Vernon Vipers vs. Salmon Arm Silverbacks

Just two goals but non the less an exciting game. Both goals were in favor of the home team and The Vernon Vipers hereby take the top spot in the BCHL Interior Division. What seemed to me a near sold out crowd showed up for the game on Saturday night at the Wesbild Centre in Vernon.

Tech talk warning! 

I was out again with fellow shooter, Carl Dubeau. Carl must be determined to get me in debt as he let me shoot the majority of the game with his Canon 1D Mark III. The 1D series is for the serious sport shooter and features great autofocus along with the ability to rapidly fire 10 frames per second. After shooting with this camera for a couple of days I may go though some withdraw symptoms come Monday.

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The Bulldog at Vipers Game

Our local hockey arena was like a beehive of activity on Saturday. The Bulldog Hotel Silver Star was a major sponsor of tonights game and I was on a shoot to capture the atmosphere. The Bulldog Hotel gave away a myriad of prizes and in the second intermission the Bulldog Truck rolled onto the ice. As The Vipers also won tonights game this was great way to wrap up January.

UBC Okanagan Volleyball

A fast paced day on Friday had me going north to teach photography in Salmon Arm in the afternoon and then later in the day south to Kelowna to witness a couple of volleyball games at the university in Kelowna. I met up with fellow shooter, Carl, and had a great time shooting the games with his fast, 10 frames per second, Canon 1D III. Thanks Carl for giving me the 1D bug. :-)

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No photos to prove it

I went for a ski today (6) but have no photos to prove it. Sometimes you just have to leave the camera at home or in the car. As a photographer it can often be a curse as you think you need be ready at all times should a nice scene to unfold before you eyes. Imagine if the next "Miracle on The Hudson" were about to happen and you weren't ready. Those thoughts are what nightmares are made of when you are a photographer. I did not come across a "Miracle on The Hudson" today but I did bump into a happy group of school kids working their way up steep section on the cross country trail. The sun hit them in a sharp contrast from behind. It was indeed a beautiful scene. One which must be stored in my own memory instead of on a compact flash card.   

The Sun is Back

In sheer excitement over seeing the sun again I took a shot of the hillside across from where we live. Here in the Okanagan we are not too pleased if we don't see the sun for longer periods of time, which of course easily is the case this time of year. As a photographer I really notice how my mood picks up when the sun is out. I am sure it is the same for most people. 

The Snowden, Silver Star Mountain

I did an interior shoot at The Snowden at Silver Star Mountain today. I've been to this home many times before and it is always exciting to see what the owners, The Foden's, have improved upon for this season. This homes has been fully renovated and expanded over the past four to five years. The latest renovation/expansion involved a brand new kitchen/dining area and revamp of the ski room. A completely new kitchen has been installed and the tile flooring throughout this area looks magnificent. A new hot tub has also been added. Click the photo above to view all the new photos.

The Snowden is a five bedroom ski chalet located very close to the top of the Silverwoods Quad and features some of the best ski access you can imagine. For more on the Snowden follow this link.

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The Group From Bali

If you have vistited The Bulldog Hotel Silver Star this winter chances are good that you would have bumped into this wonderful group from Bali. I was at Silver Star today to do a series of staff group photos of them. The scene was set in the colourful lobby of the Bulldog Hotel and lit by my new strobes.

Sports Photography by Morten Byskov

I remember being deeply fascinated by sports photos when I was younger. From the photos of the German World Soccer (football) Champions in 1974 to the Austrian downhill skier and Olympic gold medal winner Franz Klammer in 1976.

I have just added a Flash slide show with several new sports photos to my mfoto.ca site. Click here or link via the photo above.

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More sunshine needed!

After skiing today we were back in the cloudy valley. On the drive down the mountain I noticed how the trees were covered in frost at the elevation where we entered the clouds. I concluded it would translate into a few great photo opportunities that I could not miss. So I ventured above the clouds for a second time today at the hour just before sunset. It was a strange sensation to be standing there bathing in the sun and then just five minutes down the hill being almost engulfed in darkness. Click the photo above or the link here to see a series of seven shots captured from the second switch back on Silver Star Road. 

Sunny Skies at Sovereign Lake

We made it up for a cross country ski (5) today at Sovereign Lake. We carpooled with our friends Dagny and Philippe and we were quite proud of our green approach in regards to transportation. The weather was like magic at Sovereign Lake. Warm and sunny but the trails still in great shape. This was Dagny and Philippe's first ski of the year. Although you wouldn't have known this as they were leading the pac today full of enthusiasm. For myself it was like a biathlon race today... first I skied. Then I had to stop to shoot. Then I had to catch up with the group. Then another photo and so on. As always it was amazing to be up above the clouds in the sun. 

Elinchrom Deep Throat Octa

When I got my Elinchrom BXRi 500 Studio lights I knew it wouldn't be the end of the story. When looking at lights it always seems you need another tool. For some time now I have been researching lighting modifiers. I get much of my advise from the forums at fredmiranda.com and this time was no different. I have had a great dialog going with a photographer from Sydney, Australia, Rudi Vavra. He has helped me immensely with the many choices of lighting gear... thanks Rudi. Carmen Miranda from the forum also had some good pointers which led me to the Elinchrom Deep Throat Octa. I have been eying out shots online taken with this softbox and I really like the wrap around effect it creates. When used with the front diffuser it works like most other softboxes. But when the front diffuser is removed the parabolic shape of this modifier makes for a more focused light. It is said to be a very versitile modifier so we shall see. I will write a review once I've given it a try. I am also in for a 105 cm tranlucent umbrella so I hope to able to test these additions to my studio next week some time.  

