Photo of the Week 2025-08-25

 

On a solo drive up north with plans to pick up some supplies in Tara, I used the opportunity and took a scenic route, visiting several historical mill sites in Grey and Bruce Counties along the way.

 

I made a number of stops, the last being near Park Head where the remnants of the chopping mill proved difficult to capture in an image. They sit on private property, back from the road with an obstructed view from the bridge over the Sauble River. Across the river the property is also private and an occupied residence, so my selection of viewpoints was very restricted. 

 

' Park Head Chopping Mill Ruins '

Working in mid-day sun, I also had an infrared converted camera along and it provided some of my favourite images form the day. Here, shooting from the bridge approach where a path dropped down to river level (for fishing access I suspect), I was able to compose through an opening in the leaves to show a glimpse of the deteriorating structure. Processing the image in high contrast B&W, sets the wood and masonry out in dark nicely against the white foliage.

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-07-14

 

My return to shooting film is certainly not an abandonment of digital, I will continue to shoot with modern digital cameras. This leg of my journey still sees me wielding some of the most advanced digital camera bodies and lenses available in addition to 40-50 year old film SLR's with manual focus lenses. At times these worlds collide and vintage manual focus lenses find their way onto digital bodies by way of mount adapters that became popular with the introduction of the mirrorless camera format.

 

As of this writing, I have been using local processing labs to develop film and provide most negative scans with processing and any printing done using my established digital workflow. At some point there will be a return to the darkroom, first to develop B&W film. Wet darkroom print development is a possibility but a ways down the road.

 

Combining Film and Digital, some call it " Figital " , is an interesting hybrid experience. I have been abruptly reminded of dust, scratch and fingerprint issues with negatives. The images in this post were scanned at home using an Epson v500 photo scanner I picked up used with negative holders sourced from a 3rd party. The native Epson software for scanning was easy to use though admittedly I have not had a lot of experience with it and would like to investigate some of the advanced scanning options. Film used was Ilford XP2 that had expired back in the 90's. Following some online advice, I decided to increase exposure x2 by rating the film at ISO 100 and then had it processed normally in C41 process as designed.

 

' white clapboard church '

 

 

 

' sunlight sermon '

' fence & monument 

' post interment '

 

' buggy barn '

 

 

 

 

 

I have a number of takeaways from shooting this roll and working with the resulting images. The capture experience with the Canon FTb-n was quite enjoyable. The camera is fully manual with 'match-the-needle' exposure setting using the shutter speed dial on top plate and aperture ring on the lens. Of course the lens was manual focus and the film had to be manually advanced for to the next frame, something that I kept forgetting to do as I've gotten used to the conveniences of digital. A note on film advance, I've decided not to advance the film after I make an exposure but wait until I'm ready to shoot again. This will leave the shutter uncocked (no spring tension of the shutter) in case I don't make any more images and the camera sits unused for a bit. The mechanisms were robustly built back in the day but like me they have seen a few years so no need for more tension than necessary ;-)

 

More of my thoughts on Figital in a future post ...

 

'click' 

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2025-07-07

 

I always knew there would be a return to film for me at some point in this photographic journey, it was just a matter of when ...

 

' bricked '

 

 

After attending a vintage camera fair in Etobicoke, went to explore the nearby Humber College Lakeshore Campus. I wanted to walk around the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital site to see some of the preserved brick buildings, now repurposed by the College.

 

I had a roll of Ilford XP2 loaded into my Canon A-1, and shot with both an FDn 17mm f/4 and the FDn 24mm f/2 that I used for the image above. I chose the XP2 for quick turn around processing at a local photo store / lab. They also provided scans of the negatives, something that I'm preparing to do myself, along with processing of 'conventional' B&W film. Any colour, and XP2 will still be sent out for development.

 

Here is a shot of "H" Building, originally one of the "cottages" where patients/residents were housed.

 

' "H" Building '

Still early in this leg of my journey, though several weeks and rolls of film since I shot film for the image above, I'm not sure when it will lead. And I'm excited to see where that may be ... 

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2025-05-12

 

This photographic journey has taken a turn as of late, a return to be more accurate. It's had me very busy reading, researching, remembering, reacquiring ... more on the "for what" in the weeks to come but for now, it has seen me more with book in hand, out checking resources or (mostly) at the computer rather than out with camera capturing new images. 

