Paul invited me over for Chistmas Dinner yesterday (it rocked) and while the bird 'relaxed' after being cooked we took Sophie for a walk right at sunset and the time of 'Maglic Light'. Super long shadows. Warm tonnes. Slow shooting but lots of bouncing light.
Shot on an iPhone 4 and post processed in Capture NX/2.
A very slow and multi-image exposure followed by High Dynamic Range processing of a very pretty moonset over English Bay Vancouver on December 9 2011. With the temperature hovering around -5'C the atmospheric clarity added a nice punch. Capturing the star trails was a complete and unexpected bonus.
With thanks for the inspiration to Claude Monet and his 1872 work - Impression Sunrise.
Being on the west coast of North America we get some fairly impressive weather. And while we often gripe, grumble and otherwise get cranky over the endless wet weather systems (to the point we refer to where we live as the 'Wet Coast') days like last Friday and this approaching front system more than make up for. In particular went treated to a goodly dose of Hight Dynamic Range awesomeness.
Vancouver's Kitsilano region looking west towards the Gulf Islands as a very moist Pacific frontal system rolls in from the north west. With a wind warning (60 to 90 km/hr) in effect as the system approachs it's time to batten down the hatches. Taken in Infra Red light and processed as a High Dynamic Range image.
An understated but none the less powerful sunset over English Bay Vancouver August 24th 2011. The highlights on the clouds right above the sun as she set really pulled me in. God painting with light. :)
Here's Maggie. A very affectionate 4 or so year old tabby who not only reminds me of my first cat Jennifer but also one who has a cat's dream job. Keeping my sister's backyard clear of rodents (big and small) and keeping the local sparrow gene pool clear of the more moronic in the flock who think a big ball of orange, black and white fur nestled in the grass with tail flicking back and forth is not a .... err ... "risk".
One of my favorite points along the trail that surrounds Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park. I've set the shooting location as close as I can to ground zero for this photo. This shot was taken in Infra Red light and post processed in High Dynamic Range using Photomatix Pro. I used the hyperfocal focusing technique (aka maximum depth of field) to get both the foreground and background as close to focus as possible. And "Yes" - there is an iPhone app to compute the hyperfocal settings for most brands of DSLRs and their lenses. Look for PhotoCalc in the iTunes app store.
An HDR macro of budding flowers on Sunset Beach in Vancouver. Macro photography never ceases to amaze me it what it can reveal. A very "Alice in Wonderland" feel to this one.
Post processed via SnapSeed for the iPad. What I'd call the "Harry Potter School of Photo Post Processing" - pure freakin' magic.
One of my favorite flowers at Sunset Beach in downtown Vancouver. I've gone through my National Audubon Society field guide to west coast wild flowers but (currently) I've no idea what this cute little collection of seed pods waiting to burst forth is called.
HDR by Photomatix Pro, Sharpenning by Capture NX/2
Here's a collection of wild teasels a few weeks past bloom at Sunset Beach Vancouver. While the moist spring and summer has been a constant source of disgruntle for us humans I'm pretty certain the local flowers have the reverse opinion.
This is one of those photos you can get lost in so be careful. :) Taken during a break in the clouds of Vancouver's bummersummer. Grrrr. On the upside though the macro water drop photo-ops are numerous.
VancouverDoug's photostream on Flickr.
A flash from the recent past - the Vancouver Sun held on Sunday April 17 2011. A great day for a run and with nice big puffy clouds hugging the north shore mountains a great morning for infra red photography was well.
If you look close enough you'll notice that all of the thousands of runners (nearly 50,000 in total that day) are all dressed in white. No Vancouver is not a cult city demanding it's citzens all wear the same clothing (except during Stanley Cup finals when the Canucks are playing). The mob of drones down below is an artifact of IR photography. Clothes reflect all infra red light and as such appear white and semi translucent. Creepy but cute in a cute creepy sort of way.
Here's a bit of vintage processing on a 21st century image - infra red and high dynamic range photography combined then processed, on my iPad no less, with a new bit of software called snap seed. I expect in 2-3 years I'll being doing a lot of post production on the iPad.
Vancouver's West End caught in the razor sharpness of infra red light. Thanks to the extended visual range of High Dynamic Range photography the shadow of one of the few clouds in the sky can be seen over the city.
A collection of heritage homes on Pacfic St, downtown Vancouver, just around sunset on June 7 2011. Shot using a Diana lens and HDR. I really like this combination of photographic treatments - the fuzziness of the Diana lens mingled with the hyper-sharpness and color saturation of High Dynamic Range processing. The Ansel Adams inside however wants to throttle me. :)
A collection of heritage homes on Pacfic St, downtown Vancouver, just around sunset on June 7 2011. Shot using a Diana lens and HDR. I really like this combination of photographic treatments - the fuzziness of the Diana lens mingled with the hyper-sharpness and color saturation of High Dynamic Range processing. The Ansel Adams inside however wants to throttle me. :)
Here's a shot of the intersection of Pacific and Burrard streets in the frosty cool glow of infra red light. The clarity of High Dynamic Range Infra Red shots never ceases to amaze me. Since IR light is less sensitive to distortion due to water in the air the shots that use this process have an almost "scale model" feel to them. In the top right corner you can see Mt. Baker off in the distance. Mt Baker National Park is roughly 150 km from downtown Vancouver (as the crow flies).
The morning after the night before, in this case the night of the Vancouver Canuck's nerve wracking 3 to 2 win over the Boston Bruins (11 seconds into overtime no less) the city was treated to a soft and gentle sunrise. For the one Canuck's fan in the city concious and mentally sharp enough at 5:00 AM to shoot a collection of HDR sequences (me) it was worth it - as was going back to bed to sleep for another 3 hours. :)
Here's one of Vancouver's signature buildings - the Wall Centre - framed in the warm glow of a late spring sunrise.
While sunshine has been a rare commodity this spring we have been blessed with a few blasts near the end of the day. Here's a view of Vancouver's West End looking north up Thurlow St on May 23 2011.
I walk along the Stanley Park/Vancouver West-End Seawall 3 to 4 times per week and as a photographer I'm always looking for something new and different. Today I spotted these flowers ones that after 20 years in Vancouver's West End, I'd never seen. My guess - they last a day and as luck would have it our paths finally overlapped. However as un-luck would have it my camera gear was kms away. iPhone 4 to the rescue. Photography is 1/3rd equipment, 1/3rd talent and 1/3rd being in the right place at the right time. Thanks to the marvels of modern technology (5 mega pixel cameras in phones) our future will no doubt be filled with millions of drop-dead-gorgeous images.
A seagull surfing along a thermal 15 floors above Beach Avenue in Vancouver Canada.
Here's a nice shot of the new and improved stretch of the Stanley Park Vancouver Seawall between Second and English Bay Beach. Looking all nice and glowing in the early spring blush only seen in high dynamic range infra red light.
Vancouver's West End as seen from Vanier Park just south of the big beehive. Done with an over the top high dynamic range treatment since, heh ... it's the big city ... we wrote da book on over da top. :)
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