Shades of Gray.

A little while back I wrote about doing a little more exploration into Black and White photography.  I've been taking a few pictures since, and a handful of them have been intended for black and white.  Most of them have, not surprisingly, been intended as colour photos.  This morning I went to a staff meeting at my work, and afterwards had a little over an hour to kill before my shift started.  Naturally, me being me, I went and took some pictures.  And due to the weather, I decided that it was a perfect time for Black and White.  I started with this photo of people fishing on Ferry Island... THIS is dedication.  The rain was pouring down, and yet these folks are out there flogging the water in the hopes of landing a salmon.  And yes, I've been guilty of doing this, too.  Oh, wait... I was out taking pictures in that.   I happened to notice something in the process of setting up to take this shot:

What makes this shot unique is that it's a BLUE elderberry, as opposed to a Red Elderberry, which is extremely common.  Now... that's a nice strong image, with lots of colour, structure, and contrast.  So to explore the Black and White more effectively, here's what I came up with:



The picture is STILL strong, but the conversion changes the focus to the tones, contrasts, and structures.  It's no longer about the colour.  It changes the whole feel of it... and either way, the photo works.  Later in the day, I happened to find myself up in the Nass Valley on delivery, and was able to pop in to Vetter Falls on my way back down.  It's one of my favourite spots to photograph, and the lighting today was conducive for both B&W and colour photography.  Let's take a look them and compare the differences between them:

Again... both shots have strength, contrast, and structure.  The removal of colour changes the feel, but doesn't change the quality of the image.  Which image is better?  Personally, I'd have to say that decision is entirely in the eye of the beholder.  There are things I like about both shots, and I'm proud to say that it was time well-spent.

Before I get too far carried away, I want to take the time to thank my employer, RONA, Terrace Builders Centre, Ltd.  for allowing me to bring my camera with me on so many deliveries.  It gives me the chance to see places I've never seen before, and to share some of the events with you.  Coming soon to the blog: my trip to Kitsault.  (Okay, it was a couple of years ago, but it's still worth writing about.)

Patience Vs. Creativity... or Patience AND Creativity?

So now that I've got you wondering, I'll give you a little bit of background.  The other day... I guess it was four or five days ago... I spotted what may yet end up my best landscape photo.  I say "may yet" because I still haven't succeeded in getting exactly the shot that I want.  I made trip after trip there in the evening trying and hoping to get a photo of this scene at the wonderful "Golden Hour" that we photographers love.  On the first attempt, I was about 15 minutes too late.  As I got close to my destination, I could tell that the light there was already gone, and so was that night's chance for the desired shot.  I naturally planned on trying the next day, but guess what?  The next two days were cloudy, and the scene just didn't pack the punch I had in mind.

The next attempt I was able to make, the lighting was PERFECT at my home, and I made haste to my desired scene....... Only to see that clouds were obscuring the sun and diffusing my beautiful light.  Naturally disappointed, I returned to my home empty-handed and camera unshot.  Was I ever going to succeed in getting this photo?  The next day, the skies remained clear, and as the Golden Hour approached, I watched the light get better and better...  Do you know how hard it is to stay patient when you're trying to wait for something you really want???  And then... finally, it was time to head for my location.  I watched the sun steadily drop closer and closer to the horizon as I drove, and I prayed that the lighting would hold up...........  And when I was able to see things and set up to compose my photo... the house was aimed exactly WRONG to catch the light I was praying for.  I started to drive away, determined that I would return at dawn to catch what I hoped would finally give me the scene I wanted, and then I noticed the old cemetary.  And when I turned around and came back... I saw something else....

It wasn't what I was intending to shoot, but I saw it, was open to the possibility, and look what I came home with.  Sadly, I had to work quickly, and didn't have time to compose it properly... but it's not bad, really.  And I can still go back and get it again, this time maybe with a more clear idea in mind.  And who knows what I'll be able to do with it.



