Ahhh the smell of old man winter is in the air… kind of has a similar aroma to a cat litter box if you ask me!

Another month has come and gone at an extremely rapid pace due to work, field trips, classes, volleyball games and tournaments and a whack of other things that seem to pop up at the last minute. For whatever reason I found myself reminiscing about what was going on at this time last year and then it dawned on me that we were in Fairmont on vacation exactly one year ago so I though that throwing a “Blast from the past” photo in would be appropriate. The image below of yours truly was shot by Rob atop the hoodoos just outside of Fairmont, BC: 

 

Our NightScapes field trip was next on the agenda and was attended by a capacity crowd (okay…10 people is all that we allow but it was full anyway!). Below are some of the images from that night:

 

Lens (mm): 45
ISO: 250
Aperture: 6.3
Shutter: 2
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Shutter Priority

The two images below were using zoom pull technique where you zoom the lens as you are taking a long exposure:

 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 250
Aperture: 5
Shutter: 1.6
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 250
Aperture: 11
Shutter: 1.3
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Manual

And what would another blog be at this time of the year without some images of my darling daughter playing volleyball?? (Are you starting to feel like you are trapped at a friend or in-laws house as they force you to view over 1000 slides of the same thing on their projector yet?) Ahhh to think that the season is only beginning…..by the time next spring hits you are all sure to know her jersey number by memory  !!

 

Lens (mm): 108
ISO: 3200
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/1000
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

It’s always a bonus to get not just the action shots but the excitement following them as well

 

Rob and I decided that we should head out and try get a couple of fall shots this year… unfortunately time was not on our side and by the time we got to where we wanted to be we had about 5 minutes of sunlight left…oh well, better than not trying at all.



See, he really does practice what he preaches about the use of a tripod!



PeopleScapes part II came next on the agenda and not only did we have an absolutely fantastic time but we could not have ordered a nicer day.









Nothing like the warm evening light to really make your photos pop.

 

Another image of the shooters shooting

 

Lens (mm): 24
ISO: 200
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/400
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Wait a minute, how the heck did I get in here??!!

 

It’s always fun to play around with images once in a while if you have the time. The image below has been converted to black and white with the highlights pulled up to give it more of a charcoal look:


Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 200
Aperture: 4.5
Shutter: 1/250
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

And yet a few more images from the day:

 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 800
Aperture: 6.3
Shutter: 1/500
Exp. Comp.: -0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Nothing beats our Saskatchewan sunsets… okay, maybe a beautiful beach with 25 degree temperatures and a nice Pina Colada but…

 

Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 640
Aperture: 9
Shutter: 1/800
Exp. Comp.: -1.7
Flash Comp.:
Program: Normal

The weekend following our field trip I dragged my niece and nephews out for some fall photography fun (say that fast 5 times please).

 

Well… another edition come and gone quicker than you can say “Please let the snow hold off until after Christmas except for the days that we are holding our Christmas Lights Field Trips”.

Have a fun and safe Halloween and we will see you again in a month! I really want to say “keep shooting and have fun” at the end of every blog but all that comes to mind is Hal Johnson and Joanne Macleod’s Body Break commercials …

Don't forget to "Like" our Facebook group. For that matter, show some love for sportsshooter.ca on facebook as well. Comments, questions, concerns and credit cards are always welcome. For convenience, please subscribe by clicking on the "Subscribe" Button on the Main Page of this blog... a mechanism that will provide you with notification each time we publish a new blog. For information on photo workshops and field trips please visit http://www.thosetwophotographers.com/Classes.htmlOur Services can be explored here, our Portfolios here, and those similar things in the name of photographing sports by Sportsshooter.ca here

 Cheers!

Devona (and a rather absent Rob who is busy shooting...or getting his nails done) 

Hello everyone and once again welcome to our happy place… yep  I know that this is difficult to believe but as these words come flying off of my fingers I just came to the startling realization that this blog is in fact almost on time!

At the writing of the last blog we had just finished holding our first Field Trip of the year which was our PeopleScapes - Portraits in the Park session. Since that time we have held another PeopleScapes which was based in the Warehouse District as well as a CityScapes held downtown and a NightScapes at the University. There is still one more on the schedule which is another PeopleScapes in the Park which we decided to add in due to the overflowing wait list for the original date. There will be more dates announced in the coming months as winter will be upon us and there are always some amazing photo learning opportunites that come along with the season… the realization just hit that the words “winter” and “amazing” were used in the same sentence…ugh.

Just a quick shout out to the past Field Trip participants… on our Those Two Photographers page on Facebook we have started a gallery for each workshop with a favorite photo from each participant so if you go to our page and don’t see one of yours already up but would like to include one please fire one our way and we will post it.

Okay on to some photos that we have shot over the past month:

Above and below are photos taken of some of the participants and models hard at work during our PeopleScapes Warehouse Session.

After an extremely busy month we decided to hit the road for a short getaway on our motorcycles up to Saskatoon and North Battleford to visit some family. Keep in mind that all of the pictures shot during the vacation were taken with either a G9 or G11 as there was no room to pack the real gear :(

In the image below it almost looks like Rob is bowing down to his bike which, believe me, isn’t too far off from the truth. He was in fact oiling the chain :

If you are ever in the Saskatoon area and are looking for something different than the everyday then make sure to check out the Konga Café. It is definitely off of the beaten path but they serve authentic Jamaican cuisine and to go along with that they serve what has to be the world’s best key lime pie! After we finished our meal the owners came over to the table with some complimentary strawberry filled shooters.

While in Saskatoon we stayed at our favorite place which we have lovingly dubbed “Hotel Leah” which is my cousins house where she always treats us like royalty. Deciding that almost a full week of having to put up with the likes of us would do anyone in we moved over to the Sheraton top floor for our last night and the views were absolutely spectacular.

Back on our way home as all good things must come to an end we decided to stop along the way in Kenaston for a quick touristy picture of our bikes in front of Frosty the monstrous plastic snowman.



Oooohhh action shots! Okay, keep in mind these were shot with a G9 but you still get the idea

Lens (mm): 6.1
ISO: 100
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/500
Exp. Comp.: 0.0

Back in the saddle and on to our CityScapes Fieldtrip:

Our buddy Shane lurking in the bushes trying to catch a shot of the ever elusive water fountain at City Hall :




“Where’s Waldo?” can you spot the photographer?

Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 200
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/320
Exp. Comp.: 0.0

Brian is always looking for a unique perspective to create his images. Actually I think that he just gets tired and likes to lie down on the job  :)

In this image the sculpture in the foreground was used to frame the image:

Rob discussing something of utmost importance I am certain : {really this was Devona's excuse to photograph my butt}


Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 200
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/60
Exp. Comp.: -0.7
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

This is a great example of how the time of day can make or break a photograph as the warm evening light really adds to this photograph. (Once again I feel like I am turning Hallmark cardish) :

If you look around enough there are always interesting and unique things to shoot it’s just a matter of finding them:

Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 500
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/200
Exp. Comp.: -0.7

The shooters shooting (say that fast a dozen times!):

Rob ventured out to the Quill Lakes area to capture some images for a client:

Lens (mm): 24
ISO: 400
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/1000
Exp. Comp.: -0.7
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Lens (mm): 24
ISO: 400
Aperture: 9
Shutter: 1/400
Exp. Comp.: -0.7
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Tis the season again for Rob to start living at the University and shooting the Cougar athletes in all of their glory:

Lens (mm): 400
ISO: 400
Aperture: 4
Shutter: 1/1600
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Manual

Lens (mm): 400
ISO: 400
Aperture: 4
Shutter: 1/1600
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Manual

Take note in the images above the fast shutter speeds that were used in order to freeze the action.

Well folks that is it for another exciting edition. I'm sure that you have noticed that in this edition of the blog there is absolutely none of the ever witty remarks that are commonly made throughout by Robert...alas {I snuck one in}, he is away sunning himself in Rapid City, SD with his brother on a motorcycle vacation.

Try to get out there with your cameras as the fall colors are starting to come in nicely which really make your photos pop!

Hello again from sunny Florida wintery Regina. Sitting here curled up in two layers of clothing and a fuzzy blanket looking outside at what appears to be an extremely icy mess...ah, gotta hate love winter! On the upside my winter tires are installed, and WOW, what a difference that makes! No idea how living in Saskatchewan my entire life I have managed to make it this long without them... trust me folks, if you are sitting on the fence as to whether or not to make the investment, sit no longer! {Thanks again to Devona for all her hard work on the blog. I will once again leave smart-ass comments in these funky little brackets and at some point create an entry in which will be published some of my photos... just not much time these days - RW}

Okay, once again, enough rambling and onto what has been new and exciting in the lives of ThoseTwoPhotographers. The majority of this blog post will be dedicated to our late October vacation to Fairmont, BC but before we get there, a few other fall photos to post. The images of the trees and leaves were taken at Condie Nature Reserve just north of Regina on an amazing fall day.

Lens (mm): 22
ISO: 125
Aperture: 4.5
Shutter: 1/125
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Lens (mm): 100
ISO: 100
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/1000
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Take note one of the largest differences in the two photos above is that the top one was shot at an aperture of 4.5 and the one below it 2.8 creating a much softer background.

 

Lens (mm): 100
ISO: 100
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/1000
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Every once in a while it doesn't hurt to try something different. The above photo was created by using a zoom pull technique. Essentially all that is done is that you zoom your lens while the image is being shot thus creating the "artsy fartsy" image above.

 

Lens (mm): 16
ISO: 125
Aperture: 4
Shutter: 1/200
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

The time of day (evening) coupled with the use of a circular polarizing filter really make the fall colours pop in the image above.

 

Rob is the photographer for the Tartan Curling Club here in Regina and they recently hosted the Horizon Curling Classic with some really big names in the field. It was interesting to shoot something different... playing around with some effects in the images below....the first one is straight out of the camera with the second one being manipulated in Photoshop. Rob happens to like the original better {although I would at least correct the colour cast in the ice} whereas my choice is number two... I think.

Lens (mm): 126
ISO: 3200
Aperture: 6.3
Shutter: 1/125
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Shutter Priority



Note that the image was shot with a shutter speed slow enough to render movement in the photo but fast enough to still have the curling rock sharp.

 

This is no longer current news but nonetheless the Dollarama in South Regina burned down about a month ago. By chance, I was driving by shortly after with only a Canon G9 and no tripod. The only way to get an image that was useable was to shoot at an ISO of 1600 which of course makes the picture grainy as heck but as we say...better than no picture at all.

 

We left for Fairmont for about a week and a half of nothing but R&R...or so was my thought process. Apparently Rob's differs slightly from mine so we ended up doing a lot of hiking {short walks} and played squash pretty much every day {three times} but overall it was a very relaxing getaway. The best part is that while the "Weather Bomb" was hitting Saskatchewan we were far away where the snow still hadn't made its way! 

Rob taking a picture of his beloved truck with the mountains as a backdrop.

 

Lens (mm): 47
ISO: 100
Aperture: 4
Shutter: 1/200
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

The above picture the view from the condo deck which overlooking Mountainside Golf Course in Fairmont, BC. 

 

Much easier to get up in time for sunrise when it doesn't happen until about 8:45 AM lol. When shooting sunrise and sunset photos a tripod is an absolute necessity due to the slow shutter speeds required.

 

Lens (mm): 42
ISO: 100
Aperture: 8
Shutter: 1/8
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Does anybody see anything wrong with the photo above??!!

 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 100
Aperture: 16
Shutter: 1.0
Exp. Comp.: -1.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Shutter Priority

Nothing like crystal clear blue water rushing by...well, as long as I'm nice and dry on the rocks above anyway :)

 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 100
Aperture: 16
Shutter: 1.0
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Shutter Priority



Tons of scenic places to pull over along the way and shoot some photos.

Did a hike to the top of the Hoodoos one day. One hike that was definitely more than worth the leg burn and sweat to get there as the view from the top was absolutely spectacular! Below we see "speck of Rob". 

The picture below was taken once we got back down and were looking up at where we had been.

Next are a couple of photos that Rob took of me taking some pics. I was testing out this new camera carrying system that was recommended to me called a Cotton Carrier. If you are into hiking around with your gear and want it to be not only easily accessible but have the weight very well distributed so you can still use your neck when you get to be over 50, this system is highly recommend.

 

What fun is roaming around those scary mountain roads without getting a flat tire! Good thing that this didn't happen the previous day as the roads we were on then were WAY worse tha this one was... so bad that I actually contemplated getting out of the truck and walking back down. The only problem is that the road was so narrow that getting out of the truck would have been impossible as there was about six inches between my side and the sheer drop-off of the side of the mountain!

Look at how fast he can turn that jack!

Lens (mm): 23
ISO: 125
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/25
Exp. Comp.: -0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

A few pictures of our totally uncompetitive games of squash. Yep...for those of you who know me you know that it is pretty much impossible for me to do anything without getting overly competitive but this was a lot of fun ...for the most part :)

 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 2500
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/500
Exp. Comp.: +2.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 2500
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/500
Exp. Comp.: +2.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

We came across a lot of wildlife while away. Every single evening right before dusk a huge herd of Elk would wander out of the trees and onto the golf course about 50 yards in front of our condo. Ultimately they would end up only a couple of yards off the deck. They would stay there right up until shortly after dawn. The only problem with this is that it was almost impossible to get a photo under these lighting conditions. There is no way we could have them there all week and not try to get at least a couple of photos so the last night there I took a couple of shots with my ISO cranked as high as it would go...once again...grainy as heck but at least we can share what we saw.The photo below was in fact shot at about 7:00 PM and it was way darker outside than it appears in the image.

Lens (mm): 126
ISO: 3200
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/13
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

So we are sure that you are all wondering what's up with the title of the blog this month?? Well, here you go. We had been driving around in the mountains for the better part of a week in search of the elusive bears. One evening while on the phone with my father out of the blue Rob jumped off the couch and started yelling. Lo and behold there was mama bear and her 2 cubs walking across the gold course literally right in front of the deck...close enough to reach out and touch had we wanted to. Quickly hanging up the phone and running to the table where my camera was I threw open the window and started taking photos only to realize that there was no card in my camera! By the time one was located the best shot I could get was simply "Bear Asses"! 

Well, that's it for another month everyone! We will be trying to post another one prior to the New Year but it may be difficult as I rarely have time to breath in the Christmas Season. We are heading to Glacier National Park early in the New Year so hopefully there will be lots of exciting photo opportunities for us there

Don't forget to "Like" our new Facebook group and as always, thanks for visiting and your interest in our blog. Comments, questions, concerns and credit cards are always welcome. For convenience, please subscribe by clicking on the "Subscribe" Button on the Main Page of this blog. This is a mechanism that will provide you with notification each time we publish a new blog. For information on photo workshops and field trips please visit http://www.thosetwophotographers.com/Classes.html

Our Services can be explored here and our Portfolios here.

You are also more than welcome to subscribe to our podcast by searching for thosetwophotographers in iTunes. We have fallen behind a bit (like a year) but it still contains some relevant industry no-longer-news, tips, and interviews with photographers. Eventually we will get back on this horse.

Enjoy the holiday season and remember to take lots of photos!

 
Devona & Rob

 

Hello again Everyone,

Well despite good intentions the blog is once again ruining a wee bit behind and the reason is strictly due to the absolutely gorgeous summer weather we have had this year. It was just impossible to stay inside when one could be out enjoying all of that blissful heat! Okay, not exactly, and the title definitely says it all...mark it on your calendars folks... we skipped summer

What does a person do when you can't get any heat at home? Well, you go and find it that's what you do. Rob and I ventured to beautiful sunny Palm Springs California for a holiday in the middle of July. WHAT??!! Yes that's right... Palm Springs in the middle of July and though we are well aware that nobody in their right mind would venture into the heart of the desert in the middle of the summer you do if it's for your best buddies 40th birthday bash. Off we went to celebrate with Carey my best friend for... well... pretty much forever, and we had a fabulous time despite the oppressive heat. 

Hanging out with the BFF. Please ignore the shiny faces as this just happens when it is hotter than the sun..



So much to be said about this photo but probably best left alone

Rob's pic of Carey and Steve's son Leo playing in the pool.

Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 100
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/80
Exp. Comp.: +0.7
Program: Aperture Priority

Deciding one morning that it would be a fantastic idea to get up and go out shooting before the sun came up seemed great at the time but little did we realize that it is also the time when billions of these tiny little fly/bug things also venture out. Our shoot lasted approximately 20.7 minutes before the bug bites became unbearable. Below are a couple of the pictures that we did manage to get.

Not award winning but I felt compelled to shoot it anyway just because it reminded me of the movie "Bird On A Wire". Not sure why though

Very funky doors and homes where we stayed in the Movie Colony.

 

Lens (mm): 41
ISO: 400
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/1600
Exp. Comp.: -1.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Lens (mm): 59
ISO: 400
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/1250
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

For some reason Rob refused to listen when I kept telling him that he should back up to get a better shot....hmmmm.

 

Yes, that is correct. 100 degrees (or almost 40 degrees celcius) in the shade and this was taken in the morning! A few days it hit a balmy 48 degrees celcius . Not much a person could do but sit in the pool with cold beverages which isn't really a bad vacation when you think of it! If any of you ever decide to do something insane like make this trip yourselves, try this game that we found to be a fun way to pass the time:

1)Drive around the city in a black SUV with a black leather interior

2)Park somewhere in the direct sun

3)Go shopping for approximately 2-3 hrs

4)Come back to the vehicle and see who can sit on the seats the longest without screaming or getting 3rd degree burns... good times, good times.

 

Rob eating it up and doing his best "Bono" impression while playing Rock Band.

 

Making the decsion to take a day and get away from the heat we headed to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Besides the temperature being 20 degress cooler (and it was still 25 degrees!) the views were absolutely amazing. The bonus for being here at this time of year is that there weren't many tourists around at all and it was like we had the entire mountain to ourselves and only 20,000 other tourists seeking cooler temps.

View from the top but wouldn't want to slip!

Lens (mm): 31
ISO: 200
Aperture: 14
Shutter: 1/160
Exp. Comp.: +0.7
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Rob looking down.

Lens (mm): 21
ISO: 200
Aperture: 16
Shutter: 1/100
Exp. Comp.: +0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

And me looking up
Lens (mm): 85
ISO: 250
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/125
Exp. Comp.: +0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Yes, Rob once again posing as per normal for him. The scenery on the mountaintop was spectacular!

 

Very cool trees along the way which definitely made one feel small.

Lens (mm): 26
ISO: 250
Aperture: 6.3
Shutter: 1/100
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Found a woodpecker along the way.

 

One thing that you are probably noticing is that along with the live trees there are also an awful lot of dead ones. They leave all the trees, live and dead. Left in place after they fall, they make for some very interesting scenes. The thing that is not necessarily as cool about this is the fact that they can and will fall over at any time. While we were hiking along a trail we suddenly heard this horrific crash about 20 yards from where we were standing only to turn around and see that a branch had fallen from one of the trees narrowly missing a family with small children that was having at picnic at one of the tables. The "branch" was actually more the size of some of the fully grown trees and could have caused some serious havoc.

 

Lens (mm): 26
ISO: 250
Aperture: 4.5
Shutter: 1/400
Exp. Comp.: +0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Who can resist taking a picture of Father Time himself !!!

 

After a great afternoon of hiking and photography we headed back to the ranch for more fun with friends:

That's right... time for a party! Thanks again Steve and Carey for an absolutely fantastic time and to all the great new friends that we met

Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 320
Aperture: 1.4
Shutter: 1/250
Exp. Comp.: +0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Back home means back to reality/work. Rob had a couple of family shoots to do as soon as we got back: 

Lens (mm): 80
ISO: 125
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/400
Exp. Comp.: -0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Lens (mm): 160
ISO: 500
Aperture: 4.5
Shutter: 1/3200
Exp. Comp.: -0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Lens (mm): 45
ISO: 160
Aperture: 6.3
Shutter: 1/160
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Manual

 

Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 400
Aperture: 6.3
Shutter: 1/50
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Manual

 

A few weekends ago found us at Fishing Lake, Sk. for some R & R and well, fishing. While there a massive storm blew in, and to be honest, this was one of the scariest looking clouds that either of us had seen pretty much ever! 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 100
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/60
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:

Now that everyone is in back to school mode Rob is also in Back to work mode as the University is back in session and that means Rob will once again be out covering all of the Cougar Athletics programs:

Lens (mm): 108
ISO: 100
Aperture: 11
Shutter: 1/125
Exp. Comp.: +1.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

________________________________________

And now for a reach into our mailbag. We are going to do our best to address your mail as it comes in and when we feel it of value to our readers, we will respond to that mail publicly (last names withheld of course) via this blog or our podcast. If you include photos we will include those as well when we can.

This email was in response to a "Challenge" we issued in our podcast. To all those who took the time to shoot and submit, we are very sorry for not doing a new episode and responding to those. We will get back on track soon. If Devona would retire from her day job we would have all kinds of time.

Hey Rob and Devona,
 
What's shakin'?
 
I have attached my submission for the plant challenge. 
 
The reason I chose this plant was because my daughter just replanted it tonight and I figured it was pretty convenient.  I have no clue what kind of plant it is.  Apparently it likes to be watered with wiener water soup.  OK, there I go just making shit up now.
 
For the sake of a name, let's call it "The beanstalk".  It kind of reminds me of the story Jack and the Beanstalk, although I doubt the beanstalk needed to be propped up by a green straw.    ...If you look into the distance, you'll see a little guy with black antennae peeking over the edge of the pot behind it.  No, it's not the red haired leprechaun you speak of...LOL.  It's some kind of freakish lady bug or something.
 
Feel free to give me feedback on it....positive and negative.  I'm not only still learning to use the camera, but I need to get a handle on the composition and lighting sides of things as well ...so lemme have it straight.
 
Catch ya on the flipside.

Joe

~~~~~~~~~

Joe,

It is submissions like these that remind us why we do what we do. Because readers make us smile. Technically a good exposure, well composed although a little cluttered but narratively such a good story, you justified it. Thanks for sharing

Rob

As always, thanks for visiting and your interest in our blog. Comments, questions, concerns and credit cards are always welcome. For convenience, please subscribe by clicking on the "Subscribe" Button on the Main Page of this blog. This is a mechanism that will provide you with notification each time we publish a new blog. For information on photo workshops and field trips please visit http://www.thosetwophotographers.com/Classes.html

Our Services can be explored here and our Portfolios here.

You are also more than welcome to subscribe to our podcast by searching for thosetwophotographers in iTunes. We have fallen behind a bit on it but it still contatains some relavant industry news, tips, and interviews with photographers. Eventually we will get back on this horse.

Well, that's it for this blog post. Please check back when you get a chance as with luck we will have another entry within the month!

Cheers!

Devona & Rob

 

Hello again Everyone,

Well despite good intentions the blog is once again ruining a wee bit behind and the reason is strictly due to the absolutely gorgeous summer weather we have had this year. It was just impossible to stay inside when one could be out enjoying all of that blissful heat! Okay, not exactly, and the title definitely says it all...mark it on your calendars folks... we skipped summer

What does a person do when you can't get any heat at home? Well, you go and find it that's what you do. Rob and I ventured to beautiful sunny Palm Springs California for a holiday in the middle of July. WHAT??!! Yes that's right... Palm Springs in the middle of July and though we are well aware that nobody in their right mind would venture into the heart of the desert in the middle of the summer you do if it's for your best buddies 40th birthday bash. Off we went to celebrate with Carey my best friend for... well... pretty much forever, and we had a fabulous time despite the oppressive heat. 

Hanging out with the BFF. Please ignore the shiny faces as this just happens when it is hotter than the sun..



So much to be said about this photo but probably best left alone

Rob's pic of Carey and Steve's son Leo playing in the pool.

Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 100
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/80
Exp. Comp.: +0.7
Program: Aperture Priority

Deciding one morning that it would be a fantastic idea to get up and go out shooting before the sun came up seemed great at the time but little did we realize that it is also the time when billions of these tiny little fly/bug things also venture out. Our shoot lasted approximately 20.7 minutes before the bug bites became unbearable. Below are a couple of the pictures that we did manage to get.

Not award winning but I felt compelled to shoot it anyway just because it reminded me of the movie "Bird On A Wire". Not sure why though

Very funky doors and homes where we stayed in the Movie Colony.

 

Lens (mm): 41
ISO: 400
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/1600
Exp. Comp.: -1.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Lens (mm): 59
ISO: 400
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/1250
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

For some reason Rob refused to listen when I kept telling him that he should back up to get a better shot....hmmmm.

 

Yes, that is correct. 100 degrees (or almost 40 degrees celcius) in the shade and this was taken in the morning! A few days it hit a balmy 48 degrees celcius . Not much a person could do but sit in the pool with cold beverages which isn't really a bad vacation when you think of it! If any of you ever decide to do something insane like make this trip yourselves, try this game that we found to be a fun way to pass the time:

1)Drive around the city in a black SUV with a black leather interior

2)Park somewhere in the direct sun

3)Go shopping for approximately 2-3 hrs

4)Come back to the vehicle and see who can sit on the seats the longest without screaming or getting 3rd degree burns... good times, good times.

 

Rob eating it up and doing his best "Bono" impression while playing Rock Band.

 

Making the decsion to take a day and get away from the heat we headed to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Besides the temperature being 20 degress cooler (and it was still 25 degrees!) the views were absolutely amazing. The bonus for being here at this time of year is that there weren't many tourists around at all and it was like we had the entire mountain to ourselves and only 20,000 other tourists seeking cooler temps.

View from the top but wouldn't want to slip!

Lens (mm): 31
ISO: 200
Aperture: 14
Shutter: 1/160
Exp. Comp.: +0.7
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Rob looking down.

Lens (mm): 21
ISO: 200
Aperture: 16
Shutter: 1/100
Exp. Comp.: +0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

And me looking up
Lens (mm): 85
ISO: 250
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/125
Exp. Comp.: +0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Yes, Rob once again posing as per normal for him. The scenery on the mountaintop was spectacular!

 

Very cool trees along the way which definitely made one feel small.

Lens (mm): 26
ISO: 250
Aperture: 6.3
Shutter: 1/100
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Found a woodpecker along the way.

 

One thing that you are probably noticing is that along with the live trees there are also an awful lot of dead ones. They leave all the trees, live and dead. Left in place after they fall, they make for some very interesting scenes. The thing that is not necessarily as cool about this is the fact that they can and will fall over at any time. While we were hiking along a trail we suddenly heard this horrific crash about 20 yards from where we were standing only to turn around and see that a branch had fallen from one of the trees narrowly missing a family with small children that was having at picnic at one of the tables. The "branch" was actually more the size of some of the fully grown trees and could have caused some serious havoc.

 

Lens (mm): 26
ISO: 250
Aperture: 4.5
Shutter: 1/400
Exp. Comp.: +0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Who can resist taking a picture of Father Time himself !!!

 

After a great afternoon of hiking and photography we headed back to the ranch for more fun with friends:

That's right... time for a party! Thanks again Steve and Carey for an absolutely fantastic time and to all the great new friends that we met

Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 320
Aperture: 1.4
Shutter: 1/250
Exp. Comp.: +0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Back home means back to reality/work. Rob had a couple of family shoots to do as soon as we got back: 

Lens (mm): 80
ISO: 125
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/400
Exp. Comp.: -0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Lens (mm): 160
ISO: 500
Aperture: 4.5
Shutter: 1/3200
Exp. Comp.: -0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Lens (mm): 45
ISO: 160
Aperture: 6.3
Shutter: 1/160
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Manual

 

Lens (mm): 50
ISO: 400
Aperture: 6.3
Shutter: 1/50
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Manual

 

A few weekends ago found us at Fishing Lake, Sk. for some R & R and well, fishing. While there a massive storm blew in, and to be honest, this was one of the scariest looking clouds that either of us had seen pretty much ever! 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 100
Aperture: 5.6
Shutter: 1/60
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:

Now that everyone is in back to school mode Rob is also in Back to work mode as the University is back in session and that means Rob will once again be out covering all of the Cougar Athletics programs:

Lens (mm): 108
ISO: 100
Aperture: 11
Shutter: 1/125
Exp. Comp.: +1.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

________________________________________

And now for a reach into our mailbag. We are going to do our best to address your mail as it comes in and when we feel it of value to our readers, we will respond to that mail publicly (last names withheld of course) via this blog or our podcast. If you include photos we will include those as well when we can.

This email was in response to a "Challenge" we issued in our podcast. To all those who took the time to shoot and submit, we are very sorry for not doing a new episode and responding to those. We will get back on track soon. If Devona would retire from her day job we would have all kinds of time.

Hey Rob and Devona,
 
What's shakin'?
 
I have attached my submission for the plant challenge. 
 
The reason I chose this plant was because my daughter just replanted it tonight and I figured it was pretty convenient.  I have no clue what kind of plant it is.  Apparently it likes to be watered with wiener water soup.  OK, there I go just making shit up now.
 
For the sake of a name, let's call it "The beanstalk".  It kind of reminds me of the story Jack and the Beanstalk, although I doubt the beanstalk needed to be propped up by a green straw.    ...If you look into the distance, you'll see a little guy with black antennae peeking over the edge of the pot behind it.  No, it's not the red haired leprechaun you speak of...LOL.  It's some kind of freakish lady bug or something.
 
Feel free to give me feedback on it....positive and negative.  I'm not only still learning to use the camera, but I need to get a handle on the composition and lighting sides of things as well ...so lemme have it straight.
 
Catch ya on the flipside.

Joe

~~~~~~~~~

Joe,

It is submissions like these that remind us why we do what we do. Because readers make us smile. Technically a good exposure, well composed although a little cluttered but narratively such a good story, you justified it. Thanks for sharing

Rob

As always, thanks for visiting and your interest in our blog. Comments, questions, concerns and credit cards are always welcome. For convenience, please subscribe by clicking on the "Subscribe" Button on the Main Page of this blog. This is a mechanism that will provide you with notification each time we publish a new blog. For information on photo workshops and field trips please visit http://www.thosetwophotographers.com/Classes.html

Our Services can be explored here and our Portfolios here.

You are also more than welcome to subscribe to our podcast by searching for thosetwophotographers in iTunes. We have fallen behind a bit on it but it still contatains some relavant industry news, tips, and interviews with photographers. Eventually we will get back on this horse.

Well, that's it for this blog post. Please check back when you get a chance as with luck we will have another entry within the month!

Cheers!

Devona & Rob

 

Hello once again!

We hope that everyone is having a fantastic summer so far even though the weather has for the most part been total shi  garbage . One of us has been very busy this summer and the other one has been on vacation for the better part of it ...seeing as how yours truly is typing up the blog as we speak and not on another camping/ motorcycle trip you can make the assumption that it is indeed Robert who has had the laid back summer thus far . (nope...not bitter though).

What has happened since the last blog posting you ask? Well, we were fortunate enough to have one of our good friends Blair from Nitro Image to invite us out to Saskatoon to shoot some pictures of the race cars out at SIR. Unfortunately it started to storm later on in the afternoon so we packed up our gear and headed back to Regina only to find out that it ended up clearing just in time for the jet cars to run . We had a great time anyway and a huge thanks to Blair for getting us ringside seats!

We also held a Nightscapes fieldtrip and if you can believe it we even had fantastic weather with NO evening thunderstorm! Everyone had a great time and we are looking forward to announcing more fieldtrips in the near future.

Alright ...onto some photos:

 

The photo above and below were shot out at Dallas Valley Ranch Camp when I went along one day with my daughters class to help them with canoeing. They were both shot with my little waterproof Pentax Optio W80 point and shoot camera which just goes to show that you don't have to spend thousands of dollars in equipment to get decent results.If it isn't glaringly obviousto you already...the photo below did have a bit of work done to it in Photoshop.

 

We will now move on to a couple of the pictures that we shot in Saskatoon out at SIR:

 

Lens (mm): 100
ISO: 400
Aperture: 14
Shutter: 1/160
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

The above picture that I shot was tweaked in photoshop to render the photo black and white while keeping in the blue.

 

Here are a couple of shots of our buddy Blair from Nitro Image doing what he does best




Lens (mm): 70
ISO: 200
Aperture: 13
Shutter: 1/125
Exp. Comp.: +0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Blair then took a few pictures of us. Not sure why I'm laughing so hard in this picture but I'm pretty sure that this was shot prior to Robert dropping his lens against the railing! That being said all of the equipment did survive the fall




Lens (mm): 200
ISO: 200
Aperture: 13
Shutter: 1/30
Exp. Comp.: -0.3
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

The above shot was obviously my attempt at being artsy fartsy while trying to stay out of the way of the completely suffocating clouds of burning rubber

 

Surprisingly enough Robert is seen photographing a motorcycle. Who knew that he held an interest in that subject matter???

We will now move onto a few pics that I shot from our Nightscapes Fieldtrip that we held a few weeks back:

 

Lens (mm): 38
ISO: 400
Aperture: 29
Shutter: 1.0
Exp. Comp.: -0.7
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

The above shot was taken right around 8:00 PM as the sun started to go down.

 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 400
Aperture: 20
Shutter: 5
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

 

Lens (mm): 17
ISO: 400
Aperture: 22
Shutter: 30
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

As you can see the above "ghost" image of Rob was done with a 30 second shutter speed throwing in a quick flash thus the transparent look.

 

Lens (mm): 44
ISO: 400
Aperture: 11
Shutter: 1.0
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
Flash Comp.:
Program: Aperture Priority

Below just for fun the image of our huge winter storm last year was thrown in. With all of the garbage weather that we have had this spring/summer so far putting the image in for what we have to look forward to in the coming months just seemed appropriate lmao...yuck! 

 

And with that wonderful image we will conclude this entry of the blog. Please check back within the next month for a new entry covering our trip to Palm Springs in the middle of July. Can you say insanely hot...yep!

 

Thanks for checking us out and get out there and take some pictures!!

Devona & Rob

 

Hello again everyone! I know, it has once again been quite a bit of time between entries. There is no excuse so that being said we are just going to get on with what has been happening... add some photos and business as usual...voila!

{Once again, I, Rob Weitzel, will add a note or two here in these funny little bracket things. Most of what needs to be said is summed up by saying "Sorry we have not published more blogs and more podcasts and to those of you who submitted images for the podcast, we are even more sorry. Fact is, we really like doing this stuff but unfortunately it all takes time to produce and that time is time away from things that generate revenue to help pay for gigantic lens.. see below. We will try to do better. Fact is, I may actually have time to find a photo to publish next time around - RW}

So, what has been happening? Well, not as much outdoor shooting as we would like unfortunately due to the fact that suddenly we have been inundated with massive amounts of rainfall. How massive you ask? Well, they said on the radio the other day that Regina received the most rain EVER for the month of May. Personally it just makes me happy that one day I can sit around a nice cozy fire and tell my grandkids that I was actually around to witness said event... yeah right!

Okay, enough jabbering... let's get to some pictures:

About a month ago Brooke and I headed out to our friends acreage and rode around on the quads and motorbikes. Rob bugs me because he says that this photo shows my white knuckles... yes, it has been a long time since I had been on a bike but we had a blast


My daughter Brooke quadding with Trey... she had too much fun!

Now onto some photos from our PeopleScapes field trip, the last photo field trip that we held. Originally it was scheduled for one date but it sold out in a few hours so an extra date was added and two were hosted back to back. The weekend was perfect weather-wise which has been extremely rare and from the feedback we have received it sounds like everyone had a great time and learned a lot. At some point in the future an image gallery will be added to the website with a selection of images from each field trip.

Shooting the shooters Also keeping an eye on our models and really hoping that the tree branch didn't break and plunge them into the lake! 

 

Rob "using his hands" to help show the participants what to look for when making images of two people together.

 

Shutter Speed - 1/1250th sec, F 5.6, ISO - 640, Focal Length - 85mm in aperture priority mode. Note that this image also has some pretty obvious edge burning done in photoshop. Obvious so you can see the effect. Usually a little more subtle.

 

Here is a shot of Tina that I took as the sun was starting to go down.

 

Some more pics of the field trippers.

One model and a million different perspectives as you can see from the shooting positions of those with cameras.

 

Oh wait, can it be??? Yes, another picture of Rob with his arms raised in the air now there's a surprise  

 

Giving a little bit of feedback. See, I do actually work on the field trips!

 

 

Shutter Speed - 1/80th sec, F 6.3, ISO 160, Focal Length - 38mm. Here is a picture that of Bill taking a picture. Take note that the focal point of the photo is in fact Bill's back and the combination of focal point and aperture used render the model in the distance to be soft.

 

The next two images were given to us by Larry Burkowsky who was one of the participants in the workshop.

 

Great composition and exposure!

 

He also shot this one of Rob. Something just seems wrong about a guy in a Tilley hat throwing a football... hmmm.

 

The perfect end to a perfect day... beautiful colours in the sky

We did have one opportunity to actually go out and take about 10 shots in between the rain and wind a little while ago. Here is the fruit of that labour...okay, truth be told it was nowhere near labour...been there, done that lol...

Rob taking some pics out of the back of his truck. Seriously, i think he needs a much bigger lens lol...

 

Getting all artsy fartsy with my photos and yes, the one above did go through Photoshop.

 

This one is titled "I'm a Ford"... yep, original Shutter Speed - 1/6400th sec, F 4.0, ISO - 400, Focal Length - 200mm.

 

Shutter Speed - 1/5000th sec, F 4.0, ISO - 400, Focal Length - 70mm

The above photo is a great example of getting a silhouette when your subject is backlit. Also, it shows how the 70-200mm lens can be used for close ups as well as distant objects.

Well everyone, that's all for now but if you can believe it, we have already started working on images for the next blog. With luck it will even get published in a timely manner...wohooo!  In the next blog will be some of our adventures from a photo shoot this past weekend out at SIR race track as well as some mountain biking adventures. They keep telling me that your butt eventually just gets used to that 4" wide seat that they put on most mountain bikes but after riding up and down hills this afternoon it will take a lot more convincing... as well as icepacks

Until next time...keep shooting and have fun! (For those of you who know who Hal Johnson and Joanne Mcleod of all the "keep fit and have fun" commercials on tv over the past 20 years, I just actually recited that in my head as I was typing the keep shooting and have fun bit lol).

Devona & Rob

 

Hello again everyone! I know, it has once again been quite a bit of time between entries. There is no excuse so that being said we are just going to get on with what has been happening... add some photos and business as usual...voila!

{Once again, I, Rob Weitzel, will add a note or two here in these funny little bracket things. Most of what needs to be said is summed up by saying "Sorry we have not published more blogs and more podcasts and to those of you who submitted images for the podcast, we are even more sorry. Fact is, we really like doing this stuff but unfortunately it all takes time to produce and that time is time away from things that generate revenue to help pay for gigantic lens.. see below. We will try to do better. Fact is, I may actually have time to find a photo to publish next time around - RW}

So, what has been happening? Well, not as much outdoor shooting as we would like unfortunately due to the fact that suddenly we have been inundated with massive amounts of rainfall. How massive you ask? Well, they said on the radio the other day that Regina received the most rain EVER for the month of May. Personally it just makes me happy that one day I can sit around a nice cozy fire and tell my grandkids that I was actually around to witness said event... yeah right!

Okay, enough jabbering... let's get to some pictures:

About a month ago Brooke and I headed out to our friends acreage and rode around on the quads and motorbikes. Rob bugs me because he says that this photo shows my white knuckles... yes, it has been a long time since I had been on a bike but we had a blast


My daughter Brooke quadding with Trey... she had too much fun!

Now onto some photos from our PeopleScapes field trip, the last photo field trip that we held. Originally it was scheduled for one date but it sold out in a few hours so an extra date was added and two were hosted back to back. The weekend was perfect weather-wise which has been extremely rare and from the feedback we have received it sounds like everyone had a great time and learned a lot. At some point in the future an image gallery will be added to the website with a selection of images from each field trip.

Shooting the shooters Also keeping an eye on our models and really hoping that the tree branch didn't break and plunge them into the lake! 

 

Rob "using his hands" to help show the participants what to look for when making images of two people together.

 

Shutter Speed - 1/1250th sec, F 5.6, ISO - 640, Focal Length - 85mm in aperture priority mode. Note that this image also has some pretty obvious edge burning done in photoshop. Obvious so you can see the effect. Usually a little more subtle.

 

Here is a shot of Tina that I took as the sun was starting to go down.

 

Some more pics of the field trippers.

One model and a million different perspectives as you can see from the shooting positions of those with cameras.

 

Oh wait, can it be??? Yes, another picture of Rob with his arms raised in the air now there's a surprise  

 

Giving a little bit of feedback. See, I do actually work on the field trips!

 

 

Shutter Speed - 1/80th sec, F 6.3, ISO 160, Focal Length - 38mm. Here is a picture that of Bill taking a picture. Take note that the focal point of the photo is in fact Bill's back and the combination of focal point and aperture used render the model in the distance to be soft.

 

The next two images were given to us by Larry Burkowsky who was one of the participants in the workshop.

 

Great composition and exposure!

 

He also shot this one of Rob. Something just seems wrong about a guy in a Tilley hat throwing a football... hmmm.

 

The perfect end to a perfect day... beautiful colours in the sky

We did have one opportunity to actually go out and take about 10 shots in between the rain and wind a little while ago. Here is the fruit of that labour...okay, truth be told it was nowhere near labour...been there, done that lol...

Rob taking some pics out of the back of his truck. Seriously, i think he needs a much bigger lens lol...

 

Getting all artsy fartsy with my photos and yes, the one above did go through Photoshop.

 

This one is titled "I'm a Ford"... yep, original Shutter Speed - 1/6400th sec, F 4.0, ISO - 400, Focal Length - 200mm.

 

Shutter Speed - 1/5000th sec, F 4.0, ISO - 400, Focal Length - 70mm

The above photo is a great example of getting a silhouette when your subject is backlit. Also, it shows how the 70-200mm lens can be used for close ups as well as distant objects.

Well everyone, that's all for now but if you can believe it, we have already started working on images for the next blog. With luck it will even get published in a timely manner...wohooo!  In the next blog will be some of our adventures from a photo shoot this past weekend out at SIR race track as well as some mountain biking adventures. They keep telling me that your butt eventually just gets used to that 4" wide seat that they put on most mountain bikes but after riding up and down hills this afternoon it will take a lot more convincing... as well as icepacks

Until next time...keep shooting and have fun! (For those of you who know who Hal Johnson and Joanne Mcleod of all the "keep fit and have fun" commercials on tv over the past 20 years, I just actually recited that in my head as I was typing the keep shooting and have fun bit lol).

Devona & Rob

 

Well everyone we are finally getting some time to add a new entry as life has been a bit of a whirlwind as of late. What's new...what's exciting since we last blogged you ask? Well, in a nutshell there was a quick trip to Mexico, a few workshops and a Winterscapes fieldtrip among a billion other things!

Let's start this blog by having a brief discussion on the weather. In my furthest memories (which as aging takes hold granted are only a few years at best sometimes) I cannot recall ever having almost a month of hoar frost and fog filled days. One would think that out of all of them there would have been ample opportunity to get out and shoot at least one photo of such wierd meteorological events right? Wrong. Oh well, moving forward there is always next year. The one thing that did become abundantly clear throughout the gloom was that sunshine is my friend and I would have a really really hard time living somewhere like Vancouver!

