Photo of the Week 2017-04-24

Doors Open 2017 kicked off with the Guelph event and this year the Petrie Building, now under redevelopment was on the list so I decided to go early, get in line and hope they would allow photography while inside.

I enjoy photographing the grit and patina of old, abandoned buildings but Petrie was inaccessible for years and now that renovations are underway, much of what I would have like to see has been cleaned up, removed or altered already. Fortunately, there is an "official photographer",  Hans Zegerius, who has been documenting the transformation. Prints of his work adorned the various walls of the space as it stands.

I wanted to look at his work, but I didn't want to be influenced by his vision until I had executed images using my own ... difficult, I made only a few exposures on the "tour" as it was woefully short and provided access to just a small portion of the space.

One of the other attendees unknowingly mirrored the pose of the mysterious figure in the wall ...

the mimic

... one of the others from the tour

DJE

Photo of the Week 2017-04-17

Phoenix Rising

I've been looking for another location to shoot sunset photos now that the sun dips below the horizon further north, past the mouth of Hay Bay. So when we arrived at the cottage for a weekend stay recently with timing and conditions just right ... I grabbed a camera and headed out to investigate.

When shooting sunsets over the water, I often use the reflecting colours of the sky and textures of the clouds as foreground. With this location, I had envisioned having some of the rock along the shore or the small islands available to position in the frame as foreground elements ... as it turns out, here I could compose to use both.

This particular sunset was glorious and I spend a considerable amount of time making quite a number of images at different spots, with different compositions. You can see a couple of the others here and here.

... the best part, if I can't get sunset from our shore, this location is not far from us, actually all I needed to do was walk all of a couple hundred meters down the road :-)

DJE

Photo of the Week 2017-04-10

Sitting down by the water, enjoying morning coffee, looking up at the tangle of Tamarack branches with their little cones ...

spring tamarack

 ... bundled up against the stiff breeze off the bay listening to the song of a sparrow come to keep me company on a nearby branch (I'm still working to identify the sparrow). Mornings don't get much better.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2017-04-03

I've been reminiscing again ... going back through shots from my first trip to Killarney several years ago ... and knowing I need to go back. Soon ...

I've always liked something about the original capture for this image, but until my recent foray into false colour processing I wasn't able to process it and bring out the surreal quality that was there. All it took was a relaxing weekend at home, editing time, tunes and some post processing work to get a result I was satisfied with.

Chikanishing Moonrise

It can be difficult to visualize the final outcome with infrared captures. There is so much that can be done in post processing to alter the image recorded by the camera. In order to realize the full potential of this genre, I need to work with it much more, not just in post processing but out making capturing images of a wide range of subjects in a wide range of conditions.

I'm just getting started ...

DJE

Photo of the Week 2017-03-27

I really enjoy finding a gem hidden in the rough. With a little cleaning and polishing they can really shine :-)

Previously hidden or at least overlooked among hundreds of images made during a trip to Newfoundland in 2011, I stubbed my toe on this one as I was scanning through the library. Looking for something suitable to print and frame as a gift for someone who loves Newfoundland, this image of an iconic seaside home near Tors Cove jumped out at me.

Seaside Setting

Wondering why this stood out and grabbed my attention now, more than it did during an initial review of the files from the trip ... I can only think it was because I was looking for something particular to suit a square crop. The original image is 3x4 aspect ratio as captured in camera with a Canon G12 and although decent, the right side of the image is rather blah. That's likely the reason it did not make the cut during initial editing. ... but with a square crop in mind that would focus on the house, it actually worked nicely. A little processing and an artistic vignette finished it off perfectly.

... now printed, framed and gifted for cousin Amanda's birthday.

Yet again, I am reminded that I should go back through the image collection from time to time, "there's gold in them thar' hills".  

DJE