LeggNet's Digital Capture

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I was taking photos on the shoreline of Utah Lake yesterday afternoon when this gentleman flew by in his private plane. I immediately recognized the aircraft as a Cessna 172, since that is the model of plane my father flew when I was a child. I’m not sure what the pilot was doing, but he flew the length of the lake at this low altitude.

This isn’t the shot I hoped to catch when I left home yesterday, but I’m glad I returned with it.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Just under five years ago I received an email in my inbox with the title “Anybody need a good dog?. The note was from the president of a shooting club I used to belong to. He had a friend that had a new baby and was giving away a “chocolate lab”. Making a long story short, we took the dog (Holly) into our home. It was apparent that she wasn’t a purebred lab but her previous owner said she was part chocolate lab (though he wasn’t 100% sure since she came from a shelter as a pup). We never really worried about what breed she was. Her personality was much more important to us.

This week it was time for our dogs to take their annual trek to the vet for shots and licensing. Their previous veterinarian’s office closed so this year they went to a new doctor. Upon entering the examination room, the doctor glanced down at Holly’s records (indicating Labrador) and looked up at her and proclaimed “No part of this dog is lab. She’s a liver colored German Shorthaired Pointer. I’m 100% sure.”

A bit of googling later and I agree, we have a German Shorthaired Pointer. We can now allow Holly to embrace her German heritage. Does that include trips to Wienerschnitzel and Oktoberfest? I doubt it, but at least now we know.

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Alongside the road into Park City (Utah) is the oft photographed McPolin Barn. This wonderful old structure sits quietly just begging to be captured by passing photographers. I rarely make a trip into Park City that I don’t feel obliged to stop and attempt to better my previous images of the building.

I found myself in Park City yesterday (during a snowstorm) and opted to take yet another capture of the barn. This time though, I stopped a bit down the road and photographed a neighboring barn as well. Sure, this barn doesn’t have the history and fame as the McPolin Barn, but it made for a peaceful winter capture of Americana.

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I spotted this interesting headstone in the Salt Lake City cemetery. This is the only wooden grave marker I have ever seen. Click here to view a large image and read the inscription.

Discarded Glory
Originally uploaded by LeggNet. On yesterday’s post, I asked what words come to mind when you see this image. Bryan Catherman of The Hopeless Writer blog stepped up and wrote a back story about it in the comments. I enjoyed it so much that I felt it deserved its own post.

____

She ran down the boulevard toward the coming busses, a yellow ribbon in her hair and a grin from ear to ear. At just nineteen, she had never known such a deep feeling of love before she met Sam, who was now returning from the war. As the two busses pulled near and the cheering crowed crammed forward, the women waved her little American flag from side to side.

She hadn’t received a letter from Sam in over a month. Mail was slow, but the word around the small town was not. Their boys were coming home.

Sam’s letters were so beautiful and she just knew he would propose marriage soon. They would start a family and seek after the American dream.

“What does he look like now?” she asked herself in anticipation. “Has he changed?”

Her Sam was hero, but so were all of the men stepping off the silver bus in their green uniforms. Some men rushed to women and kissed them over and over. Some were perfect strangers; others perfect lovers.

Other men got off the bus, picked up their duffle bag, and walked away from the crowd, alone. Other men looked war-torn; still others were clean and pressed. None of them were boys any longer.

Flag in hand, she waited impatiently. When the first bus emptied and pulled away, she stood up on her toes to look over the crowd. She still looked so young in her summer skirt and sneakers and ribbon tied in a neat bow in her hair. She couldn’t see her Sam.

The second silver bus drained of men, but Sam was still nowhere. The crowed thinned. Confusion lit upon the woman. She looked from side to side. How could she have missed him? Her arms dropped to her sides and she rested squarely back on her heals. The small American flag, still in her hand, now pointed downward.

A burley soldier with pins on his chest and rank on his hat approached her. “Are you Abigail Wells?” he asked.

“Yes, yes I am,” she replied.

“I regret to inform you that Private Sam Thompson was killed in action last month. On the 3rd to be specific. The battle was hard, but he fought valiantly. I couldn’t have had a better, braver private under my command.” He said it so matter-of-factly.

“What?” Abigail asked in shock. The officer executed an about face and walked to the next confused woman.

Her mouth dropped, and so did her little American flag. Discarded, abandon was the little flag, much like Abigail’s dreams. She stood in the moment. Abigail couldn’t believe. She wouldn’t let herself. But like the flag, now resting against the hard concrete reality, among the dying and dry leaves, Abigail Wells would never be the same again.

