Photo of the Week 2014-05-26

A week of vacation started Saturday morning with a leisurely drive to the cottage in Tobermory after making sure I had enough photo gear packed ;-)

We arrived around noon, unpacked, then got settled in and just kicked back for the rest of the day. Then, after dinner I went down to the shoreline to check out sunset and possibly make a few images. Being careful to watch my footing on the uneven rock while looking for a suitable point of view, I noticed a small flower growing out of a crack in the dolostone. For reference, I grabbed a quick shot of it and made a note to come back in the morning with my macro lens. 

Admittedly, I'm far from an expert when it comes to identifying flora and fauna, but I am learning and intend to photograph many of the species I encounter on the Bruce. This time with the help of my wildflower reference book and I was able to determine that the pretty little specimen was Bird's-Eye Primrose or Dwarf Canadian Primrose.

Bird's Eye Bug

I've noticed several other flowering plant species so far during the weekend's outings. It should be fun photographing these spring beauties and learning along the way.
 
DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-05-19

Finding Inspiriation: A day-trip this weekend, to Toronto, the AGO and Contact Photography Festival, left me with more questions than answers.

The Contact Photography Festival runs through the month of May each year, spread over much of Toronto at a wide variety of sites. I have made the trek a few of times in recent years and it always involves a lot of walking and searching to find the exhibits. 

This year, Alan, Patrick and I decided to throw in a stop at the AGO to see the Bacon-Moore exhibit and it's a good thing we did. The short story is that I have drawn more of my inspiration from the work of other photographers than from artists in other media. The Contact exhibits that we visited, did very little to inspire me. They served more to show me where I did not want my photographic journey to lead. Some of the work presented was no better than random snapshots that feign artistic vision. Artists / photographers are free to create what they want, to each, their own. But what I saw of this year's Contact was out of touch, a big disappointment in my eyes.

Thankfully there was the time at the AGO. I'm still pondering my first exposure to the work of Bacon and Moore. It was the work by Canadian artist Evan Penny in the "art as therapy" exhibit that caught my eye, and in particular when I read what was written about the work ...

Stretch #1 - by Evan Penny

"He Could be anyone. It is a portrait of the normal anxiety of adult life - the daily background stress around money (among other things), of how it feels  having to compete year after year to keep your head above water ..."

DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-05-12 ... well, actually May 11, Mothers Day

Recently, in an email I received from a friend responding to my Photo of the Week Blog posts, there was some thoughtful feedback.  Plus someone I had not heard from in a while had taken the time to write and comment about a number of my images. In particular, there was mention of how she enjoyed my non-nature work, how she "would like to see what I could bring to everyday things" and the suggestion to maybe "get out of the woods for a while".

It's always nice to friends and I appreciated the sincerity of the email. It got me thinking and although I'm sure I won't be out of the woods for long, I did focus on something different this weekend.

Mothers Day 2014

I challenged myself to create an image from my Mothers day visit with Mom, that would convey the feeling of our time together and the relationship we enjoy. I'm satisfied with the result. 

Thanks for the suggestion Janice ;-)

Photo of the Week 2014-05-05

It seemed a while since I had set out on a purposful photo specific outing while staying at the cottage. Most of the images I had been making on "the Bruce", since my First Light outing the morning of Jan 1st, were made while out walking Murphy, hiking with Lynn and the boys or short solo jaunts here and there. Not that any of that is a bad thing, but Lynn had recognized that I needed something more focused and urged me to get out solo for some shooting. So that's what I did.

When I got up around 5:30 Saturday morning and looked outside, there was a breeze that appeared to have blown away any chance of fog hanging around. Disappointed, I settled in to sit and have coffee and enjoy some quiet time. I kept an eye on conditions outside and within 30 minutes as it was brightening outside, a thick blanket of fog descended over the water of the bay and I gathered up my gear.

I had a couple of locations in mind that I had been wanting to photograph shrouded in mist. Off I went (to test my new BOGS boots if I strayed too far into spring meltwaters) and a few hours later, I had a number of images I was eager to see on the PC display. Here's a sample.

awakening

There are a number that will likely make it into framed prints for the portfolio or gallery in Tobermory.
:-)

DJE