PGC Photo Blog

Catching Up?

planegirl — 2010-11-13T14:54:56-07:00

Shame shame on me. I've haven't been keeping up with myself (and mostly just chasing myself down), but here's some photos to ease my mind. I took this one 10 Nov 2010. It was an incredibly foggy day most of flying was cancelled for the day (cleared in time to head to Kamloops for Remembrance Day).

Alice And The Rabbit Hole

planegirl — 2010-09-20T20:38:41-06:00

Okay, okay... I do have another doorway picture and once again it is an interpretation of doorway. This was some funky fence that I found. When I was trying to take the picture I felt like Alice looking down the rabbit hole.

Doorways

planegirl — 2010-09-18T18:57:56-06:00

I went driving today with my girlfriend which sure as hell helped out searching for doorways. We took some very liberal interpretations of doorways but we did manage to find some stuff. We actually drove all the way into Saskatchewan (okay, actually we discovered how damn close Saskatchewan really is when you take some crap back road).

Knock knock knockin' on anyone's door

planegirl — 2010-09-17T06:55:53-06:00

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! I've never been more frustrated than this last week with photography. When you live in a tiny town that has not been around long enough to have any true character it is very difficult to find subjects. Especially damn doorways. I try and keep my eyes peeled for something but I just don't see anything that inspires me. I have not yet developed the eye to take something mundane and make it beautiful. I'm spending the day with a friend driving around to try and find something for me to photograph (specifically a doorway). Why oh why did I say I would take this challenge. I can't even bring myself to post the pictures I've taken. They just frustrate me even more.

Newest "Challenge"

planegirl — 2010-09-09T19:17:19-06:00

Well, with our weather becoming absolute crap here therefore my desire to be outside being close to nil, it has been very challenging to get new photos. That and there isn't exactly a lot of stuff in Cold Lake to inspire you. I've taken shots down by the Marina about a million times now, although they all seem to be completely different. Some pictures kind of turned out - like this one (the weather was actually cooperating this day... or maybe it was just my camera cooperating). Surprisingly if the city actually looked like this all the time. It's almost majestic... until I look outside my camera lens.

Flowers

planegirl — 2010-09-06T19:36:42-06:00

I've been overhauling my computer so it's taken me a couple days to post a photo. I'm posting another oldy... one of the first pictures I ever took and I accidentally managed to utilize "depth of field" effectively. YEAH!

Sunset

planegirl — 2010-09-02T22:00:52-06:00

I am very new to this photography thing (week number 2 really). This was my first sunset. I still have a lot of experimenting to do with sunsets before I will feel comfortable taking pictures of them. Good thing Cold Lake gets some pretty good sunsets.

Family

planegirl — 2010-09-01T20:20:06-06:00

Uncle David was home helping with haying season (yep, I'm a farm girl, what can I say).

While I was there I started snapping pictures of everything and of course that included him. Chester (Grandpa's dog) was giving him a hard time to go play instead of work. Anyway, I managed to snap this picture while Uncle David was taking a short break. It's a miracle that Chester took .5 seconds to look at me vice fighting uncle David for that stick.

On the Road Again

planegirl — 2010-08-29T23:47:53-06:00

Drove back to Cold Lake from my holidays. Longest road trip ever. I would have taken more photos but I just wanted to get home. This however was me on the side of the road just because I needed a break.

Work Shmirk

planegirl — 2010-08-30T18:09:55-06:00

Okay, today I spent a significant amount of time reading the manual for my camera. I had forgot the manual when I went home so I spent a lot of effort just guessing at how to use it. That made things a little frustrating (well, more so now when I realize a couple of situations where I could have got better pictures). Regardless sometimes it's best to learn just by giving it the good ol' college try. Hopefully I'll be able to get some awesome photos in the future.

Since now I'm back at work I do not have as much time to go out and take 800 photos a day (only 300 now). So in my efforts this is the photo I grabbed for the day.

I swear I didn't do any touch ups at all after taking the picture.

Market Madness

planegirl — 2010-08-28T11:11:05-06:00

I went to the Millarville Market with mom this morning. We were in a bit of a rush so I didn't get as many pictures as I really wanted to but mostly I just wanted to go check out the market.

I also made mom pull over again and again as I wanted to get more pictures of the mountains. She is getting a little sick of me screaming "STOP, STOP... PULL OVER HERE"

And finally I can't believe I missed this picture that I took yesterday. I guess when you take 700 pictures you are bound to forget a few awesome ones you took.

700 A Day?

planegirl — 2010-08-27T18:37:23-06:00

I took 700 pictures today. Yes you heard me right. 700. Mom and I went for lunch in Bragg Creek and I wanted to go to Elbow falls to take pictures. She basically became my driver and I screamed "STOP... BACK UP A BIT... OOH LOOK AT THAT I GOTTA GET OUT AND TAKE A PICTURE... JUST A SECOND I'M GONNA GO OVER THIS HILL... BE RIGHT BACK". The great thing is she totally entertained me and we ended up taking the scenic route home to find some wild flowers and such. I really am not sure which pictures to put in this blog but here are a few for now.

Photo Sessions

planegirl — 2010-08-26T08:20:12-06:00

Kiara came to pick up Vern this morning and I showed her some of the pictures I took yesterday.