Clouds in The Valley, Vernon BC

Another "Clouds in The Valley" shot for you. I managed to sneak up for another ski yesterday and took this shot on my way home. That would be my fourth ski of this season for those of you who are counting. I believe 25 was the goal for the season. At this pace I may have to consider an entry for the 2010 Winter Olympics. I am not sure how strong the Danish National Team is but I may have a chance. It's funny how you can lose grips with reality while exercising.

Still January - How far off is May?

I was at Silver Star again yesterday for a few shoots and on my way home I pulled over, planted my tripod in a six foot high snow bank and pointed my 300mm lens towards Vernon. The tripod wasn't on the most stable ground but a beautiful scene unfolded below me. Vernon if quite often completely covered in clouds for weeks at a time in the winter and today was no different. Perhaps the sun on the horizon gives glimmer of hope that longer days will come again.

Portrait Photography by Morten Byskov

I have just updated my mfoto.ca site with a flash gallery of sixteen portfolio portraits. Click on the photo above to have a look or just hit this link.

It may a while since you had a great photo taken of your family. Perhaps you have a grad coming up or you were just engaged. For any portrait ideas drop me line or give me call.

Sunday Ski

First weekend after the holidays and it has been a busy one. I did manage to go for a ski this morning at Sovereign Lake.

Teaching in Salmon Arm and The Hawk

It is always rewarding to spend time with kids talking about photography. Today I was fortunate to have the attention of 13 gifted students in the Salmon Arm area. I will be teaching them some tricks of the trade over the next four Fridays. Today we watched a quick video and then I went on with a presentation about aperture, shutter speeds, depth of field and the rule of thirds. The kids hung in there even for the trickier parts. At the end of the day they were showing progress composing and capturing some nice shots. I will be back next Friday.

On my way home along Swan Lake near Vernon I pulled over to shoot what seemed like a nice sunset from the highway. As I stopped the car I was less enthused. However much to my surprise in the tree right above I caught the hawk shown in the picture above. There was absolutely no wild life in sight just a few days ago when my friend Henrik, an avid wildlife / nature photographer, was visiting. And then in the last three days I've spotted several good shooting situations I am sure he would have enjoyed.

Team Russia, Cross Country Skiing

I was at Silver Star today doing a couple of shoots. I met Team Russia who are staying at The Bulldog Hotel Silver Star. They are training at Silver Star leading up to World Cup Races taking place in Whistler in about a week. With the Olympics coming up in 2010 Silver Star will be the base for several teams next winter. It has warmed up in BC but conditions looked superb at Silver Star today. 

News from Apple

I've been a Mac user for about six years now so I always follow the news from the annual January conference in San Francisco. Steven Jobs couldn't make it today due to a hormone imbalance leading to severe weigh loss. I like Steven Jobs' style and since he couldn't make it won't bother watching the keynote speech.

I am sure the guys at Apple have been busy coming up with new and cool things but this year I am almost relieved to say that they didn't show any 'must have' items. The new 17" MacBook Pro shown above look quite appealing but I am currently using a now completely outdated 17" MacBook Pro from 2008 so no updates for me today.  

Apple also updated their line of iLife and iWork software.

Check out the news at www.apple.com

Welcome To The Real World

It's January 5th... Everyone is back to school or back to work after the holidays. This day is always a bit tough for some, especially if you are stuck in an airport and cannot get back to university or if are an old lady in Corolla with summer tires parked on top of a snow bank with the wheels hanging free in the air on either side of the snow bank. Here in Vernon we woke up to another about 10 inches of snow. I hope to be able to change to topic of this blog soon and make it a bit more exciting to follow but for now you will have to just read about all the snow we are getting. I swung by Okanagan Lake this morning and captured these two January morning scenes.

Harley Stops By

Our four legged friend Harley stopped by and stayed with us for a couple of night around New Years. It was great to see Harley again and he had lots of fun in the snow while out for walks. Harley did bring his parents, Henrik and Christina, along for the stay. Likewise it was good to spend some time and catch up with Henrik and Christina again. Henrik is an old friend of mine from way back when we both lived in Denmark. Henrik shares my passion for photography and is very talented nature/wildlife photographer. Check out Henrik's SmugMug Site and you will see what I mean. 

During the visit we decided to try our hand at product photography. We decided to caputure Henrik's equipment setup for nature/wildlife, a Canon EOS 1D Mark II with the Canon EF 500mm 4.0L IS.

New Years Resolution

Almost everyone has a New Years resolution whether you will admit it or not. And in many cases it usually has something to do with more exercise. Personally I am a bit against New Years resolutions as I think it is pretty safe way to set yourself up for failure. So slightly against my will I have agreed to a resolution which is a goal to ski at least 25 times this season. So today we took to the trails for our second ski of the season. It was snowing but the trails were still in great shape. 

I used the 5D and a Canon EF 50 mm 1.8 II for this shot. My friend Henrik has lent me this lens to test it for a couple of days. The 50 mm 1.8 is also called "Plastic Fantastic". It is an very light lens and along with the 5D without the grip it fits perfectly in a small back pack for skiing.

New York Times - 2008 Year in Pictures

I highly recommend you take the time to view the 160 photos posted in the New York Times "2008 - The Year in Pictures".
I am left almost breathless after viewing this amazing collection of photos. The New York Times photographers tell a story with every single image. They have captured images from hot spots around the globe and with brilliant compositions captured memorable moments in time.