Photo of the Week 2018-08-27

After hearing about the annual Monarch Butterfly migration and seeing some images online, I decided to make the couple hour drive from home to Goderich ON, where they were congregating as a rest stop on their way south.

There were reportedly thousands at this location just a few days ago, but when I arrived they numbered in just the hundreds I'd say. Still, it was a sight to see and a unique experience.

I'll definitely be adding this to my annual photo outing calendar and hope to make the trek at peak next year.

Here are some other images from the outing ...

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2018-08-20

For this week's photo, I chose to do a photographic study on a unique bottle of Mezcal delivered by special courier (my son) early Friday morning (when I picked him up at the airport). Ilegal Mezcal, Anejo, Special Edition, a smoky distant cousin of Tequila, is something I took a liking to while on a recent trip to Guatemala, so I asked Matt if he would bring me back a bottle.

Using the strong afternoon sunlight diffused through the sheer curtains of the living room, I set the bottle on an antique wood surface to provide a warm tone that would compliment the golden amber of the nectar inside.

Shot with a combination of a 24-105 f/4 zoom lens and 150 f/2.8 macro lens, I assembled these six shots into a 'tych' collage ... before the bottle was opened 'cause things could have gotten a little blurry ;-)

Here are a B&W and distressed versions of the tych. I prefer the straight colour version.

Your thoughts?

Think about it while I have another shot ...

DJE

Photo of the Week 2018-08-13

In a post two weeks ago, I wrote about having the patience to stay with it when conditions are changing. Continuing to explore the changing light and mood of a scene to capture more of what it has to offer can result in wonderful images, not imagined at the outset.

silken sunset

Having completed capturing the Chi-Cheemaun ferry arriving and departing Tobermory through a dense fog bank, my reason for venturing into the village one evening, I could have simply packed up and headed back to the cottage. Deciding to stay for whatever developed allowed me to let myself drift into the creative process. Constrained only by how the scene evolved while there was enough light to photograph, I explored compositions cropping in, pulling back wide, and anything between as the sun fell, light dissipated, fog shifted.

Apart from the satisfaction of getting some nice moody images, it was soothing to get into that so often elusive state of creative flow ... to spend more time there *sigh*

DJE

Photo of the Week 2018-08-06

arching

In some locations, weather patterns change quickly and what may not look promising at the outset can turn around to provide dramatic or unique scenes.

Such was the case the other evening when it looked as if sunset was going to fizzle out after showing promise earlier. Making the decision to head out in the kayaks proved the point and I was able to get a wide variety of sunset shots as the cloud rapidly changed over no more than 40 minutes.

I usually target evenings with calm waters, allowing me to work with the reflection of the setting sun and cloud on the smooth surface. While not particularly rough, the bay was far from still as I set out. Some may know that I'm not fully at ease on the water, but it's the ability to capture scenes like this that have me working to expand my comfort zone with each and every outing.

Finding a spot off a point of land where the waves off Lake Huron and their reflections from the far shore were creating a sort of dead area, eddy, I set up and worked to manoeuvre the kayak to obtain the composition I wanted. Trying to keep the scene framed in camera while rolling with the waves is a little like having your buddy constantly bumping you in the shoulder as he talks to you while you try and photograph (except you can't punch him back).  You just have to persevere and keep shooting until you have something you can work with.

Just to take it to another level though, I thought I'd try a hand held panorama, shooting multiple images that would be stitched together later in post. The sky was showcasing an arch formation of clouds that needed wider than my 24mm (equiv.) to get in the frame and I didn't want to miss it. On the first attempt, I managed 7 images rotating as much as I dared in the seat of the kayak without overturning it.

Not a bad result eh?

DJE

Photo of the Week 2018-07-30

Conversation with other creatives is inspiring and rejuvenating, a great way to rekindle the fire and often providing a shot in the creative arm.

So it was recently when a friend dropped in for a visit while in my 'neck of the woods'. She brought along a couple of her travelling companions and we spent an evening reconnecting, getting acquainted and sharing thoughts on a number of subjects, some artistic. At one point, my friend brought up the subject of this blog and was very complimentary regarding my writing (thanks Sheila) and I admitted to her that some of my recent posts were getting short on writing content and I felt I was getting lazy with my posts..

While this blog is mainly about showcasing my photography, it is also a journal of sorts, a collection of  thoughts and experiences from my journey, Our conversation reminded me of this and comments by some who have enjoyed my ramblings. It's been good for me to, so it's time to put time back into the writing aspect for those followers and for me. Those who just want to see my images, well they can just look and don't have to read.

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This past week I decided to spend some time up north at the cottage by myself, something I'd been looking forward to as the "retirement chapter" of my life opens. Up there It's always easy to slide into a easy pace, even more so I wonderfully found with weekend or vacation confines no longer whispering in the margins.

When fog rolled into the bay in front of the cottage the scene changed constantly, from light mist diffusing the view to the far shore, to a thick fog curtain, sun, then no sun. After watching throughout the latter part of the day and after dinner, I decided to head into the village for the evening arrival of the Chi Cheemaun anticipating I might catch it arriving through a fog bank and that I did, staying until it departed again ... but I found myself compelled to stay even further, to watch and continue photographing as the sun dropped lower and lower behind the bank of fog ... this ended up being the most creatively satisfying part of the shoot.

day into night

Moving along the shore, looking out over the water as the light, colours and reflections morphed as the sun dropped further and further, I shot wide then tight, I framed landscape and then portrait. Always seeking that magical combination and finally I found it, something different that I had initially set out to capture but more.

In retrospect, I am again reminded that the act of getting out to shoot, more often than not, leads from one vision to another and takes me further on this journey.


DJE