Winter Explorations with a New Camera (Bedford, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

This was among the first images I made with my new Sony NEX-5n; I was hoping it could serve as a point-and-shoot, and so far I am very impressed!

Digital original

I don't do a lot of winter photography - not being a big fan of being cold does something to inhibit it, but when I make images like this, I do wonder if I spent more time outdoors in winter, what kind of images would I find?

Digital original

Sometimes the ugly is also beautiful. I have had a long love-affair with fuel drops on we pavement, so when I saw this pattern in a parking lot, I scampered back to my car, got my Sony “point and shoot” and make this image.

New Book Arrived! (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

After many months of waiting, the Atlas of Contemporary Erotic Photography arrived today - a large, thick book with 59 photographers, including myself.  It contains a dozen of my photographs, in addition to an image of mine being on the back cover!

The Snowball (Halifaax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

A 16mm f/2.8 lens arrived yesterday, for the Sony Nex 5n, which I bought to replace my Canon G12. I saw this on the way downtown to ViewPoint, and had to stop to make an image of it.

The lens isn’t stellar, but with some careful post-production, it is far better than the G12 would ever have been!

New Work (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Today at a ViewPoint Gallery Open Print Review, I shared the first image of a new series I am starting - a desk of cards. The response was encouraging, with some interesting feedback, and suggestions for direction and inspiration. Now all I need is a year or two to complete it!

New Year's Day (Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 3 frame exposure blend

I've photographed this pool for years, enjoying the pleasure of working with the same subject under so many different conditions; for this New Year's day, given the lack of light drama, I decided to focus on pushing to both ends of the lens spectrum. I began with the above image with an 85mm lens, and the below image with a 17mm lens.

Digital original, 2 frame shutter speed blend, 4 frame exposure blend

Fall Retreat Day Two (Cape D'Or, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 6 frame exposure blend, 2 frame stitch

The morning light over Nova Scotia was quite interesting - as the sun moved up, it began streaming through the clouds, and providing some really great highlights in an otherwise bland sky.

Digital infrared original

Along the beach at nearby Advocate Harbour, a line of piles had been driven into the shore to prevent erosion. They were great to explore photographically.

Digital original

The last light of the day was even more colourful than the night before; the sky was a rich shade of orange, with only a few scattered clouds to provide relief.

Fall Retreat Day One (Cape D'Or, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

The sunset across the Bay of Fundy was just perfect; a long low band of red lit up the horizon, below a delicate clouded sky.

Digital original

The standing waves that formed at the end of the point at Cape D'or were fascinating to watch, and even more interesting to photograph. With the right shutter speed, the began to look like panned photographs, even though the camera was absolutely still.

Digital original, 12 frame exposure blend, 4 frame stitch

My favourite image of the sunset, this includes all the elements that worked so well - the dramatic colour of the sunset along the horizon, the strong lines in the sky, and the standing waves of the tidal rip off the point.

A Portrait of Ingrid (Ingramport, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

Created during a visit of our mutual friend (and fellow photographer, and model) Miles, this is probably my favourite portrait of Ingrid ever; she'd just found a crab apple in the middle of a sea of fallen leaves, and held it up for me to consider. The large f/1.2 aperture permitted me to focus on just the fruit, leaving Ingrid a mysterious figure behind.

Some Micro Photography (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 3 frame exposure blend

Created when a leaf was fused between two pieces of glass, this detail turns a minuscule part of this “failed experiment” into something of monumental beauty.

Digital original, 2 frame exposure blend

A different exploration of the same subject; the great thing about macro is that is you can find a subject that is of interest, it is really easy to get lost on all the possibilities when you get in close.

A Mutant Flower (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 20 frame focus blend, 2 frame stitch

As soon as I saw this Gerber Daisy, I knew it had to be photographed. The two-on-one flower was so unusual, I carefully lit it against a dead back background (having removed the stem) and then used ten frames of focus blend per composition (one left, one right) to ensure as much detail as possible was recorded for the final assembled photograph.