San Josef Bay Teaser

I travelled with my family in our own backyard so to speak. We took three weeks to get to know Vancouver Island and I'm now taking the time to blog about this wonderful Island we have the privilege to live on. I'm working on a blog post covering Port Hardy and San Josef Bay in Cape Scott Provincial Park but in the meantime, here's a sneak peak of one of the prettiest beaches on Vancouver Island!

A Lazy Saturday Afternoon

Camera, Flash, Extension Tubes, Orchid, Plastic Water Bottle . . . . What do these things have in common, you ask? Well the camera, flash and extension tubes are easy to explain but the rest? Well, it was the result of a little time spent experimenting on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

My dear husband brought home an orchid the other day and I immediately starting thinking of the photographic opportunities. Orchids are interesting to look at and I was inspired to spend some time shooting the plant in different ways.

I also bought a flash a while ago and haven't used it much. I did read a great ebook called Understanding Flash Photography by Bryan Petersen. Some of it went over my head. You see, I learn by doing. So it was time to experiment to see what the different settings actually did.

What are extension tubes you might ask? Well some say it is the poor mans macro lens. But, I like their flexibility because you can throw them onto pretty much any lens and turn it into a macro lens. How do they work? They're essentially hollow tubes that attach to your camera between the mount and the lens causing the lens to move further away from the sensor. The extra distance between your sensor and lens allows your lens to focus closer. There are no optics in these tubes, so you are basically paying for a hollow tube or air. I have the Kenko Extension Tubes for e-mount which allow for auto-focus and normal control of aperture and shutter-speed. While they do have auto focus, I think macro work lends itself better to manual focus and the depth of field is pretty narrow. Also, my Sony NEX-7 has focus peaking which aids manual focus so it is a really slick set up!

Extension tubes look like this:





Here's a look at what I shot:



It looks like an Alien to me.





So where does the plastic water bottle enter into this afternoon of experimentation? Well I was curious what would happen if I shot the flash off through the coloured water bottle and so this is what I got.



It looks like a blue glittery cave.

Then I shot through a red water bottle and made some pleasing abstracts.

It felt good to get the creative juices flowing in this way . . . until next time!

Obsession

I really can't describe it any other way. Since I spied this tree at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary, I have been obsessed with it. I especially like the way it looks this time of year, and I finally made time to go shoot it on a foggy afternoon with my favourite photographer, my daughter. Someone has hung a bicycle in the tree from cables, complete with fake flowers in the spokes.  My daughter and I imagined who had done that and why. Was it part of a movie, a photo shoot? How would a model get on the bicycle. A long ladder or a climb up the gnarly oak tree? We were visited by neighbourhood black cat, who took a liking to my tripod of all things. Skit scat cat, as I was not looking to move my tripod nor have it come down in the muddy bog. We enjoyed seeing the Canada geese move through the tall grass with little more than their heads poking up above the grass. My daughter was equipped with a 35mm lens rather than a zoom, and it became a stealthy game to try to get closer to the geese for a shot. I am thrilled my daughter shares my passion for photography, but not surprised, for she is very creative and has a good eye. I'm enjoying sharing my knowledge, and all and all an enjoyable afternoon for both!

Summer Wanderings

Last summer we set off on a three week family adventure covering over 4500 kilometres! With two kids stuck in the back seat some might envision a Griswald Family Adventure and at times it felt like it. The opportunity to wander through Olympic National Park in Washington State, drive down the Oregon Coast, swing by the California Redwoods, and then be blown away with the vastness of Crater Lake was too much to pass up! So we ventured off our our annual summer travels with lots of snacks, our GPS, and a few movies to avoid 3 year old meltdowns!

 I had opportunity to write about our crazy adventure for Wanderer Magazine. The editor happens to be a friend I went to high school with, Tracey Heppner. She's a really cool girl, and amazingly awesome photographer too! Check out the magazine here:

 

 Pop by Wander Magazines FB page and give it some love!

 A few of my favourite photos from the trip:

 

I'm in the planning stages of this years adventure, through the Canadian Rockies!!! Stay tuned for more details.

Dreaming of Cozumel

Last year at this time we were warming ourselves in beautiful Cozumel, Mexico. I don't often have the opportunity to shoot night after night of sunsets but it worked out that we could easily watch the sun go down while we were here and then enjoy dinner together as a family. I marvelled at the diversity of each sunset. Each one is completely unique. The two I am sharing were shot one night apart. I felt fortunate to see each, and while we cannot bet there this year, I am happy to have these memories! Prints, cards and canvas available at: http://goo.gl/PA14WN