MY BLOG HAS MOVED. PLEASE VISIT Alex's digital nature photography blog. More digital photography information, more nature photography tips, and of course more fun!

LAST UPDATED: 9:40 AM 10/19/2008

All Things Must Change

And I'm including myself in this. And this site. The conversion to a new style is about 50% complete, and the biggest project - converting my blog to a proper blog is finally finished (well, as finished as a blog can get!).

November 1 this page will be archived and the new blog will take over completely. You won't have to do anything special to find it the usual links will get you here. You may have to update your bookmarks though.

Just for you, check out the preview - I will be making new posts on the new blog starting today. See the new photography blog layout and new photo stories here. Please leave me your feedback - you CAN leave comments now, on most posts anyway. Do you like the new look and features, is it easier for you to find stuff?

Please let me know.

LAST UPDATED: 6:30 AM 10/14/2008

Updates and Activities

I'm recovering today from turkey a overdose!!! And an election campaign hangover. Thanksgiving followed by voting day - what a combo.

Anyway, if you were celebrating Thanksgiving in the traditional way (friends, family, food) I hope it was as good as it gets!

As for the election...don't get me started. Let's move on more appropriate topics. (smile)

First, don't forget to check out the South Winnipeg Photo Club for their fall speakers line up. For a group of "hobby photographers" they do have quite a roster of activities and speakers. And I'm not talking about me (ha ha). They are bringing in Sarah Johnson / winner of the 2008 Grange award for photography, and (I believe), the only Winnipegger to have their photographs displayed at the Guggenheim.

(Oh, yes, I WILL be there this week chatting about Lightroom 2 and some of the more crazy things that it does!)

Don't forget that this is also the week for the PPOC Manitoba Convention which starts Friday. But the cool stuff is Saturday - print salon judging. And Monday when Robert Evans is speaking. If you he's not a household word to you, he's the celebrity photographer that shot the first photos of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' baby - the ones that "People" etc. paid millions for! Visit the PPOC site for more.

Ok, there you have it! all the photo news you can handle for one week, I hope. Have a great Monday (in disguise as a Tuesday).

NEWS...

With all the changes that have taken place this past year, I can say that my website updates are well underway, as you can see, and I'll finally be updating my Blog here as well. So you'll see some more changes very soon. It's such a technical thing for me, because I'm doing it myself and NOT going to be using Blogger or Wordpress. (crazy or what!?)

So if you see some strange behaviour here (from the website not from me! - although you may see some of that as well! ha ha) rest assured that it's very temporary.

Still on the news front, there are some very cool new features after all in Photoshop CS4 - like the ability to "reverse crop" an image - to basically stretch it to improve composition WITHOUT stretching the people or other critical aspects of your scene.

So now I am definitely looking forward to seeing more! I'll keep you posted.

And finally,I am conducting a three part workshop on my super panorama and 360 degree photography at the South Winnipeg Photo Club.

Part 1: Background & Theory; Part 2: A live shoot in the round; Part 3: Putting it all together. Contact David at the Club for more details.

Also if you cannot be there, I have the full program and self-instruction course on CD that you can order (instructions, screenshots, videos, tricks, recipes and more!). Contact me to get on the priority list to be the first to get this very fun CD!.

And that's all she wrote!

A glorious autumn weekend in store

The Manitoba PPOC Convention is coming up, and this time I have 4 images to enter. I am totally not sure that the judges will like them but that's not my goal. You know me - of the School of Oscar Wilde - the only thing worse than being talked about is not talked about!

Yeah, I like to startle them...I admit it. There's something satisfying when the image opens up on that huge monitor, and you hear the very audible gasp of all in attendance. And if the image is really good, the judges jump up to the monitor to closely inspect every pixel.

THAT'S what I want to achieve this year - 4/4 audible gasps and monitor leaps (Super chimping, as it were!!!).

I'll let you know how I did, better yet, come see for yourself. The Judging is open to all. October 18th at The Casino on McPhillips St, all day.

Have a super weekend.

The Hidden Prize

Nikon RAW shooters you will love this. You know you can set your camera to shoot both RAW and jpg at the same time, but now with the D700 and its huge files, who has the room in your CF cards for soooo many files!?

I have the solution: your RAW files actually contain hidden jpg versions. So you are already shooting jpgs even if you have not specified this combo in your menu.

A great little FREE tool I discovered last week will extract the hidden jpgs from your RAW file and allow you to save card space and time. It performs the extraction in mere seconds! And it doens't alter the data in your RAW files at all, it simply duplicates the jpg data. Great for creating web-ready files for email or websites.

Read more about it here - Nikon RAW JPG extractor tool. Tell me what you think about this small wonder.

FOUR

It seems like just last month I finally bit the bullet and conceded to Adobe Photoshop CS3! I was forced to actually. When I bought my D300, I discovered that that the ACR plugin that supported the D300 was not compatible with CS2. So along with the expenditure of the camera, I also had to shell out for CS3.

But now Adobe has announced Photoshop Creative Suite 4. See it for yourself! Photoshop CS4! Yikes. I can't keep up.

Is it a needed upgrade? Are there features that I just can't live without? I was just getting into Lightroom and it looks like I may have to go with CS4 too.

I should have been a software developer!!!

Have a super weekend, and if you've registered for my Photo workshop in West St. Paul, I'll see you there!

ttfn

Made it!

Home again - and so happy to be back (smile).

This trip was so much better than the one last spring. This time the weather cooperated! I shot over 40 GB of images. When will I ever get the time to work on them you ask? If you find the answer let me know. ha ha.

From sunsets to macros, and abandoned buildings, and infrared dreams, I think I saw most of what I wanted to. Of course I will get the best of these images up here sometime. But the mundane beckons this week with good old fashioned work, the Guardian Angels Cancer Care benefit photos, the PPOC Image Salon (yikes! gotta get going on that one!) and another photo course I'm teaching on Saturday.

