Jim Dobie Photography

Holga Black and White

2012-02-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

It would hard to take an eerier looking image with any camera, at least that's my view. Looks like I failed to hold the camera steady but I like the photo none the less.

Holga Black and White

2012-02-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

There are some clairty issues with this shot but I think it is the better for it. This is right out of the scanner, only size was adjusted to make it suitable for posting here.

Holga Black and White

2012-02-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

With a little care the Holga can take reasonably sharp images - at least over part of the frame as evidenced in this photo of a tired looking old planter.

Holga Black and White

2012-01-31T05:00:00.000-08:00

Modern digital cameras can produce amazing clarity of image and with things like tilt/shift lenses depth of field can be infinite. But if you don't want that and are instead pursuing an image with shallow depth of field, light fall off in the corners, fuzziness in parts of the frame and a generally forboding sort of image, go for the Holga.

Holga TLR, F8, shutter speed unknown. Ilford 100 Delta Pro 120 film.

Holga Black and White

2012-01-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

I bought a Holga twin lens reflex camera a few weeks back and I will present a few images taken with it in the next few days. Here's the first.

The Holga is an odd thing, those who know about them are quite passionate about them and the rest of the world scratches their collective head when you try to explaing the charm. Here's the scope....the Holga is a plastic, very low tech camera. It has a plastic lens and is prone to light leakage. They are inexpensive, around $60.00 and very light. The settings are simple and the camera uses 120 film. You heard me; film.

Composing your shot is challenging - the image is backwards in the view finder and is round and cropped so what;s happening along the edge of the frame is guess work The results are bit suprising, partly because after 2 weeks of film processing you kind of forget what you photographed and the compostition is never quite what you expect. All and all a first class camera for making interesting and whimsical photos in a manner far removed from the digital world.

From the Vault

2012-01-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

No before and after this time - just the final version. Edlington Beach, Prince Eward Island September 1998.

From the Vault

2012-01-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another scanned photo negative sampling. As per yesterday's post, the top image is what the scanner produced, below is the retouched version.

From the Vault

2012-01-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to get a top quality scanner for some time and I finally took the plunge. I opted for the Epson 'Perfection' V700. I have load of negatives around and the scanner does an efficient and excellent job of handling the scan process. The image at the top right was made on Kodak ASA 100 color negative film and scanned with no cleaning or prep. Below is the same image touched up in photoshop CS5; I straightened up the vertical lines, adjusted the levels and curves, tweaked the colour just a bit and got rid of the the dust and other junk. This photo was taken in rural Prince Edward island around 1998.

Abraham Lake

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the last in the return to Abraham Lake series of photos.

Abraham Lake

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another of these crazy ice detail photos taken with the Canon G11 in macro mode.

Abraham Lake

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another photo from our winter getaway to Abraham Lake.

Abraham Lake

2012-01-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

I like the way that the snow covered pieces of ice along the left side of this photo look like stepping stones. It's symbolic in a way, the sun is low and directly behind this view; as I walked along I had to make sure that I didn't get too far ahead of myself because if I decided to take a few steps backward for a preferred vantage point the photo would have had my footprints as a key feature. I wanted to retain the pristine look of the scene and footprints would have spoiled it.

You see the trouble I go to so that your experience in viewing this blog is nothing less than ideal?

Abraham Lake

2012-01-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

This weird ice detail composition was made with the veneralbe Canon G11 in macro mode. The G11 has a handy flip out LCD screen that rotates enabling me to stick the camera under this ice shelf and still see the image. The long axis of this field of view is about 2".

Abraham Lake

2012-01-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

Composing a photo so there is an S curve in the foreground is a common photographic technique to lead the viewer into the scene. Usually this is done utilizing a road or footpath in the foreground to provide the classic S shape. In this case I used the lines that result from the water and ice receding. It's kind of an obvious sort of photo that doesn't show a lot of imagination, but at the same time it's the kind of photo opportunity that's hard to walk past.

