April Photography

and i'd drink alone

It is hard to believe that another month has flown by. It has been busy all around but the shooting has been great! Not only did I get out a number of times BUT I was shooting with my new camera; the Canon 5D Mark III.

Upgrading to a full-frame camera was something only a few years ago I would have felt was out of reach. But, as my photography had gained more attention the time arrived!

Although I do love technology and gadgets I wouldn’t say that I am one of those people who dives head first into everything technical about new products. If I can learn how to use the technology to create and the image I am artistically after, I am happy! With that said, this post will not become some personal review of the 5D Mark III, its specs, how well it performs under various conditions, etc. All I want to share is my excitement with this new camera and some of my favourite pictures taken this month!

flowers for you...everyday

Upon bringing the camera home I sat with it by my side reviewing the manual and features new to me from my previous Canon 50D. I had convinced myself that the first pictures had to be something special! I think my wife thought I was a) crazy for taking so long to take a picture and b) offended that I didn’t just turn it on and start taking pictures of her and/or the dog and cat. In the end it was the dog who received the first shots! They were not great pictures but it was the step I needed to fully take hold of the camera and run with it.

I’ve been posting pictures through Twitter and Facebook so I am trying not duplicate any in this post but if I do, it is because I am really enjoying these pictures. I do post through Twitter of Facebook more frequently than I post here so follow along and keep up to-date that way!

The Landing, Rumple Felt Co.

I was also luck enough to add to my gear on the weekend the Canon 100mm 2.8 L Macro lens. I have only 'played' with it a few times so far but I know it is going to be a lens I reach for quite often. 

Closed Tulip (macro)

With the summer quickly approaching I am looking forward to many more Urban Explorations, working on improving my landscape photography and just enjoying my time out shooting! I feel so lucky to call myself a photographer. It is an art form that I love and I am excited to see what it leads to next!


But for now a couple more pictures.
Brian.

sew with the web

we watch over you

Walking through passed worlds

and i'd watch the mail flag rise

I was lucky to have a week off this March. I visited and photographed a number of locations and as I sit here reflecting back I cannot help but be amazed that a life long interest in exploring places is still so strong.

I grew up on a forested property of 14 acres. There were no neighbors to been seen when I looked out the windows; just trees. Beyond the forest was a property we often referred to as ‘the junkyard’. It was always full of old cars and abandoned school buses. I remember many times sneaking around to explore them. This was before I had a camera but, interestingly enough, it was one of the first spots I went with a camera. It was a disposable we were given for an elementary school assignment. Passions can truly stick with us if we allow them too!

the boards were gone

I treated my week off like any other work day. The alarm went off at the regular time and I was out of the house and on the road like I would be during a normal work week. I was often lucky enough to arrive at my first intended location within that ‘magic hour’ of morning sun.

Exploring and photographing houses is a different experience for me when I compare it to the work I have and continue to do for Forlorn Factories. Although my intentions are the same: to capture, preserve and respect the spaces and memories, the feelings I experienced are often different. A factory can feel as 'haunting' as a home in terms of distant sounds or shadowed corners but, I find there is a different level of intimacy when in a home compared to an industrial space.

Roy Schmit Blue

It isn't because you don't feel the life and energy that once filled the walls of a factory, because you do. In part it might be about the size differences; every sound is closer when in a home. But more than that, for me at least, is the knowledge that these were places in which a lot of living happened in a very different way from the living that happened at work.

Roy Schmit Laundry

A room where monsters lived under the bed but the lullabies soothed or the kitchen table where nightly conversations were had or where the bottle was the only one speaking. There are countless possibilities to be captured and interpreted in all the spaces I visit. Regardless of the stories that play out in my head or in yours when viewing these images, I personally walk through each space with a sense of awe and respect.

I feel privileged to enter into someone else’s world for a short period of time. I leave hoping that if they had been there I was respectful and humbled by their generosity. That they felt I was walking away without judgment but with greater insight. Insights not only into who they were as individuals and as a family but into how I carry myself and interact with the world around me.

I am hoping that pictures from this week (and future outings) will find there way to exhibits in various forms. I have some submissions already out there and hopefully being reviewed!

Any print from this post can be purchased just send me an email. I am also looking to put together a small series. I am thinking a short, limited run of prints but I need to work out the details before I proceed!

Keeping checking back for updates or better yet follow along on Twitter & Facebook where I often post new pictures, share thoughts/updates, and let everyone know when new Blog posts are up!

Brian.  

#83

February so far...January re-cap

I can’t believe that we are already a couple of weeks into February. I have, again, neglected to update this blog as often as I would like. Between shooting, editing and establishing (or maintaining) contacts, there never seems to be enough time at the end of the day.

I have talked with other photographers who, like myself, have day-jobs and let me tell you, it really makes it hard, at times, to balance everything out. That being said though, I was able to get out quite a bit in January and so far February is looking good!


