C.imagery

A New Year!

2012-01-02T14:53:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a great time over the recent holidays.

A breakwall for the ferries and boats headed into Nantucket, MA

Since I decided last year to change the type of things I post on the blog to show mainly my storytelling portraits, activity here was down (a lot) in 2011. I am still shooting, but a lot of what I shoot I don't blog any more. I hope that I can get out to meet and photograph some more interesting people in 2012, and share those experiences here!

Busker Kate Mior as windup doll Coppelia during the inaugural St. Catharines Buskerfest.

In this post are a few images I made in 2011. Though 3/4 of these photos didn't make it to the blog, I do post them on places like google plus, twitter, or the Cimagery facebook page, so drop by there occasionally to see me at one of those spots!

"The New Farmers" I had the opportunity of photographing during 2011

A fountain in Boston I came across on a vacation.

I hope that you have a fine 2012! See you around :)

Niagara People: The New Farmers - Ryan and Amanda at Creek Shore Farms

2011-06-22T21:43:00.001-04:00

In August of last year I posted about a gentleman who had an amazing garden in his backyard, and made the observation that this sort of thing is dying out, due to lack of interest from younger generations. Well, not completely...

Enter the new farmers – Ryan and Amanda operate Creek Shore Farms in Jordan, Ontario. Husband and wife, both are 20-somethings and really enjoy farming. Its second year in operation, Creek Shore Farms is well on its way. Currently, the farms main focus is sustainably grown vegetables, sold at local markets and through a CSA, or community supported agriculture, program. Any interested individuals can purchase a CSA share at the beginning of the growing season and then, every week over the course of 23 weeks from mid May to October, receive a box of freshly harvested vegetables. By purchasing a CSA share, you are becoming a member of the farm (without the hard work that goes along with farming!).

The CSA allows for you to experience what it means to eat locally and sustainably. The farm is pesticide free and all natural. Along with the vegetables, the farm raises chickens (who produce eggs), Newfoundland Sheep (for meat and wool), Muscovy ducks and White Embden geese. These different animals work together and provide their own help around the farm. The sheep produce manure to fertilize the vegetables, eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers; the Muscovy ducks eat the flies that would flourish in an environment with only sheep.

At one point during our shoot I asked Ryan to pick up a sheep. He happily obliged, grabbed a sheep, and said, now what? I told him to do whatever it is you do when you pick up a sheep. According to Ryan, you don't normally pick up sheep! Ugh, a city slicker visits the farm... :)

If you're interested in becoming part of the CSA or would just like to find out more about Creek Shore Farms, visit their home on the web at creekshorefarms.ca.

Help-Portrait: Epilogue

2010-12-20T21:19:00.001-05:00

The photos have been taken, they've been delivered.

Working in conjunction with Community Care of St. Catharines and with a generous donation from PenFinancial Credit Union, 52 families/154 people had their portraits made on December 4th. Each family was provided with an 8x10 of the family photo and a CD of the rest of their images, free of charge. One family I photographed had never had a family portrait done before; another gentleman noted that he had never had a picture taken with his wife.

Ideally, when someone comes to a Help-Portrait event they have hair and makeup completed (if they'd like), as well as receive their print on-site. Because of the small contingent of Help-Portrait Niagara volunteers (4 photographers) prints had to be delivered two weeks after the actual photo shoot date. This is all fine and good - but next year we'd like to make it bigger! If you would be interested in helping, shoot me an email! We'll be looking for hair stylists, makeup artists, digitechs (to offload images, edit and print) and anyone else who wants to participate, no matter your skill! Even if you just want to lend a helping hand any way you can, chat with the people in for portraits, etc. it's all good! If helping out directly isn't for you, cash donations are also a big help - this year our major expenditure was for the rental of equipment - not all participating photographers have studio equipment hanging around.

This year, with only 4 photographers, 154 people were provided with a portrait in time for the holidays, that they could share with their family and friends - a portrait that they otherwise may not have been able to have done. Just think how many could be sent home next year with smiles on their faces and portraits in their hands, with your help! Tell your family, tell your friends, tell everyone :)

Photo: Marty Mako

Help-Portrait: A Picture is Worth

2010-11-22T20:24:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to make a quick post about Help-Portrait, a world-wide event occurring (in most places) on December 4, 2010. Help-Portrait is about photographers giving back to the community that they live in, by following some simple steps:

- Find someone in need

- Take their picture

- Print their picture

- Deliver the picture to the subject.

I strongly encourage you to visit the Help-Portrait website and see if there is an event taking place in your community. Even if you aren't a photographer you can help - Hair stylists, makeup artists, and anyone else are welcomed to help out in any way that they can. Check out the video below to get a feel for what the event is about.

Interesting people: Roger Wood, the Mad Klockmaker

2010-10-31T20:24:00.006-04:00

Back in late October I had the pleasure of visiting Roger Wood at his shop to make a few portraits as part of my interesting people series. Stepping into Roger's workshop where the creations that he dreams up and sells under the banner Klockwerks are made is like falling through the rabbit hole into some whimsical second dimension. The workspace is hard to accurately describe, with finished pieces filling the front window, a whole wall of clock faces to be considered in future projects, antique light bulbs and fixtures, boxes and containers of springs and other things you would never imagine to be associated with a clock of any kind (externally at least) spread throughout. A tour of the area turns up new wonders essentially everywhere, and a few steps through a woodshop leads to a washroom decorated (and still in the process, Roger tells me) in a steam punk aesthetic. Stepping through the back office brings you to the ‘hall of the greats’ – a large display of art decorating the stairwell. Step out the back door, again you experience another transformation – this time from extremely bustling Hamilton, Ontario street to peaceful garden. Some of the whimsical elements still apply here as well – there’s an old typewriter sitting to the right – it’s clearly been hit hard by age and the elements, but it doesn’t look out of place.

Hit the jump to keep reading, and for more images.

Just over 11 years ago Roger was a teacher at a private college in Toronto, Ontario, teaching construction engineering technology, drafting and math. He was also interested in sculpture. A few clocks were created and given away to friends; everything took off from here. He left his job as a teacher and started making clocks full time.

While I’m setting up my lights Roger is taking some time to hang some miscellaneous clocks from his ceiling – some with hourly chimes, some with swinging pendulums – he’s just playing, he tells me – something that is important for an artist to do. I couldn’t agree more, as essentially that is what I'm doing as well. Eventually a line of clocks will form across the width of the ceiling, with pendulums swinging out of time.

Roger is physically based in Ontario – most of his creations are sold south of the border, however, in shops and art galleries. There is a large selection of pieces in the front window for passers-by to behold – the workshop doesn’t double as a retail store though. Besides, a lot of people in the area just don’t get it, he tells me.

As someone who has always had a sort of infatuation with clocks and watches myself, I can certainly get it. In fact, Roger's work inspired me to give a go at my own 'exploding' clock. It's done now, and functions, but it just doesn't have the same interest factor as Roger's clocks do. Probably best to leave it to the master.

When Roger gets bored of clocks he works with old lights - some of his larger pieces incorporate both lights and clocks. A 100+ year old Edison bulb (still working) is fitted into an antique light fixture on a shelf against the clock face wall and numerous other light fixtures can be found throughout the shop.

Roger's creations, always unique, almost always involving something that could be considered antique, could simply be described as an reinterpretation of time.

If you'd like to see some of Roger's completed clocks, his favourites and some of those currently for sale, you can do so at www.klockwerks.com. I highly recommend having a look.

Come visit me during the Pelham Art Tour!

2010-10-28T20:11:00.001-04:00

At the end of November (27th and 28th) I'll be taking part in the Pelham Art Tour - it would be great to meet you!

What is the Pelham Art Tour? Essentially it is a self-guided 'tour' wherein you stop by the houses of some local artists' who have opened up for the two days. You can visit as many or as few locations as you'd like. I'll be the guest artist at another photographer's house, Divino Mucciante, out in Fenwick.

If you'd like to check out the flyer for the tour to see who else is participating, as well as see the map of the locations, you can download a .pdf right here!

I'll have a few portraits from the interesting people project on display, as well as some other miscellaneous photos. It would be great to see you there!

What's new?

2010-10-24T20:05:00.002-04:00

It's been a long time since I've made a blog post - it's true. Just thought I'd give an update on what I've been up to.

First up, I spent a week driving across the Niagara Region taking photos of places and things that are associated with certain cities within the region, for a new website that a local company is creating. The images that are scattered throughout this post are a small part of the result.

Second, I'd like to announce here that I am going to be taking part in a local artists' studio tour as a guest artist at another photographer's house. The tour is a self guided one, meaning you grab a map and go to as many or as few stops as you'd like. It takes place on November 27th and 28th, from 10:00am to 5:00pm both days. I'll be showing some of my environmental portraiture/interesting people, as well as some other photography. It would be great if you'd stop by to say hello. The stop I will be at is located in Fenwick, Ontario. I'll make a separate post closer to the date with the address, etc.

Finally, I had a great time yesterday shooting another portrait for my interesting people series. If you follow me on twitter or check in on facebook you'll already have heard a bit about this shoot and saw at least one location photo. I'll have a separate post for this shoot as well, in the normal interesting people style - some portraits interspersed with a bit of a story about the person, as well as some lighting details at the end for those interested.

So, that's what I've been up to - sorry for the long silence. Keep checking in though, there is always more to come...

Call for interesting people

2010-08-22T21:09:00.001-04:00

I know there are lots of interesting people living in Niagara. I'm putting out a call to see if anyone can recommend an individual or individuals who may be interested in having their portrait taken and telling me a bit about themselves and whatever it is they do - gardening, wood working, instrument playing, dog walking, bike riding, contraption inventing, tasty food baking, animal raising, anything! Lots of peoples' hobbies may seem regular and run of the mill to themselves - but chances are, to many others, it's just plain interesting.

So again, if there is anyone out there who is interesting in having a portrait taken and sitting down with me a for a bit to tell me a story or otherwise ramble on, or you know someone who may be interested, please drop me a line, either by leaving a comment here, sending an email though the contact page at my website, dropping a tweet @cimagery, or commenting on the cimagery facebook page. My only condition is that this is a collaboration, so you'll need to want to have your portrait taken, and that you are aware your story and images will appear here on the blog!

A photo of what an interesting person may look like :)

Niagara People: Tony and his Garden

2010-08-07T14:07:00.002-04:00

I had the pleasure once again of shooting some images of another interesting individual. Tony has the grandest backyard garden I have ever seen, and likely will ever see. Essentially it takes up the whole back yard. Corn, 15 foot (jack and the) bean stalks, peppers, lettuce, figs, 3 varieties of tomatoes, apples, pears and more I am quite sure all grow like mad under his care.

Photographers like JoeyL go to far off places like Ethiopia to document ways of living that are very likely soon to disappear off the face of the earth (I certainly don't have any beef with this, huge fan of Joey's work). Often no one considers that even at home, in our backyards, certain ways of life will also likely succumb to the same societal changes. As the older generations get older they can’t handle the work of such a backyard farm, and often their kids don’t carry on the practice. Tony’s wife is slowing down and can no longer help out – freezing and canning what the garden produces, to last almost a year, as she has done in the past.

Tony is proud of his garden and the fact that it costs no money to run. I don’t blame him, it’s very impressive. Rain is collected in multiple containers to water the plants, seeds are kept from the current year to start next years plants, and what is preserved can essentially last until the next year, when the process starts over again.

As far as lighting here, just simple again – octabox with studio light as main light in both images. The first image has a speedlight camera left in the garden to illuminate the beanstalks along the left of the frame. No ~~extremely awesome~~ sketch to post this time, as I didn't know what the back yard looked like before I got there.

Niagara People: The Cellist

2010-07-17T22:05:00.006-04:00

Ah, the wonders of the Internet. I posted an ad on the classifieds site Kijiji that went something along the lines of “Looking for a musician who plays an instrument from the violin family for a photography collaboration, preferably cello”, and, if I remember correctly, three days later I was contacted by Gordon, a local cellist.

Hit the jump for more photos

Gordon and I agreed on a time and a couple weeks later we met at Merritt Island in downtown Welland.

Gordon is the principal cellist of the Niagara Symphony, to which he has belonged for almost 20 years. In addition to performing he is also a music educator, teaching cello and string techniques at the local university, as well as at music summer camps to young children.

While I would have gladly shot with anyone who played an instrument from the violin family, I was specifically hoping for a cello player mainly because I find the instrument itself striking, a marvel for being man-made. How someone figured out how to create such an instrument, starting with a tree in the forest, is far beyond me. It’s just amazing to me. Also, the cello itself, being a larger instrument as compared to a violin or viola, could become a main component of the image.

As seems to be the case with many serious musicians, their instruments are often older than they are and frequently constructed by a known master from a European location. A name that the general populace of non-musicians may recognize is Antonio Stradivari, an Italian luthier who is considered by many to be the most significant artisan in his field. His finest instruments were said to be constructed between 1698 and 1725.

Gordon’s cello was made in England and is around 200 years old. While pop culture may more quickly associate fine instruments with Italy, many fine instruments of the same standards as the Italian instruments were also made in England, says Gordon.

Real People: A Man and his Harmonica

2010-05-23T16:12:00.012-04:00

This is another instalment of the ‘real people’ series, if you can call it a series. Basically what I’m trying to do here is share some images and stories of interesting people, most often people who would never have a portrait taken in this regard, as they aren’t famous or public figures in any manner, etc. Just looking for everyday folks.(As always, click an image to see it larger)

With the above criteria in mind I asked Everett if I could take make some portraits of him and his harmonica. Everett is my next door neighbor – he moved into his house just shortly before we moved into ours. He also happens to be a rockin’ harmonica player, busting out the classics like no ones business (though the chances you'll hear him use the term ‘busting out’ are likely slim).

Hit the jump to keep reading about Everett and for some more photos.

I spent a decent amount of time with Everett and he played me a few songs and told me a bunch of stories about playing. Everett started playing harmonica when he was 4 years old, going on 5. That was in 1936. Now, Everett is 78, going on 79. When he started playing in school he was in a class of 30 people – all playing harmonica!

One of those stories was about how when he was somewhere down in Chicago, he would play harmonica, sometimes for 2 hours, so one man could practice tap dancing to the music that Everett was playing on his harp. That individual was Arthur Duncan; Arthur Duncan is a tap dancer known for his stint as a performer on the Lawrence Welk Show, and the first African-American regular on a variety television show. Everett told me that after being hired for the Lawrence Welk show Duncan sent him a letter thanking him, because without that harp music he wouldn’t have been able to practice his tap dancing as well; it was because of that practice he was hired for the show. Everett noted that Duncan’s shoes sounded really good.