Oh well, it was great fun while it lasted. Hope you had a good time too these past few weeks, and didn't get too stressed out with the approach of autumn, (or whatever.)

yes, I missed you too!!!

ciao for now

LAST UPDATED: 12:02 AM 13/09/2008

Autumn's Here

The autumn light in here in the mountains is the colour of honey on peaches. And just as rich and just as sweet. Makes for very melancholy photos knowing that on its heels is winter - all blue and crunchy.

Traveling these old roads home at this time of year reminds me of Hawksley Workman's tune:

"I think that ghosts like
The cooler weather
When leaves turn colour
They get together
And walk along
These old back roads
Where no one lives
And no one goes
With all their hopes set
On the railway
That never came
So no one stayed
I guess that autumn
Gets you remembering
And the smallest things
Just make you cry.

Autumn's here."

sigh...

My Endless Summer

Since the summer nights at home didn't raise the mercury, I was hoping that the BC sun would - and it did! What a tremendous few day's it has been.

I found a fantastic 320 acre ranch in the highlands, only $1.2 million!!! Pocket change!!! (ha ha). Maybe I'll build a photo classroom and have you out for the weekend workshops in a fantastic new location, although Delta is still the best.

Seriously though, there isn't a lot of what I'd call affordable real estate out here - every second place is for sale, but I only know 2 photographers who could afford it :-).

But as I write this, I'm sitting on a huge deck in 23C temps, overlooking a gorgeous lake full of kiteboarders and sail boats. Paradise to be sure, and good enough for me.

I'll be heading back through the Rockies and Invermere, which promises to be even more tremendous for photographic opportunities.

See you soon!

LAST UPDATED: 11:31 PM 03/09/2008

Almost Heaven!

Grapes ready for harvest, blue skies, wine, wine, wine, and photo opps to make your head spin! It's beautiful, wish you were here!

Ready, Set, GO!

My approach to traveling is my overall approach towards life - take the road less traveled, as long as it's the scenic route!

See what I'm up to in real time, kinda like my nature photography webcam - my adventures in photographic experimentation.

LAST UPDATED: 9:33 PM 24/08/2008

A Bloomin' Great Time!

What a crazy few weeks it has been. While the wildflowers have seen better days by now, some of my garden variety backyard flowers are just hitting their stride! Must be all the rain. So I've been into macro mode for the past few days. Next week I'll be talking about a cool undocumented Nikon D300 macro trick I call the Trap. Guaranteed sharp focus every time.

Be sure to see the new images in the Nature Images Gallery. Here's a sample below.

And with the Guardian Angels 2008 Benefit photo shoot coming up, I'll be clicking non stop all this week too.

Gotta run, but I'll be back!

I love Patty Boge

Not in the same way I love chocolate, or love the weekends, but better! Patty is a very special person and that's why I love her.

Now, this is not the only reason, but this is the kind of person Patty is: Not only is she an amazing portrait and wedding photographer who inspires me daily, she is the world's most generous!

I had been admiring a few of her "details shots" photographs of the candles, cake, flowers etc. at a huge and elaborate event. The "look" was what I have been searching for since I ditched my old Minolta XG 7 35mm camera for the digital dynamo (D70) many years ago, but never quite achieved with my digital Nikons. But I found my "holy grail"...

Patty and I are both Nikon fans so I know she uses the D300, so it was a matter of the lens. I asked her what lens she used for those great shots.

Of course she told me, and THEN...she said "don't you have one? I'll give you mine."

Just like that! Thank you Patty for all you do for me.

You'll love her too. Patty Boge, artist, photographer, friend.

LAST UPDATED: 1:53 PM 17/08/2008

Busy as bee!

Well, with the lack of activity here, you may have thought I'd already left the building...but not really, just busy.

Finally summer has kicked in so if you are at the beach or the cottage you must be LOVING it! In anticipation of my vacation, I am sprucing up things here, so I can add new photos from the road, September across the Prairies will be a tremendous photographic opportunity!

And if its a hot, steamy Manitoba night you're yearning for, visit my good friends Tammy & Boyd at the Royal George Hotel - Winnipeg's Favorite Live Music!

It's part of my newest professional Texture Set. More about this soon :-)

Here's the underwhelming original, right out of the camera:

LAB is not an experiment

In this edition of Photographers' Freebie Friday, I have a super powerful trick that follows on the CSI Factor of better photography.

Please read that article for the basics. Only then will you begin to understand this PRO version (here) of jazzing your photos. I will post the complete details next week but for now, download the NPC LAB Action. Try it on any landscape image (it doesn't work so well on human subjects). Just play with it over the weekend. One click - no adjustments, or settings. It's the most simple but useful Action you will ever use as a nature photographer.

Oh, yeah...I've been busy working on a brand new image gallery.You can take a sneak-peak here, but be patient as I add a whole new round of images. New nature photography central Nikon d300 gallery.

As always please give me your feedback.

And yes, it's another long weekend isn't it, so I'll be out and about...you know what I'll be doing! ha ha ha.

see you next week!

Short & Sweet

It's a brilliant summer morning! On my dogwalk a few minutes ago, I was honoured to see a mother deer and her two fawns, still with spots, standing in the field, slightly backlit against the morning sun. They looked around, probably after sensing the Rottweiler, but they couldn't see him, and so there was no danger, they romped off across the field to the sure safety of the woods. OMG - it never stops amazing me!

Don't forget to check our my new Photshop Actions for Digital Infrared photography. Instant post-processing from your digital IR images. It's my exact award winning workflow. Give them a try!

Have a tremendous weekend!

ttfn

It's that time

Yes I'm taking my own advice (for once!) and am taking action towards getting out to BC before the great weather ends.

So with a little advance planning and an oil change I'll be heading out to the glorious landscapes and wildlife of the Okanagan once again, sometime at the end of August or so.

And with real estate prices dropping, who knows - I may be trading the little house on the prairie for the little cabin in the mountains!!!

Here's a photo of a place I have my eye on!

Can you picture it? A nice "no maintenance" place with a huge deck looking out over that view - a glass of locally made ice wine perched near by...deer walking through the yard, photo opps galore, a pristine lake nearby, and of course for you of the male persuasion, 4 golf courses!

Is this not paradise?

