Cattail's & A Killer Sunset

While I was on my way to shoot the Reception today at the Mapelton City Center, I missed my turn and drove up another street looking for a place to turn around. Along the way I saw a field of beautiful fresh white powder (+snow mobile tracks, of course!) and some really sweet looking cattails. I had to get out of my truck and photograph them basking in the sun, covered with last nights fresh snow. I live by the hurry up and wait motto, so I had a few minutes to spare.

When I was selecting my settings in the camera, I remembered that a small aperture is best on a sunny day because it makes the sun look like a star instead of a big over exposed blob. I chose to shoot the 24-70mm 2.8L, @ f 13, 1/400, -2/3 compensation, 100 ISO. By shooting at a short focal distance with a fill flash, it helps under expose the background, which is great for a beautiful sunny open sky.

So now you are wondering why the sky isn't blue, but red & black instead?? Well I'm a big fan of infrared film and this is my version of it :D I think it gives it more of an abstract, artistic feel.

Nature photo of the day ^

After I finished shooting the Pre-Reception tonight, I looked outside and saw the killer sunlight that was setting. Of course, I went into holy freak mode and got all excited because I know that I have just a couple of minutes to capture the light. I switched to the 70-200mm 2.8L and zoomed right in on the top of the mountain. It took me 2 shots to get this one. When you shoot a shorter shutter speed than focal length you risk a soft image. So the closer you are to 1/200 the greater the chance you have for a very sharp image. I was zoomed at 200mm, @ 1/100, f 5.0, 200 ISO. I felt like I was pretty close to max for a sharp image, even with my very steady hand.

The first shot was a bit soft, I fired a second image right after that so it was a smoother more steady shutter release. I hate tripods and I love to shoot hand held in low light. It was very sharp and clean when I looked at the pixels at a 100%.

It's funny, when I was looking at the photo that close, I could see every little thing on the mountain and I kept thinking I'd for sure see an animal or a herd of them!

Squaw Peak @ Sunset

While my wife was out doing a little shopping, she called me up and said to go look outside at the beautiful sunset on the mountains. I grabbed my camera and wide-angle lense and ran outside. The light was Awesome and the color was so vibrant! After I fired off some hand held pix I decided to run back in and switch to the long lense, dumb...on my part! If there's one thing I have learned about light, especially with sunsets, It's that you never leave the light!! It will be gone every time, I promise.

1D Mark III, 24-70mm 2.8L, 1/125 @ f 4.0, +1/3 compensation, 640 ISO, AWB.

Low Angle Shooting

Low angle shooting has always had a bad wrap, it's typically discouraged especially with people. Here's an example of a low angle image that works. The key is not to see "up the nose" or add "chins." You have to get the angle of the image plane just right. It's tricky but you can do it. I'm about 3 feet below them, with the camera bracket in hand.

I really like to shoot very low angle when possible. I will literally put the feet of my camera bracket on the ground and track the subject by turning the camera left and right until I feel the shot and "wham", it's there. Auto focus is best but manual focus works great especially if the subject matter is in a consistent spot.

Happy Turkey Day

We all know that Thanksgiving is so much more than turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. It's a time to stop and be thankful for all that we have been blessed with! I am so grateful for a day to really stop and do this and be with loved ones. I can honestly say that I stopped thinking about the troubles of our daily lives, like our economy and the uncertain future of our so amazing country. I somehow just let it all go and I am so grateful for that today. I am also so grateful for my family, my passion/job and good health. I hope that you have had a real chance to stop and take stock in your many blessings and riches!

Sincerely,
Michael Lloyd

Meet The Crockett's