We took some more pictures with Vern and the tractor (not the tractor that I wanted to bomb) and Torque (Kiara's dog). I've learned one thing about pictures and camera's... take LOTS and one might turn out. Here's what I got to work. I think I'm doing okay for only having the camera for a week, although I take about 400+ pictures a day.

And one with Veronica looking cool as a cucumber.

And finally I was talking with one of Mom's friends and showing her my pictures and she found a version of a previous picture that was much better than one I had picked and put in the blog. After looking at it I have to say I agree. It follows the "rule of thirds" (ya, look this up or something but my sister was the first one to introduce this to me). It was funny because although both myself and Patricia (my mom's friend) agree that rules should be broken, they are also guidelines to help you out and I have to agree I actually think that they work.

Everything Vern

planegirl — 2010-08-25T15:55:09-06:00

Kiara and Darin came out to the farm to visit for a bit. We took Veronica down to the stream to play in the water (along with the dog of course). Then since Darin and Kiara were having a date night, Veronica stayed out at the farm. We hung out, went up to Grandpa's to play with Chester (Grandpa's dog) and then went back to the creek where I got some awesome pictures of her. Still figuring out some of the settings on my camera. Clearly the camera is awesome since it allows me to take some half decent shots. If only I could figure out how to get it to float out into the middle of the stream to take the shot for me instead of having to stand in the freezing cold creek to take the picture I want.

Vern was just running and spinning with her game. I actually have no idea how I captured this picture considering all the other ones were out of focus. I still have to work on capturing movement.

Although the exposure on this picture is not ideal, I love the look on her face. She is so happy and really I'd rather that over the perfect exposure.

This is the one I had to stand in the creek to get. I gave up on looking through the camera and just pointed it in her general direction and started snapping shots. Those ones were by far my best shots. It's funny how much more casual someone will be if you aren't staring at them through the camera, even if the camera is still pointed at them. I'm going to try and use this technique a lot more. I think the exposure actually worked on this too, despite the shadows and varying light.

Memories

planegirl — 2010-08-31T20:40:08-06:00

I didn't actually take this photo today (I was too tired after flying twice today to try and drag my ass around Cold Lake to take pictures). That being said, I have a few others that were pictures with more meaning to me than pictures that were necessarily beautiful or well composed.

More than 20 years ago, my Aunt Laura and I painted these hearts on Grandpa's gas tanks. I can't remember how old I was but I know I was young, probably around 5 I'm guessing. It's funny the things the mind remembers. I can't remember if I paid my electrical bill this month, yet I remember painting a heart over 20 years ago. When I had my camera up at the house I just couldn't resist taking a picture of those hearts.

2012 - The End is Near

planegirl — 2010-08-24T15:30:40-06:00

I had a conversation today with a random person in a coffee shop about 2012. I'm not sure how much I believe the world is ending in two years or how much I believe in a lot of the stuff we discussed but the one thing I do know is that as I drove around I realized that if the end is near one should appreciate the country around them. Particularly my home town.

I drove around and took a few more pictures. I soooo cannot capture the exact beauty that this country has. There's this image I wish I could capture that is during the drive from the town of Millarville, Alberta to my house. It's BE-AU-TI-FUL!!! This is my attempt to capture it but I know it doesn't even come close to doing it justice. One day I will capture it exactly.

It's haying season and I'm so stoked that this picture actually turned out. I took it with my fisheye lens and just prayed the settings would work with the sun right in the picture. This picture pretty much proves that this camera was the best purchase EVER!!! I just clicked away and it worked. I'm totally stoked.

And this one just screams HOME! (right sis?)

And one more picture of Mushu's new haircut just because it makes me laugh (and who doesn't need to laugh).

Play Day

planegirl — 2010-08-23T19:44:17-06:00

My camera is my new toy and so of course I get up every day and just start taking pictures. Well, I got up early this morning and went outside as the sun was rising to play around with the different functions of the camera. Mushu was out with me but was a little impatient when I just kept wandering around the yard. He was standing at the door just barking and barking. The little cutie is one demanding pup.

It was a play day with the camera and I was feeling artsy. Like I said, I still do not have my sisters talent but that doesn't stop me from pretending.

I think I might frame this picture... it's HOME! I layed in the front driveway to get this while cars were driving by. They must have thought I was a freak. They wouldn't be the first so I'm not too worried.

Fair Fun

planegirl — 2010-08-22T21:12:48-06:00

As much as I have a creative side, I also have an ADD side which hugely prevents me from finishing projects that I start. But my newest hobby is ideal for someone with ADD because it takes all of half a second to snap a picture, and with today's technology it is so easy to print the picture. Walmart is located approximately 3km from my house to buy a frame and voila... I have a photo to give away to a friend. But truly, I love taking photos. I do not have my sisters eye, but I'm working on it.

So yes, I'm starting my photo challenge over again (ha, there's that ADD again). I do not promise a picture taken every day, but I do promise close to that. And I promise to have enough pictures to publish a picture every day.

That being said, this is my first picture (from the Millarville Fair).

My sister was volunteering with the sheep creek weavers. They sheered a sheep (say that 10 times fast) then immediately started spinning the wool. What I thought was hilarious was everyone sitting around the pile of wool like it was a fire and working.

This is the tractor that was up for raffle. I didn't win it but they let me drive her for a bit. It was hilarious trying to drive that thing around. I'll take three dimensions and 500 knots over two dimensions and 4 knots any day.