View 134: Eyes of a Lion

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography

African Lioness (Panthera leo) photographed at Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Sunset Safari in Syracuse, New York on Tuesday, July 13, 2010.

African Lioness (Panthera leo) photographed at Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Sunset Safari in Syracuse, New York on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Nikon D70, 70-200VR, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 900, EV 1.0, 155mm focal length.

If you have seen my flickr photostream in the left sidebar lately, you have noticed I visited the Rosamond Gifford Zoo last week for a Sunset Safari.  I had planned on bringing the Nikon 80-400VR f/4.5-5.6 lens. Late in the day, clouds rolled in and I decided to use the Nikon 70-200VR f/2.8 lens as I had a feeling I would need the extra stops the f/2.8 lens would give me.  Turns out I was right as I needed every bit of light I could gather.

One of my goals for the evening was to get animal portraits.  Using an f/2.8 lens wide open you have to make sure the eyes are in focus or the portrait will not work.  As you see above, the lioness’ eyes are in focus.  Her nose and right ear are not in focus but does not take away from her pretty eyes.

Another goal was to get a photo of one of the zoo’s Snow Leopards.  I have been trying for a few years now.  On most visits, the leopards would be lying next to the viewing glass fast asleep.  Being in the zoo close to sunset, I has hoping I might get lucky.  About 15 minutes before Sunset Safari was over, one of them got up and jumped up on one of the logs in the enclosure.  This gave me an angle through the cage’s wires instead of glass. Made for a cleaner shot and I took a bunch with this one being the best of the bunch.

Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia) photographed at Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Sunset Safari in Syracuse, New York on Tuesday, July 13, 2010.

Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia) photographed at Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Sunset Safari in Syracuse, New York on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Nikon D70, 70-200VR, 1/125s, f/2.9, ISO 560, EV 0.6, 200mm focal length.

Look for more animal photos this week on the blog and flickr.

Posted in Animals, Weekly View | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Assignment 8: Travel Photography

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography

Those of you who followed or joined in on my last assignment got a heads up about this one. As this is a long assignment, I am now listing the latest photo assignment (or challenge) at the top of the right-hand sidebar for your reference under the title, Assignments (how original, eh?).

Unlike my other assignments, I am asking for, at least, a three (3) photograph essay relating to Travel Photography.  I know some of you cringed at the word, “essay”.  I wrote a post to explain about photo essays being no more than the addition of extended captions to your photos to pull them together into an article.

Here are some travel photography links to inspire you on your trips this summer:

Travel photography tips from National Geographic magazine

21 Essential Shots You Should Capture On Your Next Trip

Tips for Photographing New Places

10 Travel Photography Tips

Remember, travel photography does not mean you have to travel to far off distance lands.  My town is a travel destination as are many nearby places.  It is the style of a photo essay which can tell us the story of the place you wish to photograph and share.  Have fun and extra credit if you include people in your essay. 🙂

The Tugboat Urger visiting the village of Baldwinsville, New York.Built in 1901, the Tugboat Urger is now a teaching tug and spends it’s days throughout the year educating school children and adults about the importance of New York’s historic Barge Canal System.

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 Travel Photo Essays.

Please, have your photos posted on or before Midnight (your time), Wednesday, September 8, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

View 133: Rite of Passage

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography
High School Graduation is a rite of passage here in the United States.

High School Graduation is a rite of passage here in the United States.

It is high school graduation party season.  Since the end of June, I have seen many parties and yesterday was my turn to enjoy a family graduation party.  My cousin’s son whom I have never really gotten to know was celebrating his accomplishments of his life to this point.  The party featured what I call the Brag Wall.  This is the place the proud parents display their prodigy’s photos, awards, and accomplishments.  I always enjoy browsing and, in this case, photographing these displays.  To get to known a little bit about the person before their next step into adulthood.  Good luck, cousin!

The collage and graphics were done at Picnik.com.

Posted in People, Weekly View | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Two Photos for Every Scene

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography
A boat going on an evening cruise on Lake Ontario at sunset.

A boat going on an evening cruise on Lake Ontario at sunset.

When looking through blogs and flickr photostreams, one can tell who are learning and who are the more experienced photographers.  How?  If you go through many posts or pages of photos and they are all in a Landscape orientation like the photo above.  That’s a good indication the person is not thinking like an experienced photographer would.

You see (and will below), there is always two photos in every scene. This was one of the first things I learned once I started shooting with the idea of selling my work.  Whether it be weddings, stock, media, portraiture or sharing your photos with family and friends, changing your camera’s orientation to portrait will give yourself a new way of looking through your viewfinder.  The rules of composition still apply and can bring a whole new way of seeing.  Just like this…

Portrait version of a boat going on an evening cruise on Lake Ontario at sunset.

Portrait version of a boat going on an evening cruise on Lake Ontario at sunset.

Remember, to look and see in both Landscape and Portrait orientations when you are out with your camera.  Have fun!

Posted in Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Fishing on the Canal

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Scott Thomas Photography

The weather has been hazy, hot and humid the last few days.  This creates some interesting atmospheric conditions which made for a very orange-red sunset last night.  Down near Lock 24, this gentleman was fishing in the relative cool of the evening after a 95 degree F (35 C) day with the heat index going over 100.

An elderly man fishing on the New York Barge Canal near Lock 24 in Baldwinsville, New York.

An elderly man fishing on the New York Barge Canal near Lock 24 in Baldwinsville, New York. Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/60s, f11, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 135mm focal length.

I tried to show the concept of the three H’s in this photo.  I wanted to avoid the starburst effect by using a larger aperture of f/11 as the round Sun looked hotter.  So, too, the reflection in the water and the haze in the background adds to the feeling of heat.  Even the fisherman’s hat was discarded. 🙂

This photo is available for download for use in electronic and print media or as a print via IthacaStock.com. Thank you for your interest.

Posted in People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments