Trump Truck

Trump Truck – Salt Lake City, Utah, 2017

Silhouette

The water falling outside the window caught my attention, I just had to wait for someone to stand in front of the glass. I like this because the water blocks out the distractions from outside which then isolates the silhouette making him the main focus.

Focused

I could have walked right up to this man, he was so focused on that small screen he had no clue what was going on around him.

Welcome 2016 (leap year)

Today’s configuration: Leica M(240) with a Summicron 50mm lens

December has been a month of self reflection for me.  I have made quite a few changes with my photography journey the last 12 months  

The first change was to give up Facebook.  I deleted the app from my phone a few months ago for a month and didn’t miss a thing.  I noticed that my feed contained about 80% garbage and 20% worthwhile stuff.  I decided that it’s not worth it for me to wade through the 80% garbage to get to the good stuff.  I don’t have time for that anymore.  

The second thing I did was I made a major investment in film photography.  My first purchase was a medium format Yashica Mat 124G TLR in mint condition.  I love medium format film and this move made sense for me.  I love using a TLR, it slows me down and makes me think about what I’m doing.  I also purchased a another Leica camera.  This time a Leia M6 TTL in mint condition.  It was manufactured in 2001 and is a beautiful camera.  I’ve shot a few rolls through it and I’m still getting used to it but I have to say it’s a beautiful camera. 

The third thing I’m curently working on is selling off all my Canon gear, all of it.  It sits on my shelf collecting dust and doesn’t make sense for me to keep.  I’m also selling all my other gear that I no longer use.  I recently sold my Sony RX100 MII, it was a beautiful camera but wasn’t used enough to justify keeping it.  

Who knows what will happen this year.  I want to spend less time online and more quality time with my family.

-thanks for stopping by

Salt Lake City Utah at Sunset

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a Create LDS Media photowalk in downtown Salt Lake City Utah on top of the LDS Church Office Building.  The observation deck is on the 26th floor which gave us an awesome view of the valley.  The image above is my favorite from the evening, I’m a sucker for long exposure dusk photos.  While we weren’t able to get a great sunset picture due to a storm on the west horizon, this long exposure is pretty amazing.  I had a great evening getting to know new people and reacquainting with some old friends.

The Guardians

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/1000 second * f/4

Spires and Clouds

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 400 * 1/8000 second * f/4.0

Gables and Glass

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/640 second * f/4.0

gable |ˈgābəl|
noun
• a gable-shaped canopy over a window or door.

Mini-Photowalk

Canon 40D * Canon EF-24-105mm f/4.0L lens * ISO 100 * 1/500 second * f/4.0

I went on a mini-photowalk at Temple Square in Salt Lake City this morning. I’ve been wanting to go for several weeks but with all the fires in California the skies have been very hazy. Not sure what happened today but the sky was very blue and no haze.

The only post processing was the normal ACR settings with a photoshop action for clarity.

Golden Hair with Reflection

Canon 40D * Canon EF-24-105mm f/4.0L lens * ISO 400 * 1/250 second * f/4.0

Assembly Hall

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

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

Salt Lake City Photowalk Update

Mountain Time, originally uploaded by Scott O. Smith.

Had a great time at the Salt Lake City Photowalk. It was a wet rainy day but six of us braved the 40 degree weather and had fun. I met some great photographers and look forward to another photowalk.

It’s amazing what attention a group of people with DSLR’s can attract. We were standing on a sidewalk chatting in front of a motel with our camera gear(tripods,strobes,backpack’s), a woman in a car stopped and asked what “famous person” we were waiting to photograph.

Click here to view my flickr set

Check out the others that were there: Rich, Harley, Diane , Ann and Bryan.

Canon XTi, Canon EF-24-105mm f/4.0L lens, 1/160 second, f/4.0, ISO 100

Photowalking Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City Skyline, originally uploaded by Scott O. Smith.

I’m planning on attending Photowalking Salt Lake City today. It’s been raining and snowing for the last twelve hours, the forecast is calling for a high of 39F/3.8C. Should make for an interesting photowalk.

I’ve been on a Photowalk with Thomas Hawk and others in San Francisco. It’s a relaxed fun way to meet people that have a common interest. I stay in contact with people I met there and enjoy following their work. You can check out my photo set here.

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