Two Views

I'm just sorting through some older scanned slides, and thought these two views of Edmonton made a nice contrast with each other.

High Water - Black & White

I've been meaning to post this one for the last week or more. However, I have been too busy moving a huge pile of garden soil from one end of the yard to the other. And I don't garden ...

Here's the black & white version of the 'High Water' image below. I tried several different 'mixes' using channel mixer, but never did get a version I really liked. This is one of the better ones, but in the end I think this is better in the colour version. Your thoughts?

High Water

This railing is usually quite high and dry. Lots of spring run-off this year.

Do you think this one would be better as black & white?

Pentax K10D Meets Whitemud Ravine

Most of my photography takes place with a couple of kilometers of my house. Partly that's me being lazy, party busy, and partly fortunate. Edmonton has a great park system that stretches from one end of the city to the other following the North Saskatchewan River valley, and access to it is a short 5 minute walk from my house.

Here are a few of my first photos with the K10D, made in one of my favorite areas to photograph in the river valley, Whitemud Ravine.

The Last Film Image

I recently made the transition from film to digital. For the last few years I've been shooting mainly Kodak E100VS with a Pentax MZ-5n camera. I bought a Pentax K10D about a month ago, and this image was the last frame on the (probably) last roll of slide film I'll be shooting. At least for the short term. Nostalgia may kick in at some point :)

Aurora November 2004

Speaking of Astrophotography, here are a few shots from one of the awesome auroral displays we were experiencing a few years ago.

These were made from the centre of a city of about 3/4 million (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), so that should give you some idea of the brightness of this particular display. Shot on Kodak E100VS slide film and later scanned.

Why Photography?

How did I end up with an interest in photography. Like many people, I've owned and used camera(s) of the 'point & shoot' variety for years, but would never have considered it a hobby. I actually came seriously into photography through another hobby of mine, amateur astronomy. Like many people with an interest in that hobby, I wanted to try my hand at astrophotography. So I got myself an old second hand Pentax ME Super (still one of my favorite cameras ever) to start out with some simple wide-angle astrophotos. Well, I did shoot some astrophotos, and one or two weren't too bad. But what I soon found was that I just loved using that camera everyday. The feel of the camera in my hands, the crisp view through the lens, and that satisfying 'schwink' sound of the shutter. And over time I learned more technically about photography, and started more to consider the art of photography. Now, it is the satisfaction that comes with creating an image that keeps me coming back for more.