You can always get what you want

Hey, sorry I missed you on Friday - it wasn't my plan to NOT say something, but something did come up unexpectedly. And this unexpected "thing" got me thinking about the difference between people who have success achieving their dreams and goals, and those who seem to always be thinking about their dreams and goals.

This difference seems to me to be all about taking action. TAKE ACTION. People who get what they want act on things. One of my mentors, Eric Lofholm likes to say "the universe rewards those who take action differently than those who don’t."

Nike says "Just do it!"

My old boss said "we have analysis paralysis."

We all over-think things, over-analyze, and then get stuck doing nothing, or if we do anything it's just more thinking. "What would happen if..." "Maybe she wouldn't..." "Why would they..." You know, we've all been there. Creating scenarios. But never actually DOING anything, but think.

Another one of my favorite people asks "what would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

And of course the motivational posters and casino folks like to tell us "you can't win if you don't play!"

So, today come out to play, play at a level 10, take action and today do just one thing that will move you one step closer your goal. Make that one phone call that will get the ball rolling; send the first email to that image buyer from Ikea; Spend one hour preparing your portfolio; say hello to that one person who...

But just do it.

That's my lecture for Monday,

LIGHTNING!

Does it really ever strike twice? Do you believe in second chances?

I do...

Midsummer Nights Dream

I'm still waiting for those hot nights - you know the kind where the breeze is still warm at midnight, and the fireflies flutter like fairy flashlights. And you're still breaking a sweat long after the sun has settled in for the night.

I know it's on its way, right around now they usually start....I love staying up late on nights like this, sitting silently watching the night sky, the milky way and the falling stars. There's something very magical about a mid summer night.

Out here in the bush, it's super dark - there are no lights to pollute the night sky, and no smog to dull the sparkle of the stars. It's great for astro-photography! You've really got to leave the city for this total experience.

What about the mosquitos you ask? Yes, they are a problem when taking photos at this time of year at night, and the super bug repellent is hazardous to you and your camera equipment.

Years ago when I was building my house out here, it was the worst year for mosquitos ever. The air was constantly buzzing - like some supercharged electrical current was on the loose in the atmosphere!

Anyway, i had a video camera (one of those "hand-held" kind that was really meant to rest on your shoulder). And on my shoulder it was while I shot the construction of the basement, while slathered in DEET. I got some good footage and then quickly hopped in the car as the repellent wasn't doing its job too well. I put the camera in my lap and realized my face was stinging a little so I felt my cheek where it hurt, maybe I'd been bitten by a wasp or something.

To my horror, I felt oozing gooey stuff on my face, which was now stuck on my hands too, like grotesque black bubble gum, replicating itself on everything in streaming strings of macabre webs. It was what was left of the plastic on the video camera - the DEET had completely melted it! And it was all over my face and now my hands!

I jumped back out of the car, to find something to clean it all off with, and immediately felt intense searing pain on the backs of my legs - now what!!!!??? Yep, they too were stuck to the vinyl of the car's seat. OMG - what a mess. I was a walking meltdown!!!

I have never used that stuff again. I don't want to think what it would do to a Nikon D700. The horror.

So, today's lesson - enjoy the hot summer nights, get out. Great times for after dark photography. But don't use DEET repellent. Unless of course you're shooting for Halloween stock photos!!!!

Starhunter, bug basher, freak of nature, gooey, all of the above!

It's all good after dark!

One more time

Here's another experimental shot. (Such an attractively creepy place!!!)

Independence Day

Well, this could mean many things - but the Fourth of July is typically associated with the big American holiday.

And just like us Canuks, fireworks are involved in the US too.

One thing about photographing fireworks that is counter intuitive is that you need a high ISO and slow shutter speed to make great photos of fireworks. Not always true. The light from the fireworks is actually very bright, and to freeze the action so you can see the details and sparkly bits, you'll need a relatively fast shutter speed. Somewhere around 1/250th of a second at ISO 400 is a good place to start, with a small aperture (big number = f11 and higher). Focus on infinity. Manual focus is probably best because auto-focus cameras have a hard time focusing in the dark.

To make an instant montage of many bursts on the same frame,keep your camera set on B (bulb), expose your shot but under expose by about 1/2 stop, then gently cover the lens with your lens cap till the next burst when you will remove it. Repeat this process three times to see a very uncommon effect!

And if fireworks aren't in your plans this weekend, do try to be experemental with your camera. It's only be taking a chance that anything great ever happens!

Have a great weekend and celebrate whatever it is you are doing.

My 5 day mini-vacation is over and it's Canada Day, our official patriotic holiday, although some people did actually go into the office today. Were you one of them? You should have been out with your camera, or at least outdoors - it's summer!

Canada Day - but no fireworks photography this year - I'm feeling too lazy to drive anywhere else today. Earlier, I was feeling compelled to visit that little graveyard again, so I went up there, camera in hand.

My trip was rewarded with a gorgeous sight - a native prairie meadow in full flower - gaillardias, prairie lillies, 3 flowered avens, and the bluest harebells I hae ever seen!. I was enthralled. I had taken quite a few shots, and was resting on my car "chimping" when another car drove through the gates up to where I was standing. The driver stopped and asked if I needed any help. I told him I was just taking pictures of the flowers.

He gave me a piercing look, glared at me for what seemed like an eternity and then said in an incredulous voice "That's pretty sick, don't you think?"

Stunned, it dawned on me that he must have thought I was taking photos of the flowers on the graves...I had to explain to him about the meadow and the wildflowers. I showed him some of the images from my camera - I don't think he actually believed me. But he had no comeback, just a grunt and then he drove off.

Seeing that this graveyard is very isolated, I started to feel a little nervous so I jumped in the car and headed home. I had gotten what I came for.

See this!

later!

The Longest Day

Saturday was the Summer Solstice - the longest day here in the northern hemisphere. And how did you celebrate the official arrival of summer?

Once again, I took my camera out for a spin on my new Nodal Ninja Panorama Tripod Head. While panoramas are quite possible handheld if you're shooting far away landscapes/landforms, objects that are closer to the camera, such as indoor scenes suffer from parallax. More about this in a later full article.

