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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Yosemite National Park Experience



Ansel Adams relied on his trusty pack mule to venture into the Yosemite wilderness with heavy camera gear to capture epic vistas and breathtaking landscapes. I traveled with my family and reliable Peg Perego baby stroller through paved mountain passes to El Capitan and Tunnel View parking lots photographing tourist laden panoramas. I call this family wilderness photography with a wife and three kids.
 

The National Park Service warned us about a Hantavirus outbreak but never adorable and hungry baby cubs luring wary onlookers for constant attention and cherry lollipops. Through the looking glass of our minivan rental, we saw Mule Deer, a coyote, annoying squirrels and Stellar Jays a plenty!

 

With so much grand views of the Sierra Nevada, a bad photograph is hard to come by with this much eye candy. No 4x5 view cameras and plate glass emulsion in my bag during this adventure, but my full frame Canon EOS 5D Mark III ready for landscape detail. A good wide angle with minimal distortion is great for vistas but a zoom lens is even better for compressing forest mountain tops. Fill the frame!

 

Our Yosemite National Park visit was brief but memorable. The trip to San Francisco led the family straight to Jollibee and other "City by the Bay" landmarks. My son had his eyes on landmarks like souvenir gift shops and Jollibee Chickenjoy!

 

My fashion diva oldest daughter willingly posed a many in the picturesque Japanese Tea Garden by the Academy of Science Museum. The middle school fashionista dominated the city and wilderness with ease.

 

Too much family pictures and not enough nap time, make adorable baby cubs angry and short tempered. A bit of family picture advice for the novice, take baby and toddler photographs fresh from a nap and arm your self with loads of patience!

 

A 1080p video shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III at 29.97fps. Edited with Final Cut Pro 6.0.6 and used Compressor to get a 1.2gb h264 video file at best quality. I used the Canon E-1 Movie Plugin to automatically transcode to AppleProRes422. The Canon EOS 5D Mark III was paired with the Canon EF 17-40 f/4L, Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS and the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS lenses. For audio, I used a Sennheiser MKE400 shotgun microphone. For stability, I used a Manfrotto 701HDV fluid head with Benro 3580 tripod legs.

 

The Golden Gate bridging gaps with one clam chowder filled sourdough bowl at a time. Considered a civil engineering wonder of the world, the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset strikes an ominous pause through my "L" glass. A sturdy tripod is a must on top of this windy overlook for the extra sharp details.



My four wonders of the world posing in hot pink, camouflage and Kirkland Signature Khaki in front of another grand wonder, Half Dome at Glacier Point.



You can view more in my Yosemite National Park and San Francisco 2012 Gallery shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III paired with the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS and EF 70-200mm f/4L IS lenses.
 

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2 comments:

  1. Hey Chad, awesome pictures! BTW man, what kind of lens did you use for the picture of the cryin' girl over the fallen tree? My girlfriend just loved it and she's quite interested in a lens that can take that much detail on a photo... Take care mate and keep up with the excellent work! Greetings from Mexico!

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    1. Thank you for the compliments. For my crying daughter's picture, I used the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. The kit lens that comes with the 5D Mark III is an excellent piece of glass. That lens stays on the camera 90% of the time. It is the ultimate walk around lens for full frame sensors.
      Sincerely, Chad Soriano

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