Photos

The LDS Manti Temple in Manti, UT after a rainstorm. After doing a shoot for a client in Salt Lake City, I decided to take the scenic back roads to St. George (the long way) and was lucky enough to get a shot of this beautiful structure built in 1888.  Interestingly enough, the picture was taken handheld with a relatively poor lens – Canon EOS 70D with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens.  The lens a stock lens or a kit lens and is rarely used, but I left my best lenses in Salt Lake City to be cleaned and calibrated so I was happy that it turned out.

The most common question I get is whether or not these pictures are real or not.  Some say it looks like a painting when printed on canvas, others wonder if it is a composite or if the clouds were added.  Actually, it is a single shot and the clouds are real.  It’s amazing how the rain brightens up everything, especially when the sun comes out and lights it all up. (Canon EOS 70D with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens)

A ghost town cemetery after a rain storm. (Canon 70D – 18-55mm lens)

Over the weekend I attended a Native American powwow gathering in Southern Utah to shoot some photos for a client.  An amazing assortment of colors throughout all of the dancers costumes.  There were tribes represented from all over the southwest.  (Canon 70D 55-250mm)

Sports that take place indoors such as basketball, volleyball, and swimming are sometime hard to shoot – even with fast cameras and lenses.

Most indoor gymnasiums and pools are designed for the sport, not for the photographers shooting them.  Here is a shot from a race in an outdoor pool.  Even though most races and meets you can use flash photography as long as it’s not at the buzzer off the block (the swimmers watch for a flash that goes along with the buzzer to start) you just can’t get this kind of light indoors.

  (Canon 60D, Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 lens)

After using a Canon 300mm f/2.8 prime for sports action shots, I wanted to see what a 400mm f/2.8 prime performed like on the field.  Often you get in spots that you wished you had a little more reach.

I had the chance to give the 400mm a try for a game I was trying to get a few shots that would be suitable for a magazine cover or print advertisement.  I found that it was a really fast lens, of course in the sense of wide-open f2.8 light catching ability, but paired with the Canon 1D Mark V, the combination just nailed every shot I wanted because of the focusing ability of the lens and the processing power of the 1D body.  Although the camera/lens combo was extremely responsive and impressive, I found that 400mm is just too long for most situations on the field.  You’ll find that you’ll get a lot fewer shots, but extremely good ones.  And you’ll realize that the standard zones for photos you use with a 70-200 f/2.8 are too close.

My overall opinion.  Great combination, great lens – but I still think the 70-200 right on the sidelines with a fast body is the way I would go for most cases.  With that big of a lens, you really need the 70-200 on another body with you anyway.

  (Canon 1D Mark V Body, Canon 400mm f/2.8 IS Prime Lens)

Sometimes you just don’t notice features of a landscape until something happens to show you a new angle.  This image was taken just after a rainfall on a road I drive by ever day.  This day, I noticed, stopped and took some shots.

  (Canon 7D body, Canon 28-135mm IS lens)