Sometimes it's hard to feel motivated to shoot in the winter and we have had an extended cold snap. Over the holidays this year we ventured out to look for snowy owls. We weren't there half an hour and we had spotted a couple, they seem to be pretty plentiful this year although they stayed far enough away from us that pictures were futile. While keeping an eye peeled for birds of prey, we also spent some time exploring the shoreline of Lake Ontario which had some very interesting looking ice and snow formations. Mother nature did it again.
Photo of the Week #90
Well, once again it's been a few weeks since I've posted a new image. Life continues to get in the way sometimes. We got a new puppy a few weeks back and if you haven't done that in awhile, let me remind you........it's exactly like having a baby! He is into everything and not sleeping all night and all the fun things that puppies do. The good news is that he is on the road to being successfully house trained! That is a relief. Pictures to follow. For right now, I've reworked an image I made awhile back in Niagara Falls, hope you like it.
Photo of the Week #89
This image is another product of returning to a place repeatedly until you get something you are happy with. I have been there several times, mostly under horrible conditions and I have not captured what I wanted. This was a trip I'm glad I made as I do like this one......finally! I love lighthouses and sadly, since they are all de-commisioned, many have fallen into disrepair or even been torn down. I find that very sad since they have been such a part of maritime history for so long.
Photo of the Week #88
Travel photography has a whole set of issues that goes along with it. You have people to deal with for one thing. Often people will walk into your frame and are completely oblivious to your desire to make a photograph. This often means you're standing there for some time waiting for the scene to clear. The most bothersome issue though, has to be weather conditions. If you're photographing something close to home, you have the luxury of returning the next day, or weekend, to get the light you are looking for. This isn't so with travel photography. You might only be in a location for a day or two, or in some cases, only a few minutes and you have to make the best of the situation you are presented with. When you see those beautiful perfect landscape shots, they are usually results of a great deal of time and patience. The great images are often made by people who have the ability to return to a location over and over, waiting for the right conditions for their vision as opposed to jumping out of a car and clicking a masterpiece. That rarely happens. This image is a result of traveling the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton on a bright and sunny day. Very little in the way of clouds to make the sky of interest, or to diffuse any of the harsh light. I was traveling through and this is what I had to work with. The one thing you cannot manipulate is the weather, right?
Photo of the Week #87
Here is another from my autumn trip to the maritimes. This was at Point Michaud beach, it was a mostly overcast day and I used that to play around with long exposures on the beach. I really like the look of long exposures where moving water especially is being featured. The overcast day wasn't the norm the week I was there, I had mostly clear blue skies. Sometimes people laugh because I don't like clear skies, but as a photographer, they have no interest to me. Give me an overcast sky any day, or at least something of interest in the sky.
