Photo of the Week 2016-09-26

I've been looking for something a little different to do with my photography recently, not in place of what I have been doing but in addition to ... 

Sunsets are a favourite and as always there have been some beautiful ones over Lake Huron lately. That's one drawing card to the area we chose for our cottage location, but this time I decided to turn my lens to the other end of the day, sunrise.  Mornings hold their own magic, it just seems easier for most people to stay up for sunset rather than get up early for sunrise. I'm usually up early, 5 am early, and yesterday that meant the stars were still out and from the deck I could see the constellation Orion clearly in the southern sky. I almost went out to capture some stary sky shots be settled in to have coffee and plunk around on the computer. Then with morning light arriving and with mist rolling out of Ragged Bight, I knew there would be a shot out there ... 

Morning Hues 2016-09-25 - Pano

When I reached the shore, not only was the mist beautifully ethereal, but the sky was aglow with orange, pink mauve and blue. The biggest decision was what portion of the scene to capture ... and then I recalled reading a recent article about stitching vertical images together for a panorama. So 13 frames make up this image (overlapping ~30% for each frame) which represents approximately 180* around the spot where I stood.

No tripod, no fiddling to find the nodal point, just pivot and shoot. Sure there are some issues with doing it this way but I'm no going to argue with the result. Besides, If I had gone back inside for my tripod and taken time to set up, I likely would have missed the magic.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2016-09-19

There are some photographers that say you should live with an image for a while before making the final decision on it. The thought being that for a period of time right after the image is made, the emotion that caused you to make the image in the first place is still with you and it can be difficult to be fully objective about the result.

Living with an image can mean a number of things but I think that finishing the initial processing and printing it so it can be viewed regularly is the best way to see if how I feel about it changes over time. 

A few weeks ago, I made a series of images at sunset from the water on Hay Bay near the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. One from that set has been processed, printed and set aside to live with. It has been printed in various sizes and scrutinized quite a few times in that period of time and I'm convinced that it's one of the better images I've made. That's my opinion, your mileage may vary ...

afterglow

I'm now considering new options for presenting the image. I'm inclined to use it for launching a 'Signature Series' of select images printed on premium fine art media, signed and embossed, possibly in an edition of limited numbers. Whatever I decide, one will certainly one will hang in my own collection and a second will anchor my gallery display at Upper Deck in Tobermory.

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2016-08-22

Sometimes it's the everyday sights that catch my eye, sometimes it's simply the light at that moment, often it's the convergence of a number of things at just the right moment.

Early one morning, after spending time on the lakeside deck to finish morning coffee followed by a bit of yoga to stretch out a tight back, I noticed the simple way dappled sunlight streamed through the trees to illuminate an old orange cottage chair.

I decided to apply some creative filter work and create a painterly ethereal feel for the simple scene.

old friend

I'm sure the sound of wind and waves accompanied by birdsong and the smell of cedar and spruce mingling with fresh air off the lake together combined to enhance the scene in a quieted mind's eye.

DJE    

Photo of the Week 2016-07-11

I always wonder what I'm missing at sunset when I'm not at the cottage ...

Blue & Orange Encore - 2016-06-26

We stayed home this weekend to get a backlog of things done around the house ... between projects, my mind wandered ...

DJE

Photo of the Week 2016-06-06

What do you do when when it's just another version of a scene you've captured before ... 

... as Friday night reminded me yet again, you go and photograph it again, because there is always something different. It's always worth another go. Your frame of mind will be different, your vision will be different, conditions will be different and sometimes ... your luck will be different. That's right, your luck !

