Lighting the Labyrinth

The annual Light Up the Night Labyrinth Walk took place on the weekend. As usual, I took photos, but they really don't change much from year to year, so I don't think I'll bother with most but just concentrate on the fun photos with Danica.

Last year JJ came with us, but for the first time, Danica came with us, and her BFF too.

After awhile of many people walking the labyrinth in a more or less contemplative state, it got darker, and there were fewer walkers, so it seemed to be alright to play with lights a bit. I hadn't seen her for awhile that evening, but then Danica visited me where I had my tripod set up to get this going. First, just some standard photos. I like the second for the context, but she prefers the first.

Then Danica wanted to shoot. It was easy to pass over the control because the camera was set on a tripod, and there was remote shutter release that she just had to click.

I showed them how they could tilt the screen to face themselves, and with the shutter release, they were able to take some selfies.

I was included in one selfie. Morgan jumped (behind us) as it was being taken.

But we still hadn't done anything with the lights that I had purchased for the occasion. After several random flashings about, they tried to make a heart. A decent attempt.

Then, I had them just walk by the camera. I like it. There is also some coloured light movement in the background. As the girls moved through the long exposure, the camera just caught the lights and not them.

We decided to try their first initials, D for Danica and M for Morgan.

Then I sent them back to do the same thing by the star.

Since they obscured the star, above, I sent them back for one more try and told them to stand on either side.

I wonder if this will be the last time at this event with the kids.

A Lock on the Rideau

We live not far from the historic Rideau Canal, a system of 45 locks to allow boats to navigate from higher elevation at Kingston on Lake Ontario to Ottawa or vice versa. The difference in elevation is about 24 metres or 79 feet. Step by step that difference must be overcome. And that's what a lock is really, a step up or down depending on your direction. The Rideau (pronounced REE-dough in English) is a whole bunch of little steps with space between the steps.

The canal was built between 1826 and 1832. It pre-dates the locks on the St. Lawrence, and was built to assist the defence of Canada by allowing boats to travel from Montreal to the Great Lakes without having to travel down the St. Lawrence, in gunshot range of the Americans. It was officially opened in May 1832 and has been operated continuously ever since. http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/rideau-faq.html

It has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site that today is used for recreation.

The nearest lock to us is in Smiths Falls, which is only a half hour drive away. Oddly enough, we had never visited this lock but have visited others which are farther away.

You may remember that we took Danica there on my birthday weekend LINK because she had never seen a lock and it is difficult to comprehend how it works by just describing it. When I wrote that post, I mentioned that I might return to the topic to explain how a lock works, and one or two thought that would be a good idea, for I am sure that some people have never seen one in operation.

So here we go.

A bonus at this lock is that a low bridge on a nearby has to be moved before the lock can be opened.

The boat can then begin to proceed to the lock, which is about where I am standing to take the next photo (but you can't see it from my vantage point).

Now, for the lock itself. I moved back to snap a photo of it opening.

The boat is now in the lock and fastened (moored?) to the side. Although you can't see it in the photo, the gate through which it entered (above) has been closed. Ahead, you can see the gate through which it will exit. You can barely make out that the water level is higher beyond that gate.

With both gates closed, water from the higher section beyond is let into the lock, and the water level in the lock rises until it is at the same level as the section of the river beyond.Compare the above and below photos to see the difference. (The water is let by some sort of valve at the base of the gate, which you can't see in these photos.)

The doors open and the boat motors off.

The sequence would be reversed for a boat going the other way. The boat would enter the lock at high water. Then the lock would be drained down to the lower level.

And so Danica has now seen how a lock works.

I only saw a lock in operation later in life. It was on the Welland Canal between Lake Erie and Ontario, essentially to bypass Niagara Falls. The lock was much bigger as was the huge Great Lakes ship that could barely fit inside, but the principle is exactly the same.

I should also say in passing that there can be quite a distance from one lock to another. I think I will include a map, so you can see that. In fact, I should have put it at the beginning, but I don't feel like rewriting this.

