The Bleary-Eyed Photographer

Don't try this at home - can be dangerous

Unlike some of my photographer-friends I find myself unable to rise before 5 am driving to catch the best light of the day -the dawn. I did, however, manage it this weekend.  At first, the whole enterprise I thought was going to for nought, as I drove bleary- eyed through light rain with heavy cloud cover.  I kept going, as in the distance I saw some hope of light and colour.

Dark clouds were everywhere- only some light on the far horizon.

North of Newcastle, Concession 6

Disappointed I headed for home but in less than 20 minutes there was some wonderful skies starting to appear. If only I had more patience. 

Courtice-Taunton Road- Pringle's Farm

These shots required a Lee graduated ND filter. It was good to have more experience with the Lee's.

Courtice Road - Dawn Fireworks

This past week there was some fun with a '58 Chevy and an old pickup truck.

Or how about B&W?

This is a low-key version with an orton overlay effect . . .

Or even a little "midnight overlay"

Super HDR?

and the old truck - 

OK back to the peaceful, rural landscape in mid-summer Courtice:

On the Bike Again . . .

Out on the bike again in Clarington.  The "big landscape"  is, most pros will say, the toughest image to work at because you need to create depth with a strong foreground "actor" or use light for the same effect.  A little light on the road helped do this here because a strong foreground element is lacking.

Base Line Road West, Courtice

I like this a lot better as the flowers add some interest at the bottom and the eye is led across the scene by light and colour-  too bad it was taken late in the morning -the light is too "hot" - need to come back to this location early morning before the yellow has all gone.

Some drastic cropping can also "save" a big image to create a faux panorama effect: as the eye has to move laterally and the trees on the horizon give a sense distance and depth.

A true panorama ( a series of exposures "stitched" together) is better perhaps, like on this headstone:

Another panoramic-crop-for-effect on a fence -

Looking for patterns and interesting lighting is dangerous when biking on a busy road.

Old CP tracks at Courtice Road.

Solina Road Farm

Trulls Road, Courtice

It has been quite surprising what interesting photo opportunities you can find within a couple of kilometers of your own home.  Freeman Patterson is validated!

Holt Road, Clarington

Finally out in Clarington

In photography inertia is a terrible thing - so drastic action was required.  I asked a friend, Jim, to help me discover some photo opportunities around Clarington.  He has been taking me around to the lesser known areas ( at least to me) in my quest to force my cameras out of the closet.  I think I have finally made a beginning. I have even begun to log locations on my GPS so I can return to the same places in different lighting and weather conditions.

The early growth of canola is adding a lot of colour right now and its been a good week.  However our first outing was in early May to the Second Marsh but with limited photographic success.

Second marsh Walkway area

A early start got a sunrise, here enhanced with an Orton effect. There were a couple of good light opportunities in the deep marsh and close to the lake.  A B&W version of this had some potential, but stretching the tonal range, however, often creates image noise, especially in the sky.

B&W high structure conversion with Silver Efex 2.

Bottom of Second Marsh

Driftwood here is interesting but this piece seems out of proportion, despite this the light and tones were very pleasing.


A second trip took us to Hampton, a place reserved now for repeat visits.

North of Hampton, all stone classic Ontario home

A small cemetery in Hampton has a unique semi-circular layout.

This week was a panoramic opportunity for the landscape north of Courtice and Newcastle and included quite a surprise location.

Jewel Road, Newcastle

From Taunton Road looking north

 Couldn't resist this barn, north from Taunton with nice yellow contrast.

Enfield Road, north of Taunton

In this view, in the hills north of Newcastle you can see the Bowmanville Cement factory on the horizon about  15 km away.

  

Finally on our way back to Newcastle a surprise on Mill Street just north of Town -  a privately owned Western-style village  - complete with hotel, sheriff's office, and a general store.  This little gem is going to be worth further investigating.

Added some atmosphere with low light filter from Nik's Col Efex Pro.

Carriage company in HDR

Why Vermeer? Its all about Light

The light was low and sparse along the France's Biarritz shoreline. It  is a windy place being off the Bay of Biscayne so I used the fencing to give a sense of the wind and found a dash of pink for interest.  Vermeer was all about  careful, planned composition and the use of light to create the story and impact. The best in landscape photographers involve these elements.  Similarly, I planned to rise early to get this one of Courtice road.

But then the light catches you by surprise.   After an hour of nothing,  taking the camera off its tripod and packing up the gear you turn around and you see this... no time for careful adjustments and composition - the light creates the image for you. Snap.

The Fell above Derwentwater, Lake Distict, UK.