Christmas Greetings to All......

 Here we are again, the Christmas Season is upon us, and this year, there are a lot of mixed emotions floating around due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, that has swept the world, and swept so many loved ones from our family circles. There are so many that have been taken by the pandemic, and/or because of the pandemic, when their prevailing health issues could not be dealt with properly, as resources and medical staff, are stretched to the limits. However, it has also caused many of us to stop and reassess our views of living and life in general. As a close friend of mine, Frank, said to me in an e-mail last evening, it is not what is under the tree this year, but who is around it. I responded that he was right, and that also it was what we could give from the heart, as compared to what we could give from the wallet. My wish is that your circle and spirits will not be broken this year. May peace find its way into your lives... Cheers!  

Lake Nipissing Beach.....

 This is a beach scene that was originally taken on Black & White film. It was never printed before, and for some reason, I decided to scan it and turn it into something resembling an ink drawing illustration. There is a lot of anti noise discussion these days, and the pros and cons of noise in photos. Personally, I don't see the trouble with it. Adding a little noise to certain images gives it a bit of interest and texture, but that is just my opinion, for what that is worth. We used to use ASA 3200 film for some portraiture in by gone years, and that would just not cut it these days. The grain in the images when developed, resembled a coarse grade sand paper. It provided some much needed variations to images, usually shot at a much lower ASA or ISO. Pushing the pixels per inch count up to around 100, makes images look very unnatural to my eye. It no longer looks like a photograph, and to my way of thinking, that is just pushing a good thing too far. But, whatever floats your boat I guess. Anyway, I got out my old Mamiya RB67 last evening, and dusted it off, and cleaned it up. The shutters in the lenses all work great, and I will be shooting some medium format Black & White in the near future hopefully.....yup, back to the darkroom again....digital has me bored to tears lately, and it will be nice to actually "make" a photograph again. Cheers everyone! See you after Christmas.....

A Northern Ontario Winter.....

 It finally started to snow for an hour or so here in Windsor today. However, I doubt that it will amount to much. We may even get enough down to call it a White Christmas this year, but we shall see. Occasionally in Northern Ontario, you will get a green Christmas, but not often. For the most part, by the time Christmas rolls around, most of the lakes and streams are frozen over. However, there are times when you have to be very cautious venturing out on the lakes for a snowmobile ride if there hasn't been several days of a good hard freeze up beforehand. Unfortunately, too many folks cannot resist the urge to make tracks in the fresh snow covered lakes, and hit a patch where the ice is too thin, with tragic results. Stay safe folks, and stay healthy.....Cheers!

Winter Solitude.....

 This image was taken somewhere on the South shore of Lake Nipissing, in Northern Ontario, many years ago, and tonight is the result of scanning another of my Black & White negatives. It brings back many fond memories I have of our time spent living in the North, and during times like the present pandemic, it would be such a mental relief to be able to take my camera and go for a solitary walk along some lake shoreline, or an old logging road through the bush. The moan of the wind in the trees, and the sound of a blue jay, or a chickadee's chatter, is nature's music for the soul. The memory of it all is wonderful during this wretched lock down. For those who can still do this, you are indeed privileged. Cheers! 

Buried in the Snow.....

 We came across this old snow plough half buried in the snow, during a little Winter excursion around Marten River Provincial Park, a long time ago. What year it was, I have not a clue. The thing that struck me about this old rotting piece of wood and steel, was that when I was a lad of about 4 to 6 years old, I remember vividly hearing and seeing one identical to this one, lumbering along the street in front of our old house. It used to pile the snow up to about 3 feet from the telephone wires, and we used to climb up there with our piece of cardboard and slide down the slope onto a vacant lot across from our house. Yes, I said cardboard sheets cut from an old box, because, plastic sheets hadn't been invented yet. Yup, I'm that old! If I remember correctly, it was a steam driven old tractor, with the steel tracks on both sides, and the front bucket/blade was lifted via a steel cable pulley system, all the way up to the top of the twin columns in front. You could hear that thing coming for a half a mile away, and it usually came around in the evening after supper. I believe it was made by Caterpillar, and I just spent at least 2 to 3 hours scouring the internet for more information or pictures on the thing, but no luck. Since this one was located in the woods of Northern Ontario, my guess is that it was used on the roads that passed for a highway back then, as well as on some of the logging roads in the area, North of North Bay. Anyway, the one from my childhood, was eventually replaced by the old Dodge Power Wagon, 4 wheel drive, with a blade on front. It did not pile the snow so high, so there went our sliding hill. After that, they attached a huge snowblower to the front of the Power Wagon, and the snow was blown up high again, so we were delighted. Winter was so much fun! This image was shot on 35mm Kodak Plus X, and developed in the darkroom, many many moons ago. Tonight I scanned the negative on my Epson scanner, so that I could share it, and some pleasant memories with everyone......hope you enjoyed. Cheers!   

Trinity Bay Architecture, NL

 Today's offering is again from the lovely town of Trinity, Newfoundland. This community is full of this type of architecture, with white picket fences all over the place. This is my rendition of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity (Catholic) and I did a bit of messing with it to give it somewhat of a line art effect. Conversion to Black & White, helps with the graphic elements of the scene. Just thought I'd try something a little different today....Cheers!

Somewhere Near Trinity, NFLD

 Last night, I got to checking out a few Black & White analogue photography (film) sites. Yes, there are still a few guys/gals out there who shoot nothing but film. Some of the work was beautiful, and it brought to mind some of the work that my old mentor, Jack Shepherd, would produce after one of his many trips to various places in Canada and the USA. So, I decided to work on another of my images from the Trinity area of Newfoundland, on the Avalon Peninsula. The peace and quiet stillness present while I was photographing this image was something that was is stark contrast to the din of city life. It gave me a real angst to head back to the darkroom again, and expose and print some film.....I still have all my old darkroom equipment, and film cameras, so could be up and running in a couple of days....who knows? I just might give it another shot in the New Year.......hope you enjoy. Cheers! 

Trinity Bay, NFLD

 Tonight, I thought I would revisit some of my images from my last trip to Newfoundland in 2015. This one was taken in Trinity Bay, NFLD, and a colour version of it is on my desktop background right now. However, it occurred to me, that I had never tried to convert some of these images to Black & White, so I gave it a go with this one, and I am glad I did, because I think I prefer it to the colour one. My hope is that others will enjoy it also....Cheers! 

A String of Pearls.....

Her pearl necklace dangling from the neck of his old violin, surrounded by the very last roses clinging to the bush this Autumn day....they loved, and were loved. Nothing else needs to be said.......

November's Rose Redo......

 Last evening, I thought I would revisit the last bit of table top images, and see what else I could do with it. This was the final result. My Art Critic in residence hates it when I do this sort of thing. She is a purist when it comes to photography, and thinks I haven't done a decent image since I stopped shooting film, and processing Black & White in the darkroom. She probably has a point. Who am I to argue? Hope some will enjoy this one anyway. Cheers!

November's Rose.....

 The warm weather is in the process of leaving this evening, and the last few days provided a great opportunity to do the final bit of yard work, before the white stuff starts to happen. In the process of pruning the various bushes in the back yard, we decided to rescue this late bloomer, and give it a place on the kitchen table for a few days. Tonight, I got the urge to do a bit of still life photography, and set up my LED lighting, etc., and this is one of the images that came from this evenings session. Hope you enjoy a little. Cheers! 

A Summer Afternoon.....

Many times when I am playing around with my camera in hand, I grab shots that at the time mean absolutely nothing, but for some unknown reason, it seems like a good idea at the time. This is one of those images. While some parts of the country are dealing with blizzards or hurricanes this week, Southern Ontario is bathed in some of the nicest weather we have had all Summer....even though it is Autumn. It's just a nice temperature, no bugs, and no oppressing humidity like we had from June to September. So, it was a good time for a body to find a cosy corner and spend some time with a book. Books....how much longer will we have them available to us? Many a kid grew up reading book after book all Summer long during their holidays from school. But now, it seems that books are becoming a thing of the past, and more time is spent on various electronic devices and gadgets. The day is likely not too far off when we will not be able to access anything in print, and like photographs, all that information will be lost forever in "the cloud", or cyberspace. If for some reason you did not pay your monthly subscription to access "the cloud", then it sucks to be you. We used to store all of the old family photographs in several albums, or even an old suitcase or shoe box, which was tucked away in a special corner, until needed again when family history was the topic of the evening. But now, oh, all of those family pictures are somewhere on a disc, all mixed in with various other meaningless junk images, and can no longer be viewed because the discs have been corrupted with age, and no longer work, with the latest operating systems of the present computer being used. But sad as that all is, to me, the most sad thing of all is that very precious few even care, or give it a second thought.... Go read a book while you still can....Cheers!  

 

Daisies Magenta.....

 

So, it is November now, and I just turned the clocks back an hour, which usually is a sure sign of the coming of the colder Winter months. But I decided to try to hold it back a bit, and played around with a little bit of cropping, and converting this image to a magenta monotone one, just to see if I like the effect or not. Well, the jury is out on that for now, but maybe some folks might like the outcome, and others, well not so much. Believe it or not, we still have Roses and Clematis blooming in our back yard, and our neighbour was saying today that she still has Hollyhocks blooming. I am hoping to awaken one morning and see some snow on the flowers, as it usually makes for a nice image. It will be time soon to set out the bird feeders, or maybe I should say the squirrel feeders. They are almost impossible to battle against, and maybe it is time to get a couple of the squirrel proof feeders. Anyway, so much for babbling...Cheers everyone! 

Happy Halloween.....

 Halloween Night...a time when all sorts of ghostly thoughts run rampant. As I watched the little kids out trick or treating this evening, there was a beautiful full moon rising, and since it is the second one this month, that makes it a Blue Moon. I can't remember where I read it online, but I seem to recall reading that the last Halloween Blue Moon was 19 years ago. That may or may not be accurate, but hey, you can trust the internet....right? Anyway, for this spooky night, I thought I would do a remake of my Iron Horse Illustration, and make it into a somewhat ghostly night scene, and while I was at it, throw a Blue Moon up there as well, just for laughs. The old steam locomotives were dubbed "iron horses" when the native folks first saw the things rumbling down the tracks, belching black smoke, and making that forlorn whistle sound. It must have sent shivers down their collective spines back then.....and now they are a thing of the past. Happy Halloween to all.....Cheers! 

Full Moon Insomnia.....

Ever had a night when the head just will not lie down? All kinds of nonsense just swirls around in there, and the more you fight it, the worse it gets. If you happen to be any kind of musician at all, you will have had many nights when one crazy tune or another, just keeps playing over and over in your head, especially if you have just learned a new tune that happens to be somewhat difficult to put together. This is especially bad when you are a musician of sorts, and play from memory or by ear, as they say. If you happen to be a "real" musician, and read music, I am not sure if this is as much of a problem or not. However, this little image was one that I was playing around with quite some time ago, and I happened to come across it tonight, and decided to play with it a little more, and post it on here. With an instrument like that, he should have no problem keeping half of the City of Detroit awake. But my guess is that it is most likely awake anyway. The graphics in the background is an outline of the Detroit skyline, taken from Windsor, Ont.. It was a fun little piece to work on this evening, and hopefully some will enjoy it a little. Cheers! 

Wilted Rose Abstract.....

 Well, here we go again. Last evening while I was tweaking my blog a little, for some reason, all of the text for all of the postings vanished....but finally about 3 hours later, I managed to recover it again. I know, some would probably say that it is no great loss, but a lot of effort goes into making and writing a blog, even one as mundane as this one. So we shall give it another chance. This little image sort of illustrates how I feel about things in general. It started out as a terribly wilted rose, and it would have been easy to ignore it. However, over time, I have learned that one should not be too hasty in just writing things/people off, because they do not jump out and immediately grab your attention, or admiration. With a little effort, the lessor of things can be transformed into something that does grab your attention, even if only briefly. To make something out of nothing is rewarding, and I guess it is why I like to photograph things that is well beyond its best before date. It certainly is not to everyone's taste, but you can't please everyone all of the time....enjoy! 

Just A Rose Budding.....

Hierarchy of Musical Instruments.....

It has been quite some time since I last posted anything, and in the meanwhile, it seems that the powers that be in Blogger, has decided to "improve" the whole set up. As a result, I am no longer able to wrap text around an image, which saves a lot of space. The new improved version is extremely clumsy to use, in my opinion, and it appears that a lot of other folks using this set up feels the same. Anyway, I will try to make some sense of it for now. This little image was originally done in colour, but tonight, I decided to revisit it, and do a Black & White version of it, which seems to work well for me. The instruments are stacked, with the violin/fiddle sitting above the guitar. I have heard a lot of really great guitar playing in my day, but there is nothing sweeter to my ear than a well played violin. So it gets top berth. Then off to the side is a button (diatonic) accordion, which I rather enjoy playing either solo, or with a group. The "button" accordion is either loved or loathed, and I started to play it when I was around 8 years old, and still learning..... It has been said that the accordion was invented so that the Scottish bagpipers would have something to look down upon, or sneer at.....whatever, it doesn't matter. It might be on the bottom of the heap, but let me tell you, when you hook it up to a 600 watt speaker system, add a little reverb, then lean into some good old time East coast or Irish tunes, it just blows the roof off of whatever pub you are playing in....however, if you really would like to hear the true richness of the thing, you have to hear it played in a large church with the wonderful acoustics therein...oooohh yeah! 

From Our Garden.....

Of all the different roses in our garden, this one is my favourite. It was in memory of my Mother, God rest her soul, and it has the most delicate, lovely scent. Today, I took a break from the usual routine, and decided to go smell the roses....it's good for you! The scent of this rose was so lovely, I went and got the snips, and put it in a little vase, and now it sits on the kitchen table. Tonight, I set up the camera and LED lights and took a few shots of it, and I thought I would like to share it with those who might be somewhat interested. Unfortunately, the camera is not capable of conveying the scent and that has to be left to the imagination.....hope some of you enjoy it a little.

White Hosta Blossom.....

The Hostas that my wife planted have done very nicely this Summer, in spite of the punishing heat and humid weather that was endless here in Windsor. The pristine whiteness of this blossom just made it glow in the morning sun, as I enjoyed my coffee on the back deck, so, I had to go get my camera and grab a shot or two. With being locked down, except for necessities, it makes it somewhat difficult to have much variety in images these days. I could do more travelling about, but there seems to be a certain hostility in the land, even among drivers, so I just prefer to stay home. So it looks like I will be shooting the flowers in the back yard for a while yet. Maybe, I will set up some bird feeders this Fall, and hopefully get to photograph a few birds for a change. Last Winter, I gave in to the squirrels, and didn't bother with the feeders, as they just constantly raid them , making it slim picking for the birds.....but that's the way life is I guess...

Evening Light on Hollyhocks.....

This image was taken about 3 hours ago as I sat on the front veranda railing. The setting evening sun was providing nice back lighting to the flower, and my truck provided the dark background. Cropping and editing was done in Corel, as was the frame also. Hope you enjoy it a little....Cheers, and stay safe....

Porcelain Bouquet.....

It is a rainy day today, and while I am awaiting my batch of bread to proof, I decided to play around a bit with this little image that I shot last evening while the hockey game was on TV. It is a little porcelain bouquet of flowers that my old mentor Jack Shepherd had given to my wife at one of the old Photo 74 meetings for some little contest that was a part of a banquet evening the group was holding. Anyway, last evening I for whatever reason took it from the cabinet, and set it on the corner of the Coffee Table, and shooting at f2.8 the floor/background was nicely out of focus. Jack used to say that if a picture is worth shooting, it is worth framing, and it is not a picture until it has a frame on it....who am I to argue? Hope you enjoy a little.....

