July 18, 2011

A Night Field Trip (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original
This night field trip began in a magical way - with a near full moon rising above the Eastern Passage refinery. It was challenging to balance the exposure (the moon is lit by the sun, and thus MUCH brighter than the earth at night), but the biggest problem was the movement of the moon during the long exposure - I boosted the ISO to 800 in order the minimize the motion to some degree.
Digital original
It is this kind of image that makes night photography so enjoyable to me; this corner is in a deep recess under a large building, and by day, is wrapped in shadows. At night however, the surrounding illumination for tourists floods the corner with light, and create a great space to photograph.
Digital original
The evening finished up just as high fog was blowing in over the city - here an image of the top of the World Trade & Convention Centre shares the sky with the fog, and a single moving star.

July 16, 2011

Cranes and Sky (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original
I find the simplicity of this image, made during a course field trip, really pleasing. I have used really long lenses in the past, but it is only recently that I have felt I really have begun to "see" with them.

July 04, 2011

Back from the UK (London, England to Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 17 image exposure blend, 3 image stitch
I returned to Halifax today, after spending 17 days teaching and photographing in Northern England (and I even nipped into Scotland for an afternoon!). Now I just have to wade through all the images I made - 7,365 images (175gb of files) of architecture, landscape and abstracts…tonight I shall load them into Lightroom, and begin the first round of image culling. Once that is finished, I will move onto more critical image editing…and within a month or so, I shall have the best of this new work to share!

July 02, 2011

Conisbrough & Warwick Castle

Digital infrared original
This day was begin in southern Yorkshire, at Conisbrough Castle.It was great fun to explore, and very photogenic, as the hill it was upon shielding the surrounding town from view, and presented a fabulous setting to photograph the castle in.
Digital infrared original
I have always had a weakness for spiral stairs, and this wooden one in Warwick was no exception; I spent perhaps ten minutes photographing it; a challenge without a tripod. In the end, the above image, made with the camera balanced against the banister, was my favorite because of the sweeping curves.
Digital infrared original, 2 frame stitch
Photographing at Warwick Castle was challenging, as it was a serious tourist attraction, and tripods were not an option. After spending a couple of hours wandering about and photographing within the castle, I walked around the outside with a tripod, which made it much more pleasing a photographic experience.

July 01, 2011

Canada Day in the Yorkshire Dales

Digital original
The main destination for today was White Scar Cave, which proved to be much more about being in the space than photographing - the tour moved too fast for careful camera work, and the lighting was either too dim, or too harsh in most locations. The above image is one of the few I managed to make successfully - a wall of flowstone.
Digital original
Once out of the cave, I spent a while photographing the rock formations that surrounded the valley; I would have loved to have had the time to clamber around and work with better light in the space, but the clock was ticking, and the drive south was calling.
Digital original, 5 frame stich
The last image I made before packing up the car and heading into the Dales proper was of the Ribblehead Viaduct, which was the perfect foreground for the rolling Yorkshire hills behind.

The Lake District

Digital original
This morning was spent in Keswick, stocking up on road supplied, and doing a little photography while walking around. I made a dozen or so compositions of this spiral stairway, enjoying being able to see the skeletal structure integral to one of my favorite architectural features to photograph.
Digital original
The high rolling hills that surround the lake district are wonderful to photograph, especially later in the day when shadows start to lengthen, and provide some depth to the landscape.
Digital original, 2 frame stitch
The only specific destination in the Lake District during this trip was Castlerigg Stone Circle. With panoramic views and the mountains of Helvellyn and High Seat as a backdrop, Castlerigg is one of the most dramatic of the stone circles I have visited. It is also one of the oldest, raised in about 3000 BC during the Neolithic period.