A Childs Light

Children aren't usually as enthusiastic about having their photos taken as their parents. With Taryn we were talking about her rocks she painted and glued jewels on. She brought them over to show me as she was quite proud of them. I asked if I could take some photos of her with them. She said sure and posed holding them up in front of her face. I took a few photos then stopped for a second. She relaxed and looked down to admire her art a bit. It was an excellent opportunity to get some some candids and as often happens they were the best. It helped that Taryn is open and friendly and doesn't mind having her picture taken. Even with her though I knew her interest would lag if I dragged it out at all.

 I used the 24-85 at 24mm 1/80th sec f4 iso 100. I cropped the photo in some and converted to b&w with Nik Silverefex Pro 2.

Here is a photo a few moments later. She wanted to pose with her stick as well. We took a few and instead of putting the camera down I think I said something silly or laughed a bit. It got me a totally natural smile.

  The settings were essentially the same as the previous except I added a tone in the b&w conversion.

Providentia In Lumine

My brother Dale and I went on a day trip to Revelstoke while I was visiting him in Salmon Arm. There are always places out there where as you drive by you say "I'm going to stop there one day" This day was the day. One stop we made was at Craigellachie. This is the location where the "Last Spike" was driven in for the CPR on November 7 1885. On the other side of the Trans Canada Highway is a trail that leads up to a trio of waterfalls. When we reached the second waterfall called Cedar I started taking photos. Dale walked about 6 feet further and said I could probably get a better angle from there. As we switched spots the sun came out from behind a cloud which couldn't have been timed much better.

 Taken with the 24-85 at 24mm 1/100th sec at f4.5 iso 400.

 With this photo I used a longer exposure to give the water a soft flowing look. It adds motion to the photo. Some don't like that but I always have. 
 

 24-85 at 24mm 1/15th sec f20 iso 400

Hemlock falls further up is the tallest of the 3 falls and is interesting as it is split in 2. I didn't post a photo of it but if you are ever there it is definitely worth seeing.

Get On The Bus Gus

I was in the interior last week. The sky had been at least interesting and often spectacular the whole time I was there. On the bus trip home I had the camera gear packed and stowed in the overhead bin. I really didn't expect to be taking any photos from the bus window and those Greyhound drivers just refuse to stop so you can get some. We just left Kamloops and were going through some cloud bursts when I saw some dramatic skies. Fortunately I had the camera on the phone to use and captured this. One of those situations where because you are travelling along at 90kph you take the photo now as you see it and think about it later. 

 Taken with my phone camera lens focal length 3.7mm 1/430 sec f2.6 iso 80. Tweaked some with Nik software in the computer.

Symmetry In The Light

A flower growing prepares itself to bloom. By luck it is in a manner that creates lines pleasing to the eye. Or perhaps it was striving for beauty even before it bloomed. 

 Taken with the 24-70 2.8 at 70mm 1/1000th sec f4 iso 100. 

Sharp Light

I don't really like having my own picture taken anymore. It isn't completely about age but has a lot to do with it. I have to try face it I am just not the spry young fellow I once was. When I take my own photo I tend to try to smooth out the skin a bit, reduce the lines, and maybe take out any splotches happen to be there. I have seen black and white photos of people where the opposite was done and the photos are as sharp as can be. I think "These people must be real comfortable with where they're at". I also really like to look at the photos because they certainly are interesting and have a beauty of their own. To me part of what makes them great is that they are black and white. I decided I wanted to try this on myself and emulate that style. I always feel odd sitting in front of my camera taking photos of myself. I tend to get a deer in the headlights expression. Believe it or not I am sort of squinting in this photo. Even after I finished converting to black and white I couldn't resist cloning out the odd moustache or eyebrow hair gone wild. As you can see I really had to rein myself in or I would have had a photo with no moustache or eyebrows. 

 I used the 24-70 2.8 at 55mm 1/250th sec f7.1 iso 100. One flash above the camera triggered wirelessly through an umbrella looking down. I had a reflector under my chin to lighten a bit.  I shot in colour and converted to black and white with Silver Efex Pro 2.

Lost In The Light

A couple years ago while on the way home from a day of shooting Dar and I stopped to have a look at this boat beached on the river. The light was fading and it had started raining but we stayed a little while and tried some photos. I wasn't quite happy enough with any to post them but I kept them. Since I have been thinking about black and white Photography more I've been going through old photos to see if there were any I might convert. When I found this one I thought it would suit a conversion nicely. 
Reading photography forums on the internet there are photographers who talk disparagingly of photographs with a slanted horizon. I myself am not above tilting my camera and I can't help but think those who have to have a level horizon might be limiting themselves somewhat. 

I used the 17mm 1/10th sec f3.5 iso 800. It really was quite dim. 

One Light

I think if I went out with a camera of some type and didn't get at least one photograph I liked, I would feel like I had been walking around with my eyes closed. 

 I used the 24-70 at 50mm 1/250th sec f5.6 iso 100.

Light In Colour

After I made the post a couple days ago saying some of my favourite photos from a previous trip to Van Dusen were black and white I remembered why. I was shooting black and white film that day. Oh well, this visit I was using digital and did get some colour photos. 

 For this photo I used the 100 macro 1/160th sec f11 iso 3200. I took this photo right about here.

Stretched Light

As soon as I saw this statue I knew I had another black & white photo. I had to look at the statue for a couple minutes to figure out what it was about. I got it though and I think the photo makes it a bit more obvious. 

  I used the Hassleblad 80 2.8 1/40th sec at about f11 (I think) iso 400. I took this photo here.