But the Nodal Ninja head eliminates this by ensuring that your camera is perfectly aligned for the lens and body you are using - eliminating parallax distortion and making it simple to stitch together your images.

Scroll down to see the "blue planet" image - it's a nodal ninja pic! (all the way down)

If you've tried panorama photography before, and have had trouble stitching your images, parallax may have been the problem. The full article on panoramas will show you all the trick on how to avoid this infuriating situation, and it will help you speed up the creation of 360 degree panos - the cool quicktime VR movies that give you the "immersive experience."

I'll immerse you in some of the coolest places around here - coming soon. Panoramic nature photography and more.

Now, I'm off to see the wizard!!!

PS: if this website looks like crap (Tuesday June 24th), it's because the hosing company is having severe technical problems - my new banner should NOT be blue, and my navigation links shouldn't be the green colour they are :-( !

My new site design was to launch on Saturday - the first day of summer - but of course the gremlins also want to celebrate and caused major issues with the servers. I apologize for the unprofessional look but it WILL be fixed asap!!!!Thanks for understanding.

Ok, so this is not a lot of notice, but I have 2 FREE tickets to my keynote session on Digital Infrared Photography at MPAX on Sunday morning. You'll have to be in Winnipeg, or coming into Winnipeg to take advantage of these freebies this month. Call me if you want them, but before you do, go to the Show & Tell Page , upload one of your best images. Then call for the tickets. 204.942.4704.

NEXT UP:

Jeremy, the master of light, who put on the great seminar earlier this week is selling some stuff: Here's what he's got for you.

Nikon D70s body and 18-70mm AF-S Dx $650Nikkor 18-200 3.8 VR Lens $750SB800 Flash $300

Contact him directly. If you are at all into digital infrared photography, consider getting his camera and converting it into a dedicated Infrared Camera.

See you at MPAX, or next week if you can't make it. (But why won't you be there? (smile) )

I went to a terrific workshop on Monday night, the instructor was Jeremy Dueck, Photographer of the Year. It was all about LIGHT.

Best photography workshop I've been to in years. I'll be writing up some of Jeremy's tricks and secrets about how to master light, once MPAX is over. (it will be a busy weekend for me!)

Thanks Jeremy!

LAST UPDATED: 10:10 PM 12/06/2008

Friday the 13th

Never an unlucky day! Trust me :-)

The Manitoba Photographic Arts Expo is getting very close and I have to say that Joe and David and the rest of the organizers seem to doing a great job. Kudos guys!!!

Joe called me to day to let me know that the Winnipeg Free Press is doing an 8 page spread on the event AND on the keynote speakers (me included) - wink wink. Check out the TAB section in next Thursday's Free Press.

There will also be a full schedule of events, speakers, workshops and displays in the TAB, in its own section that you can pull out and take with you to the Forks.

It's shaping up to be a great time.

See you there.

Oh yeah, the freebies...i will post the freebie for today on Sunday...you'll see why.

LAST UPDATED: 10:42 PM 10/06/2008

What a find!

Despite the insanely high cost of gas, I found myself wanting to take a drive. You know the kind...music cranked, hot sun streaming through the glass warming your face...

Many miles later I discovered what seemed to be a forgotten cemetery perched on a hill and tucked in between the scars of huge gravel pits.

It’s a beautifully haunting place. The perfect place for infrared!

Infrared Dreams!

Just a little something till next week! Have a super weekend.

No Heat, but it's Heating Up

June already! How time does fly. For you too?

With all the "internal" things going on I still haven’t managed to make my westerly jaunt this year yet, but that’s ok – today! I'm really not in a mood for a road trip right now, because...

this is prime infrared photography season in the northern hemisphere – the sun is high and strong, beaming mega infrared wavelengths our way.

Like any other style of photography, you’ve got to develop an “eye” for the infrared scene though. You’ve got to envision the scene as your camera (or camera PLUS filter) will see it. This means recognizing where the infrared light will fall, where it will be absorbed (objects will be dark and flat – reflecting no “light”)and where it will be reflected (lovely light and ethereal textures).

Remember that rocks, lumber, metals, water, and sky absorb infrared light. Deciduous foliage, grass, clouds, and human skin (no matter the colour!) reflect infrared. So when you compose your shot, look for contrasts between these objects.

But also think about texture. Infrared photography renders human skin translucent and completely smooth. You can contrast this with the jagged edges of grass, or the darkness and roughness of stone, for example, by having your model reclining on a lawn or posed on granite boulders (if you happen to be out in the wilderness).

If you have no human to model for you, contrast the texture of a smooth black sky with old weathered wood, be it a fence, barn or building. If there’s foliage around, all the better! CONTRAST!

Now for my fellow Nikon users I’m happy to report that I’ve found an almost flare-free lens for infrared shooting. I got my hands on a new 18-55 DX VR – the kit lens on the Nikon D50 I believe, and in some test shots this week, it seems to be hot spot free!

It’s an all plastic lens, not at all “pro glass” but for $199 who cares!? At last an infrared friendly lens that covers all the angles a nature shooter needs.

Don’t forget about the MPAX event coming up at the Forks June 19-22. Come to my full feature digital infrared seminar to get more IR tips for digital photographers; or email me for details.

I'd love to see you there! (Here's a hint - bring your camera)

Welcome to the First Freebie Friday!

Yes, official. On a random Friday each month we’ll be giving away free cool stuff to help improve your photography. It’s a birthday for you, of sorts – a new start for you to get inspired with actual stuff, not just talk. Freebie Fridays will give away hands-on tools to help you make better photographs. Photoshop Actions, video clips, brushes, Lightroom presets, you name it – little gifts to help your photography amaze! Consider this your first present in your quest for the WOW! Factor.

So blow out the candles and make a wish – and check back here to see if the “fotoshop faeries” have granted it for you.

This is a little Photoshop Action for adding more impact to landscape images. It’s just one teeny action but does it ever work! "DOWNLOAD here.

Have a super day, an awesome weekend, and a great time.

Moving on

Photography is a pretty solitary activity (as my impending divorce will attest!!!) (frown). Even if you go shooting with friends, once you put the camera to your face, you're in your own world.

