Photo of the Week 2015-08-31

It was a busy weekend ... 

In addition to spending some time at the cottage tearing down a shed, my younger son Jordan and I finished off with a sightseeing flight over the Bruce Peninsula. We had planned to take the flight on Saturday but weather conditions were bad. They improved on Sunday so we packed up and headed to Owen Sound for a 3:00 take-off.

There was more haze than I would have liked for photography, but the views were breathtaking as we crossed the peninsula to Sauble Beach then made our way up the Huron coast over our cottage on Hay Bay, on past Tobermory and down the Georgian Bay side.

I found photography from the plane quite difficult with window glare, reflections and the atmospheric haze but managed to get a decent image of a section of the north shore of Hay Bay that where our cottage is (lower right).

  
We made several passes over this location and each time we came around into position, we ran into turbulence that made shooting near impossible. I have several better compositions that are far too blurry from camera (plane) shake.

Clouds moving in also cast shadows over some parts of the scene just when we made these passes. Still, I'm quite pleased with the image above and will likely frame one for the cottage wall.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-08-24

After noticing an immature Bald Eagle sitting on the rock at our shoreline early in my latest week of vacation at the cottage, I began keeping watch in the mornings. A couple of days later I was treated t a fly-by from one of the parents, though not as close as I would have liked.

Since these encounters,  I've spent an hour or so each morning around 7:00 am, sitting at the shore with coffee and camera hoping for a chance at an image from a much closer distance. Still, just seeing these magnificent birds in their natural environment is a thrill.

Sunday morning I sat and watched as the juvenile flew across the mouth of the bay and met up with the adult. Much to far off for anything other than a shot like this ...

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-08-17

"... activities focused on repetition tend to increase our awareness of variation. I have also found that repetitive expressions tend to liberate me from the self-imposed pressure to be 'creative' and 'innovative'. As I stick to the task of repetition I discover how the creative process varies itself."

                                                                                            Trust The Process - Shaun McNiff

In creating or selecting an image for this blog each week, I have been faced with the recurring dilemma of creating something new, selecting something different vs. using something similar to a prior post. Allowing repetition, if not focusing on repetition in my creative efforts may help me overcome the mental block imposed by my desire to always "find something new".

Thus far, I have always found more inspiration in the freshness of places and subjects new or unfamiliar as evidenced by my efforts to seek out a new trail or new location to explore. The task of always finding something new is daunting and can dampen the creative spirit.

Readings on the creative process, and particularly quotes like the one opening this blog post, help me to assess my own creative journey and understand how seeking out the new and unfamiliar, revisiting the same subject and experimenting with different media and techniques all play a role in creative development.

For me this week's image is not simply another image of sunset along the shore. It was born of an effort to explore the familiar, to be open to what I may be given, to accept it and just create.

taming waters

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-08-10

This weekend at the cottage, I began reading a book I purchased a couple of years ago, "The Bruce Beckons" By William Sherwood Fox. Written over half a century ago, the book's introduction opens with "AT his first sight of the Bruce Peninsula the visitor cannot but be aware of a land astonishingly unlike any he has seen before."

For me, The Bruce is unlike anything else, anywhere else. I have likely mentioned in a previous post, that growing up in the suburbs, east of Toronto, my northern vacations were usually spent in the Kawartha's, or maybe Muskoka. Then there were no treks west past Owen Sound and north along Highway 6, up the spine of the Bruce Peninsula.

It is now, at this stage of life that I have the good fortune that allows me to experience this unique area regularly through all four seasons. With so much waiting for me to explore, it may seem a bit of a cheat for me to spend so much time close to my home base on Hay Bay near Tobermory, but with sunset scenery like this a regular occurrence, I don't have to go far for a great photograph.

On Saturday evening Lynn asked if I wanted to go down to the shore and watch the sunset. Why not ...

DJE

Photo of the week 2015-08-03

"Shore Songs" 

- a series of images depicting rock and water scenes that sing of northern beauty -

This series of images became a personal favourite instantly as I began making them one fall evening back in 2012. My satisfaction with the entire set (now 14 images) has not waned, actually, I like the set more and more as time goes on.

A print of one image sold a few years back to a local client for display in her home. I personally delivered the finished framed print and will never forget how please she was to see it hung. I love to create my images and prints but it is a special feeling to have someone appreciate them enough to purchase and display them for their own enjoyment. I cannot express how grateful I am to those who appreciate my work enough to have acquired a print for themselves. The creative fire burns and it burns a little longer and a little hotter when stoked.

Prints of images in the series can be seen and are available in the "Shore Songs" gallery on my Fine Art America page or as Signed, Artisan Crafted Giclée Archival Prints by contacting me directly.

DJE