A couple more from Alma

Here are a couple more images made at Alma, all these images used the HDR technique.

Alma Beach

This past Sunday I drove to Fundy park with my friend Rob to make some images and enjoy some conversation. It had been a couple of years since we last got out to photograph together.

When we got to Alma beach, the tide was out and we ventured forth and explored. It was a cold windy day, but before long the breeze seemed to settle and the cold didn't seem so cold after all. I think it was Andy Goldsworthy that said "Good art keeps you warm." on this day I would have to agree.


Low tide sky

Tatamagouche: HDR experiments

In my last post I made mention of a technique that I was trying out. The method is called High Dynamic Range (HDR) and it basically involves making a series of 3 or more images of the same scene using different exposures to capture a large range of tones in a scene. The images are then run through software where they are aligned and blended and then further adjusted into a single image with a wider tonal range than would normally be possible in a single exposure. The extreme brightness range of the sunrise was a great opportunity to try the technique out. I am fairly pleased with these first results and will experiment with this method more in the future.

These three images were made during the ways of seeing event in Tatamagouche. The first image is shown with it's 3 component images below.

Tatamagouche: Sunrise Serenity

On the Saturday morning of the Ways of Seeing event the group goes out for a dawn photo shoot. The sunrise this year was particularly beautiful.

I also tried a few HDR exposures during this photo shoot, an explaination of the technique and some results of that in an upcoming post.

On another note, I did actually sleep in between moonlight madness and sunrise serenity:)

Tatamagouche: Moonlight Madness

The 1st night of the Ways of Seeing Event after the program was finished for the evening Shannon and I went down the walking trail overlooking Tatamagouche Bay to bask in the light of the full moon. Mars was also quite visible that evening. We were joined shortly afterword by our friend Lawrence. After making some images, we enjoyed a spot o' tea and some snacks before calling it a night.

Here are a couple of images from that excursion.

Moonlight Over Tatamagouche Bay


Self Portrait Under Full Moon

Tatamagouche 2007

I have been fortunate enough to have been at Tatamagouche Centre twice this year; in August as a participant in the The Tatamagouche Model of Education, Design and Leadership: Level I, and once again this past weekend as a co-facilitator with Margot Metcalfe and Silver Frith for the Ways of Seeing: Photography for the Artist in Us event.

Both events were wonderful for similar and also for different reasons. I feel blessed this year to make so many connections with many great folk from many points on the compass.

Hummingbirds revisited

About this time last year I posted an image of a hummingbird made from my office window. This year the flowers are back and so are the hummingbirds. I leave my camera set up by the window and whenever I notice a little visitor in the window, if I am able, I will get up from my desk and make a few images. Here are 3 of my favorites thus far.

Recent Images

It has been a busy, busy June/July and my blogging has fallen a little behind.
This post is a collection of a few recent "blog -worthy" images. More will follow soon.

Youth Forum 07

Youth Forum 07 "Connected" was held recently, it was my second time there and it was just as awesome an experience as the first. I left this year's event full of hope, faith and energy. My mind, even a month later is still full of warm thoughts, memories and ideas.

Nest Story

Last Saturday morning my friend Chad and I were in the living room when He noticed a robin was building a nest in the apple tree directly in front of the living room window. We watched it for a few minutes make trip after trip with some bits and pieces and slowly the nest was forming.

Over the next few days I kept my camera nearby and made some images as the robin moved in and started keeping the eggs warm. The mama robin was there day in and day out and even had some pesky black-capped chickadees drop by for a visit.


Late Wednesday night there was a nasty thunder and lightning storm, Thursday morning I saw the nest was empty but hoped all was well...

but when I looked closer there were two busted eggs in the grass below the tree:(

I climbed the tree to look inside the nest in case there might have been another egg but, alas the nest was and still is empty.

Perhaps the mama will come back and try again...

Moth!

A friend of Nannette's folks found a huge cecropia moth that couldn't fly* and thought of Ben's love all things creepy, crawly and slimy from a conversation she once had with him. She brought the moth to Memere et Pepere and they couldn't wait to show it to Ben so they hopped in the car and brought it over. Ben took it with him for the last day of school, where it was quite a hit with his classmates.



After lunch that day we brought the moth to the backyard and set it free on a branch were it remained the rest of the day. In the morning it was gone, perhaps in search of a mate.

*Cool facts:

With a wingspan of 5 to 6 inches, the cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia) is the largest North American moth. It is a member of the family Saturniidae. Cecropia moths are often referred to as silkworm moths.

Although these moths are common throughout North America, you don't often see them because they fly only at night.

Cecropia moths do not live long (about two weeks) because the adult cecropia cannot eat. In fact, they don't even have a mouth or proboscis! The only purpose of the adult stage is to mate and lay eggs.

Males cecropia moths have been marked and are known to have flown over seven miles in search of the wind-born female pheromone scent plume.