Everett also told me about playing his harmonica with Myron Floren, who was best known as an accordionist on the Lawrence Welk show, down at a festival in the US. Everett definitely played his harmonica with a lot of interesting characters over the 74 years that he’s played. (He’s also a big fan of the Lawrence Welk show :))

Everett’s wife calls the large harmonica in the images here ‘the corn cob’. Perhaps fondly, you may think? Most likely not – Everett told me how when they moved to their new house, he found all of his harmonicas again – now that they are settled though they are slowly disappearing. He and his wife frequent garage sales, and Everett enjoys bringing a harmonica with him and playing at the sales while his wife looks around (much to her chagrin). The ‘corn cob’ is actually 6 or so harmonicas built together – all in different keys.

After we shot the images you see in this post, Everett wanted to show me his collection of records. Everett has a monster collection of Mrs. Mills records. I had to do a search myself – turns out Mrs. Mills is Gladys Mills, who shot to fame around the same time as The Beatles, and even shared space at Abbey Road Studios with them. Everett put Mrs. Mills record ‘Non-stop Honky Tonk’ on the player and kept telling stories about his life...

Clerical - New blog address

2010-05-20T18:09:00.001-04:00

Just a note that I've changed the address for the blog to cimagery.blogspot.com. If you have a bookmark or something, please update it :)

Shooting Beauty - Everyone Deserves a Shot

2010-05-16T14:34:00.000-04:00

If you follow me on twitter, you’ll realize that the majority of my tweets are linking to things that I find interesting, mostly photography related, and that I think are worth sharing. Very rarely (in fact, only once before this) do I feel something is so worth sharing that I create a blog post about it. There won't be any photos in this post, but if you're interested, please hit the jump to keep reading and watch a quick video.

This is one of those times though. I’d like to introduce you to a film I recently discovered called ‘Shooting Beauty’. Its tag line is ‘Everyone Deserves a Shot’. Here’s a quick synopsis straight from the site –

“Shooting Beauty tells the inspirational story of an aspiring fashion photographer named Courtney Bent whose career takes an unexpected turn when she discovers a hidden world of beauty at a center for people living with significant disabilities. Shot over the span of a decade, this film puts you in Courtney's shoes as she overcomes her own unspoken prejudices and begins inventing cameras accessible to her new friends. Courtney's efforts snowball into an award-winning photography program called "Picture This"—and become the backdrop for this eye-opening story about romance, loss and laughter that will change what you thought you knew about living with a disability—and without one.”

I won’t generalize and say everyone, but it certainly seems as though many people have unspoken prejudices towards those with disabilities. I don’t know why really. I will come out and say I know I certainly struggle with it at times. Given the chance though, these people can certainly accomplish awesome things – it shouldn’t be automatically assumed that they can’t. They key is giving them a chance.

This documentary looks to be incredibly inspirational – won’t say any more, but please check out the trailer below.

SHOOTING BEAUTY trailer from George Kachadorian on Vimeo.

If you're interested you can check out the website for the movie, follow them on twitter, or join the Shoot Beauty Facebook page; all the information is available at the website - everyonedeservesashot.com

Family photojournalism...

2010-04-18T16:13:00.005-04:00

…And the importance of taking photos of your family in general.

While not the type of stuff I’d normally like to show and discuss here, because of my real job eating up a lot of my time at this point of the year, I haven’t had much time to focus on new photography projects. What I have had time for, however, is carrying around the camera when visiting family.

I used to feel awkward and weird carrying a camera around at family gatherings. I mostly still do. I realized, however, that what is going on only happens but once, exactly as it just happened – that and no one is around forever.

Hit the jump to keep reading.

Your photos don’t have to be anything amazing. Case in point, look at the images I’ve included though out this post. They aren’t about to win me any awards. They will provide a great amplification of memories, however.

When I shoot family stuff I don’t want to think about what is going on with the camera too much – I just want to snag moments as they happen. I’m really not too good at this yet. No worries though. As far as settings go, I like to stick on aperture priority and I make use of auto ISO, to increase my keeper rate no matter the conditions. If none of that makes sense to you, check your manual or just do a Google search. I don’t want to get overly technical here. Or if you’d like, feel free to send me an email and I’ll try to help you out.

Perfection – it certainly isn’t needed to provide memories. Some of the images I’ve posted here are noisy – some aren’t even sharp. They likely mean nothing to you. But they mean a lot to me.

Something important – backups – in the digital age lots of people tend to not have their photos printed, as was pretty much required in the past to enjoy them. They often just hoard them on the computer. I’m one of those people; which is why backups are so important. If your drive goes down… you don’t want to lose all of those memories. Storage is cheap these days – whether that’s an external hard drive, DVDs, or even USB flash drives – you could fit a ton of JPEGs on those things. In addition to files on my computer, I have two backups onsite of all my images, as well as an offsite backup. I’ve heard some horror stories of people losing their images because of a drive failure, etc. You definitely don’t want it to happen to you.

As far as the images I’ve scattered though out this post, they aren’t really that ‘photojournalistic’. Some of them are quasi posed, with the subject(s) certainly aware of the camera. Doesn’t bother me, I’m just making memories. If you’d like to see some great family photojournalism and also get some tips on how to shoot it, however, Daniel Shaw and Chuck Anerino run a great blog called The Family Photojournalist. They definitely have some nice shots of their families and they also cover a lot of the technical how-to. Definitely worth a read and a visit now and again if you are interested in that sort of thing.

The images in this post are all of my grandma and grandpa. You may recognize my grandpa from such images as the original muscle men, shown below (say it in the Troy McClure voice – you know you want to). A few are from my grandpa’s recently celebrated 84th birthday. He is a WWII Navy Veteran and all around good guy. Slowing down a bit now, but it happens to the best. If you ever meet him you’re in for a pleasure – just don’t ask him to tell you his classic joke that involves a chicken – and his belly button.

As I mentioned before, you might notice that of the images I’ve posted, maybe only a couple of them might actually be considered ‘photojournalism’. It doesn’t matter how you do it – just remember to take some pictures of your family every once in a while.

Until next time – thanks for dropping by.

Links
The Family Photojournalist

Motion and Light, and the Weather

2010-03-07T19:52:00.002-05:00

I can’t remember who said it, or the exact quote, but it was something along the lines of “If you want more interesting photos, put yourself in front of more interest subjects”. Might have been Jay Maisel.

This is certainly very true. An aspect that goes along with this is the environment as a whole – put yourself in the situation to make a picture when you know the environment is going to be more interesting. Where I’m going with this is ‘watch the weather’.

Hit the jump to keep reading.

If it’s cloudy, stormy, pouring cats and dogs, snowing so you can’t see 10 steps in front of you, fog all over – use this to your advantage. This is the time to get out and make some interesting photos. Most of the general population would rather be sitting inside their warm homes than wandering around outside like a fool with a box that captures light around their neck… but then they also ask why their pictures never look like yours.

