The Human Form

I have several images printed and framed on the wall in my home. Most are nature and landscapes but a few are of the human figure. A few years ago I started a project photographing the body in nature. Yes it has been done many times before. Some of the great masters of photography (Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston, and Alfred Stieglitz just to name a few) all did nudes in the environment. Regardless of how many images are out there of this subject, I enjoy the challenge this type of work brings.

I find it challenging to bring these two elements together - the body, and the landscape. While being aware of the responsibility of working with the body, I want to ensure I’m creating art. I also want to ensure the model is comfortable with what I’m doing.

When people come into our home and see my work on the wall, most are a little uncomfortable with the nude in nature images. I’m sure this has a lot to do with our culture. Maybe if I lived in Europe, I would get a very different reaction. Most are a little reluctant to look. But I can’t think of a more beautiful and interesting subject. It is different from what I do day to day. I think we all need to have little projects to energize our creative muscle.

I have worked with people I know well and with models that are paid for their time. The first few times I did this kind of work I was nervous and very self-conscious. After a few tries I was able to slow down, relax, and really see what I was doing. The process becomes collaboration between the model, my assistant, and me. We work together to get the best pose and the best look.

It’s wonderful when all the elements come together.

Twenty Minutes

I have been watching some of the Olympic coverage this week. So much preparation goes into just a few minutes of performance. You can see the pressure and tension on the faces of the athletes. Now those of you that know me well, know that I’m no athlete! But you can make comparisons to photography and sport.
This summer I spent much of my time in the canoe. Lori and I traveled extensively in Ontario and we covered a lot of ground. This has been a particularly challenging year for me personally and professionally. My tank was completely empty, both physically and mentally. Having the time to canoe through the Canadian wilderness for a few weeks has restored my balance and much improved my frame of mind. I didn’t have the constant pressure of driving long distances for days on end. I let go, I didn’t push. Just paddled, read, swam and when the light was too good to ignore, I took photographs.
Was it my most productive year for images? No, not even close. But like the Olympic athletes, this is a physical and mental game. Sometimes you need to just let it go, don’t try so hard. Think, dream and wait for it.Nearing the end of our travels this summer, Lori and I found ourselves camped on a beach at the edge of Lake Manitou in the north west end of Algonquin Provincial Park. We spent a week in the park mid August. I didn’t shoot much but on the 5^th day, we had a storm. After it cleared we crawled out of the tent, went for a swim, and then played cards on the beach. The light started to look sweet and when I could no longer stand it, I got my camera out. I shot as it changed. After the sun set, the light and clouds and reflections were still spectacular. I did what I have trained myself to do. I didn’t have to think about it. It’s just a reaction to the light. My equipment becomes an extension of my body. My movements are smooth and concise. I have an explosion of action. In 20 minutes it’s all over and I’m left with a feeling of joy and contentment.
Sometimes we have to let go of what we love to do. It will always come back if you let it. Sometimes we hold on too much, we try too hard. We push ourselves. Nothing is fun anymore and we loose our purpose.

For 20 minutes this summer, I was in my zone.

The Landscape

I guess it’s what I do. I’m a landscape photographer. It seems so simple. Get up early, get into position and hope for fabulous light. There is the odd issue that crops up: long drives, bad food, cheap motels, or a leaky tent. And then there’s the bugs - lots of bugs, leaches, spiders and ticks. I have been covered in wood ticks. Lori calls me a “tick magnet”. Clever girl.

I started with a modest amount of equipment. It easily fit into a small backpack – just a couple of camera bodies, a wide angle to medium telephoto and a macro lens. I would head out for a week or two at a time, sometimes by car, sometimes by canoe. I would look, listen and learn. I didn’t have a long lens. Often I would see animals and birds and think, that would make a beautiful photo but it’s out of my reach. Instead I concentrated on the landscape and the beauty of the Canadian wilderness.

After a few years I could afford a big lens. I bought a used manual focus Canon 500 f 4.5. It was real sharp and I got pretty good with it. So I started to shoot both landscape and wildlife. I joked with a friend, “When I’m looking for landscape images I see wildlife. And when I’m looking for wildlife I see landscapes.”

I started to go prepared for everything. I got a huge backpack and added medium format to my tool box. This meant I had to have one set of lenses for my 35 mm equipment and another for my 6X7 system. I have to admit, I did get some good images because I carried all my equipment with me, but it wasn’t much fun with all that stuff on my back.

I seem to have lost my way in the past few years. I have lost touch with what I do.

With high-resolution digital cameras, I only carry one system now so it’s easier for me to carry everything. But more and more, I want to get back to the landscape. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love photographing animals and birds. I just don’t think I can do both really well. For the first time in ten years, we don’t have a big road trip planned. I’m hoping to wander in Ontario and get back to what I think I do best - waiting and dreaming of light touching a beautiful Canadian scene.

The Canary: Almost Gone

I have been driving by the old Canary Restaurant in Toronto's Distillery District for years. I've also dropped in and had coffee with a friend, or driven by when they were using it as a movie set and I have recognized the place in several films and TV shows.

The Canary closed down in April 2007. I'm not sure of its fate.



We were heading home on Sunday and decided to stop and take a few photographs. I shot with a Canon 1Ds Mk III and a 16-35mm lens. Later I converted them to Black and White and added a diffused glow in Photoshop.

These old buildings hold so much character and texture.








(The 2 images shown above and to the right are the same image - just adjusted differently in Photoshop. Which do you prefer?)













I must get out and do more of this around town. So much to do and so little time!

Can I take your picture?

