Photo of the Week 2014-04-28

Rarely, there will be a photo outing or weekend where I'm not particularly satisfied with any of the images I make. This past weekend was one of those times when I joined a number of other photographers from the Guelph Photographers Guild on an outing to McLean's Auto Wreckers. This is a location I have been to before, and where I can usually find something inspiring to capture.
Such was not the case on Saturday. Although I made a number of images of deteriorating paint, rusting metal and broken glass, I came away with images that left me unsatisfied, at least to this point. Maybe it was the dull overcast day. Maybe it was the cold, damp weather. Maybe I just wasn't seeing it. Who knows?
Maybe one day further along in my journey I will come back to the set of images in my library and have something catch my interest. For now though, I'm not that excited about any of them. Rather than look for in the archive for an image this week, I've decided to share one that I've processed to bring out the grit and texture I found in the junkyard.

beyond repair

Not every outing is as successful as I would like it to be. 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-04-21

Everyone loves a sunset. 

As a photographer, my challenge is not only to capture the mood of a sunset but also to present it in a way that brings something different to the viewing experience. Sunsets can be very cliché and can too easily appear "snapshot"(ish). To avoid this and bring some interest to my sunset images, I start off applying the guidelines of good composition and modify using my experience to deliver my artistic vision of the scene.

This week's image is a good example to illustrate what I mean. Sunsets over Lake Huron and on the Bruce Peninsula are spectacular. It's one reason (of many) Lynn and I chose our cottage location. We see stunning sunset after sunset here. Our drive up after work on Thursday for the Easter long weekend had us north of Wiarton as sun was setting. I pointed out the colour through the trees to Lynn as we drove along Hwy 6. When we reached Ferndale Flats, the sky was aglow in fantastic fuchsia pink but it was just another spectacular sunset until ...

... until I saw the reflections. The farm fields of the flats were flooded with spring meltwaters and still in the calm evening air. Their mirrored surface reflecting the colours of the sky flashed as we flew by. Then as we passed one field in particular I noticed a gate that would provide a nice foreground element for an image and that was my signal to stop.

I approached the gate and surveyed the scene preparing to make some images. In my mind, composition guidelines; rule of thirds, leading lines, diagonals, "S" curves, foreground, mid-ground, background, depth of focus ... 

... the fence, open gate, horizon, pink splash in the sky and reflection, edges of the water.

fuchsia fields

It all came together to create more than just another sunset image. How many composition guidelines do you think I used ... or broke?

DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-04-14

This weekend's photo outing took us to Robert Edmondson (formerly Burns) Conservation Area in Halton Region. We arrived to a chained gate and signs that the area was closed .... pfffffttt. I parked outside the entrance and we decided to go in and see what the "closed" thing was all about.

As Patrick and I walked through the parking area we noticed that the trees and branches broken and downed, during the ice storm a while back, had yet to be cleared and cut up. We also noticed a new "User Fee Station". Our response ... "WHAT ?!?! They're going to charge to come here? How much ? $7.50 per adult ? You've got to be bloody joking !!! "

It seems the costs to change the signs from "Burns" to "Robert Edmondson" were too much for the region to bear. Oh I get that establishing and maintaining conservation areas comes at a cost and the "user pay" model is a fair way to recoup them but ...  by their own admission, Halton describes the area this way; "The park includes a reservoir and picnic area, and features a 2 km trail through wetlands and woods". Charging $7.50 per adult for a single day use of a picnic bench and 2 km trail is absurd. ThIs may be the last time I'll visit Burns errrr Robert Edmondson.

Halton's fees and restricted access early morning and evenings when light is best for photography have already severely limited my visits to their other locations like Hilton Falls, Mountsberg, Rattlesnake Point and Mount Nemo. Pity, it's getting more and more difficult to find accessible natural areas. Municipalities like Halton and Hamilton lock their gates and set fees that are becoming more and more of a deterrent ... for me anyway.

I did manage to make this image during the outing.

golden willows

 DJE

The power of photos ...

I believe in the power of photos and I am reminded of their power again today, and how important it is to share them, print them and pass them on. One such photo that has been passed down to me is of my Grandfather Ernie.

69 Years ago today he was killed in action in Holland. Obviously I never got to meet him, but what I do "know" of him comes from stories that are few, and photos that are fewer. On April 8th of every year I pause to look at this photo and reflect on his sacrifice and what life may have been like, had he and others not made the choice.

Sgt. Ernest James Garfield England

B673808 

Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment14th Canadian Hussars

Killed in action April 8th, 1945

Somewhere along my Photographic Journey, I thought to stop and create the tribute image below ... and yes it is printed to pass on.

In Remembrance

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2014-04-07

Spring on the Bruce ... this weekend I wanted to make images showing the arrival of spring.

Driving north to the cottage after work on Friday, I could see that with the arrival of spring, the snow cover had begun to diminish. Large roadside drifts now seemed less uhhmmm ... large. Open areas of the landscape were laid bare from the warm stare of the sun and spring rains. The runoff waters had begun to flow.

Arriving near dusk, there was still enough light to see the frozen surface of the bay flooded from the afternoon rain, the setting sun reflecting off the still puddle surfaces. After unloading the car and getting settled in, I went back to have a look and it was gone, lost to the darkness, at least until tomorrow, I thought.

Waking in the morning, it was still gone. A fresh dusting of (April) snow had arrived overnight and with temperatures below freezing, spring's complexion had changed. Undaunted, I still had in mind to make images depicting the arrival of spring this weekend, so off in search of them I went, with Lynn and Murphy.

A drive down Warner Bay Rd. and Eagle Rd. provided some new roadside scenery that whet my photographic appetite.

Early Spring on The Bruce

DJE