WEEK 12 Technical: Macro

"Life is in the details. Get in close and show us the details we usually miss. You don't need a macro lens to shoot a macro shot." Still behind on the schedule, but the macro topic is always exciting, I love looking at things up close.. I was out for a walk around the block and it was lightly snowing and I noticed that perfectly formed snowflakes were landing on my jacket. As I walked I thought I'd try and see if I could get a macro shot of a snowflake. I have a macro lens, but snowflakes are really small and I remebered a technique where you can hold a lense backwards against the camera and get really good magnification. I spent about 30 minutes trying to get a photo of a snowflake that looked good. Using a flash to help brighten up the scene. The challange is that the crystals are clear and to get definition, I think the light has to come in from the side.. bye the time I stopped, my fingers were numb.. it was very painful as they thawed out. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek12 #wbradorr #52week

WEEK 11 Composition: Negative Space

“Minimize the composition to isolate your subject. The composition should be simple, thereby drawing your viewer to the subject.” I’m a little bit behind on my project.. The Dogwood 52 Week photo list of subjects is listed by week number and not by date. The weeks have been flying by and I’ve lost track of which week I should be on, but that’s ok.. For non-project work I’ve been shooting a lot of cityscapes from my car window as I commute back and forth from work. With the change of season, the views seem different every day, and the light has been real pretty. Winter seems to be stubbornly hanging around with lots of snow still on the ground and cooler temps overall.. But the daylight’s stretching out a bit longer, it feels like we’re slowly coming out of our winter slumber.. For this weeks photo I was out for a drive this afternoon and found this scene that fits the theme (Hey, that rhymes) so here it is. I did get out of my car and stood on the side of the road to make it. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek11 #wbradorr #52week

WEEK 10 Vision: Selective colour.

“I know, I know. Yuck. Selective colour can be cringeworthy, however, when done right, it brings compelling focus to the subject.” My perception is that selective colouring a photo was a bit of a fad with wedding photographers a while ago.. I recall seeing photos of a bride in black and white holding her flowers which would be selectively colourized in a way to draw attention to the flowers. As I pondered scenes in my head where I could make a selectively coloured photo. I imagined a portrait of sorts where a girl with long hair and coloured nails would be lit with deep shadows, it’d be a photo of a jawline or part of her lower face/neck with her fingertips touching.. I’d then convert to black and white and colourize the fingernails.. But, I couldn't find a model to sit for me.. Then I thought of a shot of a building downtown where some of the windows would be colourized.. In a pattern maybe.. A big blocky smiley face :) .. but I’ve used buildings in few shots already.. What about a photo converted to black and white, with some kind of text overlayed in bold letters and the parts of the image masked out by the letters was colourized.. I didn’t think this would quite fit the theme.. Eventually I got back to the flower idea, I remembered seeing some dead sunflowers in my backyard that have been blacked by winter but the petals still held a bit of colour.. It was almost the theme naturally, I wouldn’t have to test any of my photoshop skills.. I picked one, set it up in the kitchen with a flash and made a few shots. I still wanted the deep shadows and the overall theme to be dark with just a suggestion of colour.. So in the end I used a bit of photoshop. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek10 #wbradorr #52week

WEEK 9 Creative: Forsaken

Abandoned and Forgotten were favorites in the past. Let's revisit the idea the idea this year with forsaken. There is a set of abandon wooden structures in a field just east of the city, not far from where I live.. I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to get out there during the week, while there’s daylight so late Sunday, as the sun was low in the sky, I drove over to see if I could find some scenes that match the theme of abandoned and forgotten. Post-holing through the snowdrifts, I was careful not to walk into any potential scenes and leave footprints. I made a number of photos of different before the sun dipped below low enough that all the light was gone. While the temperature was only -2, there was a wind and my glove less hands soon started to go numb. At least I remembered to wear my winter boots and wasn’t tromping around the calf-deep snow in sneakers. In post processing the photo I applied some filters from NIK’s Analog Efx to help set some mood. Let me know what you think and thanks for looking. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek9 #wbradorr #52week

