Player Introduction

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Scott Thomas Photography

I noticed during player introductions last season, I would sometimes capture the spotlight behind the players as they skated onto the ice. I watched how the spotlight operator would follow a pattern. Once I figured out about when the spotlight would swing in behind a player, I would position myself in the face-off circle nearest where the players entered the ice surface. It took a few games last season to dial in everything. This season, I’m ready for them.

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Syracuse Crunch Tanner Richard (71) being introduced before playing an American Hockey League (AHL) game at the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, New York on Friday, October 21, 2016.
Nikon D500/24-120VR, 1/250s, f/5.6, ISO 1600, EV 0, 24mmm (36mm DX) Focal Length, Bounce Flash.

Even at f/5.6, the 9 bladed aperture diaphragm of the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR lens created a sunburst effect from the spotlight. The arena is bathed in blue light from the Ephesus Lighting LED stadium lighting which the flash counters by bouncing it off the built-in bounce card.

The Nikon D500 camera was in Manual mode with the shutter speed set to 1/250th of a second which is the fastest sync speed for the flash. The ISO can change from 400 up to 1600. In this lighting, 1600 is usually the result.

The only thing I can not control is how the players skate past me. Some come straight out and turn past me like Tanner Richard did in the photo used for this blog. Some keep going straight out and are not lighted by the spotlight in time. Others are too slow or too fast. Over the course of a 38 game season, I will get most of the players like this. The Crunch like to use them in promotional pieces. I just like them.

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View 385: Day on Bald Mountain

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Scott Thomas Photography

I traveled up to Old Forge, New York to catch the last dry weekend day available to me a couple back. The colors were just past peak and the sky was overcast. I could not complain as the day was dry and warm for mid-October in the Adirondacks.

My wife and I decided to climb up to the summit of Bald Mountain. It is a mile trail (or 1.6km for my metric readers). The trail is fairly easy except in a couple of steep rocky areas. Good hiking shoes do make it easier on those areas. It is a good workout. The rewards being overlooks with beautiful views likes these.

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Views from overlooks along the Bald Mountain Trail near Old Forge, New York.

The name Bald Mountain was easy to figure out. As we got closer to the top, the trail became more rock than soil. The summit, in fact, is mostly exposed rock with trees encroaching it from every side.

This White Pine (Pinus strobus) caught my eye.

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White Pine tree on the summit of Bald Mountain near Old Forge, New York.
Nikon D750/28-300VR, f/16, ISO 1250, EV +0.3, 28mm Focal Length, Macphun Aurora HDR.

To  pull out the details and to punch up the autumn tree colors, I used a set of five photos from -2EV to +2EV and merged them into Macphun Aurora HDR plugin from Adobe Lightroom.

I had even more fun with a seven photo panoramic set taken on the summit of Bald Mountain which was merged using Lightroom’s panorama processing capabilities.

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View from the summit of Bald Mountain near Old Forge, New York.

The original size of the panorama is 17,893 x 3,443 pixels or 596 x 12 inches. Yep, that is 49 x 1 FEET. Not very useful but still cool looking.

For those thinking getting to the summit of Bald Mountain was the end of the climb, they were mistaken. As the Rondaxe Fire Tower is found there. While it has not been used by rangers since 1990, people can still climb its narrow staircase to the lookout for a spectacular view.

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Rondaxe Fire Tower at the summit of Bald Mountain near Old Forge, New York on Sunday, October 16, 2016.
Nikon D750/28/300VR,f/16, ISO 250, EV +0.3, 28mm Focal Length, Macphun Aurora HDR.

What, you were expecting a view FROM the top of the tower? Sorry, by this time the wind had picked up with a temperature drop. The clouds had become a little more threatening and we decided to head on down before the rain. Maybe next time. 🙂

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View 384: Taughannock Falls 2016

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Scott Thomas Photography
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Taughannock Falls State Park on the first day of Autumn near Ithaca, New York on Friday, September 23, 2016.
Nikon D750/16-35VR, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 4000, EV -1.0, 16mm Focal Length, Macphun Intenisfy CK.

I have seen Taughannock Falls in Taughannock Falls State Park near Ithaca, New York in all kinds of weather and at various seasons over the last seven years. I have never seen it like I did last weekend. There was barely any water falling. In fact, it was more like trickling down the gorge. The deep plunge pool was the only thing indicating what is normally a large amount of water flowing.

The Finger Lakes region of New York state has had drought conditions for most of the summer which has affected the mightiest of the region’s waterfalls as well as all the others. I was just amazed at the lack of flow.

I processed this photo using Macphun’s Intensify CK which pulled out all the details in the gorge’s rock surfaces and helped to control the bright sky at the top of the waterfall.

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View 383: Beauty of Walt Disney World

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Scott Thomas Photography

One of the goals I set for myself during my latest visit to Walt Disney World was to show the beauty of the parks. With the help of the weather, Disney’s technical wizardry and a bit of my own pixie dust, I believe I found a few good examples.

