yesterday i went on a photo walk with toronto photo walks. a group that meets every couple of weeks to go out shooting together. saturday was a scheduled walk around the belfountain conservation area. i was excited to make this trip as belfountain has a waterfall and as you all know i am all about shooting moving water these days.
it was a rainy, wet saturday. so along with my first time shooting with a new group of people it was also my first time shooting in the rain. it was difficult keeping my equipment dry. just about everyone had a different way to try to work around the elements from ponchos, to umbrellas, to camera pouches. i had picked up some optech camera sleeves a long time ago and saturday was my first time trying to use it. i would not grade the attempt a raving success but i am hopeful that with more experience i will have more success with the sleeves.
overall i was happy with the images that i got but unfortunately there were some images ruined because rain droplets had collected on my lens. that was hard to deal with but it is part of the game. the display monitor on the back of the D100 is only 1.8 square inches. so i didn't notice the water droplets until i got the images downloaded onto my computer at home.
the group is quite the cross-section of personalities and i could see myself going on future walks.
my flickr set from saturday.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
it's all starting to come together
i am currently in a very good place emotionally. my last couple of experiences with my dslr have been quite personally satisfying. i really feel like i am becoming quite proud of the images i am capturing. don't get me wrong, it is still a process and i am still making mistakes but even with the missteps i am still producing images that prove that i am moving in the right direction.
that of course is not to say that i am still not ridiculously hard on myself, that is a character flaw that will likely be a constant. the upside of my flaw means that i will likely will always be striving for improvements. i will always be trying to learn new things and will always be trying to gain new experiences.
the other positive is that i am starting to have discussions that could potentially lead to 'professional' opportunities. people are seeing my photos, liking my photos and are approaching me with potential photo shoot opportunities. at this point, the opportunities are all still in the discussion stage but even being in the discussion stage is exciting. some of the opportunities have prompted me to spend some time gaining the required knowledge to ensure that i can produce the best possible product. that said, even if the opportunity never materializes that new knowledge will be mine forever. and you can't beat that!
i feel like the next phase in my 'growth' is to expand my 'world'. currently i shoot by myself or i go out occasionally with the poorboi. i have learned and will continue to learn tons from him but i also want the opportunity to shoot with other people, simply because there is so much more to learn. to that end i am hoping to start going out on photo walks with a local organization and i have also started a flickr account.
photographic social media sites like flickr and instagram provide photographers with a community. it can provide opportunities for critiques and other forms of interaction that i could only benefit from. the decision to start a flickr page was a difficult decision that i laboured over for some time. is my 'work' good enough? will the critiques be positive experiences or will the general consensus be to take up knitting? only time will tell.
i put up six images that i feel, at this time, are my best images and now i just need to wait and see what, if anything becomes of it. the challenge of course is to not log on every 38 seconds to see if anyone has stopped by yet.
things are currently going very well on the gym floor as well. i seem to have been able to consistently maintain a body weight of under 170 lbs. i believe that 165 lbs would be the best possible off-season weight for me and without too much effort i have on occasion tagged just over 166.5 lbs.
i am currently running a dead lift protocol. i still intend to best my p.r. of 405 lbs. the few times i have pulled that weight in the past has been only for a single rep. it has been a long time since i last tried to get that much weight up off the floor. in two weeks i hope to either be able to match my p.r. or best it by a single rep. the interesting thing about 405 lbs. is that the first rep comes off the floor with 'relative' ease but on the second rep it feels like somebody is standsing on the bar. i end up pulling like a mother f%#ker but the bar never even clears the floor. at this point my goal is to film that workout in the hopes of nailing the lift or at the very least discovering where the form break down occurs so that i can fix it. i will keep you all posted.
and now a few of the images from my last couple of photographic adventures... and as always enjoy!!!
that of course is not to say that i am still not ridiculously hard on myself, that is a character flaw that will likely be a constant. the upside of my flaw means that i will likely will always be striving for improvements. i will always be trying to learn new things and will always be trying to gain new experiences.
the other positive is that i am starting to have discussions that could potentially lead to 'professional' opportunities. people are seeing my photos, liking my photos and are approaching me with potential photo shoot opportunities. at this point, the opportunities are all still in the discussion stage but even being in the discussion stage is exciting. some of the opportunities have prompted me to spend some time gaining the required knowledge to ensure that i can produce the best possible product. that said, even if the opportunity never materializes that new knowledge will be mine forever. and you can't beat that!
i feel like the next phase in my 'growth' is to expand my 'world'. currently i shoot by myself or i go out occasionally with the poorboi. i have learned and will continue to learn tons from him but i also want the opportunity to shoot with other people, simply because there is so much more to learn. to that end i am hoping to start going out on photo walks with a local organization and i have also started a flickr account.
photographic social media sites like flickr and instagram provide photographers with a community. it can provide opportunities for critiques and other forms of interaction that i could only benefit from. the decision to start a flickr page was a difficult decision that i laboured over for some time. is my 'work' good enough? will the critiques be positive experiences or will the general consensus be to take up knitting? only time will tell.
i put up six images that i feel, at this time, are my best images and now i just need to wait and see what, if anything becomes of it. the challenge of course is to not log on every 38 seconds to see if anyone has stopped by yet.
things are currently going very well on the gym floor as well. i seem to have been able to consistently maintain a body weight of under 170 lbs. i believe that 165 lbs would be the best possible off-season weight for me and without too much effort i have on occasion tagged just over 166.5 lbs.
i am currently running a dead lift protocol. i still intend to best my p.r. of 405 lbs. the few times i have pulled that weight in the past has been only for a single rep. it has been a long time since i last tried to get that much weight up off the floor. in two weeks i hope to either be able to match my p.r. or best it by a single rep. the interesting thing about 405 lbs. is that the first rep comes off the floor with 'relative' ease but on the second rep it feels like somebody is standsing on the bar. i end up pulling like a mother f%#ker but the bar never even clears the floor. at this point my goal is to film that workout in the hopes of nailing the lift or at the very least discovering where the form break down occurs so that i can fix it. i will keep you all posted.
and now a few of the images from my last couple of photographic adventures... and as always enjoy!!!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
tryin' to keep it all in perspective
yesterday i had an opportunity to tag along with my older brothers while they played in a golf tournament. my interest in being there was not to play, the allure of the game of golf continues to escapes me. what got me out on the links was the opportunity to try to gain another skill set. i wanted to try my hand at sports photography.
i mistakenly thought that golf would not be that hard to shoot but i was wrong. there are definite rules about when you can fire your shutter, for example at no time during the back-swing. simply put you can only shoot from the time the player contacts the ball, through to their follow-through.
the course as well can limit where you can stand and the skill level of the player can determines where you stand. my quest to be ahead and to the left of the action was quickly pooh-poohed. i found out that have a brother who has a tendency to rocket the golf ball out that way.
trying to ensure tight focus was also a challenge that i did not expect. while the player was setting up their shot i would target my focus but what i failed to recognize is that during the act of swinging the player actually moves forward. so i was a bit disappointed as i felt my shots weren't as sharp as they could be. who am i kidding i was for all intensive purposes beating myself up over my perceived failings. stupid mostly because HELLO it was my first time and i was shooting a sport i really had no clue about.
i know that my family will get a lot of pleasure out of the pictures i took and if there is any critiquing to be had it will be of their golfing form and not of my photographic skills.
sometimes too much knowledge is a dangerous thing. prior to the tournament i did some research on how to shoot and i looked at a lot of golf photographs. i really hoped that i could emulate what i saw but i think i set myself up for an impossible task. i showed a few of my pics to the poorboi and he had to remind me that the professionals shoot with pro style cameras and lenses. as he reminded me i do not have comparable equipment and he felt that i did an awesome job with what i had.
another friend, who i will refer to as the little general also had some poignant words of wisdom for me today. she reminded me that if i continue to push myself to be perfect every time i press my shutter i run the risk of losing the joy that i have found with the camera.
i am lucky, i have some really great friends.
and as per usual a couple of pics for your entertainment. enjoy!
i mistakenly thought that golf would not be that hard to shoot but i was wrong. there are definite rules about when you can fire your shutter, for example at no time during the back-swing. simply put you can only shoot from the time the player contacts the ball, through to their follow-through.
the course as well can limit where you can stand and the skill level of the player can determines where you stand. my quest to be ahead and to the left of the action was quickly pooh-poohed. i found out that have a brother who has a tendency to rocket the golf ball out that way.
trying to ensure tight focus was also a challenge that i did not expect. while the player was setting up their shot i would target my focus but what i failed to recognize is that during the act of swinging the player actually moves forward. so i was a bit disappointed as i felt my shots weren't as sharp as they could be. who am i kidding i was for all intensive purposes beating myself up over my perceived failings. stupid mostly because HELLO it was my first time and i was shooting a sport i really had no clue about.
i know that my family will get a lot of pleasure out of the pictures i took and if there is any critiquing to be had it will be of their golfing form and not of my photographic skills.
sometimes too much knowledge is a dangerous thing. prior to the tournament i did some research on how to shoot and i looked at a lot of golf photographs. i really hoped that i could emulate what i saw but i think i set myself up for an impossible task. i showed a few of my pics to the poorboi and he had to remind me that the professionals shoot with pro style cameras and lenses. as he reminded me i do not have comparable equipment and he felt that i did an awesome job with what i had.
another friend, who i will refer to as the little general also had some poignant words of wisdom for me today. she reminded me that if i continue to push myself to be perfect every time i press my shutter i run the risk of losing the joy that i have found with the camera.
i am lucky, i have some really great friends.
and as per usual a couple of pics for your entertainment. enjoy!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
here comes the sun and i say... it will do for now
i am still here still distracted by the digital camera and still trying to learn as much as i can. even though i haven't been posting with the frequency i once did i am still shooting fairly regularly. however it is mostly just my mothers assorted flora.
i was having trouble sleeping last night and since i was wide awake i crawled out of bed and went looking for a sunrise photo opportunity. based on all my reading you are supposed to scout locations before you attempt to shoot a sunrise but i can't imagine just wandering around without the camera and if it is with you... wouldn't you just shoot?
the first location i went too was gated and i could not get in. my back up plan was to shoot a nearby fighter plane monument. sadly the large trees and thick vegetation that surround the plane made it hard to get a good sense of the sunrise in the pictures.
the trees that surround the monument were dark, the monument itself was dark and it was just before sunrise. if i exposed the shot for the plane then i lost all of the interesting colours in the early morning sky. if i exposed for the sky the plane and trees were overexposed. the best work around in this case was to use the hdr technique that i tried earlier. in this case i would say it was more of a successful endeavour than my last hdr attempt.
the key to sunrise photography is to face east when you shoot your subject. i have a couple of problems with that the first being my directionally challenged ass has no clue when i am facing east. i also still have to find an interesting subject to marry with the early morning sun. i would also prefer a location that is reasonably close to home and somewhere that isn't too sketchy or dodgy.
but until then... enjoy!
i was having trouble sleeping last night and since i was wide awake i crawled out of bed and went looking for a sunrise photo opportunity. based on all my reading you are supposed to scout locations before you attempt to shoot a sunrise but i can't imagine just wandering around without the camera and if it is with you... wouldn't you just shoot?
the first location i went too was gated and i could not get in. my back up plan was to shoot a nearby fighter plane monument. sadly the large trees and thick vegetation that surround the plane made it hard to get a good sense of the sunrise in the pictures.
the trees that surround the monument were dark, the monument itself was dark and it was just before sunrise. if i exposed the shot for the plane then i lost all of the interesting colours in the early morning sky. if i exposed for the sky the plane and trees were overexposed. the best work around in this case was to use the hdr technique that i tried earlier. in this case i would say it was more of a successful endeavour than my last hdr attempt.
the key to sunrise photography is to face east when you shoot your subject. i have a couple of problems with that the first being my directionally challenged ass has no clue when i am facing east. i also still have to find an interesting subject to marry with the early morning sun. i would also prefer a location that is reasonably close to home and somewhere that isn't too sketchy or dodgy.
but until then... enjoy!
Sunday, August 04, 2013
into each day...
i haven't been blogging as frequently as i have been. partially
because i am all kinds of distracted with the new camera but also
because there have been some challenges to deal with lately. since i'd
really rather this be a happy place where people can come to be amused
or entertained i have refrained from posting about the more shitty
events in my life.
the training continues, the shooting continues, the writing however seems to be on a hiatus. i blame that soley on the shoulders of the 'fro' and by extension onto the poorboi. along with supplying me with a nikon camera body that quickly became like crack to me. the poorboi has also provided me with some links from which to gain information and/or knowledge about the art of photography. one of those links was to the site of jared polin at FroKnowsPhoto.com. the 'fro' has been posting videos and supplying information for about three years. there are tons of videos to watch and since photography is my new crack, i have been doing my level best to watch them which means there is little time for anything else.
i wanted to try hdr photography. an image that is composed of several exposures of the same shot providing a photo with a high dynamic range. for the most part the photos that i have seen in this style have been overly processed, in my opinion to the point where they cease to look like photos to me and look more like very high-end graphic novel imagery. but every now and then i will come across an image where the hdr is so subtle that the end image still looks like a real photo and that was my goal. i'd like to say that i achieved what i set out to do but i really can't say that i have. as i am still learning i am still making some mistakes during the initial shoot that i think were amplified by the time i got to the hdr portion of the exercise. but as they say you live and you learn.
the hdr images:
some other recent images:
until next time
the training continues, the shooting continues, the writing however seems to be on a hiatus. i blame that soley on the shoulders of the 'fro' and by extension onto the poorboi. along with supplying me with a nikon camera body that quickly became like crack to me. the poorboi has also provided me with some links from which to gain information and/or knowledge about the art of photography. one of those links was to the site of jared polin at FroKnowsPhoto.com. the 'fro' has been posting videos and supplying information for about three years. there are tons of videos to watch and since photography is my new crack, i have been doing my level best to watch them which means there is little time for anything else.
i wanted to try hdr photography. an image that is composed of several exposures of the same shot providing a photo with a high dynamic range. for the most part the photos that i have seen in this style have been overly processed, in my opinion to the point where they cease to look like photos to me and look more like very high-end graphic novel imagery. but every now and then i will come across an image where the hdr is so subtle that the end image still looks like a real photo and that was my goal. i'd like to say that i achieved what i set out to do but i really can't say that i have. as i am still learning i am still making some mistakes during the initial shoot that i think were amplified by the time i got to the hdr portion of the exercise. but as they say you live and you learn.
the hdr images:
some other recent images:
until next time
Monday, July 15, 2013
the neutral density filter
there is a distinct upside to owning a dslr. it has provided me with hours of amusement. is there a downside? well if there was one i would say it makes it really difficult to control the six-year old within who has a case of the gimmies and/or the i wants. photography is fun and there are countless things you can do with your camera and most times there is a gadget that makes that 'thing' that much easier to do.
in the scant few months since i have had this nikon i have been back and forth to henry's or hanks as the poorboi and i hath dubbed it, countless times.
first i had a camera body and needed a lens. then i just couldn't use any of my old camera bags and well i also had to have a new strap but in my defense the dslr is heavier than my slr. please note the weight issue as it becomes an issue later.
after i started experimenting with depth-of-field photography i just had to have a filter to help blur the backgrounds. i bought an ill-fitting neutral density filter and ended up exchanging it for a circular polarizing filter. next i purchased the accessories to clean my camera sensor, even though i was petrified to do it. i also purchased disposable plastic sleeves for shooting in wet weather and an a/c adapter it was a fairly pricey purchase, especially since i also left hanks with a 70-300 mm zoom lens. i really have no idea how that happened... i think it just followed me home... although there is a line of the bill-of-sale that negates that theory.
