Well, that was fast. It’s hard to believe that we’re almost one-twelfth (8.2%!!) of the way through 2021. Here’s a somewhat random roundup of what I saw and captured this month… mostly around the house, of course.
Pandémie oblige.
Category: Miscellany
A group or collection of different items; a mixture.
Let me out
For this potted plant (whatever it is… I don’t know, I don’t have a green thumb) getting out in the sun is probably a bad idea. Global warming notwithstanding, when it’s this sunny here in January, it’s cold. That’s a universal truth. Better to stay in and soak up the Vitamin D through double-paned glass.
Continue reading “Let me out”Tickets, please
When the light is right
There’s something to be said about the low winter sun. From about November to January, when the skies are clear, the light is nothing short of fabulous. It shines through windows, casts the most awesome shadows, and brings life to the most dead of seasons. I just wish it wouldn’t be so damn overcast all the time and we could get more of it!
Continue reading “When the light is right”Black and white …
… and red all over.
Continue reading “Black and white …”SOOC Saturday
If you’re not a photo geek, you’re probably wondering what SOOC means. SOOC is short for “Straight out of Camera,” the idea being that no post-processing was applied to an image after it came off the camera’s memory card. Depending who you talk to, a SOOC image is more “pure” and somehow “better” than an image that was heavily manipulated in Lightroom, Capture One, Photoshop (or whatever—pick your poison).
Continue reading “SOOC Saturday”Throwback Thursday
Some randomness from October 2016.
Continue reading “Throwback Thursday”They can’t all be sunny days
The reluctant model
Son: No, Dad. I’m am not going to pose for your stupid picture. Every time I get a haircut, you take my picture and it drives me nuts. I’ll have nothing to do with it and I’m not going to smile.
Me: Suit yourself.
Weekend roundup
Not much to say here; just a quick roundup of some of my favourite images taken this weekend.
Continue reading “Weekend roundup”Miscellaneous Mono
Just what the title says.
Continue reading “Miscellaneous Mono”Just the essentials
Shape, light, tones, shadow: that’s all you need to render a scene.
Nobody said colour was mandatory for landscapes, or any other types of photography, for that matter.
Continue reading “Just the essentials”Whither August
August is one of those funny months.
It’s still most definitely summer, but the relentless heat and humidity of July starts to lose its edge. The A/C can take a rest, and sleeping with the windows open is a more-often-than-not proposition.
It’s still most definitely summer, but the laziness and the laissez-faire of those heady July days is now well in the past. A “new year” looms: back-to-school, back-to-work, back-to-reality.
Time to get serious. Time to eat as many meals outside before Mother Nature makes dining al fresco decidedly unpleasant.
I didn’t shoot much in August… got too busy with work, the Big C kept me closer to home than I liked and sapped some (most? all?) of my mojo. But I did shoot some. To paraphrase the great Jonas Rask, this is random at best.
Continue reading “Whither August”It was sunny in Philadelphia
In May 2017, I spent a few days in Philly on business. (Remember travel?) I had the good fortune to have a long distance to walk between my hotel and my customer’s offices every morning and eventing during this glorious spring week.
There’s a reason why I always travel with my “real” camera.
The Norm
And then it was over
The nasty heatwave, that is. It rained last night, and there’s more to come later today. Phew!
One thing I like about early morning rain is what it leaves behind in the garden: beautiful water drops everywhere.
Continue reading “And then it was over”Curb your enthusiasm
My wife decided to grow yellow zucchinis in the backyard garden this year.
This is the first (and so far only) mature one. I think it’s happy to see us.
Now we’re just waiting for a few more to grow and ripen so we can make some of Nigella Lawson’s wonderful happiness soup.
Backyard jungle
Living on a small property in the suburbs, it’s really quite difficult to call any vegetation growing back there jungle-like. However, photography is remarkable in its ability to simultaneously reflect and twist reality, just by tweaking framing, angles and focal length.
And tweaking colours takes things to another level altogether.
It’s not easy being green
Lately, everything has been coming up green. It’s incredible to see how in the space of a month, everything just exploded with chlorophyll…
Random acts of ornamenting
Just this past Sunday I went for a little walk in the woods near my house. To get some fresh air. To clear my head. To take a few pictures. To escape the ever-intensifying drumbeat of Christmas, Trump, Brexit and all the other calamities befalling us these days.
I didn’t know what kind of pictures I would take. It was a typical overcast, dreary Ottawa winter (well, late fall for the pedantic) day. The light was, for the lack of a better word, shitty. Flat. Lifeless. Not exactly inspirational.
Then I saw the balls.
Whimsical, lonely little Xmas ornaments on random trees here and there. They put a smile on my face.
They brightened up an otherwise dull day.
I’m sure there are more out there, so I’ll have to go back.
All images shot with Fujifilm X-T2, XF16MM F1.4 and processed in Capture One.
The Peanut in Acros
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We have this great peanut-shaped lamp in our living room; a study in minimalism, it has clean lines and gives off a nice, diffuse glow.
I’ve always wanted to shoot it, but there are only so many ways it can be shot with visual interest. Then it hit me: what about a double exposure?
These are all in-camera Acros double exposures on my X-T2, straight out of camera.
(Click on an image to see it in a lightbox)
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Câline de blues
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A blue sky is something to be celebrated at this time of year. It’s all too rare.
They say you get the blues when you’re down; I find blue in the right places uplifting. Liberating. Light.
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After the cold
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Winter has arrived early and aggressively this year in Ottawa. There’s been snow on the ground since just after Remembrance Day and it hasn’t let up, with record-cold temperatures for the past 10 days.
The cold has finally let up, and fog came in its wake.
This is gonna be a long one.
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Can you hear me now?
A little stroll down Duluth St.
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Duluth Street runs from the foot of Mount Royal park all the way to Parc Lafontaine. A narrow street, it’s dotted with boutiques, restaurants, bars and cafés intermingled with the apartments and old walk-ups. It’s a quintessential part of the “Plateau” that just shimmers in the low autumn sun.
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The Painted City
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The Plateau Mont-Royal arrondissement (district) has transformed radically over the years. Traditionally a haven for bohemians and artists, the Plateau has been gentrifying for what seems like forever now, but it hasn’t lost its unique flare.
One thing that stands out is the sheer quantity of murals everywhere. On the sides of commercial buildings, residential buildings, new buildings, old buildings, there’s barely a square meter of blank wall to be found.
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