 

So again, I found myself without recent images ready for regular posting and dove into the archives. There I found a collection of images made back in 2012 on a foggy spring afternoon when I was experimenting with a then 8 year old 8MP camera. I had picked up a Canon 1D MkIIN to see if I wanted to make the jump to their top tier camera body for the integral grip form factor (I decided not to).

 

The resulting images have been marinating on the hard drive since then and I have no explanation as to why, but you can see a select set in recent social media posts on my FB, Insta and flickr. This week's photo is my favourite of the set.

 

' woodland mistery '

My decision to process and present the bulk of these in B&W is likely a result of my recent activities. Processing is not a simple B&W conversion of a colour file but includes manipulation of the bright and dark tones for a look I find reminiscent of orthochromatic films in the past.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2025-03-10

 

' Moody Skies at Burnt Point '

A Black & White treatment seemed appropriate for the moody skies over Georgian Bay ... well it did given I've been working to keep B&W as an option when shooting and processing.

 

As I work my way through captures from last year, I came across this image that I liked but lacked something in colour. I decided to flip to B&W and process to the moody feel that I had when viewing the scene in person.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2025-02-24

 

A recent presentation on B&W photography got me thinking that it's been a while since I processed or shot anything specifically for B&W. So with that in mind, I had a go at B&W 2 different ways ...

 

1. A reprocessed colour image from a recent post in B&W

 

' B&W maple morning '

 

2. A winter reshoot at the location of a recent post, shot for B&W processing

 

' winter maple morning '

I'm not sure that either work better than the original colour version, but it was an interesting exercise and another part of 'The Journey'

 

... the original ...

 

' golden maple morning '

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-09-11

 

' lace in a bottle '

An interesting empty wine bottle and a stem of Queen Anne's Lace backlit through the glass of our cottage door

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-06-05

 

Have you ever felt like you're being watched ? 

I make time for a little whimsy in my photography now and then, and on a recent outing I captured these faces of our 'friends in the forest'.

 

Some of us see things like this all the time. Others struggle to understand what we try to describe as we point into the sky, the clouds, a rock formation. The experience is known as Pareidolia.

 

Me, I regularly identify faces and figures in the fabric of nature ... and sometimes I stop to photograph them.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-04-03

 

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked if I would meet with him to discuss infrared photography. He had seen some of my work and was curious about the equipment I used and processes involved. He has a piano service business in town and we met at his showroom / workshop.

 

I was treated to a quick tour around before we got started. Now my knowledge of pianos is very limited to say the least, but I was intrigued by the patterns, textures and details I saw. So after we concluded our chat about infrared, I asked if I could come back some time and wander around with my camera(s). He graciously agreed and when we met again several days later, I was prepared to let myself loose... in detail and shallow depth of field mode.

 

' tightly strung '

Using a couple of different lenses, my 70mm f/2.8 macro and 50mm f/1.4, I returned to a style of photography that I have not enjoyed for some time. A handful or more years ago, shallow depth of focus was something I used quite frequently in my images.  

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2022-08-29

 

It's over two months since returning from Scotland and I still have images to publish ! But I am getting close to exhausting the inventory of yet to be processed, yet to be released captures from the time in 'Alba'.

 

I've never been one to "dump" a large number of images on social media at one time, likely never more than 10, but I'd have to check back to be certain. More often than not, it's no more than a handful and often only one select image, particularly when I'm not showcasing a collection of images from travel or some other photocentric outing.

While working through my set of captures from Glasgow and the time at the Necropolis, I came across one in particular that I very much like. It was from the infrared converted EOS M and converted to B&W in NIK SilverEfex with my favourite high-contrast preset, it just jumped at me. So impressed, I called to the 'missus' and said, "This is a winner, this is an instant favourite, this will be a photo of the week for sure !" Now, it may be a winner to me, one of my favourites, but your mileage may vary ... let me know what you think.