wouldn't you know it with the new lens i could no longer fit all of my equipment into my camera bag. so back to hanks i went. there was a brief moment of indecisiveness as i debated between the bag that would be just right and the bag with a little room to grow. eventually realizing that i couldn't be trusted i left with the bag that was just right.
the poorboi started to experiment with long-exposure photography and as soon as he started talking about it i found myself perusing hanks online just to see price the shutter release. i think i lasted about a week before i walked in and purchased my first shutter release. my first because i once again bought something that did not exactly fit the camera set-up i have. so the next day i was back at hanks to get that sorted out. the shutter release allowed me to start painting with light and that was all kinds of fun.
the poorboi however had graduated to long-exposure with a neutral density filter and i was totally stoked on the pictures he shot. i went back to hanks online and wouldn't you know it, the nd filter that would best suit my needs was not available in-store and on top of the filter i was forced to purchase another 4 gb compact flash card in order to get free shipping.
after the filter arrived the poorboi and i headed west to shoot moving water. well it turns out that my tripod was not quite sturdy enough to support my dslr. there was a moment of panic when the camera slipped, i had one hand on the camera body and the other holding the filter. at that moment i was sorely lacking in hands. anyway the day ended with a trip back to hanks and i now have a tripod that i can rely on.
these are some of the images from last week's long-exposure nd filter waterfalls shoot. enjoy!
in the scant few months since i have had this nikon i have been back and forth to henry's or hanks as the poorboi and i hath dubbed it, countless times.
first i had a camera body and needed a lens. then i just couldn't use any of my old camera bags and well i also had to have a new strap but in my defense the dslr is heavier than my slr. please note the weight issue as it becomes an issue later.
after i started experimenting with depth-of-field photography i just had to have a filter to help blur the backgrounds. i bought an ill-fitting neutral density filter and ended up exchanging it for a circular polarizing filter. next i purchased the accessories to clean my camera sensor, even though i was petrified to do it. i also purchased disposable plastic sleeves for shooting in wet weather and an a/c adapter it was a fairly pricey purchase, especially since i also left hanks with a 70-300 mm zoom lens. i really have no idea how that happened... i think it just followed me home... although there is a line of the bill-of-sale that negates that theory.
wouldn't you know it with the new lens i could no longer fit all of my equipment into my camera bag. so back to hanks i went. there was a brief moment of indecisiveness as i debated between the bag that would be just right and the bag with a little room to grow. eventually realizing that i couldn't be trusted i left with the bag that was just right.
the poorboi started to experiment with long-exposure photography and as soon as he started talking about it i found myself perusing hanks online just to see price the shutter release. i think i lasted about a week before i walked in and purchased my first shutter release. my first because i once again bought something that did not exactly fit the camera set-up i have. so the next day i was back at hanks to get that sorted out. the shutter release allowed me to start painting with light and that was all kinds of fun.
the poorboi however had graduated to long-exposure with a neutral density filter and i was totally stoked on the pictures he shot. i went back to hanks online and wouldn't you know it, the nd filter that would best suit my needs was not available in-store and on top of the filter i was forced to purchase another 4 gb compact flash card in order to get free shipping.
after the filter arrived the poorboi and i headed west to shoot moving water. well it turns out that my tripod was not quite sturdy enough to support my dslr. there was a moment of panic when the camera slipped, i had one hand on the camera body and the other holding the filter. at that moment i was sorely lacking in hands. anyway the day ended with a trip back to hanks and i now have a tripod that i can rely on.
these are some of the images from last week's long-exposure nd filter waterfalls shoot. enjoy!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
might as well face it you're addicted to nikon
i have been having fun discovering some of the different things that can be done with a digital SLR camera.
