Wait for the Light

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography

It is the axiom of landscape photographers: Wait for the Light.  Below is the first photo I took when I walked up to the viewing overlook at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, North Dakota.

The Painted Canyon in Theodore Roosevelt National Park under an overcast sky.

The Painted Canyon in Theodore Roosevelt National Park under an overcast sky. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/30s, f/16, ISO 220, EV 0, 105mm focal length.

While it is a beautiful photo of the canyon, you can just see on the horizon a line of sunlight. The axiom told me to wait.  I did and 15 minutes later I took this photo.

The Painted Canyon under sunlight coming through a break in the clouds.

The Painted Canyon under sunlight coming through a break in the clouds. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/80s, f/16, ISO 200, EV -0.3, 78mm focal length.

One of the kinds of natural light I look for (actually more like crave) is front lighting with dark clouds on the horizon.  Yes, I was thanking the photography gods as I set and composed several photos of this majestic canyon as the Sun transformed it with its light.  All I did was wait for it.

Posted in Nature, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Another Challenge

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography

Along with my current assignment on Portraiture, my fellow blogger and photographer, Shrew, has rebooted her Shrew’s Daily Shutters blog and her monthly photo challenges.  This month’s challenge is Liquid.  Get them in to Shrew by October 15, 2010.

Here’s a couple of examples…

This liquid covers 70% of the Earth's surface with almost 98% of it is in the oceans?

Did you know this liquid covers 70% of the Earth's surface with almost 98% of it is in the oceans?

Or maybe you like your liquids spirited with a helping of Fish and Chips?

Or do you like your liquids spirited with a helping of Fish and Chips?

Posted in Nature, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

View 143: Top of the World

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography
The view of Disney's Animal Kingdom from Expedition Everest thrill ride in Walt Disney World.

The view of Disney's Animal Kingdom from Expedition Everest thrill ride in Walt Disney World. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 450, EV -0.3, 28mm focal length.

The view of Disney’s Animal Kingdom while riding Expedition Everest.  Thanks to Disney Imagineers, even I can go to the top of the “world” via a very scenic railroad ride.  The ride gets a little rough at times and there’s a Yeti creature with a habit of ripping apart the tracks.  Such is life when visiting Walt Disney World. 🙂

Things are getting a bit ragged around here lately.  I will be on vacation for the next week.  No, not Walt Disney World this time.  I will have Internet access so look for some updates over the next week.  Watch the Twitter feed (see Follow Me on Twitter in the left sidebar) for comments and photos of my latest adventures.  If you are on Twitter, I invite you to follow me.

Posted in Travel, Weekly View | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Assignment 9: Portraiture

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography
My daughter posing for a portrait for me.

My daughter posing for a portrait for me. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/30s, f/13, ISO 200, EV +0.6, 90mm focal length.

As I mentioned in the Assignment 8 Recap, there would be a quick turnaround for the next assignment.

For Assignment 9, I am looking for a portrait of a person and explain how you took it.  The portrait can be a head shot (as seen here of my lovely daughter), three-quarters (chest and above) or full length (head to toe).  The person can be anyone and taken between now and when the assignment is due.

How do you take a good portrait?  First and foremost you must have a good background.  It can not be so busy as to take away a viewer’s attention from the person you are photographing.  You can use natural backgrounds as I did here or use something as simple as a white bedding sheet.

Next, lighting must be flattering on your model.  Here, I had good soft light from an overcast sky.  I angled my daughter so the light direction was to the camera’s left giving her face nice definition.  The cloudy sky allowed her to have her eyes open and not squinting. You can use anything you want to get the light the way you want it.  Natural or artificial (flash), reflectors, umbrellas, soft boxes, etc.  The photo of my daughter would have been improved if I had used fill flash to create catchlights in her eyes.

Here are some helpful links:

Quick Tips for Quick Portraits

Flash is Our Friend

Outdoor Portraiture

How to Photograph Natural Looking Portraits

As in the other assignments, do not send me your photos. What I would like you to do is post them on your blog, flickr or other photo sharing site, personal website or any other place on the Internet where you can place a link to it here by making a comment to this blog entry. Then we can visit those sites and enjoy everyone’s Portraiture.

Please, have your photos posted on or before Midnight (your time), Wednesday, September 29, 2010. Don’t have a place to post? Might be a good time to start up a blog or join a photo community like flickr.  As I have done for all the Assignments, I’ll put together a recap with my comments.

If you have any questions, leave me a comment and I will be happy to answer them. By the way, I would really appreciate it if you would help spread the word about this assignment so we can get lots of people to participate. Blog it, tweet it, email it and talk about it to your fellow photographers, bloggers, friends, family and pets. Thank you!

Posted in Assignments | Tagged , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

View 142: Ready for Some Football?

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography
Baldwinsville Bees defenders Jacob Margrey (79), Tyler Rouse (32) and Carter Twombly (44) stop the Central Square Redhawk at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium in Baldwinsville, New York.

Baldwinsville Bees defenders Jacob Margrey (79), Tyler Rouse (32) and Carter Twombly (44) stop the Central Square Redhawk at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium in Baldwinsville, New York on Friday, September 10, 2010. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 720, EV 0, 200mm focal length.

That’s American Football for my international friends.  I got the opportunity to photograph my local high school home game last Friday night.  That’s right, it was a night game.  Something I would not have been able to do in the past.  Thanks to the high ISO capabilities of the Nikon D700 digital SLR camera , I could photograph past sunset for the first time and still get well exposed photos of the action. Not having to do any noise reduction in post is a real time saver.

Photo Gallery for the Baldwinsville vs. Central Square High School Football Game

Baldwinsville Bees fullback Jim Lang (29) cuts down field against the Central Square Redhawks.

Baldwinsville Bees fullback Jim Lang (29) cuts down field against the Central Square Redhawks. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 2200, EV 0, 105mm focal length.

While it was not much of a game, I got a feel for photographing on a football field’s sidelines for the first time.  Being a rookie, I missed a few shots and need to get in better position for the action.  The Nikon 70-200VR f/2.8 lens was a little short when the action occurred on the far side of the field but overall I was impressed with what I did get.  The larger sensor of the Nikon D700 still allowed me to crop the photos with printable sized images.

Baldwinsville Bees runningback Ben Paprocki (22) scores one of his four touchdowns against the Central Square Redhawks.

Baldwinsville Bees runningback Ben Paprocki (22) scores one of his four touchdowns against the Central Square Redhawks. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 1800, EV +0.3, 135mm focal length.

As you can see, I was able to use action stopping shutter speeds as the light faded.  Below though is a photo that blew me away.  This was late in the game with only high school stadium lighting for illumination.  The ISO is 10,000 with little noise because the exposure is correct.

Baldwinsville Bees Tyler Russell (21) taking a kick off up field against the Central Square Redhawks.

Baldwinsville Bees Tyler Russell (21) taking a kick off up field against the Central Square Redhawks. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/400s, f/2.8, ISO 10000, EV +0.3, 200mm focal length.

Posted in Sports, Weekly View | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments