California's Route 66
6, 7, 8 & 9 February 2025
How I Created These Images
Introduction
I made these photos on a photo tour I helped lead with Dave Wyman to California's Route 66. Come join up on this tour again in February, 2026 for the 100th anniversary of Route 66!!!
We were outside shooting from well before dawn until long after dark, shooting all day, every day. This wasn't a nerd-a-thon locked in a motel room fiddling on computers; we were outside hiking around the whole time.
This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use any of the links below or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
06 February 2025, Thursday top
06, 07, 08 & 09 February 2025 How I Created These Pictures
I left my house at 9:45 AM and headed to Barstow, California, arriving at 12:50 PM. Dave, his friend Bill and I got there a day early to scope out the locations as a final check before our participants arrived tomorrow.
I had lunch and then we scooted off to the Y2K Junkyard, a new location this year, where we saw:
Two-Car Pileup, Barstow, California, 2:37 P.M. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.765mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/1,949 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 12.6), Radiant Photo software to help it pop and Skylum Luminar Neo to add more pop and add deliberate vignetting. More tech details. bigger.
We drove out of town and found the Dixie Inn:
The Dixie Inn, Barstow, California, 3:48 P.M. Canon R5 II, Nikon 77mm Circular Polarizer II hand-held in front of my classic Canon EF 28-135mm IS USM (1998-2016) on my EF to RF adapter at 53mm at f/7.1 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 13.0), Skylum Luminar Neo software both to amp-up the image and remove all the wires and poles in the sky. More tech details. bigger.
Polarizers can darken the sky to emphasize clouds. I don't worry about adapter rings or buying more polarizers to fit the 72mm filter threads of my EF 28-135mm IS USM; I simply hold my Nikon 77mm Circular Polarizer II over smaller lenses and all is well.
Power Pole, Barstow, California, 4:15 P.M. Canon R5 II, Canon EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 120mm at f/10 at 1/400 at Auto ISO 100, -1.3 stops exposure compensation to keep the lighter pole from washing-out (LV 15¼), Skylum Luminar Neo software to amp colors and add vignetting for emphasis. More tech details. bigger.
The Shadow of The Christ on His Church, Barstow, California, 5:09 P.M. Canon R5 II, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 56mm at f/6.3 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 12.4), Skylum Luminar Neo and Radiant Photo software to make it pop, removed distracting signage with the Patch tool in Photoshop 2021. More tech details. bigger or full-resolution 45 MP © 8.5 MB JPG.
Decaying Home in the Sand, Barstow, California, 5:24 P.M. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.765mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/121 at Auto ISO 64 (LV 9¼), free Snapseed app in-phone, Skylum Luminar Neo and Radiant Photo software to pump it up. More tech details. bigger.
Three Ghosts at the Emerald Temple, Barstow, California, 7:51 P.M. Canon R5 II, classic original EF 35mm f/1.4L USM on EF to RF adapter at f/5.6 handheld at 1/5 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 5.7), Skylum Luminar Neo software to make it pop, perspective correction Photoshop 2021. More tech details. bigger.
I knew that the yucky lighting used outside would look green in photos. Back in olden days this would rock on Velvia, turning even greener on film. Even on digital it turns green, while to my naked eyes it didn't look this way. This is an advantage of mirrorless: the finder shows us how the final picture is going to look before we take the picture.
Why f/5.6 and ISO 320 with my ultrafast EF 35mm f/1.4L USM? Simple: to get enough depth-of-field to get it all in focus handheld as we walked to dinner. It's also more interesting to render the girls as ghostly blurs.
So why did I bother carrying my classic EF 35mm f/1.4L USM when my usual EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter would have done the same thing? It turns out that the in-camera stabilization of my R5 II works better with my unstabilized EF 35mm f/1.4L USM (90% of shots are perfectly sharp at 1/2 second) than it does with my stabilized EF 28-135mm IS USM (90% of shots are perfectly sharp at 1/15 second), and the fact that I wanted to play with my EF 35mm f/1.4L USM for use on dark streets. I never know what I'm going to see until I do.
We walked over to Los Domigos for dinner, and it was excellent.
07 February 2025, Friday top
06, 07, 08 & 09 February 2025 How I Created These Pictures
We rolled out Friday morning, and turns out some travellers to our workshop from the Southern United States arrived early, so as an abbreviated group we headed out exploring, and wound up at the Saint Joseph Monastery, where we saw Christ rise from the dead:
Jesus Rising From the Dead and Ascending Into Heaven, Saint Joseph Monastery, Lucerne Valley, California, 10:14 A.M. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 0.5× (2.2mm actual or 14mm eq.) camera at f/2.2 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 6.9), Radiant Photo to amplify it and Skylum Luminar Neo software for wire removal and to pump it up even further. More tech details. bigger.
FoMoCo Sealed-Beam Headlight on Ford Truck, Lucerne Valley, California, 11:11 A.M. Canon R5 II, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 70mm at f/9 at 1/320 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 14¾), Skylum Luminar Neo software to make it pop and removed distracting holes and rivets in the steel. More tech details. bigger or full-resolution 45 MP © 10 MB JPG.
Nice bokeh and super-sharp!
We headed back to Barstow, I had lunch and we met our full group at 3PM, after which we headed back to Y2K Wrecking.