It's like a time warp of sorts. I've written before about how the camera machinery comes between you and the experience, and the act of photgraphing becomes the experience, rather than the reality of you experiencing the moment. It's the CSI factor all over again.

Be sure to check out the new Articles Section and see my article about reality and experience, and how CSI Miami can make you a better photographer.

LAST UPDATED: 07:27 AM 23/05/2008

LIFE - Experienced or Observed?

It is this distinction between "participant experience" or simply being an "observer" that is one of the hidden secrets of great photography.

Do you ever watch CSI Miami? Law & Order? If you do you already know this secret. But you may never have thought about it as it relates to photography.

More tomorrow about this. Gotta run now - I have to be in the city in exactly one hour!!! Ack.

Just remember - a photo is a limited edition of life. It's up to you to make it a memorable one.

toodles for now :-)

Freebie Fridays

You're going to see some big changes here over the next few weeks. One of these will be the official announcement of freebie Fridays - on a random Friday of the month I'll be showing and telling some of my most inquired about techniques as well as giving away stuff, like brushes, textures, custom shapes, actions and, yes even Lightroom presets.

We're also hoping to relaunch a new(er) look as well as I don't really like this "new" banner (you're feedback is always welcome, you know!)

But in the meantime, stay tuned for the panorama chronicles. It's all about taking your photos out for a spin! Panoramas are getting to be hugely popular with the arrival of better tools especially PS CS3. But there are better ones, and they are FREE!!!

Wedding photographers, need a bit of extra sizzle? Pano pics might be the answer! I'll show you how.

Coming to a blog near you on a random Friday very soon. (wink)

that's all for today kids!

May Long Weekend!

It's the most glorious day so far this year temperature-wise!

But my energy is still non-existent. Sigh...I thought I'd get out to the beach to check the spring activities, or at least take a drive to some of my favorite shooting spots, but all I can do today is nothing!!! Maybe tomorrow. ha ha

How did you spend this first long weekend of the summer? Camping, cottaging, golfing, yard work? What ever you decided to do with your time, I hope you had a relaxing time and kept warm! Where is the HOT weather anyway? I thought we were in "global warming!?"

Anyway, my "vacation" draws near and I'm still optimistic that a heat wave will come our way before I leave.

ciao for now!

Summer is just around the corner!

As I recuperate (all too slowly for my liking) it occurred to me that the infamous May Long Weekend is upon us but the weather still sucks! We've had it all from dry cold, snow, wet and cold, so I figure all that's left is the hot and warm. bring it on!

Despite the well worn Manitoba cliche of camping on the long weekend wet and freezing, I think we are owed a change of pace this year? Don't you.

If the warmth appears and my energy returns my shooting list this weekend included several abandoned farms and possibly some more night shots.

Also if you haven't heard of MPAX the first ever Manitoba Photographic Arts Expo, check it out. (But turn your speakers off! Some overeager web designer thinks it's cool to blast you with ikky music!)

I'm a keynote speaker this year, demonstrating digital infrared techniques. It should be an informative and hopefully inspiring weekend event.

ciao for now,

One Hit to the Body

I mentioned "contagious" in my last post...and I guess it was foreshadowing this week's events.

Right after the "Walk on the Darkside" night shoot on Sunday, I was hit with the worst case of the flu I have ever had. I never get sick - never missed a day of work in over 17 years!!! But wow what i got in Monday has knocked me right out. I'm still down for the count right now - stuffed up and aching...

Anyway, I'll survive. Here's one sample of the Darkside Capers in the meantime.

Have a great weekend - it will have to get warm soon!!!

Phottix Cleon

"OMG, is it contagious!?"

Nah, it’s just the funny name for a very cool little photo gadget. But there’s nothing funny about it’s performance or its ability to help you add way more WOW to many types of photos.

What it is is a very well made but remarkably inexpensive wireless shutter remote for Nikon cameras with the 10 pin connector. It fits these cameras:

• Nikon N90s• F5, F6, F100, F90, F90X• D1, D1H, D1X• D2H, D2Hs• D2X, D2Xs• D100 with MB-D100• D200, D300• Kodak DSC-14N• Fuji S3 Pro, S5 Pro

So you can use this for night shoots and long exposures, macros, self portraits (ha ha ha) and any other work where perfect stillness or long exposures are needed. I’ll be out on Sunday night (in the black of night) with the coolest group of photographers testing this new toy to the max! But so far it’s worked as advertised. What a find!!!

And compare the price of the Nikon ML-3 Remote Control at $175 US with the Phottix Cleon at $37.00 US and this is a deal that you can refuse!

These cool little accessories work by radio frequency so you don’t have to worry about walls and lines of sight – promo material says the range is 320 ft if there are no obstacles.

And considering the Nikon D300 (and D3) have mirror lock-up functions, you’ll be guaranteed tack-sharp images in low light and time exposure modes.

Read more about this wireless remote for the Nikon D300

View the Phottix video on Youtube

Then hurry over to ebay and get one Phottix Cleon

Have a great weekend - and remember your ABCs of spectacular photography (ALWAYS BRING CAMERA)

(smile)

Two New Toys

As usual I'm overly busy with wrapping up many small projects and I had wanted to get more images up here this week, but as you can see, failed miserably. And combine that with no Internet at home because of yesterdays ice storm (inconvenient weather but everything LOOKS like glass- beautiful! of course pics are coming soon)I'm just so far behind in all my projects. Period!!!

But I do have two new toys you should know about and I will review here with pics as well. The Photox Cleon radio remote control; and a new panorama tripod head for the tiny planet shots and 360 panoramas.

I need a week to get my act together and then lookout world, ha ha.

What's on your agenda for the weekend? Catching up with family, friends, photos? Drop me a line.

Have a great weekend regardless of what your plans are!

See you Monday.

The Power of a Camera

Finally I had had enough. The parking lot that I use also doubles as a garbage dump, where all the crud comes from I do not know, but over the last few weeks more and more garbage of the rotting stinking kind, was appearing in the lot. It was gross! And as the weather warmed up it was stinking even more - this is not a third-world landfill - it's a parking lot, behind a restaurant for pete's sake. UGH!

