Safe in the Harbour

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.”
John A. Shedd, "Salt from My Attic", 1928

I heard this quote the other day during a speech by Dr. J.P. Pawliw-Fry  . Dr. Pawliw-Fry is an excellent speaker and if you have a chance to hear him speak, take adavantage of it.

I thought that this image went well with the quote. There ships are all tied up, sails down doing nothing. That is not what they were meant to do. Although this may be very applicable to many other areas of our lives, it can be specifically applied to your photography. Your camera was not made to sit in your bag. It was made to capture your creative vision. So go grab you camera and make so images.

 
1/160 f/6.3 ISO 100 18.0-55.0 mm @ 22 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
,Setúbal,Portugal

Villa down below

From the same vantage point from a few days ago, I could see this rundown villa on the edge of some kind of grove.

1/100 f/6.3 ISO 100 75.0-300.0 mm @ 300 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
,Palmela,Setúbal, Portugal

The place has all sorts of character but one of the most fascinating parts of it is the security camera. Why does such a run down place have a security camera?

I didn't get close enough to investigate, so I guess it will remain a mystery. Perhaps it is the secret liar of some underworld crime boss?

The View from Here

The view from here was beautiful . Palmela is near the top of a hill, with a castelo at the actual peak. I think if I lived in Palmela I might come here in the mornings to drink my coffee.

The image itself uses the pillars as a frame to shape the vista. I made the angle of view wider to give a sense that the vista continues outside the frame.


1/200 f/6.3 ISO 100 18.0-55.0 mm @ 18 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Palmela,Setúbal, Portugal

Flowerscape in Sintra

There are many gardens in Sintra and this garden overlooking the valley made a great foreground to the village. In the upper left are the large conical chimneys are from the kitchen of the summer palace.

One goal when taking a good landscape photo is to create elements in the photo that are foregorund, middle and background. This picture has all of those components, but I think the result would have been stronger if one of two things were different.

Since only the foreground is in sharp focus, the flowers should have been made a stronger element - perhaps if they were open and facing us. Not easy to do without some planning.

The second alternative would be to have a larger depth of field so that at least the middle buildings were also in focus. Since this was taken at f/4 I had the option to exercise, but just didn't know or think about it at the time.
 
1/3200 f/4 ISO 800 18.0-55.0 mm @ 18 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Sintra, Portugal

Seaside Supper

In a comment In one of posts last week, I was asked about the food. I like seafood and thought what I ate in Portugal was fantastic.

One meal I remember I sat at this seaside patio - This was the view from my table. I can't recall all that I ate that night except grilled Sea Bass was the entre - It was fabulous.


1/800 f/8 ISO 400 75.0-300.0 mm @ 300 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Setúbal,Portugal

Signs of the Season

You know Christmas is coming when to toy catalog shows up in the mailbox. That is exactly what I thought when the B&H catalog was in my mailbox this morning. My kids used to get excited when the Sear's Wishbook arrived and maybe I did too - but that was a long time ago. Ironically my wife and I were just discussing Christmas gifts for those who already have everything.

We are going shopping in a different kind of catalog. There are many organizations that do this kind of thing, but we are most likely to use the Smaritan's Purse Catalog. I think we'll be giving away goats this year. For the price of a Lensbaby, I could buy several goats. Speaking of goats, these two were taking a rest in the South Dakota Badlands.



1/1000 f/7.1 ISO 400 75.0-300.0 mm @ 300 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Badlands,South Dakota

There is something about this place

Another view of Sintra. A place I found almost magical. Situated on a hillside makes for great windy streets and walkways. Lushes vegetation in both the trees and the gardens, old world architecture vibrant painted buildings. All of this make for endless eye-candy for the shutterbug, but more important for that was the serenity of the place.

The day we were there, it rained on and off, which meant that the vegetation was damp. This is makes the green that much more saturated. I honestly don't remember if I used a circular polarizer on the trip or not, but it is a good tool to use in this circumstance.

Polarizers are often thought in the context of deepening the blue of the skies. But they also work well of vegetation, especially when wet. The polarizer helps control random reflects off the surface of the leaves and provides better contrast.

A polarizer is one tool you should not do without and can't be replicated in photoshop. I use this Circular Polarizer. Circular does not refer to it's shape but what it does to the light. if you don't get a circular one, your exposure metering will be wrong. Get one with coatings - don't go cheap.
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1/3200 f/4 ISO 800 75.0-300.0 mm @ 75 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
,Sintra,Lisbon

Get me to the Church on Time

Part way between Lisbon and Setúbal is this quaint little village of Palmela. I stopped there for a bit and walked around. It was a gorgeous afternoon.

I didn't realize it at the time but they where getting for a wedding. That is why the red carpet is there. It perhaps would have be fun to crash the wedding and take some pictures, but I was a long was away before I realized what was going on.

Full disclosure about this image. Pixels where heavily coerced into their current rendering. This was shot looking up at the building, so it looked like it was falling over backwards. Perspective correction in photoshop fixed that up. There were also many electrical wires and a few TV antennas that I cloned out since I was already in photoshop. I just wanted to focus on the building against the sky.
 
