Cambridge

This was a shot I took just after Christmas in Cambridge, Ontario. I used my Leica M9 in black and white mode to take the shot. This camera shoots the most wonderful jpegs I have ever seen. This is a jpeg straight out of the camera. Generally, I would never shoot a landscape in jpeg mode with any camera. But the M9 is an exception. The result is beautiful tonality, and the image required very little post processing. This is one of my favorite images that I have taken.

Frosted

A recent image taken with my Hasselblad, shooting Delta 100 film. The Hasselblad shoots in a 6 x 6 cm format, and certain images really suit this format. I think this one does as well. The original negative had the house in the background centered in the image, but I cropped it such that the house in the background is off centre.I feel that this creates a bit more tension in the image, making it more interesting to look at. This is also another example of a photograph taken in rather poor light, but I feel that it works quite well, and in bright sunlight it would not have had that same interest.

Another shot from Canyon Lands Utah. An approaching sand storm threatened to end our photo session, and I hurriedly took a few shots of the dead tree perched on the edge of the cliff. The dust softened the scene quite a bit, but if we had had a clear sky, the shot would not have had the quality that resulted. In bright sunlight, higher contrast would have resulted, with washed out color every where. The dust storm actually enhanced the quality of the light.

Sinister

This shot was taken last spring on a deserted farm near Vegreville, Alberta. It was taken with my Leica M7, a 35 mm camera, using Ilford HP5+ film. I really like the effect that film grain has on this shot. It just seems to add an extra dimension to the image that would not be possible with digital. I also lie the sinister feeling that the shed imparts.

This shot was taken last year in Arches National Park in Utah. I love the colors that predominate in Utah and Arizona, which are mostly a warm red to orange tone. These colors are best viewed in shade, rather than in bright sunlight, which causes the colors to be washed out, looking grey and flat. I even prefer this kind of light over early morning sunlight, as the sun rises over the horizon.

Step Back in Time

Another shot taken near St. Jacobs, Ontario, this time with my Ebony 4x5 large format film camera. A scene often viewed in the area, a Mennonite farming family using their accepted mode of transportation. I noted, as the group passed me by, that they did not seem comfortable having been photographed. A large format camera is a bit cumbersome to work with. It may take up to 10 minutes to take the actual photograph. First the image is viewed and composed through the ground glass, which is 4 x 5 inches in size, under a dark cloth the size of a small army blanket, then the film holder, with a sheet of 4x5 film is inserted in front of the ground glass, a dark slide is removed to reveal the film sheet to the lens, and then the shutter in the lens is tripped. The dark slide is re - inserted into the film holder, and the film holder is removed from the camera. Then we have an exposed sheet of film, which then needs to be developed in the darkroom. I always take two shots of the same scene, since the chances of a screw up is always high. By the way, my back pack with my camera and lenses, may weigh up to 40 pounds. Not something I would recommend carrying on a long hike.

St. Jacobs Ontario

I have always liked the farming area near St. Jacobs, Ontario, just west of Waterloo. The local residents are Mennonites, whose culture is very similar to that of the  well known Amish. They are renowned for their beautiful hand made quilts, and their hard working lifestyle. Black horse-drawn buggies that are used for transportation by the locals, can be seen every where in the area. The Mennonite homesteads are almost two centuries old, having originated in the 1850's. The farms n the area are very picturesque, and always attract my eye. The image has strong horizontals, as well as a strong triangular shape, which creates interest in the center of the frame. Taken with my Leica M9.