On Assignment x 3

Amid the tooting horns, hugs and salutations greeting 2011 I thought of two things: This blog and Mark Twain. The two do go hand-in-hand, you see.

I have my good friend Ethan Meleg to blame for getting me started in the blogosphere. He allowed that social networking was good for the soul and kept those interested in lock step with what I was doing. I countered with a familiar phrase “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

Ethan wins, and here I am shamelessly admitting I just don’t get it. You see, I interpret Facebook to be the biggest deterrent to productivity imaginable. I wonder how many lost working hours in North America are the result of skiving employees partaking of the Facebook addiction? I digress.

What I have learned over the past year is that a blog takes work, and in order to be reasonably successful, an unquantifiable term I muse, it roughly translates to making updates at least once per week. For someone who suffers a self diagnosis of adult ADD, a weekly commitment writing something about nothing is a tall order. Who, after all, cares what I am up to?

Aagh, yes, Happy New Year.

I resolve ...., said one friend. I resolve..., proclaimed another. I attributed their lack of logical reasoning to an over indulgence of moose milk, that concoction of various alcoholic beverages mixed with a couple of gallons of ice cream added for texture. It is, by any definition, best known as “instant stupid.”

So, no, for those of you wondering, I did not make a resolution to post weekly updates on this blog. You see, I believe Mark Twain said it best when he wrote of New Years resolutions: “Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”

With that having been said, let’s go back and take a visit to the job in Cape Breton that I introduced, well, a month, or so, ago.

The day started at Alexander Graham Bell Museum in the resort town of Baddeck. It was here that Bell developed many of his most famous inventions, and I encourage you to visit the web site or the museum itself.

Canon 5D MkII, 17-40 EF-L lens, Singh Ray Hi-Lux filter

I have had the good pleasure of knowing the staff and working at this location for many years. One shot I have always wanted to do was show the juxtaposition between current and past, and it seemed to me that a logical starting point would be to dress a young model in period wardrobe. So here we have a young Alexander Graham Bell standing in front of the HD4 Hydrofoil exhibit.

That afternoon the production team crossed over to the other side of the Bras d’Or Lake to the village of Ben Eoin and The Lakes golf club. This is the newest, just one season old, public golf course on Cape Breton Island, and is certainly destined to be a favourite among duffers looking for a challenge.

Canon 5D MkII, 24-105mm EF-L lens, Singh Ray LB Warming Polarizing filter

We had just four hours to get some shots and this is a tall order when one is unfamiliar with the layout of the course. Let’s just say we had to swing from the hip and create and make. The sixth hole is, arguably, the signature hole of this course and offers fabulous views from the tee box that is at an elevation some 150-feet above the fairway.

Canon 5D MkII, 100-400mm EF-L lens, Singh Ray LB Warming Polarizing filter

As we were rushing to the back nine to capture some shots on a green that would still have some light in the fast fading sun, a shaft of light struck the tee box on the tenth hole. Our entourage of carts came to a screeching halt, a course pro was appropriately placed and we fired a couple of frames before the light faded. Unfortunately there was simply no time to have my assistant run to the tee box with a reflector to add some fill light. We only had about two minutes to capture this shot before the light disappeared.

And now, Happy New Year!

ON ASSIGNMENT x 2

After a really busy and tough couple of weeks at my volunteer job, it is time to re-visit that dream job in Cape Breton.

The morning call was early, an hour before sunrise so we could get under sail on the beautiful Bras d’Or Lake. My first career was sailing with the Canadian Navy and I welcome any opportunity to get back on water. Our Skipper, Greg, has an absolutely beautiful catboat; my vessel ... well, let’s just say it was inflatable.

I very reluctantly left the pleasure of polished oak and full sail and slithered into the 8-foot tender (zodiac dinghy) with instruction for Greg to make passing runs by keeping me on his starboard, thus the sun was always backlighting the scene. If anyone onshore was watching they must have thought the skipper was DUI. Run after run, the last having better light than the previous. From an old salt, I can also say it was a pleasure, pure delight in fact, watching a skilled hand and the helm.