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Things were a bit lazy at the Legg house yesterday so I played around taking some shots of splashing liquids. This photo was made by capturing a drop of milk just after it hit a vessel of coffee. I’m amazed at how the drop bounced off of the surface of the coffee to form a tower supporting the milk orb .

The lighting and exposure on this shot were a bit tricky and, to be honest, I’m not overly pleased with the result. The milk drop is a bit blurry and the overall shot had quite a bit of digital noise (which I reduced in PhotoShop). I will have to try this again at a later date with a more powerful strobe.

I do think the sphere of milk is pretty cool, though.

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Since this year’s somewhat underwhelming New Year’s Eve events involved a pizza, Ice Age 2 and a Nintendo Wii; here is a shot from last year’s festivities. If you can’t tell, this is a capture of a firecracker in the act of exploding.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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(Ziggy celebrates his Scottish heritage with a traditional song this New Year’s Eve)

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Happy New Year!

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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91,954 – Visitors to LeggNet’s Digital Capture
11,778 – Photographs taken
1,259 – Most visitors on a single day
414 – Comments left by visitors
289 – Blog posts
127 – Countries represented by visitors
51 – Gigabytes of photos
3 – Blog revisions
1 – Book published
0 – Regrets for being a PhotoBlogger

Thanks everyone for a great year. I look forward to 2007!

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Today’s posted capture is another example of my Hey, let’s try this shots. Sometimes a creative angle can make for an interesting photo and this capture is no exception.

While at a nearby outdoor rink with the family I set my small point & shoot camera on the ice and pressed the shutter release. I have long since became immune to the strange looks from passers-by when taking these kind of shots, but with this photo my main concern was to avoid being skated into by an out of control skater (of which there were many).

As for the resulting image, I am actually quite surprised with the quality captured. The detail in the figure skate’s toe pick is especially impressive. Reward outweighs risk, again.

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This was an interesting scene to come across. My guess is that the above freezing temperature combined with the rushing water beneath the melting ice created the brilliant color. Taken in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

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She was having one of those days. The earlier meltdown (her dad’s word) had taken its effect and this is the only expression she was willing to show. This would not be a day for cheesy grins and fake smiles. This would be a day for sullenness. Yes, this would be one of those days.

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(Warning: Proud parent bias ahead)

I told myself that I wasn’t going to post anymore Christmas photos after yesterday’s entry, but I’m amending that decision to say that this will be the last Christmas shot of the year.

Frequent viewers will no doubt recognize my angelic daughter Elisabeth, but this time she is donning more than her usual perceived halo and wings- she is wearing an actual set. This capture was made at our church’s annual Christmas Eve service in which my daughters each had a part in the play. It was a wonderful service. Special props go out to regular LeggNet’s Digital Capture reader Ricci who directed the play. It takes a special person to step up and donate their time and energy during this hectic season of year. Ricci is one of these people. Thanks Ricci!

Coming tomorrow: Not a Christmas picture, I promise 🙂

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From my family to yours, we wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

-Rich

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Hey, two days before Christmas so why not a Saturday post?

This capture is of downtown Salt Lake City on the Main Street Plaza. I opted for a shot from behind the Nativity Scene to show the hustle & bustle of the people and the busy-ness of the whole scene at Temple Square.

Again, Merry Christmas!

Labels: holiday, night, salt lake city, time exposure

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Regardless of your religious views, there is no denying that the Mormon Pioneers are an integral part of Salt Lake City history. At the center of that history is Temple Square. During the Christmas season the downtown area is decorated with lights and the locals flock there to see the displays. As a photographer, the temple is an intriguing subject. Since the building is photographed so much, it is difficult to capture a shot that feels unique. I sought to make that shot last night.

To make this capture, I extended my tripod to its full 7′ length and perched it precariously on a short 2′ wall. Placing the camera at this height was required in order to get the full reflection of the building in the pool. Since I was unable to look through the camera’s viewfinder (I’m not 9 feet tall), I had to line the shot up with a bit of guess work. After having the camera lined up, it was just a matter of reaching up to set off the shutter and waiting to catch the camera in case it fell during the 10 second exposure. I am quite pleased with the resulting image.

Merry Christmas!

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Take a slow moving carousel full of children, add a one and a half second camera exposure.

Now, that’s a thrill ride!

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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“We’re on a road to nowhere, Come on inside. Takin’ that ride to nowhere, We’ll take that ride.”

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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He was somebody’s son. Odds are he was someone’s brother. He might even have been a husband and a father. We don’t know if he perished at an old age or as a young child. We don’t know if he died 50 years ago or 100 years ago. All we know is that he is gone.

As I photographed his headstone yesterday morning, the subject caused me to pause and think about him, the “Unknown Male”. Who was he? What happened to him? Why is he in this cold, anonymous grave?

