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On a Saturday morning outing to a series of trails in the Halton Regional Forest Complex, I was challenged to make an image that captured the essence of the location. With a couple of friends, we hiked sections of the Mahon, Turner and Robertson Tracts. Over the course of a few kilometres, we enjoyed conversation and friendly banter as we made our way through the changing forest landscape. The atmosphere was very calming (save for the constant background hiss of static from 401 highway traffic, a constant reminder of hustle and bustle not far away) and each of us remarked on it with an individual take on what we sensed.
For my couple of hours of tranquility, I came away with a quieted mind and 29 exposures. Upon review back home, the images I had made did nothing to capture the essence of what I experienced. As I scanned again through my images, frustration set in. I was uncertain why I had been unable to create images that reflected what I had experienced. Perhaps I had been too caught up in the conversation, the banter, or maybe it was just one of those times. But the feeling that I had failed set in and somehow stayed with me ...
Sunday, with Lynn laid up because of her back, I decided I needed to get "back in the saddle". It would be a mid morning outing with the sun well up and clear blue skies overhead so I grabbed my IR converted P&S and my EOS M for backup and headed out. I wanted to just take a walk and work through the frustration.
Having attended a presentation by the Arboretum director at a recent photo club meeting I was reminded of familiar trails and the range of photo opportunities, I also learned about some areas on the grounds that I had not yet explored. In one of those new areas, I found a stand of birch and set up to visualize how I would I would process the image to translate the RAW capture into the essence of what I was seeing and sensing.
Here, I've used a strong white vignette to remove the visual distraction at the edges of the frame and direct the viewer to the central portion of the image, simulating the selective nature of our sight. Much the way human vision captures detail in the central field of view and ignores edge detail to a great extent, the vignette manipulates this image.
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| "brrrrrrrrr ch" |
... feeling less frustrated ... it's a step in the right direction.
DJE
A recent, mid-morning trek by snowshoe along the north shore of Hay Bay led eventually to Lake Huron, or at least the frozen surface of Lake Huron. There, under a calm sunny sky, the artistic handiwork of wind and sub-zero temperatures on the Lake Huron canvas were revealed. In front of me and was this beautiful winterscape work of art ...
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| Huron Winterscape |
DJE
While there have been periods where I have struggled and thought I would never make another good image, so far I've been able to work through them. I'm usually able to find inspiration in a location or in a subject from a weekend outing to produce an image for this weekly blog post. If not, there is always my library of images to turn to. Writing for the blog on the other hand is different. I cannot say that the writing comes easy ... ever. Sometimes it's easier, but never really easy ... so this week, lacking something insightful to say, I have just a little on the background to the photograph I've chosen.
Lynn and I had been planning another day trip to one of my favourite places in Ontario, the Bruce Peninsula. With a forecast that looked promising we left early in the morning and as it turned out, the closer we got to the Bruce, the better the weather became. After stopping briefly in Hope Bay and Barrow Bay on the east, we arrived at Lion's head and decided to stretch our legs. Walking down to the beach, I pointed out the harbour lighthouse and mentioned to Lynn that it was the subject of one of my photos in last year's calendar and suggested that we pick up something to eat at the local grocery for a picnic at the marina facilities where we could look out over Georgian Bay.
As we sat and enjoyed lunch under clear skies, we watched and I made a number of images of some sailboats just off the harbour entrance and along the escarpment bluff. For the one below, I zoomed in with the lens on my 7D to isolate just one boat keeping the clouds and horizon dominant in the frame, creating a feeling of isolation. I softened the skies and water in post processing to create a serene effect
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| still sailing |
Later as we made our way along one of the country roads to the west side, I noticed some wildflowers at the roadside and stopped to make a few images. For these, I used processing to give them a slight painterly effect.
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| roadside painting |
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| Blue-eyed Grass |
Enjoy your week.
DJE
