From the Archives

I remember taking this image as if it was yesterday.  It was taken along the shores of Vermilion Lakes in Banff.  It was springtime and there was a thin layer of ice on the water with these big holes that appealed to me.  I had no tripod and I had to be very careful not to break the ice that I was trying to photograph.  By the time I was ready to take the photo I had stopped paying attention to the composition and the direction of the light so the end result is not quite what I had in mind.  As I looked at the photos all these years later I find myself thinking how differently the result would be if I were back there now with a little more experience.  And a tri-pod.

From the Archives

Modern cameras are amazing instruments.  They've taken a lot of the guess work out of image making and produce a decent image without too much mucking around afterward.  I have found that every photo benefits from some adjustments after the fact.  Most of my old images were taken in JPEG only format so I'm limited as to what I can do with them.  In this case I darkened the sky a bit and also the snow in the lower right.  A simple levels adjustment to heighten the contrast and voila!

From the Archives

This red sand was under about 6" of ice cold and clear water along the shores of Abraham Lake.  This is hand held image taken with my first Canon dSLR in 2006.

From the Archives

Going back to the archives is worthwhile much of the time.  Photos that didn't make the cut on the first pass often stand out after a few years on a low simmer.  This photo was taken in October of 2006 near Nordegg, Alberta.

National War Museum

One of my all time favourite buildings is the national war museum in Ottawa.  it looks especially bleak in this photo which seems entirely appropriate in my opinion.

Saskatoon

This photo was taken in the summer of 2006 on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan at Saskatoon.

The Things You See In Cairo

I bought my first dSLR in 2005 just before a trip to Amsterdam and Cairo.  I had high expectations of the camera thinking that my role would be limited to just pointing it at stuff and pressing the button - surelt for an investment of around $600 all the photos would be excellent.  It seldom left the 'auto' mode so all my pictures from that trip were jpeg format.  As time wore on I decided to become a more active participant in my photography....my main camera now doesn't have an auto setting so I have to do all the thinking and I am A-OK with that.

This photo of a conked out Cairo Taxi was taken through a bus window in August of 2005.

From the Archives

This photo was taken in August of 2005 on a day trip from Amsterdam.

From the Archives

I took this photo in Quebec City in the summer of 2005.

Springtime in Alberta

One more photo in this short series of latest iPhone Hipstamatic images...

Springtime in Alberta

Certain presets with the Hipstamatic yield fairly nice high contrast black and white images.

Springtime in Alberta

Yet another spring afternoon photo made with the iPhone Hipstamatic app.

Something from Nothing

iPhone Hipstamatic app image with minor Photoshop tweaks...

Springtime in Alberta

Here's another photo made using the iphone PANO setting.

Springtime in Alberta

I made this photo using the PANO setting on my iPhone.  Black and white conversion via Adobe Lightroom.

Springtime in Alberta

Next up in this short series of water reflections.

Springtime in Alberta

Water reflections are one of my favourite things to photograph and when the snow melts the opportunities are almost endless.

Springtime in Alberta

Over the winter there are several trails in our off leash park that get well used and the snow therefore becomes trampled.  When warm weather comes these trails are the last to melt leaving the little icebergs in the packed grass.

Graffiti Lab

These scews and nails were scattered on the floor of the space being used as a Graffiti Lab.

All images in this series were made using the iPhone Hipstamatic app.

Graffiti Lab

I often find that allowing the image to run past it's logical limit makes the image more appealing.  In this photo I applied this technique to just one corner of this over size piece of Graffiti Art.  That's taped and sanded drywall along the top edge of the image.

Graffiti Lab

This composition features materials stacked against the wall of this industrial site being used as an improvised 'Graffiti Lab'.

Graffiti Lab

Next up in this short series of 'Graffiti Lab' photos.

Graffiti Lab

Recently I was in a space that was being used as an improvised 'Graffiti Lab'.  I took several photos - here's the first.

Somethings Are Just Too Hard to Walk Past

A leaf revealed in the melting snow is something I can't just step over.

SARDAA Encore

This photo appeared on my blog last August.  This week the Search and Rescue Dog Association of Alberta (SARDAA) celebrated their 25th Anniversary.   They are a volunteer non profit group of dogs and handlers who serve the community in times of emergency or disaster.  I can tell you that they do this very well.  You can read more about them at www.sardaa.ca.

SYSKA Snowboard Camp

There's always an over achiever in the crowd; one footed snow boarding is not for the beginner.

All photos in this series taken with the Canon 1Dx and 70-200 f/2.8 lens.  Each photo was extracted from a series of photos made taking advantage of the cameras ability to focus rapidly and record multiple photos in rapid succession.

SYSKA Snowboard Camp

Looks simple enough.  But you'll not see me trying it anytime soon.

SYSKA Snowboard Camp

Alas, not every jump ends in triumph.

SYSKA Snowboard Camp

Next up in this series of Photos from the SYSKA snowboard competition.  Canon 1Dx with Canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens,  ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/3200 sec exposure.

SYSKA Snowboard Camp

After 2 hours of taking photos I thought I'd seen enough to give it a try myself.  'First time for everything' I thought.  Here I am on my first run.  A little wobbly on the dismount but otherwise a great success.