We will never know.

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We awoke yesterday to find about 10 inches of The Greatest Snow on Earth.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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I use Adobe PhotoShop to edit all of my photos that are presented on the web. I get asked about this quite a bit. There is a school of thought that some people hold that if you PhotoShop your photos that you are manipulating them and that this is ‘cheating’. I even heard a person once refer to digital photography as digital fakery. Here are some reasons why I don’t share this view.

1. I shoot my images in RAW. These images have no processing (sharpening, contrast, saturation, etc.) done to them in the camera. When viewed on the computer they tend to look dull and drab. The reason I do this is that I have a high quality digital negative with the RAW image file. I can then do the equivalent of developing the image when I convert it in PhotoShop.

2. I view the use of PhotoShop as the computer equivalent of what I used to do in the darkroom. When I am working with the image on the computer I am essentially printing the shot much as I would have done on an enlarger in the analog days. I always ask myself when editing if the edit I am doing could have been done in a darkroom. In most cases, it could be.

3. Due to the limited dynamic range of a camera’s digital sensor, it is difficult to capture with a camera what you see with your eye. The human eye has a much broader dynamic range then any digital camera on the market today. Since this is the case, I use PhotoShop to present the image closer to what I saw with my eye when I captured the shot. Sometimes this involves combining multiple exposures to achieve this result. The capture I made of a full moon over the Wasatch Range is an example of this.

My goal in using PhotoShop is to edit the image in a way that when it is viewed it does not appear edited. Today’s photograph of Noah is a good example of what I mean. I did the following to this shot:

– Crop unneeded area out
– Vignette edges
– Sharpen
– Reduce digital noise
– Increase color saturation
– Increase contrast
– Burn in around the edges and the bright areas on the forehead
– Dodge his right eye to brighten it

That’s quite a bit of editing, but the resulting image doesn’t scream PhotoShopped as much as just a beautiful golden retriever.

Labels: photoshop, tutorial

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As a youngster, I have memories of my father sitting down after work in his chair and reading our daily newspaper, The Anchorage Times. With only 3 television channels, aside from the “nightly news”, this was the only way to find out what was going on in the world. Here it is 30+ years later and I find that when I want to read the news I sit down with my MacBook and an RSS reader. Many of my news sources are traditional in nature (newspapers, networks, etc.) but I have quite a few blogs in my subscription list as well. I like the independent nature of the blogs versus what the mainstream media reports.

What does this have to do with a photograph of a frozen stream? Many of the blogs I read serve as a conduit to pass along news from outside sources mixed in with a bit of commentary (digg.com for example). I am increasingly bothered by some of this blogging that purposefully attempts to be controversial or sensationalizing as a way of generating traffic and comments to their site. My goal with LeggNet’s Digital Capture is to give my readers a break from this type of blogging. I want this blog to be a safe place in hope that the few hundred people a day who visit will leave feeling enriched.

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Today is Michelle’s birthday. To honor her, I dug into the archives and found this shot of her at the base of a climb on Suicide Rock in Idyllwild California. Happy Birthday!

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There’s a little too much “busy-ness” in this photo for my taste, but a nice crisp winter scene nonetheless.

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An in flight capture of a young Swainson’s Hawk.

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Right now the Salt Lake (Utah) valley is in the middle of a temperature inversion. I’m no meteorologist, but I’ll try to explain.

A temperature inversion is an atmospheric condition where the temperature increases with height (or elevation). The warm air above traps the colder air below. Along with the colder air, the pollutants are not able to escape. This creates the situation shown in this photo I captured today of the Salt Lake valley. This valley is highly susceptible to inversions due to being surrounded my mountains (duh… isn’t that the definition of a valley?).

If you’re really bored and would like to read more about inversions, follow this link to Wikipedia.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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I captured this image of a gentleman enjoying a cigar while reading a book during the lunch hour at a park in downtown Salt Lake City. This was taken a few days before the new smoking ban in city parks went into effect.

The next time I see him, I suppose he will only have the book.

Orange Rope, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

With Northern Utah in the middle of a cold spell, I feel that now is a good time to take a look back at a warm weather activity. This capture was made looking down the rope as my daughter rappelled a rock wall last summer in Big Cottonwood Canyon, just East of Salt Lake City.

Nephew, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I made this capture of my nephew at the family Thanksgiving Dinner last week. It was a spur-of-the-moment photo as he sat on his father’s lap and looked my direction. The intense eyes really make this shot.

