Mind The Gap

I was waiting for a train in the London Underground and the platform was surprisingly deserted.  A perfect opportunity to capture this quintessential piece of English jargon. And yes, there is a significant gap!

Christmas in Red

These are just a couple of fun photographs I took using a built-in color selection feature of the camera. They were taken at Heritage Park a few weeks ago just prior to Christmas. It was a beautiful sunny day – definitely a nice time of the year :-)

As usual, click on the pictures for a larger image.

An Old Tub

Well, after taking a sabbatical from Facebook and online activities in general (in an effort to simplify), I need to get back to doing something creative.  I was visiting my brother in Southern Alberta and he was on a renovation/construction project.  They had pulled out an old tub.  You can see why it wasn’t going to stay in the new place!  I liked the texture and color.  It was a sunny but cold and extremely windy winter day.

The Incomparable Moeraki Beach–Part 1

I don’t know why I waited until now to post these pictures from Moeraki Beach – the place is amazing.  But I stumbled upon the photos today and decided that it was better to quickly do something with them then to just let them sit around.  This is a “Part 1” post because as I was looking through the pictures, it was clear that there are several more I want to show. 

One thing interesting when reviewing photos is that they bring back memories.  I love New Zealand and I have had many good experiences there – just not enough personal time!  These massive boulders (the one in the first picture stands about 5 feet high) only exist on this stretch of coastline in New Zealand. The world is full of interesting things and these boulders are definitely among the most interesting things in nature. Science has a theory about how they are made but just a theory and it’s pretty hard to figure them out.  You can also see why some people think they are eggs from an Alien race.  The boulders, over very long periods of time, emerge from the cliff face and fall onto the beach. Then with the tide moving in and out, they make their way down the beach and into the ocean.  This takes a very long time and you need to live for several thousand years to see it happen.

In reviewing this set of pictures, I think the third one down is my favorite.  I love the texture, shape and the demarcation of sand, ocean and sky.  I also like the foot prints in the second photo and if you click to see it enlarged, you will see some pretty cool lines in the bolder in the background. 

All four of these are HDR photographs and are artistically rendered.  They were tricky to shoot because this area is a tourist magnet.  I will explain how I got around the “people” problem in Part 2.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Badger Valley

I went camping this last weekend at a nice spot known as Badger Valley which is near Cardston in Southern Alberta.  I got up early on Saturday morning while it was still quiet.  The area is pretty windy all the time but at 6 am, the air was still and as I wandered over toward the edge of the camping area, I saw this portrait scene.  I took a single hand-held shot and then went back to my car to get a tripod.  By the time I returned, the wind had come back the water was rippled. I’m glad I saw the moment when I did (my picture meta data says it was 6:14 am when I took this shot)

Nugget Point–Part I

This is the first part of some photos I took at Nugget Point which is along the Southern Scenic route in New Zealand.  It is a remote spot that you can drive to and then walk into (only about a kilometer or so up hill from the car).  There is a light house there and that was what I was photographing.  I decided to walk up to the light house to see the view and I was shocked when I got there.  I had no idea that this magnificent rock formation was out there in the ocean.  It was lightly raining which meant I had to keep putting my lens cap on and off while wiping the lens filter in between.  It was also extremely windy.  I’ve never seen my trip move around in the wind like that.  Of course, that kind of wind coupled with light rain was cold on my hands an face.  After setting up the shot and cleaning the rain of the lens, the sun poked through the clouds lighting up the rocks and creating a faint rainbow.

I will post more pictures from this beautiful place later on.

Trees by a Cliff

It’s hard to believe but this morning I finally took a look at my New Zealand pictures for the first time since I got back.  Life is busy and those pictures are always waiting on the memory card…

This picture shows an interesting tree formation on a cliff face overlooking the ocean.  When it comes to scenery, I am attracted by interesting textures like rocks and trees – or even the lack of texture like ocean and sky.  This picture has elements of all four.  The location was on an island reserve I was hiking around.  It was a cloudy and rainy day but that did not take away from the peaceful beauty I found myself enjoying.

(click for larger view)

Moeraki Art

I am not quite sure how I feel about this photo I took just a few hours earlier today.  The reason?  It is HDR Art – a special photographic technique designed to do, well, this picture for example. 

This morning while talking to my good friend Darcy who is a professional photographer, we were reminiscing about the days of developing our own film and prints (I had a darkroom when I was in grade 8.  I loved the smell of the chemicals…).  We talked about how technology has empowered us to do things we could not easily replicate in a darkroom – or even do at all for that matter.  In the case of this photo, I am able to record light in a way that can’t be captured on film or even digital sensors without multiple exposures.  And then comes the tricky part.  I have to interpret how I want this “Art” to feel.  As someone who is clearly hard-wired for the scientific and precise, artistic interpretation can be a frustrating experience – and presumably a good workout for the other side of my brain :-)

Below is one of MANY pictures I took at Moeraki beach today.  It is an amazing place and there is nowhere in the world like it.  If anything justifies multiple postings, the Bolders at Moeraki are it.  As such, over the next month or so, I will try to make 4-5 posts about the pictures I took there. For now, here is a single photo.

