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May 27, 2013 / Leave a Comment

Grotto Falls

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has many great waterfalls that are worth the hike. Grotto Falls is a 3 mile hike round trip through the hemlock forest and has a path underneath the falls to get a different perspective of the area. The 25 foot waterfall offers a diverse collection of photos to take.

Tight Middle Wide

Tight, middle, wide are the type of shots I try to take. The feature image shows a wide shot of the falls and the entire pool around the area and the image below shows just the falls. I shot this early in the morning before the tourists arrived because this is a popular spot. I used a 10mm Fisheye lens to capture about 170 degrees of the falls and pool without needing to stitch a pile of images.

24mm, f/16, ISO 100, 2 sec

For the middle shot, I concentrated just on the falls. For the tight shot, look for the details and try to just shoot them. I went behind the falls to concentrate just on the water flowing over the edge. To get the nice flow of the water, be sure to use a tripod and set your exposure time to 1 sec or more.

24mm, f/11, ISO 100, 6 sec

Purchase the middle image from my online “Nature” print gallery.

Gear Used:

Camera: Canon EOS 60D DSLR Camera
Tight & Middle Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens
Wide Lens: Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye Lens for Canon Digital Camera
Tripod: Oben CT-3400 4-Section Carbon Fiber Folding Tripod w/ BB-0T Ball Head

May 14, 2013 / Leave a Comment

Vesna Festival

People celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Vesna Festival at TCU Place in Saskatoon on May 11, 2013. Ukrainian folk art, food, souvenirs, music and dancing were showcased at the event. The Vesna Festival is one of Canada’s largest and longest running Ukrainian cultural festivals.

Visit them online for more information or check out their Facebook page.

Vesna Festival, Saskatoon

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April 25, 2013 / Leave a Comment

Sand Dunes

Sand Dunes At Death Valley National Park, California, USA.

I ventured out for the last hour of sunlight at the end of the day and then again for the first hour of light the next morning. I wanted some key shots that defined the size and beauty of the Mesquite Dunes at Death Valley.

I set up this shot by finding the right light to have the contrast between white and black. I was already seeing the final shot in black and white so I made sure that the S-curve in the crests of the sand dunes would have the drama on each side. I shot this with my Canon 60D with a Sigma 70-200mm lens and processed the image using onOne’s Perfect Black & White.

Tips for Photographing Sand Dunes

The key to getting dramatic sand dunes is to shoot in the early morning or just before the sunset when the light is low and casts nice shadows across the landscape.
Have your key photos you are looking to capture and make sure you don’t leave your tracks in these areas so that you have a clean, natural look. Avoid the most common areas where the tourists are for the same reason.
The wind will blow dust on you and your equipment so don’t change your lens or avoid putting your camera bag down so that you can keep your gear clean. Prepare for the wind and sand to be in everything.
Look for creative lines in the dunes such as the S-curve or use layering effects using the dunes with the background such as the mountains.
Do not collapse the legs of your tripod until you get back to your vehicle where you wipe them down first. The sand will act like sandpaper on all the moving parts.
Bring plenty of water and keep hydrated. I was shooting for only 1 hour the first evening at almost 120F and it was hot and this heat will dry you out.
Wear lightweight pants, sunglasses, taller hiking boots to keep the sand out and put on that sunblock to protect your skin.

Gear Used:

Canon EOS 60D DSLR Camera
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM for Canon
Oben CT-3400 4-Section Carbon Fiber Folding Tripod w/ BB-0T Ball Head
Lowepro Pro Trekker 400 AW Backpack

April 22, 2013 / Leave a Comment

The Silk Road

Photos and video from the Desert Beats Belly Dance presentation of “The Silk Road”. I shot this event with my wide angle lens sitting in the front row center to make sure I could get the best shots without any audience members in my shots.

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April 6, 2013 / 1 Comment

Bridge City

The Victoria Bridge and Broadway Bridge in Saskatoon, Canada. The city is nicknamed Bridge City for the many bridges found here. This is my last shot of the Victoria Bridge before the city turned out the lights on the bridge and scheduled it for decommissioning.

Buy a copy of this print for your home.