Labels: bw, children, sepia

Nephew, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I made this capture of my nephew at the family Thanksgiving Dinner last week. It was a spur-of-the-moment photo as he sat on his father’s lap and looked my direction. The intense eyes really make this shot.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rural Decay, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Just another old building waiting for demolition.

Labels: buildings

Olympic Oval, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

The Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah.

This building was the site of the speedskating events in the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is now used as a recreational facility for such things as indoor soccer, hockey, public skating and, of course, speedskating. The unique architectural features of the structure make it a prime subject for nighttime photography.

Labels: buildings, night, time exposure

The Table is Set, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Labels: holiday

The Table is Set, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Antiqued, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Taken at a small park in Salt Lake City.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Berry Eater, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

To those in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your day with friends, family, turkey, pies & football.

Labels: birds, holiday

14 Catalogs, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”

Yes, the over-commercialized holiday season is upon us. In just one day’s mail delivery last week we received fourteen catalogs. I can’t imagine the expense that these companies incur in producing, printing and mailing these full color works.

Would these be considered “Snail-Mail-Spam?

Labels: holiday

Pride, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

This was taken by Michelle at our children’s school during a Veteran’s Day program. Though I am not a huge fan of selective colorization of images, I felt that this one could use the effect to isolate the scout.

Labels: bw, children

Love, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Labels: marriage, wedding

Flames of Freedom, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Many people consider flag photos to be a cliché. As a subject, especially in America, flags are so abundant that they make an easy target. In taking this capture I sought to capture an American flag from a different viewpoint and avoid the stereotypical flag shot. Did it work?

Contemplation, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

con‧tem‧pla‧tion [kon-tuh m-pley-shuh n, -tem-]
-noun

1. the act of contemplating; thoughtful observation.
2. full or deep consideration; reflection: religious contemplation.
3. purpose or intention.
4. prospect or expectation.

Labels: bw, marriage, wedding

10 Years, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

My wife Michelle and I used to play in a band with a few other musicians, one of them being an 18 year old drummer named Kyle. One of the Kyle’s hobbies in addition to drumming was making jewelry. For our 10th anniversary a few years back, Michelle “commissioned” Kyle to make a new wedding band for me.

It’s not the most impressive piece of jewelry you’ll ever see, but how many of you have a ring made by a teenage drummer?

Labels: marriage

Stray, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Is it just me, or does this toy cowboy bear a striking resemblance to Burt Reynolds (during the
Smoky and the Bandit era)?

Labels: bw, sepia

Sunset at Napili Bay, originally uploaded by Life of David.

We had a photo challenge over at my group on Flickr, LeggNet’s Contacts. The theme of the challenge was My Favorite Place and we had 44 entries. Selecting a winner was very difficult for the judges (my wife & daughters) because of all the great entries. The winning entry was submitted by a photographer who goes by the name of Life of David. His photograph titled Sunset at Napili Bay is featured here.

For winning, David received a one year Flickr Pro account. What is really cool is that David passed on receiving the prize and asked that it be given to someone more in need of the account.

All of the entries can be seen on this thread in my Flickr group.

Sunset at Napili Bay, originally uploaded by Life of David.

We had a photo challenge over at my group on Flickr, LeggNet’s Contacts. The theme of the challenge was My Favorite Place and we had 44 entries. Selecting a winner was very difficult for the judges (my wife & daughters) because of all the great entries. The winning entry was submitted by a photographer who goes by the name of Life of David. His photograph titled Sunset at Napili Bay is featured here.

For winning, David received a one year Flickr Pro account. What is really cool is that David passed on receiving the prize and asked that it be given to someone more in need of the account.

All of the entries can be seen on this thread in my Flickr group.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Trespassing, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

tres·pass

intr.v. tres·passed, tres·pass·ing, tres·pass·es
1. To commit an offense or a sin; transgress or err.
2. Law. To commit an unlawful injury to the person, property, or rights of another, with actual or implied force or violence, especially to enter onto another’s land wrongfully.
3. To infringe on the privacy, time, or attention of another: “I must… not trespass too far on the patience of a good-natured critic” (Henry Fielding).

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Levels of Education, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Captured at the City Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Labels: education

Levels of Education, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Captured at the City Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Finished Piece, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

A couple of days ago I posted a capture taken during the process of hand-blowing glass. Today’s image is of the completed piece. To see the full process, click here.

Labels: flowers, glass blowing

The Finished Piece, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

A couple of days ago I posted a capture taken during the process of hand-blowing glass. Today’s image is of the completed piece. To see the full process, click here.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Blue & White, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Just Plain Hot, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

My brother-in-law and his wife spend time every few months hand-blowing glass in their garage. It is quite amazing to watch as the glass blowing process unfolds. The pieces they create are truly works of art.

