Rain Rain Part II

As I rounded the bend, I was instantly transported back to the moors of Scotland (I visited the country in 2005). The dense sheets of mist were there, the rolling fields, and the endless gray sky. All that was missing was the purple-gray flow of heather in the breeze, but my black&white-trained-brain didn't seem to notice anyways.

But what had happened? I was supposed to be driving through the sprawling, awesome boreal forest of the Canadian Shield, not reminiscing about sipping Scotch with some sheep. Turns out I'd entered a clear-cut forest, just the kind that the Western Canada Wilderness Committee has been lobbying against.

Well, this foreign landscape was more than enough to make me brave the elements, and Mark II seemed to agree. He was quite a good sport despite the rain, helping me turn out some images that are strangely beautiful despite the ravaged terrain. It all makes me wonder if "sustainability" and "resource management" could peacefully coexist? OR does human greed always get in the way?

I smell a new project on the way....(but in the meantime, enjoy these images).

Rain, rain....

and more rain seems to be all we're getting these days. But, I recently discovered that it's not always a bad thing for taking pictures.

It all started when I set out recently to drop my back-country-adventuring hubby off at a trailhead in Whiteshell Provincial Park. Excited at the opportunity to get the hell outta dodge, I figured I would spent the lonesome drive back exploring the wilderness with my trusty companion, Mark II (ie: my camera). But surprise, surprise...mother nature ordered nothing but downpours for that day. Although I still took my camera along, I didn't plan to get out of the car in the miserable weather - I didn't even bring rain gear along. (the weather was more proof, as if it was needed, that the backpacking hubby is slightly nuts) The gray skies were about as scenic as my mood at having to get out of bed early to drive 3.5 hours in the rain.

But that all changed when I rounded the bend on near Big Whiteshell...here's a teaser image to tweak your curiousity. Stay tuned for next week's post to see more and discover what I found to shoot in the midst of our oh-so-bunk summer.

Image of the Week

"Dew Droplets"

Photography has ruined a good walk in the woods for me. Where before I was a confident hiker, gracefully skipping over rocks and roots thanks to my years of dance training, I am stumble and trip my way through the trails, too busy looking at sparkling scatters of light and scouting out the compositional elements like texture and line within Mother Nature's canvas.

This image came about during one of those moments. My "quick" jaunt to the washrooms at the Falcon Lake Campground was delayed by half a hour when I stumbled into a dew-covered, dappled clearing in the trees. This was my favourite exposure because of the way the pattern of lines and texture in the leaves works in harmony to draw the eye to the tiny drops of dew.

Image of the Week

"Neon Lily"
(much more beautiful than neon lights!)

I'm baaaaaaaack!

Wow. Those last few months of school almost killed me. Not surprisingly, I managed to put off any illnesses until the last week of school...and then immediately upon graduation found myself bedridden with the mother of all colds.

BUT...it is the all-too-short summer here in 'da Peg. So, I couldn't let a little sinusitis/laryngitis keep me down! So here's what I've been upto in photog land.

Celebrations around town...
Grad season meant some fun portraits with the latest additions to the workforce! thanks to J for being a great model. :)

Street Parties...here's a double-secret-probation HK photo tip: try panning to capture a unique view of the motion! Just set your shutter speed to around 1/30s (to start) and start following the motion of the subject before you snap the shot. Keep on following the motion as you press the trigger...with practice, you should end up with something like this!
See the whole series here.

Even more celebrations...
Canada Day meant opportunities to try out fireworks photography for the first time. Although I tried a wide variety of shutter speed/apeture combos, I found that long shutter speeds, combined with at least a few stops lower than the ambient scene produced some decent results. This image makes the most of the loogans who parked their lawn chairs right in front of my shot!
See the whole series here.




Summer time...
and the shooting is easy. Camping trips always make for great photo material. Sit back with a cerveca in hand and experiment with your apeture/shutter speed combos.


Stay tuned for more summer adventures & tips!

image of the week

Taken at Bag Bay, Ontario.
30s exposure at f/4.0, 28mm focal length.

Image of the Week...

From a recent self-assignment at Dalnavert Museum in Winnipeg. Check out the entire album.

Image of the Week

From Self-Assignment: Quarry Park

Stonewall Quarry Park
3 exposure HDR
follow the link to see more...

'Tis the season

Ah, the season of warmer temps and beautiful sunsets. And...floods. My thoughts go out to all the folks sandbagging this week. Although the riverwalk was clearly submerged (as evident by the "floating" lampstand...which is still illuminated. Can anyone spot the danger?!) I managed to find an interesting angle for sunset downtown this weekend.

Despite the many, many pre-existing shots of our infamous bridge, I thought I try some HDR for a different look.

I can't wait for even warmer temps to try out all my new photog skills on a canoe trip or two.

