Photo of the Week 2015-02-23

With all the publicity Niagara Falls has received in recent days, very cold temperatures causing much to freeze, I decided it was time for a trip there and some photography.

the watcher II

One of the challenges of photographing a location like Niagara Falls is to create something interesting, something different from all the tourist snapshots and that can be difficult when access to shooting locations is restricted and so scripted by the walkways, lookouts, barriers and such. Oh ya, and for my purposes, selfies were out of the question and man there were a zillion people standing with their backs to the falls holding phones, P&S cameras, and GoPros, quite a few on selfi-sticks. 

My plan for "different" would be to mount my 70-300 telephoto zoom on my new 7D MkII, allowing me to pick out details of the frozen bits while giving the new camera body a first run. It was snowing a fine snow in addition to the frozen mist from the falls so the improved weather resistance of  the 7DII would come in handy too.

As it was, I shot with the 7DII and tele setup as we walked up the walkway from Murray St. to the brink of the Horseshoe Falls and then switched to the 5DIII with 24-105 for some wider shots as we walked back before going for dinner. Thew resulting set of images included a number of potential candidates for "photo of the week" and as I began writing this blog post I was still undecided on whether I would select just one image or post several form the outing.

Given that I have a few people following the blog who have begun asking questions about my images, process, equipment and other aspects of my photography, I thought I would provide some of these details up front. I shot a total of about 80 images during two separate sessions at the falls, one before dinner, the other much shorter and after dinner to try a few images of the falls under coloured spot lights. I've already mentioned the gear I used and the reasons for my choices. Back at home I renamed and imported the RAW files into my Lightroom 5 Catalogue and keyworded for equipment used, location and subject specifics. 

Next was a first review where I rate candidates for processing 1,2 or3 stars and X for duplicates and deletes. Then I go back through and choose an image to work with. Once I make adjustments for exposure and white balance, I usually apply these to all images from that camera for the day. Then I decide if other processing is required. In the case of the Niagara Falls images, the light was flat, flat, flat so I bumped up the contrast on some and processed further in NIK Color Efex to add some tonal contrast. All images from this shoot got the same treatment in NIK, a program that I love.

That's about it, and this week I'm left with 17 images that make a decent set to show from the outing. This is way more than I normally get but it was dramatic Niagara Falls after all. A few of those images are presented throughout this blog post. It would have been tough to pick just one, but the lead image, "the watcher II" is one of my favourites..

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-02-16

dogs 'n halo

Sun Dogs are a phenomenon that occur when sunlight refracts off ice crystals in the atmosphere creating a pair of bright spots to either side of the sun. They are most conspicuous when the sun is close to the horizon (sunrise or sunset). Conditions must be just right in order to see the dogs and in the image above, one is faintly visible just left of centre frame.

On Sunday morning I had contemplated heading out to somewhere along the east side of the peninsula for some photography and if I was early enough, possibly a sunrise image. As it was, with temperature nudging -30*C without the windchill factored in, I decided it would be wiser to stick closer to the safety and warmth of "home". Since I was already bundled up after taking the dog for a short walk, I picked up a camera and headed down to the shoreline to be clear of the trees for an unobstructed view of the rising sun. As luck would have it, there was a sun dog, faint but perceptible along with a halo. I looked to find a foreground element, got down low, with the camera almost on the snow, to include the shape of the snowdrift and some branches in the frame and made the this week's image.

The conditions:
The weather forecast overnight predicted a temperature of -29*C with 40 km/h winds gusting to 60 km/h the windchill was -40*C. When Lynn and I returned to the cottage after dinner spaghetti dinner at the Tobermory Winter Carnival the night before, the wind was howling out of the north and blowing snow everywhere. Let me tell you, it was cold, bloody cold. I was thankful the wind had died down by morning. Still, the thermometer we have hanging on a section of privacy fence showed how accurate the weatherman was (for once). That's -29*C, just as forecast.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-02-09

I know that I'm not the first person to experience frustration with (in)ability to produce satisfactory results from a creative endeavour, but lately the results from some of my photographic outings have just not made the grade ... and damn it's been frustrating.

So this weekend I decided to switch things up and forego the regular outing with my friends to stay home and work on a few photo related projects. All involved printing, something that I hadn't done in well over a month, maybe even two.

I had to get the printer running to make sure the print nozzles don't clog anyway. This can be an issue if left idle for long periods of time and I have a printing session with a client coming up and wanted to be sure everything was in good working order. My usual routine is to print once a week, even if it's only a 4x6 proof, it keeps the ink flowing. With my printer, I also need to alternate between matte and gloss black once in a while to be sure each keeps flowing.

To get started, I decided to print last week's photo of the week. I frequently do this and take it to show my mother when I go visit her in the nursing home. It usually provides a talking point after the usual, what's new, how are you, how is Lynn, how are the boys ... but I digress. I needed to make a few changes to printer and driver settings and it took a couple of 4x6's to get things the way I wanted. Then I churned out an 8x12 that I was satisfied with. There, now what's next .... ?

Well, I mentioned I have been frustrated with my recent images, but there was a series of abstracts in the snow that I had spent some time processing to bring out the feel of what I had seen at the time. After some work, I had managed to develop a look that showed potential and I decided to give printing one of them a try ... and damn, I liked it.

snow fold

There is something very satisfying about completing a creative project, in this case seeing the final result, a print. In hind sight, my recent creative frustration may have been, at least partially, the result of not seeing my images through to completion in a print. 

My session continued with the printing of several other images and by the end I was feeling much less frustrated and ready to get out an make more images.

Note to self ... PRINT !

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-02-02

Hay Bay 2015-01-31

"... artists can make a living at something other than art in order to dedicate themselves to the imagination and it's expressive craft in their personal time." Shaun McNiff - Trust the Process

Much of my personal time is spent in activities involving or related to photography. The pursuit of higher quality, artistic, photographic images provides a great diversion from my activities related to "making a living". I feel refreshed and invigorated after returning from a successful photo outing, even one as brief as the one that included making this week's image.

Somehow, knowing that I must return to "making a living", the time I spend pursuing photography takes on a greater importance. I have a special appreciation for that time, the locations I get to, the subjects I photograph and the people I may spend the time with. Whenever I look at this image, I will remember the cold walk along the shore of Hay Bay with my wife as sun set behind clouds and blowing snow, before we headed back to the warmth of the cottage to prepare dinner.

DJE