dejansmaic

This one is a big wall hanger.  The image makes you feel you feel like you are flying with the geese.

Outstanding!

Preston,  I really like the editing and comp on this one.  Nicely done!

Dejan

Thanks for the comments.  When I shoot road racing, I always recon the course and try to incorporate some of the unique features into my coverage.  In this case, this old barn which was partially submerged by the recent CO flooding, but fortunately survived for another day.  This image was taken by placing the v=camera on an old chair in the second floor of this barn.  I left my tripod in my Jeep because I forgot it. ;-)

I shoot professional sports. This photo was taken during the Weld

County Road race near Johnstown, Colorado on April 20, 2013. I drove

the course a few days before to determine shooting locations. I have

seen this old two story barn for years, and finally had the opportunity to

use it for a shoot. Before the mens race came by, I set up on the second

floor of the barn. I then took several shots at different exposures and

focal points before the race came by. Just as I heard the moto come

over the nearby hill, signaling the race was coming, I set my exposure

and focal point to the road, set on manual, and took several shots as the

race came by. I later manually blended the images in CS6 and made

several adjustments to exposure, etc...and a little tone mapping.

Very surreal and mesmerizing image!  My only issue is the white halo around the edges of the sea stack. Sharpening artifact? Otherwise, well done.

Dejan

St. Malo Chapel, located in Allenspark, Colorado...south of Estes Park,

was completed in 1936 in the shadows of Mt. Meeker. I was doing some

nightscapes in Emerald Lake, RMNP, Colorado earlier that evening and

decided I had enough time to make the chapel before sunrise. This image

is a composite of 3 images taken for proper exposure and sharpness.

Comments are welcomed and thanks for looking! September 29, 2012.

Dejan

Terrific lighting and scene!  I would try one thing... portrait orientation? try landscape using the same 4x5. It may give you a little more sense of flow. Still, shot to kill for. ;-)

Dejan

This is my first "serious" attempt at a nitescape. I was at Summit Lake,

at the base of Mt Evans, Colorado around 0200 hrs doing some

nitescape shots. In this image, I took a series of shots of the Milky Way

with Summit Lake in the foreground, and Mt Evans just off to the left. In

this shot, I took three images, one exposing for the milky way (around

0400 hrs), and the other for the rocks and mountains (around 0500 hrs).

The difficult part of doing these kinds of shots is getting the focus right

due to the lack of detail during nightime. The story behind the scene was

bats were flying and feeding on the moths and other bugs around the

shoreline. I even had two bats nail me on the head. Just before daylight,

the bats were going crazy all over the place or it was just that I can see

more without my headlamp. also, there is a little bit of light pollution in

the background from a few mountain towns, like Georgetown.

Anyways, these were taken using a Nikon D700, Tokina 16-28 f/2.8, 25

sec exposure for the Milky Way. Getting to the point of taking this image

was a little bit of a learning process, and should have it nailed down next

time. I think ideally, my Sigma 50mm 1.4 lens would have been the

choice, but, I could not get the scene composed properly w/o a wide

angle lens.

Anyways, comments are always welcomed!

© Dejan Smaic | SportifImages.com 2012

Paul, I see what you are saying.  I think when I exposed as the sun began to rise, it created a bit more shadow / contrasts.  

Dejan

Here is another shot of Mesa Arch, but from a different angle (west end

of the arch) to capture the "star burst" of the Big Star called The Sun.

I got to the parking lot around midnight, and crashed until 0400 hrs, got

to the arch around 0430 hrs to beat the masses. I took an initial set of

shots from my choice location, then moved to the one you see to

capture the sun before it moved higher in the sky. There were a few

irritable photographers, but towards each other due to one getting in the

way of the other and not backing down. Anyways, the view from Mesa

Arch a short period of time after sunrise. This image was a 2 shot

composite taken at different focal points at F/16 & f/20...one exposed for

the fore- and middleground and the second for proper exposure of the

sky & sunburst...then blending in CS6. Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8,

CP filter, ISO100, f/20, 38mm. Mesa Arch - Canyonlands National Park,

Utah. July 8, 2012. As always comments are welcomed!

© Dejan Smaic | SportifImages.com 2012

Christoph, the light from the sun creates an "unnatural" orange glow beneath the arch...one of the reasons why this arch is so popular during the AM.

Dejan

Jim, I used different focal points to emphasize sharpness with respect to hyperfocal distance. Then processed them in CS6 in Auto-Align, to Auto-Blend to standard processing. This process ensures only the sharpest portions of the images are used to create the final product. Hope this helps.

Dejan

I was recently in the Canyonlands area, shooting landscape and had to

get a few other angles of this iconic location. The conditions were

perfect....90 degrees, partly cloudy with afternoon T-storms, and mostly

clear to partly cloudy AM's. I got to Mesa Arch at 0430 hrs, camping in

the lot ensuring I got the "prime" location before the other photogs got

there. yup, there was a little unruliness between two other photogs, but

cooler heads prevailed.

