Photo Retrospective v

September and October should be good photo months. Shall we see if that were true in '23?

September

We were off to a pretty good start on this foggy morning. I didn't get out early all that often in '23, but I took this one just after 7 in the morning. I don't always take advantage of the fog, but I am glad that I did on that morning.

Several days later they came to pour a new driveway. While I took a lot of phone photos, I used my Canon for this one. There was a lot of stuff in my view, but I waited for this worker to be relatively alone, and then I cropped excessively to eliminate all possible distractions. I think it worked as well as possible with the flying dust adding an important dimension.

A few days later I went for a short drive in the early evening. I stopped by this golden field with a poor, old tree on the edge of the frame. It is by no means a great photo, but it does serve to remind me that there are photos all around us if we put a little effort into the search.

Still in September, I captured a candid of Sue. I like candid people photos where you try to find the perfect moment to press the shutter. You sometimes have to wait for the moment.

October

As we edge closer to the present, the photos mihgt become more familiar to you. You may recall that I returned to Blakeney on three separate occasions to follow the changing of the colours. I did not return after this third visit because I could see that the scene was quickly moving past its best. I did learn, however, that there is something to be said for returning to a scene to get the best conditions that you can.

Sue dragged me to the Wool Growers Co-op where I been several times before, so I wasn't going to bother trying to find a new photo. Then I was attracted to this door. I was soo close to the subject that I could not get it all in view, so I took a panorama with the phone. It produced a distortion that I quite like.

Next comes our neighbours' giant skeleton, what with flashing lighting and light and dark, I had to blend several images together to get a good result. Yes, I was pleased with the outcome that took some effort to achieve. I know the thinking and work that went into it although most people wouldn't realize what it took.

By October 23rd, many trees in the park were past their prime, but this one wasn't and neither were the trees near it. Even though we didn't do our usual autumn ramble this year, we were able to find several good spots of local colour; this was one of those spots.

My final offering for October and, indeed, for autumn, came on a walk at the Mill of Kintail, just five days later than the previous, colourful photo above. What a difference! The colour was off the trees but still on the ground in muted tones. I find that I can appreciate subdued colour as well as the vibrant and perhaps even more. 

So yes, September and October did provide some nice photos, from the foggy one at the top, to the vibrant photo next to last, and this final photo with all of the leaves on the ground.

One post more to go as we head into late autumn and then a touch of winter at Christmastime. 

Photo Retrospective iv

I don't know when I will get around to posting this, but it is 5:30AM, December 27th as I compose yet another Photo Retrospective after fewer than 5 hours of sleep. I am not sure about the usefulness of this project, but I must continue what I have begun. 

July

I begin with a photo from month's end that should have occurred on Canada Day, July 1st. There were fireworks on the First, but they were a bit of a fizzle, so the town had another show at the end of the month. I took many photos of the bursts around the townhall tower, and most were pretty good. This one may have been best.

Going back to earlier in the month, we were on another Sue photoshoot. I just had my phone, but I captured some very nice light looking upriver toward townhall from the trail bridge.

We didn't do too many picnic visits to the park last summer, but we were there on July 12th. Thankfully, I had my telephoto lens. When I saw this paddler coming, I set up to capture her entering the frame. I think that I pretty well saw in my mind the pano-crop that I would later use once I got back to the computer. I like the action, reflections, and the empty space for the canoe to paddle into.

August

Hmm . . . I am sure that I chose some August photos, but I am not sure where I put them. I'll be back in a moment . . . 

Thanks for waiting. I had chosen several photos but had neglected to add them to the appropriate folder.

We stopped to photograph a mare and foal. It's another phone photo. However, I do like it, partly because got low and saw how I would later crop it with the bars of the gate making a frame. I can't always visualize how I will process a photo later, but this time I did. 

Then. it was good to let our hair down and have some fun in the park, silly oldsters that we are.

One day, by the trail, I looked for lines and shapes. It was not really dark out, but I underexposed for mood, and I think it was a worthwhile experiment.

Then there came the Blue Supermoon at the end of August. I had pre-scouted the location with my Sun Seeker app to predict where the moon would rise. It was spot on when I returned in the evening. I pasted the reflection that was in another photo in this same photoshoot because this angle didn't pick up a reflection. What with the unique event, plus the scouting along with the Photoshop touch, I think it's worth including this photo.

It is now after 6. I have been up for two hours already, and I am knackered. I won't be able to sleep yet, and maybe not later either, but I am past ready for my second coffee and maybe a little something to eat.

I Inarrup Myself

Sue is a cruel woman who has been forcing me to walk with her everyday. With my little difficulties, she doesn't make me go far, and she does walk at my pace, so she isn't all that heartless, I suppose. Of course, we have taken pictures on our walkies, and I'll get to them in a bit. First, however, there is an item to update and another to mention.

So, I am inarruping my string of photo retrospectives for a day. I am writing inarrup instead of interrupt because I am remembering a colleague who used to say it like that. It just crossed my mind again today.

