Great Subjects = Great Photos? ~ Wide Angle Wednesday

"Spring and the Love Bug"

Spring Tide 2012 @ the Tropical Greenhouse at Gage Park, Hamilton

One of my most favorite times of the year. The annual spring bulb show at Hamilton's Gage Park. And this year they truly outdid themselves. Bold colors, hundreds of bulbs they grow on site in the new facility, and a groovy theme this year with some retro VW's, including one made out of grass and moss. I applaud all the hard working staff for such a vibrant and delightful show. I make two visits every year, and this image was from my initial visit yesterday. If you haven't been, what are you waiting for?

I particularly loved this display at one end of the greenhouse. Waves of bulbs opening in the sun, the groovy little love bug in their midst, and some raking light moving across the entire scene. I watched as visitor after visitor stood or knelt directly in front of the display where the path widens and got the same shot time after time. Which made me think of today's tip...

A fantastic subject does not a fantastic photo make.

If you make the mistake of thinking the nifty or pretty subject matter is going to do all the leg work, enabling you to  just walk up and get the photograph "as is" then you have limited yourself to all the better possibilities within your camera's reach. It's easy to fall into the trap that a great visual instantly equals a great photograph.

Take the time to see if there's something better. A better angle, time of day, better lens to use. Give it something that takes it from snap shot to photograph. Something to help it tell a story. I waited, I wandered away, I wandered back, and I made a realization that helped me get this particular view. I noticed no one took the time to stop on a little bridge over the pond, getting you up a little higher on the scene, and allowing the camera to include the layering of rock and flowers leading the eye up out of the pond in the corner and into the composition to end with the sweet little VW Bug. Not a Nobel Prize winning shot to be sure, but done with an approach that included observation, time, and thought.

Check out Gage Park's "Spring Tide" in Hamilton, Ontario. Tell the staff how much you appreciate their skills in creating a green space that the city can be proud of and making it beautiful all year round. And get some photographs that reflect all that hard work in a beautiful way...

Have a great day gang! Thanks for the ramble!

Auchmar ~ Mono Monday!

"New Beginnings"

I love old architecture and buildings with a story.

And I love to shoot them in sepia or B&W. But I know you've noticed that already. This coming weekend is not only Mother's Day but for the Hamilton community it's our annual Doors Open Hamilton event. It's basic idea is properties and buildings that aren't usually open to the public open their doors for an entire weekend to be explored and viewed and photographed for free. I attended for the first time last year and it was terrific. Not just the photo ops, but the history and the knowledge the volunteers had at their disposal.

The images today are from Auchmar Manor. It is slowly being restored to it's former glory by donations and volunteers from the city. It has a very interesting history. Built in 1855 by the Honorable Isaac Buchanan, and named in honor of his place of birth in Scotland, this was the first extensive property to top the escarpment, and contained an orchard, stables, carriage house and a ballroom within the manor. He helped establish the city with the railway, was friends with Sir Allen MacNab, and was a powerful civic leader. Later on the manor became a military headquarters for a time, and has had many a TV show and movie filmed within the property. But now it's time for restoration. Their hope is for it to become another National Historic Landmark and protected for many years to come for the public to enjoy.

If planning on taking a camera out to this event, here's some things I learned;

1) Go wide. My 18-55mm kit lens was just the tip of the iceberg. Some of these buildings have very little space or really awkward spaces so that powerful telephoto you have won't do you any good except for the odd details shot. If you go wide, you'll be able to get the interiors entirely in your frame.

2) Be wary of the light. The older the building, the less light you seem to have to shoot with. Cavernous rooms made of stone will need long exposures, sometimes not possible with the flow of people wandering through, and smaller rooms will need a hot shoe flash to add extra light to dark corners or hidden passageways.

3) Be prepared to photograph the gardens. Spring flowers, orchards, or nearby trails in some locations all give the opportunity to photograph some nature. I saw many a macro user out in the gardens at a few locations shooting tiny buds, rain drops on magnolias, and crab apple trees about to pop.

4) Lastly, get all those imperfect details. Crown molding and cornices with flaking paint. A rustic table where they're explaining tools from time gone past. Stonework, old windows with a cobweb, or gleaming woodwork and candles in the churches. They all make for great ways to practice your photography skills. And aren't things you get to see everyday. 

"Grand Entrance to Auchmar"

So this weekend, if you're in the area, take a historical ramble through the city. Take your family. Then take mom out for a nice lunch. Then offer to clean her house for a week. No, really... stop laughing.

Thanks for the ramble folks! Have a good one, and get out there and explore your own city.

Very Quaint ~ Floral Friday

"Lady Fieldcote in Spring"

(1/80 sec.@ F/11, ISO 200, 20mm fl, overcast light)

Ever get excited about a hidden gem you've discovered, then when life barges in, promptly forget about it. Dentist check ups, groceries, and finding better ways to save on toilet paper take over. Then, almost a year later, you stumble across a memento of some kind and realize you haven't really paid much attention to it since.

Well, suffice it to say, I photographed a little local gem last spring then pretty much let it escape my mind... till now. Fieldcote is a beautiful little Tudor style house/gallery/museum and has these beautifully cultivated flower beds and gardens about it. Local nature trails hover nearby and it's just a lovely little spot to visit with a camera.

A month from now, I will return to see how she looks this year and this time I'll not forget to go back. Summer and Fall must be equally beautiful and full of color. Different lighting, different weather, different growth. Provides an excellent way to practice your photography. To stretch your skills. A different view or feeling of it each time. You'll see differences in yourself too, from photo file to photo file. It's a pretty cool exercise no matter how seasoned a photographer you are.

So I double dog dare you to find a hidden gem of your own, and photograph it a different times of the year, in every season and see what happens! And if you live near the Ancaster area in Southern Ontario, take a little jaunt out to Fieldcote to say hello and acquaint yourself with local talent and history.

Don't forget now!

Thanks for the quaint little ramble folks. I'd like to say hello to my readers across the pond in the UK today, all 32 of you, in honor of a very memorable wedding taking place just after I post this. (That's right, I see you lurking in my stats menu, lol) Pack extra batteries for all that wedding photog! Thanks so much for reading along with us here in Canada. And have a brilliant day!