I am calling this "Earth". The view from Mesa Arch during sunrise is both

mesmerizing and takes you to a different world. This scene reminds me

of my image of what Mars could look like or some other distant

planet...but, this is Earth. This image was a 4 shot composite taken at

different focal points at f/8 and exposed accordingly...then blended in

CS6. Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8, CP filter. Mesa Arch -

Canyonlands National Park, Utah. July 8, 2012.

As always, comments are welcomed!!

© Dejan Smaic | SportifImages.com 2012

Thanks for all your comments. I am sorry if I don't reply in a timely manner. I was watching the fox and knew there would be that decisive moment.  I think the fox saw its prey, stalked it, then pounced (as you see). But, this "guy" never got its subject. This was the first time I use the D7000 for landscape with my Nikon 70-200. I tried to control the DOF to isolate the subject and ride of background clutter. The conditions were cloudy, so, there is not much contrast or colors did not pop.  I think this shot worked out ok.  Thanks again!

Dejan

Thanks for your comments all!  ;-)

An image taken from a set I shot while doing a sunrise photo shoot at

about 12,000 ft amsl along the eastern slope of Mt. Evans, Colorado.

After doing a landscape shoot, I spotted a herd of mountain goats

working their way up the eastern slope of Mt Evans.

After taking some shots of some "kid" goats, I worked my way up an

area where the heard was moving to. Within 15 minutes, the heard or

approximately 40 was lounging, eating, and doing what mountain goats

do. I began shooting images of the herd and, as always when amongst

these guys, very careful not to startle them. This image was taken as I

was sitting on top of a small boulder imbedded into the

mountainside...looking to the north, the mtn goat came up to me and

gave a curious look and what appeared to be a smile. For this image, I

believe I was using a Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-70. August 2, 2011.

Thanks for looking!

© Dejan Smaic | SportifImages.com 2012.

Thanks all!  The only issue I have with this image is it appears a little "yellow"ish after hitting the internet.  I have tried to correct the color cast and also tried "saving for the web" in CS5, but no luck.  This image should reflect some of the oranges from the sunrise...I may re-post once corrected.

Dejan

I was out try to "shoot the moon" during the recent super moon, but it

ducked below the ridge tops of the flatirons before I managed to set up

my equipment. As a consolation, I was at Chautauqua Park in Boulder

for the sunrise and took a series of sets. In this set, I found a nice patch

of flowers as a foreground with the flatirons as a backdrop. This image

was taken using a Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-70, Circular Polarizer, tripod

mounted, 5 exposures at f/8 at different focal points...manually blended

in CS5. May 6, 2012.

© Dejan Smaic | SportifImages.com 2012

Gary, good stuff.  Might just try pulling it in a little from the right...too much dead space at the upper right.

Dejan

I caught this local fox stalking a field for a meal as I was heading up to the

Indian Peaks Wilderness area. I had all my dslr gear, but never really used

my D7000 for anything except video and a few wide angle shots at bike

racing. I decided to give the D7000 a try with my tele lens. I took several

shots of this fox slowly stalking its prey, then waited until it leaped to shoot

this image. Nikon D7000, Nikkor 70-200. May 7, 2012. Comments

welcomed and thanks for looking! © Dejan Smaic | SportifImages.com 2012

I like the angle & DOF. But, way too much clutter in the background is distracting regardless of DOF, and a little too backlit...could have used fill flash. Thanks! :-)

There was a small group of baby mountain goats I was shooting, when

this guy appeared to solo a small rock. I was doing a sunrise shoot and

was finishing up when I saw a herd of mountain goats working their way

up to the summit of Mt. Evans. These two baby mountain goats were

detached from the herd and appeared to be capturing the brilliant sunrise

about 1,000 feet below the summit of Mt. Evans. No blown highlights

here. August 2, 2011. Sorry about the resubmittal. The original image

size was not what I intended.

© Dejan Smaic | SportifImages.com 2012

I was doing a sunrise shoot and was finishing up when I saw a herd of

mountain goats working their way up to the summit of Mt. Evans. These

two baby mountain goats were detached from the herd and appeared to be

capturing the brilliant sunrise about 1,000 feet below the summit of Mt.

Evans. No blown highlights here. August 2, 2011.

© Dejan Smaic | SportifImages.com 2012

I was shooting the UCI 1 Boulder Cup Cyclocross race in Boulder, Colorado

and caught Big Ben Berden, a Pro from Belgium, riding across the sand pit.

Ben fortunately found a clean line right next to me, so I panned and caught

a few shots. Ben won the Pro Mens race 40 minutes later. Comments are

welcomed & thanks for looking!

© Dejan Smaic 2012