Abraham Lake

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

There is no lacking of foreground interest in photos taken along the shores of Abraham Lake. The lake is a man made outcome of the Big Horn Dam on the North Saskatchewan River. The water freezes high in autumn and as the dam allows water to flow out in the winter the ice collapses along the shore. This morning I had the place to myself....apart from a Coyote that appeared seconds after this photo was made.

Abraham Lake

2012-01-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

These carefully arranged rocks are probably left over from one of last summer's picnics.

Canon 5DII with Canon 24mm TSE Lens. Tilt function used for maximum depth of field from top to bottom of the image. Singh Ray Warming Polarizing filter and Singh Ray 2 stop Soft Edge Neutral Density Filter over the sky. ISO 100, f11 @ 1/50 sec.

Abraham Lake

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Ice Detail from my morning at Abraham Lake. Canon G11 capture using macro mode; edited in Oloneo Photo Engine for a little added drama.

Abraham Lake

2012-01-17T05:00:00.001-08:00

I have visited Abraham Lake several times over the years. usually on organized photo tour/workshops. We made a recent trip just for a little post Christmas break and there was time for a bit of photography.

Here's the first of a series of images that will appear over the next while.

Recent Projects

2012-01-16T05:00:00.001-08:00

The skylight in this residence is an integral part of the design - it's also hard to capture in a photograph because of it's placement over the stairwell; getting the camera postioned appropriately is awkward. Even with a wide angle lens it seems as though you just can't get back far enough.

I used my 17mm tilt shift-lens to get this photo.

Recent Projects

2012-01-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest challenges in photographing interiors is getting the exposure right; there has to be detail across the full extent of the image. In this case there is very bright light from outdoors and very dark areas in the black carpet. If you expose for the daylight the image will be too dark. If you expose for the carpet the outdoors will appear white - or 'blown out' in photo-speak. You could take a series of exposures and process them as a High Dynamic Range or HDR image but I find that usually looks a little odd.

This photo is a blend or 4 images taken with my 17mm TSE lens. This is a shift lens that affords perspective control. I took two images of the top portion of the frame and two for the bottom. I blended the exposures manually in Photoshop and then merged them, also in Photoshop. The foreground was lit with a Canon 580EXII flash off camera with an umbrella modifier.

Family Photos

2012-01-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

For a recent family photo shoot there were a few challenges. For instance the various members of the family were only going to be together over the Christmas period for a limited time; and we needed to find a location that was (a) wheelchair accessible, (b) willing to have us and (c) large enough for a group of 8 people - plus me and my gear.

We settled on Rutherford House at the University of Alberta as it met all our needs and they were extremely accommodating.

Canon 5DII with Canon 24-105 lens at 50mm. Two Elinchrom 500W strobes with umbrella modifiers and one Canon 580EXII flash separation light (behind the subjects); all strobes triggered with Pocket Wizard transmitter and transceivers. F8 at 1/60 sec.

Team Canada

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

As this post is being written Team Canada is down 5-1 to Russia after 2 periods in the IIHF world junior cha\mpionship. Once again the maple leaf has fallen short it seems. No matter; we'll get 'em next time.

Spring in Winter?

2012-01-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

There was bit of wet snow that fell recently and the next day the sun came out and started the melt process. The tip of this branch is caked in ice that is starting to melt.

A Walk in the Woods

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Taken just before the first real snow fall in these parts, this photo has a nice geometry to it. Canon G11 capture; black and white conversion and contrast enhancement made with Nik Silver Efex Pro software.

Spring in Winter?

2012-01-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a very warm first half of winter in these parts; so much so that there is still a fair bit of open water on the river. It almost looks like a desert scene - but that is in fact ice.

Will it Hang?

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty pleased with this shot. it was broad daylight when I took the original photo but the end result had a very haunting appearance, which is the way these old trees look to me most of the time.

Will it Hang?

2012-01-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

These blades of grass poking through the snow were photographed with the Canon G11 and the Orton Effect applied in Photoshop. The Orton Effect blends two versions of the same photo giving the photo the look of being both in and out of focus at the same time. Try that with a film camera!

Will it Hang?

2012-01-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

This the same view as yesterdays photo, more or less. This time a colour iPhone Hipstamatic photo but again utilizing the 'Orton' Effect in photoshop.

