Yesterday, after the Tulip Festival adventure I headed out away from the city lights to try and capture the Meteor shower that was supposed to happen that night. I was originally planning on going to East Canyon Reservoir to get the meteors and stars, and then spend the night to get some sunrise shots the next day. But, even though it said it was open year round, the road was closed. So, that kind of shot my plans down. So instead I went to Lamb Canyon Road farther East towards Park City. I was almost to the end of the road, but had to stop because there was still a bunch of snow and ice on the road and didn't want to risk getting stuck since I was the only one out there with no service. Smart huh? Haha.

So I set up "camp" and started snapping away. I had my camera set up on my tripod with the remote release hanging in the car window so that I could sit comfortably in my car while my camera did all the work. :) I was out there for 3ish hours. Guess how many meteors I saw in those three hours? Absolutely nothing. Zilch. Nadda. Complete disappointment. Haha.

But, I was able to capture a couple cool star shots. :)

I had my camera set to take a 45-55 second exposure every 5 seconds. And since it did that for about 35 minutes, I figured I'd turn it into a time-lapse video. It's my first one ever, and for my first time... I don't think it's too bad.

So after this meteor adventure, I think I'm going to stop trying to get meteor shots. Instead I'll focus on star trails and time-lapse videos. :)

Thanks for reading, viewing, and watching.

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

Saturday I went to Thanksgiving Points' Tulip Festival that they do every year at this time. I went with a friend photographer, Lindi Harrington... who still hasn't posted any pictures yet.... *hint hint* lol.

We got there at 10am, when it opened. After standing in the hot sun for 30 minutes, we were finally able to get in! It's $10 to get in for general admission. If you're doing commercial photography, it's another $100. So, needless to say we were just there as hobbyists. :) Which is also why none of these will be for sale... on my site.  Haha. But! They are available for download as your wallpaper, right HERE!!

Overall, it was a good day and we had lots of fun. :) Here are some of the photos that I liked.

So yeah, there you have it. :)

Thanks for reading and looking!

Jeremy | Sur-Real Photography

*Warning: This post will be long*

The Jarvie Walk. What is the Jarvie Walk? Well first off, Jarvie is Scott Jarvies' (of Jarvie Digital) last name. And the walk part comes in from Photowalk. A photowalk is where a bunch of photographers (Professional, Amateur, Hobbyist, etc.) come to a specific location to take photographs. These photographers came from all over; the state that it’s in, the country, and even from all over the world. It’s basically just a way to get out and shoot and meet other photographers and build lasting relationships. This photowalk was named Jarviewalk because Scott Jarvie is that one who organized it and made everything run smoothly, and he did a fantastic job at it also.

This particular photowalk was organized via Google+ (Google’s social network). Google+ (G+) has become a haven for photographers. The photography community there is so strong, and so large, that I think it honestly took Google by surprise at how much we like it. By the way, if this doesn’t make sense… I’m writing this on just a few hours of sleep after two really long, yet totally awesome days filled with photography and mingling with other photogs. That’s your warning. So the main way this was organized and came to be was via G+.

Day 1: Wasatch Tour

On day one, Friday, we met at Jarvies’ house at 5:30am. Yes, in the morning. Why would we wake up at this ungodly hour? Well, for sunrise pictures of course! When I got to his house, I was so nervous because I didn’t know anyone. Yes, I had talked to them online a little… but it’s totally different meeting a total stranger in person. I had met Jarvie once before to help him with a photoshoot, but that was almost a year ago and only once. I was one of the first ones there that morning, since I absolutely hate being late, and was greeted by Jarvies amazing gallery display on his walls. Seriously some top notch work. So I looked at all of his photos while everyone else (that woke up that early) trickled in. A few minutes after 5:30 we all headed out to Aspen Grove. Aspen Grove is a grove of aspens. Crazy huh? It’s located at the end of Sundance Canyon (where Sundance Ski Resort is). We got there a few minutes before 6:30 and everyone instantly started getting their cameras ready to shoot the sunrise.

The location that we were at was perfect for sunrise shots. Not really to take photos of the sun coming over the mountains, but to take photos of the sunlight hitting Timpanogos Peak towering over us. Since we were there so early, we could still see some stars, which show up in the photos with a long exposure. At first we set up in the parking lot… but once we had shot that to death, some of us ventured out into the snowy woods. For the most part, the snow was frozen enough that you could just walk on top of it with no problems. But every once in a while, and totally random and unexpected, you would sink down to your waist in snow. Made for a cold, but extremely fun morning.

