Photo 101 Field Trip (Herring Cove)

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This field trip was focused on landscape photograph, with a secondary theme of working with neutral density filters. Early in the field trip I made a demo image of a 30 second exposure of water breaking over some rocks.

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As the field trip proceeded, we moved higher up on the rocky landscape, and made some images of the high-rock pools that line the path.

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My last image of the field trip was an infrared photograph, created using a 1000x ND filter to smooth out the water and blur the clouds some.

Áilleacht Nádúrtha Exhibition Installation (ViewPoint Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia)

The front wall of ViewPoint Gallery

The installation of Áilleacht Nádúrtha represents my most recent implementation of my frame-less exhibition approach; each image was mounted on expanded PVC, and then floated 1/2" off the gallery wall.

The left side and back wall

With 24 prints in sizes ranging from 16"x24" to 24"x54", the frame-less method permitted me to show more larger prints than would have been possible if they had been traditionally framed.

The back wall and right wall

Another advantage of this display method is that there was nothing between the viewer and the images - no glass, no mat!

The reverse view of the gallery, with the left wall and front wall.

Spring Continues...

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Spring in the Public Gardens (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

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I have always loved shallow depth of field - in portraits, in Nudes, and in landscapes...but it is not all that common to make an image that really works will with a larger subject...in this case, the spring buds on the tree were just the thing to focus on!

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Easily the most traditional shallow depth of field subject would be macro images - in this case, spring flowers covered in rain-drops, set against a soft, diffused background. A large aperture, combined with a long (150mm) lens makes this kind of image quite easy to realize!

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The last image continues to embrace the shallow depth of field motif - this time focusing on a magnolia blossom set against the large pond at the Public Gardens.

Photo 101 Field Trip (Frog Pong)

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A Pregnancy Session with Lavender (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

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I first worked with Lavender in 2007, and we have worked together numerous times since then, so when she let me know she was pregnant, and expecting in the spring, I enthusiastically offered to document the pregnancy as she wished. While this ended up being a single session, it was still great to have the chance to continue working with her, and help to document such a magical time in her life.

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We worked in what would shortly become her child's nursery, taking advantage of the room's newly painted walls, and lovely natural light. After an opening series of images of Lavender posing on the bed, I moved it out of the way, and worked with the window light and large empty wall beside it. I really loved how the window cast a soft shadow on the wall, and focused the composition around this.

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The last set of images I made were focused on Lavender's belly, and her hands. This has always been something I have enjoyed photographing, and in this setting, with such wonderful side light, it worked out perfect.

Photo 101 Field Trip (Downtown Halifax)

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The primary focus of this field trip was working with urban scenes and architecture, and as such, I spent the entire session working with my ultra-wide lens, photographing the buildings in downtown Halifax. I particularly like this first image, with the monument to fallen peace officers being dwarfed by the bank buildings across the street.

Digital original, 2 image stitch

I am not a fan of most modern/new architecture - and the new Halifax Convention Centre is no exception to this; I have watched it being built over the past two years, and have no affection or appreciation for its form. That being said, with the right sky, and some dramatic shifting on my 17mm TS-E lens, I was able to make an image which at least makes the most of what I am not impressed it...the title of this image is "Stabbing the Sky".

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The final image here is one of my more successful images of the new Halifax City Library; I have made many images of the entire structure, but on this afternoon, I caught a glimpse across Spring Garden road of the building behind a tree, and was drawn to the graphic quality of the sight.

A Photo 101 Field Trip (Point Pleasant Park, Halifax)

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I feel that photography is all about balance, and worked hard with the above composition of the container pier to get the balance right - a large, empty sky balancing a small point on interest in the foreground, with two people walking on the shore.

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At the very end of the field trip, as I was walking back to the car, I noticed some rust, and made a final composition.

Winter, Water & Ice Field Trip #3 (Papermill Lake River, Bedford, Nova Scotia)

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This was the first Winter, Water & Ice field trip to really present the full experience. Snow covered ground, lovely ice formations, and swiftly moving water. My first image (above) was of a really unusual ice formation on the bottom of a fallen tree - just lovely to work with.

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I could have worked along this stream for hours, with little gems like the above presenting themselves every couple of feet.

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In the end, this field trip was fabulous - the blend of the running water with crystalline ice and powder-white snow made for such a beautiful morning of photography (and lovely images).

Winter, Water & Ice Field Trip #2 (The Dingle, Halifax, Nova Scotia)

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This field trip started working along the edge of the small stream that runs through the Dingle down to the North West Arm. All along the river were small patches of ice, perfect for photographing with a macro lens.

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As we got closer to the small falls at the bottom of the stream, where were more occurrences of ice and running water in the same space - the real focus of the Winter, Water & Ice field trip series.

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My favorite image of the field trip was a classic - the bottom of the small waterfall. A small ball of ice had formed on the rock at the bottom, and the fall swept around on both sides - perfect.