P.S. Camera: Sony a77Mk2
       Lens: Minolta 80 ~ 200 f2.8 APO G

Terri's Swallowtail.....

This little butterfly probably had its origins with our next door neighbor, who likes to harvest the butterfly eggs and place them in a shelter she has built and watch them progress through the different stages until it emerges as a full fledged butterfly. That sort of patience I do not have. Anyway, this Swallowtail was soaking up the sun on our rhubarb patch, and I happened to have the camera handy, so decided to give it a quick shot. It goes without saying that I am not much of a nature photographer, but admire nice images of nature.....thanks for the specimen "Madame Butterfly", keep releasing these lovely Swallowtails and Monarchs......

Hollyhock Watercolour.....

This little cluster of Hollyhocks growing up through the pea gravel at the corner of our house seemed like something that might have some possibilities for a picture to me. The gray background is provided by a car parked a foot or so behind the blossoms. It was a rather gloomy evening, with no sun, so I got the LED's out and in a couple of minutes, took a few shots of them. The watercolour effect was from having the camera set to Watercolour Mode, and the canvas and frame effects were from my Corel editing software. Come to think of it, I just might do an 8 x 10 print of this one for some small space around the house. Hope you enjoy it a little also.....

Roses of Sharon at Dusk.....

This is another image from my foray into the back yard at dusk last evening. The lighting was provided by a couple of my LED's on light stands. Again, not a work of art, but I enjoy the contrast that this set up provided, as it is a bit of a deviation from the normal daylight shot. It is also my first efforts at processing an image in Adobe Lightroom 5, and I seem to be rather late to the party on that. For whatever reason, I never got around to trying Lightroom before, so I figured it is about time to learn something new, and get with the program.....it will take a while to get comfortable with the software, as I have also been dabbling with Capture One Pro 9 for my RAW editing. It allows me to shoot tethered to the computer, but my better half thinks I am already tethered to the computer enough as it is.....Hope you enjoy this little fun image a bit.

Clematis by Wren House.....

'Tis a hot one in Windsor today. In this kind of heat, you only get a couple of hours in the evening before dark to get anything done outside. For the most part, the heat might be somewhat bearable, but when you add on the humidity, 33C feels like around 45C, then you run a risk of heat stroke if you exert yourself too much. It is easier to stay inside with the A/C running, but the whole Summer is slipping by, and I have so much I wanted to get done. Anyway, last evening, I braved the mosquitoes, and spent an hour in the back yard taking a few shots of whatever was on offer. This little shot of my wife's white Clematis is climbing up the fence beside a little bird house that a couple of weeks ago, was home to a little House Wren family. For what ever reason, probably the heat, they seem to have vacated their residence, for somewhere else. This little image is far from a work of art, as is most of my endeavours, but I liked the mood of it anyway. Hope you will enjoy it a little.....

Coleus Abstract.....

It has been several days now since I last picked up my camera, but today, I found a few minutes to take a couple of random shots of different things. This little Coleus plant was one of the images that I chose to play around with tonight. The Illustration mode was set on my camera, and then when I downloaded it into my Corel Software, I used another filter or two, to arrive at this abstract effect. While the plant has a lot of natural texture, the filters applied in the camera and software afterward seems to enhance the texture. It works for me, but my in house art advisor seems to think otherwise. The nice thing about photography and art as well is that it is all very subjective, and as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It really is not a big deal......it is just a picture after all. Cheers!

First Rose of Summer 2020.....

