In the summer at Utah Lake these dragonflys are everywhere. This is not a bug that you can take the photos using a tripod. For this type of photo a macro lens and fast shutter speed is necessary to get a good shot. I put the camera on rapid fire and continually shoot. I start far away from the insect and slowly move forward while continually shooting the photos. This makes it so that the dragonfly does not get spooked and fly away.

The Specs
f/14
iso 320
shutter speed 1/125s

I like the diagonal twig. It gives the dragonfly a nice perch.
I like the detail of the eyes.
I like how the dragonfly looks like it is laughing at me.

Let me know what you think. Contact me on the link at the bottom of the page.

~wr~

Here is another view of yesterday's picture. This bike path is located near Utah Lake State Park.

I like the sense of being in the middle of all the color.
The trees open up on each side giving a feeling you are in a secluded location.
The path seams to go on forever.
I would like the trunks to be a little darker

The Specs
24mm
f/8
1/50s
hand held
iso 200

I would like to have this photo over and have a tripod with me. I had to have the f/stop at f8 so that I could get a faster shutter speed. I processed this photo a little different then yesterdays. I ran it through Lightroom until I had the look I wanted. I only had to do a few minor adjustments. Then I exported it into Photoshop and ran Topaz Clean plugin. This toned down the sharpness and gives the picture the appearance of being a painting.

Let me know what you think.

~wr~

On this day we decided as a family to go for a drive to look at the colors. On our way home we decided to stop by the nearby bike trail. this was the scene we came across.

I like the bright vibrant colors.
I like how the path curves and goes behind the trees. This offers a sense of mystery
I like how the path is covered in leaves.
next time I would use a tripod for this photo.

The Specs
f/9
1/50s
exposure -1.7
iso 200

Let me know what you think. I like getting your comments.

~wr~

I have had a few people ask how to get the blurred or foggy look in water. So I decided to return to a recent blog I made on my good friends web site http://reflectedpixel.com/wpblog/rpblog.php/
Early in the fall I awoke before dawn and went up near Sundance to shoot the beautiful fall colors. My objective was to find as much orange and red as I could find. I knew that the aspens had not yet started to change so yellows were not part of the mix. My objective for this day was mainly to shoot the backside of Timpanogos Mountain. Earlier in the year I had spotted a small waterfall and thought that if I brought my 70-200 lens with 1.7 teleconverter I may be able to get a semi close photo with the fall colors in it, but by this time of year the water had dried up, So I moved to my secondary plan of shooting the reds and oranges with Timpanogos as the backdrop. After a morning of shooting I was due home and only had a few moments left. I turned down a secondary road and came across this scene. This was the only part of the mountain that had yet to have widespread color change. I was again reminded of a valuable lesson. Always be prepared for what is in front of you. Like so many photo shoots that I have gone on in the past my favorite image was not the primary image I was after.

I like how the stream snakes its way through the scene
I like the deep earth tone colors you see under the water
I like how the water is blurred in steps, but not everywhere
I wish I could have found some reds in the leaves

I shot this photo using my Nikon D300 and 24-70mm lens. I used both a neutral density filter and a polarizing filter. The aperture was set to f22 while the iso was at 200. This was a 13 second exposure.
Let me know what you think.
~wr~

I decided to travel up the local canyon with my daughter the other day. I knew that most of the color on the trees had fallen off. I wasn't expecting much, but it was good to be outside for a few minutes. I came across these few leaves that had fallen in the river. To take this picture I set the camera on a tripod and changed the exposure several times.

The Specs
f2/8
Shutter speed was 1/20s
iso 100

I set the aperture to 2.8 for a shallow depth of field because I wanted the leaves to be in sharp focus. I wasn't worried about the water or any thing in the water.

I like the many variations of color in the leaves
I like the texture of the water and the moss
I like the randomness of the leaves
I would like to take the photo again at a higher f/stop

I would love to hear what you think. Respond via the contact me link.

~wr~

A coworker had told me about a place just South of Saratoga Springs, Utah that was full of spiders. On this Sunday afternoon I decided to take a drive around Utah Lake to see what he was talking about. He said every fall the sage brush is full of these spiders. He under exagerated. There were literally thousands of them. It was the creepiest thing I had ever seen.

The Specs
f/13
1/160s
Exposure +.7

I overexposed this photo in hopes of getting a faster shutterspeed. My depth of field was shallow. In order to increase this I cranked the f stop up to f/13. I had to have a faster shutterspeed because the wind was constantly blowing and the spiders were moving. These spiders can move fast.

I like the symmetry of the legs.
I like the dark spider it has a mysterious look like it is ready to pounce.
I like the detail on the legs.
I would like to have a darker background may I will photoshop that in.

Let me know what you think by clicking on the contact me form.

~wr~

This summer I went on several short hikes with my daughter. On this particular hike up Slate Canyon there was no water, except for a small trickle that had formed a little pool. The hike was hot and dry, but in this one section there was plenty of shade and tons of insects.

The specs
f6.3
1/640s
exposure -1.7

For macro photography it is important to keep the lens stable. The best way to do this is with a tripod. I have found that the tripod becomes very cumbersome when the subject is constantly on the move. In this instance the key is to have the camera on rapid fire mode and hold as steady as you can. Usually you will get at least one good photo per set.

I like the symmetry of the insect.
I like how the wasp is facing me.
I would like to shoot the picture with more depth of field.

Let me know what you think.

~wr~