I spent this morning in the shadows of the Oquirrh Mountains doing a stock photo shoot of a motocross rider. Shooting the action was a lot of fun, almost as much fun as riding James’ (the motocross rider) 1974 Kawasaki out to the location from where we parked.

I don’t shoot many action scenes, so today was a bit of a departure from my normal shooting. One thing I did come to realize (again) is that the Canon 5D Mark II is not the best camera for shooting in a high speed environment. The combination of its relatively slow 3.9 frame-per-second shooting combined with the rather outdated focus system made capturing the fast moving motorcycle somewhat challenging. Even photographing within these limitations though, I am pleased with the results I was able to obtain.

My setup was pretty straightforward. I paired a 70-200 f/4L with the 5D Mark II, and shot on aperture priority. The addition of the 580EX II flash on the camera helped to bring out some of the lost detail in the shadow areas.

I covered many of the logos on the motorcycle and rider with gaffer’s tape, but I’ve still got quite a bit of cloning to do to the images in addition to my usual edits before submitting them to my iStockphoto portfolio.

Big thanks to James for being a patient and gracious model and Nicole for helping behind-the-scenes.

Ann Torrence dropped by this clipping today that ran in a supplement of the Sanpete Messenger last month. It was an announcement about the photography clinic we taught as part of the Sanpitch Cowboy Expo.

Though the flowery introduction is a bit embarrassing, I’m sure at least my mom will enjoy reading it :)

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/100 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

I’ve been buried in editing stock photos for the past couple days and look to continue to be through the weekend, so for today’s blog post I thought I’d take a step back in time. Delving into my archive hard-drive to see what I shot a few years ago today, I came out with this “little” dumptruck pic taken on 08.07.06. Just like I did originally with the similar images take on this date, I decided to edit the shot to make it look like a toy truck.

Enjoy your weekend!

Canon 30D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/250 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

Photo by Harley Pebley

About a month or so ago I received an email from one of the readers of my blog, Seth Jensen. He was asking if I would be interested in judging the photography exhibit at the Emery County Fair in Castle Dale Utah. Knowing that my good friend and fellow photographer Ann Torrence is always up for a road trip I asked if the fair would be interested in both of us co-judging to which they readily accepted.

Yesterday Ann and I, accompanied by Harley Pebley, made the 150 mile trek to Castle Dale for the judging. While the task was not a small undertaking (120+ photos were entered), the day flew by. The people we met at the fair were among the friendliest and most hospitable folks I have been around in some time.

I was very impressed not only with the amount of photos entered in this year’s fair, but with the quality as well. Judging the four categories was not an easy task. In the end I am quite pleased with the selections that Ann and I made for division winners, judges’ choice and best of show.

It is days like yesterday that truly help me appreciate the freedom I have in doing what I do as a full-time photographer. While yesterday was a definite learning day for me photographically, it really didn’t feel like a work day. I’m very flattered to have been invited and I hope the nice people of Emery County are happy with the selections that Ann and I made.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/50 second, f/4, ISO 100

I spent Saturday afternoon doing a stock photo shoot at an Assisted Living home. The best part of the day though was not creating stock photos, but rather spending time with an outstanding group of models. These wonderful seniors were some of the funnest people I have been around in a long time.

Today’s image is a quick sample from the shoot. I’ve got some behind the scenes shots that I will share later in the week, but in the meantime I will be spending some time in front of the Mac editing the images for my stock portfolio.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/4, ISO 100