As I add this little image to my blog, J.S.Bach:Prelude in C Major is playing on the TV. It is past midnight, and for a very brief moment, I turned on the late night news, and had to quickly turn it off again. I just cannot abide the news broadcasts anymore. The constant barrage of Covid-19 and the chaos that seems to be everywhere in the world now, is just smothering to the senses to say the least. So I find myself watching mostly Stingray Music, Nature channel. For the most part, focusing my mind on the flowers in our garden, and listening to the relaxing sounds of birds and bubbling streams in the background while some Classical music is playing, is for me a much more worthwhile way to get from morning to night in this world that has taken a very ugly turn lately. This is my first offering of flowers for this year, and it is actually a test shot for my new/used Minolta 80 - 200mm HS APO G lens that I have lusted for since about 1993, but was never able to afford. Finally, I found one for sale at about 1/4 the original price, and it is in pristine condition. It looks like it was never used. So far, I am quite pleased with it, but will become more comfortable with it over time. Next test will be a bit of portraiture hopefully.....if I can find someone willing. But it will likely wait until such time as we can comfortably associate with others.....Cheers!

Google Eyes.....

When my wife first pointed to this little anomaly lurking in her plant, I thought it would go away in a day or so. Apparently not. It looks like some sort of unknown alien bug with lemon coloured and shaped eyes. So, I couldn't help myself, and set up the camera to get a shot. I used my 18~135mm lens with a #3, and a #2 close up filters attached. I was able to get in fairly close, and this is the resulting image. The thought that Google is watching us constantly every minute of the day, crossed my mind, no doubt as a result of the googly eyes.....sorry, I think this Covid19 thingy is getting to me.....Cheers!

Basket of Peaches.....

The "munchies" drew me to the kitchen this evening, and sitting on the counter top was this basket of peaches that had been gifted to us by a family friend. They seemed to be hollering at me to take a picture of them. So without much delay, I proceeded to set up a little table top setting , and do just that. After a few shots of just the peaches, I added a few Boysenberries beside the basket. For the most part, I have been trying my best to keep things as simple as possible, but it still needed some other element, as there was a large empty space at the top with nothing happening there. So, I decided to raid a lovely bouquet of flowers that my wife had received for Mother's Day from the kids, and added them to the mix. The arrangement was lit with 2 LED lights and a white reflector card to fill in the foreground shadows a bit. Hope some of you enjoy it a little....Cheers, and stay well.....

White Lily....

Hi there.....yup, I'm still here. It has been a while, and a lot has happened in the world since I last posted on here. Are we still sane yet? When my phone rang tonight and the Windsor Camera Club President called to say I was volunteered to be one of the three judges for this month's competition, I was somewhat thankful for something else to put my mind to. One day a week, I get out to pick up meds at the local Pharmacy, and then the groceries, and then it is back home for another week. Lately I have been musing about why I still do this blogging thingy, and I think I know why. The simple fact that I get to put my images out there for someone else to enjoy...or not, and there is no numerical critique affixed to them is preferable to me. For the most part, I have always felt uncomfortable with having numerical scores given to a print as a part of the monthly competition. It borders on being vulgar. But for some reason, there are some who are totally wrapped up in that game. If the print they entered doesn't score as high as they think it should, well, it is temper tantrum time....no kidding. Anyway, as a courtesy to the WCC, I accepted the task requested of me, but also feel somewhat hypocritical about it. If it were something of major consequence then I would have politely declined, but this Covid19 thingy makes one make a lot of compromises, and this one is fairly benign in the overall scheme of things....Stay safe folks. Cheers!

Horse Hair & Fiddle Heads.....

As I mentioned below, the old white violin is in shambles. However, a part of me somehow refuses to part company with it just yet. This image is the result of playing with the now detached bow strings, or what is left of them, and seeing if there might possibly be an interesting arrangement to be had. On the way to learning how to do still life, or table top photography, there will be occasions that I will certainly shoot something that is much less appealing, and likely this is one of them.....but by making "mistakes" we are able to learn and grow in any craft or endeavor. Then again, there might be some who would see some merit in this image. For me personally, it is not one of my more satisfying efforts, but it was a learning experience that I am not at all reluctant to share with anyone else....it is what it is...just another note in the overall melody. Cheers!

Violin Duet Illustration.....

