Maps of the New York State Fair

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography

This was the year of the public relations maps at the Great New York State Fair.  Lots of projects in the state are being backed by federal, state and local money, grants and tax exemptions. Such projects seemingly require showing the public what their governments are spending their tax monies on.  The maps also gave me another reason to use the Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens.

The first map was showing what the Syracuse Inner Harbor could look like within the next five to ten years.  COR Development Company was given the contract to get something done in the Inner Harbor earlier this year.  An area the City of Syracuse has tried several times before to get developed.  The Creekwalk goes right past the Inner Harbor and very little has been done so far.  Mostly a little land grading and dredging of the harbor to date.

Syracuse Inner Harbor development map inside the Center of Progress building at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Syracuse Inner Harbor development map inside the Center of Progress building at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 2000, EV 0.

I sure hope this comes to pass.  I might be in the market for one of those condominiums about the time they get them built. 🙂

While the Inner Harbor map is looking forward, the next map shows Onondaga Lake. Honeywell is spending millions of dollars to clean up the toxic waste from decades of contamination from the industries which used to line the southern shore. I am optimistic the massive dredging work and the county’s emphasis on saving rain water to lower the volume of water going into the lake works.

A woman points out where the dredging operations are taking place on the map of Onondaga Lake in the Center of Progress building at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

A woman points out where the dredging operations are taking place on the map of Onondaga Lake in the Center of Progress building at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 1400, EV 0.

Will it work?  There are questions as to moving the dredged material to a nearby landfill and what effects it will have in the future.

The next map is a part of New York State Fair history. After a strong and deadly storm swept through the Fairgrounds on Labor Day in 1998, the map below was created for emergency personnel to plan in case of future natural or man-made disasters occurring on the Fairgrounds.

Map of the Fairgrounds from 1999 used by emergency personnel for planning at The Great New York State Fair history exhibit in Syracuse, New York.

Map of the Fairgrounds from 1999 used by emergency personnel for planning at The Great New York State Fair history exhibit in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 1600, EV 0.

This map shows all the buildings, roads, temporary structures only up for the Fair and even Midway rides.

This last one is not a map but a model of the Wild Walk scheduled to open in 2015 at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, New York.  Many people were commenting about this model and how they will be planning on walking among Adirondack tree tops.

Model of the Wild Walk in the Center of Progress building which will be coming to the Wild Center in Tupper Lake at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Model of the Wild Walk in the Center of Progress building which will be coming to the Wild Center in Tupper Lake at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 1000, EV 0.

I, for one, will be one of those to walk on the wild side.

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View 295: Fisheye in Motion

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography

In my continuing education to learn the Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens, I went back to the Great New York State Fair last week.  The Midway was calling with all the motion of the rides and bright lights.  Using the tripod, ballhead and L-Bracket I reviewed the last week, I setup in front of various colorful, spinning rides.

Riders whirl around a lighted ride.  I used the tripod like a monopod so I could get the 180 degree view inside the safety fencing and a sharp image at 1/15th of a second.

Spinning riders on the Midway of The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Spinning riders on the Midway of The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/15s, f/5, ISO 560, Ev -0.3, tripod.

The magic of blue hour soon descended over the Midway enhancing the backdrop of the Big Wheel behind the nutritious food stand called Crazy Fried Things.  Deep fried Oreos anyone?

The Big Wheel looms over the Crazy Fried Things food stand on the Midway of The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

The Big Wheel looms over the Crazy Fried Things food stand on the Midway of The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1s, f/14, ISO 200, EV -0.3.

How about a spin on the Round Up?  A classic midway ride.

Round Up ride spinning people on the Midway of the The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Round Up ride spinning people on the Midway of the The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 2s, f/22, ISO 200, EV -0.3.

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Landscape Photography: L Bracket

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography

When I was researching replacing my tripod a couple of years ago, I wanted a better solution to switching from the Horizontal to the Vertical and back. The tripod I was using had a ball head but needed to be moved 90 degrees to one side to photograph a vertical composition. Once I did that the camera needed to be re-leveled and really tightened down so it would not move.  Of course, the lens position would change in the rotation which required moving the tripod or adjusting the ball head.

I asked around and one of my photography buddies told me about using an Arca Style Quick Release (QR) system which was becoming a standard.  As luck would have it, he was coming up to my area and he showed me his setup. I was impressed enough to put the Acratech GV2 Ballhead/Gimbal Head he used into my next year’s photography budget.  I ordered it along with a Kirk Enterprises L-Bracket for my Nikon D700 camera a few months later.

So, what is an L-Bracket? This is how Kirk Enterprises describe them:

Right-angle quick release “L-brackets” fit the base of your digital or film camera, allowing easy access to its battery pack or I/O ports. Quickly release, turn, and remount your camera for either a horizontal or vertical shot – no more flipping your tripod head on its side or upsetting your shooting position. 

Using these two pieces of equipment on my tripod legs was very freeing.  No more added stress when switching between horizontal and vertical compositions.  The L-brackets are designed such that little adjusting is needed when flipping between the two orientations. You will notice in the product images below how the L-Brackets leave open the battery compartment.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE KIRK L-BRACKETS AVAILABLE

The Kirk Enterprises L-Bracket for a Nikon D7100 camera shown in both the horizontal and vertical orientations on an Arca Quick Release ball head.