After the sunrise was no longer meeting our expectations (and cause we were cold), we all headed out to Heber, UT. There is this wonderful little café called The Hub. It’s in the middle of town, and right at the main intersection (well, the only intersection). If you’re ever driving through Heber, stop by this place. The food was amazing!! I got a wonderful breakfast burrito. One of the best ones to date. :)

Then after Heber, we traveled on over to Park City, UT to shoot the famous and awesome main street. There are tons of awesome little shops and galleries there that you could easily spend several hours there, if you’re into that type of stuff. Me, I was pretty much done within 45 min. Haha. But it was still a blast acting tourist and spending time with the other photographers. At this time, since I had been up since 3:30am and running on 3 hours of sleep… needless to say I was beyond exhausted. Haha. But thankfully, man created 5 hour energy drinks. Which saved my life cause we had to drive to Salt Lake City next.

Next came The Cathedral of the Madeleine. This church is the biggest Catholic Church in Utah. And it’s simply gorgeous. I have always loved this church, the outside and the inside. I’m not entirely sure on the history of this church, but I definitely want to go to a mass there one day. I was the first one there and so that gave me a chance to get all the shots I wanted before anyone else got there to mess them up. Haha! It was so quiet and peaceful, the clicking of my shutter echoed throughout the entire church. And then the gang showed up. There goes the quiet peacefulness. Hahaha.

After The Madeleine we went to Redrock Brewing Company, an amazing brewery and restaurant here in Salt Lake. Seriously has some of the best food you’ll ever have. After that we moseyed on over to the SLC Public Library where we just shot whatever. Honestly, by that time I was so photo’d out and tired, I didn’t want to look at my camera. Haha. Then we walked on over to The Temple Square where we would be shooting the sunset that night. But on the way, we passed some buildings that I had never seen before, or at least never noticed. This one particular buildings’ doorway caught my eye. I loved how it looked.

By the time sunset came, I didn’t want to touch my camera and it was hurting my back from carrying it all day. Lol So instead I went to my car and drove to our next location… Red Iguana, the best Mexican food you’ll ever have in SLC. We made reservations for 23 people… but we actually had 28 people show up that night. So instead of putting the extras at another table, we wanted them with us, so we fit 5 extra people at a table for 23. Needless to say, it was cozy. But the food and atmosphere was awesome.

Finally, the day was over. I got home at 11:30 that night and instantly went to bed. I didn’t bother moving my pictures from my camera to my computer to see what I got… I just didn’t care. I had to be up at 4:30 the next morning for yet another sunrise shot.

Day 2: Festival of Colors

Day 2, Saturday, was another early day. We all wanted to get some sunrise shots of the sun coming over the Wasatch mountains with the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple down in Spanish Fork, UT. The Krishna Temple is an amazing building… which totally doesn’t fit in with anything here in Utah. But that’s what makes it so amazing. If you click on the link above you can read its history, which is basically saying I’m too lazy to do it myself. :)

Unfortunately, the sunrise wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The location of the Temple just didn’t work well with where the sun was going to come up. But really, that was good cause it made me think differently than what I had in my mind. But I still wasn’t pleased with what I got. Oh well, you can’t win them all.

If you’ve never heard of the Festival of Colors, you’re probably wondering what on earth it is and why it’s at the Krishna Temple, in a small Utah town. Well… here’s a summary of what the Festival of Colors is:

Holi is the Festival of Colors, a traditional Indian holiday celebrated in our own innovative fashion.  By far our biggest festival of the year, during Holi 2011 50,000 revelers flooded the temple and grounds for 2 days day of brightly colored powder, mantra, music and a bit of "holi" mayhem.

Needless to say, it’s loads of fun and the perfect photo opportunity. Here are a few shots of that.

Scott had a model come so that we could play a little, she brought an old wedding dress. This was before...

This was after...

This is what I looked like afterwards. Not as bad as I could have been… but I think since I was carrying a camera, people didn’t feel brave enough to pelt me with color stuff. Haha.

After the Festival, we met up at Tucanos as kind of a farewell to everyone that was leaving early due to long travels ahead. That food is amazing!!

Conclusion:

During this photowalk, I met some amazing people. Not just amazing photographers, but amazing people. They were all so kind and genuine that it really made the whole experience that much better. I’m a shy and not very outgoing. So I had my apprehensions about this whole thing and meeting new people… especially some of the photographers that were going to be there. But, due to their amazingness, I was able to open up a little and get to know them. It really was an amazing experience, one that I will remember for the rest of my life.

If you ever get a chance to participate in a photowalk, I totally 100% recommend it. It’s an amazing way to meet other people, learn new things, and just get out and shoot. I’m a nobody when it comes to photography. I have a few “fans” that follow my work and probably read every post on this blog. But when it comes down to it… I’m just me in the world of photography. But going on this photowalk I was able to interact with some of the biggest names in the photography world. And they’re totally awesome! So thank you to everyone who came and made this experience one of the best ones of my life. I look forward to building our relationships, either in person or on Google+.

Jeremy