glinnPhoto

Fountain Pens!

2012-12-05T21:25:00.002-08:00

It's time to expand this blog from just photography. So let's start that by talking fountain pens and what better time to start talking about fountain pens than when you can get free shipping from a new company in Canada. I'm talking about Alexander Pen Company and if you use the code HSSF2012 this Monday December 10th you can get free shipping. It's a great way to give (or even better get) something nice for Christmas and support a small business trying to make a go of it in Canada. I took advantage of the last time this store had free shipping and picked up some ink and paper, it arrived quickly and packed very well. Selection might not be that extensive but the products that are offered are great and priced competitively with any other on-line retailers I have dealt with. I am currently saving up to buy one of those Edison Pens (probably that Hudson Ruby) and more ink and paper of course. You can never have too much!

So if you are looking for a great gift for yourself or someone else that appreciates fine writing instruments and you would like to support one of the little guys starting a brand new business Monday would be a great day to go shopping.

I love my fountain pens. I can write for hours without my hand getting tired or cramped like used to happen all the time with ball-point pens and I get to use all kinds of crazy colours. That's one of the great things about bottled inks, you are no longer limited to blue, black, red and green, you can have any colour you can imagine. Noodlers or Diamine or Private reserve or someone has that colour, whatever it is.

After Christmas, when I've played with my presents, I'll gush about how I have given up my electric razor and now shave with a safety razor. And no shaver cream, it's soap and a badger brush!

Best of Project 365 - October 2011

2011-11-13T19:27:00.001-08:00

Another month has gone by and

Oops... another almost year has gone by and this is still sitting in my drafts. The picture I liked best from my October Project 365 pictures taken last year. Well, it is finally up. Maybe I'll dredge out November and December too!

I have gone through a lot in the last year or so including but certainly not limited to my boss retiring leaving me in charge but short staffed and unable to hire a replacement. Well, that is finally coming to an end, a new manager has been brought in and I get to go back to my old desk. The good news is that will free up more of my time and energy to focus on my photography.

With that in mind my first step was to set up a studio in my house. Well that's mostly done and I moved my computer in today and decided to update my blog.

I haven't been completely artistically idle in the last year, I have taken some pictures, although not nearly as many as last year, and I completed the "Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron a twelve week journey which I found very enlightening, and now, in her words, I am taking the next right step. More will follow.

Best of Project 365 - September 2011

2011-10-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

Another month has gone by and there are 30 more pictures for me to pick a favourite from. It was very tempting to pick one the very cure pictures of Eli but I tried to look more at the quality of the picture rather than the cuteness of the subject. This is the lake at the top of the road when you drive up to Kokanee Glacier. I really need to get up there more often...

Changing the Format

2011-10-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

I've come to the conclusion that forcing myself to update this blog weekly isn't making for a very interesting read so as of now, no more week numbers and no more schedule. Instead I will blog when I feel like it and when I have something I feel is worth saying.

So what's worth saying this time? Well, I turned 41 and, as I tend to do around this time of year, I spent some time reassessing things in my life which included my photography and what I'm doing to improve it. Weekly blog is out, Project 365 stays, adding in self-assignments, photo excursions and creating a proper portfolio.

So, my first photo excursion was to Kokanee Glacier park. I only went to the parking lot and I made no attempt at all to get there when the light was good but I did end up with some photos that I quite like and a plan to try again a whole lot earlier in the day when the light is better.

Week 45 - Semi-Semi-Professional?

2011-09-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

I hereby declare myself a semi-semi-professional photographer. I figure, a professional photographer makes a living as a photographer, a semi-professional makes some money but not enough to give up the day job and a semi-semi-professional saves money by not paying a professional or semi-professional. Therefore, I am a semi-semi-professional photographer since I just didn't spend a small fortune to decorate our bedroom. Are you following my logic? I could have gone to the store and purchased some art to fill this wall but instead I bought empty frames and put my pictures in them thereby saving, well, depending on the value of the photographs in question, hundreds of dollars. Well, dozens of dollars anyway...

Week 44 - Seminar in a Book - Chapter 3

2011-09-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3 is about working with natural light, an obvious choice for nature photography.

The assignment involved taking a series of pictures over the course of a day on a single subject but in the variety of light from dawn to dusk. It took me a couple of days but thankfully the weather was sunny the whole time so the series of photographs still demonstrates the lesson nicely.

Sadly, I picked a view that doesn't look great in any light and only after taking the last picture did I look to my right and see something worth photographing. That picture is posted to my Project 365 and is the picture from September 5th.

Week 43 - Best of Project 365 - August

2011-09-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

As usual, I had a tough time picking a favourite from August Project 365. In the end, I went for the simple geomtry of the brickwork of the PEP building in Nelson, BC. In post-processing, I took out most of the colour and increased the contrast giving it an antiqued look.

Week 42 - Seminar in a Book - Chapter 2

2011-08-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

Chapter 2 of this "Photo Workshop" book I'm reading is titled "Ways of Seeing the Natural World" and talks about learning to see like the camera sees and how to focus your attention. It also teaches about planning ahead and previsualizing the finished photograph.