I met with the physiotherapist again this week for my rotator cuff issue after a two-week holiday break. We concurred that I am not making much progress, so she has changed my home exercise regimen. We'll have to see if that will help. She will also send a note to that effect to my doctor apprising her of my sorry state and notifying her that we may need to consider alternative therapies. In the meantime, she'll keep seeing me for a few more sessions.

Some of you have been kind enough to ask, so I will update you again at some future point. 

To shift topics, yesterday I had to drive into Ottawa for 9 o'clock. That was a silly time to choose I guess, for I have been sleeping in a bit later these dark days. Also, driving at 8 or so at this time of year isn't always easy on the eyes, for the sun is low and was in my eyes at times. I was also driving on highways during rush hour, and although it certainly wasn't horrendous out my way.

I was taking our CRV in for a safety recall, but I wasn't expecting the bombshell that they dropped on me.

They told me that the car might be trash if a certain thing were to happen during the required procedure. If that were to occur, they would give me a 7-day rental to figure things out. Can you imagine having 7 days to make a huge and unexpected purchase?

It's a 2010 model but still with relatively low mileage of less than 100K miles — something like 135K kilometers. I have been hoping to at least drive it until I am 80 in 4 years time. Then we can reassess. 

Thankfully, worse did not come to worst. Phew!

Shall we do recent photos now? Our January 01 walk was at Riverside Park. I was once again attracted to those birch trees across the river: the same birches that appeared in b&w in yesterday's retrospective. A number of you expressed appreciation of that image, but this one is closer (longer zoom) and in colour. What caught my eye this time was the layer of geese just in front of the trees. I though the two elements made for a nice composition.

 

I also created a mono version, which I am setting aside for another time.

January 02 saw us walking through Roy Brown Park. We don't frequent this park, and they've added some trails since we were there last. What I appreciated  was that, at least in some places, they have cleared some of the scrubby underbrush. I took this photo in pano crop mode, largely to eliminate as much of the sky as possible, but even the bits that remain are distracting.

No scrubby underbrush

That ↑ photo may not indicate the bleakness of the walk but this ↓ photo of Sue crossing the footbridge captures it pretty darn well.

Bleak it is without any snow.

She got one of red me on a red bench. Red doesn't look bleak. Thank goodness.

January the third took us to Anthony Curro Park, the one just around the corner from us. When we rounded the corner, there must have been at least three-dozen Canada geese bobbing about on the pond. Of course, I took some photos of the chaos of the gaggle, but they were uninspiring to say the least. Then we found four sleeping honkers isolated on the edge of the crowd. They were on the ice right by open water. Stealthily, so as not to disturb them, I took my shots. And here is the best one, or at least one of the two that I most liked.

They are in a line all sleeping on the ice and are all reflected in the water.

Meanwhile, as shown below, Sue went to extreme measures to get a photo. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, eh.

There was a little abandoned boat down there.

Yesterday, January 4th, we got back to the same park as the sun was setting. The geese were gone, but there were ducks. I wanted a photo, but the shooting was poor in the low light. I finally got an unexpected opportunity along the trail that branches off from the park. There are a few houses that back onto the trail, and one of them had lights on the fence, and there was also a touch of light from the house iteself. 

I've been trying to come home with a photo from these excursions. I shouldn't always try to force the issue, but I guess this one will do.

Photo Retrospective iii

My photo retrospective continues with May-June photos. Are you exhausted yet?

May

There is a stand of birch tree across the river from the park that I am always attracted to. On this May day, I had my telephoto lens, so I suspect that I went specifically to get this photo. All too often the photo that I purpose to take doesn't work out very well, but I like this b&w photo along with the reflections.

Two days after the b&w photo ↑ I was in the mood for colour. I took myself on a little drive along the backroads. Green was bursting. I stopped by the roadside and snapped this photo. I love the fresh, spring greens.

On our anniversary, I had one of those unpleasant appointments with my urologist, one that I had to repeat two weeks later, and a week after that I was in for surgery. After this appointment, we stopped at Boston Pizza in Smiths Falls. As you probably recall, we often take phone snaps of each other across the table, but the window light seemed to make this better than many. It was a happy outing, celebrating our 54th anniversary, and I had just obtained some relief from the procedure.

June

June has to be the best month for flowers. Early in the month, I captured this macro with my phone. I remember that I was experimenting with a phone app other than the native camera app, one that offers more control. However, I usually just use the regular Apple app.

I think this photo of Sue might have been taken on our first little post-surgery and post-catheter walk. What a relief to be over that, if not forever at least for then. I presume this photo fulfilled one of Sue's photo prompts, but I can't remember what it was.

At the very end of June, I took my first round of bridge-light photos on the eve of Canada Day: the red and white being the colours of our flag. I am sure that you recall my several attempts since then and probably never want to see another, but this was my first post-surgery shoot with my big camera.

Stay tuned.

