Sep
29
Today my wife and I took a drive through the Alpine Loop during the Free National Parks day to enjoy the fall colors. The colors most definitely did not disappoint!
While I had intended of course to bring along my camera, I somehow forgot it and was stuck with only my iPhone as my option. Though the iPhone isn’t bad, it doesn’t compare to a full frame dSLR. Still, make due with what you have, right? I decided to give the new Panorama function a try. Though I wish it would give you the option to move up and down to fill in and give more vertical resolution, I was very impressed with the results. The stitching is excellent and the exposure across the frame was good if you pick your angle and lighting well. As you pan if you move too far up and down, the guide warns you to shift to get things right.
Hope you enjoy the view as it was spectactular in person! Click the image for a larger view.
Sep
18
Awhile back I had Maurice in studio, actually there with a friend (Charly) who was the main model for the shoot. We got Maurice in front of the camera for some impromptu portraits and I loved the results. He was full of personality and we got some great shots in a quick mini-session.
Read More»Sep
17
Recently I had the opportunity to visit Cedar Breaks Monument for the first time and hiked around the rim to enjoy the beautiful oasis of color. Though I wasn’t carrying a tripod with me, I snapped off a quick series of photos for a potential stitching into a panoramic view. I finally ran these photos through the software and this was the result. Considering it was a pretty dark, overcast day, I was pretty happy with the result.
I am starting to organize my photos a bit on my SmugMug site, including a new gallery for the panoramic photos I have made now that SmugMug has increased their file size and megapixel allowances. I’m still working out what pricing I’d like to place on the site, but I’d like to make some of these available for print and download for those interested.
Click the image above to be taken directly to a larger version on my site.
Sep
07
One of the creative efforts I’ve made lately is to work with a variety of people and try different ways of lighting a concept. My long time friend Ryan and I had talked about arranging a shoot with his daughter and her friends that dance together. After a lengthy delay and a few changed dates, we finally got together and make some photos. Many of the photos were pretty standard poses and other photos, which are good, but were really a means to an end. In my head I wanted to do some work attempting to capture their elegant movement. As I’ve done before with my shoot with Charly, we mixed constant and strobe lights for long exposures. It took a fair amount of experimentation with the movement, framing and light. My favorite was this photo features at the top of the post, which is a 4 second exposure and includes three manually triggered flashes of the cross lit strobes.
Read More»Sep
06
Awhile back I had a wonderful opportunity to shoot with Nikki in studio. We had an idea or two what we wanted to create, but the goal was really to just play around those ideas and see what we could come up with. One was to shoot some fitness stock type shots, but then play around with some scarves. We were able to accomplish both and come away with some great images!
Read More»Sep
06
Went camping with my daughters a couple of weeks ago about a mile from this lake. On the way back we stopped to enjoy the view and let the girls run around a bit. Love that this place is all of ~8mi up the canyon from my house. It’s also a great place for family photos, which I do for pretty darn reasonable pricing too. Let me know if you’d be interested in having some photos made of your family!
Jul
27
I posted this photo on social media recently with the caption “When your youngest daughter says ‘daddy, can we take pictures?’ you say YES over your shoulder as you run into the house to grab your camera.”
I’m a big believer in the idea that you making photos often will only increase your chances of getting the great moments and personalities captured. This is especially true with kids. While many of us are filling our computers with photos of our kids, all too often when we try to make real “portraits” it happens in a scheduled session and all to infrequently. And, inevitably, when we schedule a big photo event that seems to trigger in our kids the “you can’t make me gene” that either has them running wild or pulling out the attitude. This youngest daughter of mine seems to have a Diva Switch that turns on when when are doing big group family photos. Seriously, I can show you the proof easily.
Read More»Jul
20
I had the opportunity to make some photos of new sea life that joined The Living Planet Aquarium in Utah. TLPA needs some photos of the new additions to show on their information cards and other marketing, so I was invited to join the shoot with Zackary Hansen. Along with a variety of new sharks, this eel is getting to know his new habitat. These guys just look deadly and/or ticked off in anything they do!
This was shot from above the water looking down in the tank through a piece of acrylic to break surface. It was tough with the low light in the tank, but I was able to pull off some useable shots at 3200 ISO on the 5D Mark III.
Read More»Jul
13
Photo made during a recent fire on the other side of the valley from where I live. This was shot from the I-15 freeway overlooking an industrial part of town. The sky is full of smoke, not clouds and the entire sky really did look, feel and smell like it was on fire.
Jul
05
While enjoying our Fourth of July celebration with neighbors and friends, we looked up the street to see the glow of the fire suddenly expand. Earlier in the day I had thought the fire was getting more under control, but apparently it has been traveling south along the mountains and hit some old growth trees to really take off again. It’s so sad to see this beautiful terrain being swallowed up.
Though I am about 5 miles south from the fire, this view seems closer as I shot it at 200mm on my 5D mark III. That house in the foreground is at the end of my street in a cul-de-sac.
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