Shauna's Booties

Way back in time, 1972 to be exact, Sue's sister, Heather, spent the summer volunteering at a native reserve in northern Ontario. It was where she found a fine birthday gift for our new baby, Shauna: a pair of native-crafted moccasin booties.

Sue has kept them all these years, and now they become our gift to Heather's new grandson. How's that for a grand circle?

We have featured them on the card too.

Front (and back)

Inside

Photo Editing

I come home from a photo shoot, get the pictures uploaded, and begin to adjust them.

And I get carried away with a notion in my head about how the photo should be processed. Most of the time, I push toward realism. Basic editing must be done because a photo is never totally accurate because eyes and cameras see the world differently. Perhaps the exposure is a little too dark. It probably does require sharpening and maybe a contrast boost. Well, you get the idea.

But there are times when I get carried away with a notion, spend time following my idea, only to reject the outcome later.

I did that it the following photo. I thought that it should be brightened somewhat but more importantly that the white water should be removed.

Here is the original after basic processing.

Then I decided that it was too dark and that the white part (on the river) should be removed. It was fairly time consuming to do the latter.

The result.

And I don't think I like it as much although I am still vacillating to some degree. Perhaps I like the slight lifting of the shadows around the building, but I think I actually miss that bit of whitewater.

Now I may be changing my mind again. As I began to write this, I thought that I was sure of my impressions (that I preferred the original), but now that I am looking at these smaller resolution versions I am not so sure. I think I'll keep them both on file for now and go look at them again later at a higher resolution to see what I think then.

They do say, to leave your edited image and come back later to see how it strikes you then. In my case, my preference seems to be a shifting thing.

Raed Tihs

I saw this ↓ on FB and did this rather easily.

But no, I am not all that smart because everyone reading this can do it.

I do something similar with great regularity, even when I am not supposed to. Without trying I tend to insert the word that my brain tells me should be there. But sometimes, I realize that the writer actually wrote a different word. The nerve! And I suppose that I often don't even catch myself and continue reading completely oblivious to my faux pas.

Sometimes, I read something, and then say to myself, "Huh?" because what I had just read, or thought that I had read, just doesn't make sense. So, I go back to re-read and get it all sorted in my head. Once again, I wonder how often I read it wrong without catching myself.

A few years ago, when I was trying, with poor results, to learn to fiddle, I sometimes had a heckuva time playing what was written because I was inserting what I thought the next note should be. My teacher would stop me and say that I was playing it the way Beethoven would have written it, but that is not the note that this composer used.

It was an odd situation because I partly played by note and partly by ear and, if truth be told, did neither well. But sometimes when I was trying to read the notes, I would still playing what felt right to my ear without catching myself.

So really, that is all more dumb than smart. Sadly.

Sunrise and Fog

On Monday evening, Bob informed me that Tuesday morning might be foggy, which can make for interesting photography.

When I arose, I didn't see any, so I did not rush out.

However, I did have a shot in mind for around 7 o'clock anyway, for I knew the sun would rise near a little hut in the park.

I knew this because I had checked out the location with my new phone app, Sun Surveyor. It told me when and where the sun would rise in this location on the next day.

It worked. And there was fog too. Just enough to add a nice touch.

Had I waited longer I might have got the sun over the peak of the roof, but it was cold, and my feet were wet from the grass, so this will have to do.

Back to Early Morning

I must confess to not being too photographically ambitious lately, but I did get myself going fairly early one morning. I just drove down to townhall area to see what I could see.

And here it is. Sometimes, black and white is the way to go.

I played around with ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) where one deliberately moves the camera while using a slow-ish shutter speed. I took several and put them together in post. I may experiment more with this technique, which is something to do when you don't think you are going to get a very good photo in the traditional manner or you have done it before and want something new.

Looking the other way: the Boulton Brown Mill, now an apartment building. There are always cars parked to the right, so I avoided them, but perhaps I will juts go with the flow next time.

Across the river, the restaurant lights were still on.

Beside the restaurant is an old house and present business with interesting red doors although this photo is only so-so. It may be worth another shot sometime, perhaps just focusing on the door and reflection rather than the whole building.

I like the bw photo and the restaurant lights photos best in this series.