Scott O. Smith Photoblog

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

I had a great time with my daughter and her friend on Saturday.  My wife want’s to print a 20 x 24 photo of our girls to hang on our wall.  I had taken the my other two daughters photos last summer but needed a new one for my oldest daughter.  We headed to one of my favorite locations, the Ogden Union Station.

The photo above was taken in an old wooden train car that is quite dirty and discusting but made for some great photos.  For the shot above of my daughter, I needed to lighten the train up a bit so I attached a red gel to my flash, set it to 1/64( i think) power slave mode and used a voice activated lightstand (her friend) camera right aimed at the back wall.  I then had a second flash on my camera set to master @ 1/32 power just to give a little fill.  It was fun experimenting with different colored gels.  Below are a few of my favs – enjoy

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 320 * 1/60 second * f/4.0

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

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 400 * 1/100 second * f/4.0

I was asked by some good friends to photograph their family before their oldest son leaves on an LDS mission to the West Indies.  All the photos were taken at the Union Station in downtown Ogden Utah.  It has such a great variety of colors, lines, and backdrops that make for some great photos.  I’ve included a few of my favorites from the day.

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/125 second * f/9.0

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/125 second * f/9.0

I photographed these cowgirls recently that will be competing in a rodeo queen contest in Idaho this summer.  I was hired to take a head shot and a full length body shot and then have some fun with other poses.  I had an absolute blast and am looking forward to photographing other events this year.  One of the challenges I had was getting enough light on their faces with their large hats.  I’ve included my favorites from the day.

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/125 second * f/8.0

After a couple of long weeks with little to no sun I took advantage of the first morning when the sky was blue and the air was crisp and clear to go on an early morning photowalk.  I started to walk around downtown Salt Lake and ended up at Temple Square.  The light was perfect and the light dusting of snow made for some great photos.  Below are a couple of my favorites.

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

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/125 second * f/13

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 6 seconds * f/7.1

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1/125 second * f/9.0

I setup my studio in my basement last week and wanted to practice on some new lighting techniques.  I was able to get some good results of my wife and daughter.  I’ve been playing around with black and white photos lately and am pleased with the results.  I used a Adobe Lightroom preset that a fellow photog gave me that I really like.  I included a diagram of my light setup below.

I love the detail and color in stained glass windows.  My first real world exposure to them was a trip to Europe when I was 18.  I’ve since been to Europe several times and am always drawn to churches and buildings that have stained glass like above.  I’ve also made it a point to visit places in the US in my travels.  Today’s photo is a collection of photos taken at The Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1.3 seconds * f/5.6

I took a little time off from work recently to photograph The Cathedral of the Madeleine church with a friend.  As you can see the inside is beautiful, the colors and detail are amazing.   It was a bit challenging photographing this beautiful building but the results were worth it.   I had a hard time deciding which photos to post so I will be posting some of my favorites later this week.

History of the Church

Under the leadership of the Right Reverend Lawrence Scanlan (1843 – 1915), the first bishop of Salt Lake, the construction of The Cathedral of the Madeleine was begun in the year 1900 and completed in 1909. On August 15 of that year, the cathedral was dedicated by Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore. The architects were Carl M. Newhausen and Bernard O. Mecklenburg. The cathedral combines a predominately Romanesque exterior with a Gothic interior. The property on which the cathedral sits was purchased in 1890 for $35,000. The cost of the cathedral construction itself was $344,000.

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1.6 seconds * f/5.6

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 2.5 seconds * f/5.6

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1.3 seconds * f/5.6

Canon 40D * EF-24-105mm f/4.0L * ISO 100 * 1.3 seconds * f/5.6