Thousand Dollar Flower

This simple capture of yellow flowers just became my first image on iStockphoto to generate over $1,000.00 in income. Regular readers might remember the dumpy surroundings in which this shot was taken (read about it here).

The overwhelming majority of my stock portfolio feature people in lifestyle scenarios and not nature shots since people photos simply sell better. iStock even discourages new contributors from uploading flower photos (they do so anyway), so I find it humorous that this shot has done so well.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100

Photowalking Utah: Tulip Festival Recap

In spite of high winds and dust that threatened to derail the event, 15 courageous photographers showed up at Photowalking Utah's Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival event on Saturday. The recent cold snap had slowed the emergence of the tulips, but there was still plenty to photograph.

Instead of carrying my normal SLR camera gear, I opted to travel light and loaded my pockets with a Canon G7 (10 mp point-and-shoot), Canon 430EX strobe, 2 Pocketwizard radios and a handheld light meter. Today's image of a tulip was captured with this equipment.

I lit the subject by placing the strobe on the ground to the left of the subject. The directional light created a nice rimming effect on not only the flower petals, but the leafs as well.

For those that skipped the event because of the wind (I know I was tempted to), you missed a great time. It was actually quite peaceful with very little wind once we entered the gardens.

The details for next month's Photowalking Utah event are being put together and will be announced soon. To see more images from the participants in the April photowalk and for announcements about future events, visit PhotowalkingUtah.com.

Canon Powershot G7 - 1/125 second, f/8, ISO 100

Save the Date: Photowalking Utah Tulip Festival

The next Photowalking Utah event is coming up on April 19th. Here are the details from the announcement:

This month's event is scheduled for Saturday April 19th from 5:00 pm to closing at 7:00 pm. We'll enjoy the blooms of spring around the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point catching the evening light.

They are located just off I-15 in Lehi. Click here for a map.

As always, this is for photographers of any age and skill level to come and enjoy taking pictures with other like minded people.

There is an admission fee:
Adults: $10.00
Child (Ages 3-12): $6.00
Senior (Ages 65+): $9.00
Tickets are available online.

Afterward, we'll be meeting for dinner at some place yet to be determined.

As was stated in the announcement, these events are open to photographers of any skill level. The group is a great way to meet other shooters and advance your own photography knowledge. Feel free to contact me at rich(at)leggnet.com with any questions about the event. You can also add to the conversation on the Flickr discussion. I hope to see many of you on the 19th.

Dream a Little Today

I selected this image for today's post in hopes of making an ever-so-subtle reference to the holiday in the US today honoring the late Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

- U2

Update: When I refreshed the blog after making the post, I was surprised to see the resemblance between today's image and the post I made on Saturday. I hadn't noticed that until now.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/10, ISO 100

For Stunning Blue Sky Photos - Polarize!

I get asked occasionally how I create such a strong blue color in the sky of many of my outdoor photos and if it is created in Photoshop. The quick answer is: Nope, not in Photoshop but by using a Circular Polarizer filter.

A quick web search for this type of filter comes up with many explanations of what it does. Here's one:

Produces deeper colored blue skies, which at the same time creates a striking contrast with white clouds. Minimizes light reflections from glass and water. Reduces glare from non-metallic surfaces. Provides a general color saturation to both cool and warm tones. Can be used in extremely bright light situations to reduce the amount of light entering the camera; this enables more selective depth of field control. (source: Cokin)

In addition to the added color boost, the filter drops approximately two f/stops from the exposure. This works well in place of a ND (Neutral Density) filter for times when I want to limit the ambient light for a longer shutter speed or less depth-of-field.

When shooting in sunlight with the Circular Polarizer filter, placing the sun at around a 90 degree angle to the camera lens creates the optimal effect.

Today's image of a sunflower against the sky is an example of this technique. While the blue and yellow color of the scene was pleasing without the filter, its addition really made them "POP!".

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

Beauty is Everywhere

Yesterday as I was leaving one of the fine dining establishments in my town (read: Taco Time), I noticed how the sun was hitting this patch of sunflowers. The light was great so I hopped out and captured a few exposures.

The resulting image is a nice representation of a field of sunflowers on a warm summer day. What the photo doesn't show is the cell phone tower, parking lot and dumpster which surround the flowers.

Beauty is indeed everywhere, you just have to look.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100

A Beautiful Weed

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100

Fireweed Serendipity

While I was shooting this top-down photo of fireweed in Chatanika Alaska, a bee flew into the frame. I love the addition of the bee and really appreciate what it brings to the image.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/4.5, ISO 160

Alaskan Window Boxes

I'm in Anchorage for a few days before heading north on the Alaska Railroad. I spent some time wandering around the downtown area yesterday afternoon where I captured these window boxes. The window was located on the second floor and the image had a distinct 'looking up' feel to it. To compensate for this, I adjusted the vertical perspective in Photoshop to make it appear to have been shot more straight on.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/8, ISO 160

With Springtime Come the Tulips

When creating this capture of a tulip, I sought to avoid the typical style of flower shot that is so common this time of year - Pretty. My goal was to communicate a different feeling by including the dirty gloved hands, the plant's root ball and the gardener's body.

I originally shot this with the lens wide open at f/4 but the resulting image's depth of field was too shallow causing the gardener to be overly blurred. By stopping the lens down a few stops to f/9, the desired result was achieved. The body and arms, while still being out of focus, are not too blurry.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens - 1/200 second, f/9, ISO 50

Cactus Bloom on a Good Friday

It's time again for the family's annual Spring Break trek to my parents' home in Lake Havasu City Arizona. Hanging out in the sun with the family near the water makes for a nice reprieve from the last several months of Utah winter.

Today's image is of a Tricocereus cactus in my folks' yard. This particular cactus blooms only once a year and for the second year in a row it happened on the day after our arrival. The beautiful flowers will be gone within a day (or so I'm told) and made for a nice springtime capture.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens - 1/60 second, f/4, ISO 50
Fill lighting: Canon 430EX strobe (with a Lightsphere) set at -1 stop

Wintertime Roses

The textures of the dried petals on this pair of dead roses were extremely inviting to photograph. I used the longest lens in my bag to throw the background completely out of focus and create the silky smooth bokeh.

Canon 30D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens with 1.4 extender - 1/200 second, f/5.6, ISO 400

Fleeting Beauty

Fleeting Beauty photographed in Lehi, Utah.

The Finished Piece

The Finished Piece, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

A couple of days ago I posted a capture taken during the process of hand-blowing glass. Today's image is of the completed piece. To see the full process, click here.