Rain especially is your friend. When things are wet they tend to reflect much more light, which translates into coolness of photos. It doesn’t have to be raining out, true – if you go out just after it stops you’ll benefit from the wet pavement. The falling rain itself can add a stylistic element though, streaking through your frame.

Fog can make things mysterious and even help to hide or soften aspects you wouldn’t want to show in your image, such as a busy background.

I’ve thought about creating a series of images that all reflect some elements of motion and light. I also decided I would like to create these images when the weather isn’t at its greatest, generally speaking (ie. sunshine and heat).

The images in this post were shot during what could be called a snow squall, at least. I had extreme visibility problems when driving home. You can’t really see the snow as much in the images because of the lengthier exposures. I was the only photographer out in an area where you can usually spot at least a few happy tourists snapping away at something, or someone more serious. It would have been optimal to have something covering my camera, but I hadn’t thought it would be as bad as it was. My lens had a bit of a squeak for a few days after, possibly because of some snow melting and some moisture getting in, but it’s all dried out now.

You don’t have to have any fancy weather covers – I’ve shot in driving rain with a plastic shopping bag with holes cut in it. I still use plastic sleeves for my cameras – granted, these ones are made for that purpose, but it’s still a hunk of clear plastic. Not pretty, but they work. If you are interested, these are the ones I currently have.

Back to the images and possible series, I liked the idea of some slight motion to draw attention in the images – whether it is a person slightly blurry from walking, or the lights of a car driving by. The light I’m interested in not only comes from the vehicles driving through the scenes, but also light spilling out of any windows in the vicinity.

Drop me a line in the comments to let me know what you think, and also if you have any ideas of places where I could continue the series.

Thanks for checking in. Look for more of the motion and light images possibly in the future.

Get out there; take some pictures.

Real People: Aunt Margaret

2010-02-25T20:56:00.005-05:00

This is the first post in what I hope will be a running theme for some posts down the road. You can click the images for a larger view.

This is my Great Aunt Margaret. She’s turning 87 this year; she’s fond of telling people “That’s old!” Even though Aunt Margaret is getting up there in years, she continues to have more energy than a good portion of young people that I know. A while back I thought I would have a good visit with Aunt Margaret and make some portraits of her.

Hit the jump to keep reading about Aunt Margaret, and see some more portraits.

Up until a few years ago Aunt Margaret could do more situps than I could – and in half the time! I remember when she used to watch whatever exercise show was on TV, but do everything double time as they went too slow for her.

Aunt Margaret’s husband passed away a few years ago. To keep busy she cooks and bakes as she has done for so many years. She still hand makes pasta – either individually twisting spirals or hand cutting angel hair pasta – which is really the best pasta for chicken noodle soup. Period.

While I was visiting she mentioned that she was out shoveling her driveway a couple days prior, even though her daughter tells her not to. A younger neighbour told Aunt Margaret’s daughter – Aunt Margaret’s response? She told her neighbour's husband that she was mad at his wife, as her daughter had scolded her for shoveling. "Why would she have told her that!?", Aunt Margaret says.

Another thing about Aunt Margaret – she loves group hugs. Any hugs really. I won’t generalize and say everyone, but I think that a lot of people have someone like Aunt Margaret in their lives, that they sometimes forget about for whatever reasons. If this is the case, you should definitely pay her a visit. Why not have a tea party while you’re at it.

I figured I would also start including a quick summary on any lighting, if I used any besides that available. So… lighting wise, all of these shots were lit simply with speedlight and a 43” umbrella – all images had it up and camera right. The shots on the couch also benefited from a soft wall of light coming from a large window camera right, but still augmented by the umbrella, “scattering photons everywhere”, as Joe McNally might say.

Welcome to the new Cimagery!

2010-02-21T17:13:00.001-05:00

It's taken a while, but hey, I'm back! As you can see, there are some big changes are far as visuals go, around the blog and also around the site. If you haven't checked out the new site yet, have a look at the new Cimagery! You can also click the create/collaborate banner above, it will bring you to the main site as well. Hit the jump below for more.

Continuing the tour of the new, to the right you'll see some buttons that will bring you to my twitter stream as well as the cimagery facebook page. The last button links to my imagekind area.

As far as twitter goes, don't expect any updates on what I had for breakfast (you'd probably just think I was weird after hearing what I have for breakfast anyway!), but I'll be tweeting about upcoming shoots, new blog posts and industry news. Also expect some retweets from others in the industry that I follow myself.

The cimagery facebook page gives me a place that makes it easy for you to interact with me, and vice versa. If you aren't a fan yet, hit the link at the right and sign up :)

As far as future blog posts go, I am going to be getting away from just posting single images with a line of text or so. In the future expect longer posts with text in a sort of story form to accompany one or a few images. This also means the frequency of posts won't be as it used to be, but hopefully that what is posted is more interesting and engaging.

I hope that you make yourself at home, and continue to check in every so often!

Blog going dark

2010-01-14T20:18:00.003-05:00

Firstly, I apologize to those who actually visit here regularly for the lack of a new photo/any sort of post recently. I'm working on some big changes for the site, with some new stuff to come; so... I'm going dark and won't be posting any new blog posts for a while.

Thanks for checking in though, I really appreciate it. I hope to have all the new stuff rockin' by the end of February - but I'm trying for sooner! Stop by every once in a while to see if I'm back!

Until then, as Joe McNally says...
More tk.

Niagara Photography - Window obsession

2010-01-11T20:40:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know I am obsessed with windows and brick walls. Can't explain it really. No point anyway :)

Hope that you keep checking in to see the changes going on around here in the first part of the year :)

Niagara Photography - Three Trees

2010-01-07T20:36:00.004-05:00

Not much to say about this image really. Was just walking around downtown Welland and saw it. Really photogenic wall. Funny thing is, I was walking with a friend of mine and his first response to the wall was "I can't believe they haven't done anything to fix that up yet". Meanwhile, I quite liked it how it was.

I hope that you keep checking in over the next little while. Going to be a whole bunch of changes. If you are a fan of Cimagery on facebook you probably noticed the first small change, sort of giving an inkling of what's to come.

Niagara Photography - Downtown Welland

2010-01-03T13:32:00.005-05:00

Went wandering around downtown Welland a couple days after Christmas. While a sort of historic place, it's sort of run down now. The city is in the process of making a bunch of improvements to try to get people to visit. Processed these ones sort of old-timey, but the cars give away the time period. I'll likely be doing some more wandering around the area for a project I have in mind.

Niagara Photography - Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T14:25:00.004-05:00

Here's to wishing everyone an awesome twenty-ten (that's how we're all going to say it right? Not two-thousand ten?).

Thanks to those who stop in here occasionally to look at all my silly photos and read my even sillier text, even though there isn't much of that.

(Hopefully) going to be a bunch of changes around here in 2010. I hope that you stick around to see them!

Niagara Photography - Snow

2009-12-30T11:50:00.003-05:00

The long-term forecast shows the white stuff every day for the next six days. I'll give it that it looks nice; the sand and salt that goes on the roads to combat it though, I can't stand that stuff. My poor car!

Niagara Photography - The Olympic Flame - Fonthill

2009-12-28T12:09:00.004-05:00

So after the torch passed through the spot I had staked out in Welland, I attempted to beat it to Fonthill. I largely succeeded, except that by the time I got there the roads were already blocked off and I had to park in the docks and hike in. An area of the road had trees coming over it from both sides, so I figured that would be a cool place for the epic torch runner shot I was looking for.

While waiting a gentleman came up and started to talk to me - turns out he was there as he knew the individual doing that leg of the run. He asked me if I could send him the photos I got, in addition to what he took. While we were shooting for different reasons (me, for an overall 'epic' feeling shot, him, for (I presume at least) some closeups that he could provide the runner with for memories, I got some of each. Only posting this one to the blog though.

Dave, if you read this, send me an email to let me know if you got the images :)

Niagara Photography - Merry Christmas - Let it snow!

2009-12-26T10:37:00.006-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that an excellent Christmas day was had by all. I wasn't home much myself, driving around to different families for lunch and supper.

So much for the white Christmas though eh? Closest thing to snow so far was when I was at the Fonthill Olympic Torch Run and these massive snowflakes were falling slowly to the ground. Some of the little kids around were trying to catch them, oblivious to all the hubbub surrounding the torch run.

Niagara Photography - The Olympic Flame - Welland

2009-12-23T11:24:00.006-05:00

The Olympic Flame came to town on Monday to both Welland and Fonthill, in the form of the cross Canada Olympic Torch Relay. I checked out both of these local to me runs. The images below are from the Welland run. Images from Fonthill are to come in a later post.

I was quite surprised as to the number of people who came out to each event. It was one of those proud to be Canadian moments.

The runner for the leg of the relay that I had staked out in Welland was Sabrina Parrotta. She had the distinction of carrying it into the main event area where the flame made a stop for approximately a half hour.

I encourage you to click on the first image (my favourite of them) to view it larger.

Niagara Photography - Man in the Moon

2009-12-19T12:58:00.005-05:00

They just don't make them like they used to - outhouses, that is :)

Excitement in the community, the olympic flame will be passing through this weekend and early in the week. Maybe I will see you at one of the events, I'll be checking out a couple.

Niagara Photography - Broad side of a barn

2009-12-13T15:01:00.004-05:00

Actually, I suppose that title is technically incorrect, as the sides were more broad... ah well, it sounds catchy. The front of the blacksmith shop on the Morningstar Mill property.

Niagara photography - Art (and anything else) though perception

2009-12-11T22:20:00.002-05:00

I wanted to write about art, the perception of art, and how perception creates value.

In summary, art is, because you ‘think’ it is.

Seth Godin has written “We believe what we want to believe, and once we believe something, it becomes a self-fulfilling truth.”

Still confused about where I am going? Did you ever hear that story about a shop owner who had some trinkets to sell, but they weren’t selling at all? Before he left for a short while, he told one of his employees to mark down the price by half. The employee misheard him and instead doubled the price. When the shop owner returned, all of the trinkets had been sold.

An interesting article appeared in the Washington Post quite a while ago (April 8, 2007, actually.) It mainly revolved around a sort of social experiment. To summarize that article –

“On a cold January morning in a Washington, DC Metro Station, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time about two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

[...]In the end, only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. When he finished playing, no one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell had sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.”

Here’s another example from the same article about the same issue of perception of art forms. Says the senior curator of art at the US National Gallery – “Let’s say I took one of our more abstract masterpieces, say an Ellsworth Kelly, and removed it from its frame, marched it down the 52 steps that people walk up to get to the National Gallery, past the giant columns, and brought it into a restaurant. It’s a $5 million painting. And it’s one of those restaurants where there are pieces of original art for sale, by some industrious kids from the Corcoran School, and I hang that Kelly on the wall with a price tag of $150. No one is going to notice it. An art curator might look up and say: ‘Hey, that looks a little like an Ellsworth Kelly. Please pass the salt.’”

Our perception influences our judgment not just in regards to ‘normal’ art forms. A while ago a bombshell dropped in the wine world when taste maker (and vineyard maker or breaker) Robert Parker blind tasted a group of wines he had previously ranked and said the lowest ranked wine was his favorite (before finding out what it was).

What have you perceived today? Isn’t perception great? Is it really?

My photos are worthless.

My photos are priceless.

The above might be a bit jumbled. Feel free to weight in.

If you would like to read the full Washington Post article, you can do so here. Inspiration and information also borrowed from APhotoEditor

Niagara Photography - ???

2009-12-08T19:52:00.003-05:00

Old wheels of some sort? Really, I don't know what these are.
Was just out at the old Morningstar Mill and saw these up against a building. Was testing out a camera I just received back from some repairs - wasn't pleased with one aspect of the repair though, so sadly, it just left again to go back to the mothership. Probably another shot or two to come from it's short test run though.

Niagara Photography - Miscellaneous Equipment

2009-12-05T13:49:00.003-05:00

I spotted this piece of equipment beside the Niagara River. I have no clue what it is or what it does (did). In any case, it looks sort of cool.

Niagara Photography - God Rays

2009-12-02T21:33:00.003-05:00

At least that's what I call it when you can see the sun rays, and I know I'm not the only photographer to do so :)

I was out with a friend trying out a lens he owns before I purchased it myself when I grabbed this one.

Niagara Photography - Niagara Falls

2009-11-28T11:02:00.003-05:00

A couple of Sunday's ago I took the short drive out to Niagara Falls to walk around. Here's one of the cliche shots.

Cross post: From JoeyL

2009-11-23T20:57:00.002-05:00

Some people take the whole Nikon versus Canon thing way to seriously. Joey L doesn't. Check out the music video below he created with friends. Personally, I lol'd at the end when his buddy killed the Classic Coke.

For some inspiration work check out JoeyL's main site. For other cool stuff, check his blog.

Niagara Photography - St. John's Conservation Area, Fall

2009-11-23T19:48:00.004-05:00

The leaves are long gone - but at least there is no snow yet. The Christmas lights are up though. I might have to start listing to TSO soon.

Niagara Photography - Goslings

2009-11-21T13:05:00.004-05:00

Not exactly relevant for the current time period and weather, I know, but it has been sitting on the back of the on-deck circle for quite some time now.

Niagara Photography - Beaten Down

2009-11-18T19:24:00.004-05:00

Was out walking around the Niagara Falls a few days ago - this tree is a bit behind the actual falls. Assuming it looks like it does because it gets a good heavy coat of ice every year from the mist of the falls.

Cross post: from Chase Jarvis

2009-11-16T19:37:00.005-05:00

Came across this on Chase Jarvis' facebook today and felt it was something I'd like to spread (click to be able to read the text). If you don't feel like clicking, shown below is an image on which Richard Avedon drew instructions for his printer.

To all those who go on about the use of photoshop as cheating, using the words of Chase, "I call horse-pucky."
We're all just trying to create great images here. Why argue about how it's done. Go make awesome images.
Have fun.

Check out Chase's blog - always an inspirational place.

Niagara Photography - Details

2009-11-15T17:32:00.004-05:00

No idea what this is. Was out quite a while ago though when I shot it. Leaves are all down now at St. John's so it's not as inviting as before.

Niagara Photography - The most people I've seen in a street -

2009-11-11T19:57:00.005-05:00

- Ever. From some of my wanderings - I am sometimes able to wander out of the Niagara Region - this is Yonge Street in Toronto. Can't recall what the run was supporting.

