My Favourite of 2010

I thought I would end 2010 with one my favourite photos taken this year.  This is the North Saskatchewan River at Whirlpool Point near the Banff Park Boundary.  I am pleased with the way the cracked ice leads the eye to the brightly lit mountains beyond and the way the clouds have an agreeable 'whispiness' to them.

Happy New Year!  And to all my photographer mates - here's to the best possible lighting conditions in 2011.

It's all in the details

I really like the leathery look of this crumpled and dried leaf.  To you give you the sense of scale, if there was a ruler in the shot it would show the vertical lengthe of the photo to be about 75mm.

Urban Landscapes - with a twist

Here's number three in the boat launch series. When the boats are transported they are placed on a trailer. To protect the gunwales the rack on the trailer is covered with pink foam pipe insulation held on with electrical tape. That is what you are looking at in this detail shot.

Urban Landscapes - with a twist

Here's the second in the series of winter photos near the White Water Paddlers boat launch.

Urban Landscapes - with a twist

As mentioned in yesterday's post I take the G11 with me most days when out with the dogs.  One of our routes takes us past the Edmonton Rowing Club docks and the Edmonton White Water Paddlers facility.  In the winter there's not much going on for obvious reasons; most of the outdoor stuff is piled well back from the frozen water's edge.  There's a host of photo opportunities as most of the gear has bright colours and/or interesting textures; and the winter snow is a welcome addition.  I'll post a few shots from my latest sojourn to this great little spot in the next couple of days.  Here's number one.

Black & White Landscapes

Most days I have the Canon G11 with me when I am out walking the dogs.  The oldest dog is Jasper, our 14 year old Golden Retriever.  He is an impatient chap and will not wait for me to stand around and compose photos so I have to work fast and therein lies the challenge.  I usually have the camera set up and ready to go so when I see something appealing I can get it out quickly and shoot.   I regard this as a good thing as I don't get a chance to think too much.  Sometimes I come home with nothing but every now and then there's a successful shot.  My favourite thing about this photo is the shadows in the snow in the foreground.

Canon G11, ISO 200, 1/640 sec exposure at F4.5.  Black & White conversion with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

A Christmas Photo from the Vault

I was digging through the 'vault' in search of an appropriate photo to post for Christmas Day and I settled on this - the church at the old town of Nordegg, Alberta.

From our house to yours, Merry Christmas!

Christmas in Las Vegas

Here's another shot of the Christmas display at Bellagio.  By day the atrium is packed with people, at night the photography is easier as the crowds have dispursed....must be in the casino I guess.

To all of you who check in regularly to my Blog - my sincere thanks!   Merry Christmas to all!

Black & White Landscapes

This photo was taken one ver wet autumn day with the Canon G11.

Black & White Landscapes

Here's and extractive black and white landscape photo that I took one frosty afternoon whilst walking the dogs. The leaves were covered with frost.

Black & White Landscapes

The colour version of this photo is on my desk top presently - but I like the black & white one better.

Lunar Eclipse

Here's my attempt at photographing the lunar eclipse of 2010 December 21.  NASA reports that the eclipse is at it's apex at 1:18 MST; the exact time of this posting.  Off to bed now!

Black & White Landscapes

Here's another black and white landscape photograph.  My favourite part of this photo - which didn't jump out in the colour version - is the ethereal cloud at top centre - looks like something out of a Salvador Dali painting I think.

Black & White Landscapes

Black and white photographs rock.  Colour is wonderful too but there is just something about a really crisp, high contrast black and white photo with lots of detail in the shadows and that high gloss, dripping wet look of a top shelf black and white photo.  Recently I've gone back to my library of colour photos and converted them to Black and white using Nik Siver Efex Pro software.  I'll present a few here in the next few days.

Christmas in Las Vegas

Here's another photograph of the Christmas display at Bellagio.

Christmas in Las Vegas

Nothing is done half way in Las Vegas.  This is the Christmas display in the atrium at Bellagio.

From the Vault

This is the 'Fiori di Como' ceiling scuplture at Bellagio in Las Vegas by glass sculptor Dale Chihuly.

From the Vault

This photo is from November 2009; reflections in the water at a small lake west of Edmonton.

From the Vault

This photo was taken in late winter 2009, Lake Beauvert in Jasper National Park.

From the Vault

This is a shot from January 2009 - A lovely little farm building south of the city.

Blue Gold Polorizer

Recently I posted a photo (Dec 02) taken using a blue gold polarizing filter.  Here's another photo where this unique filter was used. 
The blue gold polarizing filter is a funny little device that add a blue or gold tint to the photo depending on how you have it set and where the reflections are coming from.  The results are sometimes wonderful and sometimes weird beyond repair.  I have found it a useful tool in making a photo from an scene that is not cooperating creatively.  This shot, from a vantage point along the Bow River in Banff, was taken on a heavily overcast day and there was very little colour in the scene.  The blue gold polarizer - clearly rotated to the gold aspect - added a gold tinge to the water which I kind of like.  Made trudging through deep snow worthwhile!

