When You've Got The Blues

"Quiet Dusk"

Dusk. Things quiet down. Bird song is amplified. Music carries from the distant pier. The water barely moves. We walk the trail by the local marina and here and there a couple sits on benches overlooking the restful scenery, letting the calm do the talking. I let it call to my camera on this particular night.

Why haven't I used this wonderful low light more often?

We see in colour, we see in black & white, but I have struggled with seeing in 'blues' I'll confess. There are only subtle, gradual changes from highlight to shadow. From one tone to another to distinguish shape and line. If anything, the blues of dusk cause me to really pay attention to the light, where it plays, where it disappears, what and how it illuminates and not as much on good composition to also carry a story.

When you've got the blues that come with dusk's final light, you are forced to sacrifice blatant contrast for more subtle details, in order to preserve mood and perception. And in processing, you have personal considerations galore. Do I remain true to the colour cast? Do I only accentuate the light skimming over the objects in the foreground? Across the water?

I decide it's not necessary to see every bold detail on the boats, we know they are there and that's enough for the image. I decide I love how the light grew intense near the sun's connection to the horizon and keep that intensity. I keep the composition consistent with the lily pads mimicking the clouds above.

When all is said and done, how lovely and quiet the evening was comes rushing back to me. You'll all see something different, which is just as wonderful. It's what I love about the arts period.

Have a great week, and thanks for this ramble in the dusk.

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! 

Whatever Makes Your Heart Soar...

"Sunshine in Your Heart"

I am seeing many blogs and articles lately that I suppose are there to challenge the average photographer. Posts about what's long out of style, what's the latest cool look, where the money is being made, where the money should be spent. Some make a living out of sticking their nose up at the learning photographer still calmly mucking their way through the world of pro photography, and some make a point of telling you to embrace every obstacle and seeing where it all leads.

In all of the mumblings, and overwhelming advice, I hope there are those who still encourage all artists and hobbyists alike to embrace whatever makes their heart soar. I mean it. If art is an expression of the artist's vision and purpose, then how important is it to stop emmulating everyone around you and just be you. Don't worry about what the trend is on 500px, don't fret over the fact that everyone else seems to have their act together, and don't sacrifice what only you can bring to your art for the chance to blend in with the thousands of others who are desperate to copy anything deemed the very best. Because at some point, on a whim, the powers that be will suddenly have a new "very best"... and it starts all over again.

As I work on a new business strategy (yep, STILL working on it... but that's okay in my world) for my photography, I still try to retain a grasp on who I am as a photographer and artist. Yes, I strive to grow. Yes, I try to hone my craft. But I cannot do well if my best is someone elses. Sometimes my need to just be me results in wandering through the local park and coming back with an image like the one above. An image to remind me that no matter what else I do with my skills, this is who I really am. I'm not sure we make an effort to know ourselves that well. We're too busy trying to keep up with everyone else and an industry that seems to be gathering momentum faster than a tornado in a trailer park.

Before you do anything else with your craft, make sure you remember to do whatever makes your heart sing. Whether it hangs in a gallery or hangs out on a website (or just hangs out in your craft room at home), make sure it's all you baby.

Thanks for the ramble gang.... and I'll try never to end a post with "it's all you baby" ever again. Well, hardly ever.

Where You Live ~ Exploration Thursday

"The Departure" Panorama

When life permits, I'll one day be able to really travel. I spent some time yesterday looking at travel photography and I know it's a challenge I want to face one day. But for now the timing is wrong, and I'm okay with that. I need to be here for my kids, both starting new journeys in school this fall, and for my hubby as he takes on extra work, and you'll see a new section soon to the blog for portraits.... something I need to work desperately for the next while.

But when I DO have that hankering (sometimes daily, let's be real here!) to shoot interesting vistas, wonderful scenery, or curious subjects, I have everything right here. Where I live. If I time it right, if I look hard enough, if I'm patient and open to possibilities, I can fill that need and get images that still test my skills.

The panoramic shot above was taken at a local marina, one of my go-to places for landscape hankerings. To see it enlarged just click on the image above. I have never tried pano's before, and thought I'd give this scene a try. The last golden light of the day was quickly departing (hence the title) and I liked the cloud cover over the entrance to the boat launch, with equipment standing at attention, ready for the next day's boats to launch out of dry dock. I badly wanted all that sky contoured in the last light. And suddenly I heard the voice of a good friend and mentor, saying, "For heaven's sake CD, make a multiple image panoramic already".... so I did. He's been trying to get me to do this for the last year or so, so Bob - this is for you! This scene has four images stitched together and processed to tweak the light in the photo, allowing me to get from one end of the launch to the other within a single frame. And get all the sky over the whole scene. I was so excited to see this done, that it felt just like coming back from an adventure elsewhere. Now four shots combined isn't genius or anything, but I feel good for my first attempt. That's one for the bucket list!

My point? I will never stop photographing where I live. It is training me now for the places and sights I'll photograph later... that's just too invaluable to ignore, or to sit around wishing I was somewhere else all the time. I hope the scenes I post through the blog inspire my readers to explore where they live, with or without a camera.

Drop me a line and let me know where you live! My stats say that some of you are away across the pond, some away across the world... would love to actually hear from you!

Thanks for the ramble... hope you're rambling about where you live too.

What I Know About Sunsets...

"At Evening's Bay"

Photographing in sunset light will always make you a better photographer. That is not disputed. That magic golden hour will challenge you, motivate you, excite you, and work you hard. Now that my little family is growing up, I'm finding I have more time for sunsets and I thought I'd share what this means in the camera and to a photographer for those of you just getting started working around sunsets or have been struggling with understanding it's rapidly changing light.

1. You think you know your camera! Photographing at the pace it takes to catch all the different light in the sky from the setting sun means over time you'll be forced to instinctively know where everything is on your camera without checking. Obviously this frees you to concentrate on being creative and frees you to notice the light on your surroundings or subjects instead of fiddling with the camera. And this skill is needed in many types of photography. Just yesterday I photographed some rescued birds... I had to move quickly with them, and never once looked down at my dials and settings. And I believe your manual setting is the way to go. You'll have total control over what the camera records and forcing yourself to use it means you'll understand your camera that much faster, especially if you make a practice of reviewing your results.
2. Your meter isn't always your best friend. Or at least that's what I always thought when shooting sunsets till I realized I just needed to understand it's function. And again, this really applies across the photography gamut. But the low light and direction you decide to photograph in during sunset can really mess with your meter. Facing the sun's light, no matter how low will mean straying from 0 on the meter... I find I need to bracket my exposures and have some underexposure so there's color in the brightest sections of the sky but loosing detail in shadow, then swinging the exposure the other way and overexposing to keep shadow areas a little brighter and allow the sky to be blown out slightly. I place them all in processing as layers and pull sections from each to blend the exposures. Even when I'm facing away from the sunset to catch light on certain subjects behind me, I may start at zero but have soon strayed from it into slight underexposure/overexposure to get drama in the colors, rich dark tones and highlights that don't disappear. Know whether you need matrix or spot metering too. Your meter probably won't sync up with your vision at this point and you need to understand how to make it work to your advantage. 
3. You can plan all you want, but be prepared to go with the flow! If you shoot outside for anything then you know this. The sky and the weather will do their own thing. And over extremely short periods of time. You can hop in your car with great bodies of clouds to filter the sun, then get to your destination 5 minutes later and by then the clouds have gone completely and a haze has set in. Or rain has begun. Or the Extreme Kite Flyers Association has taken over the location and the sky is filled with random shapes instead of the setting sun... in which case GET PHOTOGRAPHING. 
4. Give your sensor enough time to get it all! Have a tripod please. Have a remote shutter release (or use your timer) for zero camera shake. And get comfortable with long exposures. All these things alone or together give you the means to get the beautiful light lingering in the sky... especially the light still there when the sun is gone.
    
5. Know that some locations are more logical than others. We have a wonderful beach not far from our house, but I'll never really have the setting sun in those photos ever... simply because the shoreline faces east. What I can get on that shoreline is the glinting waves from the sun opposite, or the trees on the shore with a sunburst through them if I stand in the water a bit. Or sunrises... and sunrises are for another day. The location seen above however is one I frequent because no matter where I stand in it's open spaces I can get great light. Either the actual setting sun, or the light from it cast across the park and marina behind.

This is just skimming the surface, but for those who have been wanting to photograph a sunset it's about trial and error, and becoming familiar with your personal style, and knowing how to begin approaching the rapidly changing and beautiful light that is a sunset. And with anything, the more you do it, the better you become.

Thanks for the ramble! I know how many of you are beginners, and are frustrated with this topic... I hope this will allow you to dig further into this area of landscape photography.

And Then There Was This....

"Solitary Elements"

First there was the lost sunglasses for the third time that day. Then I got chatting with a neighbour and missed the first bus. The driver was heavy on the brakes in short spurts and the man sitting beside me reeked of pot. When I finally arrived at my destination to photograph the sunset in one of my favorite locations, the park was closed off for a water festival (in the middle of the week people?) and I had to hoof it all the way around to the other side, taking up nearly another half hour of my time while the light began to wane....

And then there was this.

My first action in the midst of all my frustration was to launch myself at a bench and have a gripe-fest in my head or out loud to the many Canada Geese lounging nearby. I hadn't decided which yet, when I realized the soothing scene before me. All my frustration leaked away and I got the camera out as I marveled at the serenity and colors the Creator had waiting for anyone who chose to see it. This is why I love what I do.

The first in nearly two hours worth of sunset photographs gleefully taken last night (which I will post in the coming days), I gave it some basic tweaking and posted it for today. A reminder that past the daily obstacles, there's so much waiting for us.

With that in mind, have a fabulous day and thanks for the Ramble...

Soak Up The Sunset ~Floral Friday

"Awash in Sunset Light"

A quick little post just to say thank you to my readers. It's easy to think I'm just putting random thoughts and ramblings out there into the atmosphere and there might be a slight chance some one's listening. But my stats tools tell me there's so many of you tuning in every week, and I didn't want to go another day without saying how much I appreciate all of you. Thank you for journeying along with me. From the bottom of my heart.

I'm currently working on a survey which will be posted here and on Facebook... I'd love to know what you'd like to see or read more of quite frankly. Where you all are in your pursuit of photography. What topics are important to you. All of that good stuff.

So be on the lookout for it in the next week!

In the meantime, I'm starting off an iffy weather weekend here in The Hammer with this image I took down at Bayfront Park where the tulips are growing strong, tossed with daffodils, and where they seem to be set on fire in the sunset light. This universal approach to great light simply can't be beat. Have you tried it yet? Let's get out there then!

Have a super weekend gang! And thanks for reading along with my rambles...

Sometimes... ~ Telephoto Tuesday

"Sunset Grass"

Sometimes I like to head out with the family. We hit the trails, or explore a new park. Sometimes it's not my intention to pull out the Nikon at all.

But it's there just in case. Because sometimes something just delights you.

Sometimes the light dances through the marsh grass. Or sometimes it weaves it's way through the trees differently.

Sometimes there's no sunshine to be seen when you start. And sometimes it makes a surprise appearance. I always have my camera. For the "sometimes".

I talk a lot about being learning to be more intentional about what I photograph... but sometimes it's just nice to relax the "roving eye" we photographers never seem to turn off, and just take a photo for the sake of fun. For the sake of easy. For the sake of being care free even when you look through the lens. Sometimes we have to balance out striving for genius with striving for refueling our simple creativity.

Sometimes it means your photograph looks like the one above. And makes you happy. Or content. Or energized.

Sometimes all of the above.

Thanks for the ramble today gang! Have a good one!

Don't Miss Them ~ Telephoto Tuesday.

"Nestled In Sun & Sand"

I get an idea in my head and can't shake it. Nothings right until I can make it happen. This was my frame of mind Sunday evening. We're were out for a stroll along the beach at Van Wagner's, and I knew there was a cool little tree way out by the rocks and water further along the trail. I knew the scene should look amazing with the light from the sunset warming it all. I knew that it would look haunting if I waited till twilight too. I knew I wanted a photograph of it.

We got there and the clouds vanished, a murky haze settled over the water as the temperature suddenly dropped, a wind picked up... and my idea went out the window to be continued in better sunset/twilight conditions.

But as we wandered around waiting for the sun to drop before everything went cockeyed, I realised I shouldn't waste the time. There was still lots to photograph. Tucked my telephoto on the camera and started noticing the details. I started getting photos of the way the seaweed (for lack of a better term... maybe lake weed? kelp? someone help me out here) stranded on the winter shoreline had dried around rocks and silt. Details weren't in the cards to begin with but you use what you have. And in the end, it's a good thing I did. I got some images that were studies in texture, shape and sidelight. And didn't mind that I had to return later for the others... and return I will. That little gnarly tree in twilight is still the goal.

But thank goodness I improvised and didn't miss the details either.

Have a great Tuesday gang, and thanks for the ramble!