This Tree Survived

One should not damage the bark on trees by carving into them - but the occasional tree is robust enough that it can survive this kind of abuse.  These carvings are quite indecipherable now but it looks like someone had some affection for somebody whose name had a few K's in it.

Wet Leaves

When the weather is damp the intensity of colour on the spring foliage can be quite dramatic.  In this case the drama is heightened a bit by the use of a Singh-Ray LB Colour Combo Polorazing filter fitted over the lens of the Canon G11. Hand held shot using marco mode.

Unusual Manhole Cover

When the weather is wet the dogs and I usually take our daily walk in a grassy ravine. The dogs get wet but stay clean. This manhole cover is at about the half way point on the descent and it sticks a ways above the grade. So that nobody accidentally hits it whilst riding a bike it's been given a coat of bright paint. I like the contrast between the not-found-in-nature paint and the plant stem that has fallen across it.

Stumped?

I recently spent a few hours going through some older photos and came across this one taken at thanksgiving 2006.  My pal Wade gets credit for this one has he suggested going down to the water front along the shore of Abraham Lake late in the afternoon.  I was content to nurse my beer at that time of day but if Wade was going then so was I.  This large peice of driftwood - an old tree stump - had washed ashore  and this is one of several hand-held shots I took of it.

Family Wedding

Here's another pre-wedding photograph taken with the Lensbaby Composer.

Family Wedding

Here's are the vials lined up for the sand ceremony as seen through the Lensbaby.

Family Wedding

Here's another shot taken with the Lensbaby.

Family Wedding

We had a family wedding recently and I had a chance to fool around with the Lensbaby Composer before the ceremony.

Speaking of old Cameras...

On the subject of old Cameras; this is probably the first camera I ever held in my hands - A Kodak Vigilant Six-20.  New it would have cost around $38 - that's about $600 in todays money.  It belongs to my dad who purchased it around 1945.  It rests in a place of honor above the fireplace these days.  Still in perfect working order - although finding film would not be straight forward.

From the Vault

This is one of my all time favourites.  This image is a scan from a print;  the original photo was taken in September 1999 in Charlos Cove, Nova Scotia.  The camera was a Yashica FR 35mm SLR with a 28mm F2.8 lens.  I bought that camera in the summer of 1978 and I hauled it all through Europe, the UK, Australia until I retired it in 2004.  It is rather banged up and seems kind of old fashioned as I look at it now, but it was and is a great camera that served me well.

The Orton Effect

Sometimes it's easy to cross the line when editing photos - how much post production is too much?  In this photo - Graveyard Flats in Banff National Park - the Orton Effect has been applied; but the original shot was taken using a blue-gold polarizer.  It's a bit weird maybe...but the photo was taken on Halloween 2008 so I'm going to let it ride with the weirdness intact.

The Orton Effect

In the shot the Orton Effect give the water a little more depth and makes the ice sparkle a little more.

The Orton Effect

Here's another Orton Effect masterpiece...Graveyard Flats in Banff National Park.

The Orton Effect

Fourth of the Orton Effect Photos - prairie grass near Mameo Beach at Pigeon Lake.

The Orton Effect

Third of the Orton Effect Photos - Vermillion Lakes near Banff.

The Orton Effect

Second of the Orton Effect photos - Whirlpool Point west of Abraham Lake.

The Orton Effect

The Orton Effect is a porcess whereby images are given a slightly blurred, painterly effect that looks very soft; it also gives the photograph depth.  Over the next short while I'll present some images where this process has been used.  Some of these photos will look very familiar to some folks.  Please share your thoughts!