You choose!

I finally got a chance to shoot the Mt. Timpanogos Temple in a flattering light from the right angle. I missed the blooming trees due to terrible weather, but I still am happy with the results! Too happy in fact, I cannot choose which one I like best. You tell me which one you would put on your wall.

As always click a photo and get a larger view!

Leave me a comment and let me know which one you like.

A Break in the Clouds

We have been having some truly rainy weather for quite awhile, we got a break last Saturday morning and I couldn't help but run to my favorite place to take a few shots. I don't think they are quite as good as others I have taken, but I really do like them... if nothing else they are a place to start for the next time I get a chance!

These are the same shot processed differently and cropped differently. Can't choose between them.

This took quite a bit of correcting of perspective but I quite like it.

Flowers for Momma

Wanted to take some pictures of the LOVELY flowers I picked out for my LOVELY wifey for Mothers Day (via phone...) so on the day after I set up the table and background and got busy. (as always click on a photo to make it larger!)

This white blossom was just my favorite, I love the complexity of natures engineering.

This was intended for a laptop wallpaper, but I just liked it a lot! So you get to see it too.

The full bunch!

After the preliminaries, I decided it was time to get a little crazy and pop down the rabbit hole into close up macro.

These next three were taken with my old Manual Focus 50mm f1.4 lens on Extension tubes (gadgets that move the lens further away from the camera so that you can focus closer.) The first with a 36mm tube.

Then adding 20mm for 56 total mm.

Last adding 12 mm for a total of 68mm.

The last shot taken with my DA 55-300 at 55mm. I actually think this lens performs better than the older prime for this shot sharpness wise.

One Really Busy Saturday Morning

Last Saturday was a busy one from Dawn until Noon. Here are a few shots from my day.

First: this is a single RAW image from the middle of my timelapse. The sky was awesome, you have to remember here that the image covers 180 degrees from diagonal corner to corner, so a HUGE swath of the sky was beautifully lit!

Once direct sunlight was on the area my thoughts turned to macro and flowers. I have recently acquired some gear that helps me get closer and sharper than I could before. This was with my M 50mm f4 Macro.

This also.

For the rest of the day I mounted my old manual focus K series 24mm f2.8 lens which I think is my most versatile lens, and headed off to Salt Lake City for a morning Daddy/Daughter/Daughter/Daughter date. We first went to Temple Square and wandered through some flower beds, the variety and quality of the flower displays are amazing, this tulip is much larger than my fist.

The colors on this one just blew my mind, never seen anything like that before. The background is a bit busy but I still like the overall shot, it just captures what I was seeing.

At the Discovery Gateway I found a few interesting things to shoot, besides my kids. This is in the main lobby.

This is above the "Beehive" activity area, you can use blowers to move plastic balls through the tubing, way up high then watch them roll through the tubing back down to the bin. Endless entertainment for the littles.

On our way out I caught these two gentlemen talking on a bench, I just love the poses and interaction.

As always thanks for looking!

Trying out Timelapse....

I have always liked the ability to create or warp reality with photos, taking what you see and making the photo look like what you saw rather than how the camera captured it.

With timelapse you can warp time (Take THAT Einstein!) that is really cool. So far I am just futzing around with it, but I will get better, though I doubt this will replace my regular still photography pursuits.

So here are the three timelapse videos I have done so far.

Other People's Money

I had a chance to play with some money that DIDN'T belong to me, it was fun too, fake maniacal laughs, etc.... Then I grew up and decided to take some pictures of it, doubting that I will ever have the opportunity to have this much cash in these denominations in hand in the near future. So here we go, a bunch of Benjamins....

(As always click the photo for a larger image, and for those that care, I used my Sigma 17-70)

Easter Saturday Flowers

I have been dying to have pretty things to photograph, this winter really got me down. So FINALLY things are blooming, and starting to look good. Recognizing this I ran up to the Temple, because the landscaping always has good flowers.

Most of these were taken with my new/used Kenko Extension tubes which I LOVE! They allow ordinary lenses to become macro lenses, and they do a very good job of it too. All these shots were taken with a combination of my M 50mm f4 macro both with and without the Extension tubes, my 55-300 with Ext Tube, and my Sigma 17-70. As always click on the photo for a larger version.

Evening Light....

Back at the start of April, I realized I would be arriving in the area of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple close to sunset. Being smart enough to be carrying my camera, I zipped into the parking lot just before the sun started touching the mountains to the West. The sun was just kissing the North Face of the temple as it went down and the sky was just right.

Needless to say I was quite pleased! (click the photo to see a larger version.

Finally some blossoms!

