Fascinating belly-button

Fascinating belly-button, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 9, 2009
The day was Thursday. I went to Kitchener to visit my family, Oksana and the kids. There was an additional bonus – Oksana’s mom is here. So we got to talk a bit and catch up. I heard a lot of stuff about the family, saw quite a few photos. It was a nice visit. The kids behaved well and even stayed home for most of the day. I got to take a few photos. They did not want to pose at first but then somehow got into it. As a result I have a couple of really good pics.
This one is probably my favourite. It was not a deliberate shot. Adam was sitting on the deck and I just took a photo without even looking through the viewfinder. I liked the way he was sitting and just took a snapshot. The colours were lovely and very similar in tone but in the end they were distracting. I had trouble getting a good white balance on this particular batch so after fixing up the shot in ACR I decided to try Creamy Chocolate B&W action. And it worked! I did not expect to have such a beautiful result! I like everything about. The light is very soft (I guess that’s part of the “creamy” layer), the contrast is good but not overdone, the sharpness makes Adam stand out from the backgrounds, the skin tone is bright but not washed out. It’s not perfect, technically speaking, but I’m proud of it. It is a kind of photo that I would want to take every time I visit the kids.

I also had a few decent shots of Daniel. There was one in particular that I’m very happy with. This one:
In full colour it was lovely and bright. But when I used it for one of the lessons in my online Photography class, I made it vintage and instantly fell in love with the new look. The subtlety of the colours is so appealing! I love bright and saturated photos but this one has such unusual appeal that I had to try the same effect on other pictures. None worked out as well as this one but a few looked really good! I can see now how mediocre photos can be made into something very interesting!

Unexpected discovery

Unexpected discovery, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 7, 2009

This was Tuesday. A slow day. I did not do anything. Went with the doggie for a walk in the park.

I tried taking some new photos from new perspectives. This shot was an unexpected idea. I could not do it exactly right since I only had 50mm lens with me. But I still like the shot. It is not very clear but I’m pleased with my developing ability to find an unusual perspective, execute a shot, and get a good result. For a number of months I could not put all the knowledge into practice but recently I began to notice an increasing ability to apply my theoretical knowledge.

I’m still not very well versed in manipulating RAW files but I’m beginning to learn. I’m hoping to get around to using Lightroom (it’s like a full scale ACR without full Photoshop). So far I’m more comfortable with results from my PSE ACR.

Busy boardwalk

Busy boardwalk, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 4, 2009
I guess for the US it was Independence Day (I did watch that movie in the evening so I’m almost patriotic). It was a nice Saturday.
I dropped the dog off at his daycare and went to the park. This one is by Lakeshore across from the Exhibition. Don’t know what it’s called. The day was very sunny. I saw a few clouds but they were always in the distance. The wind was blowing pretty good and I even got chilly in the shadows.
I wanted to take some photos of the flag for an online photo group (experimenting with shutter speed). I tried different lenses but I just don’t know what angle to shoot at! It was very frustrating. I only saved two photos that are somewhat decent. I also had an idea to take some silhouette photos. I never do them because I rarely pay attention to technique. But this time I was in the mood! I’m not sure why but I was relaxed and clear-minded. I actually planned out this shot (the one on the top)!! I found a person on the bench. I found the bench between two trees. I looked for a more interesting background than just water. I adjusted my exposure for the background with the intention to darken the blacks in the foreground even more in post-processing. It worked! I got exactly what I wanted and I did it deliberately! I used my knowledge of the camera and exposure to get this shot. It is not ideal, of course. Noon is not the best time to take pictures, so the background is a bit washed out. But the contrast is perfect. I’m happy with this one. I had a good time in the park just sitting and reading. My camera and half a dozen lenses were not burdensome. And a few of my pictures came out very well.
It was an awesome day!
Oh! and I met a guy who misplaced his drumming band. He stopped close to where I was sitting and just stood there until I looked at him. He told me he was looking for his drumming group (or band) and it took him a couple of minutes to decide what to do. I had to volunteer a few ideas of what might have happened. It was an odd moment. In the end he did find his group. I guess they were just late (like I suggested).

