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Untitled

Heath OFee — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:10:48 +0000

Today, a flower.

Red and White

Heath OFee — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:10:16 +0000

I had grand visions of writing a really profound blog post last night. Thoughts of growth as a photographer, going back to basics, and shooting simple compositions were floating around in my head, but for some reason I couldn’t get them to coalesce into a cohesive paragraph or two. So I’ll leave it at this: I’m constantly growing as a photographer, and I absolutely love this process. My style and tastes are constantly evolving and I’m extremely pleased with the direction in which I’m heading. In the (paraphrased) words of my friend Jesse Pafundi, this blog is an extension of who I am and what I feel at any given moment, and at the end of the day I’m doing all of this to better myself. Shoot what you love, shoot what makes you happy, shoot what makes you FEEL.

This is a photo. I took it with a camera.

Ribcage

Heath OFee — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:10:26 +0000

Another simple architectural composition today.

These interesting design elements are in the brand new Eighth Avenue Place building in downtown Calgary. Between each elevator bank, these rib-like structures stretch from just overhead all the way to the ceiling meters above. I’m not sure if they’re actually functional, but they do kind of look like they form the ribcage of main foyer.

Fujifilm Finepix X100, Fujinon 23mm f/2, 23mm, F 4.0, ISO 200, 1/80 sec

Linked Up

Heath OFee — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:25:40 +0000

So…I bought a new toy. A Fujifilm X100

I placed my preorder with my local camera store a few months ago, and due to the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan, my camera didn’t arrive here in Calgary until yesterday afternoon (about a month after it was expected). Thankfully, none of the workers in the Fujifilm factory that was affected by the tsunami were hurt or killed.

I brought up the idea of purchasing this camera with a handful of my twitter pals…and for the most part, they were skeptical of how much use I’d get out of a pricey compact with a fixed 35mm lens. I completely understood their concern, but I really had my heart set on this camera. I’ve always wanted something small that I can carry around with me everywhere without the need to lug around a bag full of gear, and the X100 seemed to fit the bill perfectly (plus, it looks fantastic!). I guess time will tell how much use I end up getting out of it.

I’ve been nursing a serious head cold for the past few days, and yesterday was probably the worst day so far…as a result, I didn’t spend too much time outside testing my new toy. I did get a few shots from the 10 minute walk around my neighbourhood…the first of which is below.

Fujifilm Finepix X100, Fujinon 23mm f/2.0, 23mm, F 2.0, ISO 200, 1/240 sec

As always, I used onOne PhotoTools (part of the onOne Perfect Photo Suite) to process this photo. If you’ve never used this amazing Photoshop plugin, I’d highly recommend it…almost every shot that hits this blog is touched by at least one onOne Software product. If you’re in the market for something like this, make sure you check out the ridiculous sale they’re having right now. The entire Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 is on sale for $349.95 from May 1 through May 15…that’s a savings of $150! You can’t go wrong.

Sit Tight

Heath OFee — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:10:45 +0000

Last week I had the pleasure of providing the brackets for the most recent game of HDR Tennis on Facebook. The game wrapped up last night, so I thought I’d post my version on the blog today.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 13mm, F 11, ISO 100

North American Harvard Mk. IV

Heath OFee — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:30:02 +0000

Today I thought I’d show another one of the handful of shots I was able to get at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary. This is a North American Harvard Mk. IV. It is considered one of the best pilot training aircraft ever built, and the original version first flew in 1935. I’m no expert on aircraft, nor am I a history buff…but I can definitely appreciate the craftsmanship and skill it must have taken to conceive and build these planes. I still consider it a miracle that we’re able to fly hundreds of miles across oceans in these giant metal contraptions…absolutely mind boggling.

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

Textured Villa

Heath OFee — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 15:05:29 +0000

Since I’m on a bit of an Italy kick, I thought I’d share another from my time there a couple years ago. This shot is of Villa Poderaccio, the Tuscan Villa we stayed in for the week. I love the contrast in colour and shape of the red brick surrounding the door and the round stone throughout the rest of the frame.

Canon EOS 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L, 47mm, F 7.1, ISO 100, 1/60 sec

Grand Canal

Heath OFee — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:10:27 +0000

Back to the Italy archives for today’s image.

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but Venice is by far one of the coolest cities I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. There are so many streets and alleys to explore, and you never know what you’ll find around the next bend. If you haven’t been, you should put Venice on your must see list.

Although I still love processing HDR photographs (and probably always will), lately I’ve been finding a lot of enjoyment in processing single exposures. There are many times when the limited dynamic range of a camera can make a scene more compelling than if the full range of light were exploited. If you’re an HDR enthusiast, experiment with two versions of an image: one tonemapped from a set of brackets and one single exposure from the set. See if all that dynamic range is really necessary to convey your photographic message. It’s easy to fall into the trap of shooting brackets and processing for HDR all the time…make sure you inspect your bracket sets before tonemapping to really see if you need to expand the dynamic range.

Don’t be afraid to try new (or old) things, it’s good for you, and you may just fall in love with this wonderful hobby all over again.

Canon EOS 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L, 24mm, F 7.1, ISO 100, 1/320 sec

Stone Tub

Heath OFee — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:10:14 +0000

Since you all seemed to enjoy yesterday’s shot from the amazing house in Palm Springs, I figured I’d give you another taste.

This huge stone hot tub is right around the corner from the infinity pool and is just outside the master suite patio doors. What I wouldn’t give to be relaxing in that tub with an adult beverage right now…

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 11, ISO 100

Infinity

Heath OFee — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:10:49 +0000

Ah, to be back in Palm Springs basking in the sun while sipping a cold one. Soon enough…

This is the second shot I’ve posted from this amazing house I had the pleasure of visiting one afternoon while in Palm Springs. Not much to say here. Beautiful day, beautiful pool…it was hard to screw this one up

Oh, one note: I downloaded a trial of Unified Color’s HDR Express last night and used it to process this image. I was very impressed with how real the tonemapped result was and the edit you see here is not far off from the raw output. I’ll be using the trial for the next 30 days and I’ll try to keep you all updated on what I think of it.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 16, ISO 100