Boing! Boing! Boing! Spring is finally starting to rear its beautiful head! About time too. Here are a couple of quick shots just for fun. I am liking my M-50mm f4 macro, just need to use it more!

Rural Junk

I had the opportunity to take a few things to my Aunt's house last week. She wasn't there when we got there so I took the opportunity to poke around. Of course I had my camera in hand and took a few shots. I only had my 55-300 with me, was expecting Big Horn Sheep or Deer by the side of the road. What I get for thinking I guess.

Anyway, I was fascinated by the patina of rust and ageing on an old metal cabinet in the back yard. So I spent a few minutes working it. I got two compositions I liked enough to take a shot.

Something about the color and hue just does something for me.

Something about the dual nature of the two handles speaks to me, perhaps it is the ability of some to withstand corrosive environments, while others succumb. Or just being the last man standing.

Again I see a losing battle with the elements, with a few last spots going screaming and kicking into the abyss. What is the value of fighting even when there is no hope?

Day 1: An Afternoon of Slot Canyons and Hiking Behind the Reef.

April 8, departed Salt Lake City in a rain/snow mix hoping for better weather, as I was part of a planned expedition of adults and youth from our church to Goblin Valley State Park. We were worried about the weather, but to our great relief the weather got better as we went East towards Price. In fact once we got there we had essentially no rain whatsoever the entire trip until we returned to home.

If you want to skip reading this and go straight to the photos click here.

Upon reaching the turnoff from UT-24 we left contact with civilization and headed Northwest toward the San Rafael Swell. In my several visits here I do not remember any Antelope, however we found a group of them by the side of the road grazing. This was the best shot of the lot.

After setting up camp, George and I quickly headed out from the State Park and to the Little Wild Horse Trailhead. This is one of my favorite places to hike in the area, and truly a spectacular slot canyon that is really quite accessible, though it is getting a few more large rocks washed in each year. It has changed quite a bit since my first hike in it in 2009. This tree amazes me, It has to get washed against on a regular basis by a copious amount of water, yet it stands firm.

This is one of the first areas of narrowing, it gets progressively deeper and rougher as you go. The sensuous curves of the sandstone, and the delicate layering of eons old sediment is fascinating.

This part leans a bit, and I find it quite awkward, it is truly amazing to me how the path of least resistance sometimes leads to beauty, and sometimes elsewhere.

Here is smiling George, enjoying the day! Sad to say it was kinda fun to be there without the youth, it is very easy to enjoy yourself when you are not herding 14-16 year olds who think they are invincible and bulletproof.

Typical of the lower canyon, wider areas immediately downstream from a narrow section, it fascinates me how the water and wind can carve the stone into fantastical shapes and textures.

This is a large and new boulder that has been washed in. It is 4-5ft tall and probably weighs over 1,000 pounds, glad I wasn't there when it was being washed in. This was taken with my Fisheye lens, so you can understand the field of view, from corner to diagonal corner is 180 degrees, so from my foot to the sky goes from straight down to straight up. It is narrower than it appears.

I have seen the gap under this rock go from just a couple of feet 2 years ago too...

Nearly 6 feet. Amazing how the canyon changes.

Don't remember this rock pile either.

Twisty doesn't even begin to describe what this place is.

Boo! Yeah people put the rocks there, I put one, the other was already there.

Easy parts, but still beautiful.

The upper canyon just begs to be photographed.

The old Juniper and Cedar trees last a long time after they die, the strange patterns of the wood fascinate me.

I reworked this several times. I think I finally got it right... maybe....

I liked how this head looked kind of like a skull of some dinosaur, the contrast with the other rock also strikes me as well. There is more than one tone of rock there, and the differences are often spectacular.

This face is a little more happy, don't know why I never noticed before that there were a lot of these around.

Spotting this around several turns as we were descending Bells Canyon provided much needed anticipation of blue sky. We truly enjoyed our glimpses of the sun and sky.

Another of our friendly cottonwood trees in the river bottom, how it has survived this long I don't know. You would think that flash floods would have taken it out long ago.

George and I went down the road to Ding Canyon, a smaller spot that I have wanted to see since I did part of it a few years ago. What a blast! It is more straight forward and less twisty, but like a slap in the face on a cold morning, just a bit refreshing.

This is what is called a "Keeper Pothole" If you get in you don't get out, thus you are kept. Doubt I would drink the water unless I had to but it is good to know it is there in a moment of desperation.

In Upper Dang Canyon, there were some unbelievably large rocks just hanging out... literally.

We had a great time, but got really sore, we hiked for almost 8 hours straight. I walked like an old man honestly.... guess it is about time I started acting my age.