Will it Hang

2012-01-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

This iPhone Hipstamatic photo was taken around dusk - that's the moon in the upper centre over the trees. The image was then given an ethereal look using the 'Orton' Effect in Photoshop CS5.

Will it Hang

2012-01-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

The next few posts will be of photos that are truly made not taken. This photo was taken with the Canon G11 and coverted to black and white in photoshop CS5. We don't see the world in black and white, and there are a multitude of variables within the black and white world. Contrast adjustments, simulated filters that alter the grayscale of the various tones within the colour image all can be manipulated and adjusted. Just two 'colours', black and white, but the range of possibilities is endless.

Will it Hang?

2012-01-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

Fourth in the 'Will it hang?' series.

Will it Hang?

2012-01-03T06:34:00.000-08:00

Here's the third in the 'Will it Hang' series.

Will it Hang?

2012-01-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Next up in the 'Will it hang?' Series.

Will it Hang?

2012-01-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

I took a photography appreciation class a few years ago during which we were presented with a series of images that we were asked to judge. The question we had to answer was 'Will it hang?' meaning is this a gallery quality image or a throw-a-way? So today and in the next couple of days I will present a few images for you to judge, ask yourself 'will it hang?'

Year End Message

2011-12-31T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the final blog post for 2011 - Taken on a late fall afternoon with the iPhone and edited with Oloneo Photo Engine.

2011 has been a great year for my photo operations. All my goals were met, financial and otherwise. My wife and I were able to travel to some pretty great places; Jasper (Alberta), Scottsdale (Arizona), San Antonio (Texas) and Vienna (Austria). Many of the photos from these trips have appeared here on the blog.

I got a lot of use out of the iPhone Camera particularly the Hipstamatic App and the Photostitch App in 2011. The number one requirement - the only requirement in fact - for making great photos is to actually have a camera with you; the handy iPhone is a great tool in this regard. Currently there are 5 cameras in the fleet including the iPhone; the others are the Canon G11, Canon 40D, the Canon 5DII and the newly acquired Holga plastic film camera.

There's been a fair bit of equipment added this year - both camera gear and computer software. Great pictures are made not taken; there are many steps required before the shutter is tripped and many steps needed afterward to make the image look the way I want it. In general I believe that photography is about cameras; the gear required 'in the field'; not computer wizardry. But the fact is that the computer is the dark room of the digital age. Film photographers relied on film processing techniques and the craft of the print maker to produce their final images; in the digital age it is done with keyboard strokes and mouse clicks so there is no getting away from long nights spent in my virtual dark room. It's a messy place most of the time but I love going in there, but not nearly as much as I love heading out with a camera. I liken it to a musicians instrument it many ways - they look (mostly) spectacular but there's nothing like holding and using these image makers that really appeals. I have my eye and some new gear for 2012; I'll let you know when something new finds it's way into the camera bag.

Photographically the low point in the year was having about $6K worth of gear stolen from a restaurant in Vienna. All of this has now been replaced and a valuable lesson was learned...well 2 lessons really (1) watch your stuff closely cuz someone else sure is and (b) not having a big camera bag to lug around is rather pleasant. Packing for travel in the future will be much different following this experience.

The high points are too numerous to mention but the key points are having great assignments given to me by great clients who are patient, appreciative and supporting and - more than any other single thing by far - having a wife who encourages and motivates me every day. Getting to take my young golden retriever Parker along on the odd assignment is pretty great too, even if she has to wait in the car while I stand around waiting for light to cooperate. There's a new pup coming in February; I hope he is as patient with me as Parker.

There's no doubt that the biggest gig of the year was being asked to photograph Sir Sidney Poitier at his Edmonton presentation in October. There was an 'after party' at which invited guests got to have their photo taken with the Great Man - by me. So I got to spend about an hour with him. At one point he asked me how the photos would be used; he was concerned that somehow they might wind up for sale on eBay or something. I told him they were for the exclusive use of the guests and that they would get prints only - no digital files would be distributed or published. He looked me in the eye and said 'You promise?' and we shook hands to seal the deal. He said some very kind words to me that I will always remember. So although this was a big deal and I have some great photos on file, I won't be posting them on line. If you're around sometime ask me about it and I'll let you take a peak.

