Camp 30

It’s fascinating to learn the story behind some of the locations I shoot on my photo outings. I read some discussion online about Camp 30, a WWII POW camp near Bowmanville ON that was used to confine high ranking German officers. After seeing some images and hearing about this place from a friend, it made my must see list.

Recently I found myself nearby this location and decided to check it out. I don’t normally visit abandoned locations alone but this one had a lot of potential for shooting out on the grounds without going inside the buildings. Once there, I had an odd feeling walking around this site of several acres adjacent to a subdivision. It was so close to the urban buzz yet so isolated. All shots with the exception of the gymnasium were shot through broken windows or open doors.

you first ...




















after the fire














camp library


game over


Here is a link to the story of Camp 30, enjoy ...
DJE

Photo of the Week 2009-12-28

grey skies
For this last POTW post of 2009 I've chosen a B&W image that reflects the weather over the past few weeks. Winter with virtually no snow presents a bleak canvas. I saw this scene while driving home the day before Christmas. I was struck by how the dark sky made the image top-heavy, turning the normal balance of bright sky and dark ground upside down. I attempted to process the image to bring out the white frost high on the trees. I could not quite replicate what I "felt" while looking at the scene, the sky seemed much darker.

Happy New Year All ... in case I get too busy to post again in 2009.
Cheers,
DJE

Merry Christmas

... gentle

Christmas time presents many photo opportunities, from winter scenes to decorated houses to families celebrating. For many years I have left my camera away to participate more in the family celebrations. This year I decided to enjoy one "pre"-Christmas celebration with camera in hand and enjoy a different interaction with the family.

The moment captured in this shot of my niece and her daughter speaks to me of a caring mother watching, guiding, teaching as Jessica explores the wonder of a decorated Christmas tree. I'm certain the moment would have passed me by without the benefit of looking through the lens.

Merry Christmas all.

Photo of the Week 2009-12-21

"frigid waters"

Something appropriate for the start of winter... Today is the shortest day of the year with local sunrise and sunset times of 07:51 and 16:48 respectively leaving just 9 hours of sunlight.

The transition from fall to winter is photographically challenging for me. The intense colours of fall have long faded and the clean bright canvas of snow is yet to come ... What to do? I decided to follow a suggestion from photographer Scott Bourne and mount the Lensbaby Composer to see things a little differently. I'm not sure I have the hang of using this lens yet, but experimenting and learning new ways to see is part of the journey.

I shot this on Saturday morning just after 8:00 am on a walkabout with photo buddy Alan Norsworthy (click and check out his work). The sun had just risen over the trees along the Speed River and was spreading a warm glow on the surface of the frigid waters ...

Photo of the Week 2009-12-14

dah dit dit, dit, dit dah ...

On a visit to Westfield Heritage Village for their Christmas event I found the light levels much lower than anticipated. Working by candle light and oil lamp must have been quite a challenge.

As I walked past the train station, I noticed the telegraph operator sending a message and snapped a shot through the dusty window. The light and haze on the window give this shot just the right atmosphere.

It turns out, he was sending messages from some of the young visitors to Santa at the north pole ... cute.

Photo of the Week 2009-12-07

winding stairs

When I visited St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal this summer, it was mid-day with clear sky and strong sun overhead. For me this provided an opportunity to pick out details and look for shadows. I only had a moment to grab this shot as there were a lot of visitors using these stairs and to be effective, the shot needed to be without a figure.

This has been on my HD for a couple of months and each time I see it, I like it more ... soon to be printed LARGE and framed.

Photo of the Week 2009-11-30

November, Day's End

Having a camera at hand is key to capturing those fleeting moments of magical light. On the way home from work, through Oxford County, the sun had slipped behind the clouds and broke through to light this scene at day's end ... and then it was gone.

Photo of the Week 2009-11-23

Montmorency mist
I enjoy going back through my catalogue of images from time to time. Usually I come across something that I have overlooked or that brings back the memory from the original shoot as it was with this image.
Lynn and I were visiting Montmorency Falls during our August vacation in Quebec. I had already grabbed the standard tourist shot of the falls and was looking for something different. I made several images of the plunge pool, mist and turbulence at the bottom of the falls and noticed some smaller streams of water to the side of the main falls. Down the stairs to get closer was perfect for a tighter crop with the mist back-lit by the afternoon sun. I had B&W in mind when I shot this ... it just took me a while to get around to processing it.

