Catching up ... Again

Once again, my list of photos to finish editing has gotten longer than I would like. I have a few recent additions to the list such as the trip to the cottage (and the photo assignment therein) as well as the day at Hogs Back with Dave and his fmily as well as a few older ones that I have yet to get around to like the rest of the Thanksgiving photos (yes that is right, I still have photos to deal with from an event that took place in October). I also have most of the 100 Possibilities project completed but unedited and the project isn’t complete until they are posted online.

The main reason for this is my clients always come first. I have had a few photoshoots and have had to put my personal photo-editing aside for these. Don’t get me wrong, the shoots have been fun and editing them is far from a chore, but it still results in a great deal of friends and family asking for photos that I cannot show. I am hoping to get caught up the next couple of weeks though as there are several events (trip to Toronto, family reunion, trip to Quebec City, etc) coming up in July and August that are going to result in a copious amount of photos needing editing.

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Chris’ Tattoo

Chris got her tattoo last Wednesday (May 26) as a birthday present from Jerrica and Erin. She asked me to do some shots of her with it and I was of course more than happy to do so. I think it looks fantastic and the shots came out really nicely too. I have a few more shots to process but I think these were two of the best from the session.

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Pretty in Pink - Reprisal

A reprisal of Pretty in Pink. I put it through Photoshop and treated it using the art history brush – similar to what I did to the image I used as a header for the Great Abyss.

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100 Possibilities: Fuzzy Pooh

In which Pooh gets a closer look at the fuzzy branches.

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Tribute to the Birthday Girl

Today is her 26th birthday and I am giving her top spot on two blogs though she deserves so much more. A true friend who stands by you through thick and thin, who encourages you to do your very best and reach your highest goals. She has been helping me to become a better person since I first met her in 2003 and I am incredibly thankful for everything she has given and done for me. I feel very fortunate to have her in my life and to be able to call her my best friend.

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Checking the Score

 

The above are my grades in the Algonquin courses so far. SC stands for successfully completed and is used for workshops (not courses). I am pretty happy with my grades so far and think they prove my passion and determination for this field. Just a few more and I will have my certificate.

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100 Possibilities: Familiar Pooh

In which Pooh finds a familiar tree.

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Mallard Portrait: Reprisal

 

A little while back this female duck posed for me at Vincent Massey Park. I have since taken it in to Photoshop and treated it with the Art History Brush.

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100 Possibilities: Hogs Back Pooh

 

 

In which Pooh watches the water flow at Hogs Back Park.

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PHO5552 Recap

I started taking the Photoshop: Beyond the Basics course at Algonquin in January and actually finished it in April. As i expected the course was not as great as it could have been. Don’t get me wrong, I learnt things and have been able to put them to use in my photography, but I was rarely wowed by anything and the things I did learn were few and far between. I missed a couple courses due to my vacation to Florida and a really bad cold that hit somewhere in the middle, and was never behind in anything. It would only take about 5 minutes for me to catch up upon my return. The instructor was the same guy as the previous course and anyone who has heard me talk about him knows that he is not my preferred teacher. He just doesn’t go about things the same way as I do and I do not enjoy his style as much as the other instructors in the night-time program. That being said, some of the other students absolutely love him so obviously he isn’t an outright bad instructor. Plus, as difficult as he seems during the course, he is apparently a pretty reasonable guy when it comes to the end of the course.
The first assignment we had was to take two images and insert the background of one (photo taken at Versailles) into the foreground of the other (the alps photo). There were a few stipulations, like removing the figure of Neptune and the village in front of the mountains.
                       
When all was said and done, the below composite photo got me a B+, which I wasn’t very happy with. I realize I had missed some of the smaller details like the reflection of the mountains in the water, but other than that is was technically accurate and had all the other features he wanted (like channels, layers, etc). I also used Curves, Levels and other adjustments layers to alter the colour and saturationI figured the next assignment would be better marked. You see in the first Photoshop course I took with this instructor, he marked very unreasonably in the first assignment and then was better in the next ones. However, there turned out to be only one assignment in this course which upset me a great deal.
We had a theory test on which I was the only student to get perfect and then later a practical test on which I got an A-. Somehow I got an A in the course – I don’t understand it, but I am not going to complain because I think I deserved it.

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100 Possibilities: Hogs Back Pooh

 

In which Pooh watches the water flow at Hogs Back Park.

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Pretty in Pink

Wonderfully pink tulips at Commissioners Park.

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100 Possibilities: 1-25 Pooh

 

In which Pooh celebrates hitting the quarter-way mark in his goal to 100 shots.

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In the Distance

 

I think this is one of my favourite compositions for Tulip Festival photos. It also happens to be one of my favourite colours/styles of tulips.

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100 Possibilities: I-Beam Pooh

In which Pooh gets stuck to some structural elements.

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The Dividing Line

For the most part, the arrangements at the Tulip Festival locations change from year to year. The arrangement above placed two colours of tulips directly beside each other enabling shots with dividing lines like this one. Unfortunately the sparse growth of the tulips makes it a little less dramatic, but you get the point.

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100 Possibilities: Swinging Pooh

In which Pooh tries out the swings. 

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Neapolitan Tulips

 

Some of the better looking tulips at Dow’s lake remind me of Neapolitan ice cream.

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100 Possibilities: Slide Pooh

 

In which Pooh goes down the slide.

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Booking Up

I have started doing portrait shoots with with various clients and am really enjoying it. The bookings are really starting to come in now and when you combine them with my planned vacations and friend/family gatherings, etc my weekends are already looking pretty full – which is awesome. So if you are looking for some photos for portraits or any of my other specialities, let me know as soon as possible, so I can ensure you get what you want and need.

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Not a Tulip

This purple-blue flower was amongst the tulips at Dow’s Lake (Commissioner’s Park). I took it during my first trip to that Tulip Festival location, which turned out to be a good visit as the Tulips are already a little sad looking (likely due to their early bloom).

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Evil Kitties

 

 

 

 

           

Nibbles and Gizmo (aka Evil Kitty #1 and Evil Kitty #2)

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100 Possibilities: Friendly Easter Pooh

 

 

In which Pooh celebrates Easter with a friend. 
Just realized the other day that I haven’t been posting these on my blog like I thought I had. I am up to #35 or so on Flickr but far behind that here…

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Photography Rights

Recently I went hunting for information pertaining to photograph rights and I learnt some interesting stuff I thought I would share with you.
It is pretty much all about compensation (e.g. money). The photographer keeps all the rights to a photograph (or session of photographs) unless compensation is provided by the client. If you are hired to do portraits for someone, or to shoot their wedding, you keep the rights up until the point that compensation changes hands. If this never happens, then the rights never change hands either. In learning this, I have realized that I own all my photographs and their rights completely. It may not mean anything for me just yet, but it is handy information to know anyway. If someone ever wanted to use one of the photos I have taken of them for personal use, I know that they would have to get my permission to do so.
I have drafted up a model release form so that if compensation ever does come my way, I can continue using the photographs for personal advertising and other such things. I think I may draft one up stating the reverse, that the subject can use my photographs for their personal portfolios as well (also of course, stating any limitations I feel are necessary such as alterations of the original images by someone other than myself, etc).
I also read up about public photography but it is much more complicated and as it wasn’t the focus of my research, I don’t feel I could paraphrase it here just yet.

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Daffodils in Spring

Daffodils in Spring

Hogs back park is one of my favourite places to shoot. In the spring they have tons of daffodils near the entrance which I really enjoy.

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