Oh Canada!

"Canadian Pride"

Well it's been busy days around here lately, and I've neglected the blog in the midst of the chaos. But here we are approaching the Canadian long weekend, prepping for Canada Day on July 1st and I wanted to post an old favorite out of my files to celebrate.

Can I share a dream with you? One day, it's my hope to travel across the country in one giant back roads road trip. And take my time, finding small details like this one above, to photograph. Hidden gems in the rural and the urban.... without ever taking a short cut on the highways and freeways. I don't know if it will ever happen but our country was built on the dreams of people who had a heart to explore. And I know I'd get the chance to meet photographers from one end of this beautiful land to the other as well. I think that would be extremely exciting.

It'll be something to plan for when the kids are grown, and the hubby has less responsibilities... for I now I keep dreaming.

To my fellow Canadian photogs and beyond... Happy Canada Day weekend and keep your dreams alive!



Invitation to Imagine ~ Exploration Thursday!

"The Dreamer's Forrest"

I have been waiting to post this image for about a week now, and will be delighted to know what your reaction is. It's been quite sometime since I've been able to stretch my abstract skills while out on a countryside photo jaunt, and I was anxious to process this image most out of my last outing's results.

I know most people find it difficult to interpret how they feel about abstract art or photography. Most see a bunch of shapes or colors or concepts that require some mysterious code to unlock their importance. But really, an abstract piece is simply a photographer's invitation to unleash your imagination for a bit, and allow yourself to step away from the practical. And it's inspired (at least for me) by something very real that caught my eye and seemed magical somehow. And then I simply strive to share my interpretation of that object or scene with all of you. Take a moment and decide what you might be looking at in the image above, before we continue.

What I love about abstract images is that the underlying significance of the whole piece can simply be how light was reflecting off a tree, or how a close-up of a leaf out of context can look like a miniature landscape, or how a piece of rust can look prehistoric in a macro lens. It just begs you to put aside how you label what you see, and look for new possibilities. I find that exciting. For it seems like the imagination is rarely called upon during the daily grind, and  even the imagination can get rusty from lack of use.

The image above (which you know you can click on to enlarge) was the result of noticing the calm water along the shore before the St.Jacobs dam rushed along the river bed... and I began to look for interesting subjects in the shade since the sun was mighty strong that afternoon. I zoomed in on the reflection of a Poplar tree several feet away, rising up through a tangle of brambles and over the water. With my circular polarizer on the zoom, I was able to cut the reflection enough to see the form and color of the tree. I thought it looked like what a scene in a dream would look like if someone could step into it for a moment. You can see the odd ripple, and some blur, and it requires the viewer to determine if it was in the lens or if I processed it to look specifically like a reflection to begin with.

It's just a reflection. I did some minor brightening to allow the dark details to be a bit more visible. That was it.

It's a call to use your imagination folks. Don't make abstracts so complicated you can't enjoy them. It takes creativity to first capture it, and then the viewers ingenuity to really see and absorb.

Thanks for the interpretive ramble! Have a super day gang!

Being Propelled~ Exploration Thursday!

"Ready For The Skies"

In just about everything we pursue and work hard at, we have good days and not so good days. Days where we feel like everything is truly going according to plan, (like when I spent a morning photographing nothing but planes, see image above) and days when we seriously think throwing in the towel is our only option. Often those days appear back to back and we sit in amazement thinking, "how can I be so confident one minute and so tortured the next?"

I know I'm not the only one. And you'd think it'd be easier when I'm doing something everyday that I obviously love, but there are so many jobs that you take on that fall under the title "full time photographer" that pull you daily or weekly from the actual act of picking up a camera, that sometimes I ask myself "why bother? I just want to shoot!"

I came to a realization the other day. No matter what kind of chore you have in regards to your passion, no matter how unglamourous it is, you can take it on successfully if you know what propels you. It can be something practical like needing to earn an income, or it can be more personal like reaching the much dreamed about goal of traveling one day, or having a gallery showing in New York. I will admit, I first pursued photography six years ago simply to get out of the house! That's what propelled me to constantly pick up the camera. That's changed now, but I have days where I have to remember that my vocation is always being propelled by something, and IF I remember that, I can get through the odd "throw in the ol' towel" moments. And if I'm really paying attention... I learn something about my craft and myself every time I do. How about you? Need to remember what propels you?

Thanks for the rambling thoughts today folks! Have a good one!