Scott O. Smith Photoblog

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 500 * 1/25 second * f/4

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.

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/160 second * f/4

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”!

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/500 second * f/4

This time of year it’s hard to miss the sunflowers growing on the side of the roads, railroad tracks, parks or in neighborhoods.  I took some time to test out my new Circular Polarizer filter over the weekend at a local park.  I like how it adds a punch to the photo and gives the sky a deep blue color.

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/100 second * f/6.3

My family went to the park Sunday to enjoy the fall weather.  While walking around before the sun disappeared, I turned the corner to see this little stream reflecting the sunset figuring it would make a great photo.  As I positioned myself for this shot my daughter rode by on her skate board rip stick so I waited until she was directly in the sun’s path. The leading lines of the water take the viewer to the silhouette which gives dimension and depth.

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/250 second * f/4

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 400 * 1/1600 second * f/9

This is to honor the Americans who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

I was scheduled to fly from Salt Lake City to Atlanta Georgia on 9-11. Luckily I was up the night before sick and had to cancel my travel plans.  Who knows where I would have ended up that day.

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

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 500 * 1/50 second * f/5.6

We escaped a hot 100+ July day in Syracuse (Utah) and headed up to the mountains.  In just a little over an hour we more than doubled our elevation from 4200 ft to 10,000+ ft and dropped to a temperature around 65 degrees.  That’s one of the many reasons I like living in Utah, having the mountains so close and accessible makes fun to get out and enjoy nature.

This photo was taken at Mirror Lake in the Unita Mountains.  I like how the rain is lightly falling on the water with just enough sun to light up the yellow canoe.