silhouettes.. etc

Posted on July 25, 2011 by camluvs7

tallac at 0.004 seconds, f/6.2, 4.6mm, ISO 100
my friends and i hiked tallac for sunrise, this is us watching it. i always feel like a cheap photographer when i use self timer, but i wanted to be in the picture too..

tallac hiker at 0.003 seconds, f/5.7, 7.9mm, ISO 100
this scott, relieved to finally be at the top of tallac after three/four hours of hiking.

tallac at 2.5 seconds, f/4.4, 4.6mm, ISO 100
since i keep talking about tallac at sunrise, here’s what it looked like.

photographer at 0.008 seconds, f/2.8, 4.6mm, ISO 100
this is david stewart, he’s probably the best photographer i know. i enjoyed shooting with him.


moonlight at 25 seconds, f/6.6, 8.7mm, ISO 100
even though it’s not a silhouette, another picture taken when shooting with david. it’s dark, but i like how it came out with the moonlight. actually i suppose the trees count as a silhouette.

swings at 0.001 seconds, f/6.2, 4.6mm, ISO 100
i’m not sure i’ll ever be too old to want to swing. neither will my friends, that’s why i like them.

lighthouse shores at 0.003 seconds, f/6.2, 4.6mm, ISO 100
i felt kind of creepy because i don’t know who this person is, but they made for a good model.

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2011 american century classic from hole 17

Posted on July 20, 2011 by powdork

this was my fourth year taking pictures from the side of the 17th green at edgewood. as always, i’ll put up a large gallery over on aboutlaketahoe.com/events/celebrity-golf.htm. but there are some that i like more from a photography standpoint than just to provide content about the tournament. i’ll put those up here. most of this stuff is nowhere near the level of the pros with thousands of dollars in glass and all access, but that’s why this is photography for (and from) dummies. all the shots here were taken with the
EOS Rebel T2i. the vast majority were with the sigma 50-200 f/4-5.6 dc os.

from wednesday
i mean seriously, what’s better? three beautiful women, or michael smoking another cigar?
michael jordan at 1/1,024 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 at 200mm

shooting can be tough in the middle of the day, but it allows for fast enough shutter speeds to stop just about everything
sandy at 1/1,024 sec, f/5, ISO 100 at 50mm

thursday
this navy seaplane was chasing boats around all day
1/1,024 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 at 200mm

prolly should have gotten some sort of artificial lighting on this one. this was with the kit lens for the t2i, the canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
patron bar at 1/400 seconds, f/5, 41mm, ISO 100

aj hawk and his kid
1/790 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 at 200mm


friday
i got more pics than any other day. so many that it’s hard to choose amongst them just because of the time and volume involved. the lesson here is that despite the digital age where you can shoot as many pics as you want at no extra charge, you definitely get diminishing marginal returns and it still pays to be somewhat selective

quite the group on the tee
1/790 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 at 161mm

charles charge gives it up for some auburn fans
1/664 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 at 95mm

bode miller (doing a pizza) at the long drive championships
1/664 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 at 135mm

and he lets one rip
1/664 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 at 148mm

aj hawk just about comes out of his shoes
1/664 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 at 104mm

but i think from the crowd’s reaction, you can tell he won
1/664 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 at 104mm

saturday
red, white, and blue
1/1,024 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 at 176mm

raymond loves everybody
1/1,024 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 at 74mm

things that make you go hmmmm
1/1,024 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 at 87mm

sunday
tony romo – what’s impressive here is that this was happening before putting on what everyone knew was likely gonna be the deciding hole of the tournament
1/1,024 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 at 148mm

turns out it was
1/1,024 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 at 135mm