WEEK 8 Technical: Zoom Burst

By changing the focal length during long exposure you can add movement to your frame, producing leading lines within your frame. I was hoping to try another zoom burst photo this week on the Langevin bridge on the Bow river. On the way home from work daylight had turned into that extended winter blue hour so I parked up the street and walked over. The bridge has been fitted with lots of lights that change colour. Tonite they were rotating through all the different colours but I was kind of focused on ‘red’ because it seemed more dramatic. It was cold out and luckily I had gloves and a toque and a tripod with me.. although my fingers did get to the point where they weren’t working the camera controls very well. I looked for different compositions and was pulling the zoom with extended shutter speeds as per the theme.. Something that I had read about earlier this week was using in-camera multiple exposure settings, which is where you can take multiple photos on the same frame, and the camera will combine the images into a single photo. I used this to to shoot the first exposure as the zoom burst, then use the second photo was taken as a still frame to burn in the background a little. This worked pretty well on a number of shots I made with the tripod.. The photo I’m submitting today was a little more loose because I jumped out onto the road and tried to shoot into the bridge using this double exposure technique. I wasn’t quite steady enough with everything because I was hurried and didn’t want to get run over by a car. When reviewing all the photos that I took, I liked how this one turned out. There’s a lot of movement, it has leading lines and I like how the outside edges have a bit of a ghostly feel to them.. What do you think.. Thanks for looking. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek8 #wbradorr #52week

WEEK 8Technical: Zoom Burst

By changing the focal length during long exposure you can add movement to your frame, producing leading lines within your frame. On the way to work this morning I had my camera with me in the car and had an idea for the 'pulled zoom' photo based on a building that I pass on my commute.. I'd made some test photos on the way, trying to set the shutter speed and trying to pull the zoom on different views just to see how it would work. As I got near the intersection across from the subject building I poked the camera out the window and made a quick attempt at a shot without looking because the light was changing and I had to go. Darn, I wasn't able to look through the viewfinder to frame it up and thought I'd just park the car then walk back to the spot. Later, reviewing the photo I think I lucked out. I found that I liked how the light lines spread out from the middle of the building and how the outer edges of the structure fall into the sky/background. The sun was still down and the sky was starting to lighten up. Given it's still early in the week I may try another idea that I was thinking about for this theme. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for looking. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek8 #wbradorr #52week

Week 7 Composition, Fill the Frame

The theme for this week is to fill the frame with the subject and to not let the background play a role in the composition. I wanted a subject with depth and texture and thought a macro photo would help achieve that. Getting very close to a subject with a macro lens means that the depth of field ( area in focus) will be very thin. To compensate for that I took a bunch of photos and for each one I focused a little further into the frame. Then you can take all the photos then stack them to increase the amount of stuff thats in focus. This was my first attempt at it. You can do it so that everyrhing in the scene is in sharp focus, but I only used a few of the photos to increase the size of the in-focus area.. that made it a little easier to manage and I liked how it turned out. We could stretch and say the subject is for valentines with the red strawberry and the chocolate coating. Also, a flash was bounced off of some envelopes I placed around the composition to help with the lighting. Thanks for looking. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek7 #wbradorr #52week

WEEK 6Vision: Alternating Rhythm

WEEK 6Vision: Alternating Rhythm Alternate patterns of light to bring depth and rhythm to the photograph. It was a bit challenging for me to conceptualize a photograph with alternate patterns of light that wasn't shadows falling off of a picket fence, or another tree photo, or street lights along the road.. although it's been snowy and cold here and the street lights have been looking pretty moody. I had a couple other ideas based on using flashes but sometimes it felt like accomplishing them would be more like an arts and crafts project rather than making a photo. There is a facebook group for the project where we post our shots. It’s fun to see other’s work, but I’m reluctant to look up the theme ahead of time because it’d feel like I’d just end up copying someone else’s photo. Last week at lunch I went looking for a scene and almost posted a shot of a textured wall that had angled sunlight light on it but later, when I was about to post, I re-read the theme and decided it didn’t quite match the goal. The subject was flat and two dimensional and lacked depth. I thought I could do better, at the expense of handing in my homework late ;) When driving home from work I pass a construction site where they've covered off the sidewalk and it has lights along the walkway. I’ve been wanting to try and make a photo there for a while and thought this might fit the theme. I took a number of shots from different angles and at times there were some pedestrians to add interest, a bit of a street scene. There are lights, a bit of depth and rhythm created by the curved walkway.. Maybe I’m stretching here.. If you have time, let me know what you think, thanks for looking. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek6 #wbradorr #52week #cityscape #d20180212

Construction Zone

I've driven past this view quite a few times, but stopped this time to make a photo for my weekly photo project.

Tower Flame

Lit for Canadian athletes participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Calgary Tower

Not part of the project, but while I was out looking for a phot, the sunset was beautifully lighting up the sky and the tower was 'lit' up for the olympic athletes.

9th ave

I was in search of a photo for the project when I noticed that the tower was lit. I pulled over and stepped out onto the road (safely?) to try and get this shot. The sunset light was an amazing backdrop.