It's in the genes...

dang! I come from some pretty goodlooking people. Guess that explains alot!

Yes, I may be really, really, ridiculously good looking (same with my folks) or perhaps...who knows...maybe all these hours spent perfecting headshots are starting to pay off. Could it be that there is a method to the madness that is Craig's Art Director from Hell?

Movie Reviews

1. Bladerunner:
I chose to watch/review this movie mostly for it's cinematography & use of formal elements to create mood, but upon watching the special features, I was blown away by the influence photographic techniques had on it's creation. Essentially, Bladerunner was to movies what Jerry Uelsmann was to still photography!
Many of the shots featured parts of the scene burned out and replaced with hand-painted renderings to help create that futuristic appearance. The aerials of the city were actually two-dimensional cut-outs of building silhouettes, created through a process quite similar to old photographic processes (they etched the silhouettes onto metal, then used a chemical to dissolve any un-etched areas. Once the etching template was created, it was easy to mass reproduce the building shapes). For the actual filming, they would blow smoke between these two-dimensional cutouts to create depth (atmospheric haze: a structural element from CI class!)
Furthermore, many scenes featured multiple exposures to create a desired effect.
Although this movie isn't necessarily my favourite genre or storyline, I quite appreciated all the time and effort it would take to make this film in the pre-computer, analogue days. I was facinated by the processes the used. Finally, I also appreciated the use of lighting, back lighting, and colour/tone to create the distinct mood prevalent throughout the film.

2. City of God
I enjoyed how photography "saved the day", in a way, for the narrator/protagonist in this film - in the end, it elevents him from 'slum hood' to a succesful photographer living in the big city. Although we get a hint of the importance of photography early on in the film, it's not until the very end that we see it's impact, a fact that I think parallels the idea that a photo is only a snapshot of an instant, only a moment in time, and that there is so much more to the story than that single frame can show. I also enjoyed that many questions/issues surrounding photography are also subtly explored - copyright (when his images are taken from the developing room & printed without his knowledge); interpretation (he thinks he's 'dead' when the images are printed, but in actuallity, the subjects are happy about it); representation; photographer bias (choosing to leave out the images of the crooked cops), etc.

3. The Last Emperor
I chose this movie film because some initial research indicated that it has some of the best cinematography in modern film, which earned it the 1987 Academy Award in this category (as well as 8 other wins). This film used colour to create mood, particularly through the use of complimentary colours. Texture, pattern, line and form were also prevalent in the cinematography, mirroring these qualities, which are prevalent in the historic architecture and art of China's Forbidden City (the setting for much of the film). This film is beautiful to look at, but very long and a bit slow paced! However, with a photographic eye, I can begin to understand how much thought went into each and every shot in the film.

Africa Pics

So I didn't get a chance to update y'all during my trip to Swaziland as often as I had hoped. Blame it on the 14 hour+ days that we spent working in over 38 degree C heat!
To make it up to you, I spent the last day in a marathon editing session to get my best shots ready and posted for your enjoyment!

Some background for context:
Riverwood Church adopted a small "carepoint" (kind of like a community centre) called Enaleni in Swaziland, Africa last year. Enaleni cares for the local community - providing two meals a day to children in this area hard hit by the AIDS epidemic. Our group of 20 was the first from our church to visit this important place, and I wanted to document our love for the people there and the many projects we were able to complete during our short visit. Enaleni: we miss you already!

Moment of the day...

Today, it was 38 degrees here in Swaziland - plus humidity, and with very little wind. (I know you windchill sufferers will groan, but trust me...this is way too hot, when you're not used to it, for manual labour!)

So, I took many breaks to play with the kids of Enaleni, just to escape the heat. One particularly quiet girl was just happy to be by my side and hold my hand while we watched the chaos of a rousing soccer game. I started drawing shapes in the sand with my toe, just to pass the time - pretty much absentmindedly, while watching the action.

When I looked back down at my new friend, I realized that (like many children), she'd been mimicking my every move, and traced a heart with her toe. Yes, it makes a great picture that I couldn't help but capture. But more importantly, it makes an unforgettable print on my own heart that I'm happy my quick photog reflexes could share.

Of Marshes and Farmers

Well, we arrived in Africa today and two thoughts immediately hit me: 1) dang, that sun is hot! 2) It's so green here I'm almost blinded! (compared to white, white, and gray Winnipeg winter)

But as we drove the five hours across the South African countryside to our final destination, Swaziland, I was struck by a much deeper thought. I noticed that wheat and corn fields dotted the landscape, that I knew the name of flowers along the roadside (cosmos, my fav, line the ditches!) Here there was red dirt and green fields, just like in PEI. There are some prairie meadows dancing in the breeze. Here a field of muted greens, browns, and purple - just like the moors we visited in Scotland. There, pothole wetlands just like the coulees of Saskatchewan.

