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Queen’s View Panorama

Jun 182012

My plan to get all of my posts ready before taking off for Iceland didn’t pan out. So, I’m sat writing this from the Western Fjords. My first day in Iceland has been quite eventful. If you’ve seen my Facebook page you know what my logo looks like. The bird is an arctic tern. About an hour into our drive today I hopped out of the car to photograph a waterfall. I heard a screech, looked up, and realised I was under attack from my logo. They’re not big birds, but they’re bloody terrifying.

Today’s Photo: Queen’s View Panorama

This is shot from Lighthouse hill, just below Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse. I decided to try to capture the whole of the view that caused the Queen to pause and take it in. To do that I had to shoot 4 different frames, each with three exposures, and stitch them together.

I’m off now to spend the night driving through the Western Fjords. The light is already looking amazing on the mountains.

Winter Vineyard

Canada, Ontario, Travel 12 Responses »

Jun 172012

Where in Iceland is Johnny (hopefully)?

Today should be my first full day in Iceland. We’ll be picking up our jeep and making our way through Reykjavik to the entrance of the Westfjords. If we have enough energy, and leave early enough we may be able to take a detour to look around the Snaefellsness Peninsula on the way. After checking in it will be time for a nap before a full night of shooting. My plan is to drive along the south side of the Westfjords all the way to the bird cliffs that mark the most Westerly point in Europe. On the way there I’ll be stopping at a really big beach that looks pretty interesting on Google maps. On the way back to the hostel I plan on stopping at the Dynjandi Waterfall.

Today’s Photo: Winter Vineyard

After visiting Niagara Falls I drove the road running alongside the river towards Niagara-on-the-Lake. As I drove along the golden glow of the sun on these barren vines caught my eyes and I decided to stop to try to capture it. In the process of taking this photo I discovered that my camera was unhappy with the amount of water it had contacted while under Niagara Falls. It started firing off at will, the only way to stop it was to turn it off. This made taking my bracketed photos a challenge, and sifting through the multiple unnecessary shots the camera decided to add even more difficult. It was this incident that made me decide to buy a backup camera body. My Canon 7d‘s first big outing will be to Iceland where I expect it will first come into its own while photographing the puffins in the Eastfjords.

Something Interesting: Road Between Small Norwegian Islands

As it’s going to be my first day of driving in Iceland it seems fitting that I’d post this video of a drive, in Norway, that I’ve recently added to my to do list. This road looks absolutely insane! Especially with the waves crashing over it later in the video. Click here to view this amazing road.

Jus’ Chillin’

Africa, Animals, Mountain Gorillas, Rwanda, Travel 6 Responses »

Jun 162012

Where in Iceland is Johnny (hopefully)?

I’ve written these posts in advance so can’t tell you where I actually am. I can tell you where I hope to be, if everything goes to plan. There’s actually not much to report today. I arrive at Keflavik Airport at 11:50pm. Fortunately, my travel buddy will be getting in a day ahead of me so I’ll have a bed all ready for me. But, I expect I won’t be able to resist a first photo session under the midnight sun.

Today’s Photo: Jus’ Chillin’

The first question I get when I talk about visiting the gorillas in Rwanda is, “was it scary?”

Who could be scared of this guy?

Entering Southlands

Bermuda, Travel 1 Response »

Jun 152012

Packing for Iceland

I’ll be finishing off packing for Iceland in a minute. I fly out tomorrow morning and am really, really excited! I finally bit the bullet and bought a carry on bag I’ve had my eye on for a while (I know, that sounds pretty sad). But, I hate checking bags and have perfected traveling light, even with my camera gear. I find I never really need much while out on the road. I went to Africa for three weeks with just my Lowepro Flipside and a messenger bag (a.k.a a man-purse). I liked that setup, I could sling the messenger bag over my shoulder below my backpack and walk around with my hands completely free. Admittedly, it was a little difficult packing everything into these two bags while rushing in the morning with a banging hangover. I’ve taken this configuration a step forward in buying the Air Boss by Red Oxx which was designed with input from the creator of an awesome site on traveling light: OneBag.com. It’s basically a carry on luggage sized messenger bag with really cool compartments… perfect. I think I could travel indefinitely with this configuration, and my tripod fits inside!