For this post I thought I would simply share a few of my favorite pictures from some of the various locations I visited. Less reading, more viewing! 

Wellesley Mill

Silver Thread Lofts

Old world charm - Madison Group

Laurel Springs - Timeless Materials

I am almost ready to launch a newly updated website as well so make sure to follow along here on Twitter and on Facebook!


Brian.

Yesterday's HDR Process - our place of seclusion

Taking advantage of our mild, snowless winter yesterday I visited the location of an abandoned house my friend and fellow photog Lori drives by each day. I shared with her a couple of the images via email, received positive feedback and decided to post one of them in an email conference we have at work for others who are interested in photography. Someone commented on the picture and asked me about the process so I emailed the group and decided that it would make a good blog post as well. So here it is!

The shoot:

Upon arriving at the location I knew that I was going to be taking multiple exposures and blend them into an HDR in post-processing. With the location and lighting I wanted to ensure that I captured a range of highlights, midtones and shadows. With the camera on the tripod I made sure all my camera settings were on manual (camera mode and lens). My 10-22mm lens does not have IS, but if it did it would have been set to off.

Although contrary to a lot of articles I’ve read on HDR and setting exposures, I often start with an over exposed image, work my way towards correct exposure and end with an under exposed image. The reason I personally do this, it makes it easy for me to count the stop changes. Would it be that hard to remember the proper exposure and take the other images? No, but it’s how I tend to do it!

For this image I combined 5 exposures. The camera settings and changes can be seen in the below image.

Post Processing:

I started by blending the five RAW files in PhotoMatix to create the HDR. Once blended, I used the PhotoMatix settings to adjust things such exposure, color temperature, saturation, shadows, etc. Generally I find it a good program to do a lot of those basic edits.

A personal preference on HDR: I do my best to keep the final image looking as realistic as possible. I think some of those, what reminds me of cartoon-like pictures, are amazing but I am not always a fan.

I've also found that for certain images I prefer the Photoshop photomerge option over PhotoMatix.

Why you ask?

I have found that with some of my pictures, mainly interior shots that include a window, that Photoshop is able to bring out the exterior seen through the window in a way that I haven't experienced as well with PhotoMatix. So, if you have the luxury of both programs, and some extra time, try both programs for the same group of pictures and see which one you prefer!

Ok, moving on. After I created my HDR, I saved it as a TIFF and moved over to Photoshop CS5. Here is how the original blend appeared.

Since the minor adjustments I was able to do in PhotoMatix were done I was able to move right on to trying to bring out some of the rich colors that were there but not fully captured. For this I went to the Nik Software plug-in. Again, personal opinion, but this is my favorite software package add-ons for Photoshop.

I created a new layer and using the Graduated User Defined ND filter I was able to select a shade of blue I felt best matched the sky I remembered from hours earlier. I reduced the opacity and blended it in a way that felt natural.

Using the exact same process above I picked an orange/yellow tone, rotated the filter to the overgrown grass and really brought out those tones. I purposely did not bring either filter as far down as the shed and to the middle ground generally.

Although I wanted there to be brightness and vibrance, I also wanted it to have a slight lonely feel or as Lori commented to me, a haunting feel.

Once the filters were applied I used a tonal contrast filter that allowed me to add a bit more vibrance and some structure to the grass. I merged all my layers together and 'our space of seclusion’ was complete!

Total approximate editing time - 7 min.

I hope you all find this helpful and interesting.

Feel free to ask questions, post feedback, comments, etc. The best way to learn besides shooting and challenging our-selves when out in the field is from each other.


And don't forget to follow along here and 'Like' my Facebook Page

Brian.

Welcome to 2012!

Happy New Years! 

Last night it occurred to me that I should have posted something that wrapped up my year in photography. A lot of really amazing things happened this year and my photography was given a lot of great exposure. Multiple shows, the Waterloo Region Museum, a contest win, etc. 

I am hopeful that 2012 will be just as exciting and successful. I have a few potential projects already brewing and as everyone starts settling into the year I will start knocking on doors, making phone calls, sending emails and doing all the things that have nothing to do with taking pictures. It is amazing how much time isn't spent behind the lens but I enjoy it, and as long as I can say that, I know I am on the right path.

In my last post from McCormick's in London, ON I said I would post some of my favorite pictures from that day and nothing to do with process. 

When I was editing the pictures and deciding on which ones I'd like to post I decided to pair images together. I quite like how they turned out side by side but if you have any thoughts on that let me know what you think!

All the best to everyone in 2012 and keep following allowing here, on Facebook, Twitter and on my website!

Brian

a december factory in London, ON - pictures and process

After a very busy October/November, things have slowed down quite a bit for me. As such, I have not had any new images to post. But, two weeks ago my wife Kayla was planning a visit with her close friend who lives in London. I decided to tag along. Not for the visit but to explore a factory; McCormick's. It was a biscuit and candy factory that opened its doors in 1914, traded hands a number of times and closed in 2008 owned by Beta Brands. 