Photo of The Week 2009-11-16

down by the river

There are times when photographic opportunity is born out of failed plans. The plans in this case were to explore a century old stone factory before it is converted to luxury condos, but construction had begun, access would be difficult at best, so we decided to take a walk around the town.
New surroundings always seem to offer more. In this case we came across a riverside trail in town that presented a view to the back side of buildings along a main street. One building in particular caught my eye. I snapped a few shots and was frustrated by the tangle of leaf bare trees blocking clear view. In search of a clear view, we went down by the river ....
I could have stayed much longer, making images of the details, altering composition, taking in the reflections. I like the atmosphere of this shot because to me it has an "old world" feel to it. I just imagine this could be in Europe.

Friday the 13th - A "Six Pack" of images

Every Friday the 13th, motorcyclists gather in Port Dover, ON. This past Friday I joined a few of my photo buddies in a trek to capture some of the event. There was no shortage of subject matter ...

crowds with character

bikes with bling

the details


more here ...

Rememberance Day

Lest We Forget ... (2009)

... continuing a tradition that I started last year with an image each Remembrance Day ... to honour those who sacrifice.

Photo of the Week 2009-11-09

empty streets

So what do I do on a foggy Sunday morning after a day of hiking up and down gorges to shoot waterfalls the previous day ... well, I go out at 6:30 am to shoot scenes in the fog. The weather was perfect, absolutely perfect. I grabbed another coffee and my gear and headed for downtown (Guelph) along the river. It was just what I had hoped for, foggy, misty, moody .... perfect. There's a little underexposure here to emphasize the mood, I'm pleased with the result.

Photo(s) of the Week 2009-11-02

autumn's last glow


Colours this fall have been far from what I have come to expect with few flaming oranges. Scarce were the brilliant reds I had had hoped for. What colour there was in the leaves around home came on slowly and in a few short days turned and fell to the ground. For me, autumn 2009 will live in my memory as hues of yellows and golds. It's all but done now for another year.

backyard bench


dam fall in Elora

Photo of the Week 2009-10-26

I visited Muskoka Wildlife Centre again for another photo encounter with the wolves ... even though this male and his companion female are human imprinted, it's quite an experience getting within arm's reach of a full-size adult wolf and have them look you in the eye.

Photo of the Week 2009-10-19

Balls Falls Fall

It seems that all my POTW posts so far include water ... hmmm, I wonder if it means something.

I went on a "fall colour tour" with a group of friends from the Guelph Photographers Guild on Sunday. We decided on a specific portion of the Niagara Fall Colour Tour and made only one stop, at Balls Falls. That was all I needed, there was so much to see and shoot. I could have stayed much longer, but climbing the gorge and rocks with a fair bit of gear for 3-4 hours was enough for me.

Photo of the Week 2009-10-12

On a recent business trip to Northern Ontario and the north shore of Lake Superior, I made some time for photography. The most memorable element of the scenery during my trip was the cloud cover which made for dramatic images including the sky. Here's just one example:

Marathon Sunset

Photo of the Week 2009-10-05

I chose Saturday morning to get out and shoot this weekend. The weather was fairly cooperative and rain held off for the most part. I went to some nearby waterfalls with with some friends to capture the early fall colour there ... funny, the image I like best forom the shoot is in B&W. I took this at Ancaster Mill Falls (upper). Shot with my Lensbaby Composer, a tool that helps make some very interesting images ...

LB @ Ancaster Mill

Photo(s) of the Week 2009-09-28

I recently visited Atlantic Canada for the first time. There was so much to see and photograph, Lynn and I were talking about returning even before we had left. For this week, here are three images from the trip.

Fredericton Walking Bridge


low tide at Alma harbour



still waters

First Post

I'm going to try something new here in creating this Blog.

For the past several months I have been sending a "Photo of the Week" to some friends and co-workers via email. It all started when a couple of people at work became interested in photos that were cycling on my notebook screen as a screensaver. I think it went something like "did you take those ....' and then it just spread. I'm out making images virtually every week and sending out the Photo of the Week has provided motivation to become better, search for new subjects and try to find the creative side of my engineering brain.

I thank all of those who have put up with my emails after saying "sure send them to me" or unwittingly asking "why am I not on the list?" then being bombarded every week. The interest those friends have shown has rekindled my passion with photography and the fire burns more now than ever before. I hope that in beginning this, I find even more ...

... so here it is, my first shot at a blog, mostly for that "Photo of the Week" with some background on each image when it fits, and maybe some other tid-bits along the way.
I hope you enjoy, I know I will.

DJE