Winter Reminder

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography
Autumn and Winter overlooking the Taughannock Falls near Ithaca, New York.

Autumn and Winter overlooking the Taughannock Falls near Ithaca, New York.

According to the calender, we are about a month before the Spring Equinox and the celestrial end to winter.  That may or may not be true where you live.  This is a good time to remind those who wish to take part in the Four Seasons 2011 Assignment to get out there and photograph your Winter shot.  Spring will be here before you know it!  Anytime you need to review the assignment, I added a link under Assignments in the right sidebar.

Posted in Assignments, Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

View 164: Ice Hockey History

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography
A high school ice hockey game being playing at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, New York.

A high school ice hockey game being playing at the New York State Fairground’s Coliseum Sports arena in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 8000, EV +1.7, 95mm focal length.

Specifically, my ice hockey history.  Last Friday night I photographed a high school ice hockey game between the Baldwinsville Bees (my high school Alma Mater) and the Liverpool Warriors in the Coliseum arena at the New York State Fairgrounds. During the decade of the 1970’s, I played hundreds of hockey games and even more team practices on the Coliseum’s ice surface and the outside rink attached to the building.

Players take to the ice before the start of a period inside the New York State Fairground's Coliseum in Syracuse, New York.

Players take to the ice before the start of a period inside the New York State Fairground's Coliseum in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 8000, EV +1.7, 75mm focal length.

Try to imagine the feeling of nostalgia I got by being inside the Coliseum watching high school boys play a game I loved playing at their ages.  The old barn, as we used to call it, no longer has broken glass windows and is decorated with red, white and blue flags and stars in the rafters.  The flags hanging over center ice representing the State of New York, Canada and the United States of America are still there (though I am sure they are replacements of the ones I skated under some 40 years ago).  The sounds, sights, smells and even the feel of the boards brought back memories of former coaches, teammates, opposing players and their parents.  All bringing a smile to my face.

Players and their coach watch the game action from the bench at the New York State Fairground's Coliseum in Syracuse, New York.

Players and their coach watch the game action from the bench at the New York State Fairground's Coliseum in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 8000, EV +1.7, 200mm focal length.

As I looked across the ice at the players and their coach watching their team and teammates playing, I remembered what it was like to lean against the inside of that very same bench, watching and urging on my friends to score a goal.  Heart beating in anticipation of when the coach would tap my shoulder or say my name to enter the game by jumping over the boards and onto the ice.  Pumping my legs as fast as they could to get into the game as fast as I could.  I miss playing the game but I enjoy watching and photographing today’s players as they create their own memories. Ah, the good old hockey game. (Not the best video quality but the song and clips also brought back very fond memories. Enjoy!)

Posted in Sports, Weekly View | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Quest to Capture Peak Action

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography

One of my goals for this year’s high school ice hockey season was to capture more peak moments.  The last two years, I felt I had missed many good photos by missing those times when the action was at its peak. I knew going into this season I could not blame the equipment.  The Nikon D700 camera coupled with the battery grip is capable of 9 frames per second and the Nikon 70-200VR lens I use is one of the fastest focusing lenses Nikon makes. Putting the burden squarely on the photographer, moi.

With that in mind, I present photos and my commentary where I feel I captured the peak action during this season’s games.

Hockey players keeping their eye on the flying puck.

Hockey players keeping their eye on the flying puck. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 7200, EV +1.3, 200mm focal length.

This is one of my favorites this season.  Even at f/2.8, the players and puck are in sharp focus.  Both player’s eyes are concentrating on where the puck is going as they fight for position to best go after it.

The goalie blocks the red players attempt to score.

The goalie blocks the red players attempt to score. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 8000, EV +1.7, 200mm focal length.

The fast frame rate helped here.  The red player got in alone and I started taking photos three frames before he cut to his left sharply and shot the puck.  The goalie stretched out and stopped the puck with his leg pad.

The white player body checks the opposing player who did have the puck.

The white player body checks the opposing player who did have the puck. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 7200, EV +1.3, 200mm focal length.

Hockey is an impact sport as this photo of a body check demostrates.  Capturing both player’s skates off the ice gives this photo an extra jump. 😉

Hockey goalie making a save.

Hockey goalie making a save. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 5000, EV +1.3, 200mm focal length.

Hockey goalies are a big part of the action.  They are a team’s last defense and have heavy, specialized equipment to help them in the task of keeping the puck out of the net.  I try to highlight their work in every game I photograph.

The moment after a goal is scored has peak action, too.

The moment after a goal is scored has peak action, too. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 3600, EV +1.3, 135mm focal length.

Scoring a goal is a time for a team to celebrate and this photo captures the white team raising their arms after they scored.  The framing is a bit tight but I feel the excitement of the moment is still there.

I do keep missing peak moments but my percentage is getting higher with each game I attend.

Posted in Photography, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

The Chef’s Table in Remy’s

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography
The Chef’s Table in Remy’s, originally uploaded by Scott Thomas Photography.  Here’s a new feature for Views Infinitum which will add a new Thursday post to my schedule.  flickr makes it very easy to produce a blog post from my flickr photostream.  Usually, I try to link the blog and flickr posts in some way. Sometimes, as is the case with this photo, I did not.  There will be some pimping of products on these posts, too. 🙂

During the Christening Cruise for the Disney Dream, the upscale restaurant, Remy, was open for tours. A nice young man from France (seen in photo) was kind enough to take me into the private chef’s table room. He proudly showed the scenes from the animated movie, Ratatouille, on the inside walls surrounding the table. The table settings immaculate in their color and simplicity.

The soft focused print behind the red curtains is of Gusteau’s kitchen from the movie.

If you decide to enjoy a meal at Remy’s during your cruise, come hungry for the seven course meal which takes over three hours to complete.

If you are interested in a Disney Cruise or vacation at Walt Disney World, click the link to request a non-obligation quote from Dreams Unlimited Travel and select Merrie Thomas (my wife) to be your agent.

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Proceed No Further

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography
Warning sign at Taughannock Falls State Park near Ithaca, New York.

Warning sign at Taughannock Falls State Park near Ithaca, New York. Nikon D700/Tokina 11-16mm, f/22, ISO 200, EV +0.6, 16mm focal length, HDR Image.

This photo is available for download for use in electronic and print media or as an art print via IthacaStock.com. Thank you for your interest. To browse my catalog of upstate New York photos, click here to visit my IthacaStock.com contributor page.

Posted in Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments