HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013

Its New Years Eve so I wish all my followers of my blog and all the members of the North Bay Photo club, who have commented on my pictures a Very Happy New Year. 

BARN, OTTAWA

Behind the abandoned farm, there were some very beautiful old barns. The snow was very deep so it was not easy to get around the property. I particularly liked this barn, which I prefer to present in a traditional sepia toned image.

ABANDONED FARM, OTTAWA

Just returned from another Ottawa visit. This time on the West side of ottawa near Ashton. Of course I did not get a chance to spend too much time on taking pictures because first of all it was Christmas and secondly the weather was terrible. Two big snow storms within days of each other. However on Christmas day I spent a few hours taking pictures and thats when I saw this old beautiful abandoned farm. The light was fading fast but I did get some very good images. It is a great site and I certainly hope to get back to this farm.

WINTER BIRCH

Again it has been quite a few days since posting a new picture. well I guess the holiday season is to blame. In the last few days i have been busy with other activities like everybody else at this time of year.  Yesterday we had our first big Winter storm. I took some time to go and take some pictures close to home. I particularly liked this picture of a small birch tree in our front garden.

A WET WINTER DAY

The weather has been rather miserable the last few days. Luckily I have been busy with some other projects but I did get a chance to walk along the lake shore and made this almost monotone image of the lake. 

SUSSEX AND RIDEAU STREET, OTTAWA

This picture is for Gerry and Bev, who liked my previous posting. I am still working with the iPad but, as I explained, I take my pictures with a regular digital camera. Then I transfer the pictures I want to develop further to my iPad and, using a variety of apps. Get the result I am looking for. I did pre-visualize this picture but my initial idea was to make a black and white version. However, after playing with a variety of choices I selected this version as my final image. Hope you like it.

REFLECTIONS, OTTAWA

Since our return from Ottawa, I have not been able to go out to take some photographs. The days before Christmas are always busy of course but I still have some images I can experiment with. As I explained yesterday, I have been working with my iPad and various photo apps. I don't take pictures with the iPad because I find that the quality is still not right if you are interested in printing quality images. So I take pictures with my regular camera and simply transfer the images I want to work with to the tablet. By the way there is a very simple app, which makes transferring pictures between the tablet and my main computer very easy.

INUIT SCULPTURE, NATIONAL GALLERY, OTTAWA

Today I have again returned to learning more about the various apps now available for the iPhone and iPad. These apps have increased creative possibilities by giving the photographer an enormous wide range very powerful tools. I photographed this sculpture under rather poor lighting conditions but by using three different apps I made a visually expressive image.

OTTAWA RIVER, OTTAWA

We just returned from our Ottawa visit. The weather was rather miserable. On Sunday we went for a hike along the Ottawa river. Grey skies and wet snow made the landscape look rather dismal but I did manage to get a few pictures, reflecting the early Winter season mood. The starkness of the landscape with the driving snow and the limited colour palette reflects the season's atmosphere.

WINTER LANDSCAPE WITH BIRCH TREES

This is another image from my files. I like the busy pattern of the branches and then a view of the group of trees in the distance. its a classic composition but the picture is an effective reflection of the Winter season with strong graphic elements. For the next few days I will not be able to post. I will be back next Tuesday with a new image.

WINTER, SUNSET PARK, NORTH BAY

Rain and fog today but yesterday I scanned this snow landscape, which I made on November 23, 1986. Its a very traditional landscape but, for me, it symbolizes the feeling of Winter.

WET PAVEMENT REVISED

The weather in the last few days did not inspire me to go and look for pictures. Also I have been busy so today I started to go through some of my old negatives and slides. One of my Winter projects is starting to scan some of my older images. This picture is from a series I did one evening a very long time ago on light reflections from the downtown streets. At that time some stores  still had neon store signs. The reflected light was very primary and when photographed made pictures look like very abstract fluid paintings. I should add that when I did these pictures it was raining very hard. So it was difficult to get a sharp image because of the water running over the pavement surface.

BARN, TROUT CREEK

I have not been busy this week so I did not take many pictures. So here is an image from last week. I made this on the same day as the earlier posting of the barn in Powassan. This image is not as dramatic but I still liked it enough to post it today.

SNOW, NORTH BAY

The Winter has arrived. Yesterday I took this picture in the downtown area. it is a simple picture but I am attracted to the different shapes of the  trees, which  forming a dense pattern of of lines. 

SNOW SKY

I have photographed this barn at different times and seasons. Still I like the setting and yesterday with the dramatic snow sky turning the landscape into a very romantic view, it was hard to resist making another image. 

SPEEDING TRAIN, POWASSAN

This morning a fresh layer of snow was a good excuse to go out to take the first Winter pictures. When turning around, after taking some pictures along a road in Powassan, I saw this speeding train coming towards me acrosss the road. Of course I could not resist photographing the train.

BILLBOARD, NORTH BAY

When I first saw this billboard, I did not know what to think of it. Initially I found the hard hitting in-your-face message rather disturbing. It reminded me of the artwork by the American conceptual artist Barbara Kruger but the more I thought about it the more I liked it and yes, it is a great Christmas message because what is it I would want is quite simple peace and happiness for all humankind. Looking at it from that angle I have to say I like this message..

ANOTHER VIEW, OLD CAR, POWASSAN

I like this view of the old car. It has a very different quality to the earlier image I posted. The light was quite strong but the backlighting and the gold of the late afternoon sunlight, gives this picture an almost nostalgic feeling reminiscent of the early twentieth century paintings.

CAR LIGHTS

Yesterday, a beautiful sunny morning, I noticed these  headlights on a parked car. I liked all the reflections and lines. the result is a very abstract composition of reflections, lines and colour.

OLD CAR, POWASSAN

Over the years I have photographed this old car quite a few times. It has been sitting in this field for many decades and every time you see more rust and more decay.