SCHOOL YARD, NORTH BAY

On our walk yesterday we passed a schoolyard with some very colourful decorations of fishes along one side of the schoolyard fence. On other parts the fence is decorated with flowers and butterflies. It added a nice splash of colour to a cold wintery cityscape.

TWO GOURDS

This time a black and white image of two gourds I photographed earlier. They are at least twenty years old and look very sculptural. I like the shapes but also the surface textures. They work very well in colour but I think I prefer the strong contrast of the black and white.  

GOURDS

The iPad offers a wide variety of manipulating an image. It inspires me to experiment with my photography but I am not so happy with the overall image quality. However I photograph the same subject with my digital camera and then using photoshop I can get the same result as with the iPad but with far more control over the result.

"AUTOCHROME" AZALIA

It is a good time to explore some different image ideas. Slowly I am starting to see the amazing possibilities of the Apple iPad. I downloaded a variety of photography apps, some of which are quite amazing. Looking at some old Autochrome pictures  I have tried to recreate this visual effect with my iPad and then refined it a little in Photoshop. I like the result and will definitely keep exploring these techniques.  One photographer I always admired is the British fashion photographer Sarah Moon. Her work is very reminiscent of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century photography including much of her colour images. 

COUCH, WINTER, NORTH BAY

On my walk in the downtown area yesterday, I took a picture of this couch. I liked the textures of the tree and the couch. Again I used a variety of processes to get this old box camera image.

COFFEE TABLE STILL LIFE

I thought david and david would enjoy this new print I worked on today. These are just some objects on our coffee table, which I used for this simple still life. Then, again, I started to manipulate the image using some of the filters in Photoshop and some plugins combined with a few actions. I simply like the result.

RAVEN

It is rather miserable weather out there so this is a good time to experiment with different techniques. I took some pictures of our raven sculpture, which was made by Amy Switzer, an Ontario artist who lived for a few years in the North Bay area. Using different filters and backgrounds I made this final image, which I really  enjoy. It definitely will make a fine print.

WINTER SHED, NORTH BAY

An almost abstract image of an old shed. The shed is secondary to the overall composition which is dominated by the jagged lines of the small tree and the pattern of the trees and leaves in the background.

WINTER BACKYARD

A very abstract interpretation of a Winter backyard. I could have named it "Waiting for Summer". But I was most interested in the various shapes and the rhythm of lines.

THREE TREES

I have been experimenting with my iPad. I like the wide variety of effects you can get with the various apps but the picture quality is not that great so I simply am trying to get similar results using photoshop. It takes some time but result in some excellent visually interesting images.

CHAIR, LIGHT AND SHADOW

The last few days have been very cold so not a good time to walk around outside taking pictures. Instead I did some studies of the light and shadow inside. Having to find subject matter in your own environment simply forces you to find the essence of the subject. 

WINTER TREE

It has been very cold the last few days. It snowed quite a bit on Friday but I went for a little neighbourhood walk. The tree in this image explodes right across the picture.

WINTER CITYSCAPE WITH RED HOUSE

Another picture of my on going series of Winter cityscapes. Its a theme quite often painted by members of the group of seven. What I enjoy is the shapes of the various trees and of course the strong red colour of the house contrasting with the more subdued tones of the Winter garden.

BLUE GARAGE DOOR

I liked the contrasting red and blue colours in this composition. It looks like a simple image but it has a rather complex composition made up of a wide variety of symetrical and organic shapes.

OAK TREE IN WINTER

Oak trees tend not to lose their  leaves in Winter. Today we had lots of snow and of course I had to go around another neighbourhood to take pictures. I simply liked this scene with the tree. The warm colours contrasted with the cold white Winter.

SHADOWS

I eliminated the earlier posting by accident so here I go again. I agree with David photography has changed considerably with the change from traditional silver based processes to a digital medium. The changes are enormous not only in process but even more in visual perception.Today I downloaded a great app allowing seamless changes to images. Bob Morton asked the name of the app so simply click on the link and enjoy.

OLD MILL PUB, ASHTON, ON

On our Christmas visit to Ottawa, I went for lunch with Lawrence,our son in law, to the old mill pub in Ashton. It is a very cosy and comfortable pub. The food was fine and the beer very good. I learned via the internet that the place might be haunted but i did not encounter any ghost only a very amiable publican and friendly local customers. I did notice these two strange characters outside the main entrance. Maybe they are there to ward off any ghosts.

TWO TRAVELERS, CARLETON PLACE, ONTARIO

 I titled this image "two travellers". I saw them sitting outside of the door to the same antique store from yesterdays posting. I think that they are nice pieces of folk art. Pity they are left outside.

ANTIQUE STORE, CARLETON PLACE,ON

Needed some colour today, so here is a picture of a strange antique store in Carleton Place, a town close to Ottawa. I took this picture a few days before Christmas and still no snow. It was pretty cold though and I hope to explore the town in the Spring.

HERITAGE HOUSE, NORTH BAY

Winter has definitely arrived. Yesterday I went on a short walk in another North Bay neighbourhood. It was quite chilly but I made a few images, like this picture of a house built around the turn of the last century. I just read an interesting little article about New Year's resolutions for photographers.  I have to agree with the photographers view. Taking pictures every day is some thing I have done since I started to take pictures. Equipment is not that important but knowing how to use it and of course above all knowing how to see.

WINTERSCAPE, NORTH BAY

With the fresh snowfall I continue taking pictures in the older part of the city. I enjoy walking the lanes between the house. Here the dark pattern of the trees is the prominent feature of this very busy composition.