tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81103802663766114602009-12-16T10:29:14.436-05:00<b>Ron Erwin Photography</b> <br> All images are ©Ron Erwin and are not to be reproduced without permissionRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-27551828191515233042009-11-29T21:05:00.009-05:002009-12-16T10:29:14.445-05:00

It's our last full day at the Seal River Heritage Lodge. I think we all sense how special this trip has been. There are lots of bears around and we continue to photograph them.Polar Bear - click for largerIt's difficult to work like I normally do. I see amazing things like the way the light hits the landscape. But I can’t just pick up my gear and react to it like I usually would. To head out of

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-54715835438013686222009-11-26T22:11:00.007-05:002009-11-27T18:03:36.095-05:00

We get up at 6:30am even though sunrise isn't until after 9. So we have a leisurely pace in the morning. Breakfast is at 7am. The food is so good! The staff here are all friendly and very good at what they do. They are always smiling! We chat it up over the great food and thoughts of what will come of the day. A polar bear sits just outside the dining room window. After breakfast, Mike informs

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-44012345586406552282009-11-21T12:46:00.010-05:002009-11-22T17:13:34.685-05:00

I walked up to the Calm Air departure desk in Winnipeg blurry eyed and half asleep. The man said, "Pick a bag." "Excuse me?" I asked. "Pick a priority bag. The flight is full and we will probably have to bump one bag." Hmmm, camera bag, or clothes and tripod? I picked the camera bag. I would rather freeze than go without my cameras! I asked if there was Valet service for my camera bag. No was the

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-28963344919884551532009-11-17T13:12:00.006-05:002009-12-16T10:20:59.612-05:00

It was an uneventful trip to Winnipeg. I sailed through check in and Security in spite of my slightly overweight carry-on. I was in Winnipeg and sitting in the rental car by 10:30 local time. But I wasn't sure what to do. So I looked at the map and decided to head to Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park. It was a nice drive but not much to photograph. I shot some images in Hecla and headed back to

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-9807313871496948412009-11-06T13:03:00.007-05:002009-11-06T14:14:28.621-05:00

A few years ago, I was sitting around with a group of nature photographers after a great photo session at Point Pelee National Park. Dennis Fast was filling our heads with visions of "The North". Dennis is a fabulous photographer, very knowledgeable birder, and one of the nicest people I have ever met. His specialty is polar bears (see http://www.dennisfast.com). Earlier that day Dennis had been

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-56494671117825068162009-11-02T08:00:00.011-05:002009-11-02T18:47:57.933-05:00

Fallen Maple Leaves - click for larger We watched the weather for a few weeks with anxious anticipation. It had been a long time since we had worked Algonquin in peak autumn colour. After several weekends' forecasts for rain, we finally decided just to go on Thanksgiving weekend. On Friday Lori came with me to work so we could leave right after my afternoon class. But at the college there were no

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-53554188353848874852009-10-26T09:38:00.006-04:002009-10-26T11:17:10.088-04:00

Balancing Rock - Click to view Larger I was sitting in a bar in Lowell Massachusetts, The Old Worthen, now called Worthen House. I was having a beer with my good friend Brian Maloney. The Worthen is a very old bar in a very old New England town. Charles Dickens visited there. Jack Kerouac wrote there. It was so full of history and charm.Brian is a fine musician, a really gifted sole that I miss

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-87723573976603779602009-09-24T16:07:00.013-04:002009-09-25T13:27:23.908-04:00

The concept of compositing has been around for a very long time. Many artists combine images and mediums to create collages and composited images. With modern software programs, this process has become easier and faster. I too have created many photographic composites over the years. In fact, I’m often on the lookout for subjects that would make an interesting photo illustration. One example is

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-35774497777049406462009-08-22T20:30:00.008-04:002009-08-23T13:14:46.282-04:00

Gargantua Bay Sunset - click for larger Everyday began the same way. Our tent was at the edge of Gargantua Beach on Lake Superior’s northern shore. Thick clouds had rolled in overnight. It looked like a heavy rainstorm was on its way. At 6 a.m. we would get up to relieve our swollen bladders and go back to bed. By 9 a.m. some of the clouds had started to clear. It looked like it could go either

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-50199264604830472842009-06-14T15:38:00.011-04:002009-06-16T12:16:45.765-04:00