One of the things I am most pleased with from 2011 is my new logo (you can see it on the website http://www.jimdobiephotography.com/) . I struggled with this for a long time. The meaning in the logo is multi-faceted; the square shape is intended to replicate the making of a square with ones fingers to frame a potential image - a technique photographers sometimes use. If you take your index fingers and touch them together then swing your middle finger tips together so the nails touch you'll see what I mean. Then rotate the resulting'diamond' until it's parallel to the ground and you have a little window with which to frame a photo composition. The diamond in the logo has a little piece cut out; that's to make it look a bit like a stylized J and a D fused together. The grey circle is a tip of the hat to a lens - in fact on my business cards the grey circle is a die-cut hole. Most people instinctively hold it to their eye for a look-through, just like you would a camera. As for the colours, the blue diamond is blue just because I like blue, and the circle is grey as it is neutral - just like a lens, revealing nothing and everything at the same time.

I plan to keep up the daily blog postings in 2012. I am quite pleased that I did not miss a single daily post in 2011. I try to keep it diverse and interesting and void of 'snapshots'. Having the blog gives me a deadline everyday (although to be truthful the postings are usually queued up for many days in advance). I hope you'll check in often and chime in with your comments anytime.

Happy New Year! And to all my fellow photographers; here's a quote from American Photographer Richard Avedon to inspire you in 2012 - he is speaking about portrait photography but the thought extends to all photographic art forms I think:

"I've worked out of a series of no's. No to exquisite light, no to apparent compositions, no to the seduction of poses or narrative. And all these no's force me to the "yes." I have a white background. I have the person I'm interested in and the thing that happens between us"

Recent Projects

2011-12-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

Car dealerships exist to sell cars not for me to photograph so it's no surprise that they are filled with cars making it a challenge to get nice architectural photos of the space. Here's a decent attempt however.

Recent Projects

2011-12-29T05:00:00.001-08:00

I think most of us envision big, shiny, black cars when we think of the Lincoln brand, so a shiny black photo of the dealership seems logical - at least to my eye.

Recent Projects

2011-12-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

I think we all associate new cars with a 'big shine'. So trying to capture that in the photos of the buildings used to house the dealership seems logical to me. After a rain shower is perfect; in this case just before sunrise.

Recent Projects

2011-12-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another photo from this utility infrastructure project. Photographing this gear with the 17mm TSE lens gives it a rather grand look I think.

Recent Projects

2011-12-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

When I first saw this scene it reminded me of a church. What do you think? You'll have to be satisfied with your own interpretation because for seucrity reasons I can't tell you where this is.

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

I was digging around for an image to present on Christmas Day and I settled on this. Taken on 2009 November 02 just after 8:00 am near Abraham Lake, Alberta, this photo has a nice etheral look to it. perhaps fitting for Christmas morning.

Canon 40D with Sigma 10-20 lens. F16, 20 second exposure. Singh Ray 2 stop ND filter over the sky.

Astute followers will now that I give my special photos a name; this one is entitle 'Mystic's Dream'.

Merry Christmas everyone....

Chrismas Eve

2011-12-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Generally I shy away from weird effects but every now and then I'll make an exception. Here is a forest (well....urban forest) scene manipulated with Nik Silver Efex Pro software to give it an old faded and weathered photo appearance.

Merry Christmas to all!

Recent Projects

2011-12-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

I was asked to take this photo in a manner where the donor's name was depicted prominently...so I guess it's not big secret who the donor is...

Recent Projects

2011-12-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

I had photographed this reception area a year ago or so, but the interior designer wasn't happy that the shot did not include the correct furniture so a re-do was in order.

Recent Projects

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

My client for this assignment were also involved in the design of the Health Sciences LRT Station; a project I photographed for them in 2010. So I thought it would be a good idea to blend the LRT aspect into the Edmonton Clinic north photography; here's the result.

