A Sunday Photography Expedition With Rad Drew and Kevin Raber – Part 1

One of the things I enjoy most about photography has little to do with camera technology, photo editing, or making prints. Nope, it’s the social aspect of getting out with a good friend on a quest for scenes to photograph. 

That’s exactly what Kevin Raber and I did on a recent Sunday. We left around 9 am and didn’t return until 9:00 pm. We had only some vague destinations in mind and mostly just drove country roads in our home state of Indiana, occasionally stopping to take a photo. Our day was filled with a sense of adventure and exploration as we checked out little Hoosier towns and country creeks. We had a lot of laughs and did some major solving of the world’s problems, wrapping up the day with a steak dinner at the Beef House, a local institution. 

Despite spending the entire day together, and with only a few exceptions, Kevin and I were drawn to different scenes to photograph. Or, we photographed the same scene but in different ways. I love that! I was inspired by how Kevin sees and amazed at how, as we listened to our inner voice, we were attracted to different subjects. 

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We couldn’t have picked a better day for a variety of weather conditions. When we left, it was warm and about 55 degrees, with a blue sky and white clouds. Throughout the day, the weather changed in dramatic ways! Before the day was over, we had photographed in rain, high wind, bright sun with puffy white clouds, and overcast sky, and at one point late in the day, we had sleet! You’ve gotta love Indiana weather. 

While we brought all our gear, including big cameras, tripods, a drone, and iPhones, I only took my Fuji out once, and Kevin’s big cameras didn’t see the light of day at all! Instead, we photographed mostly with our iPhone 14 Pro Max cameras! 

Kevin went nuts with the fun iPhone app, Hipstamatic, and other iPhone cameras, while I made infrared photos with Camera + and Lightroom Mobile cameras. 

To say we had a blast would be an understatement. We don’t do this often enough! Between our travel schedules and workshops, it’s rare that we are here at the same time. Ironically, the next opportunity we’ll have to photograph together will be about 2000 miles from here in The Palouse in June, where we’re both leading workshops. 

Kevin’s mages and thoughts about the Sunday Photo Day will be shared in the next few days.

Here are some more of my photographs from our adventure. 

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Rad Drew
May 2023

Rad Drew
INDIANAPOLIS, IN

Photography has always been synonymous with fun and magic. As a kid, it was fun to compose, fun to capture, magic to develop and process, and fun to share. It was fun to seek out photos and to engage people, and magic to travel to new lands or find the unusual in familiar places. It was magic to convey an emotion or make a point and touch others through visual imagery that I created. As an adult, photography continues to be more fun and magical than I ever dreamed! Despite changes in technology that have occurred during my lifetime, the esthetic of photography remains much the same. The creative mind of the photographer is still the most important element in a great photo. The camera doesn’t create a photograph any more than a hammer designs a building; it’s merely a tool that allows us to create our vision. Today, my camera bag holds two mirrorless cameras, an infrared camera, a point-and-shoot, and an iPhone. Of these tools, I credit my use of iPhones since 2010 with providing more opportunities to practice the esthetics of photography, making me a better photographer regardless of the camera I'm using. And photography has never been more fun and magical!