Canon 5D MkII, 24-105 USM lens, Singh Ray LB Warming Polarizing filter

To top off the sailing experience we made a run through the locks of historic St. Peter’s Canal. For anyone who visits this part of the world, passage from the Atlantic and into the Bras d’Or via St. Peter’s Canal is assured to be a highlight.

After a quick lunch we settled in for a full afternoon of shooting at Highland Village. When I scouted this location a week earlier I anticipated this was going to be one fun location. Amid the squeals of hogs, the bah's of sheep and a host of other farmyard critters was another language that was foreign to me. What a treat to listen to the staff go about their daily business speaking Gaelic as the language of choice. You really should check out their website and plan a visit if in Cape Breton – you won’t be disappointed.

I was looking forward to working in the Blackhouse. Let’s just say it gets its name honestly as any light inside this reproduction stone home is by way of two very small and dusty windows. My scouting revealed a hearth in the middle of the floor, so perhaps a roaring fire would generate some ambient light. Wrong – the fuel that was being burned was peat and about all it generated that I could tell was smoke, lots of smoke.

Canon 5D MkII, 17-40 EF-L lens, Singh Ray Hi-Lux filter

One of the shots I wanted to do was to have a young visitor lead a huge Clydesdale draft horse along a pathway. Perhaps this was a bit of nostalgia for me as I fondly remembered working with my grandfather and his team as a young lad. The horse was a young four year-old that was just being harness broken, but she was really easy to work with. My young teamster walked that poor mare up and down this path numerous times as the light gradually changed from nice to really nice. Yes, a carrot seemed to increase the tolerance of the mare as well.

Canon 5D MkII, 17-40 EF-L lens, Singh Ray LB Warming Polarizing filter

This was a fabulous day and thanks are due Greg for making his beautiful vessel available, and all the cast and crew at Highland Village for their tolerance and “opening any and all doors.”

Deadly Waters

A volunteer searcher scans the shoreline for the remains of a drowning victim.
  

When I started this little blog I never thought I would use this media as a forum for a public service announcement. However it dawned on me that the primary reason folks visit Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, is to marvel at its rugged beauty and take photographs – millions upon millions of photographs. I too have taken my fair share of images of this tourist icon.

I am also a search and rescue volunteer who has been called to this same location in that capacity, most recently just two days ago. Yes, the beauty of Peggy’s Cove can also bring tragedy. I won’t go into any details, but let’s just say it is not much fun when the outcome is inevitable. The Atlantic Ocean is that unforgiving and does not have a conscience.

Based on my 15 years experience of sailing on King Neptune’s briny ocean from above the Arctic Circle to below the equator in waves as high as 83 feet, I fully understand the power of a single wave. It can break arms, legs, backs, and worse still, claim a life.

If I am sounding as an alarmist – good. I will not apologize.

I am begging any photographer who goes to Peggy’s Cove to use common sense. Please. Heed the signs and if that rock is black or wet, it means a wave has already been there – another is inevitable.




The warning signs are not placed to enhance beauty. Unfortunately they are not heeded.

And yes, that one single wave can sweep you off your feet, and I will receive another phone call in my volunteer capacity. None of us want that, especially your family.

So please, if you happen to be along the shoreline of not just Peggy’s Cove, but the entire Atlantic Canada coastline, please think of your future and not your picture.

ON ASSIGNMENT

This was a dream job. Over the next few posts I will introduce you to some of the locations and perhaps a few of the challenges the crew faced.

I had already been to most of these Cape Breton Island locations previously, and was familiar with many of the folks working at those venues. Golf was a relatively new pursuit for me, and the Parks Canada locations seemed very much like a home coming of sorts. Each was to present a creative challenge: with golf I had to learn the game as I am not a duffer, and with Fortress Louisbourg it was to come up with something new and fresh.

But first we had to get to Cape Breton and the acclaimed Cabot Trail, and more specifically Cape Smokey. Our crew was blessed with a magician as a production manager. I didn’t see her pull any rabbits out of a hat but she had a Mazda Miata drop from the sky, and land right on top of Smokey 15-minutes before the 6:30 call.

