Alien vs. Maple

 Canon Rebel xs, ISO 200, f 7.1, s 250, 55mm

May 5, 2011
Backyard

I realize I haven't been as professional as I could be, so starting today I'm adding my camera settings as a caption to each photo I display.  I don't have a proper macro lens (yet), but I love taking close-up pictures so a fair amount of my "practice" photo days are spent wandering around either my house or backyard shooting various objects or plants.

This image is from a series I shot of the Japanese Maple tree in our backyard at the time.  We've since moved, and although our backyard is at least 10 times bigger, I do miss that tree sometimes.

It was the beginning of spring, and the leaves were just starting to unfold.  Unfortunately with a regular kit lens, there's only so much detail you can achieve, but I love the way the new leaves glistened in the sun.  The tips of the leaves, how they are furled around each other, also made me imagine an alien mouth with sharp teeth.  I know that a lot of writers and designers achieve inspiration through watching nature in progress, so I'm sure a creepy science fiction story will crawl it's way out of those red jaw-like leaves.

I'll leave you with those thoughts...sweet dreams tonight!

E-roaded

 Sept 4, 2011

Nusa Lembongan

This is another favourite of mine from our time on this little island.  We were going for a little walk along one of the roads, and ended up walking past this road and into one of the local villages.  The weather while we were there was very dry and hot, so our walks didn't last as long as we wanted due to, well...unbearable heat!  We had just turned a corner and suddenly it seemed like half of the road was gone, having been claimed by time and saltwater. 

The next day we rented bikes, rode past this area and a small lorry drove by.  We watched in amazement as it was actually able to negotiate around this section of road.  My time both in Bali and on Lembongan gave me a new appreciation of properly paved roads and a smooth ride.  Obviously these places have different priorities, with boat repairs, seaweed farming and maintaining family homes being more important than fixing up a road.  But it added to the feeling that we were indeed far from home..

Walking along there at that moment, it seemed like we were alone in a desolate place.  There were a couple of boats off in the distance, but otherwise there wasn't a person or animal in sight.  It was so quiet, almost eerie.  I knew it was a moment I would never forget.

Dark side of the...

Dec 21, 2010

The Eclipse

I had just purchased a telephoto lens.  What opportunity could be better than testing it out by photographing the moon!  I'd never attempted such before, but I stayed up until the eclipse happened, which was I believe 1-2am.  It was really cold, being December...though with the way our winters have been going, it wasn't that bad.  Maybe a couple degrees below zero.  Regardless, I couldn't really wear gloves as it affected the way I could work with the camera, so I kept darting back inside to warm up my hands every few minutes.  The eclipse lasts about an hour so it was a lot of back and forth for a half hour until the moon was fully in shadow.

This was the clearest and best exposed shot that I took that night.  It took a bit of experimenting with the settings until I had them correct.  I had looked up setting examples online earlier that day, to make sure I could adjust correctly when I needed to, having very little experience working with the telephoto lens.  I typically find it pretty easy to adjust my settings now:)  A few years of working strictly with manual settings, even in the most common of photographic situations, has definitely increased my confidence.

I love how you can see all of the craters and shadows on the moon in this shot:)  Overall, I'm happy with the results and hope to find some time again soon to practice taking these types of photos.

OOoops

So I kinda missed my deadline for today's photo.  Is having company in the evening and having to clean and cook all day a good excuse?  I made awesome food, if that helps!

Here's a random photo from my collection...tell me what YOU think:

Playtime at Low Tide

Nusa Lembongan

September 2011

Imagine a little island so small you can bike around in practically two hours (if you don't mind the badly paved roads). There's a small boardwalk, with a few casual places to have a drink and watch the sunset, or find a room for the night.  We stayed here for 4 nights, in some rooms just a short walk from the beach (a few dollars less than right on the beach).  An air-conditioned room was $25/night.  Amazing.  Also, it's only about an hour or so (cost effective) boat ride from the main island of Bali.  

