Newsletter No. 61: August 2010
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CONTENTS
- Motherstone Book Proofs Arrive: Looking Good!
- Motherstone Book Promotional Tour: Look for one near you!
- September Workshop: Open to Everyone
- Expressing a Powerful Moment: Volcanic Landscape
- Graduation Gift: The Bowron Lakes cont’d.
1. Motherstone Book Proofs Arrive
This past week the full colour proofs of the Motherstone book arrived. This is always an exciting time for it is the first time I get a sense of what the book will really look like.
Book designer, Bill Horne, has put so much work into the creation of all the volcanic illustrations and diagrams as well as the design features that would bring the words and images into a living form…a beautiful book. It’s the time when we scrutinize every page for possible errors and every image for colour balance and sharpness. It’s the time when we hope that the work of everyone involved during the past two years is realized.
I combed through the entire book three times. Rita and our friend Mike Duffy also looked through the book. Because I am so familiar with every image and the entire process of preparing each one, I could see a few minor image quality issues. But when neither Rita or Mike noticed any of them, I knew that those issues were minor and certainly not worth risking further delays in the printing process.
So the proofs were approved and the word to proceed with printing was sent to the printers. Next, we will see the REAL book! That is a very exciting day and I’ll let you know when it arrives. Stay tuned!!
2. Motherstone Book Promotional TourWe are on the Road Again – much like this Mountain goat travelling through the Itcha volcano
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III. Even though I was hiding behind a huge boulder, this mountain goat was very aware of my presence. I made this image at ISO 800; 1/1600 sec; and f-9. I don’t remember why I was using that high an ISO but obviously I could have shot at 400 ISO with a slower shutter speed of 1/800 sec., thus reducing the possibility of extra noise and with ample shutter speed to capture the goat in full sharpness. Rita and I will be traveling to several locations throughout the province with a powerful multi-media presentation about the Motherstone. Book signings will take place at each. The book promotional tour will begin with the official launch here in 100 Mile House on October 16th. Other dates which have been confirmed so far are:
- October 16; 100 Mile House – Grand Launch
- October 20; Williams Lake with Friends of Churn
- October 24; Salmon Arm with the Shuswap Photo Arts Club
- November 3; Prince George with the Prince George Photo Club
- November 9; Victoria with the Victoria Natural History Society
- November 10; Port Moody with the Pacific Digital Photo Club
- November 12; Quadra Island with the Quadra Sierra Club
- November 13; Campbell River with Coho Books
- November 24; Langley with the Langley Camera Club
- December 3; Kamloops with the Kamloops Photo Arts Club
- December 9; Vernon with the Allan Brooks Nature Centre
- December 11; Quesnel with the Quesnel Ski Club
- January 7; Sechelt with the Sunshine Coast Natural History Society
- January 27; Vancouver with Nature Vancouver
We will also be attending Christmas Craft & Art Shows in Prince George at Studio Fair, Quesnel, Willliams Lake’s Medieval Market, Circle Craft in Vancouver, and Out of Hand in Victoria.
If any of you know of anyone or any organization that might be interested in hosting a Motherstone evening, please get in touch with Rita here at the office. We would love to hear from you.
For all the latest information and updates regarding the book, the promotional tour, and Christmas Art Shows, stay tuned to this newsletter and/or visit my web site at www.chrisharris.com. and go to the ‘Appearances’ page.
3. September Workshop: Open to EveryoneOn September 18, I will be presenting a photographic workshop for the Professional Photographers of Canada at their BC 2010 Convention in Kelowna. The workshop is titled “Have a Dream; Take a Chance; Work like Hell”.
This workshop will centre around the exciting journey that has taken me from banker to wilderness guide to professional freelance nature photographer and publisher. An emphasis will be placed on shooting fine art imagery and the entire process of publishing your own book. The workshop is open to everyone. Details are on the poster above.
4. Expressing a Powerful MomentPatterned Ground, Ilgachuz Volcano
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III. This image was made with settings of ISO250; f-22; 1/30sec; with a 14mm lens. These settings were chosen to produce maximum depth of focus, from the stones at my feet to Pipe Organ Mountain in the distance. When I stood over my tripod looking through my viewfinder, I knew I was creating a very important image. I could feel the energy coming up through my feet. It was powerful.
The image was made in Ilgachuz Park which I like to refer to as the Ilgachuz Gallery. The artwork in this Gallery was created by Mother Nature over a period of 6 million years and it is not complete as yet. What I saw in my viewfinder was a masterpiece. No one has ever walked through this Gallery room before, except possibly a few mountain goats. No one has ever photographed this masterpiece either. With every rain drop or snow flake, with every freeze and thaw, these volcanic stones are further arranged and sorted by weight, density, colour and gravity; the creation of this masterpiece continues. This Gallery is being re-hung daily.
As a photographer I felt privileged to be in this Gallery and to be the first to make an image of this artwork. As Harold Rhenisch (writer of this book) so eloquently wrote, “it was as if the Earth was seeing itself for the very first time”.
Patterned Ground, Ilgachuz Volcano
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III. This image was made with settings of ISO250; f-22; 1/15sec; with a 14mm lens. These settings were chosen to produce maximum depth of focus. This image captures part of another masterpiece hanging in the same Gallery, made by the same artist over a similar period of time. The materials for this artwork have come from thousands of kilometres beneath the earth’s surface; several ice ages have influenced the patterns.
The process of photographing this volcanic book over a period of two years has changed my view of the Planet, it has changed my perspective about art, and it has changed me as a person and as a photographer. I am different now.
5. Graduation Gift: The Bowron Lakes cont’d.Paddling on Lanezi Lake
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III.This image was made with settings of ISO 350; f-11; 1/640sec; with a zoom lens at 28mm. These settings were chosen to produce maximum depth of focus as well as to freeze the action. In my last Newsletter I shared a few images and experiences that Rita and I experienced when we took her daughter Teresa (and friends) on a trip around the Bowron Lake chain for her graduation. Here are two more images.
On day six we left our campsite on Lanezi Lake and paddled beneath the two highest mountains within the park. The highest peak is Mount Ishpa on the left. Ishpa is a First Nations word meaning ‘father’.
Cedar Tree
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III.This image was made with settings of ISO50; f-22; 0.8sec; with a zoom lens at 105mm. To create this abstraction I used a slow shutter speed and moved my camera up and down along the same vertical plane as the tree. At the end of Lanezi Lake, we stopped for a stretch and a snack. I grabbed my camera, and without a tripod, I began to create abstracts in the cedar-hemlock forest. The key to this image is choosing a tree with an appropriate background without any distracting clutter. The green foliage at the bottom was chosen to give a base to the composition. One of the reasons I like this image is that the vertical blur lends itself to the vertical bark strips of the cedar tree. You can still identify the cedar tree but not any of the other surrounding trees.
Wherever you are, the creative possibilities are endless.
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