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summer nights

Posted on July 8, 2011 by camluvs7

this would be the first post of our guest contributor, camluvs7, who is also learning photography. more than anything, she has an eye for shots that i simply don’t. she’s also a good writer too, which leaves me wondering why i have to write this. we’ll look forward to at least one post a week as she works off her high school tuition.;)

timber cove at 1/10 seconds, f/2.8, 4mm, ISO 200

lake tahoe fireworks at 1/10 seconds, f/4.2, 24mm, ISO 200

lighthouse shores at 1/250 seconds, f/3.1, 4mm, ISO 100

5 seconds, f/2.8, 4mm, ISO 200

1.6 seconds, f/4, 19mm, ISO 200

1/125 seconds, f/2.8, 4mm, ISO 400

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lights on the lake

Posted on July 5, 2011 by powdork

there were no shortage of fireworks displays this year on or near lake tahoe. both sunday (july 3) and monday the fourth gave us three options. on sunday i watched the squaw valley show after the free big head todd & the monsters concert. monday i set up shop at edgewood, and got some great pics of the big show, with the jameson beach displays (and the moon) showing up in the background. hover over the pictures for the exif data if you are interested.

we’ll start by saying happy b-day to the red, white, and blue.
lake tahoe fireworks at 6 seconds, f/10, 18mm, ISO 100

lake tahoe fireworks at 6 seconds, f/10, 18mm, ISO 200

and happy b-day to jamaica too. 😉
lake tahoe fireworks at 8 seconds, f/14, 18mm, ISO400


stars and the moon
lake tahoe fireworks at 13 seconds, f/14, 18mm, ISO400

colors with a green flower showing up from jameson beach
lake tahoe fireworks at 6 seconds, f/11, 20mm, ISO 400

the fireworks lighting up the smoke cloud behind
lake tahoe fireworks at 6 seconds, f/13, 18mm, ISO400

angels looking over tahoe
lake tahoe fireworks at 8 seconds, f/10, 18mm, ISO 100

colors in lake laimbeer
lake tahoe fireworks at 6 seconds, f/11, 18mm, ISO400

display of the caduceus (the staff with two snakes)
lake tahoe fireworks at 5 seconds, f/11, 18mm, ISO400

and one last parting shot
lake tahoe fireworks at 8 seconds, f/11, 18mm, ISO400

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backcountry.com drops all california affiliates with no warning!

Posted on July 1, 2011 by powdork

the email came like a two ton heavy thing to the head. there was no warning. there was no prior call to action. just a simple impersonal email about how we’re screwed. thousands of california affiliates were fired this morning in the same manner. maybe i’m biased (cuz i just got fired), but the letter seems to sound like the new tax law is my fault. trust me, i didn’t actually vote for it.

Hello,
As a result of the affiliate tax nexus law signed yesterday in the State of California, Backcountry.com is terminating its relationships with all California based publishers associated with the State of California effective immediately. Since the tax law goes into effect tomorrow, July 1st, 2011 any publisher traffic resulting in Sales to Backcountry.com after June 30th, 2011 will not qualify for commissions. Please remove all links and discontinue any promotions for Backcountry.com immediately.
We are hopeful to be in a position to continue our relationship in the future.
Sincerely,
blah blah we at walmartcountry.com don’t care about your heathen state despite the fact that you have more affiliates than any other state.

you know what? i think i will change my links. and you know what else. if the folks at altrec, oregon mountain community, evogear, and getzs.com (and many more) continue to support their california affiliates, well you can guess where you will stand when all the chips have fallen.
seems like utah has a thing for screwing california of late.

sincerely,
a former affiliate

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skiing tahoe on the fourth of july

Posted on June 28, 2011 by powdork

well here it is the fourth of july and many of our normal summer fun time activities just aren’t happening yet due to the still giant snowpack in them thar hills. fortunately, many area resorts have taken a “if you can’t beat ’em you might as well join ’em” attitude, which we applaud. squaw valley, kirkwood, alpine meadows, and sugar bowl are all spinning lifts in some fashion over the holiday weekend.
here’s what’s on the table
squaw valley – open saturday, sunday and monday, july 4. the plan is to run the funitel, gold coast, shirley lake, links, cable car, and siberia. this is a way better offering than squaw had last year. squaw will have a free concert (big head todd & the monsters) along with a fireworks show on sunday, july 3. tickets are $49. next years passes are good. last years are not. squaw’s take

