Salt Lake City Temple Square Photowalk

[Photo-John]

Last night there was a photowalk at the LDS Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. The Mormon Church puts up a lot of lights around the temple and tons of people visit it this time of year. The Photowalk Utah group arranged a free workshop before the actual photowalk and then everyone met outside Temple Square at 8 PM. I went with my friend youtah and we made it just in time for the group photo. Turned out there were about 140 people so the group photo was a pretty big production. I lent them a PocketWizard and another flash to help them get sufficient light coverage. The first photo below was taken with the Canon PowerShot S90 (in Program w auto ISO) while the group shot was being set up. You can see the real photo here. It's an impressive photo, considering the size of the group and the conditions.

The second photo is youtah's D700 set up to shoot the temple. I took that one with the Olympus E-P1.

[Photo-John]

Since this was a big group thing, I took a bunch of cameras to play with and let people take a look at. I had the Canon PowerShot S90, the Olympus E-P1, a Canon XSi / 450D with a Lensbaby Composer and I also had my Canon EOS 7D. The 7D saw the least use since it was in my backpack and I had two cameras and another camera bag around my neck. It was just too much trouble to get to the 7D. I did take a few pictures with it toward the end of the evening, but I haven't downloaded those yet.

I'm happy I took the Lensbaby because it's beena bit of a challenge for me to find subjects that I think work with it. This was a great place to use it because it's great for photographing the Christmas lights! It's also good for portraits. My Lensbaby technique could use some work. But I did get a couple that I liked. They're a bit sloppier than I would have liked. But hey - that's sort of the point with the Lensbaby, right?

The portrait is of Ann Torrence. She's a really great photographer and just produced a book about Highway 89, which runs from Canada to Mexico. There's more on the book and Hwy 89 on Ann's blog: http://www.anntorrence.com/hwy89/

[Photo-John]

The E-P1 ended up being the camera I used the most. It also got a lot of attention from the other photographers. Seems a lot of them haven't seen one yet. It was perfect for this event. It would have been nice if I'd brought a lens besides the kit lens for it, though. However, the combination of built-in image stabilization and good high-ISO performance meant I could use it handheld and I also had a tripod with me for some more carefully composed photos. The only problem I had was focusing. The E-P1's AF system chokes in super low light. So I ended up using manual focus after a while and that worked great. The manual focus system on the E-P1 is excellent and easier to use than any other digital camera I've ever used.

[Photo-John]

It was cold. Yup. When we headed out, youtah and I didn't think it was gonna be that bad. Boy were we wrong. I don't know how cold it actually got, but it hurt. Luckily we were both dressed for it. The only issue I had was that my fingerless gloves were, well, fingerless.

That's youtah with the Nikon on the tripod. And your's truly with the hood on, shortly before we bailed back to the car to get warm.

[Photo-John]

I meant to post a message about this on ViewFinder yesterday but I never got it done. I did post a quick note about it on our Facebook fan page. Anyway, gatherings and photowalks are a great way to get connected with your local photo community, shoot some stuff you wouldn't usually shoot, and learn some new skills - or even share some of the stuff you've learned with other photographers. I had a great time last night and took a bunch of crappy photos of stuff I ordinarily wouldn't even think of shooting. It was good for me and I've got some fun stuff to share because of it. I encourage everyone here to see if there's a local photowalk group in their area. If not, you can post here and get something started. It's been a while, but we've had some really cool Gatherings through the site and I'd love to see and attend more

[w.slayman]

The last is a breath taking shot, and all the naratives are great. 2 - :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Something like that looks like a blast.

[mtbbrian]

You really need to advertise this better...
I would have like to have come!
Brian
:biggrin5:

[youtah]

Woooo Hooo! I feel like a super star!

This is the picture from my D700

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slc_jm/4196234500/

[nicolesy]

Wonderful images! It was great to finally meet you, too ... as brief as it was. Hope to see you around in the future!

[jorgemonkey]

Looks like!

Its gonna be tough leaving the CA December weather (supposed to be mid 60s for my wedding in Oakland this afternoon I'm photographing) and heading to my parents in UT where its more like 30. Ugh

[Jimmy B]

That looked like a really fun outing.
Jimmy B

[maddy]

Very nice photos!!!

I wish i could have been there.

Keep up the good work.

_____________

Maddy

[Photo-John]

Wonderful images! It was great to finally meet you, too ... as brief as it was. Hope to see you around in the future!

Good to meet you, nicolesy! I plan to participate more in the Utah photowalks. It's such a great group of photographers and I'm really impressed with the willingness of the pros to share their experience.

Hope to see you on the site again! I know people here would appreciate your presence and it's one more place to get the word out about the stuff you're doing

[Photo-John]

Very nice photos!!!

I wish i could have been there.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks, maddy. Glad you liked the photos. Do you have a Salt Lake City connection? I expect there is a photowalk group in Las Vegas. There are also other PhotographyREVIEW.com members in your area. Make an effort to get connected with them and get out to do some shooting as a group!

[mpetrie]

Went to Temple Square recently as well with my new camera! Love your photos! It's such a photogenic scene this time of year!

[Anbesol]

lol John, do they let you in that temple?

[Photo-John]

lol John, do they let you in that temple?

No, they do not. You have to be an active member of the LDS Church with a "temple recommend" to actually enter a Mormon Temple. Their function is very different from a church. I actually grew up LDS but haven't been a believer since I was about 14. But Temple Square is still a neat place and I love my Mormon heritage and the early history of the Church

[Old Timer]

Wonderful thread John. This is what PR and the Viewfinder are all about. Thanks for the post.