Sundog

Crazy sundog appeared above the river as I was crossing the center street bridge. I tried to grab a shot, but traffic was doing that thing where it was going slow and inching forward, but we never actually stopped, it was a bit frustrating.. lol

Mt Rundle

On superbowl sunday, Conor and I made our way to the ski hill. Traffic was light and we had to make a pitstop at Deadmans Flats.. from the parking lot, the light was just hitting the top of the mountain. I took a few photos just because. The power lines and poles were kind of in the way so I added them to the composition.

Week5 Wildcard: Photographer's Choice

Week 5: Wildcard: Photographers Choice As per instructions: “Capture an image on your terms; who, what, where, when, why, how … it's all up to you. Caveat: You must tell us your intent.” It’s -20c and snowing outside. I didn’t get much of a chance to make a photograph during the week and I had a few hours today and so I brushed the snow off the car and drove off on my mini adventure. I wanted to find a landscape that would reflect the current weather, white on white, kind of a stark, winter photo, maybe something disappearing into the distance. East of the city is prairie and farm land and so I drove out there looking for something that would catch my eye. I saw fence lines, barren windswept roads, grasses poking through the snow and trees all fading off into the white void where the ground blends seamlessly with the sky. I made some photos here and there. Stepping out of the warm car into the frozen landscape.. You can try shooting from the car window but I’ve found that when it’s really cold the warm air leaving the inside the car will distort the air and prevent you from getting sharp focus, so you need to get out. At least I remembered to wear some winter clothes. My eyes teared up in the wind and my glasses fogged up when I got back in the car. Blowing snow would melt then freeze on my car’s windshield. For this photo I saw a tree I wanted to shoot across a field, I liked the shape of it, so I parked and half jogged/walked over to get closer. Wind and snow freezing my face. I looked at it from a few angles, trying different shots. I settled on this panorama.. three photos to encompass the scene. Positioned so the primary tree was separated from the ones behind. I hope you like it. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek5 #wbradorr #52week

Week 4: Creative - Quiet Moment

Week 4: Creative - Quiet Moment The theme for this photo (I’m a little bit late with my week four submission as we just started week 5 today..) is to create a creative composition of a quiet moment. The description provided is.. Peace. Serenity. Tranquility. Convey a quiet moment. I think I should have read that a little closer before executing this particular photo idea.. Although, to be honest I had a couple other ideas that would have been more inline with the intent. I wanted to try and capture someone who was ‘still’ amidst a swirling mass of people.. I wasn’t able to try it because I needed a model and it was time of day specific and I didn’t ask anyone to help until Wednesday and it would have had to be outside and the weather got pretty cold and so on.. Lots of excuses I know. I’d still like to try it sometime. Just to see how it’d turn out. So I had come up with this ‘quiet moment’ representation It was easy to find a model and the location was accessible just had to wait long enough for everyone to leave the office - I put a sign on the main door that said ‘unavailable’ hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with any random foot traffic. To make the photo, I hooked a remote flash to the top of the door and placed the camera on the floor. Last year sometime I’d purchased some remote flash triggers but hadn’t really used them. Yesterday I figured out how to use the triggers to remotely fire the camera, which in turn made the flash go off for the photo.. Cool beans. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek4 #wbradorr #52week

Week 3: Technical: Full Manual

Week 3: Technical: Full Manual (f/8, 2s, iso100, 18mm) The theme this week is to create a composition and put the camera in full manual mode. This way the photographer has full control over the aperature and the shutter speed. By twiddling those settings you can affect the depth of field (what's in focus), exposure (bright or dark), how sharp the photo is (fast or slow shutter). My idea was to hang my camera out the sunroof and to shoot some photos while the car was moving with a two second shutter speed. With that, I had to adjust the aperature to F8 so it wouldn't be over exposed. It was just after sunset so I was able to get some colour in the sky.. unfortunately the road isn't very smooth and the lines are wobbly, but I think that addeds to the photo anyway making it a little bit abstract. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek3 #wbradorr #52week

Week 2: Composition: Colour Harmony

Week 2: Composition: Colour Harmony This week's theme is about composition and colour. Colour harmony can come from matching complementary colours like red and green or blue and orange or yellow and purple. These radishes are an example of how nature comes together to in its own way to be complementary, sometimes by accident. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek1 #wbradorr #52week

Week 1, Looking ahead

Week 1 - Looking forward Hello, a couple years ago I tried a photo-a-day challenge which was to make a themed photo and post one every day for a year. I didn’t make it much past June as I got a bit off track and I didn’t really recover. Looking back at the photos there were a few that I really liked and I (sometimes) enjoyed the process of trying to come up with a composition to match the themes. Well, a new year has just started and projects like this tend to line up with new beginnings. So, I’m kicking off another project, but this time it’s a weekly challenge with a goal to post a photo a week. It shouldn’t be as intense as a daily one and there’s nothing to say I can’t post more than one photo in a given week if it matches the theme. We’ll see how it goes. The first theme is “Looking Forward”. I enjoy scrambling in the mountains and since I started that obsession I’ve been lucky enough to stand on over 140 mountain tops. Like photo projects, at the beginning of the year it’s fun to reflect on our past achievements and to make a list of objectives that we’d like to attempt. This is what I based this weeks theme on. Looking forward to the next season of hiking and scrambling mountains. #dogwood52 #dogwood2018 #dogwoodweek1 #wbradorr #52week

May 7, 2017. Week 18 - Purple.

