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The Old Gristmill, Walter’s Falls, Ontario

Canada, Ontario, Toronto, Travel, Waterfall 17 Responses »

Apr 192012

If it looks like I’m standing in the water here it’s because I am. Well, not really. My camera was though. I spotted this weir next to this old mill above Walter’s Falls in Ontario. After failing to be satisfied with a shot from the bridge I went clambering down the bank, through branches covered in thorns to get down to the river edge. I landed heavily on a pair of rocks which immediately gave way under me. I looked like I’d be getting wet for sure. Somehow, I managed to back pedal faster than the rocks were falling and build myself a new platform of rocks landing beneath my feet.

From my precarious perch, I lent out as far as I could to place my camera closer to the middle of the river, and fire off 7 exposures, before clambering back up through the bushes. Following this I went down to the bottom of the waterfall to get some shots there. I and my gear got pretty soaked once down there, but that’s a story for another day.

JANIE4JASON

Bermuda, Travel 5 Responses »

Apr 162012

If you’re watching the sunset on the South Shore of Bermuda it’s worth turning around and looking towards the East. As the sun dips below the horizon it’s pretty common for a pink band to appear on the opposite horizon that gradually moves up into the sky until it dissolves into the deepening blue sky. This photo was taken just as this pink band started it’s march upward.

When I was working this photo up in Photomatix I clicked on the rocks for a close up to check on the detail. I was surprised the discover that right where I clicked, perfectly centered in the preview square, was etched JANIE4JASON.

Spring Thaw

Canada, Ontario, Travel 1 Response »

Apr 152012

On my recent trip to Ontario I lucked out weather-wise. It was abnormally warm and, despite packing a big jacket, I was comfortable in just a t-shirt most of the time. It felt like the middle of summer. When I arrived at the shores of Lake Huron in Tobermory I found this remnant of winter. Across the water you can see Big Tub lighthouse.

An Elephant Built for Two (or three)

Africa, Animals, Travel, Zambia 12 Responses »

Apr 132012

In a previous post (Dip on a Rebel Elephant) I wrote about how Soniko and Chris’s elephant was a bit of a rebel. Here, early in the trip, you can see it stopping for an unplanned snack. I feel I should mention that Soniko and Chris didn’t plan on getting so cozy atop a munching herbivore. When the elephants were being assigned, there were three available for single riders. A man there with his two daughter’s jumped at the opportunity, quickly followed by Soniko and Chris. Unfortunately, one of the elephants decided that it didn’t feel like going for a walk so was left behind, putting Chris and Soniko on the worst behaved elephant they had. Sharing was probably a good thing, at least they could share some of the trauma they went through. This included charging through thorn bushes, swimming through crocodile infested water, and regular breaking into a trot as the handler tried to slow it down. All the while, they must have heard the sound of Shannon and I laughing off in the distance. All summed up though, they definitely had the most adventure.

Soniko had a knack for finding himself in the most exciting situations. It was interesting because, as he readily admits, he was the person in the group least interested in the more adrenaline filled aspects. Despite this, he got to sit closest to the open doors of a Huey Helicopter, in Cape Town, for a simulated combat ride. He was first to get thrown from our raft on the rapids of the Middle Zambezi. He was even the first to get involved in a staring match with an agitated silver-back gorilla in Rwanda (until he snuck behind Cameron as evidenced by this video… watch the navy blue legs move behind the khaki ones). That being said, he survived it all and definitely seemed to enjoy himself.

I’ve mentioned before that it’s not easy shooting while straddling a lumbering elephant. My three exposures for this shot weren’t even close to being lined up. As a result, this is an HDR image from a single RAW.

Arboral Reflex

Canada, Ontario, Toronto, Travel 1 Response »

Apr 122012

It’s amazing what you can find when you leave the road and set off on foot. I pulled over because I saw a lone tree standing at the end of a dirt lane surrounded by dried up grape vines. The sun was setting behind it. I kept walking closer, trying to find a picture. I fired off a couple and then decided to continue on past the tree. It looked like it was at the precipice of a hill and I thought there my be a view out over the landscape from there. As it turned out, the elevation wasn’t as great as I’d expected. Despite that though, I’d stumbled upon this scene and quickly set about trying to capture it.

Spare Doors for Sale

New York, Travel 2 Responses »

Apr 112012

Iceland Planning

My upcoming trip to Iceland is starting to come together. I’m going for the solstice so that I can take pictures during the extended sunsets/sunrises. The sun only dips under the horizon at this time of year so it’s going to be light 24 hours a day. To take advantage of the golden hours I’m going to have to be shooting from about 10:00pm until 4:00am. My original plan was to stay up all night taking photos and sleeping during the day. I was trying to plot a route that would allow me to arrive at a new hotel every morning. The next step was going to be convincing hotels to let me stay for just the daytime.