This capture was made midway through the production as they were worked together to create a vase. More photos of the work in progress can be seen here.

Labels: glass blowing

Just Plain Hot, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

My brother-in-law and his wife spend time every few months hand-blowing glass in their garage. It is quite amazing to watch as the glass blowing process unfolds. The pieces they create are truly works of art.

This capture was made midway through the production as they were worked together to create a vase. More photos of the work in progress can be seen here.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Speed, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Another of my “hmmmm, let’s try this” shots.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Buried III, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

In looking for a fitting picture to post on October 31st, this one jumped out at me.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Herriman, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

The season’s first snowfall reached the valley floor this week. And just think, winter doesn’t officially start for nearly two more months.

Labels: bw

Promotional Button, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

A couple of months ago I was doing my daily work routine when I checked my Blackberry to find an interesting email from a Salt Lake City advertising agency. The firm was working on an advertising campaign for the new Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse that was preparing to open in Salt Lake City.

The purpose of the email was to see if I would be interested in allowing one of my photos to be purchased for use on promotional buttons. After a bit of negotiating via email we agreed on the terms. I faxed over a photo release and had a check in my hands within a week. Cool!

This week (as I was again, doing the work thing) I received another email from my contact at the agency asking if I would like to have one of the promotional buttons they made with my photo. Doubly Cool!

Today’s featured capture is a photo of that button. Yeah, I know, rather vain 🙂

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mourning After, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Trapped in my iPod, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Today is the iPod’s 5th birthday. It’s hard to believe that in just five short years the iPod has become such an icon for portable media. When the iPod was introduced, many tech forums were filled with comments from Apple fans lamenting the introduction of the device. Here is one such comment that was posted on the Mac Rumors forum on 10/23/2001:

“I still can’t believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently! Why oh why would they do this?! It’s so wrong! It’s so stupid!”

and here’s another:

“I’d call it the Cube 2.0 as it wont sell, and be killed off in a short time…and it’s not really functional.”

Wow, they were wrong. According to Apple’s most recent sales numbers, they have sold over 67,000,000 units to date. With five successful years behind it, will the iPod continue to be successful or will new competitors such as Microsoft’s Zune be able to bite into this Apple? Either way, it has been an exciting five years. Happy Birthday iPod!

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Free at Last, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

This young lady was claiming victory over the feeling of being held hostage by her own weight. She asked a few friends to witness a small ceremony in which she destroyed her bathroom scale. The symbolic act was quite moving.

Here’s a photo of the destruction in progress.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Banking Left, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

This 30 second exposure of a departing airliner was taken near the Salt Lake International Airport.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lens versus Lens, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I was recently talking with a friend about photography and more specifically, lenses. He shoots with a Canon digital SLR and has a third party zoom lens. He is considering upgrading to a more expensive “L” (Canon’s pro line) lens and was asking me about the differences between top of the line lenses and the less expensive versions.

Since I happen to have two lenses of similar focal length that fall into the two categories we were talking about, I decided to do a little experiment. I set up my camera on a tripod and aimed it at a tree set against a bright white sky (I have found that shooting against a bright background will enhance any weaknesses in a lens). I then took nearly identical shots with each lens. Both of the sample images above were shot at a focal length of 200mm with an aperture f/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/200. The image on the left was shot with a Canon 70-200 f/4L lens (non IS model) and the image on the right was shot with a Canon 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 lens. No post-processing was applied, other than cropping.

Notice how the image on the left has more detail in the veins and texture of the leaf. Also note the red fringe (known as chromatic aberration) on the edges of the leaf on the right (most notably on the background leaf). Other notable differences is the bluish colour on the background branches of the image on the right and the bokeh (out of focus background) being much smoother and more uniform on the left image.

The 70-200 f/4L is on the cheaper side of Canon’s L series yet still costs double that of their 100-300mm zoom. I think the results are worth the added expenditure.

Here are links to the unedited source images from each lens:
Canon 70-200 f/4L
Canon 100-300 f/4.5-5.6

Click here to view the above image at 100%

Labels: photography

Pumpkin Patch, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

These pumpkins are lined up awaiting their ride to a local supermarket. Taken at the Mabey family farm in South Jordan, Utah.

Labels: autumn

Pumpkin Patch, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

These pumpkins are lined up awaiting their ride to a local supermarket. Taken at the Mabey family farm in South Jordan, Utah.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Weathervane, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

The Show Barn at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

On Scene, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I came upon this scene this morning shortly after the accident occurred. One moment, a young woman and her boyfriend are driving down the road enjoying life. The next moment, the woman is dead and her companion is hospitalized.

Life is indeed fragile.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.