"Into the Light"

I can hear you wondering out there... "What about the cemetary? Did you shoot it?" Well, yes, I did... when I looked at it, I had a couple of visions in mind... and I think Ansel Adams might have been proud of my efforts. He approached his scenes with a vision in mind, shot his photographs, and then worked his magic in the darkroom. He had the option of cross-processing in different chemicals to produce different effects, or he could simply use the techniques that we photographers call "dodge," and "burn." The other things Ansel Adams, and all the other great landscape photographers, had in abundance, was patience and persistence. They keep coming back to a scene time and again in the hopes of getting that great lighting that will take a scene from simply interesting to FANTASTIC. And they'll wait for that moment, knowing that it's coming, in which they can put their creativity to use.  Speaking of creativity... the two pictures to the right... were taken about two minutes apart.

"Old Pioneer Cemetary"



So what would Ansel Adams have thought of this Digital Age of photography?  Would he have been a die-hard film purist?  Or would he have stepped up and embraced the freedom of expression that digital photography and photo manipulation gives us?  I don't know about you, Gentle Reader... but I think he would been a Digital advocate.



An Excellent Day

In the grand scheme of things, the title of today's entry is entirely a matter of opinion.  Shouldn't EVERY day be an excellent day?  One would hope so, but the truth of the matter is that some days are better than others; and some days are fantastically worse than others.  But today started off very well for me; for a friend of mine, not so well.  She's grieving for the loss of her dear friend, Bonez.  And yes... Bonez was a dog.  Naturally, having lost dear pets (who truly are like hairy children,) I feel my friend's pain, but my life continues and I'm going to carry on with all of my plans.

So... the first and foremost thing I had planned today was to go for a ride in a helicopter.  White River Helicopters has, for the last couple of years, sent a helicopter up to the Riverside Festival at Har-Lee's place on the Kalum River Valley to provide short sightseeing tours for the modest price of $35 per head.  If you've never done this, folks... I strongly recommend that you take the opportunity next year to get in on this fantastic chance to see a few things that you might not otherwise get the chance to see.  Of the times I've been in a helicopter, which aren't many, I have never been able to sit in the front seat.  Oh, my WORD the view from up there.  We took a quick peek at a valley with a river that feeds into the Kalum.  It was simply spectacular.  Here's a Black and White of it:

Why Black and White?  Well... going back to my last post... this one just works SO much better in B&W, so here it is.  The textures and details just LEAP out compared to the color version; also, in the color version, the curved canopy made it impossible for even my polarized lens to completely eliminate glare and reflection.  But with the B&W, I was able to easily salvage the details.  And it just looks cool :)  But back to the flight.

The flight was short and sweet, and left me with a hunger for more.  Flying in a helicopter isn't like flying in an airplane...  Actually... helicopters don't truly fly: they beat the air into submission.  Which results in a very different experience from a fixed-wing aircraft.  With a fixed-wing aircraft, you can feel the engine pulling you along, whereas with a helicopter you definitely feel suspended from the rotorhead, particularly during takeoff and landing.  Or in any sort of close proximity to other objects.  Sadly, as enjoyable, and indeed, FUN, as it was, it had to come to an end all too soon, and our pilot, Jazmin Ramsay, set us down just as gently as you could ask for.  Thank you, Jaz, for a great flight, and I guarantee that I'll be back next year for more of the same :)

Following the helicopter trip, the weather was just so nice that Deedee and I just had to head up to the lake for a while.  Did we swim?  Not today... but we soaked up some rays and watched people having fun in the sun.  There were children playing with waterguns, adults in boats of different kinds ranging from kayaks to pedalboats, and teenagers throwing footballs and frisbees. 

All the activity out there just demanded that I take some pictures. I even tried my hand at a new artistic style I've been reading about... It flies in the face of everything I've ever been told or thought about photography, and truth be told... I'm not sure I like it.  The standard in photography is to keep your subject, at the very least, crisp and sharp.  A soft focus is acceptable, and even artistic, but what I'm reading about in various sources is to deliberately place your subject out of focus.  Excuse me????  Okay... it's not my thing... but what I've been reading has been written by other photographers, so I'll post an example of my own effort at this technique... and let YOU the layperson decide if this is art, or if it hurts your eyes.  Please post comments at the bottom of this page... if the form has disappeared, click on the link with the number of comments, and it will open up for you.  Let me know what you think... I can take it.

To Colour or NOT to Colour?