kirkwood – open only saturday and sunday from 7:30-2pm (chair 6 only). saturday is the volunteer fire dept bbq from 3-6pm. sunday is live music with the kingtones leading up to the sunday night fireworks show. tickets are $35. next years passes are good. last years are not. (last independence day at the wood)
dave lays down some tracks on 6/29/11 at kirkwood

alpine meadows – july 2-4 from 8am – 2pm. summit express, roundhouse, and the tiegel carpet. tickets $50 at window, prepurchase price in the $30’s. next years passes are good. last years are not. alpine says


sugar bowl will be open on the 4th only, from 8:30-12 noon. only for passholders, but next years OR last years are good. props to sugar bowl for not making this all about the dollar.

donner ski ranch will be open on the backside as well with $25

mammoth will also be open, with much to offer.

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learning the tools – aperture

Posted on June 27, 2011 by powdork

the hardest thing to grasp for me as i move from a point and shoot in auto mode to a dslr in manual was the concept of aperture. i understand that aperture refers to the size of the hole that the light passes through, but that’s about it. i didn’t understand how i could use it to manipulate pictures. then i learned a bit about lenses, and how those with lower f-number had a bigger aperture and returned those artsy images with the shallow depth of field (dof). these are the images where the subject is focused with clarity and sharpness, but the background is blurred and fuzzy. the term is bokeh
here is an example of bokeh from camluvs7
dragonfly at 1/320, f/4.3, 32.6 mm, ISO 100

so there i was thinking aperture was kind of a one sided deal. you paid more and got faster lenses with wider apertures. the lower the better. right? one nice thing about the digital age is that messing up is nearly free, and takes up no time. it may take some of the edge and sense of urgency away from learning, but it also leads to happy accidents. here is one now. i was unfamiliar with the fact that the flash would reduce the shutter speed to a maximum of 1/200, and with a bright spring snowfield behind the girls, the background would be completely washed out, which is cool although not what i was looking for
skylyn and jasmyn at 1/200, f/5, 25 mm, ISO 100, compulsory flash
for reference, this is the pic with no flash to see what’s blown out
skylyn and jasmyn at 1/1600, f/5, 25 mm, ISO 100

almost three months later, a similar opportunity appeared. but now i was armed with a little more knowledge about how to deal with the situation. the amount of light that hits the ccd is based on the how long the shutter is open as well as how wide the opening is. since the flash requires the shutter speed be slow (the shutter is open a long time), we must reduce the width of the opening to reduce the amount of light that comes in. reducing the width of the opening is the same as shooting with a higher f stop. the picture below is shot at f/10, as opposed to f/5 above
skylyn and jasmyn at 1/200, f/5, 25 mm, ISO 100, compulsory flash

there are some other reasons you might want to go with a higher f/number as well. you can go with longer exposure times in order to capture movement of running water.
additionally, bokeh is not always what you are looking for. you may want all objects within the frame to be in focus. a higher f/number would be appropriate there as well

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the ebbetts moon

Posted on June 16, 2011 by powdork

we hatched a plan yesterday, and let it ferment a bit until it ended up being to ‘ski jobs sister and freel peak under the full moon’ in soft serve slush conditions. that’s not what happened. after dealing with all the logistics of leaving one car at high meadows, for the all nighters’ way out, we packed up the truck with the four of us and headed up fs 051 into horsethief canyon. wasn’t too long before we hit snow on the road. deep snow. deep snow that had already refrozen, despite the fact that we were at @8,500′, it was only 11:00, and it was 47 degrees outside. this meant our assault on freel would include an additional 2 miles of walking prior to starting our ascent to what would at best be very marginal conditions. for those not planning on staying all night, brennan and mike (who had to be at work at 7:30 am), it would mean that same walk again switch to get out. we hatched a new plan. ebbetts pass. there we knew we could get right out of the car and determine whether it was worth skiing, or not. when we got ebbetts, everything was frozen there too. but we knew we would have to get a little bit away from the road before we would know for sure.
mckinney reservoir and ebbetts peak under the light of the full moon
mckinney reservoir