The assignment at the end of the chapter was to pick a spot, spend an hour and take 20 distinctly different pictures of something. I went out back and found a volunteer sunflower that was growing under the bird feeder and worked my may around taking at least 20 different pictures. It was an interesting exercise and forced me to look at angles I wouldn't normally have thought about like the first picture below which is a side view of the tips of the petals.

Week 41 - Seminar in a Book

2011-08-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am currently working my way through a book series (well, one of the books anyway) called "Photo Workshop" by Wiley Press (photoworkshop.com). The book I'm working through is called "Nature Photography" by Nat Coalson.

At this point I've read the first chapter and done the first assignment which was to take a picture in my backyard or local park with an eye to finding what inspires me. I opted to use my backyard as a location rather that one of the local parks like Kokanee Glacier figuring the point of the exercise was to find a nice photograph in what I would normally bypass as an unlikely place.

Since I already know what sorts of nature photographs inspire me (sweeping landscapes like Ansel Adams or Darwin Wiggett, or the more intimate closeups like I have taken for this assignment), the take-away for my was more about learning to look in unlikely places rather than learning about my style and taste.

Next week, chapter 2.

Week 40 - Eli is Home

2011-08-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, this weeks post doesn't have a lot to do with photography... today we picked up our new puppy. He's a black standard poodle named Eli. 10 weeks old and 13 pounds.

Week 39 - Best of Project 365 - July

2011-08-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Having looked once again through my pictures from July I have to pick the picture that I loved from the first time I looked at it. Maybe it's just because it's a picture of Eli, our soon to be new member of the family.

Week 38 - Flown the Nest

2011-07-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

This year we had two nests under our balcony. A Robin's nest in the joists and a Dark-Eyed Junco's nest on the ground in the plants that grow under our balcony. Neither were in great places to take pictures of (too dark and too much in the way) but it was fun to watch for a little while until the birds all left. Both nests hatched the same day as each other and both nests emptied the same day as each other. I don't know how normal that is but it surprised me that two such different sized birds would grow up at the exact same rate. In any event here are a few pictures taken over the last little while.

Dark-Eyed Junco Eggs

Baby Robin (there were 4 in the nest)

Baby Dark-Eyed Juncos

Dinner Time!

Week 37 - One Picture Challenge

2011-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week my wife challenged me to just take one picture rather than the dozens that digital shooting allows. I must admit, I balked. Not being able to chimp my photos and check histograms before believing I had captured the image I was aiming for was a little daunting. It was like shooting with film again, when every frame on the roll is precious it's no more shoot first, ask questions later and all the thinking goes back to where it really belongs... before you click the shutter.

Week 36 - Oodles of Poodles

2011-07-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we visited Intrigue Standard Poodles to pick out a brother for our Poodle Zoe. Amid the seething mass of toe chewing puppies we picked out Eli. Zoe hasn't yet met this little fur ball that is about to change her life forever ((we don't get to pick him up until mid August or so) but we're hopeful that they'll get along. Zoe gets along with everybody... (hopefully those aren't famous last words...) Any way, the first picture is Eli, the rest of the pictures are his brothers, sisters, parents, cousins aunts and uncles.

Eli

Cooper - Eli's Papa

One of Eli's siblings

Izzie - Eli's Mama and siblings (and maybe Eli too, who could tell...)

Eli's only blond sibling.

Week 35 - Canada Day Fireworks

2011-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, Canada Day was over a week ago but since it was a Friday, it didn't time correctly to be last week's post. It was a nice night for fireworks but the air was a little too still letting the smoke build up. I took these from as high and close a vantage point I could get in my car. I like pictures of fireworks with something in the background instead of just against a black sky. Next year I might try from higher up but I don't know about the idea of climbing down the mountain in the dark.

The Aftermath

Week 34 - Best of Project 365 - June

2011-07-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

My favourite picture from June from my Project 365 is this one of a Pileated Woodpecker taken from my Mom's balcony. He was making a pig of himself on the suet my Mom puts out but nicely paused long enough for me to take this picture. It was another difficult choice this month. Other candidates included the snail and the maple leaves that I changed the colour on so they look bronzed although there are a few others that could have just as easily been picked.

Pileated Woodpecker

Week 33 - More Pinhole Photography

2011-06-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've continued to play with my pinhole lens and I've gained a greater appreciation of when and where I like its effect. Architectural photographs seem to work nicely. It also seems to work better with a heavy grain and a little vignette. I could probably achieve the same look with gaussian blur in Photoshop but this is one of those situations where the process is at least as important as the final outcome.

Week 32 - Trip to Vancouver

2011-06-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was in Vancouver this week for a quick visit with family and was astounded by the number and variety of birds showing up to my Mom's feeders. Too many predators in my neck of the woods I suppose. That and I had to take my feeders down when a bear climbed up on the balcony one night and ate one of them. In any event, it was a busy trip and I didn't have much time for photography but I did manage a few nice pictures.