A couple of evenings ago, I had the itch to shoot something, anything. So out came the old violin case with my long time white violin, now in shambles. It has almost totally fallen apart, and I felt there must be at least another shot or two left in it before we part company. So it was combined with the other very playable violin, and with my camera in the Illustration Mode, this image was the result. Then when I did the editing in PS5, I added the sheet music to fill in the top right corner, where nothing was happening. This old violin had been with me for about 50 years, and I had acquired it in a swap for an old lawn mower back in the '60's. A decade or so later, when I started to dabble in photography, and had given up trying to learn to play the thing, I decided to see what I could do with it as a sort of "muse" over the years. My neighbor thought I had totally lost it when he saw me dancing around it hanging from a clothes line, and spraying it with a can of white spray paint. It has provided me with many hours of fun, conjuring up all of the different ways I could use it in a photograph. Thanks for letting me pass on this little bit of trivial contrivance to you...Cheers!

Strawberries & Licorice Still Life.....

This image is one that I conjured up for a demonstration of table top or still life photography at the Windsor Camera Club, which I am a member of. This type of photography is something that I have played around with for the last year or so, and I will be the first to admit that I still have a lot to learn. It differs from other types of photography in that the image does not exist....you have to imagine it first, and then set about to make it happen. Since there are no actual "rules" that I am aware of, then you are free to just let your imagination fly, and do all sorts of crazy things. In this one, I used licorice candy sticks with wire down the hollow centers and impaling the strawberries to make "flowers" that are on the left rising out of a little round vase that I found at a local thrift store. The red on black gives it a bit of punch, and I was just trying to convey, that in still life, anything goes. Then when I got home and downloaded the files, I applied my "Grunge" filter to the black background, and added a Poster Edges filter from Photoshop 5.  You can make up the image as you go along, and let it "happen", or you can get that all done in your head before you start with the setup. This one was a little bit of both. Hope some of you enjoy it a little. Cheers!

Baby's Breath Still Life.....

One of the things I have been trying to do lately is to simplify things in my life, and that includes my photographic images. When I stop by the flower counter at the grocery store, I usually pick up several types of flowers, and put them together to form a self made bouquet for the living room or elsewhere about the house. This time, I thought, why not just pick one simple floral item, and go with that instead. This is the result, a fairly simple arrangement. It had been placed in a tall square porcelain vase, but when I decided to use it for a still life, the wire framed watering can was chosen, with the glass center still in its wrapper. I like the texture it gives the image. Somehow the spout seemed to stick out at an odd angle, and bothered me, so I just dropped a piece of silky material in behind it, and it seemed to make it a bit more pleasing to my eye.  Next, I added one of my self constructed background layers, and this is the result. It was shot in colour, but when I converted it to Black & White, it just seemed to make a lot more sense. Hope someone else enjoys it a bit also. Cheers.....

Camera: SONY a900
Lens: Minolta 28 ~ 105 zoom (f11for 1/4 sec.)
Lighting: Aperture Storm King LED's

P.S. This image was just awarded 1st Place Ribbon for Monochrome Prints in Windsor Camera Clubs 2020 Salon event.

Lighthouse & Seashell Orbs Still Life.....

Tonight I decided to revisit one of my old still life files, and see how much damage I could inflict upon it. This is the result, and until such time as I can visit a real lighthouse, this one will have to suffice. The background was added to give a little bit of a painterly texture to the image.....hope you enjoy it a little.... Cheers!

Roses Illustration Abstract.....

How can you tell it's the middle of Winter? Old Dave is doing flower pictures of course. The original image was done using the Illustration Mode of my SONY a77Mk2, and the background was a cotton material that had a bluish hue to it. So I thought I would shake it up a bit, and added my newly constructed filter to the image, and gave it a nice colourful pastel background. It just picks up the whole image, and gives it a bit of "atmosphere" which I kinda like. Cheers! It's way past bedtime.....

Abstract Graffiti.....

