The Wall

I was walking around downtown Vancouver recently, very much enjoying that I live on the west coast of Canada as many of my friends and family who live on the prairies were suffering through and extended winter.  I have always enjoyed construction sites as places of potential photographic interest and as I walked past this one I was struck by the contrast of colour and form.  The architect appears to have designed a new building that will preserve the facade of very much older one and the construction is growing up around this wall.  The blue green windows in the background provide a contrast with the gritty greys, browns, and reds of the old wall.  Not only are the colours working in our favour but the windows curve into the background on the left side of the frame in a very modern style when compared with the square blocky windows of the old wall.  When I got the photo home I punched up the texture, contrast, and saturation of the stone, wood and glass in Nik HDR Efex.  I wish that I had been able to frame the picture from a little further to the left so that I was taking the image from exactly 90 degrees to the wall.

-Russell Berg

Moss Branch

A bright piece of moss caught my eye as we were walking down Giant’s Head Mt. Canon EOS 7D EF 70-300mm at 300mm f/5.6 1/400 ISO 250

There is a wonderful world outside your front door.

The sun was setting through the trees as we walked down Giant’s Head Mt. and it was lighting all kinds of interesting little moments  on the path.  I glanced to my left and glint of golden green against a dark background caught my eye.  It was off in the distance and I wasn’t sure that I had any kind of decent image until I brought my camera up to me eye.  Normally my 17-85mm zoom is my carry around lens, the lens I take when I want to carry only one.  Today it was in the shop to be repaired an I had my 70-300mm with me.  This branch was probably 500m away but having a lens this long pulled it in to me and allowed me to make it appear at eye level.  The branch was probably 3m up in the air and if I had had to walk up to it to get the image I would have been looking up at it.  I am sure that I missed other shots because I did not have my wide angle zoom but focusing on maximizing the equipment that you do have can yield interesting results.

-Russell Berg

Steel Orca

The curves of a steel sculpture of an orca in Swy-a-Lana Park in Nanaimo. Canon EOS 7D EF 50mm f/1.4 at f/2.2 1/640 ISO 100

The animal leaps forward with a surge of power that ripples down its muscular boday and pushes through the waves.  It's nose broaches the surface and the water pours off of it as it reaches for the sky.  It is all grace and power, and in that stolen moment where we see it join our world we know what true potential is.  We stop for a moment and realize we need to breathe again.

In one of the main downtown parks in Nanaimo our city displays the work of local sculptures.  One day as I was walking through Swy-a-Lana I noticed an sculpture of an orca.  As I got closer I saw that the piece was put together out of the old steel car parts.  Right away I realized that the prime photographic opportunities were going to be in the details as the background was not attractive no matter which angle I took.  I got in close and stopped down my fast 50 to f/2.2.  The lines and curves of the steel take on a life all their own at this scale and I love the way the cogs of the gear are visible through the blurred out piece of steel in the foreground.

-Russell Berg

Below is the whole sculpture.