Photo of the Week 2014-01-13

coming and going .... coming or going ....

I've been knocked on my butt with some kind of cold or flu bug since Thursday and it keeps coming and going to the point where I don't know if I'm coming or going ...

I've not felt well enough to go out this weekend for photography or anything else for that matter. So here is my image for this week, from an outing last weekend.

coming and going ...

DJE

Photo of the Week 2013-07-22

Recently, a discussion with a friend, who is also a member of our photo critique group, led to the subject of sketching and creativity. I mentioned that I really liked the look of sketches, particularly those done with pencil or pen and ink and admire artist who create works using  these media. He suggested some books on the subject and kindly lent me his copy of  "the Creative License" which I began reading immediately.

... fast forward to a warm summer evening, downtown cafe, espresso/lattes, 3 friends and some discussions on things photographic. We talked about many things including post processing images as "photographic art". I was motivated to go back to images in my library to process images in the style of a sketch. I ultimately selected 4 images from a 2012 trip and created a series entitled "Manitoulin Memories". I can see these hanging on the walls very soon. Here is just one from the set.

across the fields ... and far away

DJE

John - for Father's Day

Father's Day, a day when it feels very appropriate to talk about photography, since it was my father that introduced me to it, way back when ...

Going through the collection of family photos, of which I now have the privilege to be custodian, it proved a bit of a challenge to find a suitable one of my dad to scan and post. Dad was always the one behind the camera, I mean ALWAYS. On a rare occasion, he might hand the camera to someone or set it up for a "selfie but there are not a lot of prints of him that have survived compared to his vacation photos and of course those of my mother, his favourite subject (I posted one that he took of her for Mother's Day).

I chose an oldie, but I've always liked this one, the style, the strut, John, a young man who I would later gratefully know as Dad.

John

(If you're listening Dad) Thanks for getting me started, teaching me the basics and buying me that first (second and third) camera ... and thanks for a whole lot more ...

DJE

Photo of the Week 2013-06-03

Where to go and what to do ...

Spring weather has been unsettled to say the least, and plans for the weekend were dependent on a forecast that kept changing and as experience has taught, is unreliable. With an 80% chance of rain staring us in the face, Lynn and I made the call on Friday to cancel a Saturday outing to the Bruce Peninsula.

My fall back photo outing plan was to join friends Alan and Patrick on a trek to show Patrick  one of the local trails he had not seen. That plan too was slightly altered when morning brought traces of lingering mist and turned our photo thoughts to moody river scenes ... but again plans changed as the mist quickly disappeared and we settled in to battle the mosquitoes along the Eramosa River section or the Royal Recreation Trail.

We walked, no, strolled along the riverside trails, off the main path. Time passed unnoticed amongst conversation of yes photography, but also life, family and nature. Along the trail we encountered a toad, wild garlic mustard, Tamarack, Manitoba Maple, Giant Hogweed and geese with their goslings.

Of course there was the light ... photography is all about the light. It's always about the light. When the light is right, it stops a photographer in their tracks and commands them to take notice. It distracts and dominates. It speaks, it whispers it shouts, until it has their attention.

leafen glow

The glow on the fresh green leaves (that reminded Patrick of basil) reached out and grabbed me as I passed. It drew me in, literally into the area off the trail to catch the satin like texture of the glowing leaves ... and into a swam of mosquitoes (thank-you Deet).

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-12-24

With the official arrival of winter came the first local snowfall of any consequence in 2012, just enough to lay down a dusting of the "white stuff" and launch my official winter photography season.

I decided to get and early start and hike the nearby Watson Rd. section of the Guelph Radial Trail so I could be back well before noon. There was a blustery wind gusting and  skies were cloudy when I arrived at the trailhead ... in pitch dark. Sunrise was completely blocked out by the cloud cover and there wasn't much sense starting out before there was some daylight so I sat and finished my hot tea. Soon, the clouds would break up a bit and and it was time to head out.

After meeting up with a couple of friendly pups out for an early walk with their human, I took the trail loop clockwise and started the gentle climb to the lookout just in time for sun to start breaking through and announce arrival of this "winter morning". 

winter morning

DJE

Photo of the Week 2012-04-30

Every now and then there is an image that really resonates with me, one that I keep coming back to in my mind, one that I know I want to craft into a fine art piece that I'll proudly display on my own walls. Forest Mist is such an image. Taken just about two months ago it's an image that I have envisioned for a long time. The vision was there, I just needed to place myself in the right condtions at the right time to be able to capture the scene.

I was pleased with the colour version that I had processed it with a slight vignette and a fair amount of dodging and burning reminiscent of work previously done in the "wet" darkroom. Several sizes and itterations of the work had been printed to scrutinize before committing to frame and hang the result. Still, it wasn't until I was studying images from another photographer with a series of warmtoned B&W landscapes that I considered processing this one in B&W.

I had been doing some some research on "intimate landscapes" as introduced by photographer Eliot Porter and came across the work of Guy Tal. Some time spent reviewing Guy's images and a few other references on warm toned B&W images and I knew what I needed to do to complete my work on forest mist.

forest light - monochrome

... it's already printed for my office, larger version for home to come.


 DJE