One morning, after feeling like I wanted barf from seeing and smelling the mess, I took a few photos. I spent about 15 minutes there, also trying to see if I could make anything "artistic" from the disgusting scene.

Well, someone must have seen me because the next day it had all been cleared up! After sitting there for over 8 weeks, and growing (!) the presence of a camera was enough to get someone into action.

Here's the scene:

Photo Op Weekend in Store!

It's Friday! Warm weather in store. Finally got caught up with all my extra curricular projects. So guess what I'll be doing (smile)?

And yes, get ready for all those D300 tips I've been promising for so long.

Last tidbit for today - are your ready for the D3x?Check it out! Thanks to Bruce for the tip. :-)

Nikon d3x?

Have a terrific weekend, and get clicking!

LAST UPDATED: 06:22 AM 4/17/2008

Where in the World?

I don't know where you were yesterday...but if your were anywhere near here, I'm sure you saw the same magnificent sunset I did.

Words can't describe it - neither can a photo capture it.

Once again, one of those rare moments when it's just enough to behold. Not "take."

I just read too that the new beta version of Google Earth shows you sunsets now - how cool. I have a GPS attachment on my D300 now and have been playing with tagging my images with GPS coordinates. More on that soon, too.

manana, my friend - a brand new day. See you then.

Is it all about compromise?

Sorry for this non-photo related musing...A dilemma:

You have an opportunity to work like a dog for 10 - 18 months, maybe even a little longer, doing interesting work but it's not your heart's desire. But you will make a huge amount of money - this is all legal BTW! - Would you take the opportunity, or would you stick with what you're doing right now?

Would you/could you put your career on hold for this time - take a leave of absence, quit, retire early? Or would you pass and stay the career course?

More here...

WARM AT LAST

Well, Yappy Hour was a hoot, or should I say a howl! Great fun, and being the weirdo I am, I felt much more at home with the hounds than the humans.

With the exception of a few (smile). And it was tremendous to also run into a few old buddies from the U of W days, truly a small world indeed. I believe that in Winnipeg 6 degrees of separation is too generous - more like 2, or one degree! Everyone knows everyone!

And speaking of degrees, now that the weather is promising to be spring-like I am planning my first of many photo days. I didn't get as many as I wanted to last summer. The first day it hits 20 C (sometime next week they say) I am outta here!

See the puppy pics here next week, and news of the next Big Thing!

Now what are you doing for excitement these days! Maybe I can guess....am I getting warmer?

ttfn

What's up with Dogs?

Sorry I've been kinda bad about keeping in touch these past few days - things are happening!!! I have missed you though. (smile)

I was wanting to get this little snippet out long before today but, well....errands on Saturday, dim sum on Sunday morning, a forgotten CF card and a missed photo op Sunday afternoon...what else can I tell you?

One thing. Yappy Hour. The Humane Society invites all dogs to a pawsitively fun fund raiser. This year's theme for Yappy Hour is the Pawscars (Oscars), and I'll be the Red Carpet "Puparazzi" getting the glamour shots of you and your fury pal as you make the grand entrance!

Bring your pooch down for the star treatment, Wednesday April 9, at the Fairmont - Winnipeg's best puppy-friendly hotel. Fido will be served gourmet treats and get to mingle with all her doggie pals. There will also be bevvies and snacks for humans as well, and it all goes to a good cause.

And no the Rottweiler won't be attending - he's becoming quite a recluse, preferring the excitement of road trips to far away places and big screen TVs!

Bow wow, woof, woof.

Photos from the Pertified Forest

Theres a very weird place I go to periodically - I've been photographing it for many years now. I always expect that this time will be the last time.

It is a 20th century stonehenge - a monument to nothing at all, but the sunset and moonrise. At least that's what i think!

I really need 3 solid days to catch up on pix. But I managed to grab a few hours last weekend, and had some fun in the Petrified Forest.

See what I mean. Leave a comment or two. I'm always curious about what you think. I know you have an opinion!!!!

The Petrified Forest

Now, back to work!!!

Spring?

It's early 6:30am, and me and the Rottweiler are having our morning walk through the deer tails in my "back 40." There's still 6 inches of snow in the bush, and as the dawn spreads its dusty glow over the frozen landscape; my pooch's foggy breath mingles into misty vapor; and I have a little shudder as the cold air breaks its way through my old fur coat.

Not too far beyond the crunch crunch of our feet on the crystaline snow, an unfamiliar sound pierces the otherwise mundane soundscape. HONK HONK. My eyes follow the intrusion, up.

The geese are back! A sure sign of spring?

Personally, I think they must have got a bad travel agent - no sign of spring around here, no water, no grain, just snow.

HONK HONK indeed, "outa my way Bud, I'm heading south!"

Four days of bliss!

Well, almost. It was at least a 4 day long weekend for some, including me. I decided that there was no good reason to be in my studio in the city today - since I was shooting most of last night anyway.

Yes, finally some night shots. I'll post them here this week. Initial peeks at the RAW files look promising. The national PPOC Print Salon is coming up and I'm thinking that a little "night music" may be the ticket...

And I got a call to conduct an digital Infrared Photography Workshop at Winnipeg's first ever Photographic Arts Expo. I'm not at all sure what this will be exactly, but you know how I love to get the word out about infrared so i agreed to do it and will be speaking at this even in June.

The Expo takes place at The Forks from June 18th to 22nd, 2008. It sounds promising but since this is the first time for this event, I can't guarantee its WOW factor. Except of course if you come to my workshop!

Then I can promise you - an infrared hot event indeed!!!! (smile)

So get your gear together and come on down to the Forks in June!

But of course I'll talk to you before then. But there's a lot going on so make sure to sign up for my newsletter as well.

ok, that's too much information for one post!

ciao for now.

NEWS FLASH!!!

Yes......it's a sad tale but true......I'm selling my lovely D2x. We never quite bonded like my D70 and I did, or the way my new D300 and I are bonding now.

I want to make sure it goes to a good home - it's a fine camera and deserves someone who can give it the creative workouts it deserves.

