From the Vaults

I tool this photo some time ago; I remember that is was extremely cold and the location but not much else sticks; I just think it's a cool photo.

The Magic of Doors

If you hunt around the web you'll easily find thousands of pictures of doorways.  And for good reason I suppose.  I have loads of 'em in my archives; this pair is at the Walterdale Theatre in Old Strathcona.  Once upon a time the theatre was a fire hall; hence the red doors.

Recent Portraits

Last in the series of portraits of out neighbour Emily; this time with an intruder accidentally caught in the frame, our sleepy little spaniel, 'Banjo'.

Recent Portraits

Next up in this short series of photos of our neighbour Emily; this time a slightly less formal version.

Recent Portraits

This is our neighbour Emily; she needed a head and shoulders portrait to support an university application.  This is my pick for an all-business type photo - but there are a couple others that are little more fun that I'll post in the next couple of days.

Recent Portraits

Here's the last of the three photo styles from this assignment.  This was the toughest as I wanted to control the exposure so the background had detail and get the lighting right on the subject.  There were some space constraints to work around too, and a lot of passing colleagues who stopped by for some friendly teasing.  Thanks to the folks at Clark Builders Edmonton for sending this assignment my way.

Recent Portraits

For the full body photo against a white background I used an actual white background but later I cut the subject out using Topaz Remask software.  It does a great job of separating the subject from the background and affords excellent control over the fine details.

Recent Portraits

I recent;y completed an assignment where 3 photos were required of group of people.  Each needed a head shot, a full body photo on a white background and lastly a 3/4 body photo with their office building interior has the background.  Here's a sample of the standard headshot.

A Walk in the Woods

Years ago a young student I worked with asked me how I coped with stress. `I walk my dogs`I replied and this photo sums up the reasons why.

A Walk in the Woods

This tree marks the half point on what I think of the short loop at Terwillegar Park.  Even though it`s dead it`s an impressive site, more so in black and white.

A Walk in the Woods

What struck me about this scene was how the arc of the landscape mimics the arc in the clouds.  The problem was that the clouds were too high in the sky to be fully appreciated so I had to employ some Photoshop wizardry to create this panoramic image. Essentially I just sliced out the middle piece and merged the remaining top and bottom haves together.

A Walk in the Woods

I would say that 3 times out of 5 I take a camera along when I'm out walking our dogs.  Sometimes I take a load of photos and other times I never take it out of my pocket; all depends on how motivated I am, if the dogs are cooperative and to some degree how many people are around.  This photo was taken on one of these walks on a day were there were loads of wispy clouds around.  What struck me about this scene was how the branches on this tree had the same wispy quality as the clouds above.  So I tried to find a vantage point that this could be shown to best effect.  In my mind this was destined to be a high contrast black and white image.  Sometimes these things work out exactly as planned, as is the case here.

Canon G15, black and white conversion made with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Rapid Autofocus

One of the coolest aspects of the Canon 1Dx is it's ability to hold the focus on moving objects.  There are a number of presets to select from depending on the type of movement one is trying to capture; for instance rapid lateral movement like a bike race or perhaps something more methodical but multi-directional like gymnastics.  There is also one for rapid unpredictable movement in any direction.  I call it the Welsh Springer Spaniel setting.  That's my dog Banjo looking sharp at Terwillegar Park.  Canon 1Dx with Canon 70-200mm IS f2.8L lens.

No Photo Today But...

No photo for you today - at least not in the usual sense.  I do however invite you to check out my website which has undergone an extensive over haul.  Loads of new photos - some of which regular visitors to my blog will recognize; please check it out at:

www.jimdobiephotography.com

Normal blog service resumes tomorrow!

Industrial Photography

I was drawn to the textures of these lifting straps and envisioned the strong vertical lines that are perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the pano image.

Industrial Photography

Here's the folks who make it happen; artists in every sense of the word.

A Walk in the Woods

This rustic tree marks the half way point on what I call think of as the short loop at Terwillegar Park.  It's quite dead but magnificent none the less.

Industrial Photography

One of my favourite aspects of industrial job site photography is the prospect of great black and white images.  There is so much detail and texture in these settings and the whole place has a lovely shimmer to it.  Black and White conversion via Oloneo Photo Engine.  Original image capture made with the Canon 1Dx fitted with the 24-105 lens.

Industrial Photography

I quite like the cyanotype version of this photo - it had a heavy blue cast anyway from the welding operation so I decided to take it all the way rather than fight it.

Industrial Photography

Here's a detail shot of this welding operation.

Industrial Photography

I'm not sure what this machine does but it is sophisticated  and no doubt costly.

Industrial Photography

I quite like the circle in a square composition in this photo.  Conversion made using Oloneo Photo Engine.

Industrial Photography

Industrial work sites afford all sorts of photo opportunities as they are loaded with texture and unusual shapes.

Industrial Photography

This was the main reason for this recent industrial photo assignment; one of two modules leaving Edmonton for Ft. McMurray.

Industrial Photography

I had a recent industrial photography assignment where the client asked me to take some photos in their shop after the main gig was completed.

CKUA Radio at the Alberta Hotel

In their previous location CKUA had a performance space that existed from the days of live radio.  It was called Studio A and some very famous people spent time there; Frank Zappa, kd lang and Leonard Cohen to name a few.   This is the new Studio A nestled into the broadcast block at the new CKUA Edmonton Broadcast Centre.  No doubt many soon-to-be-famous musicians will spend time here in the decades to come.

You can listen to CKUA on line at www.ckua.com - highly recommended!

CKUA Radio at the Alberta Hotel

This photo was taken in the Technical Operations Centre at CKUA.  Unlike private radio, CKUA announcers chose their music from the stations vast music library which contains thousands of recordings on tape, vinyl and CD.  Slowly it is being digitized and when it is the digital files live on the drives in those silver modules.  This data bank holds 67 Terabytes of data, roughly the equivalent to 1100 64Gb ipods.

CKUA Radio at the Alberta Hotel

This is main control at CKUA; most of the day to day programming emanates from this studio.  That's Peter North wrapping up his Dead Ends and Detours broadcast.

CKUA Radio at the Alberta Hotel

For almost 10 years I've been hanging out with the folks at CKUA Radio whilst doing my real job as a project manager with an architectural consulting firm.  Our task was to find them a new home.  In October of 2012 the dream came to fruition as they moved to their new broadcast centre in the reconstructed Alberta Hotel.  This is their multi-use performance space which they christened with a live to air lunchtime concert featuring Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.