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 [...]
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.
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.
Bountiful Temple at Sunset
December 27, 2009 by Cody · Leave a Comment
I was on my way to the Utah State Fair to take some pictures when, due to a large storm, I decided to head to the Bountiful Temple in Bountiful, Utah. I had been waiting for dramatic skies in order to photograph it and it appeared that I would be blessed with great skies due to the storm. There had also been high winds associated with the storm and the winds had blown a tremendous amount of dust into the air toward the west, so I figured I might also get some nice colors as the sun went down. The photograph below was taken just to the west of the temple and managed to capture the dark storm clouds and the red highlights as the sun set. If you look at the trees in the foreground you can see how strong the wind was blowing. They are slightly blurry due to movement. The following photo was taken as I left the temple. I had packed everything up and was heading home. The road I was on climbs along the south end of the temple and intersects with another street. I stopped at the intersection and turned around to see the scene below. I couldn’t believe [...]
Utah State Capitol
December 22, 2009 by Cody · Leave a Comment
This shot was taken in the neighborhood at the foot of Ensign Peak. My initial framing was a wide angle shot that included the Salt Lake Temple on the right and the Wasatch Mountain Range on the left, but I was really unhappy with how they were turning out. They just weren’t compelling enough, didn’t have good lines, and were too busy. I switched to my telephoto lens and began to take shots that really focused on the capitol building and State Street (the long street leading away from the capitol building). I continued shooting as the sun went down and ended up with this shot. I really like how State Street leads away from the capitol building, leading the viewer’s eye into the frame.
Main Street Sidewalk in Salt Lake City
December 22, 2009 by Cody · Leave a Comment
This is the only photo from my slide film days that I actually like. I took a mountain of awful photos during that time and somehow ended up with this one, but even a stopped clock is right twice per day, right? This shot was on Main Street in Salt Lake City, Utah along Temple Square, just east of the Salt Lake Temple. The sidewalk is no longer there, having been replaced when the parkway along Main Street was constructed. I was at the location to shoot the temple and was unhappy with what I’d done to this point. I looked down and noticed the rough texture of the sidewalk so I got on my belly (yes, right in the middle of the sidewalk, with people walking around me) to frame the shot. I liked how the red of the fire hydrant contrasted with the grays of the sidewalk and took the shot. This was one of the transparencies that I really enjoyed when I viewed it on the light box.
Antelope Island Storm
December 22, 2009 by Cody · 2 Comments
Most people do not believe me when I tell them this shot was taken at Antelope Island, Utah. You see, Antelope Island is rarely this yellow or “lush” due to a lack of rainfall, but if you go out there in the spring and get the right light, it’s amazingly yellow. This shot was taken on a trip where I intended to hike to the top of Frary Peak, the tallest point on Antelope Island. As I hiked along the western side trail, about 100 head of buffalo climbed the ridge where I was walking, placing me smack in the middle of them. I was more scared for my life than I have ever been, dropped my camera pack and prepared to run (though there isn’t anywhere to run). I was very lucky as the buffalo passed by me (some within 30 or so feet) and continued on their merry way. Since my progress was slowed down there was no way I was going to make it to Frary Peak, especially with the oncoming storm, so I began the hike back to my truck. While along the route I looked back and saw this scene. The wind had really picked up and the clouds had [...]
Henry’s Lake in Island Park, Idaho
December 21, 2009 by Cody · Leave a Comment
This photograph was taken on a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park and was near the cabin in which we were staying. The weather was awful nearly the entire trip but for a few hours in the evening of one of the days. As we were driving around taking in the scenery I noticed that this location had some real promise, especially considering the clouds in the sky and the angle of the sun. I decided to stop and shoot photos rather than continue driving and my wonderful family (especially my fabulous wife) were accommodating. This shot was one of the last in the series from that location, with most of the shots being in a horizontal frame and including some mountains to the right of the frame. I ended up not really liking any of the other shots but really liked this one, probably due to the somewhat empty space on the right of the frame isolating the trees to the left.
Monte Cristo in Fall
September 30, 2009 by Cody · Leave a Comment
This was taken up the road to Monte Cristo and was fairly close to the summit before you begin the descent to Woodruff, Utah. I took several different orientations of this shot at various focal lengths because I didn’t quite feel like I had the shot. The keeper was the very last one I took and it happened to be a solo shot that included the lit aspen in the foreground. Once I included that piece, the shot felt right, though I wish there would have been a more dramatic sky.
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