Only 17000 shutter activations. Perfectly new condition. Body only. Bought in late 2006, all original packaging, manuals, strap, charger and auto cable release included. And includes Thom Hogan's Complete Guide to the Nikon D2x CD.

$2100.00 CAD + shipping from Winnipeg.

Call me at 204.942.4704 or 204.955.1830

(sniffff - I hate to see it go....)

No Time

Wrapping up my workshop materials and heading off to Morden bright and early tomorrow - too early!

Have a terrific weekend. (I hear Spring is on its way!)

-toodles

LAST UPDATED: 20:29 PM 10/03/2008

Look out World!

Just playing around, first time I have had time to pick up my camera in several weeks. Isn't that sad!!!! And it's not going to get better anytime soon.

I'm conducting a workshop on Friday and Saturday in Morden, MB, and need to finish preparing for that; and then I have another one at the Canada Manitoba (I always thought it was Manitoba Canada, but anyways...) Business Centre at the end of the month...

AND I gotta get something ready for the National Competition in April. Can you say "threepeat?" Can you say "burnout?"

A Great Way to Unwind

If you've never heard of Josh Ritter before you'd better pay attention now!

Josh is my new "best friend." There's so much about the man to love.

See what i mean...find out what/who I've been keeping a secret.

Too tired today...enjoy the warm weekend.

Chillin' under the full moon...

I know for sure my neighbours think I'm nuts! A few were outside last night watching the skyshow as well, and I think they spied my flashlight as I tried to adjust my cameras to the changing moonlight. Both me and my cameras wrapped in furs and fleece!!! Good thing all eyes were looking at the stars. ha ha ha

You DID see it too didn't you? Wasn't it a tremendous display - No NOT me, the moonshow, silly!!! The thing I loved was the configuration of the stars and planets - well, planet, Saturn to be precise.

Here's my interpretation of the Lunar Eclipse in Winnipeg on February 20, 2008.

Nikon D300, manual exposure, mirror lock-up, Nikon 70-200 VR, ISO400, Uniloc tripod, 4 Hotshots (to keep the batteries going in bone-shattering minus 30 weather), one old fur hat (to wrap the camera in to keep the heat in and the cold out).

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with both of these - at 100% there is no perceivable noise and given that the exposure was about 1 second on a moving subject they are also quite sharp.

See for yourself:

Upload them at“Show & Tell” .

Now that it's finally warming up I'm feeling motivated again :-). Have a great weekend, see ya soon.

Going Totally "Luny"

On Wednesday February 20th, (one day after my birthday!) there will be a total lunar eclipse, visible from right here in Winnipeg, as well as most places in North America, east of Calgary – or the Mississippi River in the US.

The eclipse process starts at 7:43 pm CDT, with totality starting at 9:01. According to NASA totality will last just under 50 minutes.

I will have 2 cameras set up to capture this heavenly event, the D2x with interval timer, and a wide angle lens; and the d300 with the 70-200 VR zoom. Or maybe the other way around - I haven't decided quite yet.

HOW TO DO IT?

Photographing the full moon is not as tricky as you might think. Since it’s really a sunlit object we can apply the “sunny 16” rule.

Your correct shutter speed for any object lit by the bright sun will be 1 over your ISO, at f16. Or in other words if your ISO is 400 (good for the night), if you’re using a D300 for example, your shutter speed would be 1/400th of a second at f16. Or more likely 1/500th of a second. But always bracket to be sure - remembering that severe noise hides in the shadows in underexposed digital images.

I will be using spot exposure on manual because of the difference in tones between the moon and the night sky. Auto exposure will just get confused and try to average everything out to 18% grey.

So here it is from me - your personal challenge to step outside on Wednesday night at about 8:00 CST, and take a few photographs of this event. Then use my “Show & Tell” page to upload them here so we can see just how good you are!

Heck, just go outside and be a spectator – these are some of the most eerie phenomenon you will ever experience!

It's the element of surprise you know! It makes for great photos too. Whether it's a sunset or a flower or portrait, we have all seen it before.

To make it unforgettable, noticeable and packed with punch, it must be surprising, even startling.


Check out Robert Frank's work.

It's so influential the term "Franking" is now used to describe any thing that takes one by surprise, it's even used in poetic writing, marketing and advertising - franking.

And, yes, Route 66, regardless of how dilapidated it is now is still on my list of things to do and photograph. But not in the old way - I'll have to come up with a new take, a new "look."

Frankly my dear, surprise is everything. {smile}

Why wait - do it now

Well, you already know what I think about Valentines Day - contrived, commercial, insincere...

However I DO like the part about chocolate. I've been trying to eliminate sugar from my life for about 63 days. (It's not salt, it's not transfats, it's SUGAR that's our dietary deamon...)

And for the most part I am feeling 100% better without sugar in my life. Until that trainwreck hit me last week. Ever since I am desperate for chocolate. The good stuff. I guess it must be the stress that creates some kind of chemical imbalance and need for a comfort food.

So send me some chocolate asap! Put it in the mail, send a courier, send your dog, drop it off. I want a ton of chocolate....*

*

*

*

*

yum

The best of times, the worst of times

NON-PHOTOGRAPHY RELATED RANT

I understand that life is a roller coaster, lots of ups, lots of downs, sharp curves that literally throw us for a loop,...it's a great metaphor. Mine is mostly ups, lucky me.

But what is it when the ups and downs happen at the same time? I mean, it defies physics - as well as the nice tidy roller coaster imagery? How can it be - down and up at the same time?

Well it can and does happen, and happened to me to day. Today a rich jerk (a client to boot!) tried to push me off the ride, - no, worse, he wanted (wants?) to kick me out of the amusement park - mostly to soothe his insecure and self inflated ego I'm guessing.

But at that very moment, a new client invited me to ride on a bigger and better roller coaster(?). Talk about ups and downs. I feel so crappy - no wait, I feel so great! No crappy...

I know you are now totally weirded out by this tale, and I'm not having a Sc'air Canada Pilot Meltdown, but I don't really have a conclusion or point either. All I know the universe truly does work in strange ways and if I thought you'd believe me I would tell you the rest of the story in detail, and you'd see just how strange it all really is.

