Wasatch Mountain Winter
January 19, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment
I had been dying to get out and take some photographs but the weather lately has been awful. There’s been little new snowfall, smog in the lower valleys, and the skies have alternated between gray or cloudless blue. Today, however, that all changed with a bunch of new snow overnight and throughout the morning. As the storm front moved through the sun popped out, causing all that new snow to sparkle, and, luck of all luck, there were still quite a few clouds out. As I was clearing the driveway for the second time I noticed there were bunches of clouds billowing around the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains so I threw the camera gear into the Land Cruiser and headed up into the mountains. None of the nearby locations were terribly inspiring but I figured I’d give them a shot anyway. It’s been too long since I’ve gotten a decent landscape shot. I had to drive a bit on an unpaved and unplowed road (the snow was up to the bottom of the door on the Land Cruiser), and then hike a bit in the deep snow, but I found a pretty decent spot with some decent foreground. I took several shots at different [...]
Fresh Snow and Photos at Lunch
January 19, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment
We had some fresh snow last night and this morning so the ground and trees are looking great. The sun came out around noon and things looked quite fantastic, so I headed up to the mountains to see what I could find. I ended up taking shots at about four locations but have yet to see them. Gotta slam some lunch and get back to work. I hope to edit the shots tonight.
Salt Lake Temple at Dusk
January 8, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment
This photo was taken on a trip to the Salt Lake Temple to shoot the autumn leaves with the temple in the background. Like usual, the original purpose for my visit was a complete waste of time as the leaves weren’t peaking at all, but the skies were looking pretty good. After looking for several different angles of the temple with the pool in the foreground, I ended up walking to this spot while on my way to a different location. I liked the angle of the temple with the clouds as they seemingly swirled around the spires of the temple, so I threw my wide angle lens on the camera and got close to the reflecting pool (I was practically up against it when taking the shot). I really liked the color of the dusk sky against the lit spires on the temple, though the barrel distortion of the wide angle lens is evident in the spires. Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to capture the excellent clouds around the temple without that wide angle lens.
Canon AF-On Button
January 5, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment
Up until recently I had been a recomposing monkey when taking portraits or family photos. See, when using auto focus (AF), I like to use the center focus point, focus on what I’d like to be sharp, and then recompose the shot. The problem that crops up though, is that once I recompose and press the shutter button halfway down, the AF locks on something else (the new spot where the center focus point is), ruining my previous focus setting. To compensate for the problem I had been pressing the shutter button down halfway and holding it while I recomposed the shot, but that leads to a problem where I have to redo all those steps every time I press the shutter. What a pain in the neck, especially if my camera’s on a tripod. So, as a result, I had been searching for a solution to this problem and ran across the AF-On button, which allows me to separate the AF functionality from exposure and thus allows me to lock the AF so I am free to recompose the shot. I’ve been experimenting with using the button and am very pleased with the freedom it’s offering me. Here’s what I now do: Zoom to [...]
Christmas Meadows Sunrise
January 3, 2010 by Cody · Leave a Comment
Prior to this shot I had been looking for a spot in Utah where I could capture a meandering, still river with snow capped mountains in the distance. I finally came across Christmas Meadows in the Uinta Mountains of Utah and spent a few days camping up there. When I took this shot I was battling against a cloudy eastern sky that was often obstructing the sun and fish jumping in the river. I finally was able to time it right when the sun was peaking through the clouds and the fish weren’t biting, allowing for nice, calm water. You may notice the red flowers on the opposite bank of the river and to the right of the frame. I searched all over the place for a spot where those flowers would be on my side of the river, just before a bend, so I could place them in the frame’s foreground, but I was unable to find anything and had to settle on placing them where they are in this photograph.
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