Tag: canon 20d

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Flying High

I spent some time in St. Louis in late 2004 and early 2005.  On a few occasions we would drive to Alton Illinois to see the second largest gathering of Bald Eagles in the United States.  I’ve never had much interest in birds but Bald Eagles are the exception.  They are remarkable to see and an enjoyment to watch them fly.  I can easily understand why they are our national bird.

Probably, my first heavily photoshop image was taken of Bald Eagles in Alton.  The below image is made up of two different birds.  The five birds flying are actually all the same bird, I shot it using my Canon 20d and Canon f2.8 L series 70-200mm lens (best telephoto lens I’ve ever owned).  The bird on the branch was sitting next to the road.  Last, it was a very overcast day which allowed me to get such great pictures of these creatures without completely ruining their highlights.  The sky used in the picture was taken outside my apartment at the time in Des Moines Iowa.

P.S.  You got to stop at Fast Eddies if you are in Alton, they sell 1/2lb hamburgers for $.99 (they haven’t raised there prices in years)!!!

 

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Peaceful Summer

My introduction into digital photography began in 1999-2000 when my father and I purchased an olympus digital camera. I can’t recall the model number but I remember it was a 3 megapixel (back then that was huge). The camera took ok pics but definitely weren’t very impressive. I never grew accustomed to using it because of how slow it was.

In 2003 my father passed away after a year long battle with cancer. After he passed, I inhereted his Canon SLR and lenses. I knew I would never use the SLR because it was film therefore I didn’t immediately find any use for the lenses.

After spending a few months on externships during my fourth year of podiatry school I found that I was called upon to take intra-operative pictures from attending physicians. In comparison to other externs, photography was not that difficult, probably because of my strong interest in computers and technology. One of my rotations was with my mentor, the late Dr. Gerard V. Yu. He also had a strong interest in photography. He owned a professional Nikon dSLR. After spending time with him and his residents I grew even more interested in photography.

After returning back from my rotations in early September 2004 I finally got out my dads lenses and saw that he had a Tamron telephoto lens (I think it was a 28-200mm). Anyway, I decided to invest in a Canon 20d. I really liked that camera and kept if for many years.

One of my first attempts shooting with the 20d was at the Omaha Zoo (it’s a must to see if in Omaha). We came around to the bear exhibit and there was this big black bear a sleep in the tree. I was able to capture this picture (I think my dad would have been proud).

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