Black Star

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/250 second * f/5.6

Antelope Island Balloon Stampede

Saturday morning I woke up before dawn to head to the Balloon Festival at Antelope Island.  I attended last year and was able to volunteer so I didn't get the photos I had hoped for.  So this year I was excited to attend the morning launch then back in the evening for the night glow.

When I arrived the wind was blowing pretty hard so they announced that they were going to inflate one balloon tethered to a truck so people would feel like they got their money's worth.   No balloons were launched that morning due to high wind, and the night glow was cancelled due to wind, rain and lightning.

On my drive back I was able to stop and photograph some Bison that were feeding.  I sat in the field watching as they would roll around in the dirt to get the flies off their backs.

I will be back next year to hopefully get some great shots that were missed this year.

Sunday Playtime

Canon 40D * EF-70-200mm f/4.0L lens * ISO 400 * 1/4000 second * f/4.0

Today's photo was taken at the Willard Bay State Park just north of Ogden Utah. I got a kick out of watching this dog retrieve the ball over and over. He was competing with two other dogs and would always get to the ball first. I'm not sure why the two other dogs kept playing the game?  Guess that's why I'm not "Man's best friend"!

Waiting for the Night

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 400 * 1/1600 second * f/5.6

Post-Photowalking Utah - TRAX

Canon 40D * Canon EF-24-105mm f/4.0 lens * ISO 400 * 1/1600 second * f/8

Had a blast once again at our March Photowalking Utah event. It was a cold windy day but it didn’t stop about twenty-five of us. We had quite a few newbies join this time.

We all boarded the TRAX light-rail and rode around the city stopping at a few locations for a mini (15 minutes) photo shoot before we boarded the next train.

I felt a little out of my comfort zone, I just purchased a Canon 40D and am not familiar with all the functions. I’m going on a business trip tomorrow to Seattle and am planning on getting out to shoot at night to get familiar with my new toy. So far I’m really impressed in the design and speed, this is definitely a step up from my Canon XTi.

You can check all the photos from the event here. My Flickr set here, be sure to check back. I will be adding more photos later this week when I get time to process them.

Desert Moss

Canon XTi * Canon EF-50mm f/1.8 lens * ISO 100 * 1/1600 second * f/1.8

Assembly Hall

Canon XTi
Canon EF-24-105mm f/4.0L lens
ISO 100
1 second(s)
f/4.0

Where do you call home?

As I was sitting in my den last week I glanced over at the world globe sitting on my floor and started to take note of all the places that I've visited either for business or pleasure. I've been pretty lucky with my job to be able to visit other countries, and while they were fun and exciting places to visit I was always grateful to come home. There's nothing like coming home to a place you can call your own and be surrounded by people and things you enjoy.

With the internet age, this world has gotten smaller. I met a great photographer a few months ago while I was in San Francisco who is from Australia. We keep in contact and comment frequently on each others blogs and flickr streams. I"m amazed at how simple it is these days for people with a common interest to keep in touch.

Feel free to leave a comment to let me know where you call home?

Canon XTi
Canon EF-100mm f/2.8 Macro lens
ISO 200
1/30 second
f/2.8

 

Photowalk West Side Gallery

Water Tower, originally uploaded by Scott O. Smith.

Had a great time at the Photowalk West Side Gallery in Salt Lake City this weekend. The walkabout this time was around the 5th west and 2nd south block just behind the Rio Grande station. The weather was perfect, It was fun to meet new photo geeks and socialize.

Kudos to newcomer Douglas for showing up with his iPhone. His daughter forgot her SD card for her camera, luckily she was able to use her video camera.

We discussed a possible location for our next Photowalk. Be sure to check out our flickr group for more information and all the photos. You can check out all the photo geeks streams here: Ann, Harley, Diane, Elizabeth, Bryan, Thom, Douglas and mine.

I'm planning on attending the Photowalk Downtown and North Beach in San Francisco November 5th. If your thinking about attending a Photowalk or organizing one where you live, I encourage you to do so.

Canon XTi, Canon EF-24-105mm f/4.0L lens, 1/1250 second, f/4.0, ISO 100

Room at the Top

Room at the Top, originally uploaded by Scott O. Smith.

Taken at Antelope Island looking East towards Francis Peak(Wasatch Range). This photo doesn't do much justice to show the height of these peaks. The elevation of this photo is at 4200 feet, the elevation of Francis Peak is 9700 feet. I never get tired of the view.

Canon XTi, Canon EF-24-105mm f/4.0L lens, 1/15 second, f/4.0, ISO 100

 

Snowcapped Mountains

Snowcapped Mountains, originally uploaded by Scott O. Smith.

Northern Utah received it's first major snow this past weekend. Several ski resorts have announced when they will be opening. Alta is the first to open November 15th.
Utah is known for great powder. One reason people keep coming back is the short distance to the resorts. A quick 30 - 45 minute drive will get you to just about any resort.
I plan on learning how to snowboard with my daughter this year. I'm not sure if my knees and backside can take the abuse.

Canon XTi, Canon EF-24-105mm f/4.0L lens, 1/320 second, f/8.0, ISO 100