Fernwood in Colour

The Family and I went for a day trip to visit my folks in PEI on Victoria Day. The first image was made during what seemed the only 30 seconds of sunlight from the whole weekend.

This second image was made about an hour later near the beach in the quieter, overcast light.

Blackclip turns 3

Three years ago today, I started this blog not quite knowing where I would go with it. It was a "Walk to Far" . I'm still on my way to "far" but getting there is half the fun.

Project 40 IV: Shadow Self Portraits

For the last several months I have been making shadow self portraits in the various places I have been. I see them as a placemark, of where I have been either physically or spiritually, or both. I have come to view them as an ephemeral version of an Inukshuk expressed in the language of light. This series were all made during project 40.

On a more technical note, no tripod was used and there is no photoshop retouching involved. How is it that my hands are free?....

New Look

It's springtime! Time to open some windows, put some wash on the line and I thought what better time to spruce up the look of this blog. I wanted to update the look and feel and make finding archived posts a bit easier. It is also set up with wider screen realestate just to make the playground a little larger.

This image was made this past summer in Berwick, N.S.

Update: I decided to make use of this new canvas and updated some of the 2007 posts to improve the presentation of the images .

Project 40 III: Five Islands Panoramic

This image was created by stitching 4 images together. The beach had a great view of Five Islands and the light was wonderful. If the tide was a bit lower, it felt like we could walk out to one of the islands, but... I did'nt want to get the Coast Guard involved with project 40!

Project 40 II: Two from Bass River

Images were made, wine poured and pizza consumed, fun was had by all. Project 40 was quite sucessful.
I also came home with a cold, so it did slow down posting some of the results of my "seeing"

Here are two images made in the late afternoon sun in Bass River, N.S. Through the window is my pal Shannon. The weather both days was great.

More images and a facelift to this blog's design coming soon...

Project 40

Well, it's official. Today I turn the big four-oh. For my birthday, Nannette is sending me off for a photo weekend this Saturday and Sunday. I will be heading of to Parrsboro - Upper Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia area with my pal Shannon, who incidently was present for my 20th birthday. The next series of photo posts will be from what He has dubbed "Project 40". Keeping my fingers crossed for some good spring weather.

Cape Enrage V: Wide view

This image from the Cape Enrage trip I saw as more of a wide view. It is processed as a "split-tone" black and white.

Cape Enrage IV: Surf Sequence Redux

I revisted the sequence images and thought I would sandwich them together into one image. It almost feels like a surf x-ray to me.

Photo PocketMod from Lightroom

This is a Photoshop Lightroom project to make a photo PocketMod with any 8 photos using the Lightroom print Module along with a PDF print driver such as cutePDF and the PDF to PocketMod generator found at pocketmod.com . What's a pocketmod you say? well it's a nifty customizable booklet that is made with one cut and a series of folds using one sheet of paper.

This method should also work in many other organizing applications that allow printing of multiple files, such as Picasa or PS Elements.

Cape Enrage III: Surf Sequence

Cape Enrage II: Choices

I have been revisiting and editing the images for the past few nights and with this particular pair of images I keep going back and forth whether to go with colour or black and white. In the end, I just like them both and that's O.K.

Cape Enrage I

Unfortunately the Stoke the Fire retreat was cancelled, but I still took the opportunity to have a small photo retreat on Saturday with my pal Shannon. We took a drive out to Cape Enrage on the Fundy coast. The weather was the warmest it had been in a few weeks and the light was fantastic.
I am still editing this work and more images will follow in future posts.

eWaste

Greenpeace has recently launched a campaign called greenmyapple. Currently Apple sits at the bottom of the list of companies on the Green electronics guide. Check out where your brand sits. The guide is updated every three months.

Greenpeace's disclaimer: Our 'Guide to Greener Electronics' aims to clean up the electronics sector and get manufacturers to take responsibility for the full life cycle of their products, including the electronic waste that their products generate. The guide does not rank companies on labour standards, energy use or any other issues, but recognises that these are important in the production and use of electronics products.

All you need is love...

"Apple has settled a decades-long trademark dispute with the Beatles' company, Apple Corps, over who owns the rights to the name and logo, in a deal that could pave the way for band's songs to be available to download legally for the first time."

Read article here

Seeking warmth

I sit here trying to stay warm on a very chilly January day and thinking of warmer times.

On a July family weekend at Fundy National Park, Isabelle and I sat among patch of ferns near McLaren Pond in the sun letting it warm our open hands. We did this in hopes that the warmth of our sun baked palms would attract the dragonflies flying around us.

After a few minutes with our hands open and my camera at the ready, we were rewarded for our patience. A couple landed on Isabelle's arm and this one landed on my palm.

Stunning website

Singapore based designer Johnathan Yuen's portfolio site is jaw-dropping. He believes it is an honest and worthy cause "To touch someone's heart with design."

This site is beautiful, complex, simple, playful and clever. What more can I say, it's well worth the visit.

one tip: hover over the red plus signs and click on the red triangles.