Great White Pine

A great white pine in south Barrie coated in frost, digitally painted with Christmas lights and shooting star. This winning image received top spot in Barrie's 2010 Christmas card competition.The image is a tribute and symbolic gesture welcoming Barrie's new neighbours  from a recent annexation of Innisfil's lands. Ironically, the tree was sacrificed along with many other trees and natural habitat by eager developers five years prior to the actual annexation.

cloud 10

A band of high altitude cirrus were the tell tale signs of some weather phenomena which started earlier in the day. A perfect example of having a camera always on the ready. I intensely watched the sky during a
2 hr. drive home, ...at about half way, I had to stop and get out before the last of the sun's rays disappeared. The scene was nothing short of spectacular. . A touch of photoshop enhanced these bird like wispy creatures of flight.

57 Chev Bel Air

I was 5 yrs. old when this car came off the GM line in my home town Oshawa. A true classic with art deco style, futuristic curves and rocket age ornaments on the hood. When you're that young, those fins ...are right in your face! How could I forget the polished chrome, sleek finish and of course the baby blue. The raindrops reminded me of those occasional wet family sundays when we played on the street and in parking lots hiding behind cars(not many cars then)...a time to reflect upon. Over 50 years later at the September 2010 Auto flea market in Barrie ...reflecting on the past by means of a 57 chev reminding me of my childhood, where those moments in life seem to last forever and time stands still. (when your 5 yrs. old). The trick is to live like that all the time. Speaking of time, this is an hdr image with 3 - 1 stop bracketed images reflecting a light gray sky after a rain.

GTM car shoot

This was a challenging assignment that required a lot of ingenuity and flexibility to make do with what is available. A vacant parking lot at 5:30 am and a white tractor trailer that just happened to be parked perpendicular to the axis of the rising sun. It was all about positioning the car in various angles to shoot in relationship to the morning magic light and it's reflection from the trailer used as fill light. Of course I brought along a few 4x10 foot sheets of foam core ( a basic staple for large item photography. No lights were used other than natural light. Lots of photoshop removed reflecting trees, light standards and pavement. This car happened to be the first built in Canada, I am honoured to be the first to photograph one here. More about the car...

Tribute to Mother's Day: Filial Piety

Filial Piety... taking care of one's elders. Place: Beijing's White Cloud Taoist Monastery during the chinese new year. Customarily during this time, people come from all over to pay respects, make prayer and offerings to the various virtues and deities of enlightenment in all the places of worship. Some of Lao Tzu's "Tao de Ching " is engraved in stone here (one of the most influential books in history). Touching the various symbols brings good fortune and luck hence the discolouration from the rubbing. An elder woman gets assistance in reaching out to "Open Heart" (compassion) from her son. Red is very symbolic for love, war, fire, energy and represents life and vitality. (notice the smile face?). The shadow created by the hands reveals a shape of wisdom. This unfolding moment in the viewfinder was truly an alignment of elements for me. Time actually stopped...as I gently squeased the shutter. One exposure was all I had time for ....which was plenty. I Love you Mom!

One eyed tree face

This photo is part of April 7, 2009's post April Fool's Snow Day. It's a stand alone without any script. A test for your eye to see how good it is. There are 3 things that don't belong! First right answer gets a signed 8x11 print.

Ice

This series of ice detail closeups were photographed a couple of weeks after the ice sculptures were carved during Barrie's winter festival last February. The melting ice revealed a smooth, fluid surface and a transparent solidity, reflecting the sky and the surrounding colours of winter. What intrigued me the most was where the blocks of ice were joined on their corrugated surfaces. The only part of the ice that wasn't crystal clear. I was hypnotized. The sculptures were beautiful works of art but inside these huge warped crystal balls, was another world to perceive and behold while my imagination ran rampant. 

Roma!

Truly an inspirational place for all the arts, it was everywhere, no matter where I turned I was in awe. The difficulty was being able to focus on the photographable and not the unfamiliarity. I came prepared though with a bit of research on the internet and list of places of photo interest. There was little time, exactly 2.5 days and the first was a rainy one. Over the years, I learned to take advantage with what was available to work with; especially the rain. But it doesn't always rain when they say it does, besides, rain is like nature's varnish on your subject matter. Seek and you shall find! Hopefully the timing for all the right elements works out. Coloseum, sunrise, rain and yes a slight break in the sky.
So, I decided to leave at 5:00 am anyways. Rising early after a transatlantic flight is the best remedy for jet lag. It was still dark, with a bit of purple dawn breaking the horizon as I glanced hurrriedly down the open street turning the corner for the subway....more later...more photos http://www.jbphotoworks.com/roma

Yellow Tulip

I couldn't resist photographing this tulip. It was perfect. The challenge was angle of view, distance from the camera, it's beautiful shape, lines, tones and gradations of yellow to slight orange. It took about 20 shots, each composed slightly different but one shot worked best where I managed to give it quite a painterly look. Of course a little painting touch ups through photoshop accented the painterly look even more. The biggest challenge was using a shallow depth of field while being 4 inches away from the tulip.

I'm back again after a busy summer and fall. Winter is a great time to review the years photography, some old stock photos and have some fun in photoshop. Two images of this composite image are many years old. Last august I captured a series of a glorious sunset that played itself out on the end of my driveway. I in turn played with layering to create a composite digital image using some of photoshops many great tools. I started with an older stock photo taken of the Queen Boadicea statue in London. The dicomed grid lines were created when computers first came out in the 80's during a computer course at Durham collage. I utilized the grid pattern faintly to exemplify a perspective ( an old master artist technique) also hints of repeating patterns in Nature. Blending the layers creates a smooth transition between two very different images creating another dimension to the perspective.