Blog - Barta Photography

I have the pleasure of having one of my photos published in both companion books of MacGillivray Freeman Films’ IMAX film about America’s national parks--“National Parks Adventure”--which will be released in IMAX theaters in February 2016 in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. Robert Redford is narrating the film. The books will celebrate the anniversary of the parks as well as the production of the film. They will be distributed to the VIP clients of Brand USA, which is the marketing organization for the United States—so all the state tourism offices, corporate partners like Expedia and other travel services companies, and anyone associated with the travel and tourism industry—as well as all the Museum Directors and IMAX Theater Directors at the institutions where the film will play (i.e. the Smithsonian, the Boston Museum of Science, the California Science Center, etc.). It comes out this month, check it out if you get a chance, and check out the books that should be there as well. Here is the link to where the closest IMAX theater is in your area and when it will be playing - “National Parks Adventure”.

http://nationalparksadventure.com/theatres

The Snowflake photos were all taken with a Canon 5D Mark III and the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x specialized macro lens. I used an empty 20oz pop bottle (round, bad idea) that I left outside so it would get just as cold as the outside temperature (which was around 0-15degrees). Also it is best to do it when it is actually snowing because once they land on other snowflakes they will fuse together. For my backgrounds, (there is one photo below that shows some red construction paper) I experimented with red, green and blue construction paper. Once the 20oz bottle was cold enough I would shake all of the snow off it and just wait for a nice looking snowflake to land on it (be patient, you will be able to see it with the nake eye, just pay attention) and then put it on top of the colored construction paper. I would work just inside a garage so I had hard level ground that I could setup my tripod but would still be cold enough that the snowflake wouldn't melt. And it was damn cold! The lighting I used was from either one or two led flash lights that can focus the light into a small area. In most cases I just shined the flash light on the background rather than the actual snowflake and have it illuminate from below. Looking back, I was using a round pop bottle which was extremely frustrating at times because it kept tilting and any type of wind gust would make it move (but hey this was my first time doing this, this is going to happen). Use something with more stability, like that Fiji water bottle which is square - no rolling around! Or find something that works even better than that. Most shots were taken around f8-f16, iso 200, 1sec - 10 depending on what background I was using. Also lock your mirror up when shooting, any kind of camera shake (especially the mirror popping up and down) will affect the clarity of the image. Use a shutter release and/or a 2 sec timed delay so they camera is as steady as it can be. Good Luck!

Canon 5D Mark III Underwater with an ikelite 6871.03 Housing and Canon 17-40 f/4 Rented and text reference below from www.LensProToGo.com

This Ikelite housing for the Canon 5D Mk III comes complete with a port and dome that works best with 16-35 f/2.8L II, 17-40 f/4L, 135L or 100 Macro due to lens size and circumference. The 24-105L IS and 24-70 F4 IS lenses can also be used, however without the zoom functionality. As a courtesy to our gear cleaning team, try to give the housing a quick freshwater rinse and dry off before sending it back if possible! All of the photographs below were shot with a Canon 5D Mark III with the Canon L 17-40mm f/4 lens.

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