Recent Projects

2011-12-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

This photo was made just a little after the one featured yesterday. The sun was just setting and the light was indeed fading. So I looked around for obejcts and a composition that would give the photo a strucuted geometry and sort of a straight-on aspect. Oloneo Photo Engine enabled me to adjust the tone of the image to brighten it just a touch; too much adjustment using this software and the photo takes on a very weird look.

Recent Projects

2011-12-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken just before sunset; there's still a little diffracted light to illuminate the north facing front of the building. The grass is pretty brown but all and all I think this is a successful shot.

Recent Projects

2011-12-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the long-and-low east elevation of the Edmonton Clinic North building.

Taken with the 17mm TSE lens; this is a composite of 2 images. I really wanted that sign out of the frame but it is not possilbe due to...well...let's just say there are a lot of issues.

Recent Projects

2011-12-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

This photo is taken of the opposite end of the same building as in yesterday's post; The Edmonton Clinic North at the University of Alberta.

The night before it has been overcast but the clouds were supposed to break near dawn. They didn't exactly break but they were starting to thin out and when the sun came up it cast lovely magenta tone that is nicely reflected in the glazing.

Recent Projects

2011-12-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

Late fall and early winter is a really awkward time to be photographing buildings; especially those with a north facing main entrance. But as one highly respected landscape photographer of my acquaintance often says 'there is no such thing as bad light'; you just have to approach things differently.

We had to wait for the landscaping at this building to be completed, or at least be as complete as possible.

Family Photos

2011-12-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

This photo is a happy accident. The battery in the flash was running down and it didn't fire - I'm rather glad it didn't because the lighting is nearly perfect.

Family Photos

2011-12-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

You'd have to look hard to find a cuter kid than this guy.

Family Photos

2011-12-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

The goal with any portrait is to make people look like themselves on their best day. This wonderful family are a pretty happy group and I really wanted to capture that. This is my 'pick photo' from this session.

Family Photos

2011-12-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

These three kids are part of our honorary family. This photo is a bit of an experiment; the shot was taken outside with a bit of fill flash. The background was removed using Topaz Remask software and then exported to Oloneo Photoengine. The final adjustments were made in Photoshop CS5.

I think it has sort of a vintage Sears Portrait look.

Family Photos

2011-12-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Colour photos are great but black and white is much better for photographing people.

Canon 5DII with lensbaby composer.

Family Photos

2011-12-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

Everybody needs a nice portrait don't you think?

Family Photos

2011-12-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

I wanted a photo of these two lads looking a little less posed - introduce an iPod and everybody chills.

Desaturation and tone adjustment made with Oloneo Photo Engine.

Winter Freeze Up

2011-12-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

This photo is a composite of about 10 photos taken with the iPhone and merged using the in camera PhotoStitch App. Taken while out walking our dog Parker in Buena Vista Park.

Meet Sophie

2011-12-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is our new friend Sophie. She's about 15 weeks old and she's 1/2 Maremma, 1/4 Akbash and 1/4 Great Pyrenees. The forecast is that she will be a very gentle and soulful dog - and that she will be quite a large gal.

A Big Splash

2011-12-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

At the start of the year one of my goals was to get published - somewhere. I had two design and building industry magazine covers this year; but this photo appears in the Edmonton Journal almost every day. This is the new Sherwood Ford Dealership in Sherwood Park. Usually it's the colour version but today on page A11 it is run in black and white in a full page advertisement for the dealerships grand opening.

Canon 5DII with Canon 24mm TSE lens.

Recent Projects

2011-12-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the last in the Strathcona Centre in the Park series; the south elevation on a crisp autumn afternoon.

Recent Projects

2011-12-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a detail photograph of the glass canopy at the entrance to the Strathcona Centre in the Park building.

Recent Projects

2011-12-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's post was of a dusk shot rendered in colour so here's the opposite; a little after sunrise and in black and white.

Recent Projects

2011-12-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

In the modern age it is not fashionable to have buildings overly lit up at night. But in the fall the lights have to be on during opening hours that often extand past dusk. This photo was taken on an October evening around 7:00 pm.

Recent Projects

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Strathcona Centre in the Park is a big building with many aspects to photograph. This is the courtyard between the old building on the right and the new.

