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So for the past few months I've been without a car, which in reality isn't that big of a problem in this town. I can bike to work and I'm there within two or three minutes and if I don't bike, I can walk to work and be there in less than ten minutes. So why would I even need a car you may ask? Well, since I do live in a national park it is nice to go explore and see some sights every once in a while, most photogs get to do this on a daily basis, but I've been working in town a lot lately so I haven't been able to get anywhere for sunrise or sunset. The sun is usually setting when I ride home from work, and I usually get to see enough that I wish I hadn't worked so late and had a car, but then I get home and forget about it until the next day. Well today was another one of those days, except today I was at home and had no wheels to get out for sunset as I watched the whole sky turn so pink I think the inside of our apartment lit up as well!! At least I was keen enough to get the camera and point it out the window for a few frames. I like the shot I have here, but it definitely would have been nice to be sitting at Edith Cavell or Medicine Lake this evening too! In the next few weeks our first job is to get a vehicle once we have the wedding put behind us and things calm down a little!
Photo: Nikon D90, 17-55mm f/2.8
It's been a while, so I've got two photos for y'all. An HDR from June of a shoot I did of and old GMC truck at a local hotel in town. I really wanted to do more car and old vehicle HDR's so I went out and worked this truck a few times one day. Turned out to be a great day and I got a few shots that I really like. It was my usual HDR setup, 3 bracketed shots at 2 EV apart. Shot this one with the 10.5mm f/2.8 aimed slightly up towards the sky, so it sorta looks like the truck is smiling. I think it gives it a bit more character.
Next up is a pretty straight forward 25 shot Mega Pano. This is something I still need lots of work on, as I'd like to perfect it and do a series of panos from around Jasper National Park and hopefully sell them in a number of stores here. I've been working a lot lately, mostly to make up for the time I'll be taking off for the wedding at the end of the month, which is fast approaching!! The excitement is building and I hope to shoot tons of photos that week, so I'll have material to blog for quite some time after that. We've also got a short trip planned to Vancouver in September, can't wait for that either, lots of photo ops to be had in that town!
Photos: Nikon D90, (top) 10.5mm f/2.8, (bottom) 50mm f/1.4
We don't get to see the Aurora Borealis that often, only about twice a year if I'm lucky. Sometimes more, but it all depends on weather and solar activity and all that jazz. It does help being in the middle of the mountains with almost no light pollution at all. This was two nights ago, we were walking home from the movies and I saw a faint light in the sky. When I got home I decided to take the car for a quick drive out of town to see if I was really what I thought it was, and sure enough, after a 30 second exposure, my LCD was glowing green and I had the biggest grin on my face! I'm sure if someone saw me, they would be wondering what I was so happy about. I got a few good frames and then they died off and I got freaked out from the dark, so I went home, but at least I got a few shots. I went looking again last night, but it was way to faint to even register on my camera's sensor, oh well. We've got some great weather in the forecast for the next few days, so I'll keep my eyes open and keep checking the web for Aurora forecast and maybe I'll catch them again soon.
Photo: Nikon D90, 17-55mm f/2.8
I only discovered Jones Soda a few months ago. When I had my first one, I thought "Where have you been all my life!?!?" It was so full of flavor, much different than my regular old pop I would usually have with my lunch. And the best part is all the flavors it comes in!! I'm pretty sure these two are my favs for now, I'm also a big fan of the Orange & Cream, it reminds me of Orange Creamsickles that I used to love as a kid. So today's blog post is dedicated to the supreme awesomeness of the beverages produced by Jones Soda. Check them out here, and learn more about just how sweet this stuff really is. Keep in mind I do not get anything from these guys for doing this, I'm just a guy who loves Jones, and wanted to let the world know..well at least those on the internet that read this thing!! It also gave me a great opportunity to take some pics of Jones, that I shot today. Shot with a single SB-900 flash slightly right of the camera and high above the bottles, I used to sheets of white foamcore in front of them to lighten up the shadows as well. Thanks for looking, and hope you're thirsty, I'm gonna go have a Jones Soda right NOW!!
