Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 – heath ofee dot com

Mossy Flow

Heath OFee — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:10:52 +0000

I took the day off work on Wednesday and used my time to drive out to the mountains for a bit of a photo excursion. On the recommendation from a co-worker, I made my way to Grassi Lakes which is just around the corner from the Canmore Nordic Centre where all the cross-country skiing events were held during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. After a short hike, I reached the two small lakes, and the colour was just amazing. Both mountain lakes shone with a rich blue/green hue…it really was beautiful. However, what I really wanted to shoot was the waterfall just slightly downstream from these lakes…so I made my way down to where I could hear running water found exactly what I was looking for. Water tumbled down a steep cliff face and cascaded around old fallen logs and mossy rocks. Jackpot.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 4.5, ISO 100

Toggles and Dials and Switches, Oh My!

Heath OFee — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:10:41 +0000

This is a view of the dash on a flight simulator they have at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary. I’m sure this isn’t nearly as complex as what pilots look at on commercial jets, but there’s still an awful lot to pay attention to! I think on most days they allow guests to hop in and give it a go…maybe on my next visit I’ll give it a try.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 14mm, F 8.0, ISO 100

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

RCAF 273

Heath OFee — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:10:24 +0000

We as photographers always hope for ideal conditions when we head out for a shoot, but unfortunately, things don’t always work out as planned. When conditions don’t pan out exactly as planned, it’s important to keep shooting and make the best of what you’re dealt…you never know what kind of inspiration you’ll be able to find.

I found myself in this situation last week when I made a visit to the Aero Space Museum of Calgary. I arrived and paid my $10 to get in, only to find the Calgary Airport Authority setting up a stage, speakers and hundreds of chairs in preparation for their annual general meeting the following day. As a result, some of the planes were re-positioned (closer together of course) to make room for the stage and chairs. Conditions were most definitely not ideal for shooting, but I made the best of it and found as many interesting shots as I could given the conditions. With any luck I’ll have another couple to share from my short visit.

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

Who Knew?

Heath OFee — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:10:06 +0000

Yesterday afternoon I took a trip to the Aero Space Museum of Calgary. It’s not a huge museum and there aren’t a whole lot of planes, but there are definitely some cool shots to be had. Unfortunately, while I was there, the Calgary Airport Authority was setting up chairs and a stage for their annual general meeting that will be taking place today. This meant that I wasn’t able to get my camera into a large majority of the spaces I would have liked in order to get all the shots I wanted. You win some, you lose some I guess…this just means I have an excuse to go back another time to shoot the place properly.

The upper level of the museum is filled with old engines which were pretty neat, but the most interesting thing up there (for me at least) was this old gun turret. It had a little bubble where the gunners head would stick out of the plane and a double barrelled machine gun sticking out the front…pretty badass. I could have snapped a few brackets of the outside of this thing, but as cool as it was, it was a bit boring to look at. So I maneuvered myself as best I could to get this shot of the turret control panel. Who knew General Electric made machine guns?

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

Goodyear

Heath OFee — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:10:07 +0000

As I become more familiar with the post-processing tools at my disposal, I find myself leaning towards a group of the same effects on a regular basis. I’ve come to know what these tools will do for my images, I enjoy the results, and I feel using similar post-processing techniques on most of my images helps me to develop a unique ‘style’. That being said, I don’t want to get into a rut where I just stick to what I know and don’t explore all of the other great options that are out there.

While the myriad of processing options may seem daunting sometimes, it is important to continue to experiment in order to further our growth as photographers/post-processors. Even if it means trying something new and NOT liking it, at least you can say you gave it a shot. What is there to lose? Storage is cheap, so experiment as much as possible!

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

The Fan

Heath OFee — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:10:01 +0000

Back to a bit of urbex today. After processing my shot for Game 11 of HDR Tennis over on Facebook, I got a serious hankering to process some more gritty urbex. So, I trolled my images from California and found this shot of a fan in a small room in the abandoned diner I found. There wasn’t much room to get in close to it, so I decided on a wide framing that included a large portion of the door as a foreground element. I used FocalPoint in post processing to add the blur which helps draw your eye to the fan.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 12mm, F 11, ISO 100

Little House on the Prairie

Heath OFee — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:10:15 +0000

I’ll admit, this shot is a bit of an experiment, and I’m willing to bet it’s not for everyone…but what’s the fun in producing the same ol’ stuff all the time, right?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve done a bit of work with textures before, but I’ve never used one that so obviously makes an image look like a painting. When I applied this brushstroke texture as a bit of fun, I ended up really liking the result. I think it adds a bit of extra depth and gives the shot a real tangible feeling…like you could reach out and touch all that texturing. I’m more than open to critique, so feel free to leave honest comments below.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 14mm, F 16, ISO 100, 1/160 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