I spent close to three hours exploring the space and could easily have spent another three. I know it is a space I will photography again.

For the post I decided to share some of the initial shooting set up and the editing process for one of the images. It was honestly one of the easiest editing processes and I feel the the end result was a great panoramic image. 

I've said this before (a number of times) and I will say it again in the future...use a tripod! In low light spaces such as factories, having the stability of a tripod is essential. My typical process on-location at a factory such as this is as follows: Camera on tripod, camera setting on manual, lens on manual with image stabilizer off and the automatic timer set for 2 seconds. Having the auto timer on helps prevent shake or vibration. Since I often have longer exposures there is an increased risk of a shake causing a blurred image. I also use the Live-view a lot! I like ability of zooming in to areas I want to ensure are in sharp focus and adjust my lens accordingly.

For panoramic images there are a number of ways to create them while on-location. I tend to have two main methods. The first is in the form of a handy little tripod adapter. The Panamatic from lens pen.com connects directly to your camera and to your tripod head. It also has a bubble level which is always useful! It clicks at various intervals to create a series of images that can than be stitched together. In terms of cost, you can't beat it! I have, however, noticed at times that depending on the camera body and lens attached, it doesn't always go smoothly. 

The other method I use, and did for the three images you see to the side, is to move my tripod manually. With Live-View on my Canon I am able to see the image I am about to take and can adjust to my next shot 'Live' leaving a certain amount of overlap between the images. 

Having everything on manual also ensures that exposure levels do not change. 

In terms of stitching the images together there are again a variety of methods. The two that I tend to draw on most often are PhotoStitch which is part of the Canon Utilities software package or Adobes Photomerge (File-automate-photomerge) My biggest complaint with Photostitch is that it does not work when a wide angle lens such as my Canon 10-22mm is used. 

What I like most about Photomerge is that it nicely  blends the images together in the event that exposures were slightly off.  The difficulty in any stitch though is the final crop. Often I find that matching elements means losing aspects of the original picture.

This brings me to the second main thing I do in post-processing. If you look at the two images below the first is the original stitch and the second the final product. In the first picture notice white area in the upper corners and top. Sure I could have cropped the whole image but, I felt that the beam provided a nice visual element. I did not want to lose it. In order to have it though meant I needed that entire upper section. 

Photoshop CS5 has a great feature known as content-aware and it was exactly what I needed in this instance. Content-aware allows you to select an area of the image and it fills in the spaces with what it believes should be there. It isn't always right though! What I've learned is to make small selections, especially in areas in which there are pipes or other detailed features. For this picture not only did it allow me to rebuild the upper half of the bean but it matched lines in piping, lighting and even cracks in the ceiling. Would anyone other than me have truly noticed if I had just cropped the image a bit more? Probably not. Am I happier with the results by not doing that? Absolutely!

As a final post-processing edit I increased the tonal structure throughout the image. It brought out the colours and textures that much more and really gave the space the feeling I remembered when there in person.

What are your thoughts on this edit? 


Over the next week or two I will also be posting some other images from this trip and talk more about being in the space. I had some interesting moments and brought home some wonderful images!


Let me end of by saying Happy Holidays to everyone regardless of what you do or do not celebrate! If you get time off enjoy if you already had it I hope it was good. 


I have a few locations I am hoping to get to in the next two weeks. If I do, I will be sure to share them here or on my Facebook page.

It has been a busy month...

It has been a very busy November in the world of photography for me. In the past two weeks I have had the Waterloo Region Museum grand opening, the public opening reception for Captured and last night three of my pieces were up for auction at 8 x 10: Expose Potential. 


8 x 10 was put on by Social Venture Partners Waterloo and those in attendance had the opportunity to hear eight speakers share inspiring stories for ten minutes each. Everyone also had the chance to participate in the silent auction that saw a great range of photography from local photographers. It was fun to see my 3 pieces on display and to see the bids increase over the course of the evening. Even better, all bids above the reserve will be donated. And a big thank you to Jacqui Murphy for her tireless efforts to promote art and artists in the Region.

This month I also submitted work to the second instalment of the Talent Next Door book. It is made possible by Craig Mussellman who does it all! You can see a preview here. Along with this will be a group show to be held on December 8th from 7-10 at Silicon W. located at 283 Duke St. W, Unit 308. I will be submitting my two pieces for this show next week! 


I also want to encourage everyone to consider entering this years 3rd annual Sustainable Waterloo Photo Contest. You can find the information here. They are a great organization and it is a wonderful way to get your work shown to a wide audience. I was talking with Mike Morrice, the ED yesterday evening and the contest was just announced this week.


All in all it has been a great month! Lots of openings, lots of exposure and lots of positive feedback on my work. Although I may not have any other confirmed exhibits yet, I am working hard to put some proposals together. 


And the three pictures in this post are the ones that were at 8 x 10 Expose Potential last night and sold at Auction!


Brian.