Recent Projects

2011-12-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is the children's section of the Strathcona library; hence the scary dragons and low furniture.

The colour version is fine but a bit chaotic; black and white versions edited in Oloneo Photo Engine.

Recent Projects

2011-11-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a photography of the grand stair in the rotunda of the Strathcona Library. Lots of dynamic range to contend with here; very bright light from the clerestory windows above and deep shadows along the left of the stair itself. This is a composite image made using the Canon 17mm tilt/shift lens.

Recent Projects

2011-11-29T06:33:00.000-08:00

This is the point of arrival in the new Strathcona Library.

Recent Projects

2011-11-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of one of the reading alcoves in Strathcona Library.

Recent Projects

2011-11-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

My client wanted a photograph of this key element - a light fixture in the stair tower at the main entrance to the building. This a composite image taken using the 17mm tilt shift lens.

Recent Projects

2011-11-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

This the council chamber for the elected officials of the County of Strathcona.

Recent Projects

2011-11-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's an exterior image if the Strathcona Centre in the Park edited using Oloneo Photo Engine.

Recent Projects

2011-11-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

These days one of my favourite tools for editing black and white images is Oloneo Photo Engine. I find that by adjusting the tone settings I can sharpen the image a little and make the photo crisper. The printed images have a sort of wet inky blackness that I am quite pleased with.

The is the reading area in the Strathcona Library.

Recent Projects

2011-11-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a detail from the Strathcona Centre in the Park Development.

Recent Projects

2011-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

My client gave me a list of desired photos of the new Strathcona Centre in the Park in Sherwood Park - one of the requests was for a photo of the parking garage entrance. So how do you make a compelling image of that I wondered. Here is my first pick shot.

Canon 5DII, Canon 17mm TSE lens. Black and White conversion in Oloneo Photo Engine.

Recent Projects

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

This photo is taken from nearly the same vantage point as yesterday's posting but under different conditions. The feel of the photo is quite different though - this one looks rather ominous compared to the bright sunny day rendition from the day before.

Recent Projects

2011-11-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary opened on a Weekend; Alumni Weekend as it turned out. The weather was spectacular and there were people everywhere. The timing of my shoot was delayed until this weekend because the landscaping was protected to the last moment with temporary fencing. There were also balloons tied to railings and little directional signs placed everywhere. Ugh I thought as I arrived....this is going to take some effort.

The signs were removed in photo shop for the most part. But where I could I waited until something or someone blocked these elements for me. That chap in the lower left is blocking the view of the some of this stuff. And the trees that thankfully still had some leaves on them block - mostly - the hot dog stand placed right at a building entrance.

Recent Projects

2011-11-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hers's a dusk photo of the Centennial Centre of Interdisciplanry Science.

Recent Projects

2011-11-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science is big building that warranted multiple trips to capture the various elevations of the building at different times of day. The later in the fall it gets the more challenging this becomes. Here's an early morning photo of the east elevation.

Recent Projects

2011-11-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is the new Centennial Centre of Interdisciplinary Science at the University of Alberta.

Recent Projects

2011-11-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is a grey day photo of the Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton. The Ambulatory Support building is the primary focus of this photo.

Recent Projects

2011-11-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

The GO Centre also has a kids drop in centre as featured here. No shortage of 'foreground interest' in this room.

Recent Projects

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

The GO Centre is also home to the Ortona Gymnastics Club - this is their facilty. Hard to find a spot to set up ones tri-pod in here; all the floors are padded mats, trampolines or pits filled with foam blocks.

In the end I found that setting up the shot and using the cameras timer worked best as I could not stand any where near the camera because my movements on the padded floor caused the camera and tri-pod to move around during the 4-6 second exposure.

Recent Projects

2011-11-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's an interior photo of the Competition Gym at the GO Centre. This will be the new home of the U of A Golden Bears and Pandas basketball and volleyball teams. Rumour is that the Edmonton Energy pro basketball team will use this as their home court next season.

Recent Projects

2011-11-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is the GO Community Centre addition to the Saville Community Sports Centre at the U of A South Campus. It's a giant building; hard to capture in an single overall shot.