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Cinderella Castle just after sunset at the Magic Kingdom on Friday, September 9, 2016 in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.
Nikon D750/16-35VR, 1/3s, f/22, ISO 100, EV 0, 24mm Focal Length, Tripod.

I had to be very patient as clouds were not allowing much in the way of a sunset. it was not until ten minutes after sunset did the sky light up. Along with a lighted Cinderella Castle and using Lightroom to open up the shadows and enhance the colors throughout the scene, the image I had hoped for materialized on my screen.

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Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in the China pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase on Friday, September 9, 2016 in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.
Nikon D750/16-35VR, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 720, EV -0.3, 16mm Focal Length, Intensify CK.

Most people photograph the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest replica in the China pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase from the front or framed through the large gate. As I walked around, I found a path which lead off to the side and found this composition. The big white clouds in the sky helped to balance out all the green in the foreground. I used Macphun’s Intensify CK to pull out all the details of the scene.

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A lion peers out from the Tree of Life during a projection show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.
Nikon D750/16-35VR, 5s, f/8, ISO 100, EV 0, 31mm Focal Length, Tripod.

Disney has perfected the use of projections on their iconic park structures from Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom to the Tree of Life in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. To get a good photo of them, I either use a high ISO number for a fast shutter speed or find a point in the show where a projection lasts a few seconds. This was the case at the end of one of the shows on the Tree of Life where an image of a lion’s face lingers as spot lights beam out from the tree’s branches.

Hope you enjoyed what my vision of Walt Disney World beauty is.

If you are interested in more information on a Walt Disney World vacation, contact my wife at merrie@dreamsunlimitedtravel.com 

(just click her email address above)

She has been booking and planning Disney trips for satisfied travelers exclusively for over 18 years.

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View 382: Summer of 2016

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Scott Thomas Photography

The Labor Day weekend is referred to as the unofficial end of Summer where I live. The New York State Fair ends today and schools welcome students this week to start a new year. This summer has been very busy for me and I thought I would share a few highlights.

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Olean Oilers Aaron Phillips (22) wins the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) Home Run Derby at the Onondaga Community College Turf Field on Thursday, July 14, 2016.
Nikon D500/80-400VR, 1/8000s, f/5.3, ISO 4000, EV +0.3, 230mm (345mm DX) Focal Length.

I again was the team photographer for the Cortland Crush baseball team. The Crush are a member of the New York Collegiate Baseball League and I was named the official photographer for the league’s All-Star Game which was held on the turf field at the campus of the Onondaga Community College near Syracuse. The event included a very exciting Home Run Derby and I got right out in front of the hitters for great pictures of the player’s swings. I was protected behind a screen as those players can really hit the ball.

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Onondaga Redhawks Lee Nanticoke (76) scores against Newtown Golden Eagles goalie Clint Jones (2) in Can-Am Box Lacrosse action at the Onondaga Nation Arena near Nedrow, New York on Saturday, July 29, 2016. Newtown won 10-7.
Nikon D500/70-200VRII, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 6400, EV +1.0, 130mm (195mm DX) Focal Length.

The Onondaga Redhawks entered the playoffs of the Can-Am Box Lacrosse league as the defending champions. While they lost this game, they defeated Newtown in the series but lost the championship to the Native Sons in the next series.

You may have noticed I am now using the Nikon D500 dSLR camera for my sports photography. This is the camera I had been waiting for Nikon to release the last two years. Excellent to very good images up to ISO 6400 with shutter speeds up to 1/8000th of a second firing off at 10 frames per second. Look for more from the D500 as the football and ice hockey seasons start up this Fall.

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2017 Ford Mustang Grabber Blue Ecoboost Premium with Onondaga Lake in the background near Liverpool, New York.
Nikon D750/24-120VR, 1/125s, f/22, ISO 280, EV +0.3, 24mm Focal Length, Fill Flash.

This summer I waited weeks for the delivery of the very first Mustang I ordered direct from the factory. It is also the first new Mustang I have ever purchased. It has a 4-cylinder turbocharged engine boosting over 310HP. The Grabber Blue color is a first for Ford’s newest generation of Mustangs and one I have always coveted. The graphics were installed by my friends at Absolute Detail and Wash which I feel really makes the car fun and unique to drive.

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Checking out the revving flat-plank 5.2L engine of a 2016 Ford Mustang GT350 during the Syracuse Shelby Mustang Club event at Davidson Ford of Clay Grand Opening on Thursday, August 18, 2016.
Nikon D750/16-35VR, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 360, EV +0.3, 19mm Focal Length.

With the new Mustang, comes trips to events with the Syracuse Shelby Mustang Club and hanging out with other Mustang owners. We all love sharing our fondness for America’s original Pony Car.

It was a very good summer and I am going to keep it going for autumn. Hope you will be following along.

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