Photo: Nikon D90, 17-55mm f/2.8, SB-900 @ 1/4 power.
I remember when I first started rock climbing, and I was so excited to be doing something new, something challenging. It was the same when I started out with photography. After a few months climbing I started to get a bit of a gear "collection". I had a rope, a few quick-draws, a handfull of carabiners, some cord, harness and rock shoes. I thought at this point..."well, I'm set now." Man was I wrong. One winter in the gym and I didn't think my shoes would last another season, so I "knew" I had to have a new pair, and while I'm at it, I should get a few more draws too, and another biner. A few months go by, and I'm planning a road trip...."should we get a second rope? and a few more draws?....Yep, better do that!!" Now, five years later, I've got so much stuff for climbing I could outfit a small army.
Funny thing about hobbies I think. I'm not gonna lie, photography has been the exact same for me. I first bought a beginner DSLR and two lenses and thought "what else could I need?" Turns out there is always something else you need...or should I say "want"!! I have recently gotten into off camera flash, and I love it. It's a whole different thing than shooting landscapes and wildlife. I still love that, and I think landscape photography is where my true passion lies, but using a flash adds another element to the game that I absolutely love. I'm lucky in a way too, as a good friend of mine also decided to purchase a flash recently, and he's a Nikon shooter as well, and got the same flash as me. Great!! Now the two of us almost have two flashes each!! (almost) I then made the mistake a few days ago and borrowed a macro lens from another friend, and I became quickey addicted to the degree of closeness that was achieved with this litty guy. I snapped this shot of the spider on the flower the other evening, keep in mind that that spider didn't even appear to my eyes until I focused on the flower and thought "holy crap, there's a spider there!! AWESOME!!" I spent a few minutes with that little guy and went back inside to avoid the return of the rain.
The first shot, for anyone who cares, was done in my kitchen, it's small, but it worked. It's a self-portrait I thought I'd do for fun. Mostly b/c I'm too lazy to ask anyone else to sit there while I learn what the hell I'm doing. This was lit with two SB-900's, one camera right at about 45 degrees to me @ 1/4 power (i think) and the other was to camera left at about 90-100 degrees to me @ 1/80 power and zoomed to 135mm. I did a bunch of post processing on this one, but I kinda like the end result, now I just need to try this out on someone other than me..or my extremely patient fiancee!!
Photos: Nikon D90, Sigma 105mm f/2.8, Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8
Just wanted to say a quick Happy Canada Day to everyone. Now go enjoy it!!
Mt. Edith Cavell is one of my favorite places to shoot in Jasper National Park. Don't get me wrong this park is extremely beautiful from park gate to park gate, but it seems to me that I always end up back at the Cavell Lake or in Cavell Meadows, or just strolling along the "Path of the Glacier" at the bottom of the mountain. In the few short years I've been taking pictures in a serious way, I already have a few thousand shots from the Cavell area. I've spent a number of freezing cold mornings waiting for sunrise, only to have clouds roll in and drive back home without a shot, or at least the shot I wanted that day. Last year there was a four or six week period where I was up at Cavell for sunrise at least one of my days off, if not both of them. Eventually I got the photo I wanted, and I'm extremely pleased with it.
Mid August holds the best month to explore the meadows above Cavell, mountain wildflowers bloom inches off the trail and well into the forest, just begging to be photographed with Edith Cavell in the background. As I write this the last light of the day is hitting the North Face of the mountain and it is just amazing. Maybe this is the reason I haven't left this park in the last five years. I was up there a few weeks ago to check it out, and of course, I got a few new photos to add the collection, and I know for sure I'll be up there again later in August and September, trying to add to the library once again.
Photos: Top-Nikon D40x, 17-55mm f/2.8, Bottom-Nikon D90, 17-55mm f/2.8