554 KEN License Plate at Y2K, Barstow, California, 4:35 P.M. Canon R5 II, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 65mm at f/5 at 1/100 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 11¼), Skylum Luminar Neo software to make it pop and add vignetting. More tech details. bigger or full-resolution 45 MP © 5 MB JPG.
Neon Sign, Route 66 Motel, Barstow, California, 5:42 P.M. Canon R5 II, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 28mm wide-open at f/3.5 at 1/40 at Auto ISO 320, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 7.3), Radiant Photo and Skylum Luminar Neo software to make it pop and add deliberate vignetting. More tech details. bigger.
08 February 2025, Saturday top
06, 07, 08 & 09 February 2025 How I Created These Pictures
Tom's Welding, Barstow, California, 8:18 A.M. Canon R5 II in square-crop mode, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 60mm (equivalent to the ZEISS SONNAR 150mm f/4 T✻ on HASSELBLAD 6×6 cm) at f/10 at 1/320 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 15.0), Radiant Photo software to make it pop a little more. More tech details. bigger.
Route 66 Coming in to Amboy, California, 5:01 P.M. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 0.5× (2.2mm actual or 14mm eq.) camera at f/2.2 at 1/107 at Auto ISO 40 (LV 10⅓), Radiant Photo and Skylum Luminar Neo software for wire removal and to pump it up even further. More tech details. bigger.
Leaving Amboy, California, at Sunset on Route 66, 5:07 P.M. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 2× (6.765mm actual or 48mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/1,013 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 11⅔), Skylum Luminar Neo software to pump it up and add detail to the highlights and shadows. More tech details. bigger.
Roy's Neon Sign at Dusk, Amboy, California, 5:42 P.M. Canon R5 II, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 47mm at f/5.6 at 1/5 at ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 7.4), Radiant Photo software, perspective correction Photoshop 2021. More tech details. bigger or full-resolution ~45 MP © 4 MB JPG.
I used my Oben CT-2491 Carbon-Fibre Tripod with my Oben GH3W-15 Geared Head. I use a Nikon AH-5 tripod adapter on top of the geared head so I can attach cameras with just the thumb screw of the AH-5; I've never understood how seven steps to get a camera on a quick release is quick.
Roy's Spaceport, Amboy, California, 5:46 P.M. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 0.5× (2.2mm actual or 14mm eq.) camera at f/2.2 at 1/30 at Auto ISO 1,250 (LV 3.5), Radiant Photo software to amplify it, Skylum Luminar Neo software for more amplification and adding deliberate vignetting, perspective correction Photoshop 2021. More tech details. bigger.
This building is already designed with the roof rising to the right, and I used the ultrawide lens of my iPhone 16 Pro Max and perspective correction Photoshop 2021 to emphasize it further. As a square it would look so good shot on a HASSELBLAD SWC, but honestly my iPhone 16 Pro Max is wider and the SWC would really want a shift lens to get this on film.
Dusk, Doe's Ghost Office (say it five times fast), Amboy 92304, 5:57 P.M. Canon EOS R5 II, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 53mm at f/5.6 for 8 seconds from across the street at ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 2.0), Radiant Photo and Skylum Luminar Neo software for amplification, perspective correction Photoshop 2021. More tech details. bigger.
Notice the retro 6-pointed sunstar on the floodlight; this comes from the simple 6-bladed diaphragm of the EF 28-135mm IS USM.
I used my Oben CT-2491 Carbon-Fibre Tripod with my Oben GH3W-15 Geared Head for this 8-second exposure at nice, sharp ISO 100. I use a Nikon AH-5 tripod adapter on top of the geared head so I can attach cameras with just the thumb screw of the AH-5; I've never understood how seven steps to get a camera on a quick release is quick.
Rockwell Snapping Away at Peggy Sue's, Yermo, California, 7:18 P.M. Photo by Nina Bataller, Editor & Publisher of Photo Authority Magazine, with her Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max 1× (6.86mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/20 at Auto ISO 1,600 (LV 2.0). I tweaked it in Radiant Photo software. More tech details. bigger.
09 February 2025, Sunday top
06, 07, 08 & 09 February 2025 How I Created These Pictures
Yello Loco, Barstow, California, 8:02 A.M. Canon R5 II, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 56mm at f/10 at 1/320 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 15.0), Skylum Luminar Neo software to make it pop by darkening the sky and adding deliberate vignetting. More tech details. bigger or full-resolution 6 MB JPG file.
Symphony in Steel, Barstow, California, 8:18 A.M. Canon EOS R5 II in square crop mode, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 56mm (equivalent to the ZEISS MAKRO-PLANAR 120mm f/4 T✻ on HASSELBLAD 6×6 cm) at f/7.1 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 13¼), Radiant Photo and Skylum Luminar Neo software. bigger or full-resolution 6.5 MB JPG file.
Rail Car Stop, Barstow, California, 8:48 A.M. Canon EOS R5 II in 4:3 crop mode, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 38mm at f/5.6 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 12.0), amplified (Enhance & Color tools) and vignetted for emphasis in Skylum Luminar Neo software. bigger or full-resolution 7.2 MB JPG file.
Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch, Oro Grande, California, 11:47 A.M. Canon EOS R5 II, 320EX flash to illuminate the backlit bottles and saxophone, EF 28-135mm IS USM on EF to RF adapter at 28mm at f/22 (for depth-of-field) at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 16.6), Radiant Photo software. bigger.
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