A Trip to the Denver Zoo

The day of my cousin Simon’s wedding I took a bike ride to the Denver Zoo. I’m sure people found me pretty nerdy walking alone with a camera, backpack and baseball hat but I didn’t care. The shots here are with the D300s and Sigma 35mm f/1.4 and Nikon 85mm f/1.8.

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Some Personal Work from the Past Month

It seems I’ve mostly be posting weddings and concerts lately. I thought it was about time that I put up some personal work that I’ve taken over the last few weeks. There’s no real theme to unify the photos, except they’re all with the D700.

Enjoy!

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Elisabeth and Behzad’s Wedding – Steam Whistle Brewery

Elisabeth and Behzad got married in style at the Steam Whistle Brewery in Toronto this past July. My afternoon started at their fantastic apartment where I got to see the beautiful dress (that Elisabeth made herself!) and meet the super-fun bridesmaids. The makeup was exceptional, thanks to the talented Misty Fox, which made my work in post a breeze (where skin was concerned). Once I arrived at the Steam Whistle (after an unfortunate delay from the thousands of Blue Jays fans pouring into the streets after the game) I met the guys and set about photographing the wedding party. The weather was HOT and BRIGHT so I quickly whisked everybody to a shaded area. If you look closely at these photos you might spot the Leon’s store through the windows. The ceremony had many Persian elements, as Behzad and family are Iranian, and was quite beautiful. Thankfully the sun dipped had below the SkyDome just in time to not cook the guests.

This was my first time working with the assistance (and 2nd shooter skills) of Sylvia Pond and hopefully not the last! She did a better job than I could have ever hoped and I’ve included a few of her pictures here.

The cocktail-style ceremony provided all the candid photo opportunities that I could hope for and this is where the D700 and fast primes really shone. When things got darker I broke out the strobes. I placed the SB-700 on a stand against a pillar and either pointed it at the stage for speeches or into the crowd for dancing/party shots. I held the SB-900 in my left hand with Lumiquest Softbox LTz to work in tandem with the stand-mounted strobe. For the photo booth I set up the Alien Bee B800s with umbrellas outside against one of the large doors.

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Big Country – Starlight, Waterloo – August 1, 2013

Scottish band Big Country rocked the Starlight in Waterloo a few weeks back. Lucky me got to photograph the incredibly animated 5-piece. The highlight for me was the HUGE sound that the drummer got out of his equally HUGE kit.

D700 (the replacement one) with Sigma 35mm f/1.4, Sigma 50mm f/1.4 and Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G. All shots were with the lenses wide open at ISO 3200-6400.

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Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

During my visit to Colorado in June my aunt Glynis and I took a drive to Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s a magnificent park, spanning a huge mountainous area with very little roads or development. The road we did take (Trail Ridge Road) climbs to 12,000 ft and is the highest continuous paved road in the USA. While we only made it up to 11,000, the altitude was definitely noticeable. Standing up too fast after changing lenses took a few moments of recovery.

I saw my first wild elk and, at the very top, a yellow-bellied marmot. Another first was being truly IN a thunder-storm, with lightning striking the valley far below us. Needless to say, we high-tailed it off the mountain.

The shots here were taken with the D300s and Tokina 11-16/2.8, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 and Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G. Many are HDR.

Gateway to Estes Park.

Gateway to Estes Park.

View near the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.

View near the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.

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A pair of elk.

A pair of elk.

Stanley Hotel in Estes Park (Shining, anyone?)

Stanley Hotel in Estes Park (Shining, anyone?)

Even in June, the snowbanks are at least 10 ft. high.

Even in June, the snowbanks are at least 10 ft. high.

View South towards Estes Park.

View South towards Estes Park.

Tundra above the snowline.

Tundra above the snowline.
Yello-bellied marmot.

Yello-bellied marmot.

Panorama of Long's Peak.

Panorama of Long’s Peak.

A sudden and violent storm from high on Trail Ridge Road.

A sudden and violent storm from high on Trail Ridge Road.