyon in its winter colors were revealed!

Jason presents at 1 Million Cups Albuquerque watch the video

October 31, 2019 in Business, Photo Story

My story of becoming a professional photographer

I had the opportunity to present the story of how I became a professional photographer at 1 Million Cups this week here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a chance for me to really think about what was the start of my path to becoming a professional photographer. I realized it began back in 2001, on a trip to Thailand and Cambodia. I invite you to watch the video below to hear the full story. I begin presenting just a couple minutes into the video.

Aristech Surfaces Commercial Photography in Belen New Mexico

October 17, 2019 in Commercial

Photography while wearing steel toed shoes

I traveled down to Belen for a commercial photography shoot at Aristech Surfaces not really knowing what to expect at all. I had a shortlist, but it was filled with terms like “ocean breeze” and “open pour line.” Right away I knew this would be a very different shoot as I had to put on steel toed shoes and a hard hat! (see the BTS photo below). After gearing up both for photography and safety, it was time to do the actual shooting in the plant that was quite noisy and smelled like plastics. I also had safety glasses on that made looking into my Sony a7R IV rather awkward. This is all part of a being a pro photographer, instantly adapting to a totally unexpected shooting environment while wearing weird shoes and glasses. Thank you to new assistant Pam for helping out on this challenging shoot.

Santa Fe Ski Resort Car Show in the BMW M3

September 26, 2019 in Cars

Car Show on the Slopes in Santa Fe

The BMW Car Club New Mexico Chapter got invited to a very unique car show right at the top of a mountain at Santa Fe Ski Resort! We actually drove from the Sanat Fe BMW dealership on to the foot of the ski slope itself! Yes, that means my M3 along with a host of other sports cars and classic cars actually went off road. This could not have been a more stunning setting and a fantastic day overall. It felt like a whole different world up there. We capped the day with a hike up to the summit of the mountain, some 11,000+ feet of elevation! To top it all off, they had great veggie burgers grilled right before us with green chili and homemade cookies. In a side note, from the photo below you can see that Jessica and I are living in two totally different temperature zones!