About the Author: Ross Hendrickson’s work leans largely towards live event photography igniting his creative energy to get the camera out. He showcases is work with this collection.

Three things came together to make this post: a new lens, a trip to Phoenix and a model who loves to smile. All these elements made this one-day photo adventure in America’s south-west a success for me.

Create. I took the plunge and purchased a Canon 35mm 1.4/L.  The hype behind this glass is no lie. The focal length perfect for photojournalist style shots that show a ‘true’ field of view similar to what a person’s field of vision sees most of the time. That combined with a wide open 1.4 aperture allowing me to throw the background into a creamy dreamy haze of color makes portrait shooting very dynamic. When shooting landscapes the 1.4 allows me to shoot in low-light conditions where introducing light would be impossible.

As for the model, my friend Stacey is a kid at heart, which made every click of the shutter that much easier. She not only provided endless energy and enthusiasm, as a long-time Phoenix resident she knew exactly where to take me to capture beautiful scenes amongst the city. While much of downtown Phoenix may have a stark urban feel, Stacey’s involvement in the revitalization of downtown Phoenix gave her an arsenal of pre-scouted locations perfect for our photo adventure.

Grow. Phoenix. Finding beauty in the desert as well as ‘Middle-America’ can be a challenge. Though coming from San Francisco my eyes opened up to a lot of things that I wouldn’t get in the big city or the moving terrain of NorCal.  Big Skies and deep horizons make for some great compositional challenges.