Embracing the Snow

we are not deeply embedded in Winter. It limits the colour but I've noticed I am not focusing more on the play of light and dark elements like:


and


or just light:


and then there's my favourite photo of this year (okay it's early so I hope I haven't peaked yet)

History

Of course it's no secret that I enjoy photography.Why? Who knows. And does it matter? I try to not delve too deep into those sorts of questions because I am not sure that the answer I come up with is 'real'. However, one thing that fascinates me is that a photo captures a moment in time and a good photo conveys a story, emotion, mood as well. I find myself drawn to certain subjects and one of those are old graveyards and houses. To me they tell a story. I won't ever know the full story and that's okay, I don't need to. Sometimes it's enough to know that there is a story. Like this abandoned house:

It's just outside of where I live, it has a water view. As you can it was once beautiful. Why is left to rot in the elements? who lived there before? Are there still ghosts? I think so.


In Riverport there's an old graveyard. It's easy to miss (I have dozens of times) but on Sunday I saw a sign that said "Pioneer Graveyard". I pulled over and my friend and I wandered down a trail and found this:

Riverport is a small fishing community about 15 minutes from Lunenburg. It's been there since 1754. I would love to know the stories of these people. Some day maybe. For now I can look at their markers and appreciate that they lived

2010 My photography year in review

I was inspired to do this by another blog. The photographer selected her favourite photos of the year. It was difficult to do this- not because I believe that I am so brilliant, but because I took so many damn photos this year. I finally narrowed it down to the ones in this post. some may not agree that a) these are any good at all, or b) that they are my best photos. But I chose them because they represented something to me -something that went a little deeper then snapping the shutter. So here they are:
1.
I took this within a week of getting my new camera- a Nikon D5000. It is my first SLR and this photo represents all the capability of having such a camera. I love the moment of the wave breaking, the exposure of the snow and the setting is just damn beautiful.

2.
I took this in the Kananaskis Valley of Alberta. to me it represents a fundamental shift in my skills in composition and the details of taking the shot- shutter, aperture, exposure etc. All of the features fell into place for me with this shot- it's a 3 exposure HDR but very natural looking. I love the clarity of the water and the detail in the mountains. The sky was nice too. My only nit is the white bit on the bottom right. A photography friend who I admire very much told me that this shot was a big jump in my skills and that everything that came out of my camera seemed better after that. :)

#3.
this is the Farley Mowat- a ship docked in Lunenburg. Not the best shot but I had just had a friend show me how to use Masking and this photo helped me with that. For me this represents a big shift in my post processing skills. Plus it's fun to play with artistic manipulation of photos.

4.
this is Rachel. She competes at many of the same shows I do. I have shied away from photos of people because they are tricky. This is a catch shot (otherwise I wouldn't have my truck in the background) but I love the expression I caught here. Plus her eyes are sharp- this shot gave me more confidence to take photos of people. :)

5.
this is a sunflower in my friends garden. I took many shots of this but for this one I had the Depth of Field exactly right for what I wanted. The flower is in focus while the rest is blurred. I loved how it looked like it was floating. Plus the colour of the flower is riveting.

6.
this shows how simple images can be powerful. There are just two elements in this shot- water and a beer bottle. However, to me it tells a story.

7.
I love the forest and all the various items that grow in it. However, taking pictures of it has been a frustration. I don't have a macro lens so these shots are tricky. I finally took this one and was happy with it. For once the elements were in focus (I typically missed it). I have had the feedback that the twigs should come out and I guess they are right. But for me, it was exactly as I saw it and I thought that the twigs were part of the whole circle of life thing. I loved how the toadstools are nestled in the moss. And the spider was just a bonus.

8.
My son graduated this year. I, of course, subjected him to many photos. Not that he objected too much. I liked this one with the dogs because the light and exposure seem good to me. Plus we're all at the same level.

9.
this was taken on an outing with my photo club. After lunch, my friend Sara and I went back to grab this boat. I am so glad that I did. I loved the colours I caught here and the feelings of being 'retired'.

10.
This is my favourite photo of 2010. It's pretty much straight out of the camera and it was one that I knew as soon as I took it that it would be pretty special. It's a Dahlia from the Public Gardens. I love the detail in the petals and the warmth of the flower contrasting with the coolness of the bokeh in the background.