' eternal rest '

Upon seeing this file processed in B&W, I was reminding of something theatrical, something animated, something from a graphic novel or animated video. I still haven't put my finger on just what that is but I have a feeling it was a scene from an animated video. Perhaps a cemetery scene from an animated Batman movie ... where the seated figure, a villain, rises and walks into the night ...  Oh my imagination ;-)

The colour version from another camera and lens combo is interesting in it's own right, just not so much as the IR B&W in my opinion.

  

 

Note: These images are of the grave and memorial to Charles Tennant, Chemist and Industrialist. Hi 'is' one of the more notable residents of the necropolis and namesake of Charles Tennant & Company still in the chemical business today. One does have to wonder at the inspiration behind some of these more unusual memorial sculptures ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DJE

 

Photo of the Week 2022-02-07

While shooting some IR images on a forest trail recently, I also had my eye tuned for B&W scenes with a 'regular' camera.

 

' tracks in forest light '

As I entered the forest there were snowshoe hare and coyote tracks running every which way. At one point, in the middle of the trail, the coyote tracks circled round and round obscuring all others. I envisioned a scuffle and promptly looked and found hare tracks exiting the spot.

 

I spent a number of minutes standing still, scanning the area. Fresh tracks suggested at least one hare had been through not long ago. After a while I moved on down the trail and caught this image above, of track in deeper snow coming towards the main trail and heading off into the forest on the other side.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2021-10-11

 

Feeling a resurgence of creativity in recent days ...

 

' emergent '

 ... where sky, water and rock come together.

 

Maintaining creativity requires nourishment in a balanced diet, the work of others, new experiences, familiarity and room to breath among the menu items. It also requires an outlet, online, to clients or for personal pleasure. One or the other can be interrupted for a time but without nourishment, my creativity withers in time. Without an outlet, the process backs up and and slowly comes to a halt. To use a familiar (to me) analogy, it's like a sourdough starter. You can put it away for a while but it needs to be fed from time to time and at various points you are going to have to use some, discard or give some away. This is how it works ... for me anyway.

These last couple of years, COVID times, have made it difficult to find the nourishment for my photographic creativity. For a time the archive sustained, restrictions limiting, the familiar not enough as time wore on. There were always outlets, social media, online and this blog but it more would have been better.

 

Recently, the return to fall, my love of the colours and changing seasons has provided fresh sustenance. I'm out walking trails, enjoying forests and the outdoors with camera again. Photo projects for business clients too provided new opportunities, reviving old acquaintances and more recently some print sales adding to the mix. 

 

Here's hoping that it's uphill into the light for a while ....

DJE

 

Photo of the Week 2021-09-20

 

... another from a recent outing in Old Cambridge (Galt) with some other (Guelph Photographers) Guild members.

Arch two Arches

An up-river view framed by the arch of the pedestrian bridge over the Grand.

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2021-09-13

 

It has been a while, it seems, since I've wandered about with a camera in urban settings. 'Street Photography' has never really been my thing, but I used to enjoy regular walks in different urban areas with my photo friends.

This past weekend, with COVID restrictions lifting, the Guelph Photographers Guild held it's first outing in several months. It was good to get out, good to walk with some other photographers, good to renew face to face friendships.

The location chosen was Historic Downtown Cambridge, Ontario (a.k.a. Old Galt), and several of us enjoyed a morning outing along the banks of the Grand River, the Old Mill ruins, some downtown streets and pathways. Much of the area was familiar from previous visits, but I let my photographer's eye roam, searching for something 'new' to shoot. Standing in front of an imposing old building wondering what it was, I looked up and saw it's name against a delicately clouded sky.

The Old Galt Public Library - B&W

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2021-09-06

The forest cycle ...

 

' down and decaying '

With COVID, crowding, controls and constraints, accessing the public areas of 'the Bruce' has become a "crap" show over the past few years. Parking reservations required weeks in advance at most BPNP locations now make impromptu outings impossible. Quick walks at Little Cove, Halfway Log Dump and Burnt Point now all demand parking and daily use fees totalling $20 per visit. And don't get me started on the annual passes. I bought a Family Discovery Pass last year before they closed the f'n park to visitors making my $130 pass fee a donation to the Federal Government since whey would not honour an extension into this season. 

 

This has had a significant impact on my photography. I now spend most of my time staying at our place or on local roads and secondary trails. Sunsets and skies with occasional wildlife is the usual subject matter around the England abode. Wildflowers, trees, forest light, with a critter now and then catch my eye on my modified treks.

