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!