Buried Again

Buried III, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

In looking for a fitting picture to post on October 31st, this one jumped out at me.

Weeping Angels

Angels weep at night, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

This capture was made at a local cemetery. I had the idea of making a photo with 'spirit-like' bodies and figured that this would be as good a setting as any. My daughters always seem to be up for my experimental photos and happily joined me on the nighttime photo excursion (as did Michelle).

Technical Note: The transparency of the 'angels' was completely done in camera using a 30 second exposure. I had the girls pose extremely still for the first 10 seconds of the exposure, then quickly exit the frame while the camera continued with the remaining 20 seconds. The diffusion was added in post-processing.

Great Amateur Photography

LeggNet's Contacts (Quality shots & comment on 2), originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I have recently started a group on Flickr for my contacts to share and comment on each other's photographs. In the short time that the group has existed, I have been simply amazed at the astounding quality of the work. The Internet has created a venue for amateur photographers from around the world to be able to share their captures. Photos that used to be destined for a life of living in a shoebox and being shown to visitors in albums now can be displayed worldwide immediately.

If you would like to see some of these fantastic photos, take a moment and follow this link to the Flickr group: LeggNet's Contacts

The First Snowfall

Herriman, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

The season's first snowfall reached the valley floor this week. And just think, winter doesn't officially start for nearly two more months.

Squashed

Squashed, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

They say that pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes. Apparently, deflated is one of the shapes. I'm not sure what happened to this fellow, but he is definitely not looking too healthy. I don't suspect that he will make it to the end of the month.

Salt Lake City, Steak, Photos & Me

Promotional Button, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

A couple of months ago I was doing my daily work routine when I checked my Blackberry to find an interesting email from a Salt Lake City advertising agency. The firm was working on an advertising campaign for the new Ruth's Chris Steakhouse that was preparing to open in Salt Lake City.

The purpose of the email was to see if I would be interested in allowing one of my photos to be purchased for use on promotional buttons. After a bit of negotiating via email we agreed on the terms. I faxed over a photo release and had a check in my hands within a week. Cool!

This week (as I was again, doing the work thing) I received another email from my contact at the agency asking if I would like to have one of the promotional buttons they made with my photo. Doubly Cool!

Today's featured capture is a photo of that button. Yeah, I know, rather vain :)

Mourning After

Mourning After, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Happy Birthday iPod

Trapped in my iPod, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Today is the iPod's 5th birthday. It's hard to believe that in just five short years the iPod has become such an icon for portable media. When the iPod was introduced, many tech forums were filled with comments from Apple fans lamenting the introduction of the device. Here is one such comment that was posted on the Mac Rumors forum on 10/23/2001:

"I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently! Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!"

and here's another:

"I'd call it the Cube 2.0 as it wont sell, and be killed off in a short time...and it's not really functional."

Wow, they were wrong. According to Apple's most recent sales numbers, they have sold over 67,000,000 units to date. With five successful years behind it, will the iPod continue to be successful or will new competitors such as Microsoft's Zune be able to bite into this Apple? Either way, it has been an exciting five years. Happy Birthday iPod!

Free at Last

Free at Last, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

This young lady was claiming victory over the feeling of being held hostage by her own weight. She asked a few friends to witness a small ceremony in which she destroyed her bathroom scale. The symbolic act was quite moving.

Here's a photo of the destruction in progress.

Left turn out of SLC

Banking Left, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

This 30 second exposure of a departing airliner was taken near the Salt Lake International Airport.

Lens versus Lens

Lens versus Lens, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I was recently talking with a friend about photography and more specifically, lenses. He shoots with a Canon digital SLR and has a third party zoom lens. He is considering upgrading to a more expensive "L" (Canon's pro line) lens and was asking me about the differences between top of the line lenses and the less expensive versions.

Since I happen to have two lenses of similar focal length that fall into the two categories we were talking about, I decided to do a little experiment. I set up my camera on a tripod and aimed it at a tree set against a bright white sky (I have found that shooting against a bright background will enhance any weaknesses in a lens). I then took nearly identical shots with each lens. Both of the sample images above were shot at a focal length of 200mm with an aperture f/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/200. The image on the left was shot with a Canon 70-200 f/4L lens (non IS model) and the image on the right was shot with a Canon 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 lens. No post-processing was applied, other than cropping.

Notice how the image on the left has more detail in the veins and texture of the leaf. Also note the red fringe (known as chromatic aberration) on the edges of the leaf on the right (most notably on the background leaf). Other notable differences is the bluish colour on the background branches of the image on the right and the bokeh (out of focus background) being much smoother and more uniform on the left image.

The 70-200 f/4L is on the cheaper side of Canon's L series yet still costs double that of their 100-300mm zoom. I think the results are worth the added expenditure.

Here are links to the unedited source images from each lens:
Canon 70-200 f/4L
Canon 100-300 f/4.5-5.6

Click here to view the above image at 100%

At the Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patch, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

These pumpkins are lined up awaiting their ride to a local supermarket. Taken at the Mabey family farm in South Jordan, Utah.

Weathervane

Weathervane, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

The Show Barn at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah.

Life is Fragile

On Scene, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I came upon this scene this morning shortly after the accident occurred. One moment, a young woman and her boyfriend are driving down the road enjoying life. The next moment, the woman is dead and her companion is hospitalized.

Life is indeed fragile.

Feeling like a prisoner to your job?

Prison, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I found the placement of this old Help Wanted sign interesting, since it was posted near the outskirts of the Utah State Prison.

Buried

Buried, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Freedom

Freedom, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

free-dom [free-duhm] -noun

1. the state of being free or at liberty rather than under physical restraint
2. exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
3. personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery
4. exemption from the presence of anything specified
5. the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME fredom, OE frēodōm.]

Morning Fog

Morning Fog, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Taken in Riverton Utah with Mount Timpanogos in the background.

SLC Departure

SLC Departure, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I captured this light trail of a departing airliner at Sale Lake City International Airport. In shooting the planes, I discovered that there are several variations of lights on the aircraft. This configuration , non-blinking wingtip lights with blinking fuselage lights, made for the best photograph.

[Five Days of Autumn] Day Five

Living in a sea of colour, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

For the final day of the Five Days of Autumn series, here is the capture titled Living in a Sea of Colour.

[Five Days of Autumn] Day Four

Autumn Postcard, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Captured on the road into the Alpine Loop Scenic Byway in Northern Utah.

[Five Days of Autumn] Day Three

Abandoned Line, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

An abandoned powerline in the Suncrest area of Draper Utah.

[Five Days of Autumn] Day Two

Sundance Lodge, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Robert Redford's Sundance Lodge

[Five Days of Autumn] Day One

Red Leaf on Asphalt, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Red Leaf on Asphalt