I've been thinking about going Black and White in my photography for a while... and lo and behold, my favorite magazine comes along with their annual issue on Black and White photography.  Now I'll be honest... I love colour photos just as much as anybody else... and I've been guilty of taking a colour photo that didn't quite work and making it into B&W to salvage it.  Some photos, just simply DESERVE to be made into B&W because they take on a whole new life that they don't have when left alone.

There are some distinct advantages to shooting in Black & White... It forces you to see a little bit differently, and it also makes you spend more time on composing your photo, because a badly composed B&W photo is criticized more harshly than were it colour.  And when you learn how to see the textures and and tones that B&W photographs can convey, you can truly start to get some powerful shots.

Take, as an example, this shot of a bridge.  In colour, it was just kind of a mess.  It was a neat idea when I took it, and then as I thought about it, I decided that it needed to be converted into Black & White.  A couple of darkroom tools later, out comes this photo which is full of texture, detail, warmth, and life.  Which is perfect, because the whole hike was lively, and the weather was perfect for it.  I could have used a few other techniques to bring everything out of this photograph, but I felt that simple was best for it.  The photo is busy enough as it is.

Other things that I've seen have just simply begged to be photographed in Black & White. A snag in the forest simply leapt out at me and demanded to be photographed... and it was clear that colour would not work. A clump of toadstools on a stump almost screamed it at me. That photo, while good in colour, took on a whole new life in B&W. Winter photos are very well suited to Black & White photography; particularly when you have a subject that is ALSO well-suited to it.

Like I said... a couple of these in colour would be good shots anyway... and a couple of these just simply DON'T WORK other than in Black & White.  Black and White photography is something that I think all photographers should explore in more depth than they normally do, and I intend to.  Am I going to forsake colour?  Certainly not... but I am going to spend more time looking for shots that are going to be taken in Black & White.

What do you think?  Does Black & White photography speak to you?  Is good B&W photography something that you want to hang on your wall?



Welcome to the Blog!

I read in different articles how a good photographer needs to have a Blog.  Okay... I'd like to fancy myself a fairly decent photographer, and so, I'll start writing a blog.  So what am I going to write about?  Well... photography, of course.

I've been doing a lot of action photography lately, since I've become the photographer for the Terrace Speedway. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Push the button, let the camera go clickety-click as it snaps off three or four shots quicker than you realize, and then look at the results in your viewfinder and call it all good. That's part of it, but a big part of it also is learning to anticipate what's going to happen.

Gone for a ride OFF the track after losing a wheel.

Some things you simply can't predict, like a racecar losing a wheel between corners 3 and 4 and ending a team's racing for the day.  A case like this, you sort of end up going to check out afterwards, and hope like hell you're going to get something interesting.  Thanks to a proper roll-cage and harness, the driver of car number 12 came away from this little ride with nothing worse than a heckuva tale to tell.

Some things just sort of come across as being naturally interesting, like a couple cars that are neck and neck for the whole race and end up finishing the race with one winning by a BUMPER-length. Ask any racecar driver... THAT'S the way to win a race. It sure had the spectators excited, I can tell you. And the old joke about "rubbing's racing?" It's true. There aren't very many racecars out there that have all of their original paint left. Or that don't have some other color that wasn't there to begin with. But it's done in a gentle-personly fashion (I say gentle-personly because a lady friend of mine races... and she's learned to swap a little paint here and there, too... Good job, Tracy!) and all in the spirit of friendly competition. 

Winning by a bumper

Rubbing IS racing!!!



Some times when you're out there you can just TELL that things are going to happen... like when the track is a little bit wet and everybody's feeling a little bit of pressure. The oil starts to float up out of the asphalt and people are running a little bit harder than normal. And sooner or later, somebody ends up sliding all over the track. It makes for a great show for everybody, and ends up providing some really cool pictures.

Yeah... shooting at the track is a gas.  It's never boring, sometimes tough to get to where you need to be at the right time...  And you know what else?  The people are pretty cool.  All the people are interested in everything being safe and entertaining.  If somebody loses a belt, another person loans one to them so they can all keep on racing and making the crowd happy.  The whole place carries an atmosphere of goodwill, fun, and energy.  It's great being a part of it.