Recent Portraits

Eighth in the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences portraits series

Recent Portraits

Seventh in the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences portraits series

Recent Portraits

Sixth in the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences portraits series

Recent Portraits

Fifth in the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences portraits series

Recent Portraits

Fourth in the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences portraits series

Recent Portraits

Third in the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences portraits series

Recent Portraits

Second in the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences portraits series

Recent Portraits

I am currently working on an assignment to photograph the members of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta.  They are a very willing and cooperative group and I am enjoying the time spent with them all.  Over the next few days I will share some of the results.

Recent Work

Some people think there is no place in the world of architectural photography for a fish eye lens...'too gimicky' I've heard said more than once.  I'm not buying it though.  If I could only take one lens along to photograph a building it certainly would not be the fish eye but I always have it with me just in case.  This is the Edmonton International Airport Terminal Expansion currently under construction, photographed for Stantec.

Canon 5DII with Canon 15mm Fisheye.  Black & White conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro.

From the Vault

Here's an old thing....shrub detail rendered with a yellow background thanks to the blue-gold polorizer.

Raw Magic

 Here's the fifth two RAW and JPEG captures. The less vibrant image is the unedited JPEG - just as it came from the camera. RAW Files edited in Adobe Lightroom 3.0. Shot with the Canon G11.

Raw Magic

Here's the fourth two RAW and JPEG captures. The less vibrant image is the unedited JPEG - just as it came from the camera. RAW Files edited in Adobe Lightroom 3.0. Shot with the Canon G11.

Recent Work

It's Grey Cup weekend! This is a photo of the new Edmonton Eskimos locker room at Commonwealth Stadium.  This is how it looks in game ready form, at least when the rightful inhabitants are playing at home.  For one day only I'm a Riders fan.

Raw Magic

Here's the third two RAW and JPEG captures. The less vibrant image is the unedited JPEG - just as it came from the camera. RAW Files edited in Adobe Lightroom 3.0. Shot with the Canon G11.

Raw Magic

Here's the second two RAW and JPEG captures. The less vibrant image is the unedited JPEG - just as it came from the camera. RAW Files edited in Adobe Lightroom 3.0.  Shot with the Canon G11.

Raw Magic

 
Most of not all dSLR cameras and some higher priced point and shoot cameras will capture images in RAW format in addition to the standard JPEGs.  In the next few days I will present 2 images each day, one the JPEG capture and the other showing the edited RAW file. All photos taken with the Canon G11.  Here's the first two.  The less vibrant image is in each case the unedited JPEG - just as it came from the camera.  RAW Files edited in Adobe Lightroom 3.0.

Recent Work

Here's an interior shot of the new Ortho Surgery Centre - this is one of the actual surgical suites.  On this day staff were preparing for their first patients - that's a hospital volunteer acting as a patient.

Recent Work

This is the new Ortho Surgery Centre at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.  It's a tricky building to photograph; the main entrance is under an over hang and is a little underwhelming.  The pedway - visible on the left of the image - casts deep shadows along the front of the building which faces north.  Add to that the fact that the building was not ready to be photographed until well into the fall therefore the low sun angles made for a real photographic challenge.  This building represents a milestone for me in that the photos I took were the first ones I have had published - they were in Award Magazine in October 2010.

Recent Work

I wanted to capture a detailed night-time photo of the Southgate Audi Dealership; preferably one that speaks to the elegant simplicity of the Audi line of cars.  You could argue that there is nothing simple about the Audi R8 Spyder in the window I suppose, but the subdued colour of the car and the dusk lighting of the exterior give this image a monochromatic look that is rather elegant looking.

Recent Work

This a photo of the showroom at Southgate Audi in Edmonton.  The designer was pleased with the outcome of this spiral stair which proved to be tricky to photograph.  I was pleased with this shot however has it captures the swirling, almost DNA like appearance of the stair.  The lovely red convertible doesn't hurt either!

Recent Work

Here's another shot from the 'people in the station' series.  That's Nese with Melissa and Brad with Haley; Craig approaches toward them as the train arrives at the platform edge.

Recent Work

On my list of 'things LRT related' to photograph for Stantec was people in the stations. So rather than photograph strangers I rounded up some of my good looking friends and we headed off to Century Park Station for an early evening photo shoot.  Here's Craig and his daughter Melissa heading to the train.

Recent Work

I was commissioned by Stantec to photograph the south extension of the LRT here in Edmonton.  In addition to the usual photos of the new stations they asked me to include some general LRT photos of signals, tracks, trains etc.  This is a dusk shot of a train emerging from a tunnel.  It had rained most of the day then cleared in the early evening.  I like the inky blackness of this shot with the lights relected in the standing water at the tunnel exit.

Recent Work

Here's another photo of the East Campus Housing Project.  I am particularly happy with the way the giant black forms of the trees contrast with the building behind - both in terms of the dark-on-light aspect and the way the strong vertical lines overlay onto the the horizonatal aspect of teh building.  A photo from this vantage point would yield a very different result if taken in the summer when the trees were in full leaf.