My favourites from 2015
What you see below are the images I produced in 2015 that just seem to hit me in the right spot. They are not in any particular order (Although, that 1st one turned out fabulous.( You should see it printed ) And instead of describing them with 27,000 words, I’ll just let you take a look…
I sincerely hope you have a safe and fun-filled Happy New Year!!!
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Christmas Eve 2015
Green fields. Blue skies. 14 degrees Celsius. Not what you would call an average December 24th in Canada. I’m not complaining mind you. It think this weather just makes things a lot safer for anyone travelling. But, it is always nice to wake up Christmas morning and see the white stuff. Oh well, mother nature is doing her thing.
I was heading out to pick some items up in town today. On the way I spotted this field on Harwood Road. What grabbed me was the very feathery clouds. I just had to stop and capture a shot. Especially to record what this day was like on this Christmas Eve 2015. I expect some big changes coming with respect to weather very soon. I hope you all had a chance to revel in the oddity of this day. And I sincerely wish you all have a safe, fun filled, too much food and drink, laugh out loud Merry Christmas. (For those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas just go ahead and have a great time doing all that stuff anyway.)
Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 56mm f4 – 3 image HDR processed in Nik HDR Efex Pro 2 and Adobe Lightroom.
Family & Friends
I had an opportunity to shoot some special moments of one of my best buds and his family. Plus I tossed in a few shots of my other best buddies from High School hanging out with him. I love to just sort of blend in and capture real life. Sure, there are a few posed shots in the book but even those have something special. Funny how I hardly get in any pictures. Hmm, I wonder why? But hey, that’s me reflecting in their sunglasses in the picture. Funny. There really are some memorable shots in this book. And being able to share them is what makes what I do as a photographer so special. It is simple. I’m happy when I can make others happy. I mean look at those smiles…
I really like putting stuff like this together. So many people have photos on their phones and they never make it to print. Either as a single print or in a book like this. I think there is really something unique about the tactile feeling flipping through a book of photos that just doesn’t compare to a “thumb flip” on a phone.
If you click on the photo below it will take you to the site that has this new book I recently produced. You can preview the whole thing. And you can see a few other books I put together.
And since you’re here, if you haven’t already, please subscribe to my blog. This is where all my new photos will be posted from now on.
New Extension Tube just arrived.
My New FUJiFILM Macro Extension Tube MCEX-16 arrived unexpectedly today. Didn’t think it would get here so soon. Bought it on-line from Henrys. I opened the box and it was like a little jewel. No fancy package but wow is it built well. I will be playing with it a lot over the next little while. Here are the 1st shots. The first shot is with my X-T1 and the 23mm f1.4. That is as close as it will focus. The second shot is with the extension tube attached to the 23mm f1.4. Look how close I can get now. This will be so much fun. Both shots were at f1.4 to show the depth of field. I am just starting to play with this thing but 1st impressions are it is sweeeet.
Fuji X-T1 – 23mm f1.4
Fuji X-T1 – 23mm f1.4 + Extension tube MCEX-16
Blue Bike Graphic Art
I have always appreciated the world of Graphic Artists. Some amazing and inspirational stuff is out there. I always wanted to try something with one of my photographs to see what I could do. I shot a photo of me on my bike and came up with these two pieces. The 1st one I call “Ice Blue“. I love the angles and the contrast. It is an image that looks better if you step back a bit. The second one is called “Blue Rain“. I really love riding in the rain when it is really hot out. This image brought back fond memories of younger days training for 24 hour cycling marathons.
Both these shots will soon be hanging on my wall at home.
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3 Windows – 8 panes of glass each – 3 Colours (Blue, Orange and White). Plus, if you look, there are 3 candles and 3 stained glass pieces hanging in the windows. This was shot in Peterborough Ontario with my Fuji X-T1 and 56mm f1.2 at 1/550 sec at f4.0 ISO 800. I like walking around Downtown Peterborough once in a while. Just to watch people and see what’s new. You just never know what you are going to “See”.
United Way Northumberland Book Launch – We Live Here Vol.2
The new United Way Northumberland – We Live Here Vol.2 book launch was tonight. It was my first interaction with quite a few talented photographers from the Northumberland area. And it is for a great cause.
Here’s to selling out the book!
One great guy made it a point to find me, congratulate me on my photos and ask how long I have been in the Northumberland Photography Club. Funny thing is I’m not in the club. But after meeting Mr. David O’Rourke I certainly plan to check it out. Everyone I met seemed pretty passionate about photography so it looks like a perfect place to both share and learn.
It was cool that they picked 7 of the 10 photos I submitted for the book. The book turned out really great and I want to thank both Stephen Della Casa and Janelle Eisler for making this all happen.
The book is available at the United Way Northumberland office the Woodlawn Inn and at Cornerstone all in Cobourg, Ontario
Patiently Waiting
So it is an absolutely gorgeous day. I am wandering around Cobourg shooting some stuff. I land here. The Cobourg Marina. The sky is perfect. The lake is perfect. The sun is shinning. I spot this Dock Cleat, standing with arms spread, waiting. Patiently waiting to support whatever boat comes along that needs to connect with land. It is a simple little thing. Anchored to the pier by 4 bolts. Unmoving in its conviction. Determined to do its job under any weather condition. Dependable to the end. Of course you have to tie your boat to it properly, but that is another story. What makes this photo for me is the way this little guy just stands there. Knowing there is a boat out there, past the lighthouse, coming his way.
The skies and wind-blown lake his companions until that boat arrives.
Fuji XT-1 & 10-24mm f4 @10mm -1/1100, f8 ISO 200 Processed in Lightroom
Cobourg Underpass.
Walking around Cobourg the other day I noticed this cool form in the structure of an underpass. I really liked the way the shapes lined up. I also thought the texture of the cement was cool. Especially with the random graffiti. Processing it into a B&W in my Lightroom plugin – Nik Silver Efex Pro2 gave it some mood. 
Yellow Shopping cart and a Dude up on that Bridge
Walking around Peterborough the other day I came across this poor drowned shopping cart. I don’t know why someone would do that. Shopping carts by nature are not “Bad”. I mean they hold stuff for us in a protected little metal cage while we navigate the many dangers of our favourite stores. They carry the goods out to our cars come rain or shine. I even saw a kid riding inside one the other day with her legs squished sideways due to the big flower-pot that was also there. I wonder what this shopping cart did to deserve such an untimely demise.
Maybe, someday, there will be a way to rescue and resurrect this poor yellow shopping cart.
And what the heck? There is a dude on that bridge.