Today’s Photo: Entering Southlands

I drive by this spot all the time and think I should stop there sometime to take a photo. One day, a couple of weeks ago, I actually did. It’s funny, I’ve never seen anybody there when I’ve driven past before. Of course when I decide to stop there’s a couple of German tourists there taking photos of their own.

I framed up a few shots looking up this road trying to capture the feeling of this big tree looming over you. Then, I realized that in order to do this I’d have to drop the camera down much lower. I was also having a lot of trouble with lens flare as the sun was beaming through the leaves in the left of the frame. I had to carefully position the camera so that the sun was hidden behind one of the branches.

I’m glad the plans to turn this place into a hotel didn’t go through. I think I’ll be making a return to this area again sometime soon, so I can explore the property beyond the entrance-way.

Something Interesting: OneBag.com

I like this site so much I’m mentioning it twice in one post. It’s not much to look at, but take some time to read about and you’ll suddenly realize that you’re taking far too much stuff with you when you travel. I’m now a convert to the belief that wheeled luggage is a seriously flawed concept and basically evil: www.OneBag.com

Hello Stranger

Christmas, New York, Travel 5 Responses »

Jun 142012

Today’s Photo: Hello Stranger

Another of Bergdorf-Goodman’s amazing window displays just before Christmas. I find the way that I got the mannequin to look into the camera in this photo a little unsettling. There’s an odd life-like quality coming from it. It feels like she could step through the glass out into the street. I wish I’d taken photos of more of the windows there. Unfortunately, this and the parrot are the only two that I took. By this point I was absolutely freezing (it was 5 in the morning) and my hands in particular couldn’t take it any longer. I had a long, LONG walk back to the hotel. I did stop off and pick up a delicious egg and sausage bagel from one of the street carts though. That made it all better.

Something Interesting: Back to the Future

This is a really cool idea for a photo project. Irina Werning got people to dig out old photographs of themselves and then recreated them with the people replicating the poses,dress and activities even though they’re now considerably older: BACK TO THE FUTURE: IRINA WERNING

Snacking Elephant

Africa, Animals, Travel, Zambia, Zimbabwe 2 Responses »

Jun 132012

Today’s Photo: Snacking Elephant

I wrote about this experience previously, here. We’d pulled our canoes up to an island in the middle of the Lower Zambezi. I thought we were there for a closer look at these elephants and started firing away. When I turned around I realized that our guides were setting up for lunch. We sat and ate lunch with these giant animals no distance away. They didn’t seem to be bothered by our presence. After about half an hour they walked to the other side of the island where they splashed into water and swimming off down the river, trunks raised like snorkels.

Something Interesting: How to Survive a Suicide Shower

I had the pleasure of using a few of these shower contraptions while traveling through Bolivia and Peru. They use electricity to heat the water… in the shower head. Bare wires are not uncommon. I thought they looked a bit questionable but didn’t give them a second thought, I was typically desperate for a shower. None of the shower heads actually shocked me, though a few friends of mine got zapped. I did get a pretty nasty shock off of a light switch hanging from my ceiling with bare wires on the back though. This is an interesting little article on suicide showers with a bit of advice in how to go about showering safely when faced with them: How to Survive a Suicide Shower.

Sunset Sailboats, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Canada, Ontario, Toronto 80 Responses »

Jun 122012

Niagara-on-the-lake is a really pretty little town with a great location on the banks of Lake Ontario. That being said, I found it really difficult to photograph. Granted I didn’t give myself a lot of time there, but I found a lot of potentially good shots on the main street that were, unfortunately, ruined by cars parked along the road. If I were in charge there I’d ban parking of any motorized vehicle on that street to maintain the old small town feel. Unfortunately, I’m not in charge.

