Photo of the Week 2017-07-10

While on vacation last week, we decided to take a sunset cruise. It's closing in in four years since we bought the cottage and there are a few "tourist things" we have yet to do. This cruise was one of them.

We had decided to tack on an extra night, Monday, after the long weekend and that night provided a clear sky, and calm if a little chilly, conditions for the cruise. It was cool to see the shoreline between Tobermory and Cave Point from the water having experienced most of it on land while hiking sections of the Bruce Trail.

cave o' wonder

Though the scenery was gorgeous, it proved difficult to capture images that convey the beauty and scale of the escarpment shoreline. From all the images I made, I selected this from just south of Indian Head Cove and cropped to remove what sky was in the original frame to give a sense of what I felt as we passed along the shore.

I continue to try new post processing software to replace the NIK Collection that Google has abandoned . For this image I performed basic adjustments in LR, Topaz Suite and reverted back to NIK Color Efex for the vignette/border that I have yet to find a alternate app for.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2017-07-03

HAPPY CANADA DAY !

Canada Day 2017 Fireworks III

... from the Parks Canada Visitor Centre tower, Tobermory, ON, in windy conditions. The tower movement from wind and people proved a challenge.

At Lynn's suggestion, this year I headed to the to observation tower with the idea of capturing the Canada Day celebration fireworks from a different point of view. Also on my list of objectives were to use in-camera multiple exposure and a wider angle of view.

Arriving at the tower around 9pm, it seemed no-one else had the same idea or at least they hadn't made it there yet. As I climbed the stairs, the wind picked up. A few flights and I was above the tree tops, fully exposed. Concern that the fireworks might be cancelled started to play in my mind. Reaching the top, heading back and returning the next night seemed a 50/50 possibility.

Alone, I began to set up, against the railing, in a corner.  As I set the tripod and attached the camera, others started arriving, a couple at first, and by the time the show started around 10 there were maybe 20 of us up there braving somewhat cool temperature made colder by the wind. With that many, the movement in the tower from weight and wind catching our bodies was more than I had expected. I began to wonder if it was such a good idea from a photography point of view as I would be using long exposures and the movement would be an issue.

As it turned out, for the most part the images I captured were impacted by the tower movement. Not so much as to make them all trash can worthy but enough to disappoint my discerning eye. In addition, I had decided to pack light and brought just the 17-40mm lens which turned out to be too wide even at 40mm given the distance away. The 24-105 would have been more suitable on my full frame DSLR ... oh well, that's what pixels and cropping are for ;-)

DJE

Photo of the Week 2017-06-26

Sunset over Devil Island

Sunday evening sunsets at the cottage are particularly soothing ... more often than not they signal a beginning rather than an end ... the beginning of an extended stay at the cottage, beyond simply a weekend.

"As the sun dips below the surface
silver waters gain a hint of gold,
their riches flow around my feet
giving me memories to be told."

from: Silver Waves Upon The Shore

              - Kelly Deschler -

DJE

Photo of the Week 2017-06-19

This week, something different ... a photo made by my youngest son, Jordan, who is travelling, currently in Vietnam.

Early on Sunday morning, Father's Day, I was downloading photos from a Dropbox folder Jordan has shared so he can upload the photos he's made with his phone. I copy the photos and videos to a hard drive and create a back-up for him so they'll be home and safe when he gets back.

He's been travelling in Southeast Asia since January and I've been able to connect with him through his posts on Facebook, frequent FB messages and the odd video call. Missing him during this, the longest time I've gone without seeing him, I found connection in looking through his most recent batch of photos from Vietnam, not in any first hand familiarity with the location but vicariously through his images and his view of a far away land.

I decided to process one that caught my eye ...

Vietnam - by Jordan England

Those following my blog posts may recall my rant about Google and their Nik Collection plugins. With Google recently confirming, through a statement buried on their website, that there will be no further updating of the NIK Collection for future OS or software update, the collection will die a slow death. The plugins will slowly stop working as Windows and Apple OS are updated, as Photoshop, Lightroom and other software are revised ... shame. Shame on you Google for killing a great piece of processing software.

With that in mind, I decided to make good on my promise to learn a new plugin / software before I'm completely shut out of NIK. This week's image (by my son) was processed in OnOne's Photo Raw using the basics in the develop module and effects module. 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2017-06-12

Calm waters on Hay Bay are a special thing. They always draw my attention for their clarity and reflections ... and when we arrived Friday night, the air was still, the water smooth. After unpacking the car, I spent some time along the shore and let the serenity wash over me ... 

floating clouds

... what a great way o decompress after the work week.

DJE