after parking at the pass we found nothing but scary firm snow. just before bailing i walked another 10 feet away from the road into some trees, and found good spring snow. we were on like donkey kong! once committed and heading out the pass ridge toward tryon peak, we soon realized that soft snow behind us would be all we see of that for the night
chris and mike hiking up towards the high point on pass ridge
full moon hiking

chris, mike, and brennan (and their head lamps) heading down off tryon peak
full moon skiing

brennan, chris, and mike stop below and look back. folgers peak in the background
full moon hiking

chris rides by into the moonlight
full moon hiking

then the clouds rolled in, so we had to go (we were done anyway)
full moon hiking

interestingly, the coldest temp we found on our trip was 42 degrees. despite that, the super dense snow pack was also considerably firmer than we would have thought or hoped. there definitely is something to this whole radiational cooling thing. it is great news for those looking to get out during the daylight hours, since the sun cups were not bad at all yet.

Posted in backcountry, skiing | 2 Comments

edgewood after dark

Posted on June 10, 2011 by powdork

i’ve been practicing my lack of light photography with my new camera lately, and edgewood is about as beautiful a place to do it as i can imagine.

here are some of my better recent efforts
edgewood after dark

edgewood after dark

edgewood after dark


it’s tourney time. i chose this pic for an ‘atmosphere’ themed photo contest
countdown to tourney time

it was hard to decide between this and the one above- edit i actually switched these pics at the last minute before the contest started. it has made the final five pictures and has a small chance to win it
countdown to tourney time

moonrise over laimbeer (this one’s also in the contest, but i like the clock better)
edgewood after dark

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g-love couloir (et tu june, et tu?)

Posted on June 5, 2011 by powdork

well whoda thunk we’d still be posting pow tr’s here in june. yesterday (6/2) was one of those rare opportunities.
1. a pow day in june
2. a really good pow day in june with everything as filled in as it has been all year
3. a great crew, none of which had hit this line before
4. a round of golf on lake tahoe after skiing dry pow til 3:00 in june

on with the pics
heading up with a bit of a late start for this time of year (7:30). the sun was already doing it’s damage. in the background would be our warm up run, chamois
kirkwood

dark star charges down chamois. it was faster than he expected
kirkwood

kfactor opts for pucker factor
kirkwood
and comes up…well, down
kirkwood

dark star had to reach a little for this one, but i still like the pic
kirkwood

kfactor’s board used to be much brighter and more colorful
kirkwood

after our warm-up run, and some discussions regarding the snowpack, we decided it was deep
kirkwood

so we opted to go for g-love couloir. dark star gettin’ his boot on nearing the top of our climb
kirkwood

we didn’t have the gear or the desire to top out
kirkwood

after the first turn, it was apparent i had to cover up the camera asap
kirkwood

dark star exits coo-lar
kirkwood

kfactor up to bat
kirkwood

and he connects with the knuckleball
kirkwood

sending it to deep left field
kirkwood

dark star rounds second
kirkwood

and he scores on the play
kirkwood

we thought about hitting the cirque from the top, but someone had already scarred it. besides, we had previously decided we wanted to score an untracked bluebird pow run down 99 steps, since it was june 2rd and all.
kfactor at the kfactory
kirkwood

dark star enjoying the proceeds of the bright orb
kirkwood

me, i mostly wandered around enjoying the views
kirkwood

mostly
kirkwood

kfactor also searching
kirkwood

keep doing that and you’ll bite that tongue right off mister.
kirkwood

so since it’s june and all, i thought some golf might be a good way to finish off a great day.
phil is 20 years my senior, but he still gets after it. hole 6 at wedgewood
Edgewood Golf Course

hole 12
Edgewood Golf Course

tallac looks phat!
Edgewood Golf Course

fin
Edgewood Golf Course

for those interested, there really is no g-love couloir. it’s just the little cleft in the middle of glove rock. i suppose it would be a couloir from the top if it went. it seems at times the area at the top by the trees connects with the middle, the middle very rarely connects at all with the bottom (and i’m guessing it would all sluff off if you were to ski the top). it must have been skied, but the conditions have to be just right.
kirkwood

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