With all these memories, it's no wonder I got a bit lost in space and time (although it could also have been the fact that I was riding in a bus that had the heat stuck on, in plus 35 degree weather!) But it made me wonder what, other than the simple colour of our skin, makes us so different from the people we are coming to serve?

Shooting moving targets...

...is fun, yet challenging, as I discovered this past weekend. N was racing our dog, Rufio (a shepherd cross) as part of the ski joring competition at the annual City of Lakes Loppet in Minneapolis.

Our team of 4 Canadians headed south of the border to represent, and we did great! (results) We were so proud of our Ruf and N in their first big race, coming in 14th in his class and 5 minutes ahead of the average!

It was a great opportunity to practice some very fast-paced event photography. With a loaner 70-200mm lens (thanks Tim!) in tow, I set out to capture some of the excitement (and mayhem) of the pre-race corral and the mass start. It was chaotic to try and find my chosen subjects in a sea of cross-country-ski-gear clad guys, never mind obtaining an accurate focus!

Before I knew it, I had to book it over to the finish line (I literally had to run...these dogs are fast!) in time to capture our guys coming across the finish line. I'm sure glad I took the time to stake out my location before the race began.



Cudos to all the organizers and racers... I'm looking forward to next year!

If you like what you see, please find out more about ski joring in Manitoba.

I'm on fire!

Well, not quite...although I do have a few new holes in my jacket thanks to some sparks.

Yes, last night was our annual tree burning party - that annual festival where we watch our long-beloved holiday traditions and memories (oh! the turkey that has now made it's way to my thighs. Oh! the dysfunctional gatherings. Oh! the childhood tantrums of toys and dreams not found amidst the wrapping clad carnage under the tree.) burning up in a fireball of dazzling proportions. A time to reflect on the year that was and drink enough beer to not care about the year ahead.

At least this year it was cold enough to chill our beverages of choice upon immediate contact with the arctic air. Global warming my ass!

But, this year's annual "terrify the neighbours" extravaganza came with a new twist - a perfect opportunity for me to try capturing low light situations, as well as the mesmerizing glow of half a tree ablaze.

Yes, it was freezing (I think around -40 with the windchill). Yes, flying embers were a clear and present danger - especially with N's obvious predisposition for pyromania! But I persevered and got off a few good shots. (Shot at ISO 6400, 24-104 lens, F4 with da Mark 2. Some post in lightroom.) Thanks to all who came out and braved the cold to make this another memorable night!

Fun with Mark

A break from performing with my dance group, Virage Dance Co., allowed me a new opportunity to try my hand at some dance photography last week. The low light of the venue also gave me an opportunity to really push the limits of ISO on my new 5D MarkII.



These were shot over two quick-moving dances (one foxtrot, one salsa) and a few 'party shots' at 5000 ISO. Most have only minor processing - some cropping, noise reduction, and a some fill light in Lightroom (with a few additions of fun preset styles for my own enjoyment!)

Although I would have liked to try different angles and a faster lens, I'm pretty happy with my first attempt at live dance photography. It certainly helped to know the routines inside and out. I'll have to cop out of gigs more often, so I can practice with my camera instead!

Inspired Darkness

One of my favourite bands is Crooked Still from Boston. They have the most beautiful, haunting "new-grass" songs with surprisingly dark lyrics. So when I got the chance to portray the emotions of a song through photography for an assignment, I knew exactly what I had to do. Here's a series based on the song "Low Down and Dirty" by Crooked Still (lyrics available here, song preview available through ITunes.)

A HUGE thank you to Sheena for risking major frostbite to lie in the snow and look awesome for my shoot!

Nordic Ski Tour

The air is cool and crisp, the powder is fresh, and there's no where I'd rather be than out on the trail! So, why not turn my lens on one of my winter hobbies?
With the idea of capturing a photo essay on a cross-country ski tour, Nick and I set out to Falcon Lake to see what we could find...surprisingly, there are reasons to love winter!

Baby Sister's First Christmas

The holidays meant another major assignment, this time for Creative Imaging. I wanted to capture my sister's first Christmas in her new house and all the mixed emotions (happy, excited, proud; lonely, stressed, sad) that can bring. I like how the toned prints highlight that juxtaposition (they were displayed in two rows, blue above and sepia below, with the title in between). Finally, I wanted to find a way to let the viewer know that this story is told through a big sister's somewhat biased point of view - hence, the title shot. Thanks to J for her patience!

Happy New Year!

It's been awhile!
I hope the holidays were good to you...they meant lots of rest, family time, and playing with new camera gear for me!
I welcomed the latest edition to my family-the Canon 5D Mark II that is! Plus, a new lens and flash, courtesy of N.
Here's a quick sampling of my fav shots over the holidays, enjoy. :)