Photo Retrospective ii

My retrospective reverie now moves unto March and April. My memory is so poor that even I am about to find out what I chose not so very long ago. Let's see . . .

March

Oh yes, as the weather warmed and the sap began to run, we made our usual trip to the sugarbush. One would think that after so many visits and so many photos that we would find no new compositions, but I like this one — a macro of a part of an old-style snowshoe. I guess there is always something fresh to see if we are willing to look. 

Speaking of new opportunities for old eyes, one day I photographed the old Moore House in town, but this time I deliberately included a bit of townhall peeking over top. I have meant to return and try to elevate my camera somehow to get more of townhall in the photo. It would take a bit of doing, but I am mulling  over how I might manage such a shot. Perhaps I could put my tripod on top of the car.

At the end of March I took this high key photo of a pair of mallard ducks. They are a common sight for sure, but I thought that overexposing the background produced a unique image. As in the other March photos, above, we can look at old or common things with fresh eyes. I think the boy duck must have got lucky because he seems to be laughing.

April

We had a late-season ice storm in April.  The misty background helped to pretty well eliminate the distracting houses in the background of the park. It was no longer actual winter, so there was some colour in the bridge and vegetation to add to the scene.

I remember the circumstances of this next photo. I had been to a nearby spot along the river, trying to photograph this same building while using a time exposure to capture the rushing foreground water. As I was about to get in the car to leave, I saw the light through the trees by the parking lot and snapped a quick photo. I ended up liking it better than the photos that I had striven to capture only moments before. It was good that I was flexible enough to seize the unexpected opportunity.

We are not exactly party types, but Sue was rocking her wardrobe at Danica's birthday dinner at the buffet Chinese restaurant. This phone photo simply demanded to be included in my April photos. In the photo, Sue is wearing actual art clothing produced by one of her photo contacts. She certainly put her best self forward on that special day. It's good to do that sometimes.

Well, those are two more months of retrospective photos. When I began this little project, I was thinking of choosing only one photo per month, but sometimes life takes us in other directions, and we have to be adaptable. 

Photo Retrospective i

Aside from sometimes enjoying the Eve, mostly in the distant past, I have never much been fussed by New Years. And I have never bothered to do either New Years retrospectives or resolutions. This year, however, I have decided to choose a few photos from each month to do a kind of retrospective. This won't be a deep, nostalgic dive but just quick hits about why I am choosing each photo. It's not about the excellence of the photos, for with one or two possible exceptions, they are not that. However, as I looked back, I have found that there are some that I would like to say something about.

I must confess that there will be six posts, each covering two months. However, there are only a handful of photos in each post, and my commentaries will be brief. I know . . . promises, promises.

January

I was standing by the river with the water rushing past a clump of ice that was affixed to a branch. I like the general composition  plus the sense of motion. While it would have been great to have the branch and ice in sharper focus, they were been jostled about by the fast-flowing river. It is not my usual type of photo, but I am glad that I saw the possibility here.

I helped Sue in her project of taking a photo in each season, but something about this winter photo appeals to be more that the those of the other seasons. She looks like a snow queen amidst the soft winter ambience. We have some good photo-memories together.

I got a photo of Jonathan in a good hockey moment as he stood poised by the goalie while the puck bulged the twine at the back of the net. He didn’t score this goal, but he was an important part of the play, and he did the right thing by going to the net. This may have been the last hockey photo that I will ever take of him as he has retired from the sport. I'm glad that it's of a special moment.

I like the next understated winter scene from our nearby park. For me, the subdued colour and tone suit winter, and I rather like the row of trees that are well-distanced from each other, each having its own space.

February

I remember taking this photo. We had been shooting at the other end of the park on a bitterly cold evening, but decided to drive over and check out this spot before heading home. There may be a lesson here about sticking with it and giving it one more try. It's probably good advice for both photography and life. Also, you have to be adaptable; whereas I had been setting up tripod photos carefully, I handheld this one as I quickly exited the car and just as quickly hopped back in. For one thing, it was cold, and for another, we were losing the light quickly.

This next photo also has to do with sticking with it, but in a different way. We had stopped at the dam in Appleton during the previous winter, but my normal lens hadn't captured the scene as well as I would have liked. But one frosty February day, I had the idea to return with my telephoto lens and to photograph the remains of the building from various focal lengths. I decided that I like this view best. I am very happy with the angle of the fallen tree in front of the wall. Aside from the texture of the wall, the photo has pristine, white snow and also ice and water. I am also taken with the blue winter tones.

That's is for the first two months of 2023. I hope you will be to tolerate five more posts of this type.

Danica's New Year Triumph

 

It is a particularly momentous new year for Danica because  . . .

. . . she passed her road test and got her driving license. 

She was very nervous beforehand, but she sailed through.

Then, on Saturday evening, Danica and JJ popped in for s shorth visit, just because they could. There was another first just after they left us when  they were stopped by a RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) spot check. Of course, they passed.

Meanwhile . . .