Imagination Set Sail

"Evenings Companions"

Another image from the Tall Ships that visited Hamilton last long weekend. Grown ups and children alike were excited to see these beauties. If you click on the photograph to enlarge, you will notice all the flags fluttering in the background from the other ships waiting for visitors as well. Some of the festival personnel were decked out in 1812 era gear, demonstrating musket firings and drills, and two of the ships touring the harbor fired "canons" at each other, shaking the pier.

I don't care who you are, but at that point your imagination reminds you of other fantastic vessels you've encountered over time. Maybe from childhood. Maybe from current films. The eerie but trusty Black Pearl from the movies, the glorious danger of Captain Hook's ship from J.M Barrie's "Peter Pan", the Hispaniola which emerges from "Treasure Island" and the delightful mind of Robert Louis Stevenson.

I don't know if this image is my favorite from that evening... but it's the one that causes my imagination to ramble through all the things we love about these fantastical vessels. So I thought I'd share.

Have a great day, explore your own local festivals, and heck, take the camera.... but whatever you do, take your imagination.

Thanks for the ramble! 

Tall Ships and Opportunities Abound

"Sorlandet in Sunset"

One of our long weekends just past, the family and I wandered down to the waterfront to enjoy the Tall Ships event happening in the Hamilton Harbor. The weather was a perfect summer temp, so the entire Pier and beyond was swarming with people there to enjoy the festival. The tall ships don't dock here every year, so the crowds were thick. As were the number of cameras visible. You knew the local photo communities were about to be flooded with sea faring vessels photographed at dock.

Limited access was the order of the day... many ships roped off for special sailings and tours, others simply docked near food and displays... and throngs of people. It quickly occurred to me that there were only so many places and views and vantage points to be had. And that all weekend hundreds of other photographers would use them all as well. But I didn't let that deter me from getting my own photographs of these carefully restored and historical beauties. And sure, I could have returned with dozens of others in the early morning hours in the dawn, to try to get something different and unpopulated but I was also enjoying some added family time.

I guess I'm posting all this to say that I no longer valiantly try to get "the" shot when I'm out on a ramble... one that no one can compare another to... I think over the last little while I've figured out that I'm always happy documenting what my own eye and camera actually see, or interpret, around me. If I'm experiencing something similar to someone else shooting nearby, so be it. Another photographer I know showed up, saw how limited it all was and decided it wasn't worth it. But why not? Why not enjoy what you see? What speaks to you personally is just that, personal. And if it's personal, you would hope there would also be something unique about it anyway.

So many are obsessed with the "it" shot that no one else can get. But the world isn't exactly getting any bigger. Just the opposite. You are going to ramble and explore and get the same scenes or subjects someone else might have had at some point. Does that mean you pack the Nikon away and pick a new career or hobby? For me that day, it meant noticing the way the sun shot beams through the Norwegian Sorlandet's rigging across from where I happened to pause with my daughter. I took a minute to drink in how pretty it was. It meant if I waited in that exact spot, I could compose for a nearby ship to sail into the frame as well, under a golden sky. Getting the image was a creative and personal experience. And after some slight editing, I can say that this photograph is completely unique to me personally, which is the most rewarding feeling to come away with anyway.

In a world overflowing daily with more and more photographers trying to outdo one another, fabulous images will abound on a more personal level. Don't let anything rob you of that.

Thanks for the prodigal ramble, gang! It's been a while I know. 

Have a good one.

Dreary Equals Industrial ~ Mono Monday!

"Guardian at the Docks"

I find the weather swings from gloomy to startlingly bright and cold with no happy medium in the last few weeks. Hardly ideal conditions for inspiring photographs. So today's post is another rant on working with what you've got.

The image above was taken down at the docks in the Hamilton Harbour a couple weeks ago. I had wandered around the pier and bay front trying to find something fascinating but felt like everything was coming up short. Ever have those days. I'll heartily admit that I do. I decided the best locale for finding some interesting material despite the bland weather would be the industrial docks. With a dull sky, and light rain, I had a chance to simplify my photography. Once in this mindset, everything began to have potential once again.

Simply put, I decided on this particular day that dreary weather equaled industrial type images. I stopped looking for inspiring aesthetics and started looking for aesthetics that conveyed power, durability, and the relationship between the water and the ever present steel mills. 

When I worked with what was at my disposal, I began to get photographs that reminded me of the ways we naturally interpret this part of the city, and the industrial heritage it contains. And they felt right.

Dreary equalled industrial. Tomorrow it might represent something totally different. That's the joy of photography and working with what you've got.

Thanks for the ramble gang! Have a good one!

Nautical Cyanotype ~ Exploration Thursday!

"Onward To Distant Shores"

The Pride of Baltimore II, Maryland Tall Ship Replica @ Hamilton Harbour

Well, I did say today would be one of the images similar to yesterday's post but after having experimented with Corel's Cyanotype conversion from the Time Machine Fx filters. Voila! Anything of a nautical theme looks well in this old 1800's processing look. I think I associate it with many of the old dutch paintings on pottery and dishes that I used to see in everyone's homes when I was growing up... it was trendy at the time. Trust me.

What I love are how delicate lines pop within the prussian blue hues of a cyanotype printing. Very much like a blue print. I knew after editing my images that I had to use this filter in post processing. And not with a heavy hand mind you. But just enough that you stop and look carefully to notice the hint of color still lying underneath, (the original layer before converting) adding some depth and keeping it from being too stark which tends to be popular in the digital darkroom these days.

I don't see this effect being utilized like I did back in my darkroom days, and much earlier than that obviously... and it's a beautiful way to age an image without it looking hokey. It doesn't suit every subject matter so consider if it suits before you use it.

It's very nostalgic and fun to work with, adding something different to your scenes. Give it a try in whatever processing program you run. And thanks for the ramble.

Sailing Away ~ Wide Angle Wednesday!

"The Pride of Baltimore Embarks"

The fanfare was gone, the sky was hazy, and as the crew shouted orders to one another, she pulled away to begin the next leg of her voyage. The Pride of Baltimore II was leaving the harbour in Hamilton where she'd rested for two days. I'd had an hour to place myself in a good spot compositionally without any of the handful of people around getting into the shot. And as she began to sail away all I had to do was press the shutter.

Have you noticed that sometimes, there's no special approach or angle or lighting to be had with your targeted image, you just need to tell the story visually, and let the subject do the showing off?

"Bound for Montreal"

You can see the poor air quality that morning as she turned towards the sun to exit under the Lift Bridge. And they couldn't drop all the sails till they cleared the harbour, so that type of shot was out of the question. So, once again a lesson in making the most of what you have and knowing that it's enough. And I also know that the image above will make a nice cyanotype conversion for a coming Thursday's post... you'll see.

If you're in Montreal this weekend, she'll be docked there for two days before she's off again. And she's beautiful to see up close. Take your cameras! And make the most of whatever opportunity you've got.

Thanks for the ramble. Have a good one.