View 255: A Zoomy Little Christmas

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

In my home, Christmas does not start until the day after Thanksgiving (just ask my daughters).  Well, last week the annual Lights on the Lake holiday display at Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool, New York, had their walk through nights before starting the auto drives every night until just after New Years. The walk thrus allow tripods for photographers who can use long exposures to photograph the lights.  I altered my “rule” for this year. 🙂

I decided to have a little fun this time and zoomed my lens during those exposures.  Here are the results.

Gingerbread family at Lights on the Lake holiday display in Onondaga Lake Park near Liverpool, New York.

Gingerbread family at Lights on the Lake holiday display in Onondaga Lake Park near Liverpool, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 4s, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, variable focal length, tripod.

Jump right out at you, don’t they?  Anyone for a gingerbread cookie?

Christmas stocking display at Lights on the Lake at Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool, New York

Christmas stocking display at Lights on the Lake at Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool, New York
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 10s, f/11, ISO 200, EV 0, variable focal length, tripod.

As a kid, I dreamed of a Christmas stockings being this big.

Getting off the Christmas theme and with the home town of L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz, a few miles away in Chittenango, New York, we find the rainbow tunnel to the Land of Oz.

The Rainbow Tunnel to the Land of Oz at the Lights on the Lake holiday display in Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool, New York.

The Rainbow Tunnel to the Land of Oz at the Lights on the Lake holiday display in Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 10s, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, variable focal length, tripod.

Do you remember the story behind the yellow submarine with the heart in its center?

Yellow submarine at the Lights on the Lake in Onondaga Lake Park near Liverpool, New York.

Yellow submarine at the Lights on the Lake in Onondaga Lake Park near Liverpool, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 8s, f/8, ISO 200, EV 0, variable focal length, tripod.

In case you don’t remember: Back in the 1950′s, 60′s and early 70′s, cars were allowed to park along the Onondaga Lake Parkway.  Parents would tell their kids when asked about all the parked cars there on Friday and Saturday nights that people were watching the submarine races. ;)   Cars can no longer park along the lake but this display is in homage to some colorful local history.

If you have a zoom lens and a tripod, this is a fun technique to try.

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Photography Show for Hospice of CNY II

Posted on November 16, 2012 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 second year we were invited to produce this show so they must have liked what we did last year.

If you live around Syracuse, the artist reception will be held on Thursday, December 6, 2012 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the offices of Hospice of CNY (see banner below for the address).  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.

Hospice of CNY Fine Art Photography Show

This year I am accompanied by eight photographers, six of which are new to the show, and presenting their best photographs from the past year.  This created an excellent selection of subjects from landscapes to sports to street photography.

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 3, 2013.

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eBook Review: SLOW

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

In contrast to the fast shutter speeds I used for photographing the Syracuse Crunch hockey games, photographer Andrew S. Gibson’s ebook SLOW explores the use of long exposure photography. (See below for special discount codes) This is a kind of photography I call In Motion Photography and curate a weekly photo theme on Google+ featuring people’s captures of motion in still photos.

The first part of SLOW goes over long exposure hand-held photography techniques of Panning and Intentional Camera Movement (ICM). Though I am familiar with both of these techniques, Andrew had a couple of different ways of getting dreamy looking landscapes which I want to try out.  This part of the ebook closes with a case study by another photographer, Doug Chinnery, who explains in depth how he uses ICM to create beautiful works of art.  Like all motion photography techniques, getting good results with ICM takes practice and many exposures.  Doug summed it up best with this comment, “The results can be disastrous, but often amazing things emerge.”

The second part of SLOW explores the use of tripods and filters for very long exposures which can go into minutes or even hours instead of a fraction of a second.

Taughannock Falls State Park near Ithaca, New York.

Waterfalls make perfect subjects for long exposure photography like this one in Taughannock Falls State Park near Ithaca, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 4s, f/25, ISO 200, EV 0, 36mm focal length, tripod, polarizing filter.

Andrew talks about the equipment he feels is necessary and optional to slow and steady your camera to lengthen shutter speeds from multiple seconds to minutes to even hours by use of a tripod, polarizing and neutral density filters, location and time of day. He explains and shows the results of each filter using stunning photos from New Zealand.

SLOW concludes by going over how to correctly expose for long exposures, minimize noise, visualize composition, finding locations and working a scene once you find one to come back with photographs with the WOW factor using long exposures.  This section ends with another case study by photographer Joel Tjintjelaar who specializes in black and white long exposure photography.  Truly amazing work in which Joel explains his approach to using slow shutter speeds for high impact photographs.

Craft & Vision has issued two discount codes to celebrate the release of SLOW: The Magic of Long-Exposure Photography by Andrew S. Gibson.  To save $1 off the price of this ebook, use code SLOW4 when checking out or you can save 20% off the cost of 5 ebooks from Craft & Vision by using code SLOW20. These codes are only good until 11:59PM on November 18, 2012 so get yours today!

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View 254: Crunch Time!

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography
Syracuse Crunch Philip-Michael Devos (88) sporting his hockey smile during pre-game warmups before playing a Rochester Americans in the Onondaga County War Memorial.

Syracuse Crunch Philip-Michael Devos (88) sporting his hockey smile during pre-game warmups before playing a Rochester Americans in the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 4000, EV +1.0, 200mm focal length.

