Lest We Forget

In Flanders Fields 
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army 

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow 
Between the crosses row on row, 
That mark our place; and in the sky 
The larks, still bravely singing, fly 
Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the Dead. 
Short days ago 
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 
Loved and were loved, and now we lie 
In Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 
To you from failing hands we throw 
The torch; be yours to hold it high. 
If ye break faith with us who die 
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 
In Flanders fields.

1/200 f/6.3 ISO 100 @ 100 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Palmela,Setúbal, Portugal

The Wall

"The Wall' - what do these two words bring to your mind. The Berlin Wall or The Great Wall? Pink Floyd? Back against the wall? I have a pal whose nickname was TheWall - nothing gets past him.

That is the purpose of a wall; it is a barrier which creates isolation. It keeps unwanted things out, and wanted things in. Maybe they help us hide?

This image is a wall that is part of an old temple. An elevated high platform where they held ancient ceremonies. I took several pictures of the area that shows it in context, I often feel like I have to capture the image of the whole buildings or structure. But that doesn't have to be the only thing you do. Get in close and capture some details.

“If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough” - Robert Capa

1/100 f/3.5 ISO 400 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 70 mm Canon EOS 40D
Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park,Hawaii

"Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes" (Isa 59:10)

What bugs you?

I have no idea what kind of critter this is. He just happen to fly past when I had my camera in hand. He was zipping along pretty fast, I managed to grab three frames before he was long gone. I didn't expect any of them to be any good, but this one is pretty decent.

If you haven't heard it said already, then here is a great little saying "The best camera is the one you have with you" - Chase Jarivs.  Chase has recently published a book, The Best Camera Is The One That's With You, on just that theme - pictures all shot with his iPhone.

This also means always being ready. Have your camera settings at a reasonable spot for anything - the "no time for anything but push the button" setting. Maybe that is fully automatic. And keep the lrnes cap off. Nothing bugs me more than missing the shot because I just wasn't ready.
1/400 f/5 ISO 800 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 185 mm Canon EOS 40D
Hawaii

I bought a 7D

I really did, but I didn't say 'Canon 7D'! Many people in my circle know that I keep pretty up-to-date on photo gear and such, so they often ask me what I think of a peice of gear and if I am going to upgrade. This has certainly been a common question since Canon announced the 7D which would be on my upgrade path. That is, if I were going to upgrade, I would seriously have to consider that model.

But why should I upgrade? My first digital camera was a Pentax Optio - A good little pocket camera for it's era. But I quickly found that I could not do some of the things with it that I wanted to explore. I upgraded to the original Canon Digital Rebel (300D). That served me well, and I took many good pictures with it. Then two things happened, it developed a hot pixel, which meant every picture had a red dot on it. Annoying. And we were planning a trip to Alaska. I wanted better low light performance and a few more pixels to grab that far away wild life. I bought the 40D.

With the body and lenses  I now have, I can say that the equipment is better than I am. This is not a new idea. Local photographer, Michael Reichmann, says something along the line “Most cameras are better than most photographers”.  He's right. I'll stick with the 40D until I break it or I really want to do more video.
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1/160 f/2.8 ISO 200 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 70 mm Canon EOS 40D

where moth and rust destroy

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." Matthew 6:19

I often see the bumper sticker "Whoever has the most toys when he dies wins!" I suggest that are earthly toys are one class of dirt in our lives. These things, no matter how much we hold on to them now really have little value.

Now let's consider the other end of the specturm - your treasures. What is it that you treasure? Can it be stolen from you? Lost? If so perhaps you perhaps you should treasure other things.

This butterfly gave me quite a chase, I have many 'almost great' shots of it, and this one as well, which I think is pretty good. When trying to grab a portrait of a critter like this, longer focal lengths are handy because it lets you get further away so you are less likely to scare them.

P.S. I am not an entomologist, but I am pretty sure this is a buttefly and not moth but I couldn't find a reference to butterflies.


1/100 f/5 ISO 400 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 200 mm Canon EOS 40D
Hawaii

the dust of the earth in a basket

Today it snowed. I put on my Hawaiian shirt and set to the task of picking my picture for tomorrow. I pretty quickly settled in on this image. I tried working it a bit in Photomatix, but ulitmately decided that I could get what I wanted from it easier in Lightroom. A slight crop to place it in the centre, and a bit of vignette to gid rid of the clutter on the upper edge were some of the extra touches.

Not shown is the artisan who was working away at this creation and telling us how he makes a connection between is art and himself. I thought about what to write. I went searching for some poetry about baskets and found none suiting. Finally, I came across this text.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?  Isa  40:12 (NIV)

The earth in a basket? That is some basket. Did the omnipotent God need a basket to keep himself organized? No. But we often need baskets to keep ourselves organized. Ever had a rough day? If you are like me, you may need to put your 'dust'  in a basket and put it on a shelf. It will be there when you need it.


1/160 f/3.2 ISO 400 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 115 mm Canon EOS 40D
Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park,Hawaii

By any other name would smell as sweet

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet; - Juliet

And look as beautiful too. I don't know what other peoples experience was in the GTA this year, but our roses did not do so well. ... Until October. We have this one little tea rose bush at the edge of our garden that just pumped out the flowers all month. Last nights frost might have put an end to it, but I still have this image from ten days ago to remember all winter long.

This image was shot with the 2x close up lens.


1/400 f/13 ISO 400 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 190 mm Canon EOS 40D
Richmond Hill,Ontario