Remembrance Day

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Remember? How could we ever forget. Here's a little Remembrance Day shout out to the folks at CFB Edmonton. This is a photo of the interior of the hangar at 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron. 408 Squadron has a long history that you can read about at:

http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/1w-1e/sqns-escs/page-eng.asp?id=390.

408 THS deployed hundreds of personnel to Afghanistan since first operating the Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in 2006. The squadron was the first to deploy helicopters to Afghanistan in 2008 and has completed three rotations in that role. The last personnel and helicopters redeployed from Afghanistan at the end of September.

Recent Projects

2011-11-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

This vintage building in downtown Edmonton was renovated and restored a few years ago.

Recent Projects

2011-11-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is the interior of the ATB building featured in yesterday's post. One of the problems with wide angle lenses is that the images can be quite distorted - particular toward the edge of the image. The first image submitted to my client of this view showed significant distortion of the round light fixtures so a re-shoot was called for. There's still a bit of distortion in the lights but it seems acceptable - most folks would agree that the lights are in fact spherical.

Recent Projects

2011-11-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

This stylish little building for Alberta Treasury Branches recently opened in SE Edmonton. The landscaping won't be finished until spring of 2010 but the design team wanted some marketing photos right away.

Recent Projects

2011-11-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the second of the photos taken for the Urbans Lands design group - the storm water retention pond is quite large and features many paths, a footbridge and expanses of lawn.

Recent Projects

2011-11-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

Over the next while I'll update you on some of my recent projects. Here's the first.

This photo was taken for the civil engineers/urban lands designers responsible for the the infrastrucuture of this south Edmonton neighbourhood.

In modern subdivisions a lot of the storm water goes into the these retention ponds rather than into storm water pipe. People sometimes think that the developer was thoughtful enough to provide a lake but the fact is that all this water had to go somewhere. And then it has to be landscaped.

That white spec in the sky isn't sensor dust, it's the moon.

Vienna

2011-11-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

We'll end the Vienna series with this shot of St. Stephens Cathedral. Very glad I took this photo has it meant taking the camera out of the bag. After taking this photo I did not put the camera away which is a good thing because when the camera bag was stolen I had still had the camera body and the 17-40 lens that was attached - the lens used to take this photo.

Vienna

2011-11-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

On a top ten list of famous Austrians you'd expect to see names like Schwarzenegger, Von Trap and this bloke - Mozart.

Vienna

2011-11-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

These are the steps at the Albertina Art Gallery. Ours was hasty visit as we arrived just 30 minutes before closing but that's life.

Vienna

2011-11-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

There's something about a nice orderly garden, don't you think?

Vienna

2011-11-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

On one of our walks through the many parks in Vienna we came across a contraption that we could not figure out no matter how hard we tried. It was a wooden affair with what looked like a raising and lowering mechanism. And then we came across this row of trees and all was revealed - it was a platform for pruning very large hedges.

Vienna

2011-11-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

It took me a minute or two to work out what this was all about - you have to examine this closely to figure it out. This mesh barrier is on a footbridge; hundreds of couples have written their names or initials on these locks then attached them to the mesh. Presumably this is intended to symbolically 'lock' their relationship. I can't be sure but I would be willing to bet that there's a pile of keys lying at the bottom of the river below this footbridge.

Vienna

2011-10-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

I was trying to think of an appropriate photo for Halloween and I came up with this.

This is the Kunsthaus Graz in Graz, Austria. Proof in my mind that just because we can do something doesn't mean we should - It think it is quite an ugly thing.

Generally I don't like it when people say of a building 'It looks like a _____'. Always seems to me that a building should look like a building not what ever folks want to liken it to. This however had even me trying to search for a comparative descriptor. Looks like a giant Haggis or part of a very large persons intestines. Neither a good thing to be compared to aesthetically and therefore it ranks as a very spooky building.

Vienna

2011-10-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Something we don't have a lot of in the west are vernicular railways or elevators for the purpose of moving people from one earthen plateau to another. This is the elevator in Graz that takes you to a hilltop with spectacular views of the city.

Vienna

2011-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that Austrians don't like to be too far from food. And Beer. This sign is testament to this.