Those of you who have been following either my flickr or Google+ content streams over the last month have already read about an opportunity I was given to photograph the Syracuse Crunch ice hockey games and promotional events on a trial contract for October (2012).  Many of the photographs the Crunch have been using on their website and FaceBook page over the last month have been mine.

This week the contract was extended for the rest of the Crunch’s American Hockey League (AHL) home schedule so I feel comfortable in sharing the news with my blog audience.  The biggest advantage to being a photographer for a minor league professional team is the freedom to roam around the arena and get into positions to capture game action.  I even get to go out onto the player’s bench during pre-game warmups and shoot inside the protective glass instead of through it.  Which is where I took this photo of Philip-Michael Devos with his hockey smile.  Philip-Michael had taken an errant puck in the face during a team practice a few weeks ago.

The first challenge I was faced with was the speed of the players at the AHL level.  These players are a quantum leap in speed from the high school athletes I have been photographing on a regular basis the last three years.  I am beginning to better anticipate the play and caught this action last weekend.

Syracuse Crunch Richard Panik (14) pots a goal against the Rochester Americans goaltender David Leggio (33).

Syracuse Crunch Richard Panik (14) pots a goal against the Rochester Americans goaltender David Leggio (33).
Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 2200, EV +1.3, 116mm focal length.

I have the luxury of time to try and photograph elements of the game I feel are important like the concentration of a player as the puck is dropped for a faceoff.

AHL Linesman drops the puck for a faceoff between Syracuse Crunch Tyler Johnson (9) and Rochester Americans Rick Schofield (32).

AHL Linesman drops the puck for a faceoff between Syracuse Crunch Tyler Johnson (9) and Rochester Americans Rick Schofield (32).
Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 3600, EV +1.3, 140mm focal length.

Using the very fast shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, I capture things our eyes can not see in real time. I wish my sticks flexed like this when I played.

Syracuse Crunch Brett Connolly (28) leans into a shot against the Rochester Americans in the Onondaga County War Memorial.

Syracuse Crunch Brett Connolly (28) leans into a shot against the Rochester Americans in the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 2200, EV +1.3, 95mm focal length.

I try to get the puck in the photo as much as possible. This is the same for any sport with a ball or puck in the case of hockey.

Syracuse Crunch players Pierre-Cedric Labrie (20) and Brett Connolly (28) fight for the puck along the boards agains Rochester Americans Frederick Roy (91) and Matt MacKenzie (47) in the Onondaga County War Memorial.

Syracuse Crunch players Pierre-Cedric Labrie (20) and Brett Connolly (28) fight for the puck along the boards agains Rochester Americans Frederick Roy (91) and Matt MacKenzie (47) in the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 3600, EV +1.3, 200mm focal length.

Crunch are undefeated on the road but are having a hard time getting used to their new home rink (this team played in Norfolk last year).  They have two games at home next weekend to change that trait.

Syracuse Crunch Pierre-Cedric Labrie (20) backhands a shot at Rochester Americans netminder David Leggio (33).

Syracuse Crunch Pierre-Cedric Labrie (20) backhands a shot at Rochester Americans netminder David Leggio (33).
Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 2500, EV +1.3, 80mm focal length.

At this time, I am not totally sure how this extra work with the Crunch will effect the blog.  I will keep the same schedule for now.  If anything, you will see more hockey photos which I will try to keep relevant and interesting.

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Finding Color in Your Compositions

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

As I mentioned when introducing this month’s assignment on Color Composition, I was surprised how little I used color that way even though I shoot it exclusively. Upon perusing my photo library, I found the following photographs I remembered taking because of the color in the scene.

The first I found on a “trail” on Prospect Mountain overlooking Lake George.  I put trail in quotes as it was more like a steep rock face.

A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Foot Trail marker on a Prospect Mountain trail near Lake George, New York.

A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Foot Trail marker on a Prospect Mountain trail near Lake George, New York.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/320s, f/5.6, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 200mm focal length.

I used two compositional techniques to focus attention on the yellow marker.  The first was to use the Rule of Thirds and the second to use a wide open aperture to throw the busy forest background out of focus.

Upon re-visiting the 1000 Islands Visitor Center next to the 1000 Island Bridge, I remembered the red covered bridge on the trail behind the Center.

Red covered bridge behind the 1000 Islands Visitor Center just off of Interstate 81 in between Clayton and Alexandria Bay, New York.

Red covered bridge behind the 1000 Islands Visitor Center just off of Interstate 81 in between Clayton and Alexandria Bay, New York.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/40s, f/16, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 40mm focal length.

The red roof of the covered bridge draws one’s attention before seeing the other elements in the scene like the bridge’s reflection in the water, the fence along the pond’s perimeter and the 1000 Island bridge in the background.

This last example is bitter sweet to share.  Chances are the wooden pier you see in the photo near Ocean City, New Jersey is no longer there after Superstorm Sandy passed over the New Jersey shore last week. If you wold like to help people afffected by Sandy, Click Here to give a monetary donation to the American Red Cross.

A couple walking past a wooden pier near the Ocean City Boardwalk on the Atlantic Ocean shore in New Jersey.

A couple walking past a wooden pier near the Ocean City Boardwalk on the Atlantic Ocean shore in New Jersey.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 210mm focal length.

The brightly colored clothes of the couple walking on the beach immediately catches a viewer’s eyes before traveling through the natural tones of the beach scene.  Does not hurt they are positioned near a power point location (see Rule of Thirds link above).

These photos are good examples of how to use color to enhance a photo’s composition.

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