As it got closer to sunset I started getting a bit concerned about failing to get any photos for the evening, particularly as the sunset was getting interesting. I went down to the lake, but felt like every spot that looked like it would offer up a good vantage point was behind a fence. I feel like this a lot here in Bermuda. All the best viewpoints are on private property. It makes sense that people want these spots for their homes, but it’s really frustrating!

Eventually I found this spot. Initially, I got irritated trying to find somewhere to get a view over the fence surrounding the marina. Then, I had an epiphany. I attached my camera to my tripod and used it in a somewhat unorthodox way. The fence was chain-link so I opened up one of the legs and inserted it into the fence. It was a pretty flimsy support and made it pretty difficult to frame my shot. I had to wait until I was sure the camera had stopped bouncing around and then use my cable release to fire off three shots.

Horseshoe Bay (Again)

Bermuda, Travel 18 Responses »

Jun 112012

Today’s Photo: Horseshoe Bay (Again)

I took a lot of pictures on that morning down at Horseshoe Bay. I won’t be publishing all of them but think this is pretty cool. It’s taken with my 14mm prime lens. One of the things I really like about this lens is the fact that it allows you to look off into the distance and almost straight down at the same time. It’s particularly effective when stood at the top of a cliff such as this one.

Next Saturday I’ll be visiting the most Westerly point in Europe, in Iceland. There’s a huge cliff there that’s home to multiple species of birds, including puffins. You can bet I’ll be using this lens to give a view straight down the cliff. With any luck I’ll get close enough to a puffin to include it in the foreground. I’ve heard they let you get really close, especially if you crawl up on your belly.

Something Interesting: Night and Day in One Photo!!

If you’re into photography that breaks from the norm, you should check this out. This photographer takes multiple shots through the days and combines them into amazing night and day photographs. I feel a need to figure out how to do this: http://9wows.com/day-and-night-in-new-york-city-captured-in-single-images-8-pictures/

Prague Breakwater

Czech Republic, Europe, Prague, Travel 2 Responses »

Jun 102012

As I mentioned yesterday I’ve been doing a lot of photo processing this weekend. As a side effect I’ve found photos that needed processing I’d forgotten about. I started by going through my Prague file, even though I was sure I’d exhausted that supply. As a result I found today’s photo, and I’m glad I did. I spend a lot of time while I’m wandering about with my camera looking for a good foreground for something interesting I’ve found. The breakwater, with its ducks and seagulls lent itself very well to this purpose.

The Dawn of Spring

Canada, Ontario, Travel No Responses »

Jun 102012

Iceland Preparations

This time next week, I’ll be arriving in Iceland, quickly dropping my suitcase at the hotel and dashing out to photograph a lighthouse under the midnight sun. So, I’m getting prepared. I’m not checking my bookings or thinking what to pack like a normal person would be. Instead, I’m spending my weekend frantically trying to get photos processed and blog entries written in advance as I’ve reached the conclusion that, although I’ll have access to the internet at the majority of my accommodations, I won’t have the energy to process a photo and write something every day. On top of this I resolved to stop offering up one line posts, which would be inevitable if I tried to maintain them in Iceland. My time will be pretty well allocated with running around taking photos, driving from place to place, and other distractions. The plus side of this push, though, is that I’ve realised something. I actually really enjoy setting aside whole days and nights (admittedly more night than day) to working up photos. I get into a real groove processing photos one after the other and they seem to take less time to complete than if I worked on them individually. I think going forward I’ll be focusing on having photos ready to pick from for the daily post and just keep replenishing that selection. It should also up the quality of photo I produce as I’ll be working on them when I’ve made time for them, rather than rushing to get one done before going to the pub.

Today’s Photo: The Dawn of Spring

Today’s photo is a simple one, taking advantage of the patterns produced by a longish exposure and flowing water. When I first got into photography, I used to take my rebel down to the beach in Bermuda and spend my whole time playing with shutter speeds to smooth out the water. So, whenever I spot fast flowing water I have to stop and grab a photo.

This was taken in Bruce County in Ontario. It was March and it was hot. I had expected I’d be figuring out how to take photos of still frozen waterfalls, instead everything had thawed and Spring was coming early. I paused here on my way to Indian Falls to grab this shot.

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