Star Burst ~ Exploration Thursday!

"Afternoon Entrance"

(1/100 sec.@ F/10, 20mm fl, ISO 160, 18-55mm kit zoom, handheld, shade)

Thought I'd post an image from one of my most favorite locations, Dundurn Castle. But because it's Thursday, I knew it had to be something with a unique element. So I chose a new one I had yet to edit till now. However, I wanted to post this because this past year I realized I hadn't experimented much with star bursts.

The norm for clear blue skies and easier exposure for a landscape is to pop a nice filter on your lens (or later in PS) and shoot away with the sun behind or beside you... except when you want a star burst effect. Then you must shoot into the sun. Then the trick becomes 'what can I use to naturally filter the sun light'. And not too much, but something to block just enough of the actual sun so that it spills out from behind the obstacle. I've discovered it takes some practice, and usually a smaller aperture than normal. I start at an F/10 and go from there... sometimes stopped down to an F/16. The smaller the aperture, the more prominent the beams of light are as they're forced to reach through the narrow aperture to get to the sensor.

Obviously the weather conditions and time of day will effect what you get. This was late morning in early November. No haze in the sky, very bright out, and low enough for it to sit tucked behind most foliage if I got down low to the ground. The other trick is to avoid compromising your composition as you attempt to get the sun to peak through at just the right spot. I liked the POV I had approaching the arch that leads to the front of the historical property, and was determined not to sacrifice the large tree in the foreground if I could help it. It took some time and some angling and hoping the trees would stop swaying in the slight breeze. But I got it.

For more tips on star bursts check out this article.

Thanks for the ramble folks, have a good one eh!

Odd Spaces ~ WideAngle Wednesday

"A TIGHT FIT FOR SURE"

(1/80 sec.@ F/8, ISO 200, 18mm fl, Pattern Metering, 18-55mm kit)

I get asked all the time, "why, when you take such inviting landscapes, and graceful florals, do you always post those grungy city shots?"... I guess the best way to answer this is to quote a mentor of mine from my early film days who once said to me after a frustrating day of shooting garbage cans on the street, taxis on the curb at the school, and someones lost gym shoe with little enthusiasm, "Every photographic subject has a pulse. Find it's rhythm and your image comes to life. That simple!" 

Garbage cans never looked the same to me again after that. Sure, landscapes can be soothing, and nature can be enchanting! But unusual spaces, difficult perspectives, and random elements found in the day to day places just have an undeniable rhythm for me in the lens. Odd places, old buildings, harsh elements challenge me. They taunt sometimes, whispering "nothing to see here..." Well, not really but you get the picture. And I love photography too much to walk away from such a challenge. In small ways what I learn about photographing the city, always gets applied later on to photographing nature too. Tricky compositions, more interesting angles, weird lighting... I've learned never to take anything for granted in that respect.

The excitement is taking an everyday space and capturing the most interesting part in such a way that anyone can relate to it, and better yet, be captivated by it if they choose. Or haunted by it. Or inspired by it. There's a thrill to finding it's pulse. And it's where I started 17 years ago with a film camera, it's a pulse I'm familiar with. And I hear it loudest sometimes... in odd spaces.

Thanks for the philosophical ramble, and have a good one folks!

This one goes out to all those students that had the inexplicable Mr.Shoveller for photography class! Cheers.

DOF ~ Telephoto Tuesday!

"Softly She Emerges"

Perhaps my favorite image from the trips I made to the Spring Show is my post for the day. This was the only open magnolia blossom on the branches in the displays, and when I saw it I knew it needed singled out in whatever shot I took. Isolated is perhaps a better term.

Used my trusty modest telephoto zoom, dialed her wide open to an F/4.5 to soften everything but the blossom, spot metered against her white flesh, and got off a series of shots. In the background were banana trees, bird cages, and other visitors but you'd never know it with the depth of field I chose.

Almost as important as what you are featuring in your shots, is what you choose to exclude from your shots. And this is one way of getting that. I am always aware of the background, constantly recomposing around the subject in order to get the best image with the perfect backdrop. My new favorite compositional word is "cohesive". Everything needs to work together.

Thanks for the short ramble folks! Have a good one!

Inner Sanctum ~ Mono Monday!

"Holy Presence Waiting"

Time to dip into the older files once again. Was inspired to convert an image I took over a year ago into an old fashioned B&W with one of my newer Nik Efex plug-ins. The trick I find with special filters and plug-ins is to know when it suits your photographs. I try to ensure that if I'm going to take a photograph in a certain direction or give it a certain tone, that the conversion or effect is is fairly cohesive with the subject matter and the style you shot it in.

This church is remarkably restored, and sits in the hub of the city. All the wood detailing glistens, the stained glass sings in the sunlight, and you feel like you've taken a step back in time. So when I started to think about doing this shot taken from it's balcony(with the terrifyingly squeaky floor boards that make you wonder if it'll hold together long enough to get a shot) I went through my arsenal of B&W filters and effects to find the one the represents this image the best. This is a retro platinum effect, and after I applied it, I thought "jeez, it looks like an old postcard from the 20's"

I also like it in B&W because the lines and space are really emphasized. Very suitable for an ornate space waiting to be filled with His presence by the Sunday seekers about to enter.

Photographed any remarkable architecture lately, from the inside?

Thanks for the ramble folks, and have a good one!

Tropical Puffball ~ Floral Friday

"EXPLOSIVE BLOOMS"

They look like festive exploding fireworks to me. Fireworks that shout "the weekend has arrived, everybody party!" Or something to that effect. These trees from the tropics bear a bud that turns into the softest of fluff, and are called, therefore, the Red Powder Puff flower. It's actual name is the Calliandra and I've tried in vain to get a decent photo of these at our local tropical greenhouse over the last few months. But it's been difficult, I'll admit.

The reason being is that they are on the far side of the koi pond, and up high where the light is the harshest. And they really beg to be photographed. I think they're wonderful. Like a fantastical flower in a Dr.Seuss book. So here's one that turned out using my telephoto and my handy dandy tripod, and the cloudy weather that day helped even out the light coming directly from above. I will indeed keep returning, hopefully a branch will lean out close enough to the path that I can get nice and close, and if I time it right, the staff will have just sprayed everything with a fine mist of water first thing in the day...

So stay tuned for an update on whether I can get the shot I really see in my mind everytime I visit this fantasty plant. And have a terrific weekend!