Photographing people doesn’t come naturally to me. I’m not sure why, but I’ve really had to work hard to create portraits that work for me. Landscapes seem to jump out at me and I’m compelled to capture them. I see the potential for an image much easier out in the great outdoors. Animals don’t seem to be as much of a problem for me either. I just sit quietly with a big lens and wait for them to come to me. It just feels different with people. Maybe I’m just shy or simply I don’t want to bother someone by pushing a camera in his or her face.

Over the years I have forced myself to photograph friends, family and strangers. By sheer repetition, I have learned to relax and have a little more fun with it.

My neighbour Bob asked me to take his photo as a promotional piece. He was a jazz musician and had a gig coming up. He needed a head shot for the concert hall website. I was reluctant and said “it’s not really what I do”. But as usual Bob convinced me that we would have some fun and that it wouldn’t be a problem if we didn’t get something usable.

We got this shot (right) in his living room. I set up a paper seamless backdrop and shot with one umbrella and bounced the other flash head off the ceiling for fill. I was using a 400 W/S Lumidyne flash system - a wonderful little battery powered unit that still serves me well for most portraits. We both really liked this shot. Bob died a few years back, and I cherish this image. It’s a wonderful reminder of our friendship and the connection we had.

I still have so much to learn about lighting and photography. More importantly, photographing people takes a great deal of knowledge about human behaviour. How do you make them relax, how do you capture their essence, their personality? You need to listen and look. Most of all you need to make them comfortable and let them know you want to show them in a good light. This isn’t always an easy thing to do.

While in China few years ago I was wandering around the City of Nanjing one morning and came across a man cooking in the street. He had a steady stream of customers stopping to buy something to eat on their way to work. I stopped and smiled at him. He smiled back. I pointed at the camera and then at him. Our only language was smiling and gesturing to each other. I started to take several photos. I have several images where he is not paying much attention to the camera, but I like this one where he stopped and posed for me. It was our connection.

We recently went to a family dinner at my wife’s sister’s place. It was a nice evening with good food and conversation. One of the guests that night was a 94-year-old woman. She was full of life and spark. She has travelled the world and experienced life first hand. I asked if I could photograph her. She said sure, maybe after dinner. I looked around and picked a place that would allow me to set up without disturbing the rest of the guests. I found the power outlet and made a mental note of where everything would go. We all were having such a good time at the dinner table, we lost track of the time. The woman looked at her watch and said she had better go. My wife, Lori mentioned the photos, and she agreed to stay another 15 minutes or so. I still had to set up my lights and get ready. I rushed to set up. As she was sitting down, she reached up to adjust her hat. I saw it coming. I had just set the camera on manual and had guessed what the exposure should be based on my lighting set up. I wanted to do a few test shots first but when I saw what she was about to do, I shot anyway. I’m glad I did.

Anticipation and knowing your equipment - yes these things are important but the most important thing is to act on your instincts and ask the question, “Can I take your picture?”.

The Mosquito

Usually I wait a few weeks before selecting my best images from a photographic shoot. I know some of my photographer friends select and work their images daily. But I prefer to let them sit awhile. I think I’m more objective and ruthless at editing after a few weeks have past. When I was going through images from our trip east this summer I came across a sequence of images I took using a Canon 5D with a 180 macro on a tripod. A mosquito was on my hand and I shot it while it filled with my blood. I remembered shooting as it pulled out but I didn’t remember shooting after it had lifted off. Here is the entire sequence put together as an animated gif in Photoshop.

The Waiting Game

You know the old saying, “I have all the patience in the world, I just don’t have time to use it”. Nature photography is often a waiting game. Sometimes it’s worth waiting and sometimes it’s not. Do you have trouble with this? I know I do. If the light is good and nothing is happening in front of my eyes, I often want to cut and run to the next location. But sometimes if you just sit tight and wait, you can get that extra special image. In the first example (above right), I was shooting in Southern Saskatchewan and spotted this Richardson’s ground squirrel at the side of the road. I used a 500 mm lens and shot from the window of the van using a bean bag for support. The light was still good but it was nearing the end of the morning shoot. I had taken what I thought were good images when I noticed another ground squirrel coming out of the same hole. After about 10 minutes I was able to take the next image (left). Now that’s a little more interesting. The voices in my head start to speak a little louder now. “That’s enough, I’m hungry, and the light is getting harsh…..”.



But wait there is a third head poking up, so I keep shooting. Finally the second and third squirrels are up and they form a nice grouping (right). Now I would love to say this always happens when I force myself to sit quietly somewhere and wait but it doesn’t. Nine times out of ten nothing interesting happens at all and I’m left wondering what I missed down the road.

What about that other side of the coin? What if there is something better down the road? It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it. Sometimes you just have to listen to your gut and go with it. For example, I was in Brockville, Ontario during last year's Thanksgiving weekend and got up early to shoot some scenes in this picturesque town on the St. Lawrence River.

I was in the old section of town and was shooting just as the sky and city lights start to blend together. It was okay, some good stock shots but nothing dramatic. I could see the sun was just about to clear the horizon and the voices in my head started to speak. “Look there’s mist. This could be interesting”. I decide to listen to the voices and head down to the river. As the sun came through the mist it was quite dramatic. I shot a few frames and checked the histogram for exposure. (image below)
I could hear a boat coming and got myself ready to shoot as it passed the highlight in the water. (see image below)
But when I heard the rowers coming I really got excited. (see image below) So sometimes you are rewarded by staying put and sometimes you are rewarded by moving on.
How many times have you run into a photographer and they say “you should have been here 5 minutes ago”? I hear it all the time. I guess you can’t get them all. A lot of your decisions will be based on a number of factors such as how long do you have (an hour, week or month?) and how well do you know the area? This is where research and scouting locations ahead of time becomes very important. If you know where to be when the light hits, you know your options and can make more informed decisions. The more informed you are, the more you can trust those nagging voices in your head.