Tag: Photography

Review Short

One of the things that was happening as part of the international fleet review was a performance by the Snowbirds. We heard where they would be performing and thought that Cairn park close to our house would be a decent place to view them.

Now we have seen them many times before and love our Snowbirds, but this year I was disappointed by the show. We were late getting to the park, and then we realized that there were going to be some trees in the way. Add on top of that the Snowbirds were performing down low, and we didn’t really see much. It also seemed rather short.

I still got a couple shots off though.


Machinery Project

I got out for a bit of a photo walk today in the gorgeous sunshine. Most of these pictures were taken near Point Hope Ship yard on Harbour Road. The chain link fence was a bit of a pain, and it would be awesome to have free run of the place for photo taking. I imagine there is a bit of risk in that though. There was lots of heavy machinery working and a few boats in dry dock getting worked on.

Some old buildings in the area were perfect for taking texture shots.

I happened to come across an open house for the UBC Blue Whale project. There are still in the process of getting this huge skeleton ready for display, but there was lots that was ready to be viewed. This was an amazing animal and its size cannot be described easily. The section in the photo below was likely around 20 feet long and there were a few more sections before it. Then the massive head.

There were few flowers in the industrial area, but I still managed to find some.


Goldstream Projected

On Saturday we headed out to Goldstream park for a walk. That park is always so lush and green, and with all the rain we have had lately, the park seemed extra wet too.

The kids had a fun time and the picnic lunch was well received. We stopped by the nature house and explored around inside. Elliot liked using the microscope that projected up onto a TV.

I had fun taking a few pictures along the way. All the pics are available here.


2009 Photography In Review

This is the part where I am supposed to reflect on the past year of photography. Last year I wrote that I intended to try and rekindle my photography in 2009. Honestly, that never happened.

I still took pictures, but I didn’t get out for dedicated photoshoots. I still want to do that more.

I am still proud of the pictures, and still proud of my photography. My skills definitely came in handy when we visited New Zealand for 4 weeks. I came away with many stunning pictures that I will always cherish.

2009 also saw me get a new camera body. Again something that could have stimulated more photography.

What held me back? I was enjoying my young family too much. Weekends became family time and evenings are busy.

What do I want to do for 2010? I honestly don’t know. I’d like to try and get out shooting more. The kids are older and a little easier to take care of. Perhaps there will be more free time.

Barring that I will continue on like I did for 2009 and making the most of what comes my way. That is the great thing about photography, everywhere you go there is potential to make a great picture.

January

While on a photowalk in Napier, New Zealand I spied this jumble of nets and fishing gear. The colors and randomness attracted me.

February

Again in Napier I could sense a grand sunset was forming. I jumped in the car and drove to the opposite side of the bay we were on and was treated to something truly spectacular. I desperately wanted to do this sunset justice. I recomposed many times, but I think this shot shows how all encompassing the sunset was.

March

A walk in the local dog park. The honey bee provided some entertainment for me as I followed it for a bit hoping I could frame it on some of the flowers.

April

There is a massive cherry tree in our backyard and when we moved in I hoped that the blossoms on it would be worthy. Seeing this tree decked out in blossoms was pretty amazing.

May

Messy stinky dogs. I love them. Digger, you are such a photogenic dog.

June

A carnival was in town for the Oak Bay Tea Party. This is a shot of the midway.

July

Canada Day fireworks. Good fireworks shots are hard to come by. Next year I think I will try some composite shots and see how they turn out.

August

The house we moved into had the largest lavender bush I had ever seen. In bloom the aroma was almost overpowering. So was the sound of all the bees.

September

A sunset from my Mom’s house. The trees here frame the sunset nicely and add some depth.

October

I think this is one of my favorite shots of the year. My kids looking out over the water. They were both hopping off the fence at random times so getting them both like this was challenging. You can’t see what they are looking at which add to the mystique of the shot.

November

I did a photo shoot at Beacon Hill Park in November. I had just learned I had been laid off and thankfully I had my camera with me that day. Instead of heading home I headed out on a photoshoot. There weren’t many flowers out, but I found thousands of these mushrooms growing in all sorts of flower beds.

December

This shot is stretching it a little, but I didn’t take many pictures in December.

Bonus Shot

This was taken in October up in Nanaimo at my Mom’s house (similar location to September’s picture). This is a beautiful sunset that feels lighter than the September shot. The lightness of the sunset is tempered with the boldness of the tree.

Lusting List

I’ve done a bit of window shopping as of late. I’m holding off on new purchases for a bit while I am looking for a job. That and I don’t like wasting money. Unfortunately lusting over items is hard. Very hard.

On boxing day I went into a Chapters and spied several books that I would love to read if I had the free cash and the free time.

Front End Drupal

Cracking Drupal

Regular Expression Cookbook

WPF In Action

Yesterday I was in Munro’s and spotted a couple more books that looked interesting:

From Camera to Computer

Googled: The End of the World as We Know It

Yesterday I was also in Lens and Shutter perusing.

I fell in love with the Gary Fong flash diffuser sets until I saw how big they were. Huge. I then looked at some other diffuser options. I ended up finding the diffuser I wanted at a reasonable price, but they didn’t have the one I needed for the Canon 430EX.

I also spied a wonderful new camera bag. The Crumpler $7 Million Home. Looks awesome, and I think it would hold my gear more comfortably than the current bag I have.

What’s the point of typing all this up? To remember for later. If when I have a job and I have some spare cash I still think I want these items, I now have it recorded what they were.

Photo Mood

I got out for a bit of a photo walk in Beacon Hill park this afternoon. Fall can be a spectacular time of year for photos. I would have loved for more mood to the photos, but sometimes when you go out on a whim, you take what you can get. Some fog would have been awesome, but I had overcast.

It was nice to get out and think creatively. This was definitely needed today.


Perfect Fall

Today was such a gorgeous day. Warm, sunny, perfect. Sox’s Mum was in town so we walked the dogs at Elk Lake. The kids had some fun too.

We may not get the colors that eastern Canada gets, but our fall can be every bit as gorgeous.

My son is impervious to cold. He was running through the lake until he was soaked. Then he tripped. While down on all fours he crawled a couple steps before standing up. He never complained about how cold the water was. Then he walked all the way back to the car (10 minute walk) and never mentioned feeling cold. Amazing.

Zoomed in and out on a leaf pile while I rapid shot some pictures. This was one of my favorites.