Apparently this island only started to get popular as a tourist destination about 10-15 years ago.   This has certainly helped the two local villages, in that they now have more efficient water and electric services.  The main industry of the villages is expanding, which is seaweed farming (I believe they export most of what they produce to Japan).  Therefore the majority of the beaches are like the one you see above, littered with seaweed bits and, well, litter.  What's the phrase?  Flotsam and jetsam.  These little islands (Bali included) don't exactly have a proper recycling program in place, though I know there are groups out there dedicated to cleaning up the beaches.  There are tourist beaches...ones that have been cleaned and are maintained for swimming, but they certainly don't have the same feel or energy.  The time when I took this photo was close to sunset, and I believe it was our first day on the island so we wanted to do a bit of exploring.   For the locals, all the work of the day was completed, and it was time to relax.  Kite-flying is really big on these islands, and you can see a family in the distance with their bat kites in the air.  The little girl was proudly walking along like she was on a special errand, though it could have been simply that she was headed home for the day.  I recall that she smiled at us as she passed by. 

I find that I think about this little peaceful island more often than the rest of Bali, when I remember that trip.  It was so relaxing, we did some amazing snorkeling (and diving for the person with us who was getting his certification), and met some nice people.  Did I mention it was relaxing??  The area on the island where we stayed was the most "popular", as it's where the majority of home-stays and resorts are, called Jungut Batu.  Even so, there weren't very many tourists there, and it was perfect timing for us as we had just spend a busy few days in the popular town of Kuta, in Bali.

When I go back to Bali (and I will be!), another little trip to Nusa Lembongan will definitely be on my list:)

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Close-up Bike parts

Taken in April of 2010, this is one of an experimental series I took one lazy afternoon.  The bikes were hanging out on the deck as we were moving things around in the garage, and I was in "the zone".  You know what I'm talking about.  No matter what your profession or interests, there are moments where you are simply completely involved.  When I look at this picture, I actually almost feel the same way all over again.  Caught in the moment and lost in the image.  I started taking pictures of whatever was within 20 feet of where I was standing, basically setting up each shot in my mind.  The image above is unedited.  It was a good day to practice.  I remember one day not too long ago where I spent an hour taking photos of one dried flower, placing it in different positions and lighting...I kind of get absorbed that way at times.  I prefer "absorbed" rather than "obsessed", although that's like the difference between being fussy and simply liking things done in a particular way.  Not very different.

Plus, as soon as I saw this picture whilst sifting through photos today, I was reminded that I haven't ridden my bike in a long time.  I should get some air into those tires and start riding again!  I'm also reminded that I'm quite the procrastinator, as I've been saying this for a while.  I think that's the biggest challenge for me in doing this blog.  I actually have to write something every day in order to remain honest in my goals.  I'm truly excited about this venture!

So, ummm, tomorrow I'll look for the tire air pump...

Burning on the Beach - A Canada Day tradition?

I decided to look through some older photos today, and I chose this one from a weekend spent at a friend's parents' place in Sarnia.  It was the summer of 2006, and the place we stayed at was very cool as their property had it's own little private beach area.  I didn't realize until just now, when I checked the date of this photo, but it was actually taken on July 1st!  So without even knowing, it turns out I chose the perfect photo for today.  

I was up quite late last night, and most of my day was spent trying to forget about the all of the wine I drank...so that's why I'm posting today's photo just an hour before the day is over.  Oooops!  But it's the long weekend, so I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been in that state today.

So back to that weekend 6 years ago, where we decided it was not only a good idea to have a fire, but we should create an effigy (infused with all of our troubles) and burn it away.  I'm sure there was drinking involved in making this decision, and it was certainly fun!  I was experimenting with my camera settings, using slow exposures to try and create ghost-like images.  Sometimes I get entirely too involved with my camera and taking the right pictures that I forget to actually enjoy the moment as it is happening.  True, the image captures the spontaneous yet dream-like mood that we were all in at the time.  But I'm glad I can still remember the smell of the beach, the water, and the stillness of that night.  We were literally the only people around, and having the private beach section was amazing.  It was a very fun weekend with great people who are still close friends, so seeing this photo truly does make me smile.  Plus, I really love how it turned out!