I don’t believe the details of how we avoided traffic on a public highway are necessary, but let’s just say there isn’t too much volume early on a Sunday morning. Pre-scouting revealed a location where the sun would be rising perpendicular to the highway at 6:49AM. Consequently, we knew from experience that a polarizing filter would perform at its optimum efficiency and this would be necessary to control the reflections that were certain to bounce off the car. The Singh Ray LB Warming polarizer was the obvious choice to also control the sky-blues that would reflect on the top-surface of the car, and generally warm the overall scene. In fact, I rarely take this filter off my lenses – I see no reason to.

Canon 5D MkII, 24-105 USM lens, Singh Ray LB Warming Polarizing filter

Some post production work remains to meet the clients needs, but generally we were able to capture a useable image from which to work.

Next stop was the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Inverness County.

Cape Breton and celtic music fit like a pocket on a shirt – they are a natural. I won’t go into the background of Cape Breton music as it is deserving of a book, but check out the site. Suffice to say I don’t know if it is possible to be around a Cape Breton fiddle and not start tapping your toes; so how is one supposed to do a photo shoot when one of the better players is in the next room playing at the Sunday afternoon ceilidh?

The objective of this stop was to show the interaction of a student and instructor, and we did get that shot for the client. Once we were finished that shot, I wanted to take a few extra minutes and capture a portrait of the student. While it is true the piano most often accompanies the fiddle, this antique pump organ really captured my attention; perhaps because it was like the one in my grandparents house when I was a kid (no that does not make me an antique by default).

Canon 5D MkII, 24-105 USM lens, Singh Ray LB Warming Polarizing filter

One of the downsides of this shot was that we had no time to establish the direction – it was quite literally a gun-and-run. The lighting was very simple: A Canon 580EX in a ¾ back location and a second 580EX above and slightly to the left of the camera as a fill. I rarely use these flashes without the ST-E2 onboard the camera as it makes life so easy. In this case, and I’m guessing, the ratio was established at 4:1, with a shallow focus. Further selective focus was done in post production, but other than that this is pretty much a grab shot that was done in about 5-minutes.

So concluded the first day of this shoot – sailing on the incredible Bras d’Or Lake at sunrise awaits.

Semi-palmated Sandpipers Re-Visited

Semi-palmated Sandpipers feeding on mud shrimp.

Canon 5D MkII, 24-105mm lens, Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer

I hadn’t forgotten, but I knew it was getting late. That’s when our 15-year old son asked: “Are we going to Evangeline Beach to see the birds this year?”

The book deadline could wait, the job quote I was working on could wait, the fact that we were going through an oppressive heat wave didn’t matter. When a teenager asks to do something that doesn’t involve body gyrations that seem to be connected to thumb-induced instructions that somehow tie into a television screen, all else can wait.

This year I was going to do something different. I had a pair of pocket wizards that had been laying around for about a year-and-a-half, and as I recall I had difficulty getting them working on command. Experience had shown, however, that the difficulty usually related to the operator and not the equipment. Sounded like a good opportunity to have my son engaged during the one-hour trip to the beach. Much to my chagrin, and not surprisingly, it took him about 5-minutes to have all working well.

Earlier he had this great idea that we should put on a wide angle lens and try to get some intimate, in-your-face, type portraits of the sandpipers by shooting the camera remote. All worked well, except we hadn’t calculated that the birds follow the ebb tide as they feed on mud shrimp, a Bay of Fundy tide that recedes at about 8 miles per hour. In short, we would just get the camera planted and by the time we got back outside the birds comfort zone, the tide would be too far out.

A flock dips-and-dives their way in to a landing right in front of a remote triggered camera. 

Canon 5D MkII, 24-105mm lens, Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer

We played “chase the tide” two or three times and decided we were simply stressing the birds too much with all our movement to the shoreline to advance the camera. So we just sat on the beach and silently marvelled at this incredible migration while the sandpipers feasted in peace.

The pictures attached to this post were all made by our son. Sometimes our best moments as photographers are not in the gratification of getting that perfect shot, but in the satisfaction of enjoying quality time with family while enjoying the pure pleasure of each other’s company in a common interest.

