Transitions, Transformations and a Little Photography
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Freeman Patterson Photography Retreat - 3 Months On
It’s been just over 3 months since I was in New Brunswick at St Andrews by the Sea for a photography retreat hosted by Freeman Patterson. There are times when an event or book or movie is very impactful and for me this is one of them - I find myself thinking back to that time quite frequently and recalling some very significant moments.
The other participants also had a profound impact on me and I have stayed in touch with three of the five group members (a bit surprising that I have stayed in touch with so many) - several of us have even talked about meeting up for another photography event.
Everybody’s got a story
This song has always resonated with me because I feel that we (let’sy be honest - I) often make assumptions of people based upon first impressions.
I make judgements based upon the way people look or act or talk - I know it’s cliche, however the saying don’t judge a book by its cover still rings true today.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a strong introvertand people often interpret my demeanour as standoffish or cool, but it’s actually shyness mixed in with a preference of getting to know people slowly before diving in and interacting.
Seasonal Transitions
This transitional time is my favourite time of the year - while I love to watch the world wake up from the frosty cold of winter, I often find that changes happen too quickly in the springtime - the temperatures and precipitation can yo-yo and leave me feeling caught up in a whirlwind of changes. The summer has its warmth and lazy hazy days, however I find it almost too vibrant - too green. When the days start to shorten and the leftover heat of the day cools down, the air takes on a bit of crispness and the leaves on the trees start to take on their autumnal colours - this is my time of year - this is when I feel grateful to be able to spend time outside and soak up the lingering warmth of the season.
Photoshoots in Halifax
It’s always interesting and exciting to do a photography shoot in a new city or location as there is the unknown element of what you will find to shoot, what compositions, what the light will do etc. In the same respect there are also the downsides such as will you find anything interesting to shoot, will you find compositions, will the light be interesting and will you get to the location in time to find and take advantage of these elements.
It often takes multiple visits to a location before you have enough knowledge and understanding to really optimize these factors,
Evenings with my backyard visitors
I know that I’ve mentioned it before, however this move to the “country” has had a significant impact on the way that I’m spending my time. I hadn’t envisioned that I would be spending quite as much time as I do outside - I mean I thought I was outdoorsy before, but now a huge portion of my day is spent outside - and I keep looking for more reasons to head on out the door.
Wandering around with my weed digger doing my weekly rounds is a great way to survey the yard and see what has changed since my last check in.
Expanding Creativity - Inspiration
This is a question that I have wrestled with for some time. I can recall being very creative and artistic when I was growing up. My mother (a fine arts major and fine artist) fostered an environment of self expression and creativity when I was growing up. I learned to knit, crochet, embroider and other needlework crafts as well as creative writing, painting and a rather unfortunate phase of play dough sculpture (no one mentioned to me at 7 years old
I did a podcast
When I started out wanting to learn photography with my Nikon d5600 DSLR camera and 18-55mm kit lens purchased with points, I had no idea where it would all lead. I got that camera about 6.5 years ago now and it was a great camera to learn on. I initially hired my wedding photographer to spend an hour with me teaching me the exposure triangle and how to use the camera - it was a great starting point and got me going.
The Khutzeymateen experience through a smartphone camera
A recent trip to northern British Columbia (Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary Blog) was an amazing experience from a wildlife, nature and photography perspective. I took my full frame camera along with my 600mm 1.4TC lens and I was able to capture the bears and whales with incredible detail even when we were not able to get right up close and personal.
Kayaking Trip - how it went
I’m a planner - I think that anyone who knows me or has read a few editions of this blog will know that. I mean I have an app with photos of all my clothes which I use to make detailed packing lists for trips - as I said I’m a planner.
This trip - I was not a planner - in fact I was so out of sync with my usual approach that when asked where we were going a few days before our vacation - I struggled to articulate anything beyond Northern British Columbia and inland passage. Our friends actually pointed out to us where we were going. This is sooooo not like either Kory or me.