A day of birds

Peeking, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 3, 2009
This was Friday. I went to the Butterfly Habitat again looking for those butterflies. It was windy and cloudy so no butterflies. I caught a couple of birds. Nothing interesting.
Oh well…

Bzzzz…

Bzzzz…, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 2, 2009
I was walking the dog in High Park today and found some butterflies. So I thought I’d go with all my lenses and take a few pictures. I did not go to High Park; instead, I stopped by the lake at the Butterfly Habitat. Well, it was a cloudy day, so no butterflies. I took a few other photos and some of them came out ok. I’m not totally happy with them because I keep having issues with quality, sharpness, colour, exposure. Not all at ones. This photos recorded the yellow colour very oddly. I calibrated the RAW file in ACR but I have doubts about the way it came out. Maybe I notice all this because the files are RAW. Perhaps in jpg things would look differently?
I guess it’ll have to do, especially since I have bigger problems. I cannot think when I photograph. I rush to snap something and don’t slow down to consider what I’m doing. I inadvertently begin to work on a principle that the more photos I take the better chances are that a few of them will be good. Unfortunately that works sometimes; it becomes a very negative encouragement. I’m ok with how this photo came out; even though the yellow is a bit bright.

Gentle kitty

Gentle kitty, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 1, 2009 Canada Day
July already. I’m not happy with the way time flies. I cannot get a grip on anything. It seems only yesterday I was concerned that summer is almost here and now it’s half over.
I did not plan anything for Canada Day hoping I might go and have a nice BBQ with Ivanka. It worked out well. We had a nice time. We ate some good food and had a nice conversation. Great day, nothing spectacular.
I took a few photos. But only a couple were interesting. I like this one. It’s not like any other cat photos I took before. I had my wide angle zoom with me so I decided to try this kind of photo. I think the cat looks scarier in wide view.
It was a nice day. Sunny and cloudy at different times. I’m not sure at which moment I took this photo but it was well exposed, so I guess the lighting was good enough.

Always trailing behind

Always trailing behind, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

June 30, 2009
This will be my post for today. I was walking the dog and took my camera with me. I tried to take the photo without looking through the viewfinder. I was not very successful. First, I was walking so most pics are a bit blurry. Second, I cannot focus properly; I had to rely on accident. Thirdly, I often missed the subject and just shot bits of sky or grass. I guess such skill needs a lot of practice. I did like some results. This one seems interesting. Even though it’s totally blurry I like it. It shows what I wanted to see and the blur can indicate the motion (I’m crossing my finger that this will be considered artistic).
Now I have to go and some stuff for tomorrow. I might get to celebrate Canada Day with my friends.

by the Grenadier pond

by the Grenadier pond, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

June 27, 2009
Most of the Saturday was very mundane. My cleaning lady came by, doggie spent a day at daycare, and I went shopping a bit. Later in the day I got together with Olena for a little walk in the park. She hogged my camera and kept snapping shots of me. None came out very interesting. I didn’t take interesting shots either.
It was a decent walk but a bit hot.

Wide-lens doggie

Wide-lens doggie, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

June 28, 2009
This was Sunday, the first day of a week-long rainy season. I gave the doggie a chance to run around on our way home back from Tim Horton’s. He got a little wet and dirty. I got a little frustrated and loud (trying to take photos of him). We wasted the rest of the day home doing absolutely nothing. Good times!

Draft Day

June 26, 2009

Today is draft day! I heard that Mr. Burke can do miracles on this day but I’m not very optimistic. It’s been nerve-wrecking! We are not getting Tavares that’s for sure, but maybe a second Schenn?

I’m watching M*A*S*H. My dog always howls when he hears opening credits. It’s always always funny.

Might write more after the draft. For now this is it.