Niagara Photography - Eeny meeny miney moe

2009-11-08T19:56:00.004-05:00

I should get a randomizer that will randomly spit an image out of my "For Blog Posts" folder, to do the hard work for me. Sometimes there are not a lot of images that I would consider great or good in that folder. But I'd still like to post what I'm up to. Besides, no matter what some may tell you - no one takes awesome photos all the time. So today I decided I'd pick this one, which just happens to be the most recent add to the folder.

Niagara Photography - Mail

2009-11-06T22:43:00.004-05:00

Happened upon these mailboxes whilst out driving around one morning with another photograph friend.

Niagara Photography - Skyline

2009-11-02T19:34:00.003-05:00

I'm reaching into the depths of the blog posts folder right now, grasping for something to post. Haven't been able to shoot anything new recently.

It's not too often that you come across a Nissan Skyline in Niagara, since they have to be imported from Japan.

Niagara Photography - St. Johns Conservation Area

2009-10-31T12:43:00.004-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone! Unfortunately, I don't have anything halloween related to post here, just an abstract image from St. Johns.

2009-10-28T19:43:00.004-04:00

Just reaching now, haven't been able to get out shooting some new stuff lately after the visit to the comfort maple. Sorry if the photos over the next few posts aren't the coolest :)

Comfort Maple, and graphic design help?

2009-10-26T18:25:00.004-04:00

I took the short drive (though not as short as it used to be since I've moved) to visit the Comfort Maple out in Pelham. Might remember some shots I posted a long time ago here of what is believed to be the oldest maple tree in Canada.

Also, are you or someone you know good at graphic design? If so, please contact me in regards to a logo project. It would be greatly appreciated.

Inspiration - Jill Greenberg

2009-10-24T13:28:00.006-04:00

A moderate length post on the subject of photoshop processing to arrive at a look that approximates that often employed by Jill Greenberg.

Disclaimer - the methodology set out below is what I myself followed - what I describe may not be what Jill does herself (in fact, it probably isn't), but I'm happy with my results when compared to hers. This is simply one way to go about it. If you disagree with my steps - that's fine.

I thought that I would do something different on here today – something that the normal visitors to this blog probably won’t care much about or possibly even understand, seeing as normally I just post random images here – but hopefully someone out there will find it useful.

I’ve always liked Jill Greenberg’s style of lighting and processing; big fan of her Ursine and Monkey Portraits series. I like the look of the End Times series, but never really got into that subject matter. A short while ago I decided I would try to replicate it to the best of my ability (imitation is the best form of flattery right? Right!?). I did the normal thing at that point and started to look around on the internet to see how she did it. While I found some fairly decent information about her lighting setup, what I couldn’t find was her post processing methodology. Soo… I just decided to figure it out on my own – since I couldn’t find the information out there I thought I’d make a post on it in the hopes that someone else finds it useful if they were in the same position as I.

Though the lighting information is out there, I’ll cover it quickly here. Jill seems to use at least 6 lights – two large umbrellas placed to camera left and right, 2 bare strobes as rim lights (one each left and right, slightly back of subject), one snooted light behind subject on the background and a ring light on-camera.

Now, if you’re like me, you may not have 6 lights. I only have 4 and none of them are studio strobes – all speedlights. That’s OK, you can improvise. It’s important to note that it’s the original lighting that is going to define the look of your image – I couldn’t think of a way to get close to the final look with less than 4 lights of whatever variety.

OK – so now you’ve got your starting image that you’re going to open up into Photoshop, where the fun begins. These images go through a lot of post (as far as I can imagine, at least). Your image is fairly shadow-less, because of the two umbrellas in front (and the ringlight if you have it) and there are strong highlights on each side of the subject (human or animal). Another disclaimer – I only had 4 lights, and they were all used in lighting the subject, so I didn’t have anything to light the background (which was a basement wall anyway, which had some crumpled moisture paper on it so it mostly blew out anyway) so I put in the background in Photoshop. If you have a 5^th light, snoot that bad boy and stick it behind the subject facing the wall (assuming you have a nice coloured seamless back there. This post focuses on the post processing of the subject, not inserting a background (which would not be the optimal choice any day)

I manage all of my images in lightroom, so before opening I added clarity of 30 to this image (clarity increases midtone contrast, which increases apparent sharpness to the eye). If you have lightroom, you can play with the clarity slider – if not, no worries – the latest version of ACR also has the clarity slider as far as I know.

So, let’s briefly ponder what makes up a Jill Greenberg image. In my opinion, it’s those highlights, sharpness, higher than normal contrast and lots of local dodging and burning.

So, first things first, clean up any blemishes that you would like (I was working with a furry model so I skipped this step, but if you check her work there certainly is work done to the skin) and smooth it using whatever method you choose (google this one).

Next, add some contrast. To do this I like to use adjustment layers – not only will an adjustment layer hardly touch your filesize, it’s completely non-destructive. I always make a curves layer – don’t touch the curve, but just change the blend mode to soft light. Play with the opacity to fit. In my image I’ve got the opacity of this layer at 45%. This soft light layer will help in creating her signature “glow” or “shine”.

Another thing I tend to do with all my images is make a levels adjustment layer and just boost the midtones slightly – this step isn’t necessary, but I do it 95% of the time.

More contrast to come later – first though, we need to give some attention to the eyes. My treatment here involved another adjustment layer set to screen, with a mask only revealing the eyes. Again, adjust opacity to taste. Also, I made another curves adjustment layer, this time making a fairly strong S-curve to add some contrast to them (blend mode also set to screen).

Next up – overall sharpening – if you’re working on a photo of a humanoid here you probably won’t want to go as far as I did – but if you’re working on a furry animal – open up smart sharpen and crank the sharpening up – quite a bit. I used a radius of 3 and an amount of 50%. This is probably too much over the top for a human subject, so play around. I created another new copy of the original layer (so I have three now – I always make a copy immediately so that the original is always at the bottom of the stack) and this is where I’ll be doing my sharpening and dodging and burning discussed in the next paragraph.

Now – what really helps to define this style (in my opinion anyway) – extremely local dodging and burning. An understanding of what the dodge and burn tools do is necessary at this point. You’re going to use the dodge tool set it to highlights, with a fairly low opacity of 5 or so percent. Additionally you’ll also use the burn tool set to shadows and both the dodge and burn tools set at midtones – I left the opacity at 5% for every use. There aren’t really set steps you can follow at this point – generally, you’re going to lighten the light areas some more, and darken the darker areas some more. It will really be up to you as how painterly you get. A tablet is nice at this point as well, though certainly not necessary. Note that this is probably one of the most important steps - the more time you take here the cooler your outcome will be.

OK – back to the contrast like I said above, so create another copy of the layer that you sharpened and were just dodging/burning on. Go to edit-adjustments-grayscale. This step is important because if you skip it it will really funkify the colours of your image in the next step.

Next, you’re going to run the high-pass filter on this layer (filter-other-high pass). I used an amount of 50 here. Now change the blend more for this layer to softlight, and decrease the opacity to taste. How’s it look? If everything worked out well, you should be pretty close at this point! Heavy post work, I know, but you’re the one that wanted to try to imitate her look right?

Hope this short tutorial was useful. Any feedback, comments or questions, drop me a line through the Cimagery contact page or the Cimagery facebook page.