1/200 f/6.3 ISO 100 18.0-55.0 mm @ 18 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Palmela,Setúbal, Portugal

By The Sea

The importance of the sea to Portugal is obvious - at least in the areas i toured. If you like seafood there will be lots of choices on the menu for you. Portugal is renowned for producing good sailors and navigators that were in high demand on the sailing ships of olde. Not only do they like colour in their villages, but on their boats as well.

Lots of eye candy for the photographer.


1/1000 f/5 ISO 200 75.0-300.0 mm @ 90 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Sesimbra,Setúbal, Portugal

Attack of the Giant Daisies

One of the interesting aspects of Portuguese villages is that they like colour in their buildings. For obvious reasons this building really stood out.
 
1/100 f/8 ISO 200 18.0-55.0 mm @ 18 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Sintra,Portugal

Excepto Moradores

First an apology to my regular readers. I've been offline because real life got in the way.

For the next while I though I'd review some imagery from a trip from a few years ago to Portugal. If you are thinking of taking a vacation, I would recommend Portugal. The people are friendly and not too many tourists have made it part of their stomping ground. This image was taken in Sintra. A quaint village outside of Lisbon. The buildings are very colourful and full of character.

I borrowed a 12-24mm lens from a co-worker for the trip. I didn't really know how to use it during the trip. The thing I should have know ahead of time was the technique of placing a significant item in the foreground - maybe not all the time but at least sometimes. In this particular shot I missed a great opportunity to get down low and make good use of the pigeon as a foreground element



1/1000 f/8 ISO 200 12.0-24.0 mm @ 24 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Sintra,Portugal

P.S. If you are wondering what 'Excepto Moradores' means, my best guess is 'local traffic only'.

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

Fungus, Fungi, Fun

The forest is full of interesting photo subjects. Look up into tall trees you never know what you might find in the canopy. Look around for interesting shadows and dead trees. Look at the floor for wild flowers, and curious bugs.

While looking down look for mushrooms, moss and fungus. Many varieties are often found and with surprising colours sometimes. Don't forget to also move your self get down low, or up high for a unique perspective on the forest wonders. Be sure to take your macro lens.


1/25 f/5.6 ISO 200 24.0-105.0 mm @ 105 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Taylor Island,Gravenhurst,Ontario

Beside Still Water

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. " Psalm 23.

Regardless of your religious affinities, there is a reasonable probability that you can identify with the concept of tranquil natural environments as the 'thing' that charges your batteries which, as the verse puts it, 'restores your soul'. I am certainly one of those people. For me, the hustle bustle of city live is draining. A little bit of solitude is what I need to restore my balance. The quiet of an early morning by the lake is just the perfect setting. Having a camera to capture the moment is a bonus.



1/20 f/22 ISO 200 @ 32 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Taylor Island,Gravenhurst,Ontario

The range of vibrant colours that were present in that morning scene felt a little flat when rendered as a JPG. I used Photomatix to remap the tones to restore some of the original kick.I am much happier with this version although the sky looks a little to green towards the right hand side.

On Golden Pond

As I mentioned yesterday, you don't have to travel far, just be in the right place and the right time. Sunset is often a 'right time'. This is Lake Wilcox, which is just a few minutes north of me. Although this lake is well urbanized - housing is built up all around it, putting the shoreline into silhouette make all of that disappear.
 
1/100 f/5.6 ISO 100 @ 205 mm Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Lake Wilcox,Richmond Hill,Ontario

Backyard Aviary

You don't have to travel far in order to experience nature. There are lots of ways your can do so right in your own back yard and I'm not saying so because "B F-P" is in Africa on photo safari and I am jealous.  A while ago I show some macro images some of mine and others which showed what you can find up close.

But you can also make your yard into a bird sanctuary. I have been trying to do this for a few years and get lots of visitors, thanks to some direction from a MJ, a friend of mine. But I recently discovered a local store that specializes in this. "Wild Birds Unlimited" - I discovered them because of some advertising on their car at the GO station. I dropped in there a few weeks ago and talked to their friendly staff and the owners. I left with with a lighter wallet. It is a franchise, so there could be a store near you too. If yo don't know how to get started, they will be glad to help. I know have a heated bird bath and hope to entertain visitors all winter long.

This image below is a female Cardinal. Like many birds, their colours are more muted (to us) than the bright red males. I say "to us" because I have no idea what they look like to each other. I recently learned that the feathers of many birds exhibit colours which we can't see. They extend beyond the spectrum of human vision. I would have loved to show you the picture of her companion. A large bright red fellow sitting on a tree branch, bathed in lovely evening light with a back ground of yellow maple leaves. Unfortunately, he got away before I was able to grab my camera and push the shutter. But it was a gorgeous image - at least in my mind. One day ...



1/100 f/5.6 ISO 800 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM +2.0x @ 380 mm Canon EOS 40D
Richmond Hill,Ontario