ICE! Experience at Gaylord Palms Resort

My family started the New Year with a visit to snow and ice. Not the horrible blizzard that plagued the Northeast which shut down entire cities but ICE! and SNOW! at Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, FL.



2011 started with an almost 80 degree day in sunny Florida. My nieces in Atlanta, GA could not agree more with the much warmer weather. Irony and the cold weather traveled with them on New Year's Day for a chilling tour of the fabulous ice village and sculptures of the ICE! Experience.



We were encapsulated with 9 degrees of Santa and his reindeer, an epic Nativity display of such awesome stature and the all time favorite ice slide. I do not want to forget the SNOW! portion of this winter wonderland. Slushy snow activities filled the other side of the event like snow tube racing and a snow playground.



Entering this 9 degree bliss with camera gear can be a challenge. Cold fingers combined with rapid battery loss from extreme lower temperatures did not compare to the effect of condensation. When you eventually leave an overwhelming ice display, your gear will turn into a sweating, dripping and foggy mess. My weather sealed Canon EOS 1D Mark IV survived. My sister's point and shoot literally froze to death.



A small tip to the condensation wary. Bring a gallon Ziplock plastic bag to seal your gear before you step outside into a warmer environment. The sweat will form outside of the Ziplock and not short circuit your gear into oblivion. Just wait till the photo equipment warms up until you open the Ziplock.



You can view more photos in the ICE! Experience at Gaylord Palms Resort 2011 Gallery. Shot with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS, EF 70-200mm f/4L IS and the EF 35mm f/1.4L lens.

Canon EOS Discovery Day After

An amazing turnout for Canon EOS Discovery Day hosted by North Tampa Photography. With over 120 photographers from all over the state of Florida, the whole day was filled with back to back seminars, a display of the latest Canon high tech gear and great raffle giveaways.



A special thanks to Drew MacCallum, the Canon Instructor for the first Basic seminar. He did an outstanding job guiding aspiring photographers through the in camera menu and the basics of image capture. He made the frightening unknown of camera jargon into cheerful and pleasant terms.



Kudos to Amanda Arrick. The first time to Florida instructing the Intermediate class to the more advanced group of the day. From the intricacies of Custom Functions to the Full HD movie capabilities of Canon DSLR's, she weaved her magical thread of knowledge with her audience.



Don't miss out on the next Canon EOS Discovery Day. The next tentative date for Tampa is early spring. Keep updated on ChadSorianoPhotoBlog on Facebook or even North Tampa Photography on Facebook. I am sure you will not be disappointed by what you experience on this Canon filled day.



I used a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with an EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II,EF 24-105mm f/4L IS and a EF 35mm f2 lens. For the video, I used the Rode VideoMic for audio and edited with Final Cut Pro.

You can see more in my Canon EOS Discovery Day 2010 Gallery.

Canon EOS 60D Preview At Canon EXPO 2010

One direct airplane flight from Florida and one bus ride into the Javits Convention Center in NYC, I arrived with excitement and hopes of my first hands on experience with the new Canon EOS 60D. As you can witness in the image I photographed with my iPhone 4, the 60D has a swivel screen, manual audio control for video and to my surprise a wireless flash control like the Canon EOS 7D. I will have more to post later on my ChadSorianoPhotoBlog and I will have a quick video preview shot on my iPhone 4 posted on my Canon1dm4 YouTube Channel soon. Ultimately, I will have a full Canon EOS 60D Video Review and Test shortly!

Summertime Fun !

The peak of summertime doldrums hit a roadblock with water time fun in the backyard. Slip N Slide fun came into HD DSLR fruition with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and my anxious children.



Art Camp also filled my kid's itinerary this summer. Arts and crafts with other attention starved youths kept them busy. The first day of school is soon approaching and the fun will come to an abrupt end.



Canon has fallen prey to the Summertime Blues. No fabulous product announcements or releases in early June like in previous summers. (Like the Canon EOS 1D Mark III in June 2007 and the Rebel T1i in May 2009) Patience is a virtue. The Canon Expo 2010 is soon approaching. Mark your calendars for the first week of September for the latest Canon product announcements.

Congratulations Class of 2010!

Father Bill could not have said it better. Keep your family,faith and dreams by your side. Smart words for young minds. The world is a scary place, especially High School and you will need all the help you can get.



Congratulations Class of 2010 and to my first niece, Olivia. You have overcome many challenges in your life and your entire family is very proud of your achievements. The day you were born I saw you in your mother's arms and I already knew you were a very special girl.



You can view more photos in the Graduation Ceremony Gallery. The gallery was shot with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV,EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L and the EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L version 1.