Vacation Adventuring

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography

For me, a vacation is a time to go on an adventure.  Whether that be for a weekend in a nearby park or a trip to a big city.  I want to see, learn and do something when I am vacationing. I know others think of a vacation as a time to relax.  Nothing wrong with that thinking, it is just not my way to vacation.

I am a planner, too.  On our vacation out west earlier this year, I had each day earmarked for something. Of course, once a day would start, it could deviate from the chosen activity and even location depending on our mood, weather, location, special circumstances, etc. The plan is never rigid. While the trip did include National Parks and Disneyland, we spent a couple of days in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The first evening there I went out and did night photography. I mean, it is a must when in Vegas for a photographer, right?

Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino late at night in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino late at night in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/60s, f/5.3, ISO 6400, EV 0, 112mm focal length.

We had not visited Las Vegas since the early 1990’s.  What a change.  In the Paris Casino photo above, you can see one of them: an elevated walkway over the busy streets of Las Vegas. Down the boulevard from there, we watched a few showings at the Fountains of Bellagio.  My tripod was a huge help here.

Fountains of Bellagio show in front of the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fountains of Bellagio show in front of the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nikon D700/Tokina 11-16mm, 1.3s, f/16, ISO 400, EV 0, 16mm focal length, tripod.

The fountain shows are free with a new one being presented every fifteen minutes.

After leaving Las Vegas to drive to the Grand Canyon, we discovered we would be driving right past the Hoover Dam.  Knowing it would get us in late to the Grand Canyon, we decided to stop anyway.  So glad we did.  See, plans can be changed. 🙂

As much as I tried, it was hard to show the size of the Hoover Dam.  Here is one attempt taken from the Visitor Center parking garage.

The Hoover Dam complex photographed from the Visitor Parking Garage near Boulder City, Nevada.

The Hoover Dam complex photographed from the Visitor Parking Garage near Boulder City, Nevada.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/160s, f/16, ISO 200, EV -0.3, 28mm focal length.

Here are a few Hoover Dam facts I learned at the Visitor Center:

  • 726 feet (221 meters) in height
  • 1,244 feet (379 meters) in length
  • 45 feet (14 meters) thickness at the top
  • 660 feet (201 meters) thickness at the bottom
  • 3.25 million cubic yards (2.5 million cubic meters) of concrete used in construction
  • Weighs 6.6 million tons (5.98 million metric tons)

For some prospective, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis I have photographed is 630 feet (192 meters) high.

You know I had to take a photo looking right down the middle of the Hoover Dam at the Colorado River 726 feet below, right?

Looking down the 726 foot high Hoover Dam on the Colorado River down the Black Canyon. It took 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete to build the dam, first called Boulder Dam, back in 1935.

Looking down the 726 foot high Hoover Dam on the Colorado River down the Black Canyon. It took 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete to build the dam, first called Boulder Dam, back in 1935.
Nikon D700/Tokina 11-16mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 220, EV 0, 15mm focal length.

Behind the Hoover Dam is Lake Mead,  the largest reservoir in the United States by volume according to Wikipedia. Four large Penstock Tower Inlets feed the water into the huge turbines inside the dam to produce an average of 4.2 terawatt hours of electricity annually. The power is distributed to the states of Nevada, Arizona and California.

Two of the four Hoover Dam penstock tower inlets on the Arizona side in Lake Mead.

Two of the four Hoover Dam penstock tower inlets on the Arizona side in Lake Mead.
Nikon D700/Tokina 11-16mm, 1/160s, f/16, ISO 200, EV -0.3, 16mm focal length.

Hope you enjoyed learning from my adventure!  This is my contribution to my blog’s assignment on Vacation (click the link to see more vacation photography).

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View 308: A Thanksgiving Tale

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography
My wife getting out the turkey from our new oven on Thanksgiving. Read the text to see how this almost did not happen.

My wife getting out the turkey from our new oven on Thanksgiving. Read the text to see how this almost did not happen. Nikon D700/24-85G, 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO 560, EV 0, 24mm focal length, bounced flash.

I was driving home last Tuesday night when I got a call from my wife, Merrie.  I had to wait to make a stop before I could hear the voice mail she left.  She calmly told me not to worry about the fire trucks in front of our house.  There had been a fire in the oven but she was okay as was the house.  So glad she told me as there was quite a few lights coming from the emergency vehicles as I drove down our street.

The Baldwinsville Volunteer Fire Department was on the scene and they were bringing out our electric range which was full of CO2 discharge when I arrived.  Merrie had kept her wits about her and remembered there was a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.  She used it to contain the damage to the inside of the oven.  This saved further damage to the house.

After thanking our lucky stars only the range was ruined, we realized we needed a new stove as we were hosting Thanksgiving dinner for family members in less than two days. I subscribe to Consumer Reports (CR) and did a quick run through of CR’s recommended electric ranges within our budget.  Looked like Sears had a good Kenmore which was rated a CR Best Buy.  Great, we have bought a few appliances from Sears over the years and trust their Kenmore brand.

However, Sears could or would not deliver a stove the next day.  This was repeated at Home Depot and Best Buy.  Wow…you would think someone would step up and help us. It’s not like we have an oven fire every year.  I complained about this on FaceBook and was told of two local appliance dealers who could help.  One of them was right in my hometown.

The place where our old stove was with no damage to the kitchen and the new stove installed by Sheehan's Appliance the next day.

