Hotel – heath ofee dot com

Casual Seating

Heath OFee — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:19:42 +0000

Busy morning today, so sorry for the short post.

This is a shot from the upper level of the Chateau Lake Louise lobby in Banff National Park.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 8.0, ISO 100, 3 Exposures

Chateau Lake Louise Foyer

Heath OFee — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:19:36 +0000

I’ve said this before, but the Chateau Lake Louise is an amazing hotel in a very amazing location. This is another of the shots I took on my brief visit there earlier this year and I think it may be one of my favorites. On the left you can see the check in counter, and the main entrance is just out of frame to the right. I thought about taking a shot looking in from the entrance, but I felt that this composition with the grand staircase in the background was much better.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 8.0, ISO 100, 3 Exposures

Conference Lounge – MGM Grand

Heath OFee — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:48:38 +0000

I was in Las Vegas for the very first time in May and we stayed at the MGM Grand. Not only was this my first time in Vegas, but it was also my first trip anywhere since I started shooting HDR in January of this year. Needless to say I was extremely excited about all the amazing photo opportunities I knew I would have, but I was also a bit nervous (and self-conscious) about carrying my camera/tripod setup with me everywhere since I’d never done that in such a public place before. I hope I’m not the only one who felt this way the first time they walked through a busy hotel or down a busy street with camera on tripod, legs extended just looking for a cool shot! After the first day of exploring and shooting I was feeling much better about things and was almost feeling confident…until the first time I got kicked out by security. Well maybe not kicked out altogether, but I was definitely told my tripod was not welcome…so I asked if I could shoot handheld…of course that was forbidden as well. Crap. Back to feeling like I’m some weirdo with a tripod.

To be fair, this was only one of two times I was told I couldn’t use my tripod in any of the hotels in Vegas, and the vast majority were more than welcome to accommodate me. But it’s those few bad experiences that stick with you. So…if any of you have some good tricks for getting in under the radar or how to approach security about permission to shoot I’m all ears!

One very early morning (4 AM) while staying at the MGM Grand, I went downstairs and explored as much of the hotel as I could before it got too busy. Eventually I made my way down a long corridor past the pool and ended up in the conference center which is absolutely enormous! We definitely don’t have hotels with conference centers like that here in Calgary. After snapping a few brackets in the main lobby area I made my way upstairs to where they have some of the smaller conference rooms…and stumbled into this really cool lounge type area. Anyway, enough rambling. Here’s the shot:

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 8.0, ISO 100, 3 Exposures

Columns and Couches

Heath OFee — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:37:45 +0000

On my trip to the mountains a while back, I probably spent a good couple of hours walking around the Chateau Lake Louise looking for interesting spots to shoot. The architecture and vibrant colors in the hotel make it an absolute joy to capture, and I’m sure most of you have seen the previous photos I’ve published from my time at the Chateau. This shot was taken upstairs almost directly above the main lobby. The columns, fireplace and corner bench couches made this huge sitting room a must to photograph. I can just picture skiers who have come back to the Chateau sitting here in front of the fireplace chatting about the day with a nice warm cup of hot chocolate or coffee…hmmm…maybe I’ll have to do that next winter! Hope you enjoy it:

Canon EOS 50D, Sigman 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 8.0, ISO 100, 3 Exposures

The details: 3 exposure HDR tonemapped in Photomatix, Lightroom for color, contrast, clarity, Noiseware for noise control.

Vegas City Centre

Heath OFee — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:55:59 +0000

This is another one of my favorites from our trip to Las Vegas last month. The new Vegas City Centre complex is very cool and I didn’t spend nearly as much time there as I would have liked to (although I have a feeling I would have been given a hard time trying to take photos there with my tripod without permission). This shot was taken from across the street on the busy corner just outside Planet Hollywood. As usual, it was a pretty busy night on the streets of Vegas and there were dozens of people on the corner waiting to cross the street while I was patiently setting up and taking this shot. Before I got there with my tripod nobody was taking the time to snap any photos of this scene…but after I got my gear all set up there were at least 3 or 4 others taking photos with their point-and-shoots of the same scene! Funny how people assume that if some random guy is taking a photo of something with a big tripod setup it must be a good photo opportunity…for all they know I could be the worst photographer in the world! Anyway…let me know what you think of this one:

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 15mm, F 7.1, ISO 100, 3 Exposures

The details: 3 exposure HDR tonemapped in Photomatix, Lightroom for color, contrast, clarity, spot removal, Photoshop for layer masking and a bit of smudging, Noiseware for noise control.

Chateau Lake Louise Sitting Room with a View

Heath OFee — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:54:07 +0000

This was one of the last places I visited during my last trip to the Chateau Lake Louise and I’m very happy that I did. I was pretty sure this would make a decent HDR photo because of the very dramatic difference in light levels between the view through the window and the ambient light in the hotel. I just processed this one last night and I’m quite happy with the results…when I look at this photo I feel like I’m back at the Chateau looking at that beautiful view! Let me know what you think:

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 8.0, ISO 100, 5 Exposures

The details: 5 exposure HDR tonemapped in Photomatix, layer masking in Photoshop, contrast, clarity, sharpening in Lightroom, noise reduction in Noiseware.

Chateau Lake Louise

Heath OFee — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:55:23 +0000

I took yesterday and today off work and made a trip out to the mountains to nab some photos. I was really hoping that the mountain lakes would be thawed by now so that I could do some experimenting with mountain reflections in water…but that turned out to be wishful thinking as the lakes in Banff National Park are still almost completely frozen. My first stop was Lake Louise and after seeing the lake still frozen I decided to head into the Chateau for some interior photos. It had been a long time since I was last in the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and it didn’t disappoint. Although it seemed a little smaller than I remember, the lobby and great room leading into the Lakeview Lounge are very impressive. Below is a shot looking from the lobby towards the Lakeview Lounge.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 8.0, ISO 100, 3 Exposures

The details: 3 exposure HDR (-2,0,+2) tonemapped in Photomatix, adjustments in Lightroom and Photoshop, noise reduction using Noiseware.

After my time at Lake Louise I hit Johnston Canyon on the way back to Calgary and made the hike all the way to the upper falls despite the semi-treacherous trail (still covered with ice in some sections). I’ve gone through a couple of those photos and it looks as though I’ve got some keepers. I’ll be sharing those sometime in the future.