When B&W Calls

"Then She Gave Me Flowers..."

Today's image is a return to my love of B&W. It's been a while since I felt compelled to convert an image into B&W, usually the images are more along the lines of cityscapes, or portraits, or heavy on design elements and contrast. But as I realised the quality of sidelight coming through the window against my poinsettias, I knew the textures and highlights being rimmed in light would be completely at home monochromatically.

My good friend and mentor Bob Grauer, who's work you can view here, said in response to my previous post about "Flat Lighting" that you can't go wrong when you "listen to the light." I liked it so much that I wrote his words down and tacked it up near my kit bag.

I knew with the image above (which you can click on to see it enlarged) that it was the light that called to me, but it wasn't till I realised that the best way to showcase that light was in my custom Platinum B&W processing that I knew what my vision for this photograph was going to boil down to. 

That's the excitement of photography... have you converted to B&W lately to showcase the right light?

Thanks for the Ramble gang! Have a good one!

Use That Flat Light!

 "Sheltered"

Ball's Falls Conservation Area, Grimsby, Ontario

We're told there's several things we need to avoid to achieve better photographs. Don't crowd a photo with too much info. Don't put your subject directly in the center of the photo. And avoid flat, grey light. But as with every general principle or guideline, there are always times to use the very things we try to avoid. 

 "Welcome to the Garden"

Ball's Falls Conservation Area, Grimsby, Ontario

Take the images from today's post. They were all taken during flat lighting conditions. And thank goodness. In solid cloud cover, colours in nature stay true due to little or no reflection from the sun, they seem additionally saturated, and deep shadow was never a concern, allowing me to make a correct exposure and worry more about composition and vision, especially in the first image of the close up of the driftwood.

"Doorway to Yesterday"

Ball's Falls Conservation Area, Grimsby, Ontario

I'm wary of only ever shooting in ideal conditions, you should be able to capture the magic, or a story,or the vision no matter what conditions are out there. I challenge you to see what happens when the wrong conditions are the right ones... start with using that flat light as a tool in your photo arsenal!
Feel free to click on each low res image to view the larger version, and thanks for the Ramble folks! Have a good one!

An Epic Ramble

"Standing Tall"

University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Been waiting to find time to post this latest image on the blog and on 500px. Taken on an epic ramble through Toronto a week ago with my friend Dave Pratt of Dave Pratt Photography who I finally met in person while he visited here in Ontario. I noticed over the course of the day that both of us had similar styles of exploring with cameras. Ramble along, let something stand out or catch our eye, content to let a detail or subject speak to us, in the midst of good conversation and idea swapping. But that's not always how a ramble with a fellow photographer has gone. And it made me think... obviously we have all have different ways we photograph something, but sometimes we have different exploration styles that lead to the photography itself.

I'm a happy rambler. I like to head in a general direction, without a set target in mind for the most part. I truly like the process of exploring. What feeds my desire to photograph something is catching it at that moment, the way I've stumbled across it, like finding treasure. There were a number of times Dave laughed at me last Saturday because something would get my attention, I'd raise the camera, get the golden nugget in the lens, snap away, and then cackle gleefully. Victory by Nikon. What can I say, it makes me giddy.

Some photographers are more destination oriented though. It's about already having a more "selective objective" in mind. This is me once in a blue moon. A location or subject that spoke to me so strongly that I knew exactly how I wanted to get it in the camera the next time I photographed it. And when the time is right, you don't ramble, and wander, and stray along the way, you zone in on that one objective and work it for all you're worth while you shoot. This is rarely my personal preference when shooting with other photographers... it means every one's photos look slightly familiar at the end of the day because you had one designated spot you all focused on getting in camera. But I will approach a shoot like this once in a while when I'm on my own, setting out with my own goals. It becomes more about solidifying a vision, a set intention that excites you.

Are you a rambler, a wandering explorer like me? Or do you fall into the selective objective type approach more often than not? Neither one is better than the other... but your approach feeds your overall style at some point. Think about it!

A Certain Texture

"Exploring Sleepy Cove"

*Newfoundland, Canada*

If it seems as if the blog has been in limbo lately, you'd be right. Life seems to go from one extreme to the other. One minute business is slow, the next, I have work piling up around me. But I'm not complaining.

I'm embracing the various textures that are making up my life lately. A little travel, adventures into newer job descriptions, a little expanding, facing some personal fears, approaching some personal weaknesses... and absorbing the things each item brings to the table of life.

And having life textured by so many different elements can only mean one thing. It's bound to show up in my photographs. Whether I want them to or not, the things being absorbed by me every day have the ability to pour out of my images too.

Why is this important enough to mention today? Cause I've realized in the past I've tried to shield those things from seeping into my work. And did myself a disservice each time I did. In an attempt to strive for a certain look, or expression, or ideal, or vision, I shucked my ability to use what was going on around me to take my photography to a new level.

Funny that the tag line on my website is "Show The World Who You Are"... and I was avoiding that very thing myself. Let's change that.

It's That Simple...

"This Way To Sleepy Cove"

*Sleepy Cove, Newfoundland, Canada*

Good afternoon my friends! The blog is BACK! I hope you've missed our little get-togethers! I know I've missed it. I've been working hard, and doing a little traveling, and working some more, and it's been rewarding. But I couldn't wait to get back to this. So here we are! Let's chat...

If you asked me right now what I most love about photography, what gets me really excited about the pursuit of this entire vocation called being a photographer, I'd have to say the act of picking up the camera is the best part for me. Sounds obvious I know. But as simple as it sounds, I get the impression from many in the industry that somehow that fundamental action is just their stepping stone to the other things they love. Creating new gear, new websites, new sales, new speaking opportunities, new trends, new apps, and new careers. Not that everyone is like that, or that those things are bad. But as someone striving to pursue photography, I've realized that my favorite thing is still just picking up the camera. And when I forget that, my love becomes a chore. It's that simple. 

My trip to Newfoundland two weeks ago made this very clear to me. I did nothing but carry my camera with me everywhere, and it meant 10 days of only photographing things I instantly connected with or impacted me visually and emotionally. And let's be clear, I can do that in my own backyard too... however I'd forgotten why I loved picking up my camera, the job aspect of all this meant other things had begun to distract. But on the trip it all came back... finding compositions out of chaos, choosing simple details, deciding what light was exciting, what scene was calming, what location was majestic, what elements were at play in the viewfinder, what story or emotion I could capture. I love the doing of it. It's that simple.

So here's an image from my trip where my host and good friend Dianne, and I,  climbed down a mountain trail to get to the ocean at Sleepy Cove. It's a simple shot but never underestimate the simple shot, it can represent so much for the photographer, and later the viewer. My intent was to explore, and let the camera record the things that spoke to me. An easy thing to forget in the mad surge of life. Easier to remember with the ocean roaring against the rocks!

I think I'll hang this near my work desk... to remind me that for everything I do with my photography, it's picking up my camera and putting it to my eye that affects me the most. It's that simple.