Photo of the Week 2012-12-31

Getting away for a couple of days between Christmas and New Years for some winter photography has become somewhat of a tradition (How long does it take to make something a tradition ? ... I dunno, it just feels like a tradition). For the past couple of years our destination has been Tobermorey and we thought we would change it up a bit this year by heading to Algonquin Park. The initial idea was to reserve a yurt and stay at Mew Lake Campground in the park which would allow us to get an early start to locations a bit more removed from the highway and possibly allow us to see some wildlife. As it turned out, the yurts were all booked so we went the more conventional route of booking rooms at a local Inn ... not a bad call given that temperatures dropped to -18*C the first night.

Rising from a warm bed to head out in the dark when temperatures are -18*C requires a bit of determination and a dose of encouragement from having another photographer along to keep you from rolling over for some more "zzzzzz" time. When we had the gear packed in then vehicle and climbed in, the temp gauge on the dash read -16*C but it had dropped to -18*C within a couple of minutes of setting out across Hwy 60 and stayed there until well after sun had risen.

Arriving at Mew Lake, we scouted around and selected a suitable spot to park and gear up for a hike on snowshoes in search of a spot to capture sunrise. It was not long before I was in a position to see morning light as it bounced off some clouds as it began to warm the day.

-18*C and rising

There is something about breathing deeply in the cold morning air and having your nostrils freeze together ... It was the start of another great day.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-12-24

With the official arrival of winter came the first local snowfall of any consequence in 2012, just enough to lay down a dusting of the "white stuff" and launch my official winter photography season.

I decided to get and early start and hike the nearby Watson Rd. section of the Guelph Radial Trail so I could be back well before noon. There was a blustery wind gusting and  skies were cloudy when I arrived at the trailhead ... in pitch dark. Sunrise was completely blocked out by the cloud cover and there wasn't much sense starting out before there was some daylight so I sat and finished my hot tea. Soon, the clouds would break up a bit and and it was time to head out.

After meeting up with a couple of friendly pups out for an early walk with their human, I took the trail loop clockwise and started the gentle climb to the lookout just in time for sun to start breaking through and announce arrival of this "winter morning". 

winter morning

DJE

Photo (series) of the Week 2012-12-17

Introducing ... Gus !

Sometimes I need photography to be just about capturing everyday moments, not about creating the next "Fine Art" image. What better to illustrate this than photographing a new puppy.

 Lynn and I had a trip to Toronto planned to get a number of things done and she suggested that we make time to stop in and visit her sister so we could check out the new addition to their family, Gus, a Bernese Mountain Dog. 

Like all puppies, Gus is a going concern, with needle sharp teeth that he loves to let you feel as he mouths your hand or tries to bite your sock, pant leg, sleeve or anything else he chooses. Don't let those "puppy dog eyes" fool you. Behind the cuteness there's puppy mayhem just waiting to explode.

Gus is going to be a big boy. Those huge puppy paws with cute pink pads give away the fact that he's from one of the big breeds. He should top well over 100 lbs when he's full grown.

All of these shots were taken during periods when he was resting or tuckered out completely otherwise he was trying to get up and personal with my lens or biting at my camera strap.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-12-10

After last weekend's outing to RBG for some extreme close up flower photography, I had an opportunity to go and shoot a band during a studio recording session. The session was in Oshawa and because I arrived later, they had already set up and laid down base tracks for the 4 songs they were recording but I was still able to capture some of the session for the guys.

Here, John lays down a vocal track for Ocean Pearl.

vocals - in the booth

For this shoot there were a number of challenges to getting some decent images in the recording studio setting. Space was limited, ligting was terrible for photogrpahy with incansescent bulbs, warm coloured wood surfaces and very low lighting levels. With the various booths having double glass windows and doors for acoustic, I was shooting through at least two layers of glass for most of the shots and since reflection and glare were part of the ambiance of the location, I just went with it. This image of John in the vocal booth I think illustrates what I'm talking about and IMO the reflections bring a sense of the environment to the image.

DJE 

Photo(s) of the Week 2012-12-03

 It's all about the blur...

... exploring the realm of macro photography with flowers after an inspiring presentation by local photographer and friend, Don Corby.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-11-26

I was busy most of this past weekend participating in a local Help Portrait event in Fergus ON. It's the second year a local event has been held and that I have been involved. This year was as enjoyable and as much fun as last year. 

All the images taken at the event were collected, printed and given to the clients so I wasn't able to bring any back. The plan is to provide the photographers with the files later, so I hope to have some images to share in the near future.


For this week's photo it's back to Rockwood from a week ago. My return visit to the conservation area on a misty Sunday morning provided more than enough images to choose from, this one in colour after working through a number processed in B&W.

