Back from Canada’s East Coast
As I wrote in my August Newsletter, “There is no doubt in my mind that our East Coast is one of the most under-rated places to visit in Canada.” New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia – three gems.
From a photographer’s perspective, it is a truly dynamic place. Landscapes of fog-shrouded, forested coasts and fishing harbours, details of shingles, windows and brightly-coloured lobster buoys. And, unlike Ontario, the provinces are small enough that everything is relatively close.
The unpredictability of the weather just adds another dimension to each day. Sun – rain fog – more rain – streaming sunshine…
The best part of the East Coast is that it’s “a good reminder of how life doesn’t always need to be frenetic to be well-lived. We could sure use a dose of that here in southern Ontario!”
Below is a sample of images. You’ll find more on my website gallery: http://www.luxborealis.com/gallery/eastcoast/
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Just back from 5 days of canoeing in Algonquin this past week with my daughter Allison. WAe canoed in to Biggar lake via North Tea and the Kawawaymog (Round) Lake access point. Great views of moose, sunrise mist, clouds, thunderstorms, etc. Check out the pics at my Flickr site (for now). Here’s one to get you started:
Photographing Star Trails and Meteor Showers
Just in time for the Perseids Meteor Shower in August, I’ve published a short article to help you with Photographing Star Trails and Meteor Showers.
Keypoints:
- Requirements: Tripod; clear, moonless night with no lights; remote or cable release; fresh batteries
- Star Trails require exposures times into hours – easy for film cameras but hard on digital due to noise.
- Alternative: take a series of 30sec to 1min exposures and digitally combine them
- This method is best for Meteor Showers: point camera at the radiant; shoot a series of 1min exposures.
For more info – read on...
July Photo Newsletter
Southern Ontario was a real scorcher last week. Even the family cottage didn’t provide any relief. So, the July Issue of my Photo Newsletter is literally hot off the press at http://www.luxborealis.com/newsletter/luxBorealis-2010-07-JulyNews.pdf – a great read on a hot summer day lounging under a tree. If you enjoy it – forward it on to a friend!
The newsletter is in the browser-friendly PDF format. It can also be downloaded (right-click > Save as…) and read using Adobe Reader (Win or Mac) or Preview (Mac). If you prefer a paper copy, the same six-page file may be printed in landscape mode on regular letter-sized paper. I specifically did not attach it to this email to prevent your inbox from overflowing.
Hopefully you’ve had a chance to get out and create some photos. I encourage you to add your contributions to “HotSpots” or “YourShots” in the next newsletter, most likely in September. Any feedback you have regarding the newsletter is also most welcome.
Enjoy the rest of the summer and keep shooting!
Father’s Day 2010
As I lay here on my lounge enjoying a lovely Father’s Day, I couldn’t not think of photography – so here’s the view from where I’m lying.
It’s important to be constantly on the look-out for images – at least that’s the way my brain works. Even when I don’t have a camera handy I am assessing scenes and views for their photographic potential – Where would I stand/crouch/lie for this image? What lens would I use. What compensation would I need given the lighting situation? Does this feel like a black-and-white image? What leading lines do I have to work with?
It’s the seeing of photographs in the oddest of places with questions like these that become the mental exercise of creating photos that leads to more critical thinking that soon becomes second nature – and that’s where you want to be.
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