Photo of the Week 2023-05-29

Spring wildflower season is off to a crazy start on the Bruce Peninsula. The orchid bloom is still a while away but the Trillium are in bloom, and Wild Strawberry flowers are plentiful along roadsides. Another roadside wildflower making a grand presence during my walks along the cottage road network was Wild Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis.

 

The lovely red and yellow blooms were a surprise treat this weekend. The are common, and I regularly encounter them in small clusters but this year must they dominated the side of the road along a stretch near our place. Even so, my favourite image is of a single bloom against a shadowed forest background.

 

' Wild Columbine '

I told you they dominated the roadside

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-05-22

 

I find engagement and discussion with other creative spirits to be a catalyst for my own work and a case in point are this weeks images ...

Shot back in 2009 during an outing to one of the industrial areas of Hamilton ON, these images have been marinating on a hard drive ever since.

 

' log 'n crate - H '

 

' log 'n crate - V '

So why is it that these now see the light of day? 

 

Well first ... at a recent gathering, a photographer friend mentioned she participated in another group that explores inspiration, creative processes and personal style. My interest to learn more generated an invitation to join an upcoming session and see for myself. During the session, one participant commented on how going back through previous images, after developing new processing skills, could provide a life, or at least new life to those previously overlooked.

Secondly, at an informal coffee shop encounter, there was some discussion about leaving a significant amount of time between image capture and processing. This is something I do not incorporate in any purposeful way. Often I am quite eager to review, process and publish the latest and (what I think is the) greatest of my work. While I don't expect to change my process, I do see merit in going back through past captures with updated vision and skills.

Still, inspired to go back through the image catalogue and have a look, I found this pair of shots and processed entirely in Lightroom, with what I have learned in the years since. Had it not been for recent interactions with others in the photography community, these may have remained there, perhaps indefinitely.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-05-15

 

' (Even) In the Quietest Moments '

With the wind down and the bay calm, it was just right to sit, have after dinner coffee and let the serenity envelop us.

 

Taking it all in, I was drawn to the shape of the clouds following the profile of the shoreline trees. For the image,I moved along the shore in search of a composition that would offer a little more than a mirror image reflection. In this case the clear waters provide a hint of what lies below and the exposed rock breaks the reflection of the sky over the calm waters. I placed the horizon mid frame to emphasize the symmetry of the reflection.

 

I regularly make images of sunsets along these shores. The colours are without a doubt awesome and I dare day equal to those anywhere in the world. However the colours are not the only draw when in comes to a Lake Huron Sunset.

Title chosen with a nod to Supertramp, thanks for a great song ...

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-05-08

 

' below the surface '

I've been working to improve my sunset photos by including more foreground elements into the compositions. At first, I found it challenging from positions along the cottage shoreline. Last week's photo used a pair of chairs as foreground which worked fairly well, if a little cliche. Subsequently, I published an image using the silhouetted shoreline rock to add some foreground interest.

For this week's POTW, I chose to show the rock just below the surface of the water since it really is a defining characteristic of our shoreline and the waters of Hay Bay. I think it works quite well and intend to try it again when waters are this calm.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-05-01

 

A favourite place to just sit back, relax and enjoy the show ...

 

' best seats in the house '

 

DJE