Rockwood Repose

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-11-19

Now that colours have disappeared in the throes of fall, this weekend I decided on an outing to Rockwood Conservation Area and to shoot entirely in black and white.

The day started out with fog slowly dissipating as we drove to the location but a light mist remained for most of the morning to add some atmosphere to the images. The trail along the north side of the river did manage to provide some some nice scenery and with the water level about a metre lower than normal, the area had taken on a different look.

Rockwood Study in B&W II

I enjoyed the outing so much that when I woke up to fog again on Sunday, I decided to head back before driving to see my mother. Together the outings produced a number of decent images and reminded me that I need to visit this location more often.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-11-11

I decided to post a day early this week in recognition of Remembrance Day.

Another dawn they shall never see ...

This weekend I had my shooting planned around Remembrance Day activities in Guelph. It started with a 9:00 am ceremony at John McCrae house where I had the pleasure of meeting Derek, a British Veteran of Malaysia and we spoke briefly of some of his memories.

The image that stands out for me from the day's shooting was one I took earlier at the cenotaph as dawn broke, before the day's events had begun. The memorial, a Canadian flag and single cluster of red poppies were striking in the early morning light.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-11-05

I've had difficulty selecting a single image to present this week. As I mentioned in last week's post, there have been a large number of additions to my photo library since September and I've been going through them and posting a number to my flickr account. You can click the link jump to there if you like. I've simply selected the latest image from those posts as my Photo of the Week.

country roadside

After working hard to find a location for morning shooting, I have a number of favourites from the images that I made there... funny considering it was a desperation drive back a few clicks to get here in time for sun to rise over the horizon. Sometimes it just works ... other times, not so much.

DJE

    

Photo of the Week 2012-10-29

I've captured a lot of images over the past couple of months and I needed to make some time to go back through the catalog and find the gems waiting inside. I decided to go back to my Manitoulin trip in mid September. I arrived late Thursday evening in the pouring rain and took the time to shoot Friday morning before my work day started.

When I left the hotel early in the morning, I was about to head for breakfast at a local restaurant when I noticed the mist lingering and sunlight just beginning to flow around the scattered clouds. A location near fallow fields caught my attention and presented some great scenic opportunities as daylight arrived.


... picking a spot along a gravel road, I set up to watch as sunlight began to warm the morning.

warming touch of sunrise

... still more to come from this period.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-10-22

reflected palette

I have so many images from recent trips filling my mind with the beauty of Northern Ontario. This week's image is another from my growing "intimate landscape" series that focuses on select areas within larger vistas.

I'm not sure how long this leg of my photographic journey will last. I will enjoy while it does ... 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-10-15

colourful voice

This past weekend I was very busy with a Photography Show and Sale along with colleagues from the Guelph Photographer's Guild. For the 2nd year we ran the show and sale concurrent with the Guelph Studio Tour.

It was a frenetic couple of weeks leading up to the show, trying to get all my work ready for display in addition to being the organizer of our event. This year I decided to showcase a recent body of work with images made in the Killarney / La Cloche area of Northern Ontario. The images are part of a new series entitled "voices of the land". I blogged about the experience that has spawned this new work in a post last week.

This Photo of the Week is the one of mine that attracted the most attention during the show and much to my pleasure, was purchased by a local Guelph resident to decorate her home.

DJE

Voices of the Land

I have been inspired by my recent Photography Workshop experience. Suffering the feeling of being "stuck" creatively ... I met a new friend and they helped me free myself.

voices on the shore

This image was captured as I explored  "Conscious Camera Work", an approach suggested by Doug Wilson during his Killarney Fall Photography Workshop 2012. I found an isolated place on the shore, sat down, set aside my camera, closed my eyes and meditated ... for a moment, a minute, or longer ...until an image spoke to me.

My profound thanks Doug. You have helped me allow myself to photograph what I sense, hear and feel.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-10-08

The first evening of my recent photography workshop included introductions, a light photo outing and a talk on Conscious Camera Work by workshop leader Doug Wilson. After determining that all of the participants were experienced photographers, Doug rejigged the schedule to have us set out early on the second day for Grace Lake, a much anticipated location on the workshop agenda . A 6:30am departure from the dock and 45 minute boat ride to the portage left plenty of time for photography ... in near dark. Never one to miss a unique opportunity, I cranked up the ISO on the 5DMkIII, set a manual exposure and set about making images of the approaching horizon. This image was made about 15 minutes into our voyage as we exited the narrows from Frood Lake to Cranberry Lake.

