The rain has stopped but the storm hasn't left just yet.

Good Monday from Prospect.

Prospect NS, f11, ISO 50, 1/200 sec at 16mm

f13, 1/25 sec ISO 50 at 26mm

Recently we've had days of heavy rain after the wonderful sun the past week.

Today is an exception before we go back to rain, sun and 16C. I hope this isn't a prelude to the summer here.

Well I found a few moments to run out and get a sense or mood of the days break.

f16, 1/125 sec, ISO 125 at 16mm

These are definitely samples of the past few days weather.

Anyway, enjoy, Derek

Letting Your Work Breath

Good Monday from Prospect.

My favourite of the set. Processed through Nik Silver Efex.

This one comes out of a long and frustrating winter for me. I'm not a fan of winter shooting so I tend to shoot indoors and spend time going back over the years work.

I also take the time to update myself on new gear and software. Honing the skill set is always a good thing.

What I want to address is all those images we keep that don't make our first cuts. 

As all photographers know we hold onto, no, protect, every image we ever shoot, unless of course they are pure black or white.

It's not that they totally suck but are rather just over looked in comparison to what we had in mind when shooting. Sometimes we just over look a few gems.

There is a value in allowing your work breath. Taking a moment to go back and search for those images you may have passed over.

For instance here's one that, although I thought was okay but not great, turned out to be a wonderful image. When I went back to the RAW files, yup the Raw ones, I realized how good and interesting it is.

If this had been just a jpeg and fully processed I never would have had the opportunity to reprocess and bring out what truly makes it good.

This is the original (as shot). (ISO 100, f6.7, 1/180sec at 35mm)

I thought it was okay but I was more interested in everything else

I shot that day to put it up front

I regularly shoot RAW + JPEG. The Jpeg allows me to quickly and effectively meet short deliveries (especially when I need an image for social sharing) or to discuss the final goal with my client. I can even set my jpeg small enough to email, right out of the box, then go to the RAW and process for high res delivery. Yes this may take a bit more space but compared to duplicating files for back-up it's minimal.

Learned my lesson in 2010 following the New7Wonders of Nature campaign, for the Bay of Fundy Tourism Partnership, advisory week events. Fortunately we made wifi stops on the road so I could process in the car until we arrived at an access point. But now I can shoot the jpeg, upload it to my ipad, attach a description and email from anywhere I have 3G. 

Slight HDR processing makes this a great colour shot,
but I think the B&W is best. Comment and tell me your choice.

Wish I had that when we were covering the event. To meet the on road demand I had to quickly update my laptop so I had enough power to process on the road and connect to the hotspots. I had a G4 Powerbook that just wasn't up to the task and ended up buying the last MacBook Pro available in Halifax and prep it over night to hit the road the next day (one of those last minute things).

I know it seems a bit much but you have to be prepared to meet the clients requests. Fortunately I was prepared for an upgrade, just not that one. I had just added an iMac (planned to process the images when I got back not on the road) and wanted to hold off on the laptop upgrade until I figured out what would fit best. Don't get me wrong, this macbook is great, just a little over kill. A mac air would have done as great a job beefed up to my needs and smaller to carry. Oh well, next one.

Any way, to get back on topic, here's what the original looked like. Not a wonder but has potential. I recently opened this up in Nik Silver Efex Pro and did a BW conversion. I don't know if you agree with me but what a difference. Diamond in the rough for sure.

So let your work breath. Go back over them during times of the year you're not shooting, like the dead of winter, and don't be afraid to experiment. Above all shhot those in RAW and you'll find you have a lot more to work with than you thought you did.

Enjoy, Derek

So where have I been lately

Good Tuesday from Prospect.

7:00 AM in Prospect. The fog doing it's down the river dance.

The geometry is beautiful

Now this is a September morning

Okay so here's the thing. Been a little busy working again. It's that eating thing I can't shake.

I haven't posted since August and I said I'd stay on it. I certainly have been thinking about it and I've been nagged to get it moving let me tell you.

On top of that, working on private projects automatically invokes an unspoken non-disclosure. At least until the project is done.

So, while I'm waiting to be able to share what I've been up to with you I'll fire in some photos from Prospect Bay.

I love the geometry of our little bay here in Nova Scotia along with the ever changing weather conditions.

Couldn't resist throwing this one in from August
What can I say, I love em

This summer has been amazing. Wonderful weather and lots of photo ops. Even the fog has been entertaining and co-operative.

Hopefully I'll be sharing some cool stuff shortly. It's all about clearance on ongoing projects.

Well I hope you enjoy these.

Derek

This Mornings Wake Up

Good Friday from Prospect. 

Here's an fresh, early morning shot to share today. Fog is such a beautiful veil to reveal natures beauty. I do enjoy shooting with and through it.

6:49 am today in Prospect NS

Have a great long weekend.

Enjoy, Derek.

Angels of Prospect?

Between the fog, Angels 0ne (5D Mark II, 16-35 II f2.8)

Good Wednesday from Prospect.  So here are the two winners in the shoot on Friday the 11th.

One thing you should take into consideration when viewing, I'm shooting from a cemetery. Oooo, ha,ha.

I may just title them angels of Prospect, noting the history of the village.

Anyway, you'll also notice the difference in lighting on the buildings from the last time I shot here. The time of day is a little later so they aren't as pronounced. The available sunlight is now slightly forward and to the right placing this side of the buildings in the shadow, and the spread of fog doesn't help.

Between the fog, Angels Two (5D Mark II 50mm f 1.4)

I think you'll recall I had 13 minutes to get these so the time of day wasn't a choice. Rules are made to be broken I say, especially if mother nature says so.

BTW, these will at some point be printed and for sale. They will undoubtedly be around 42" wide, (with a max or 72" I'd expect).

I'll post when ready.

Enjoy, Derek.

After the Storm continued OR Timing, timing, timing!

May 11 Teaser

Good Friday from Prospect. Hey, got another chance at prospect. Not sure if this shoot will top the last one. I'll just have to go through them and see.

In the meantime, here are some teasers. 

The one thing about shooting these is "TIMING". The fog started to lift, at 11:00 am, so I grabbed my gear (always packed to run), got in the car and flew to the village, It's about 4 miles (6.5k) from my house and that may give me enough time to catch the light and clearing.

You see, one thing you need to be aware of about eastern coastal landscape photography, you may get 15 or even 20 minutes for the shot (just like sunset and sunrise). If you're not there you don't get the pic.

13 minutes later

I arrived at 11:22am this morning. Grabbed my camera and through lens one on (50mm f1.4). Set the filter, placed it on the monopod, (no time for tripods today), got to my favourite knoll and started shooting. Between 11:22 and 11:35 the available shooting view went from great to socked in. See the teasers I posted. I did get through two lens changes to grab everything I could.

Note, I left my house at 11:19 where it was just clearing. By the time I got back to my place (11:48) the fog had already moved inland 4 miles.

By the time I got back home

The point here is simple. Landscape photography takes patience and timing. You can either sit and wait or be prepared to run to the spot to get that pic. For these I could: A: Sit and wait for the midday sun to burn enough off to get that shot. B: Move there and set up a permanent tripod or C: Just be aware of when the change will occur and run when it's ready.

But ultimately, the successful photographer is the one that's there.

Have a great weekend.

Enjoy, Derek.