Conor and I visited a climbing gym today and I found an opportunity to get another purple photo in. It was our first time and we played on the bouldering routes. Both of us are missing skin on our fingers but Conor was able to climb up a V0 route. I think we will need lots more practice. #yyc #wbo365

May 6, 2017. Week 18 - Purple.

Following the Dogwood 52 week list for weekly photo topics, this weeks theme is purple. I spent some time riding my bike up on nose hill park today and there were lots of spring crocuses in bloom.. I rode for a while and eventually stopped to make some photos. Thanks for looking. #yyc #wbo365

May 6, 2017. Week 18 - Purple.

Another prairie crocus. I'd shot this with the macro lens. The crocus is a wind flower.. and it was windy on nose hill and it was moving all around. My plane of focus was pretty shallow and I was happy to see the texture in the folded over petal. I processed this a little darker to try an saturate the colours. #yyc #wbo365

May 6, 2017. Week 18 - Purple.

A family of crocus. I was scrunched over on the ground, using my backpack as a tripod to support the camera. The sun was playing peek-a-boo with the clouds. While waiting for the light I had a chance to look around my immediate surroundings and noticed all kinds of insects in the dried grass. There was also a dried up thistle from last year that I accidently leaned on. Ouch. #yyc #wbo365

May 4, 2017 - Reflected Sunset.

May 4th, 2017 - Reflected Sunset

May 4, 2017 - Power

May 4th, 2017 - Restart

Restarting the project.. might be a little bit different this time.

April 19, 2017 - Dinner.

Walking along the street downtown I noticed a few feathers on the ground, then there were a few more feathers.. and I saw a peregrine falcon perched on the body of a pigeon. The falcon was having dinner. I only had a wide angle lens with me and I slowly tried to get close enough that I wasn't disturbing him. I wished I had a telephoto lens with me, but I think this works. The falcon is a smart looking bird.

March 9, 2017 - Sandstone

I was driving around for a bit

Mt Rundle

March 12, 2017. Fence

Paused along a country road, the sky blank the sunlight just barely breaking through the clouds at the corner of the field. Grasses from last summer dry and brown.

March 12, 2017. Fields

March 11, 2017

I had a late night pickup and I'm driving along near the tunnel. I want to stop and make a photo because I see a few possibilities around composition.. at the moment I was alone on the road so I stop and contemplate actually getting out but then I see in the rear view mirror that some cars are coming.. I open the window and grab a couple photos thinking that maybe I can come back when I have some more time, park on the side and try to work out a better shot. I like how the snow gives the road a lot of texture. it was cold out too, -21c

March 10, 2017 Discussion

Stopped at a traffic light and I noticed the trees. Checked the walk signal at the intersection and looked like I'd be sitting for a minute or two so I grabbed my camera bag out of the back seat and wrestled to change the lens quickly.. walk signal sill good. Go to frame up a shot out the window. The car beside me inched forward into my view.. I move forward a little to compensate.. Then the walkers moved into the frame.. had to shoot fast because I didn't think I could wait for them to exit the composition before the light would change and as they move further to the right the composition wouldn't work.. Three quick shots and I'm off. When people are walking it's helpful to make a few shots so you can pick one with good body position.

March 8, 2017. Crossing

Another drive by of the intersection that I'd shot last week.. I was queued up at the red light and quickly pulled out my camera and rolled down the window. Checked the aperature, shutter and ISO before the light changed.. as I drive through the intersection I point the camera out the window and shoot a few frames without looking and hope that something turns out. Want a high shutter speed because I'm moving and the pedestrians are moving. I like how the foreground turned out with the tracks and the texture in the snow.

March 7, 2017. In like a lion?

looking for things to shoot, I'm drawn to light and shadow and the texture.. many times when I'm driving I'll catch a glimpse of a composition and in that split second it'll catch my interest.. a few times I've gone back to find that shot and it turns out it's not quite what I thought I saw. I'm sure there's some brain fill-in happening that makes things seem better than they are when you only have a split second to contemplate them.