I liked the one for my Nikon D700 so much, I got one for my Nikon D7100 dSLR camera for using with the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 DX wide angle lens for Landscape Photography.

Here is the L-Bracket in action.  I first photographed Tiffany Falls in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in the horizontal position.

Tiffany Falls near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Tiffany Falls near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Horizontal L-Bracket position.
Nikon D7100/Tokina 11-16mm, 15s, f/22, ISO 100, EV 0, 11mm (16.5mm DX) Focal Length, tripod, polarizer filter.

After I took a few, I loosened up the Acra Quick Release and flipped the camera in the vertical position and tightened it.  Took less than 10 seconds before I was back photographing. With my older equipment, I would be fiddling with it for minutes and become frustrated.  Not good.

Tiffany Falls near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Tiffany Falls near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Vertical L-Bracket position. Nikon D7100/Tokina 11-16mm, 30s, f/16, ISO 100, EV 0, 11mm (16.5mm DX) Focal Length, tripod, polarizer, 3-stop Neutral Density filter.

The less I can concentrate on what my gear is doing and more on what I am photographing, the happier I am.  The L-Bracket and Arca QR system does exactly that.

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Things to Do at the Fair

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography

Here are a few things you can do at the Great New York State Fair.

For as long as I can remember people would line up to get 25 cent chocolate or white milk at the Rainbow Milk Bar in the Dairy Building each and every day. Best deal at the Fair.

People waiting to get 25 cent cups of milk at the Rainbow Bar in the Dairy Building of the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

People waiting to get 25 cent cups of milk at the Rainbow Bar in the Dairy Building of the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 720, EV 0.

The New York Animal Agriculture Coalition and Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is sponsoring the Dairy Cow Live Birthing Center for the first time. There, fair goers have an opportunity to witness calves being born while veterinarians and animal husbandry professionals answer questions. As of Sunday, August 25, twelve calves have been born at the center.

Volunteer answering questions at the new Dairy Cow Live Birthing Center at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Volunteer answering questions at the new Dairy Cow Live Birthing Center at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/125s, f/4.5, ISO 250, EV 0, 55mm focal length.

Twice a day there is free entertainment at Chevrolet Court.  Last Saturday night, Phil Vassar, the piano man of country music, was on stage.

Phil Vassar performing at Chevrolet Court during The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Phil Vassar performing at Chevrolet Court during The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/320s, f/5.6, ISO 3600, EV 0, 300mm Focal Length.

Walking around the Fair at night, you may run into an impromptu group of Irish bagpipers and drummer playing for tips or maybe one of those Donut Burgers. 😉

Irish bagpipers and drummer playing for tips in front of a food vendor at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Irish bagpipers and drummer playing for tips in front of a food vendor at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/60s, f/10, ISO 6400, EV 0, 28mm Focal Length, rear-sync flash.

If you are a young exhibitor in the Dairy Cattle Barn, days can be very long.  Wonder what the kids did before smartphones?

Girl in the Dairy Cattle Barn passing time by playing a video game on her smartphone at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Girl in the Dairy Cattle Barn passing time by playing a video game on her smartphone at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO 6400, EV 0, 125mm Focal Length.

What do you like to do at your local or state fair?

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View 294: Fisheye Fun at the Great New York State Fair

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Scott Thomas Photography
Sand sculpture inside the Center of Progress building at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Sand sculpture inside the Center of Progress building at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 2800, EV 0.

You may recall I borrowed a fisheye lens during the Calder Cup playoffs back in June.  I had a lot of fun and found many uses for it. So much so my wife gave me a Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens for an early anniversary present last week. While the one I used before was for a cropped sensor camera, the Sigma 15mm is for a full frame sensor camera like the Nikon D700 I use.

I could think of no place better than the 2013 Great New York State Fair which opened this week to give the new lens a proper shake down. As I mentioned before, with the 180 degree angle of view, you have to be very careful with the distortion a fisheye lens does around the edges.  Subjects which already have a natural curve work best like the photo of this year’s sand sculpture at the Fair (above) which is surrounded by a circular brick wall.

Here are a few more compositions which worked well with the fisheye lens.

In this case, I wanted the lens to curl the straight lines of the display cooler for this year’s butter sculpture found in the Dairy building.

The 45th Annual Butter Sculpture in the Dairy Building of the 2013 Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

The 45th Annual Butter Sculpture in the Dairy Building of the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 360, EV 0.

A new exhibit this year is about the history of the New York State Fair. Big time entertainment at the Fair is something I fully remember and the time line, starting at 1969, on display worked well with the fisheye.  Especially with the people near the center of the frame.

Entertainment timeline at the Great New York State Fair history exhibit inside the Grange building in Syracuse, New York.

Entertainment timeline at the Great New York State Fair history exhibit inside the Grange building in Syracuse, New York.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 720, EV 0.

I found if I raised the camera over my head and angled the fisheye lens down I got some unique photos.

Bandaloni, One-Man Band, performing at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Bandaloni, One-Man Band, performing at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 200, EV 0.

I could not get the live animals at the Fair to cooperate by looking directly into the fisheye lens at close range.  I settled for this deer trophy at the DEC log cabin exhibit.  He was much easier to work with. 🙂

Deer trophy hanging on the outside wall of the DEC Log Cabin at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.

Deer trophy hanging on the outside wall of the DEC Log Cabin at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 200, EV 0.

This will be a good lens to use when the subject calls for it to help tell a story. Look for more from this lens in the future.

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