Newsletter No. 35: June 2008

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CONTENTS

A Walk Around the House
A Journey in the volcanic Painted Chasm
The New Exhibit at the Gallery

Hi everyone,

YAHOOO…on June 13th I headed out to photograph for the first time in months and it felt so grand. Finally, after 12 weeks of pneumonia I am back to my usual self – full of beans and out shooting almost every day. I was starting my new book project at last.

So now I have new imagery to share with you and you can start to follow the creation of my new book project on the volcanics of the Cariboo Chilcotin region of British Columbia. It all begins NOW!

Enjoy the Newsletter, and pass it on to interested friends. Remember, our goal here at the Gallery is to share the creative process, and promote the arts; thus strengthening our artistic community. Thank you.

1. A Walk Around the House

I had a little more energy so, as I walked slowly from my house to the gallery office, I found myself thinking photography. I started to see imagery and I felt an inner excitement. I turned around, went back to my study, put a macro lens on my camera, and once again headed toward the office.

Water Droplets I

Canon EOS-1Ds MarkIII;
Lens:100mm macro;;
Focal length: 53mm; ISO: 100;
Shutter speed: 0.4 sec; Aperture: 22
Exp. mode: AV;

Water Droplets II

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III;
Lens:100mm macro
Focal length: 100mm; ISO: 100;
Shutter speed: 0.6 sec; Aperture: 22
Exp.comp: +2/3

It had rained during the early morning and the rain drops seemed captured by the Ladies Mantle leaves. They immediately drew my attention so that is where I began. I made Water Droplets I & II using a tripod. This is because I wanted to shoot with an aperture of f-22 for max. depth of focus. To do that, of course, means using a very slow shutter speed making it impossible to hand hold and maintain clarity. Everywhere I pointed my lens, dramatic new compositions revealed themselves.

Water Droplets III

Canon EOS-1Ds MarkIII; Lens:100mm macro;
Focal length: 100mm; ISO: 400; Shutter speed: 1/3200 sec; Aperture: 2.8
Exp. mode: AV; Exp.comp: +2/3

To me, the most exciting part of macro photography is to not use a tripod at all, set your aperture to 2.8 (wide open, for minimum depth of focus), and just go exploring by pushing your lens throughout your subject. You will enter a world you never knew existed because you don’t see this way with your naked eye.

So down on my tummy I went to explore, in this case to explore the world of rain drops. Because the field of focus is so shallow, you have to pay incredible attention to what you are focusing on. In the case above, I positioned myself to capture as many of the large drops in the foreground in focus. I was also paying close attention to the position of the drops in the background that were thrown completely out of focus.

The arrangement of these large ‘circles of confusion’, as I call them, is critical to the overall composition. In this image, I am aware of the two rectangular shapes (bottom ¼ and top ¾’s of the image space), and the placement of the most important droplets – the two most focused ones in the bottom right and the large and brightest one in the upper left. Both of these are in the 1/3 position for overall balance.

There is a lot to consider as one explores, both technically and artistically, but improvement comes with practice. The journey of visual discovery is so worth the effort!

2. A Journey into the volcanic Painted Chasm

Now, feeling completely better, I donned my full camera back pack and headed for Painted Chasm Provincial Park near Clinton, B.C. I had been here before, but this time the vision of my new book project gave my mind a new focus. I began to see through new eyes. As opposed to the Grasslands which had their beginnings in post glacial times, this landscape here had its beginnings many millions of years ago. This was exciting stuff!

The Chasm I

Canon EOS-1Ds MarkIII;
Focal length: 43mm; ISO: 100; Shutter speed: 1/10 sec;
Aperture: 20; Exp. mode: AV;

This first image that was taken from the parking lot gives an overview of the Chasm. At the close of the Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, a stream fed by melting ice cascaded over a falls forming this chasm by cutting into some of the lava flows that helped build the Fraser Plateau.

The Chasm II

Canon EOS-1Ds MarkIII;
Focal length: 85mm; ISO: 100; Shutter speed: 1/20 sec;
Aperture: 18; Exp. mode: AV;

This picture is a panorama comprised of two landscape format images stitched together. It was taken at the far end of the Chasm as seen in the above image, but instead of being made on a bright overcast day, it was made on a rain and misty day providing a totally different mood.

In this image you can just begin to see the layers of lava on the left hand cliffs; each representing a different lava flow. In my next Newsletter I take you beyond the overall view and show you some of the exciting details I discovered. The formations and colours sure took me by surprise.

3. The New Exhibit at the Gallery

On June 6th we were excited to be able to hang 12 new print editions in the main upstairs gallery. This was the first time since opening that we had been able to introduce so many new images as prints; now that we were finished the Grasslands project and could look ahead to new things. We had a lovely evening reception, with many friends dropping in to toast the new exhibit, and many more not able to attend.

Here it is! To view each image in full, with descriptions and pricing information, just click on each one. Enjoy!

Rock Outcrop	Fraser River Canyon Wall	Snag at Sunset
Sage & Autumn Colours	Spotted Lake	Deception Falls
Churn Creek Canyon	The Slow Sign	Spirit of the Forest