About this photo: I deliberately took it softly into the surreal side of the art form without getting too heavy handed (which destroys a picture IMHO).  Moeraki beach itself is surreal with all these strange alien-like rocks and you can imagine that you are on a different planet when wandering among them. So this photo is my surreal interpretation of a surreal place.

(click on the photo to go larger – it’s worth it)

Random Rocks by a Road in New Zealand

I was out driving today just looking at the scenery.  I saw many of beautiful places and checked out a few popular tourist spots.  This formation of rocks however, is just a random scene on the road to somewhere else.  It’s in the middle of wherever but when I drove by and saw them in my head after I passed them, I stopped and reversed the car to go take this shot.  If you have the ability to see it large then do so (click on the photo).  The features in the rocks are pretty cool.

Auckland Sky Tower

Most cities have some sort of tower as part of their architectural repertoire.  In Calgary, we have pretty much buried ours in the midst of taller buildings.  It didn’t start out that way of course.  Below are two photos of the Auckland Sky Tower and it’s hard to get a decent picture because it too is somewhat obscured by tall buildings until you get far away from it.  One angle that works really well is actually the view just outside of my employer’s office.  I took this picture quite early in the morning before the sun was up (I am facing directly East).  This predawn light works nicely because the Tower is still lighted for nighttime but the sky is lighter and there is more light in general making a softer, less contrasty image.  Interestingly, it wasn’t even 5 minutes after I took this photograph that the Tower lights were shut off.  I was composing another shot and poof!  The Tower went dark.

I was watching all week hoping for the Tower to be lit up with a different color light because this Tower looks great that way.  The reason I know this happens is because I’ve seen it at different times and with different lighted colors.  But , the color never changed at all and it remained it’s boring grey self .  The photograph below, which I took last year, shows what I was hoping for on this visit (and for the above shot). Maybe it will happen later this week when I visit Auckland again.

Driving in New Zealand

Driving around New Zealand is a lot of fun.  You get to zip down the left side of the road while sitting on the right hand side of the car.  I’ve done this enough now that when I get into that situation, it feels more enjoyable than tense.  The traffic circles are always fun because it’s something of a challenge I don’t get back in Calgary.  But for pure excitement, the very narrow roads, twisty steep hills and gorgeous vistas can’t be beat!  Below is a picture of my rental car on the side of Law Road on Saddle Hill.  This road has a 24% grade in places (that means it is crazy steep) and going up hill requires the lowest gear.  There is no place to pull over on the insanely steep places so for this picture, I had opt for the just really steep.  Too Fun!

Below is a picture of the town of Mosgiel in the distance on a rainy day (easier to see the town if you click on the picture to go full size).  What a beautiful view!

Finally, when I was pulled over, there was sheep fence (electrified!) close by.  Below is a creative B&W shot.

Auckland Harbor Art

I walked around the Auckland harbor last night.  It was warm and peaceful.  Many couples were sitting on benches just enjoying each other and the light breeze coming off the ocean.  It was a surprisingly long day at work so the opportunity to get out and walk around was welcome.  And it was nice to be behind the lens again.

Below is a moving sculpture.  It takes on different shapes as the wind blows it around.  I walked around it a few times, found the angle that I liked, and then waited for to clouded moon to peak out just bit.

Shot wide and low for those who care about these things.

Ghostly Skaters

Earlier this evening stepped out of the car on my driveway and I could hear music in the distance.  I thought is was a car radio across the street but it was actually music from down at the lake drifting up toward the house.  It turns out that the Lake was having a family skate night.  I went there and the music was VERY loud, the air was bone-chillingly cold and the smell of burnt popcorn filled the air.  It was clear to me that for these kids, it is a wonderful time to be young and alive – and on skates!

The picture below shows their ghostly images moving across the lake ice.

Marli Makes a Point

This is Marli our cat.  She is not allowed on the kitchen table as seen here.  But I glanced over and saw her on the table.  I had a camera handy so I was able to capture the moment.  Marli is making a point here.  What is the point?  It’s that she and my daughter have been co-users of a water cup – probably for a very long time … :-)

Family Day

Happy Family Day to all you Albertan's!

I am making good use of the holiday by getting an early start.  First up, take that picture I wanted to yesterday only go out 25 minutes earlier.  Check!  Go work out at the gym. Check! Learn something useful. Check! Post to this blog. Check! Take the boys to a movie and then dinner, have a relaxing evening at home with the family, and then early to bed. Unchecked but about to change …

Below is the view I saw from my front door this morning.  I went to the top of a neighborhood hill (just around the corner) to get a cleaner shot. Same view but no street lamp in the way.