On the drive home he looks at me and says: You know, I think if we got a small Remote Controlled pick-up truck and mounted the camera on the back we could then just drive it through the birds without distracting them and get some really good pictures. Mmm, I thought ... “I suppose you should have a couple of boom arms on either side to attach flashes as well?” His response was very succinct and matter of factly: “That would work.”

I have a funny feeling I know what our winter project will be.

A small flock of sandpipers take flight over Fundy waters.

Canon 5D MkII, 100-400mm lens

It's All About The Screen

I have had more than a handful of enquiries over the last several weeks how I created that surreal look on the lichen and rock picture posted on 27 January.

I wish I could take claim to some great creative innovation, but I can’t. The inspiration, as mentioned in that post, belongs to Michael Orton. Whereas the Orton technique was developed on film, I have developed my own recipe in Photoshop to mimic the original ethereal look and feel that it creates.

Please bear in mind that the technique works on some images, and not at all on others. With Photoshop as your kitchen, here is my recipe:

1. Open image in Photoshop
2. Create a duplicate layer of the “Background” and call this new layer “Base Layer”
3. Create a duplicate layer of the Base Layer and call this new layer “Screen Layer”
4. With Screen Layer active, change Blend Mode to Screen
5. With Screen Layer active, select Merge Down
6. Create a duplicate layer of the Base Layer and call this new Layer “Blur Layer”
7. With the Blur Layer active, go to the Filter Menu and Gaussian Blur. Adjust the blur to the point that there is barely any detail visible in the image
8. With the Blur Layer active, change the Blending Mode to Multiply, and adjust the opacity and/or fill to attain the desired look
9. Flatten the Image, and adjust to taste.

This is the exact process I have used in the below image. I will confess this is not the greatest image for this technique, but it does show the effect.

Sugar Maple in Winter, Lynne Mtn., Colchester County, Nova Scotia

By comparison in the image below the multiply mode simply would not provide the desired ethereal look. Consequently, what I have done is used a “Hard Light” blending mode, and this allows the trees to be more, dare I say, avant-garde.

Beaver Dam in Winter, Thomson, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia

I have also found that many photographers today are experimenting with HDR and tonal mapping – whatever that really might be. Should one wish to be experimental with the above recipe, sans the blur layer, this technique will also add a lot of depth and tonal range to an image. Be forewarned, however, some layer masking will more than likely be necessary. With that having been said, you should be provided with a really pleasing histogram and very little opportunity for clipping to sneak in on either end.

Hope you have as much fun as I using this recipe. Now get cooking.

Sticks and Stones

Coastal wind swept birch in winter.

By now you are probably starting to think I might be suffering from bouts of depression. I am – we just can’t seem to get into the throws of winter. It snows one day and rains the next, making it very difficult to get some vibrant clean white snow pictures of the season.

Consequently I admitted defeat and reverted back to something I learned a long time ago: Shoot subject matter that is enhanced by the current conditions and stop feeling sorry for yourself. (The other option is a real 9-5 job! Yikes.)

Unbeknownst to me I had been over the years making photographs of trees that had a unique look or feel for no particular purpose. Similarly I had also been making photographs of rocks with no particular purpose in mind. In retrospect I can look at these images and see that they were mostly taken in what one might consider poor lighting conditions. But poor for what? Flat even light is great for doing portraits; be that portraits of people, trees or rocks. I have since come to the realization that what I have been unknowingly doing all these years was developing a portfolio I have since come to call “Sticks and Stones.”

Lichen on Coastal Upland Rocks

Here is this weeks offering. Both images have been enhanced digitally using a technique that is my own spin on the Orton Effect and layer masking. Giving credit where due, Michael Orton is British Columbia photographer who developed this technique back in the days of film by sandwiching two slides together. My good friend, and Ottawa photographer Garry Black, has a tutorial on the Orton Effect here http://www.garryblack.com/digitalorton.htm . My technique is somewhat different, but the results are very similar. As in any learned skill, embrace something you enjoy and then endeavour to make it your own.

So the moral of this story is ... just get out and shoot. It is necessary to keep one’s sanity.