Well...enough idle chit chat about weather and gloom. Let's move on to some pictures. We will begin with a trip that was taken with my cousins to sunny Mexico... this was a different kind of trip as normally my bag would be absolutely stuffed with at least one if not two digital slr's as well as a wide variety of lenses but this time my photography equipment consisted of a Canon Powershot G9 and a Gorillapod (fancy mini tripod)...yep, that's it folks. There is something to be said on rare occasion for just taking a break away from everything and that is exactly what happened... lot's of reading, walking on the beach and sitting by the pool. {Yep - this girl is learning from the best - remember me, damn near a month in Costa Rica with a stinkin point and shoot - Yes, I will once again provide semi-useless, strangely bracketed comments - RW}

ISO - 200, F 7.1, Shutter Speed - 1/100th Nothing beats taking long walks along the beach to destress!{Where exactly is the walking in this photo? - RW}

A shot with my cousin Rachel... what you don't know is that this took several takes as we were trying to look casual in between getting pelted from behind by the waves. {I thought I recognized the enema smiles}

 

Rachel's re-enactment of what must have happened to the windshield on this golf cart.{Speaking of which, at first glance I thought this was another enema pic but alas, I noticed the comment about the windsheild}

 

ISO- 400, F 4.5, Shutter Speed - 1/30th

The above shot was in the back of the resort. Very cool architecture and very "Italian" like. As you can see by the EXIF data a tripod was used for this shot as the shutter speed of 1/30th sec was too slow to be handheld... the image was also converted to black and white in Photoshop.

 

It is impossible to go to Mexico and not sample some of the tequila. This picture is indicative of two things... 1)  This was definitely not my favorite sample of the day. 2) Without a shadow of a doubt this proves that I do not always have to look like a supermodel (if that were possible) to be in the blog...

 

If you ever find yourself in Puerto Vallarta going to Pipi's and ordering one of their margaritas is an absolute must! Another must is hailing a cab within roughly half an hour after consuming such a beast to go back to your resort for a short siesta lol...

 

ISO- 200, F 3.2, Shutter Speed - 1/320th sec.

The above image was shot while lying on my lounge chair by the back pool. 

 

We had the opportunity to go whale watching one day. {and all you got was a piece of tail}

 

The best part of the whale watching excursion was coming across a huge pod of dolphins {and a time share pitch I'm sure}. There must have been at least a few hundred of them and they surrounded our boat.

 

Men with machine guns and smiles on their faces... interesting.

 

ISO- 200, F 2.8, Shutter Speed - 3 seconds.

These buildings were right outside our balcony and I loved the way that the light hit them at night. This image was shot at about 9:00 PM

Cocktails at the pool bar...for the record most of them were not mine {anymore}... we were there with a big group who just weren't in the picture!

 

ISO - 50, F 4.2, Shutter Speed - 1/400th sec.

The crab above was more than a little bit creepy. Everytime that the shutter was about to be pressed he would either do this little twitch thing or jump. He (or is it she??) was actually about 6" long and the image was shot about 2" away.

Okay... back home from Mexico and onto some more local pics!

A good friend of mine is starting up a new comapny called Vino Tapederas so I wandered over there one day and shot some pictures for her. Check out the website especially if you love having the odd drink in the great outdoors! {We would love to but you failed to provide a link right folks}

Rob and I were out with a great group yesterday as we conducted our Winterscapes 2010 fieldtrip and had a fantastic time! Below are a few images from the day.

 

Holy paparazzi !!!

 

Artsy fartsy chain link.

 

ISO- 160, F 4.5, Shutter Speed - 1/5000th sec.

 

Same shot in essence but converted to black and white.

 

A few images of the participants.

 

ISO - 160, F 5.6, Shutter Speed - 1/160th sec

 

This image has some special significance as it was none other than Shane (pictured above) who went through the ice in our Winterscapes fieldtrip last year... go figure.

 

My version of "footprints".

I have found that sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. The first image below was shot when Rob and I were out at Buffalo Pound a few years back and the one following was shot yesterday. 

 

_________________________________

Now for my two bits - RW

Four days last weekend were spent in semi-sunny Lloydminster, AB where we gave a bunch of mini seminars. We had fun and they were very well received. Chances are we will head back there at some point. Being the driver of a rather large half ton this should not likely come from my mouth but my god there are a lot of large trucks in Lloydminster. Not often anymore that I'm stricken with truck envy but admittedly was on a few occassions. That said, that town needs to enlarge its parking spots accordingly.

On the trip we had a couple of spottings, the first being a bald eagle sittting on the ground just outside of Hanley, SK. We drove about a mile past it before looking at each other and saying "What the hell was that, a bald eagle?" with neither of us wanting to sound like an ass. After another mile decided to turn around. Upon approach we had convinced ourselves that the sighting was more likely an oil barrel with a bit of snow left on it. Well damned if that oil barrell didn't fly off into the air when hassled by a couple of ravens snacking on a deer carcas. You know how the rest of this story goes.... wind chill below freezing and Rob in a t-shirt and cowboy boots standing on an ice patch trying to mount a body on a 400mm and get some form of shot of this. I should really know better.

Closer to Lloyd we had a bit more success however I was still unable to stand up in the damn boots so just grabbed my 70-200 and blew off a couple frames. Hardly a show stopper when it comes to semi-wildlife but I just wanted you to note a couple of things compositionally speaking. Said subject matter (Elk) are composed on the bottom 1/3 horizontal line. The close crop on the animal on the left and the space on the right side of the frame make for "room to move". 

As for "ass vision" which is my own term for hindsight, I should have grabbed a bit more depth of field by increasing my aperture value. This was shot at F3.5 at 1/800 so had some room to move.

Tripped over a little more wildlife hanging from the trees in Bud Miller Park.

 
A little bit of fill flash here to soften the shadows in the face and if you look close added some nice catch light to her eyes.

The rest of the month has been fairly quiet as far as shooting for fun goes... sometimes I wish photography was a hobby as hobbyists tend to have more time to shoot.

1/500 @ F2.8 - +1EV - ISO3200
I know you have heard it said before but eye contact is everything. Not necesarily with the camera but with the activity yrou subject is engaged in

Changed it up a little with the Future STARS portraits this time as the typical portrait was getting a bit old. Went for the single light low-key in an attempt to do something a little more adult with the little guys. Who would have thunk that the biggest challenge would be getting them standing.

Make sure that you get out there and enjoy springtime with your camera in hand!

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Cheers!

 

Till next time,

 

Devona & Rob

 

Good morning Everyone,

 We just wanted to add a quick little note to let you know that we are aware that we have fallen a wee bit behind on our podcast and blog entires as of late   That being said we should have a new blog up by mid week and a new podcast within about a week. 

 Thanks!

 

Devona & Rob