A midsummer night's dream

Ah, the Friday of a long weekend at the height of summer...

The best time of the year for photography around here.  The sunsets are long and there's usually dust in the air from haying activities, or construction so the colour of the light is redder and warmer. And what could be better that spending an evening with dogs? I love dogs - I love smart dogs...

I had the extreme pleasure of photographing some beautiful and highly intellegent gun dogs last night in the fading light of the day.  We started at about 7:45 and finished up an hour later. I used a WB setting a little oranger than the regular setting for sunlight.  Click here if you don't know how to change your defualt WB settings - not available on all cameras though...)

Here's my fav.   

 

Here's another. WARNING: in the next shots, the dogs is doing what they are supposed to do. It is a little disturbing, at least for me who is not a hunter or a fan of hunting, and an extreme animal lover. However, trained dogs are far better than untrained dogs, and the ability of these dogs to ensure that every bird is retrieved ensures that no bird will suffer, and that whatever is shot will be consumed and not unneccessarily wasted.

If you ARE a hunter I think you will appreciate the moment.

READ MORE...

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Pandora Lives

Have you seen Avatar? (If you haven't it's the only movie worth seeing at the theatre in a long time - but be sure to see the 3D version!)

Looks like Pandora has a clone here on planet Earth.

This infrared shot was taken in Penticton in June with a converted Nikon D70, and processed with my new Nikon Capture "pre-post-processing" method.

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It's been a long long time...

Neutral Density Filters - not just for eclipses anymore!  What else are they for, you ask? Long long time exposures.

You've probably seen those wonderful seascapes, Winnipegger Michael Levin made them famous - made with ultra long exposures, so the ocean looks like mist, all soft and dreamy...But the piers or rocks are dark dnd hard-edged.  The contrast is awesome.  Neutral density filters make these possible.

So I'm off to the lake with my new B+W Super ND filer and newly refurbished 12-24 mm Nikor lens to take long exposure images like this, 

and this.

I'll show you the results and give you the recipes for the best times, settings and environmental conditions.  It's supposed to be HOT this weekend...that means grat sunsets, oooh can you feel it!

Long may you run!

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One question

I have a big selection of new Nikon Capture NX samples to show you after this weekend, in preparation for the new Infrared with Capture NX Handbook. But first let me ask you just one question.

What would have to happen (or not happen) for you to have a perfect day?

Think about it and let me know...

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Slow Turning

The Winnipeg Folk Festival - that Woodstock-like pagan-ish 5 days of music and barefeet, beads and dreadlocks! I'm not a true fan of the event, but excellent musicians frequently play the festival, and summer outdoor concerts are just such a complete sensory immersion who could not love it.  I've been quite a few times to see my favorite artists play there.

Last year you might remember, Elvis Costello was the main event, and I got some great shots of him, looking right at me

This year it was John Hiatt.  If you don't know about John Hiatt, you should.  What a life - recovered from alcoholism, and cocaine addiction, and writes the most remarkable music.  His "breakthrough album" was Bring the Family, but he had many more before this too.

Here he is singing one of my favs - Have a Little Faith in Me...

 

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The Big Split

At first glance this massive gap in the mountain side does seem pretty eyepopping...till you look closer at the size on the truck in the on-coming lane - the scale is even more unbelievable.

A massive scar upon the land, land created by unimaginable forces, and for millions of years it was "rock solid", unchanged except for the impreceptable weathering of nature.  And now it just serves to demonstrate that there's just about nothing some dynamite and an engineer can't do.

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