Follow up on photography retreat
Well I’ve been back from my photography retreat in New Brunswick for a few weeks now and I’ve finally gotten around to writing about how it went. Meeting up with someone you know primarily from an online space can sometimes be challenging, especially if either or both of you are presenting a “perfect” image of yourself, however I was pretty sure that Heather and I would get along well and not have that awkwardness associated with figuring out what is real and virtual about another person - we’re both rather down to earth and direct people which is refreshing to encounter.
Wildlife and birds in Iceland
It has taken me a while to finally get through all of my Iceland images, but I didn’t want to rush through them and there have been a few distractions since then (moving blog). It’s hard to believe that I went to Iceland back in April and that almost 3 months have passed since I returned.
I have been posting blogs about different aspects of my trip (Iceland macros, Iceland trip review, Iceland abstractions) and I have finally decided to write about the wildlife and birds that I saw and photographed. This is my passion and I couldn’t resist spending time capturing the rich diversity of wildlife that I don’t usually see in Canada.
Kayaking Trip Prep
Over a year ago we planned and booked a kayaking trip based out of Prince Rupert, British Columbia (OceanLight Adventures) and it’s coming up quickly.
It feels a bit chaotic to be going away again with all of the house renos going on, but sometimes you have to go with the flow and just know that it will all work out fine - at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
The trip is based from a boat where we sleep and eat, but there are kayaks and a zodiac for daytime excursions and amazing photography opportunities with wildlife, birds and marine life abounds.
Having a new inspiring space
In our old house I had a nice set up in the basement for my photography editing and gear storage. It wasn’t a typical basement as we’d put in oversized windows with the renovation in 2012, so it was very light and airy. There was a patch of hostas in front of the window as well as some ferns that made it lovely to spend time there in the summer months - plus it was always so very cool. Even on a rainy day the view was inspiring.
Abstract Photography in Iceland
One of my goals when I went to Iceland was to get out of my comfort zone and experiment with different types of creative photography. Even signing up for a primarily landscape based photography trip was a stretch for me as I do not consider myself proficient in landscape photography. I do however find that practicing this genre is beneficial for my bird photography as I become more conscious of composition and therefore create more interesting backgrounds in my bird images.
Photography Retreat Trip prep
This feels like a very full year and although some of it was planned there has been some unexpected aspects (like moving house) and before these unplanned events I had several trips in the calendar including a photography retreat to New Brunswick.
I have been part of a really supportive online photography community A Year With My Camera which I highly recommend for new and experienced photographers. One of the many things that I appreciate about being part of this community is the fellow photographers I have gotten to know
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Well I’ve been contemplating this post for a while now (read that to mean that this is a sticky topic for me and I’ve been avoiding committing my thoughts to paper or to screen - so to speak). It is amazing the way our brains work and I’ve been spending a lot of time recently reading and trying to learn more about neurobiology and how we’re wired to think and react to situations we encounter.
Got GAS?
In the photography world (and I’m sure other worlds) we talk about GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) which is when you convince yourself that you NEED some piece of equipment in order to advance your craft or to be a better photographer. It is so tempting when there are new features and models coming out almost daily it seems.
I am part of a couple of photography groups online and the number of times that people post questions about new gear
Iceland Trip in Review
This is my second trip to Iceland for landscape photography and while I expected it to be different than my visit in December, I was not prepared for how different. We took the southern ring road as the northern route is not suitable for tourist travel until the summer (i.e., rough roads that can be quite impassable during rough weather - especially without a 4x4 vehicle), so I was able to revisit some of the locations from my first trip.
An Exploration into More Creative Photography
When I first picked up a camera I was very intent upon learning about the exposure triangle and how to ensure that I got tack sharp images that froze motion. I was excited to venture away from shooting in Auto mode and I learned about aperture priority, shutter priority and even shooting in manual mode.
Strength Training and Photography?
I have always been active, however I wouldn’t describe myself as particularly fit. There hasn’t been a consistency or variety to the type of physical activity I do on a regular basis - I like walking, hiking, skiing, snow shoeing, bicycling, kayaking, and yoga, but I tend to be a casual or intermittent exerciser at best.