bug noir: October 2010

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Phyllis in the Fall

Today I spent some time shooting at the Phyllis Rawlinson Park, my first and likely only visit there in the Fall. While the day was overcast, as seems to be the case whenever I go to the park, it was still nice way to spend the afternoon. It also gave me a chance to try out my new camera bag, about which I have mixed feelings.

I tried to think more about isolating subjects this run, and the amazing color opportunities I found.

Combining both lead to some interesting shots. The overcast day helped keep the backgrounds very flat.

I do love me my benches.

The copper eaves troughs should be in color in this shot, but the rope/wire was a very tacky green color that destined this photo for black and white.

Some symmetry and texture.

Beautiful thistles.

Isolation of white on brown.

Isolation of reds.

Some kind of crazy seed pod, half destroyed and lying on a footbridge.

Orange oaks and an attempt to capture the third dimension.

And to think a couple of months ago I was lamenting the excess of green. Now it stands out like spilled alien blood.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Another B&E Foiled

I'm sure that most people squash bugs they find in their apartment. Or release them back into the wild. I'm of the latter camp, but first I run them through their paces.

Here is the intruder, looking nefarious.

On my turf, breaking and entering results in an instant modelling gig.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Moon Watching

I haven't spent much time looking at her face as of late. She's still a beauty.

And there she is.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

An Evening With Poncho

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to spend an evening with Poncho, an oldie and a goodie.

Poncho is a sleepy dog with a low voice.

I shot mostly with the 35mm f/1.8, at f/1.8.

The shoot was in the evening and at night, and in order to take reasonably focused shots, I had to boost the auto ISO range to 1600.

I haven't shot a lot above 800 ISO and the results held up, so long as you don't look too closely for grain.

I cropped this shot heavily and there is grain apparent in the top right corner.

The confines of the room and the furniture in it, meant isolating the subject was difficult.

He seemed to like the corner of the couch.

Sitting back watching some TV.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Boys Cottage Weekend

This past weekend was host to an annual outing to a friend's family's cottage to close it and do clean up. It's a beautiful spot and always a great place to shoot Fall colors. We might have been a bit late for the peak of the season, but it was still a fine display. We arrived Friday night and left Sunday morning.

On Friday night I took some night shots using the light from the cottage as many ways as I could. The Tungsten lights and Fall colors mixed well.

Using lights from a source like this at night is the closest I'll get to a proper outdoor shoot with spot lighting I'll likely ever get.

The directional light worked well in black and white, too.

The next day after a terrible blackberry alarm incident I went outside to shoot what turned out to be a very dreary dawn. It let me do some long exposure shots on the shoreline, smoothing the water and giving it a smokey feel.

The rich colors popped in the soft ambient light.

As the day wore on, the clouds cleared and it became sunny.

A triangle and a reflection; this was a teaser for the reflections that came later.

I went out to shoot for sunset after a refreshing nap. The water was calm, and the sky showed promise for an interesting sunset.

Spot color amongst the evergreens.

The lake, to coin a phrase, turned to glass as the sun went down. The cloud reflections were so clear they looked photoshopped.

It was all natural.

The clouds themselves had a bit of character. I found my lens not quite wide enough to do the broad shots I needed to properly frame the clouds and reflections. I needed something wider than 18mm (27mm DX).

Regardless, I had some luck.

This driftwood looks close-cropped out of an original photo, but it's just the incredibly smooth water in the background that makes it look so.

As the sunset drew to a conclusion, the reflections began to blur as I used longer exposures to capture the images.

On Sunday I stalked the bird feeder for a bit, sitting on the picnic table about six feet away. The Jays were too wary to approach, but the Chickadees went for breakfast.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Mill Pond - Fall Flavour

Had to go for a walk today to see what was left of the colors. It was a beautiful day and I wasn't disappointed.

The walk to the pond showed signs of the best colors already gone. There was still enough to put most of the Nova Scotia color I saw to shame; we're lucky to have maple trees in abundance.