What is that on your head???

Utah Senator Orin Hatch and (now former) Utah Senator Bob Bennett at the grand opening ceremonies of the Utah Transit Authority's Front Runner Service at the then new intermodal station on April 26, 2008.

Are you ready for winter?

UTA Gillig Advantage BRT 10014 in a snow storm, a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

Here is a shot I took Christmas Eve last year on a trip to Utah to get you ready for the winter season that will be coming soon.

A Utah Transit Authority bus has just left Central Station and is on its way to Murray via State Street in a blizzard. The bus is a 2010 Gillig Advantage BRT bus. The picture is taken at the intersection of 200 South and 500 West in Salt Lake City.

Front Runner Train in Salt Lake City

Front Runner Train, a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

A UTA Front Runner train sits between runs at the Salt Lake City Central Station before heading north to Ogden.

Despite the gloomy weather, the picture came out well.

Auto Mart on State Street

Auto Mart on State Street, a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

I have passed this building for many years and always liked the unique design of the building.

While I dislike the business practices of these "buy here, pay here" lots, still can like the building.

TRAX train at Temple Square

Temple Square Photowalk , a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

Last December Photowalking Utah did their annual Photowalk at Temple Square. This turned out to be the last Photowalking event I would be able to attend before moving.

I tried to get a few pictures of TRAX trains making the turn from Main Street onto North Temple and this was my favorite. Love the blur of the train and the lights of the police cruiser.

Spiking Tourist Lodge

Spiking Tourist Lodge , a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

A sign from another one of the older classic motels along State Street in Salt Lake City which is also US Highway 89 and used to also be US Highway 91/

Temple City Motel

Temple City Motel , a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

Lovely sign on a motel that is on State Street which is US Highway 89 and formally US Highway 91.

Breakfast Anyone?

Dick Clark's Restaurant, a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

On my trip to Portland I had breakfast at Dick Clark's restaurant at the airport.

Back in May of last year I was on a business trip to Denver and we had lunch at the restaurant but was not impressed at all and glad I was not paying.

Breakfast was much better and last month took my wife to Breakfast here before flying to Portland again.

While having breakfast last October I took this picture of my breakfast which was the steak and eggs.

Fortunately the restaurant was pretty empty so I could take this picture in peace without anyone getting suspicious of the photographer.

Fixer Upper

Fixer Upper
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

One day I had some time to kill so I decided to get some pictures of planes coming in for a landing at Salt Lake International Airport. I also took the opportunity to explore the area south of the airport a little.

I turned down one street and came across this poor old travel trailer that had obviously seen better days. The trailer was sitting next to a junk yard entrance waiting for its final journey.

Forgotten on a siding

old train car
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

A photographer I know took some pictures of an old rail passenger car a couple of years ago and I have meant to go photograph it for some time. Finally a couple of months ago I decided to go ahead and take some pictures of it.

The car sits along side the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad between Salt Lake City and Provo that was once Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The former Union Pacific line between the two cities lies just one block east at this point and is now used by the Utah Transit Authority for their North-South light rail line.

I love doing photos like this in black and white because it adds a certain feeling to the photograph.

I have no idea about the history of this rail car but if anyone who does know something about it is more than welcome to let us know.

Old Building & Streetcar

Old Building & Streetcar
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

This old streetcar and building sit near the Great Salt Lake just west of the Salt Lake International Airport along Interstate 80.

This site has been used by photographers (and others) for many years. However, I have heard the owner is going to be forced to get rid of the streetcar and the building shortly.

Great Salt Lake Marina

Great Salt Lake Marina
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Here is another photo taken at the Great Salt Lake Marina a few weeks ago. Like the rest of the area it is crawling with bugs so that is something you will want to be prepared for if you go out to the marina.

This photo is looking southwest toward the outlet to the Great Salt Lake.

Access to the actual boat docks is limited so you have to limit yourself to taking pictures from the sidewalk about the actual marina area.

Black Widow

Black Widow
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Here is another photo that I took when we took my nieces out to the Great Salt Lake Marina and State Park.

Beyond the Marina is a observation deck that you can look out onto the lake. However, the entire area is covered by spiders of every shape and size.

While I did not know what type most of them were, this one is hard to miss. This one did not like having her photo taken because after I snapped the picture it actually made an aggressive move toward me (I was not THAT close).

Taking a Drink

Duck and Ducklings on Silver Lake
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Last Wednesday (7/7/2010) we went up to Silver Lake to take a hike and do some photography.

Just was we started down the boardwalk we caught this duck along with her ducklings at the edge of the lake taking a drink.

I wasn't sure how this picture was going to come out since I had to take it quickly and the lighting was not optimal. However, I thought the picture came out o.k. despite the murky color of the water.

Silver Lake is located just west of the Brighton Ski Resort at the top of Cottonwood Canyon. It is a nice short trip from the Salt Lake area and while the temperature was 90+ in Salt Lake it was only in the mid-60's up at the top of the canyon.

Silver Lake, Utah

Silver Lake, Utah
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Today I ended up heading up to Brighton, Utah in order to hike around and above Silver Lake which lies just west of the Brighton Ski Resort.

There is a trail around the entire lake that is very popular with not only hikers but on this day had a large number of artist doing paintings of the area.

We also took the Twin Lakes trail but did not make it completely up to Twin Lakes due to time constraints.

Delta 737

Delta 737
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Shot of a Delta Airlines 737 coming in for a landing at the Salt Lake International Airport.

The photo was taken from Fulton Street just south of 500 South on the west side of town. This area of town is filled mostly with junk yards and other industrial businesses.

As I have mentioned many times forms of transportation are some of my favorite subjects whether it be trains, planes, automobiles, or buses.

There used to be locations near or on airports where plane spotters could stay, watch planes come and go, and do photography. Sadly after the events of 9/11 most of these places have been closed off.

I am guessing that this is a Boeing 737-800.

Utah Transit Authority NB Front Runner Train

Utah Transit Authority NB Front Runner Train
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Ok, it has been some time since I actually posted some pictures to this blog so I will try to make up for it.

Today, we have a picture of a northbound Utah Transit Authority Front Runner train that has just left Central Station in Salt Lake and is heading toward Ogden.

The train is powered by MPI MP36 locomotive pulling a Ex-New Jersey Transit Comet I car and two Bombardier Tri-Level cars which can be found on various commuter trains from Florida to Seattle.

Making the Escape

Making the Escape
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Last Saturday night, Photowalking Utah got together for another excellent photowalk, this one taking place in the Old Greektown area of Salt Lake City which is just west of the main part of downtown.

We walked past the Intermodal Hub then took some pictures at one of the old buildings that is soon supposed to give way to a new hotel. One of our group volunteered to play model so she got up into one of the windows of the abandoned building and did some poses.

This photo was taken at 400 ISO using flash to keep the shutter speed from getting too low.

Jordan Peace Gardens "America"

Jordan Peace Gardens America
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Another shot from the Jordan Peace Garden taken last Friday.

In Need of Repair

Jordan Peace Gardens
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

On Friday I had some time to kill so what else did I do but go out and take some pictures.

I decided to stop at the Jordan Peace Gardens to take some pictures. This is only the third time I have ever been to the gardens so I do not have a lot of photos from there.

This is one of the first structures you encounter when you walk into the garden area. As you can see from the photograph the building needs some repairs (in fact several statures where showing signs of recent vandalism).

This photo is a difficult one because you have details that you want featured in the shadows with bright sunlight surrounding them. To help with the shadow areas I set my flash to minimum to use as fill. This allowed the details in the shadows but did not cause other areas to get blown out.