Downy Woodpecker

Stellar's Jay

Purple Finch

Stellar's Jay

Week 31 - Pinhole DSLR

2011-06-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

After reading articles about professional photographers using pinhole cameras I decided to give it a try. Simple enough to get started, I got onto EBay and ordered a few body caps for my Canon 20D. Once they arrived, I drilled a 1/4 inch hole through the centre, put foil tape over the hole and poked a hole in it with a pin. I poked too big a hole in my first attempt and the pictures were unacceptably blurry. Second attempt is a little better but I might try a third time with a smaller pin.

Here it is, my home-made, body cap pinhole camera. Look closely at the center and you'll see the pin hole.

And here is a picture taken with this "lens". It's a self portrait, or at least the grey blur on the right is me.

I'm still experimenting as to when the pinhole "lens" will be the right tool to use but it is fun. The big downside is that every single speck of dust on my sensor show up and needs to be taken out in post-processing.

Week 30 - Best of Project 365 - May

2011-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of pictures of flowers this month in my Project 365 so it shouldn't really be a surprise that my favourite this month is a picture of a flower.

Week 29 - Tulip Lifecycle

2011-05-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you have been keeping up with my Project 365 you may have noticed several pictures of tulips. I decided to photograph the same patch of tulips from buds to flowers to... not flowers anymore. Well, the project has gone as far as it's going to get this spring. Here is a sampling of the series.

Week 28 - Lightroom 3

2011-05-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've done a post yet about how I am storing, sorting and post-processing my images. Well the answer is Lightroom 3. Okay, that isn't the complete answer. First I get the images from my camera, save them to a portable hard drive, save them again to a networked drive and then finally import them into Lightroom. Do I really need that many backups? I have one backup on the network to guard against hard drive failure and another portable backup to guard against fire or theft. That feels like the right number for me.

That finally brings us back to Lightroom. For years I just used the Canon software that came with the camera to sort and edit photo but found I was too limited by the tagging and sorting options and also needed better photo editing software. I started reading reviews and blog posts on the subject and decided that, for my needs, Lightroom 3 and Photoshop Elements would be good. So far, things have worked out well. I still think about Photoshop CS5 but I need the capabilities of Elements so rarely that it's hard to justify the expense. Lightroom manages my library and does almost all of my post-processing as well. Only occasionally do I want an effect like in my recent post about false miniatures that requires Elements.

Here is a before and after example of a simple change in Lightroom that creates a great effect. I simply used the saturation sliders which are split by colour and removed every colour except red and orange. By the way, the before and after comparison is a feature of Lightroom, this is just a screen capture.

In addition to all the manual work that can be done in Lightroom, there are also some pre-sets that come with or can be added to Lightroom that can create some very interesting effects. For example this picture is straight out of the camera.

And here it is after applying on of the presets.

Week 27 - Best of Project 365 - April

2011-05-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I said last week that either my photography was improving or I was gaining confidence, now I wonder if the more recent pictures are just more familiar and therefore I feel closer to them. Only time will tell I suppose. It is nice to finally see a few more birds and flowers in the mix though.

My favourite for this month isn't a flower or a bird it's these bullrushes with Nelson's Big Orange Bridge in the background. It's my favourite for the month because it surprised me the most. The surprise isn't that this isn't the picture I was trying to take it's that I like it so much better than I thought I would. I was playing with depth of field to try to find the point where the background was clear enough to be recognizable but blurry enough to not detract from the foreground subject and I think it worked quite nicely. It's almost more a picture of the bridge than the bullrushes.

Canon 20D, Sigma 150mm lens,
ISO 400, f/16, 1/200s

Week 26 - Wow! Half a year has gone by already.

2011-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been half a year already since I started this blog. To be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to make it this far as writing is definitely not one of my strengths (as if that hasn't been obvious to everyone). 26 weeks ago, I signed onto Blogspot and started learing how it works. Not sure I've learned a whole lot about that but I have learned a lot about photography and challenging myself and the value of practice. Since starting this blog (and starting my Project 365) my photography has steadily improved, or maybe just my confidence in it. Either way, well worth the effort. On any given outing, I take fewer pictures but I like more of them than I used to.

Here are a couple of macro pictures taken last week.

Canon 20D, Sigma 150mm lens,
ISO 400, f/8, 1/320s

Canon 20D, Sigma 150mm lens,
ISO 400, f/8, 1/200s

Week 25 - Macro Photography

2011-04-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally here (sort of) and I have more reasons to take my macro lens out of the bag! Macro photography is such a great challenge because of the incredibly short depth of field (and the fact that almost everything I want to use the macro lens on is within 6 inches of the ground). Hand-holding that camera is almost futile (but I do it all the time anyway) because either the camera or the subject can move enough to get out of focus in the time it takes to click the shutter. Lighting on the other hand is usually quite easy since the crappy overcast days make for great even light for macro subjects. All I can say is, it's great to start seeing bugs and flowers again!

The first picture is some little blue flower growing in the front yard, maybe 1cm across. The second is a little yellow spider maybe 1/2cm long. Who knew spiders had dimples on their backs?

Canon 20D, Sigma 150mm lens,
ISO 400, f/16, 1/40s

Canon 20D, Sigma 150mm lens,
ISO 400, f/11, 1/160s