Early Morning on Cranberry Lake

The morning was brisk. Some were bundled up wearing gloves and had raised the hoods on their jackets. Me, I sat and let the chill of the morning air wash over my face and hands as I took in more of the scene with every breath. Daylight was approaching rapidly, the warmth of it's arrival brushing over the horizon with an orange hue. It was ... cool, very cool.

Later that day we were asked to select up to four of our images to share with the others during an evening review session. It was not difficult for me to choose this one. I can still feel the freshness of the morning just by looking at it.

DJE

This bucket is half full ...

I know, the "Bucket List" is all about the things you want to do and the places you want to go before you "kick the bucket" but what do you call it when you partially complete something on the list?

This past weekend I attended The Creative Landscape - Fall 2012 photography workshop lead by Doug Wilson. Part of my reason for wanting taking this workshop was to return to the La Cloche Mountain area in fall and photograph more of it's beauty. An unexpected  windfall was learning, after signing up, that part of the workshop would include a visit to Grace Lake. Members of the Group of Seven found inspiration on its shores and surrounding peaks and while planning last year's fall trip to Killarney Provincial Park, Grace Lake was added to my list of must visit locations. In particular I wanted to visit Carmichael Rock were Franklin Carmichael sat and painted the surrounding landscape.

Amongst our workshop group there was some question as to the exact location of Carmichael's vantage point and once we arrived at Grace Lake it became apparent that this would not be the day I experienced the iconic view. More planning and time dedicated solely to the pursuit of this would be required. However, our guide for this outing, Mark Murton of Charlton Lake Camp, and Lynda, Doug's wife who had accompanied him on the workshop, both took time while the rest of us were busy photographing, to scale an adjacent ridge overlooking the lake. When I heard this I decided to do it myself, but by this time I had only 40 min to get up and back down before our planned departure which would not leave much time to enjoy the view from the top.

I set out at a brisk pace through the low bush and was quickly greeted by the sharp incline at the base of the white La Cloche quartzite ridge. After a while of climbing I was on the first exposed outcrop and paused to catch my breath and enjoy the view. Standing there in the quiet and gentle wind I heard th-thump, th-thump, th-thump, th-thump and realized that it was the sound of my own heart ... exertion or exhilaration, likely both, had it pumping strongly.

The final climb to the top required a fair bit of picking my way and switching back across the fractured rock surface until I was there ... and what a view !

A View of Grace Lake

The peak off to the right in the photo is where Carmichael Rock is located. 

Is it any wonder this landscape has inspired so many over the years? This view, although not from Carmichael Rock, is a view of Grace Lake, my view.

... and as far as my "bucket list" goes, this bucket is half full.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-10-01

When this blog entry is automatically posted I'll be in beautiful Northern Ontario just finishing up a 3-day Photography Workshop led by Doug Wilson at Charlton Lake Camp near Willisville. It's the first in a series of workshops I intend to take as I push boundaries on my photographic journey.

I've written before about my love of Northern Ontario and it's beautiful scenery, particularly in Autumn. There were questions about fall colours this year given the extremely dry weather we've had. With the significant lack of rainfall, would there be any colour?, would leaves just turn brown and fall off?, would ...

A recent trip to Thunder Bay and Kenora provided some answers. The yellow and green colours of the birch and poplar are prevalent in the area but there are also reds and oranges from maples and smaller brush and bushes. I was able to make this week's image during my drive along Hwy 17 just west of Thunder bay. The bright colours of the bushes were popping with the back-light from the morning sun in contrast to the white trunks of the taller birch.

birch 'n colour

There are a number of compositions from this location that are being considered for a print series and framing for the home gallery. The colours in the scene are vivid but I find that they display horribly on some monitors and displays that are not colour calibrated. In fact the image looks washed out on all but the high end Dell monitor I use for image processing. It's quite frustrating when the colour is such an important component of this image.

Ahhhhh, but then there is the print.

DJE
      

Photo of the Week 2012-09-24

Low water levels across the area provided easier access to some locations than one might normally encounter.

the other side of the bridge

Such was the case for this weeks image from "the other side of the bridge". The Irvine River joins the Grand in Elora just downstream of Elora Mill. Access to the Irvine gorge is easy via a steep staircase accessible from James St. The objective this weekend was to explore the upstream section of the gorge beyond the David Street Bridge as far a possible by hiking along the riverbanks without getting our feet soaked.

The weather was overcast and raining intermittently making for hazy, low contrast conditions with no detail in the sky to add interest to the scene. Undeterred we proceeded upstream for more than an hour, picking our way across slippery rock and ledges until we could go not farther without standing in ankle to knee deep water. The round trip took just under three hours including all the time taken for photography and we calculated only travelling a few kilometres at best.