 

The sights and scenes can be different and can require a different "eye" ... in this case B&W.

So this week I bring you 'down and decaying' ... like my hopes for a return to 'the Bruce' that brought me to the area. Will I find my peninsula muse again, or just 'move' on ... time will tell.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2020-12-21

 

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.

 

- Robert Frost -

 

The woods are lovely ...

Wanting some time, both with a camera and in the woods, Preservation Park, close to home on a foggy last day of fall was the perfect spot for a morning wander ...

details: Shot on a dual-spectrum (visible & infrared) converted Canon EOS M with  EF-M 18-55 mm, Kolari 550 nm filter, exposure 1/8 s, f/8, ISO 200. B&W conversion in Adobe LR  Classic, additional processing in Adobe PS CC with Topaz and ON1 software.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2020-01-06

Now that winter has arrived, there should be more B&W imagery from me. There usually is when colours are gone and contrast is high with the bright white snow blanketing the ground.

I'd been on the lookout for fog and possible hoar frost in these colder temperatures and not too long ago conditions were right. Lynn had mentioned frost after returning from her morning walk with Murphy and that was enough to get me grabbing camera gear and a travel mug of coffee to head out for a morning drive.

forest frost flower

 
DJE

Photo of the Week 2019-08-26

Well ...

... after a recent stumble followed by a stagger (or two), causing me to set about questioning why I photograph, how I photograph, what is it I'm trying to do with my photography, I wasn't making any headway. In fact I felt like I was regressing, going backward and downhill ...

Then as so often happens in life, I had a breakthrough !

Thanks to the suggestions and feedback from a number of people, some close friends and others who serendipitously offered some sage advise. Whether known to them or not, their conversations and comments were very, very helpful.

One suggestion to review the highlights of my blog over the past ten years helped me to reconnect with what inspired me ... amongst other things, this "reinspired" me - Thanks D-L H

Another, in part of a conversation over lunch, helped me to understand how my process of creating images had changed over time and perhaps not for the better from an experiential or gratification perspective - Thanks TB

Others, with their support and urging to continue, to move forward, helped lift my spirits in which I found motivation and energized me sufficiently for me to seek a path forward - Thanks LME, DC, HB and others ...

With renewed vigour, I may just be ... over the rut.

over the rut - IR B&W

In fact, rather than having difficulty finding an image for this week's blog post, I've had difficulty selecting just one from a purposeful and fulfilling outing to McQuillan's Bridge, a local landmark that I've been meaning to capture for some time.

A mid-day outing in full sun, with my Infrared converted EOS M, resulted in a collection of captures that I processed with various plugins to create B&W and False Colour IR images. It's been a while since I've been so satisfied with the experience and results of an outing.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2019-08-19

Keady Trees IR - 2019-08-18

I've been out with my infrared converted camera lately, a Canon EOS M that I had modified by Kolari Vision in the US. They performed a 'Two Spectrum' Conversion that leaves the camera sensor sensitive to visible in both the visible spectrum and infrared spectrum.

With unsettled weather starting to move in and the building behind the trees now gone, I decided it was time to make another image of the 'Keady Trees' to add to the set.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2019-04-22

As a photographer, I find my photogrpaher's eye always on the lookout for possible images. 

While on a recent personal journey to the Netherlands, the main purpose of which was not photography related, my photographer's eye still identified opportunities for an image. Whether passively or actively, the eye is always working ...

De Oversteek (The Crossing)

In Nijmegen, NL, there is a bridge dedicated to the memory of WWII Allied soldiers who crossed the Waal River on September 20,1944. 48 from the US 82nd Airborne gave their lives in this endeavour. The bridge stands as a tribute to their sacrifice and a Sunset March is held every day of the year in their honour.

On a cool(ish) April evening, joined approximately 40 others, of various origins, to march with Coert Langenhuijzen of Team 31 across De Oversteek. For me, quite a moving tribute.

After the solemn salute at the memorial cairn on the north side, I returned in across the bridge in now darkness. My eye caught the shapes and patterns of light and dark and I captured the image above, a reminder of my Sunset March.

DJE