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On a brisk, -12*C, Saturday morning with the promise of sun to break the monotony of grey overcast skies, I headed out for Rockwood Conservation Area with the desire to hike the trails south of the river for a while to see what visual treasures they might offer. I had hoped for a chance to find a lookout to capture the frozen Eramosa River from above but not being familiar with the area I kept to the trails and eventually found myself back down at water level at the south-east corner of the park.
The sun was rising over the tree line, still casting shadows out over the frozen river and the sky to the north was cool morning blue and streaked with interesting cloud patterns. I wanted an image that would emphasize the sky and there were some tall pines adding an element of interest.
Rockwood winter morning
During those periods of time when there is little time available to capture new images, I feel that I have missed something, like there is something undone. This past weekend I had committed to other activities that filled most of my time over the weekend where I would normally be out shooting. I knew that if I simply left my camera behind, the weekend would end with that feeling. So I packed up my gear and took it with me.
The activity that I had committed to was the 2nd year for a group of us mismatched hockey wanna-be's to play in an old-timers tournament. I decided that I would try and capture the event in the dressing room and from the bench between shifts, before I was completely exhausted. I'm not sure that it was a success photographically, but I enjoyed trying.
preparation
next shift
This weekend’s photo trek was planned for McLeans Auto Wreckers, a familiar and normally inspiring location. I was eagerly anticipating a fair amount of snow partially burying the rusting hulks. Weather was not cooperating and the conditions I expected would not be. As Saturday approached with the forecast for overcast skies and higher temps, I decided to gear up with a couple of lenses that would allow me to capture something different. I went with my Sigma 150mm f/2.8 Macro for DoF effects and the Lensbaby Composer for that “Lensbaby” look. Both of these allowed me to capture the familiar scenes around McLeans in unique ways. It was a both a creative recharge and quite an enjoyable outing.
magic bus
This image illustrates the extreme narrow depth of field when shooting at larger apertures with the Sigma. I am pleased with the results I get shooting this way. Those that know my photographic eye, will recognise the style. I am drawn to the colours on the vehicle in this image as the layers of paint weather, fade and peel away.
cast aside
There are times when I see in B&W during the creative process. At these times somehow the colour is completely filtered out and the vision is only of light & dark, black, white and shades of grey. This image was made during one of these times. As I walked down Peggy's Point Road, this abandoned and broken boat caught my eye. All colour drained from the scene before me and the textures of smooth rock, blowing grass, siding shingles and decaying wood spoke to me in B&W. I like this image more now than when I made it a few months back. Perhaps the images do improve with age.
I was chatting with a friend recently about how some of his images simply get downloaded to the HDD and wait there, sometimes months, for him to come back to them and see what a day's shooting had produced. I remarked that I always check out my images from a shoot soon after I had returned and make some initial picks and deletes. He in turn responded that he was quite content to leave them there and get back to them ... whenever. I had been aware of his approach for some time and it has always intrigued me. Although I don't think I will change and stop looking at the latest images right away, I will go back through my library and revisit images from past shoots to see what might have improved with age or simply been overlooked in the initial rush ...
With this approach in mind I was moved to go back to my captures from a vacation in Nova Scotia Sept'09. I knew there were lots from those days, sitting, just waiting ...
path to enlightenment