Although not one of the most photographically productive outings I've made, it answered the question "what's up there?" and provided a new perspective of the David Street Bridge.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-09-17

one morning on the way to work ...

one morning on the way to work ...

 ... of course on this day I happened to be working on Manitoulin Island and when sunrise came to burn off the mist, I was there with camera in hand.

Manitoulin Island is becoming a favourite spot to go for photography. As a matter of fact, I'll be there again in a few weeks for a short stay after attending a weekend photography workshop at Charlton Lake Camp near Willisville.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-09-10

For the first time in quite a while I did not have plans to go out shooting this past weekend. Plans to attend a McMaster Engineering Alumni reunion and later a round of golf with my former classmates all but filled filled Saturday.

During the remainder of the weekend my photo related activities were limited mostly to selecting and preparing images for the 2013 edition of my calendar. I quite enjoyed going back through the full year of images from 2011 identifying possible candidates and then making the final selections.

One of the issues with making as many images as I do is not having enough time to enjoy working on more of them. During the time I spent looking through images for the calendar I was reminded of many good times and great places.

This week`s image is one that I had processed heavily to have a graphic sketch-like quality. There is something about it that continues to hold my interest.

The Gathering

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-09-03

I took a couple days of vacation recently to head up to Tobermory with a buddy for some photography. The Grey-Bruce area and particularly the Bruce Peninsula is a favourite location for landscape and nature images but there are countless old farm and rural structures that make excellent subject matter as well.

We left Guelph early in the morning so we could reach our first stop near Chatsworth while the sun would still be low in the sky spilling light on to some farm ruins and a small rustic cabin. My buddy had been wanting to shoot the cabin in the right light for a long time and I found interest in the farm ruins that had deteriorated significantly in the couple of years since I had first photographed them.

I crossed an area of knee high grass to get to the barn structure and found myself getting soaked from the dew. As I rounded the north-west corner of the barn, I saw light streaming through a large garage sized opening onto some goldenrod. I made a few images from this point of view and then continued around the barn. When I stepped into the light from the opening I was struck by the scene captured in this week's photo.

morning on the farm

It took a little bit of post processing to hold back the extreme brightness of the sunlight in the sky and then to bring out some detail in the shadow of the log roof over the opening.

It's encouraging when the first stop on a photo trip yields a great image.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-08-27

With the lack or precipitation this year I've watched the level in Guelph Lake continually drop to where it is lower than I can recall in the 25 years since I moved to Guelph. Normally when the lake level drops it's usual amount over the summer, stumps and features along a band close to the shoreline are revealed. I thought this may be a good time to check out the area and make some surreal shots of these normally submerged features.

I made a reconnaissance of the location with Lynn on Friday evening since the pre-dawn hours Saturday were not the time to find the right parking spot and trail to take. To my pleasant surprise, we were treated to a beautiful sunset and reflection on what remained of the calm water surface. I also got my first look at just how much the water level was down. At some points, the man made lake was more like a large puddle. We walked the shoreline (as it is) with Murphy for quite a while until light was lost beyond the horizon and I was able to make a good number of images that will add to my sunset library. Reconnaissance completed, home we went and I prepared my gear for the normal Saturday morning outing crossing my fingers for some fog.

Heading out with a photo cohort at 6am, it was soon apparent that the fog had not materialized to the extent that I would have liked. There was a haze close to the ground, just enough to create a mist on the horizon. We arrived at the location and walked along the muddy grey-brown exposed lake bed finding different elements and scenes to shoot. Then we turned a corner and I saw some algae at the edge of the receding water glowing in a patch of morning's light.

morning glow

Although a Blue Heron and a number of Sandpipers were in this area at various times, I chose to make this image when they had moved on. The lack of something to give scale to the image adds to it's abstract quality. I also shot this from a distance using a long focal length to compress the scene and use the thin layer of clearing haze to soften the details add add to the mood.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-08-20

Where do all the photos go?

Thanks to attending a 50th Anniversary Celebration where there were boards filled with photos of family moments, family snapshots if you will, that have resided in albums, shoe boxes, photo lab envelopes and lord knows what else for ... well decades, I have been stirred to make a committment to print one such snapshot from my digital libraries each week as a 4x6. Although I print my more "artistic" work often and even frame and hang a lot for personal display, I have not printed the more family related images with any regularity.
Today I started with an image of my youngest son, Jordan, taken while we were visiting my mother on her birthday recently. He was just sitting there listening to the conversation and I said " ... just sit there like that, now look at me ...  ".

"J" 2012-08-06

Click! And there you have it. A little more than a snapshot, but family moment for the archives, printed and now I need to find a shoebox ...


DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-08-13

tanglewood

DJE

Emma

I'm not sure if it's the hot dry weather we've been having around Southern Ontario lately but there seems to be an abundance of Queen Anne's Lace around. Everywhere I look it's growing in small roadside patches, empty lots or whole fields. Seeing so much if it planted an idea in my mind for a photograph, but I would need a willing model and a young girl at that. Fortunately a friend on Lynn's has a lovely daughter and was gracious enough to agree to let me photograph her.

Not only did I want to follow thorough and create images based on a concept, I also wanted to set out with a location, model and specific purpose in mind to get the experience. Here are some results.

 I'm very grateful to Marcy and Matt for their permission to post a few images from the session ... and my special thanks to Miss Emma for helping me out.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-08-06

No commentary necessary, just a peaceful scene from my early morning walk that speaks for itself.

morning light beckons

 DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-07-30

Sometimes it's in the details ...

marsh art

It was a 4:30 am departure on Saturday. Our destination, Luther Marsh, looking for a dramatic sunrise and hoping for misty water.

It was also a bit of a scouting mission for future outings as neither Alan nor I had been here before other than to drive by on our way somewhere else. Fortunately the GRCA has chosen to allow access to the main parking lot and provides a self-serve pay-station for those who choose to arrive early. This is something other Conservation Authorities should adopt. Hamilton and Halton lock the gates to their parking areas and parking on adjacent streets is prohibited. On more than one occasion I have arrived at the posted opening time at a Hamilton location to find the gates still locked, preventing access to photograph in early morning light. I digress ...

Sunrise was welcome if not very spectacular but did provide some warm light for our photography. We spent a few hours walking the trails around the marsh, swatting mosquitoes and horse flies periodically. At times like these my "eye" is challenged to look for something different to capture with the camera. There was a beaver swimming in seemingly random patterns near the damn, breaking the smooth calm of the water and a pair of loons feeding just off shore. There were the reflections of clouds and shoreline details on the water surface and morning light penetrating the trailside forest. And then there were the details.

 ... sometimes it's in the details.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-07-23

I've photographed at this location on the Grand River on several occasions and even sold a large framed print of one of the images. The spot has a quality that comes alive particularly when the sun rises over the trees on the north-east bank of the river. 

morning sun floods the field

We arrived around 6:00 am and after capturing the mist hanging over the river, I moved across the bridge and to the edge of the field just as the sunlight was flooding over the landscape. I moved off of the gravel road and into the field to place one of the larger mist larger spider webs in the foreground of this image. I know one of my companions on this trip snapped a shot of me behind the "No Trespassing" sign. It will no doubt make it to the interwebs at some point ... I will plead guilty.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-07-16

After a couple of late nights (for me anyway) it was an early start at 5:30 am to head north on Hwy 6 so we could catch morning light. The objective was warm sunlight washing over yellow canola fields.

A Wellington County Morning

Alan was driving and as we passed over the Irvine River I startled him by shouting "stop!" after looking east and catching a glimpse of the scene captured in this image. He found a suitable place to pull over on the far side of the bridge and we scrambled back across.

The early hours of daylight offer wonderful light and subtle colours. This time of year that means getting up at O'dark-thirty to head out and be on location before the sun gets too high in the sky and everything is blasted with harsh light. Some think that this is ... well, just stupid. I think this is why they invented the afternoon siesta.

;-)

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-07-09

Photo of the Week and a photo experience to remember, all in one ...

Joe, me and "One Light"

... with 300 or so watching.

I attended the One Light, Two Light Seminar in Toronto with the incomparable Joe McNally. This guy is a legend. He has photographed for National Geographic, Life, Sports Illustrated and so many freelance projects it is mind boggling. He's photographed big names like George Lucas, Bill Gates, Cher, Tony Bennett, Gregory Hines to name a few. He's done projects and assignments others can only dream of like "Faces of Ground Zero" . I'd previously attended another of his flash seminars and knew this one too would be well worthwhile.

Joe's always up for a challenge ... that's the only explanation I can come up with for why he would choose me as a subject to begin his lighting demonstration. With just one strobe, on camera, he is capable of manipulating the light, transforming it into something usable. Standing on stage I was trying to keep my attention on what Joe was saying as he took us through the basics of flash coverage, zooming the flash head and finally bouncing the flash off a white background to produce a larger, softer light source as shown in the image above.

One unexpected takeaway for me was the experience of being in front of the camera, particularly with someone like Joe behind it. He certainly has a lot of experience and almost got me to relax for a couple of frames before he let me go back to my seat and concentrate on absorbing all that I could from one of photography's masters.


DJE