I'm a firm believer that the harder you work, the more you try, the luckier you will be. It applies to literally everything. So, photographically speaking, even when you have shot the scene before, go back and capture it again, see just what might be different or how you can improve on your image from the last time

Case in point, my sunset image made in Tobermory this past Friday night. Heading up Hwy 6, as we got close to the cottage, the sun was dropping quickly, it was closing in on 9 pm. I  thought to myself, "you got some sunset images from the village a couple of weeks ago, how would sunset shots tonight be any different tonight". I know, right? Well, we wouldn't make the cottage in time to get the kayaks out and get on the water for a sunset paddle anyway, so I decided to make the short detour into the village just to have a look.

Now I won't try to tell you that I had any idea I would get something like this, but the harder you try ... and as luck would have it, I got something quite different.

matchstick sunset

Part of making good photographs is being ready with your camera gear, knowing what conditions to plan for, were to go, and just getting out to that spot to shoot ... and then sometimes, every now and then, it all comes together and luck adds the final touch.

Serendipity Rocks !

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-10-12

Happy Thanksgiving !

Driving north on Friday, it was evident that some of the maples had decided it was time to show their stuff by Thanksgiving weekend. Fall colour had finally arrived on 'the Bruce' in some measure ... while having coffee in the pre-dawn silence early Saturday, I decided it was time for some morning exploration along roads of the North Bruce.

I have my favourite spots, they always reach out, seducing me with their beauty, trying their best to make me stop and visit. This time I would resist and push on to unfamiliar ground, leaving familiarity behind, searching for a new muse ...

golden blush

DJE

Photo of the Week 2015-07-13

Photographing flowers can become cliché very easily. The click, click, click of random snapshots is often heard when there are cameras and flowers present.

I have my share of cliché flower photos in my library, so I fall into the trap as well at times, but I do try to create something different with my captures as much as possible. That can involve close up macro work, working to find different or unusual compositions, photographing from an unusual point of view (POV) or in the case of this week's image, using post processing to convey a painterly photographic rendition of the scene.

lily trail

There are those that want to challenge and debate whether the resulting image is photography or art, even if it is photography at all or art at all. I have no interest in that debate. I appreciate the artistic eye of the photographer who can see and select a scene or subject from which to create a photograph, just as much as I appreciate the painter who has the ability to put brush and paint to canvas to create their painting. For me it is more about a creative eye, intent and the end result.


DJE

PS  -  Our recent young visitors to the cottage, Emma and Logan, were surprised by my interest in flowers, resulting in a couple of touching anecdotes. Of course my interest in flowers at the cottage is fully with nature and wildflowers. While out for walks with either Emma or Logan along, I would point out what flowers I could identify and tell them what I knew. Wood Lilies, Yellow Lady's Slippers, Showy Lady's Slippers, whatever we encountered, I pointed them out.
One day we were in the village, heading into one of the stores and not wanting me to miss anything, pointing to a decorative planter filled with colour Logan  exclaimed "hey Doug, flowers !" I just had to chuckle.
Another day, after a walk along the shore with mom and dad, Emma came up to me and presented me with a collection of blossoms from the wildflowers they encountered and wanted to know if I knew what they were. Emma even made a drawing on her electronic tablet for me that I had to snap a pic of.

... she made my day :-D

Photo of the Week 2014-04-28

Rarely, there will be a photo outing or weekend where I'm not particularly satisfied with any of the images I make. This past weekend was one of those times when I joined a number of other photographers from the Guelph Photographers Guild on an outing to McLean's Auto Wreckers. This is a location I have been to before, and where I can usually find something inspiring to capture.
Such was not the case on Saturday. Although I made a number of images of deteriorating paint, rusting metal and broken glass, I came away with images that left me unsatisfied, at least to this point. Maybe it was the dull overcast day. Maybe it was the cold, damp weather. Maybe I just wasn't seeing it. Who knows?
Maybe one day further along in my journey I will come back to the set of images in my library and have something catch my interest. For now though, I'm not that excited about any of them. Rather than look for in the archive for an image this week, I've decided to share one that I've processed to bring out the grit and texture I found in the junkyard.

beyond repair

Not every outing is as successful as I would like it to be. 

DJE