Random Reflections...

I have always been fascinated by images that are reflected in water.  Over the years I have shot lots of them.  I have used grad filters to make some so evenly exposed you could not determine which way was really up.  Other times, I have used the reflections just for drama and allowed them to stay darker than the top of the photograph.  I can't say anymore than they are fun to do and sometimes make for a compelling image.

Some of them mess with your perception and some of them don't.  But one thing is sure... They sure can be beautiful.  Combine their natural beauty with fall when colours are in some foliage and the wow factor can go through the roof.

Here are a couple of images I made last weekend in Moose Mountain Provincial Park.  We may not have much in the way of red fall foliage here in Saskatchewan, but yellows and oranges are out there.  One of these images is an abstract reflection.  It is quite outside of my comfort zone in photography, but I thought I would try and grow a little.  I like it and a few friends have told me they like it.  So hopefully it is something that can make people smile. 

Both of these images were made with the new D800 body and a long lens with a Singh Ray polarizer.  I love the colours!!  It's a shame the limited colour space of a WEB based image can't show the amazing shades in these images.  I printed a canvas of the abstract and the colours blew me away.  I hope it gets some attention in my next show.

Adding a D800 to the bag

Well after an awful long wait, I have finally been able to add a Nikon D800 to my camera bag.  A 36MP body will be much appreciated while shooting the things I love.  It will by no means become the main camera for me, but it gives me the ability to capture awesome amounts of detail in images that will benefit from it.  My 12MP D3 will still be my tool of choice for the bulk of my work, but having options to shoot more or less MP will be wonderful.

 

I wish I had more time to practice with the new camera, but my show schedule and running the gallery are giving me little time this summer.  I'll post a few shots below just for fun though.  They are really just grab shots as I wander around the countryside looking for anything to practice on with the new body.  I'm a firm believer that shooting is also a skill you must practice.  You don't want your technique to become rusty so practice is a must.  A new camera makes it even more important.

 

In a few weeks I will be shooting fall colours in Great Smokey Mountain National Park and the practice I get now will let me capture the sort of images that Extraordinary Light is known for.  Colourful, crisp, eye popping images will be coming from this new tool soon.  For now, enjoy the practice shots.  It's still wonderful to just get out and shoot.

I'm impressed with the Dynamic Range of the D800.  The specular highlights on the tin of this home made grain shuttle cart and the darker grass areas all have detail and it was a simple snap with no worries about blowing out the high lights.

This old home near Tuxford, SK is still hanging in there.  I tried to shoot it about 4 years ago, but the time of day was bad and I had harsh light.  I was in the neighborhood recently and made an acceptable image.  There is lots of detail in this image at full size.

 

The shot of this old truck has so much detail it's crazy when you see the full resolution file.  Everything from the grasses to the tiniest specks of rust are crisp as can be.

 

I'm looking forward to putting the D800 to the test with the millions of leaves in some fall colour shots.  Stay tuned for those pictures in late October.

 

 

And then you just have to have some fun...

Well I am by no means a storm chaser, but we had some ugly weather on the prairies again and so I thought maybe it could be fun to skirt around a storm and see if it presented any opportunities.

So with Heather and a couple of friends in tow, off we went to chase down a storm.  But we were a little late on the scene.  The storm was passing us by and we were going to get nothing.  But at least it was a fun time.  Just before we headed home, I photographed one of my friends through the window of the van.

If only he had turned around...  Make sure you click on the picture to see the whole thing.

Storms Across Saskatchewan

June 26th 2012, will be remembered as a day of violent storms across Saskatchewan.  The weather had been growing hot and humid for two days.  Storm chasers from the U.S. and Canada were converging here for what seemed like it would be a definite event.  They were not disaspointed.  Storms began springing up on the 25th and the predictions were that the 26th would be the big show. 

We knew our area was going to be hit by a nasty storm by late in the day.  The storm had spawned a tornado a few hours before it reached us near Regina but the cell had thinned out luckily.  It was a super heavy rainfall and heavy wind event that last about 15 minutes when it finally ran over us.

I'm not really a storm chaser so I left my camera at home when the storm was coming.  My wife and I drove into Regina to get a bite to eat and we watched the storm pass over.  Once it passed us, the most amazing mamatus clouds appeared all backlit by the sun.  Huge numbers of white puffy clouds!  I had never seen this many together in one place.  I was a little annoyed at myself for intentionally leaving my camera at home.  But we were headed east to go home and I could likely pick it up and get a shot or two.

So we hurried home and I grabbed a camera and we went out to find country road to shoot the trailing edge of the storm as it left the area.  This great little farm near Balgonie, SK appeared and the storm edge near it created a fabulous image.  I'm so pleased that I did get something out of the storm.

Enjoy...

Brent

On The Edge

All Aboard!!

I love trains...  Modern trains, old trains, it doesn't matter.  I just love to travel on them.  Sadly since I moved out to the prairies, there are no comuter trains, excursion trains or corridor trains like there were in Southern Ontario.  It's been years since I have been able to travel on them and I miss the experience.

I was fortunate in 1996 to spend three weeks traveling around Canada on VIA Rail's wonderful transcontinental train.  The memory of being lulled to sleep by the soft clicking of the train's wheels over the rails is still with me.  The whole experience was romantic compared to air travel.

I recently learned that there was a small excursion rail line in Winnipeg that was only a few hours drive away.  So off Heather and I went to try and photograph the oldest running steam locomotive in North America.  We spent most of the day outrunning the train, stopping our vehicle and jumping out to shoot it as it steamed past us.  What a fantastic way to spend the day shooting.

The train stopped for about 90 minutes where it was turned around.  During the short layover, the engineer invited folks into the cab of the engine.  I happy to accept the offer and was even able to photograph the open door to the firebox on the engine.  What a neat experience.  Here are a few shots I hope you enjoy.  Just click the pictures to see the full image.

Brent

 Evening Run

 Pulling Out

The Fire Box

Northern Lights

I have always been fascinated by the Aurora when it happens.  Yesterday several e-mails came my way indicating that last night would likely provide a terrific show in our area.  So I fired off an e-mail to some friends to see if any of them were up to chasing the show.  Only one of them had the time last night, but that was encouraging enough to head out and see what might happen.

I had been at the elevator in Stoney Beach, SK a few years ago and thought it might be just the right spot for doing Aurora shots that included of course, a prairie sentinel.  I had been itching to shoot here for several years now.  Happily the heavens did not disapoint!!  Here are a few shots of the show.  I hope you like them.

Brent



The beauty of the Southwest

I apologize for the length of time between updates to this BLOG.  Still having a regular full time job takes a toll on my time.  But now as I get close to retiring from that job, I will have time to keep my friends in the know about what I have been doing.

We recently came back from a trip to the American Southwest.  Although I know there are things right outside my door to photograph, I love returning to this area as often as I can.  The images from there do not sell well in Saskatchewan sadly, but the visit is good for my soul.  If the images only adorn my walls, that's ok.  I can only say that people are missing out on some stunning imagery.

We made our trip to partake of a hike in an area that is difficult to visit.  It is only difficult though because it is a protected area and the process for getting a permit is honestly a luck of the draw deal.  The permits are allocated by a lottery process and only 20 people per day are allowed into the area.  Known by its popular nickname "The Wave", this area is breath taking to behold.  We were truly blessed to have friends that got the permit and thoughtfully included our names on the application.  Many photographers have been to The Wave now, but it still needs to be on anyone's Photographic bucket list.  To stand where so few will ever go is uplifting to say the least.

It was all worth it though!  Have a look.