But now I've vented and feel better. Up down, I think it's all the same, depending on where you are looking from. Up Up and away - works for me!

Photographic Challenges

They call it a stormy Monday - and Tuesday is just as bad...(Sorry I've been waiting years to use that line! he he he. Apologies to BB King)

Yep, a blizzard is on its way and that may explain why I'm feeling so restless and at loose ends. I have tons of stuff to do, but my concentration is shot. I blame it on the impending storm. Oh well.

But its too bad this is all brewing is this week. I have a gig to photograph skiers and snowboarders at the local ski hill. Which is a challenge because a) I haven't been on skis for, like, a thousand years; and b) snow photography is inherently difficult. If you don't do some fancy calculations, your images will be horribly underexposed.

I was never a strong snow photographer (never a strong skier either!). But here are a couple of examples, The first one is way overexposed due to my aggressive measures to prevent underexposure. And the second one was a "save" that, thanks to Photoshop managed to hold its own.

Both these are scans from 35 mm slides, and when they are at full size you can see just how much like slide film digital is - the grain.noise hides in the shadows; and with an underexposed image there will be lots of shadows and lots of noise.

With a little luck the storm will blow over, and I'll have a another couple of days to practice my snow technique!

A COOL Idea

One of the most vexing problems of long exposure digital photography, such as full moon shots,is the noise (digital grain - but ugly). If you've ever, used Photoshop to bring back some exposure on a badly underexposed image, you will have seen the "dark side" of digital photography! NOISE.

This noise happens because the sensor heats up and does strange things to the digital signal. So, my thought is that if the sensor is very cold, would this minimize (somewhat) any noise created by the heat of the photosites on the sensor?

Because it's ungodly cold here I am creating en experiment - long exposure photos at -35C and at more normal temps. If the camera has a chance to "chill" out doors for 20 minutes or so, will this help minimize long exposure noise?

I have to make good use of this hideous cold weather somehow!

That's my cool idea for today.

Stay warm (or cool, if you're into long exposures!)

My reward!

OK. It's either been balmy and unseasonably warm, with overcast, blah skies; or blastedly frigid but with bright and clear blue skies. I had enough.

Despite the -35C temps this weekend, I braved the cold to finally do some serious testing on the Nikon D300. And I was rewarded. While trying to experiment with the 51 area focus (hmmm, 51 areas; Area 51?) which will track your subject if it moves out of your primary focus area, a large Pileated Woodpecker flew in for some suet at my feeder.

The magnificent birds are very shy, relatively uncommon in populated areas, and extremely nervous. The slightest sound seems to send them flying off to hide!

But here he was, about 30 feet away from me and my camera.



I did have my tripod ready but knowing how these birds are I decided not to use it because the noise would certainly scare him off.

Thankfully I was prepared with the 70-200 VR lens (I should have used teleconverter) set at 200mm. f16, 1/200 ISO 400.

The original is not as sharp as I would have liked but I think this is my poor technique. Even with VR, on a digital sensor the focal length is more like 320mm,and following the INVERSE FL RULE, my shutter speed should have been at least 1/350 of a second. Sure the VR is supposed to give you an extra 2 stops but I'm not sure it applies to fast birds!!!

At 100% you'd see that this image was just on the edge of acceptable sharpness. Now maybe only weirdos like me review their images at 100% since rarely will you ever print anything to that size but it's one more way to be consistent in acquiring perfection.

I also tried it out under the moon. more about this experiment and images later. Also don't forget that the full moon is Tuesday! Digital makes moonlight photography a super creative experience. Now if only I could do something about the cold....brrrr.

later...

Of Course.

My big teaching gig starts in 6 weeks and I'm putting the final touches on the course outline. Working with young and creative photographers will be an inspirational and motivation experience to be sure.

I hope I can handle all 48 hours of it! Doing a 2 day workshop is a totally different beast from 2 3-hour classes a week - it's just like the old university days, except I can't skip out.

And it's not summer so there's little possibility of field trips...

At the very least it will keep me out of trouble and force me to better document what I do which if you are a Michael Gerber fan, is what you must do to truly create a "business (as opposed to creating just another job)."

Speaking of books, read "The 4 Hour Work Week" by Timothy Ferris. I must add that to the book of the month list! Highly recommended for all photographers (and worker bees) who are still trading hours for dollars.

(what a mixed bag posting this has been, sorry! I'll be more focused next time (yeah, right!)

toodles...

Winter Road

Weird Dreams

A place you only experience when you're in another world...

About the Panorama Photos

A week into the new year...how are your resolutions coming? Managed to break any yet?

One of my (many) resolutions for this year was to take more time to learn NEW photography-related skills; and to master at least 10 of the ones that I practice all the time but never seem to excel at.

Fractals and panoramas are two I keep promising myself I'll get around to. So my motivation is to finally get the pano tutorial ready for the 360 degree pano photography that I find so addictive.

Also I will state publicly my intention to have at least one of my images licensed by Ikea! There. I did it. I'm committed (or should be). hehehe

One shiny new panorama tutorial coming up!

It's another NEW YEAR!

Let's hope it's a good one. No reason why it shouldn't be great.I started it off with this...

And Moet Nectar Imperial is indeed sparkly nectar - it's my fav!!!While there we no stars to dance under, we all had a great time (too old for hangovers but not old enough to not enjoy a good party)

So in with the new. New Nikon D300, new year, new plans, new business, new ideas, new approaches. New awards? And among those new ideas are a whole pile of new things for this site. Look for more goodies, freebies, products and information added a little at a time over the next while. I love the new year - I feel like I have so much time (I'll end up wasting so much of it though, but who cares today!)

And how did you celebrate the imminent arrival of 365 brand new days? Rowdy? Quiet? Anticipating what's coming up next? Or perhaps nostalgic at what's past? Ah, yes, same Auld Lang Syne indeed...

Rabbie Burns had a way with words didn't he?

Well, cheers my friend, a toast to the new year and I'm happy you're along for the ride.