Playing & Practicing

 Playing & Practicing

I've been playing around with objects I find around the house. Trying different things with angles, composition, lighting & lenses.

I rarely have a specific goal in mind aside from developing a better understanding of light, composition and the gear at my disposal.  I (hopefully) create some decent images, but I often learn as much from the ones that don't work as I do from the ones that do.

Evey once in a while I try something that works out and I think "hey, I've really got something here. This new techniques is great!"  then after I down load the images I realize it's not really new, It's actually something I've seen before or a combination of things I've seen.

Often it's something I tried before and couldn't get the result I wanted, and sometimes it's a technique I wasn't excited about until I combined it with something else & got a more interesting result.

I read enough blog posts & articles & watch enough tutorials that I've always got a few "things to try" in the back of my mind. Somehow they never really click until I try them out. Once I have an example  ready to post, then, I have  new tool to add to my bag of tricks.

That brings us back to playing around & tying new stuff. When I'm working on a specific project I usually play it pretty safe and projects also come with deadlines, so there's not much time to play around.

 
Which is why it's important to play around & try new things when the time is available. Develop new skills when you can, then they are ready and waiting in your tool box when the right project comes along.

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** all photos taken with canon 80D, canon 50mm f2.5 compact macro, 1 light (+ room light) & DIY diffusion.

PoTd - October 30 - Cabbage Night

Pic-of-The-day

 Pic-of-The-day - "One More Day".

 

 Hear in Niagara Falls the night before Halloween is called "Cabbage Night". The name is a regional variation used in this area and few others. Regardless of the name it's a night  for mischief, pranks etc. just as it is in  most other areas.

We haven't really had much trouble, but smashing pumpkins is still quite popular, so we'll probably keep the ones that have already been carved safe in the house or back yard.

Here are more  JOLs (Jack-o-Lanterns) from our 2017 collection.
The cool ones where carved by Kearah
& the regular ones where carved by me.

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PoTd - October 28

Pic-of-The-day

Pic-of-The-day - "Seasonal Craft".

A selection of Jack-o-lanterns from 2017.

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PoTd - October 14

Pic-of-The-day

Pic-of-The-day - "Happy that Halloween is coming".

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PoTd - October 8

Pic-of-The-day

 Pic-of-The-day - "Jack".

Jack's coming ...

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PoTd - September 19

Pic-of-The-day

 

Pic-of-The-day - "Orbs".

In the above "orb photos" the green spots are reflections of the candle flame bouncing around inside the camera lens. The situation is exacerbated by the very dark room with only one bright source and the lens aperture being wide open at f1.4. 

The situation is similar to people who go ghost hunting in dark places with very few light sources. Like in these examples the cameras that are straining to get a decent image and they get 'orbs' similar to the ones I got.

I wish there was more too it, but just about every 'orb photo' I've seen is a variation on,1) the above effect or 2) dust close to the lens lit by an on camera flash.

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PoTd - July 5

Pic-of-The-day

Pic-of-The-day - "Tea & Candle Light".

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Ghost Tours Start this Sunday

Right now there's a group of  dedicated volunteers dusting off their black capes & "oldy tyme'y " lanterns, but most importantly their practicing stories designed to give believers the creeps and make skeptics look over their shoulder 'just in case'.  It's ghost tour season again.

'Ghost tours of Niagara' begin their season of Fort Erie Ghost tours this Sunday May 3rd. Tours will run Sundays at 8:30 through May and June with more days and times during the summer. (Full Schedule Here)

The season wraps up (some might say culminates) with the Halloween Tours in October. If you want to be in 'the most haunted location in the most haunted town in Canada on the mist haunted night of the year' (as it is billed by some of the tour guides) get your tickets early. They go on sale July 2nd and can sell out before Labour Day.

I 'm hoping to make  it out a few times this summer (if that pesky job doesn't get in the way) to hear stories of 1812 soldiers, little girls from the era of the fienian raids & unseen forces that like to torment lone ghost ghost guides & skeptical Quebec exchange students (among others).

If some of us do make it out to the ghost tours this sumemr it might be fun to post something here about our night, and maybe some of the the retired tales from the early days of the ghost tours. 


BTW: there are two books filled with stories from the ghost tours. They are written by ghost tour founder, lover of history & science Kyle Upton. If you ever get the chance to pick one up  DO IT. There a good read and currently out of print.