as i mentioned in previous blogs i have been trying to learn how to capture birds in flight. there is a park along the waters edge that has a lot of airborne avian activity. my last attempt of bird in flight or BIF photography was thwarted by an overabundance of human traffic. the poorboi suggested that i needed to get an earlier start to my shooting day, he actually suggested a 5 am start... and no, i have no idea when he started smoking crack. although i was at the water's edge earlier than the time before i was still sawing logs at 5 am.
there were more birds out and about when i got there but they weren't necessarily flying. it was closer to 10 am before the birds actually got active. i did have a couple of new challenges that day; first it was a fairly overcast morning which was causing me a lot of difficulties with exposure settings and if that wasn't enough the auto focus feature on my zoom lens went tits up. up until that point the simple act of tracking the bird in flight, the art of keeping the bird within my viewfinder was almost more than i could handle. unfortunately with the AF on the fritz i was forced to rely on my ability to quickly master manual focus BIF photography. as there were 140 shots attempted and only 20 that turned out, i guess i didn't master it all that quickly.
lather that evening i decided to mess around with a little long exposure photography and specifically a technique called 'painting with light'. the basic premise is that you shoot at night with your camera set up with an exposure time that lasts several seconds. if your shutter is open long enough you can actually shoot pictures in the dead of night. the paint with light part comes into play when you move a flash light, torch or other device of illumination over areas of your subject. those areas can get a glow quality to them which can really make an interesting and dramatic image.
it is also possible to get the trails of light within the shot, the trails come from whatever device you chose to light your subject.
i was outside between the hours of 10:30 and 11:30 pm and i was well away from the street lights. i was shooting in an area that was really quite dark. up until the point where my eyesight finally adjusted, a good 30 minutes after i started, i'd been tripping over every single thing around. for future endeavours i will ensure that there is clear space within a 3 foot radius of where i intend to work and around my subject.
yesterday's subject of choice was my motorcycle and i was quite amazed at how clear the images were, even though it was pitch black out i managed to photograph some very dramatic looking blue skies.
here are some of the shots from yesterday's shoots. i do hope you enjoy.
as i mentioned in previous blogs i have been trying to learn how to capture birds in flight. there is a park along the waters edge that has a lot of airborne avian activity. my last attempt of bird in flight or BIF photography was thwarted by an overabundance of human traffic. the poorboi suggested that i needed to get an earlier start to my shooting day, he actually suggested a 5 am start... and no, i have no idea when he started smoking crack. although i was at the water's edge earlier than the time before i was still sawing logs at 5 am.
there were more birds out and about when i got there but they weren't necessarily flying. it was closer to 10 am before the birds actually got active. i did have a couple of new challenges that day; first it was a fairly overcast morning which was causing me a lot of difficulties with exposure settings and if that wasn't enough the auto focus feature on my zoom lens went tits up. up until that point the simple act of tracking the bird in flight, the art of keeping the bird within my viewfinder was almost more than i could handle. unfortunately with the AF on the fritz i was forced to rely on my ability to quickly master manual focus BIF photography. as there were 140 shots attempted and only 20 that turned out, i guess i didn't master it all that quickly.
lather that evening i decided to mess around with a little long exposure photography and specifically a technique called 'painting with light'. the basic premise is that you shoot at night with your camera set up with an exposure time that lasts several seconds. if your shutter is open long enough you can actually shoot pictures in the dead of night. the paint with light part comes into play when you move a flash light, torch or other device of illumination over areas of your subject. those areas can get a glow quality to them which can really make an interesting and dramatic image.
it is also possible to get the trails of light within the shot, the trails come from whatever device you chose to light your subject.
i was outside between the hours of 10:30 and 11:30 pm and i was well away from the street lights. i was shooting in an area that was really quite dark. up until the point where my eyesight finally adjusted, a good 30 minutes after i started, i'd been tripping over every single thing around. for future endeavours i will ensure that there is clear space within a 3 foot radius of where i intend to work and around my subject.
yesterday's subject of choice was my motorcycle and i was quite amazed at how clear the images were, even though it was pitch black out i managed to photograph some very dramatic looking blue skies.
here are some of the shots from yesterday's shoots. i do hope you enjoy.
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