2009-10-22T20:23:00.002-04:00

Something new and very different coming shortly. I'll say right now the normal folks who come here to look at pictures likely won't be very interested - getting into some nerdy territory :)

Alley

2009-10-20T22:07:00.003-04:00

Just something else random brought about directly as a result of wandering/meandering the streets of Toronto.

2009-10-17T12:33:00.002-04:00

2009-10-15T21:28:00.004-04:00

Continuing on - another shot of fall. Just before colour change.

Morningstar Mill

2009-10-12T11:59:00.003-04:00

Quite an interesting place really. Still fully operational too - they ground flour, somehow harnessing the water power to turn massive stone wheels to crush grain. Check it out sometime - free (and informative) tours.

2009-10-10T11:58:00.001-04:00

Next up, fall

2009-10-07T20:17:00.003-04:00

Out for a walk, see how the fall colours are coming along. Taken at St. John's Conservation Area, Niagara Region, Ontario. They're on their way.

2009-10-04T15:28:00.003-04:00

Last one from the farm here, I think.

Just curious - if anyone who has purchased a print or other from my imagekind store, could you send me an email to tell me what you thought about the quality? Imagekind is a pure fulfilment company so orders that go through them I do not actually see. I have a canvas from them that I think is great, but would just like to hear from others. Thanks very much.

...fields forever

2009-09-30T19:04:00.006-04:00

Not quite strawberry fields, so I couldn't use that line. I was staying at a bed and breakfast in St. Mary's on a 100 acre property, complete with trails all over it so you could walk where you pleased. Really nice place. Anyone interested in visiting St. Mary's drop me a line and I'll give you their contact info.

Look out for big changes coming to the website - if you saw this, good for you :) Not working on any timelines though, but it is certainly in the works.

2009-09-28T18:44:00.003-04:00

You know, it's hard to make up titles for these posts. At least in my opinion. Most of my titles come off as pretty corny I would image. Not that I mind.

This one is out in St. Mary's - really, you just keep passing areas like this out there - farm after farm - except the buildings don't come that quick all the time because there is so much farmland between them. Nice place.

Byebye summer

2009-09-27T14:38:00.008-04:00

Yup... fall is officially here. Getting cooler out... fall brings some nice photo ops though, so that's nice. More tk from the recently mentioned St. Mary's, as well as some other stuff...

The Refresher

2009-09-26T00:06:00.003-04:00

Paint - the fresh maker. I thought it was quite cool how this dude was essentially wearing the same colour shirt as the sills he was painting. I just wish that his ladder was a bit to the left more so that he had to reach out to paint the eaves trough. Taken in St. Mary's, Ontario.

And back...

2009-09-23T20:15:00.003-04:00

I've actually forgotten for the past few days to make a post, I've been so busy doing other things. I made sure that I remembered today though.

I was away in some deep farm country recently for 3 days - though not primarily there for photographic reasons, I think I managed to snag a few keepers. Stay tuned for those...

The other animals

2009-09-17T15:18:00.003-04:00

Just realized I posted two animal pictures in a row last two posts... I was trying to keep the animals to a minimum and post some different stuff. Fail. How about the animals on the other side of the glass?

Smile!

2009-09-14T08:53:00.002-04:00

Figured I'd better make a post today - I'll be out for the rest of the week, return on Sunday. Have a good week!

Excellent hair day.

2009-09-13T09:49:00.004-04:00

Alpaca. Toronto Zoo. Apparently these guys make excellent pets. Anyone have experience with that?

From the gallery

2009-09-11T12:46:00.003-04:00

Has anyone noticed I've been making a lot of square images lately? I have. Interesting...

Various

2009-09-09T20:47:00.004-04:00

Took this one quite a while ago, one of those things I just happened on. I like it, but it might not be for everyone. Same thing applies to anything labelled "art", however. It's all subjective. That's part of the fun though right?

Rainy day

2009-09-07T21:30:00.002-04:00

Another rushed post for today I'm sorry to say. Did the eeny-meeny-miny-moe thing and ended up on this image from Toronto. It was really raining that day - I mean, hard - but I went out anyway, figured my umbrella would do the job. It was alright for the most part, but at times it was so hard I had to take cover still.

Flight of the bumble bee...

2009-09-05T11:33:00.005-04:00

I know I've had a lack of text here lately, just been really busy. The blog is all about imagery though anyway right!? I know, still nice to read some text to go along with things. Eventually I will have something to say again, stay tuned, more tk, as Joe McNally says.

Now for something completely different

2009-09-02T18:42:00.005-04:00

Sunflowers in the backyard. Photographic meandering. Result:

Opposite of zoo...

2009-08-31T18:36:00.004-04:00

So, figured I should post something that was almost as far opposite of zoo-like as I could get, just for today. I really only have 3 more zoo like images to go up in on deck circle right now, so it's not that bad. And I don't foresee going back for at least another couple of months...

Product of actual meanderings. The end of plaza at Brock University, facing the parking lot.

Funny creatures, they are...

2009-08-29T13:53:00.004-04:00

From the streets of Toronto back to the Zoo. Not much to say about this image really. Lots of people don't like zoos because the animals are trapped and such, not free - though this is true, the animals in there live well, and I think an important part of zoos is to educate people on a number of things, such as how to protect animals and their habitats. Not at all related to the image really, just some comments.

Streetscape

2009-08-27T18:20:00.003-04:00

Going back to Toronto again for this image. I'm liking the sort of almost cartoony feel to this one. What do you think?

Polar Bears are back!

2009-08-25T20:19:00.006-04:00

At the Toronto Zoo that is - for over the last year they have been on vacation up north somewhere while their whole enclosure - really, that whole section of the zoo - was made over. This is actually the first time I've been able to see these guys - they weren't there when I got my membership just over a year ago, as the construction had already begun. Could definitely hang around for a long time to watch them though, especially from the underwater viewing area. Watching from a safe area makes you forget that these guys will hunt you in the wild.

The bear to the left isn't exactly white as can be because she just decided to have a good roll in the dirt before this photo was shot.

Lighthouse

2009-08-23T19:40:00.005-04:00

I've had this one in the on-deck circle to be posted for a while... but I just kept overlooking it. While I suppose they could be considered as icons of Port Dalhousie, it seems that the city is letting them get a bit rundown. This one has a fence surrounding it now, which sort of kills any photos of it with the whole thing in it - the fence isn't the most attractive thing. Perhaps somebody will rise to the occasion to get these lighthouses restored.

Live Art

2009-08-21T20:11:00.005-04:00

I would probably say that this is my favourite image of the last year. Among the crazy business of downtown Toronto... this guy. I could have watched him do his thing for hours - every time someone gave him some coin it was like he was activated and started to move, robot-esque. He also flirted with the girls around in a funny way that only a statue could.

Any guesses?

2009-08-19T19:05:00.004-04:00

Anyone know the building? Hint - Toronto, Yonge Street. Name starts with a Z... Probably not the most recognizable view of it. Post them in the comments if you have a guess.

Friday night lights

2009-08-17T19:13:00.004-04:00

Yup, another of my recent favourites. Maybe not everyones favourite, I know. What do you think?

Fishin'

2009-08-15T16:36:00.002-04:00

As I said a couple posts ago, I was going to putting up some of my recent favourites. This is one of them. Weather was threatening rain, so it was really just me and some fisherman when I went down to the pier in Port Dalhousie at lunch.