This got frustrating because, assuming I’d managed to book hotels, it was very difficult to make these jumps from hotel to hotel on the back roads I want to photograph and manage to make it all the way around the island in a week. It also made it impossible to schedule in a few activities I’d like to do that take place during the day – snorkeling the rift, whale watching, and a somewhat odd museum.

I’ve come up with the solution. I’ll be sleeping twice a day. So, I’ll drive from hotel to hotel in the middle of the day, sleep for the evenings and then head out all night for the best light. Then, I’ll go to sleep again from about 4am until about 5 minutes before the hotel forces me to check out.

This route actually means that I can spend a couple of nights in two locations, allowing me to dedicate a day to whale watching as well as a day for snorkeling the rift. The only thing I need to fit in now to make me perfectly happy is a visit to the ice caves of Kverkfjöll. They’re in the interior so I’m not sure I want to drive there on my own. Apparently, there’s also a chance of cave-ins so a guide is pretty essential. Unfortunately, the only tours I’ve found so far last 12 hours! That’s not going to do the trick.

Spare Doors for Sale

I found these taxi garages in New York really interesting. They were really long and narrow, this one particularly so. It must be a real pain getting cars in and out, having to empty the shop every time. I took this photo with a wide angle lens in order to emphasize the depth. As i mentioned in a prior post I didn’t have my tripod with me as checking in at the Yotel was proving complicated and I’d let them store my bag without removing my tripod. As a result, I had to shoot handheld so I had to use a smaller depth of field than I would have liked.

Crystal Coast, Tobermory, Ontario

Canada, Ontario, Travel 2 Responses »

Apr 092012

Growing up in Bermuda has made me a bit of a water snob. It’s hard to imagine anywhere topping the beautiful turquoise waters cocooning the island. Now I’m not sure I’m allowed to say this, but, the waters of Lake Huron, just off of Tobermory, at the very end of the Bruce Peninsula, are definitely a contender. It was nothing like I expected, so blue and clear. Amazing. After taking a few photos I just sat and stared at it for a while before heading back up to the car.

Bermuda Morning, Harrington Sound

Bermuda, Travel No Responses »

Apr 092012

I’m looking forward to dragging myself out at the crack of dawn for photos before work as we move into summer. I took this photo last year at Harrington Sound. There were these stormy looking clouds all over the sky but it was completely calm. Then these opened up and allowed some of the sun’s pink rays to get out.

Sun’s up, Sky’s Blue

Canada, Ontario, Travel 3 Responses »

Apr 072012

Tip-toeing about the lot enclosing this dilapidated barn I was on edge. There was a small house about 20 feet away, but I couldn’t tell for sure if it was inhabited. There was no-one about to ask if I could wander about the property, but I knew there would be some good photos about. Sure enough, there were.

This was about as far as I was willing to go down this dirt road. If someone had pulled in I’d have preferred to be visible from the road. I wouldn’t want anyone thinking I was a prowler hiding from view. It’d also allow me to walk straight over to them to say good morning and hope they were as friendly as everyone else I’d met around Niagara-on-the-Lake. As it turned out, nobody showed up.

This photo required a slightly different treatment to the usual. It was so bright that I realized my exposure bracketing would need to extend to -4. In order to get my Canon 5d Mk II to take this, I had to set it to auto bracket the following: -4, -2, 0. After this I fired off an additional three frames at -3,-1,+1. I took a look at the exposures and realized that the +1 had captured all the details in the shadows and I wouldn’t need to go any further. I combined these in Photomatix prior to polishing up in Photoshop.

The title of this photo is inspired by the Beatles’s. I had to go into work today and The White Album is my go-to when I need to get my head down and get some work done. I just decided to give it another listen so found it on YouTube. As I tried to think of a name for this photo John Lennon sang the line “the sun is up, the sky is blue” in Dear Prudence. I decided that was fitting.

If you’re ever in need of a bit of The White Album and don’t have it to hand, I found it all here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a9TMpAwwBw

Paradis Malahide Morning

Africa, Rwanda, Travel No Responses »

Apr 062012

Another view of the shoreline of Lake Kivu occupied by the Padis Malahide Hotel. I was actually staying in the room you can see in the picture, just above the beach. If you look at this photo in full size you can see the church featured in this post. Just to the right of the frame is the dock where the fishermen set out every night and returned the next morning.

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