November 12, 2017

Photo 101 Field Trip (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 2 frame stitch
Sometimes it is as simple as the quality of a sky that provokes me to make an image!
Digital original, 3 frame stitch
As the evening grew darker, I made a photograph of the last light in the sky above the ferry, and ferry terminal.

October 29, 2017

A Field Trip to Fort George (The Citadel) (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 9 frame exposure blend
Whenever I am working outdoors (be it with a model, architecture or landscape) the sky is almost always the most important consideration - and in this case, it made this image!
Digital original

As I was heading back to the car to get another battery, I noticed the light reflecting on the passage ceiling - and made the above image.
digital original

I seldom am drawn to colour, but in this case, the rich surge against the kilt did just that.


October 25, 2017

A Fall Session with Ingrd (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original
As October moves towards its end, a warm day occurred, and Ingrid and I lept at the chance for one more outdoor session. We have worked outdoors in the fall before, and I found Ingrid's colouring to work particularity well with fall colours.
Digital infrared original
I always try my infrared camera, even when a session (like this one) is expected to focus on colour. While the fallen leaves lack some of the luminescence I;m used to seeing from foliage, I really like how the infrared camera renders the old tree Ingrid is lying upon, and of course, how it renders skin tones.
Digital original
The primary reson for selecting this location was the small stream that flows through the forest; I had hoped to make some photographs of leaves swirling in the water, but unlike my first visit, there was not a lot of water flow...so all I could find was this small swirl below a fallen tree.
Digital original, 4 image stitch
The last image (above) takes full advantage of my 17mm TS-E lens; using the shift feature, the composition is made up of 4 separate frames (sifted up+left, up+right, down+left and down+right). This not only increases the resolution of the image (from 50mp to 75mp) it also provides me with a dramatically wider angle of view - approaching 9mm on a full-frame camera!

October 22, 2017

Fall Flowers (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original
As fall moves closer and closer to its transition to winter, there are still surprising gems to find in the Halifax Public Gardens. An afternoon of photograph provided me with a couple of gems, including the above and below images, of late blooming fall colours!
Digital original, 2 image focus blend
The above image is a great example of why I love my Sigma 150mm macro lens - the crazy-shallow depth of field, combined with the beautifully soft out-of-focus background. Just lovely.

October 08, 2017

Photo 101 Field Trip (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original
The fall flowers are out in full bloom at the Halifax Public Gardens, making it the perfect destination for a photo field trip.
Digital original
One unexpected advantage to photographing this late in the fall is low lethargic the bees get; in the summer you can hardly get your camera up in time before they scurry off, but in the fall, they tend to move slower, and stay at a single flower longer.
Digital original
The last image I made in this field trip is one of my favorites - it takes full advantage of the shallow depth of field my 150mm macro lens provides - and as an extra bonus, it is an image that totally relies upon colour - something rare for me.

September 14, 2017

The Citadelle of Quebec & the Old City at Night (Quebec City, Quebec)

Digital original
I was a little disappointed when I arrived at the Citadelle to discover it was an active millitary base, and thus (unlike for George, in Halifax) not available for casual viewing, or extensive photography...one has to take a tour, and on that, only a small portion of the fort was visited. All the same, I did what photography I could, as the tour moved around.
Digital original
As I wasn't able to actually explore the fort's architecture (casements etc), I focused on making images which would say "Quebec" - thus the above composition.
Digital original, 8 image mean blend
The last images of the day were made in Old Quebec; I'd worked out this composition earlier in the day, but wanted to do it as a night image, to get some of the magic of split lighting (man-made/natural). It took some time to create a version without any people, but the wait was worth it.

September 13, 2017

A day's Ramble (Quebec City, Quebec)

Digital original
With a warm and bright morning, we set off for a walk around Quebec City - first stop was unexpected - a sculpture along the waterfront by the grain elevators - quite a magical find.
Digital original
Father into the morning, I came across an interesting fountain - three pieces of bent steel, and I spent some time photographing it, using long exposures to both blur the water and remove passers by.
Digital original
The tourist density in Old Quebec during the fall was quite impressive - and perfect for a 2 minute exposure with a super long lens!
Digital original
After dinner, the evening light began to reveal some lovely texture on the walls of some of the older stone buildings in Quebec City.
Digital original
We crossed the St Lawrence River to Levis, to photograph the evening light & water show, with Quebec city in the distance. It was both fun and frustrating...one moment the light & water would be perfect, and by the time an exposure was begun, the moment would have passed.
Digital original, 4 image exposure blend
The last images of the night focused across the river, to Old Quebec, and Hotel Le Chateau Frontenac above it. It would have been great to have had the last light of sunset in the sky, but that light was long gone by this time.

September 12, 2017

A night's Ramble (Old Quebec City, Quebec)

Digital original
As we were walking around, I caught sight of this - interior lights streaming out through a store window onto the cobblestone outside. A lot of work with positioning went into this, using my 16mm wide angle to capture as much drama as I could.
Digital original, 6 image exposure blend
Hotel Le Chateau Frontenac is visible from many angles, but this view, partially obscured by the trees, seemed particularly pleasing. I was lucky to have a windless night, so the trees didn't move during the long exposure.
Digital original, 3 image exposure blend
On the way back to our hotel, we had to pass by this lovely floodlit building - careful timing with cars managed to capture some of their taillights streaming through the composition.

September 07, 2017

Interiors (Ottawa, Ontario)

Digital original
This image was made in the Canadian National Gallery - a simple (perhaps even Brutalist) stairway, it was just begging for a formal treatment.
Digital original
Sometimes, I think, architects annoy those who install safety equipment. I have no evidence for this, but it is something I truly believe.

September 06, 2017

Twilight Photography (Ottawa, Ontario)

Digital original
In 2008, I visited Ottawa and made an image of this bridge, but that one was in the winter, with snow and ice...so with free time for photography available on this trip, I felt I should redo it in the summer.
Digital original
The view back from the space overlooking the river permitted a nice juxtaposition of the state of Champlain and the Houses of Parliament.
Digital original
The last set of photographs of the night were of the giant spider about the set upon the National Gallery (another repeated image - this time with less success)

September 04, 2017

Fort No 1 (Levis, Quebec)

Digital original
Though this trip was focused on social elements (visiting with friends), as soon as I saw a sign for "Fort No. 1", I had to go. It turned out to be right up my alley - an 18th & 19th century fortification with full visitor access, and even permission to use tripods.
Digital original
A few of the original guns were still emplaced - all aimed towards the US border, as the assumed assault would come from across that line.
Digital original
By far my favourite setting in Fort No. 1 was the gun emplacements that looked into the moat - the light in the space was wonderful (though I still wish there had been a way to turn off the modern lighting).

September 03, 2017

Night Light (Levis, Quebec)

Digital original
Though it was lightly drizzling, the water & light show in the shore of Levis was still running - past it, across the river, lay Quebec City.
Digital original, 7 image exposure blend, 7 image blend
This was the view from our hotel window - I composited 7 images together to get the maximum traffic...Levis isn't very busy at night, apparently.

September 02, 2017

Kings Landing (Fredericton, New Brunswick)

Digital original
A living museum, King's Landing is a photographer's paradise, with lots to photograph, and no issue with permission or objections (as long as one avoids photographing the other visitors).
Digital original
This visit presented some challenges, as I was photographing hand-held; in this case, I was working with my tilt-shift lens, and used the in-camera level to ensure I had not distortion.
Digital original
Sometimes a human element makes all the difference to an image!