The original image was just some graffiti painted all over the walls of this old dark, dank, musty abandoned War Bunker in Sydney, N.S.. While I was going through some of my old files tonight, hoping to throw out the "rejects" and make more room on the hard drive, I came across this one, and decided to try and make something different of it....I am easily side tracked. Anyway, I decided it might be a good candidate for a couple of my self made filters. After applying my "Grunge" and "Fire in the Sky" filters, this is the result. However, while looking at it afterward, I am not sure who is the more deranged, the graffiti artists or the photographer.....I guess you could say that we were all having a bit of fun, doing what we must... Hope some of you enjoy a little also.....Cheers!

Bowl of Oranges Abstract.....

This bowl of Oranges and blossoms were originally done as a High Key set up, with just a white background. After applying my second filter that I created today, it gives it a totally different look. It now would have a more painterly appearance, and after comparing the original, and this one side by side, I think I kind of prefer this one. The filter was applied at 21% opacity, and it added a nice pastel element to the image. This has been a fun day, and I think I am going to enjoy creating many more of my own filters in the future. Thanks for letting me share the experience with you. Cheers!

Cup of Tea Abstract.....

Today, I decided to embark upon a little experiment that I have been kicking around for a while....namely, make my own custom filters to apply to some of my images. Most software these days come with custom filters that you can use, but after a while, everyone's work all starts to look very similar. The still life of a "cup of tea" had been done previously, and I just used it to apply my newly designed filter to. For the most part, I think it may have some potential, and I will continue to contrive other styles of filters as they come to mind. Hope you enjoy.....Cheers!

Karen.....

She loved to play "Red Wing" and "Way Down Yonder" on her fiddle, and her quiet disposition endeared her to everyone in the group. It was and is a great group to belong to, as about 20 or so of us "old ones" get together a couple of times a month to play the old tunes from many decades ago. The music originates from places like Ireland, Scotland, Cape Breton, and Newfoundland, as well as a few old 50's and 60's Rock and Roll, and folk tunes also. There are Keyboards, Mandolins, Banjos, Guitars, Fiddles and Penny Whistles as well.....oh did I not mention Accordions? Yup, both piano and button accordions to round it out. It is a real fun way to spend an evening or two, and we call ourselves "The House Party". Occasionally we will do a benefit session for some cause that needs a few dollars to make things happen, or go to a nursing home, or retirement home to help them pass the time. After a while, it occurs to you that while you are involved in a session, the whole crazy world slips away, and the world of politics and turmoil disappears into nothingness...where it belongs. It is too bad that Karen is no longer with us, as she unfortunately slipped away also....a lovely lady who was such a pleasure to have known.....

P.S.  For what it is worth.....this image just won 1st Place Medalion, Top Portrait for Windsor Camera Clubs 2020 Salon Judging event. It was a pleasure and a privilege to photograph her. DB

While I was shooting this image, I remember thinking to myself...."well, ain't this just a long way from Disneyland", and when you are in a place like this, the rest of the world just seems to fade away. It was such fun to rattle about these little roads that for the most part, went nowhere...except to the most awesome scenery you could ever hope for. Then there is the little birds singing in the background, and the gentle slap of the waves on the shoreline....it is amazing what that does for body, mind and soul. Yup, it is a little thing called "salt water joys".....can't wait to get away again....with me rubber boots on.

A Snug Harbour.....

This is my first posting of the New Year, indeed, of the 20's decade. I decided to return to my roots and go with a shot of "down home" b'y. Hope no one minds if I throw in a little "Newfie speak" from time to time. It's been a long time since I left there as a young lad, and it is still HOME to me. Scenes like this one are embedded deeply within my DNA, and even though I grew up in a city, I think I should have grown up out around the bay somewhere. However, it goes without saying that life in outport Newfoundland was a hard one indeed. You had to be a very self reliant individual, and be content with that. When I look at this little picture of the house up on the rocks, and the boat tied up at the wharf, it pretty much tells the whole story, of long hard days and evenings of work in all kinds of weather. It is not a life for the timid or anyone with an aversion to hard times. Someone once said that the biggest fear is fear itself. But the Granddaddy of all fears is "I CAN'T HANDLE IT". Live in a place such as the one above, and you would be surprised at how quickly you would learn to handle it.....You're on you own b'y... Giver! Cheers!