The place where our old stove was with no damage to the kitchen and the new stove installed by Sheehan’s Appliance the next day. iPhone 5 photos.

I called Sheehan’s Appliance of Baldwinsville the next morning.  They were very happy to help us.  Merrie went down later that morning and picked out her new electric range. It was delivered and installed for free by 1pm. Contrast that with the Big Box stores who charged extra for the service.  By evening, I could smell my wife’s pumpkin pies baking in the oven and she cooked the best turkey ever the next day for our family’s Thanksgiving meal.

I know last weekend was Buy Local Saturday but, in the future, I think I will be buying local more often.  Did we pay more than the one at the Big Box stores, yes, but it was worth it.  I could never say that about Best Buy, Home Depot or Sears.

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View 307: O’Canada

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography

When a Canadian team comes to play the Syracuse Crunch in the War Memorial, both Canada and the USA are honored by the singing of each country’s national anthems. Such was the case when the Hamilton (Ontario, Canada) Bulldogs visited the Crunch last Saturday night. I used the Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens to be able to get the entire Hamilton bench and the ribbon lights into the frame from close range.

Hamilton Bulldogs bench during the National Anthems before playing the Syracuse Crunch in an American Hockey League (AHL) game at the Onondaga County War Memorial on Saturday, November 23, 2013.

Hamilton Bulldogs bench during the National Anthems before playing the Syracuse Crunch in an American Hockey League (AHL) game at the Onondaga County War Memorial on Saturday, November 23, 2013.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 800, EV +1.0.

Back in the 1970’s most North American professional hockey teams consisted of Canadian borne players, today that is not the case.  While Canada is still the dominate country, most rosters have Americans, Europeans, Russians and players from the former Russian republics.  For example, the starting line up for the Syracuse Crunch last Saturday night consisted of three Canadians, two Americans and one Belarusian.  All in all, of the twenty-four players who have played for the Crunch this season, twelve of them have been non-Canadian.

Syracuse Crunch starting lineup, Dmitry Korobov (44, Belarus), Geoff Walker (67, Canada), Mike Angelidis (10, Canada), Drew Olson (21, USA) and Luke Witkowski (82, USA) before playing the Hamilton Bulldogs in an American Hockey League (AHL) game at the Onondaga County War Memorial on Saturday, November 23, 2013.

Syracuse Crunch starting lineup, Dmitry Korobov (44, Belarus), Geoff Walker (67, Canada), Mike Angelidis (10, Canada), Drew Olson (21, USA) and Luke Witkowski (82, USA) before playing the Hamilton Bulldogs in an American Hockey League (AHL) game at the Onondaga County War Memorial on Saturday, November 23, 2013.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 280, EV +1.0.

Let me share a little nostalgia with you.

I grew up watching and becoming a fan of the Montreal Canadiens on Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts every Saturday night. Before each game during the 1970’s, Roger Doucet (pronounced RO-gee DU-set), dressed in his very best, would open each game with a stirring rendition of Canada’s National Anthem.  If you never got the chance to hear him, please, watch the video below as he sings both the US and Canadian anthems.

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Using a Remote Camera for Ice Hockey

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography

A fellow photographer let me borrow a couple of PocketWizard Plus III Transceivers for a recent Syracuse Crunch game. I placed one transceiver on the camera I was using and one on another camera I placed over one of the goals. I attached a cable from the PocketWizard to the remote camera’s 10-pin Remote Terminal and placed both transceivers on the same channel.  This setup would trip the remote camera’s shutter whenever I pressed the shutter on the camera I was using.

The same ice hockey action taken at the same time using PocketWizard transceivers.

Syracuse Crunch Cedric Paquette (17) closing in on Albany Devils goal while being checked by Dan Kelly (28) in American Hockey League (AHL) action at the Onondaga County War Memorial on Saturday, November 16, 2013. This was accomplished by the use of PocketWizard transceivers allowing the action to be photographed at the same time from two different positions by the same photographer. See text for explanation.

Even though I pressed my shutter hundreds of times that night, I only got 25 photos taken on the remote camera.  Of those, the two photos posted here is the best example of what I was shooting for (pun intended).  This experiment proved the concept works and I need to read more about these remotes to get them to work all the time.

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Photography Show for Hospice of CNY III

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography

I would like to invite one and all to this year’s Hospice of CNY Fine Art Photography Show.  This is the third year I was asked to produce this show so they must have liked the previous two shows.

If you live around Syracuse, the FREE artist reception will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 2013 from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at the offices of Hospice of CNY (see banner below for the address. It is not far from the 7th North Street exits of Route 81).  Refreshments and snacks will be provided.  This is a great opportunity to see the works of some of the finest amateur photographers in our area.

Here is a preview of what you will see.

Our Beautiful Parks is the theme for this year's Hospice of CNY Fine Art Photography Show.

Our Beautiful Parks is the theme for this year’s Hospice of CNY Fine Art Photography Show on display from November 8, 2013 to January 2, 2014.

This year I am accompanied by five Upstate New York photographers, two of which are new to the show, and presenting their beautiful park photographs.  This created an excellent selection of subjects from national, state, local and county parks.

Hope to see you there!

NOTE: If you can not make the reception and would like to see the show, you may visit Hospice of CNY between the hours of 9am and 4pm, Monday thru Friday until the close of the show on January 2, 2014.

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