I could do it with my eyes closed: reach into my vest pocket, grab a film canister, and pop the top. The back of the camera would make a low snap sound as it opened. I would slide in a roll and close the back. Over the years I’ve done it thousands of times. But I still remember the first time I shot Kodachrome 64. I used the paper mailer that came with the film that had processing included in the

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-25104223063853534542009-03-28T14:54:00.006-04:002009-03-28T16:00:18.055-04:00

It comes from everywhere. I get my inspiration from the people and things around me. It’s so nice to be surrounded by talented creative people. When I see my students' and colleagues' work, I get excited. They push me to try new things through their work and their words.A former teaching assistant and now friend dropped by the campus to take me out to lunch. Aizick and I always have great

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-83649721795383629542009-03-03T11:19:00.004-05:002009-03-03T12:42:25.526-05:00

Can you imagine, you are 36 years old and you have landed and walked on the moon? How do you follow that? Would you experience anything as exciting or significant ever again? Astronaut Charlie Duke was the youngest person to land on the moon and has led an active productive life since, but I wonder if he sometimes looks up and longs for that day.When it comes to photography, it is possible and I’

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-39804727213147974442009-02-23T08:43:00.003-05:002009-03-03T12:48:18.220-05:00

I don’t know about you but I’m getting tired of all the doom and gloom surrounding the current economic news these days. Yes we are in for a rough ride. And yes many people are already suffering from job loss or at least reduced incomes. But is the sky really falling? Bad enough it’s February without all the talk about recession or worse - depression.Speaking of depression, I recently had a

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-20084838371164227482009-01-23T09:32:00.005-05:002009-01-23T11:03:08.310-05:00

An HDR image makes me feel like I did when I first shot Fuji Velvia, a very saturated slide film. So I’m not sure what to think about HDR. I know I was wrong about Velvia. I didn’t really like the film's exaggerated colour and saturation. Of course I did change from Kodachrome 25 to Velvia 50 and shot it for years. My images from those days continue to sell. It must be a fatal flaw of my

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-21984671914362724802008-12-29T13:03:00.006-05:002009-01-22T10:56:00.819-05:00

This year we wanted to do something different for Christmas. But going south was not in our budget. We thought the charming and historic old city of Quebec would be wonderful to see at Christmas time. I didn’t want to drive all that way in winter since we just park the car and walk everywhere anyway. So we took the train.Lori and I have stayed in Quebec City a couple of times before in summer.

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-6409973060989114582008-10-11T15:01:00.004-04:002009-01-22T10:59:52.216-05:00

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.

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-70558973468535845942008-08-24T10:11:00.008-04:002009-01-22T11:01:54.139-05:00

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

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-82368999313852985272008-04-16T13:46:00.004-04:002009-01-22T11:10:25.402-05:00

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

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-20125955536083175842008-04-07T15:01:00.008-04:002009-01-22T11:11:13.839-05:00

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.

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-74667076966628509552007-11-28T11:16:00.001-05:002009-01-22T11:12:47.493-05:00

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

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-28848510386899489312007-11-07T10:05:00.001-05:002009-01-22T11:14:38.546-05:00

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

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-75897264007543875442007-10-15T13:32:00.001-04:002009-01-22T11:16:24.408-05:00

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

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-28989687511160929282007-10-03T13:11:00.001-04:002009-01-22T11:17:43.501-05:00

It’s rarely good news when the phone rings after midnight. As soon as I heard Mom’s voice, I knew. I was numb. My Dad was 82 years old. He lived a good full life. I knew the day was coming but it’s still hard when the call comes. Dad was born in 1925. He grew up on the Danforth in Toronto. Life was hard for a family with 9 kids in the depression. We didn’t hear much about those early days.

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110380266376611460.post-40389506001808203182007-09-26T12:03:00.001-04:002009-01-22T11:19:32.088-05:00

Ideas for images come to me in the night. They come to me while I'm driving somewhere or doing something other than photography. Where does creativity come from? I'm not sure anyone knows. It comes through me and from me and when I least expect it. It's not something I can force or control. Sometimes I get a great idea when I'm stressed and under pressure, or sometimes when I'm bored and navel

Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08538106001218251719images@ronerwin.com4