Dope, soap and hope: Inspiration

2009-08-15T14:21:00.002-04:00

A recent post on Zack Arias' blog brought a man named Derrick to the attention to thousands of people. I hope to bring him to the attention of a few more. Watch the video, if you have 10 minutes or so. Maybe you'd like to purchase some 'virtual' soap to help Derrick out. If so, visit Zack's blog and scroll down slightly to the paypal donate link.

Dalhousie House

2009-08-13T21:23:00.004-04:00

Cheaping out on the blog post today. This is one from my lunchtime meanderings in Port Dalhousie. Don't know anything about the building, but it has some character. If you know some history in regards to it, leave it in the comments if you'd like :)

I know I'm going with a less than great photo today - I have a few of my recent favourites lined up for future posts though, to make up for it.

Uh oh!

2009-08-11T09:42:00.003-04:00

Prarie dogs know when the paparazzi approaches, you see... :) It was supposed to rain when I headed up to the Toronto Zoo, but it help off for the 8 hours that I was walking around there - good times.

2009-08-09T00:03:00.004-04:00

Just when I thought I was done with Toronto for a while, what did I do? Headed back up to go to the zoo - the day after I got home from my week in downtown. The zoo isn't anything like downtown, of course, but ironic that I was looking forward to coming home, and then I turned around to go back the next day.

Haven't even looked at any images from today at the zoo yet, so instead I'll leave you with this Nova from the memorial car show I attended a while back. Stay tuned for some shots from the zoo.

House with the blue door

2009-08-06T06:45:00.002-04:00

Going back to the photowalk again; I think this is my favourite shot from the whole walk actually.

Quick post

2009-08-04T13:22:00.004-04:00

Just a quick post today, trying to keep up with my picture every second day roll that I have been on. This is another from the photowalk that I did back a few weeks ago. Niagara-on-the-lake is a really nice place.

Not a huge fan of the big city I must say. Looking forward to coming home on Friday.

Stay tuned...

Why I almost always carry a camera

2009-08-02T13:19:00.003-04:00

Really, you never know what you might come across when you go out. Like these 'God Rays'. The best camera is the one that you have with you.

Back to the city...

2009-07-31T07:26:00.002-04:00

Spinning the random picture wheel to see what I can post... and here we go! Fitting, seeing as I am headed back to Toronto for a week starting Monday. (Note - there isn't actually a random picture wheel :) Yes, I know I'm strange.)

I was in this large courtyard for a few minutes in Toronto by the Ernst and Young Building- there was a large pond and an elephant statue, if that tells you anything - and after a couple of minutes I was asked to leave as I was taking pictures of the buildings. A nono, I was told. Security was pleasant at least.

Baguette, anyone?

2009-07-30T07:15:00.004-04:00

Who knew that patisserie stood for bakery in French? Well... a lot of you probably did. Me, I'm not so good with the Francais. Thought it was a cool sign though.

Stay tuned, more tk, as Joe McNally says..

Mixing it up...

2009-07-28T07:17:00.007-04:00

Rather than keep posting all of my images from the photo walk, which are mostly euro-inspired shots of doors and windows and stuff, I thought I would mix it up with some different stuff so that no one gets bored. How about a double shot of GTO today - shot at the second annual Tony "Bandito" Valerio Memorial Car Show held in Welland. Lots of cool cars, good cause - Muscular Dystrophy research this year. Big show, bigger than the pictures below tell, as the road out front was also shut down and filled with cars on both sides. If you're into that kinda thing, this is a good show to visit - for a good cause, and lots of cool cars - lots of owners bringing their track cars in on trailers as well. Next year I will try to make a post in advance when I hear it is coming up.

Lock Three

2009-07-27T07:28:00.004-04:00

I've lived near the locks and Welland Canal all my life, but never actually seen a lock emptying. I did on Saturday, and I gotta say, it's sorta crazy!

Click this one for a larger view.

Calm before the storm

2009-07-25T13:28:00.003-04:00

Don't actually know if this storm ever arrived, or just threatened too. This gentleman was waiting to find out.

More from the photo walk

2009-07-23T07:30:00.001-04:00

Just thought I'd toss up another here. I haven't entered my two images yet, so I'm not posting the two entries here either - just going with some others from the walk :)

From the worldwide photo walk...

2009-07-21T07:24:00.001-04:00

First image that I've posted from the recent worldwide photo walk! What can I say, I really like stucco buildings - give me a break.

Yacht Club

2009-07-19T13:06:00.003-04:00

Looking down into the yacht club - can't go in - members only, of course. Stay tuned, more tk.

Taking it all in

2009-07-17T07:32:00.004-04:00

So I was down in Curacao this past weekend - great weather, blue water...

OK, so maybe I wasn't. But I wish.

Something a little more local (click this one to see it larger):
Reminder - Scott Kelby's 2nd annual worldwide photowalk - tomorrow! I know there are still some spots left to sign up for some places - maybe one is near you!

Back to black

2009-07-15T07:18:00.002-04:00

Clouds, that is. Not a whole lot to say about this image, except maybe that to the right of the bridge is an amazing restaurant called Treadwell Farm to Table Cuisine. If I were a restaurant or travel magazine I would definitely have to give this restaurant the max amount of dollar signs ($$$) but it is really great. Talk to James, the sommelier, if you go, very nice guy, and also a part owner of the restaurant (the chef's son).

Brighter image...

2009-07-13T07:21:00.001-04:00

Hey, as per usual, wandering/meandering at lunchtime. Lots of cool stuff in the works, keep checking back :)

Out to lunch

2009-07-11T13:00:00.004-04:00

... err, out AT lunch. Well, maybe out to lunch sometimes too, I won't lie. Still headed out to walk around during my lunch break in Port Dalhousie. Didn't think that my walk was going to last too long when the sky started looking like this.

More Skyline

2009-07-09T21:26:00.003-04:00

Back with another image of the Skyline. For those interested, car is a 1993 GT-S. Again, in front of the Canada Hair Cloth Co. building in St. Catharines, Ontario. Pretty soon this place will lose all of it's old charm when it is remodeled and updated by the city and Brock University. Ultimately will probably be a pretty cool place for a performing arts centre, hopefully they don't try to make it modern or anything.

Facebook update - you can become a fan of cimagery on facebook right here.

Cimagery now on facebook

2009-07-08T14:13:00.002-04:00

I finally did it. Even though I said that I never would. Ya... never say never. You can now visit the Cimagery facebook page - just search for Cimagery and it should be the first one. It's still in the works, and I will eventually get a link up here. Become a fan!

Next post with be another image from the skyline shoot - stay tuned.

As promised...

2009-07-07T07:22:00.004-04:00

As promised, shoots from this past weekend. Nissan Skyline in front of the Canada Haircloth Building in St. Catharines, Ontario. You can see the building just off the 406, or visit it by taking the Geneva st. exit and crossing over onto race st. Look soon, as Brock University and the City of St. Catharines are collaborating to turn it into a centre for the performing arts - and just took possession on July 1.

Have another image that shows a lot more of the architecture on the building, check back for that one, as it's tk...

Car shots coming...

2009-07-06T21:54:00.003-04:00

This weekend I was out shooting a pretty cool car, an imported Nissan Skyline, at a pretty cool location - really old, vacant heritage building, about to be brought back to life by the local university and city. Image to come tomorrow...