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.