Pushing Down

Looking up a brick wall into the lamp. Canon EOS 7D EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm f/22 1/20 ISO 160

Looking Up 3

(Cont. From Previous Post)  The light turned green and she pushed off the curb, walking quickly at first then running.  There was an insistence in her stride that propelled her forward.  The sense of purpose in her eyes was reflected in the rapid sure step of her feet and the set of her shoulders.  She took a quick glance around, he wasn’t over across the street or in the intersection she was crossing but she couldn’t be completely sure.  She had almost reached the alley when she felt hand on her bicep, she wrenched a way turning quickly.  It wasn’t him… it was Phillip.

This image, in some respects, brought elements from each of my first two images in this series together.  It has the strong visceral pull of the colours combined with the form elements of the ivy.  I felt like having the lamp looking down on me brought a dynamic push to the image that was lacking in the first one.  It almost seems to push down against the viewer.  Here we also see again the benefits of image stabilization and good camera position to eliminate shake.  I am still constantly amazed by the benefits of image stabilization.  When I shot film I would never even think about going below 1/60 of a second.  Now part of the benefit is a result of pushing the base of the camera against the wall but this shot is a 1/20 of a second and it still is very sharp.

The Ivy Pull

A striking brick wall covered with winter ivy. Canon EOS 7D EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm f/22 1/30 ISO 100

Looking Up 2

She stood at the edge of the curb, her toe over the edge ready to go, her scarf flung over one shoulder in a businesslike manner.  She breathed deep ant the winter air flooded her lungs pushing cold into the deep corners.  The winter light was bright and hard and she brought a gloved hand to her brow as she looked down the street.  It was right near here, she was sure of it, down the block where the alley joined the street?  Maybe.

The winter ivy on this wall was very interesting and I took a few pictures of it but they were not very interesting.  I started to play with the perspective shift that looking to one side or the other gave to the image.  The wide (10mm) lens exaggerated the shift in perspective and gave the ivy a life all its own.  It almost seems to be racing away from the viewer towards the upper corner of the frame.  I bright sunlight allowed me choose a very small aperture and my position leaning against the wall helped prevent camera shake at this slow shutter speed.  The position of the wide angle lens gives the vertical wall an interesting angle that further heightens the dynamic pull of the image.

-Russell Berg

Sky Wall

Red brick wall reaches into a deep blue sky. Canon EOS 7D EF-S 10-22mm at 12mm f/11 1/160 ISO 100Looking Up 1

Wandering around and shooting whatever you are inspired by can be a lot of fun and generate some interesting images but I have found that it is also worthwhile to go out with a goal and focus in mind. You tend to approach the work of photography with a different mindset and it can often produce much more than what you intended if you don't get to slavish about following your plan. One weekend when I was in Victoria I gave myself an assignment called "Looking Up" so I wandered around looking for interesting images above eye level; I will show you the most interesting results over the next few days

Victoria, BC is known for its turn of the century brick architecture and I came across this bare brick wall with a brilliant blue sky above it. I used a wide angle lens and put the base of my camera directly on the wall to flatten my perspective as much as possible. I was looking for two almost abstract bands of colour the, like a painting in a modern museum and I was very happy with the contrasting colours that resulted.

-Russell Berg

Winter Tree 4

Part 4 of my series of threatening winter trees. Canon EOS XSi EF-S f/3.5-4.5 at 10mm f/5.6 1/500 ISO 200 -1ev

Marin ran her hands over the bark.  It had a roughness that belied the gentle feeling that she had for the old tree.  It was not the texture of pain or neglect it was the rough places in an old friend; the places where the valleys and mountains of your lives fit together to form a bond that has lasted.  Marin leaned in and breathed long and deep, her cheek rubbing on a spot rubbed smooth by younger feet than hers. She had climbed and climbed and climbed and in those days it had always been something new.  It wasn’t new anymore, something had changed.  She could feel it under her finger tips, it was almost a sound that she could sense with her finger tips, a gentle thrumming from deep within the tree.  She stood back and looked carefully, nothing had change… but still.

This old willow was a remarkable tree and once I converted it to black and white the layers and layers of branches became very clear.  There were so many that the tree seemed to have hair that was flowing down and I began to imagine a personality within the tree.  I pulled the image into Nik Silver Efex Pro and increased the structure and contrast of the image.  This brought the bark to life and added significant drama to the sky.

-Russell Berg

Winter Tree 3

Part 3 of my series of threatening winter trees. Canon EOS XSi EF-S f/3.5-4.5 at 10mm f/5.6 1/1600 ISO 200 -1ev

Alfred turned quickly, he felt an uncomfortable shiver in the base of his spine.  There was no one there and yet it sure felt as though there could be.  There it was… he heard it slow and faint a tap, tap… tap; a walking stick on the paving stones.  He turned back to continue his walk, the set in his shoulders trying to be confident and reassuring.  The gesture was a hollow one.  He did not feel confident, he was far from reassured.  The fear was sitting there like a heavy cold stone in his belly and it grew heavier every time he heard the stick of the following man on the stones.  This was the kind of confrontation he had been hoping to avoid, he knew why he was being followed but as he passed the tree he noticed that the clouds obscured the sun and revealed a strange steal blue that was more threatening than reassuring.  

Whenever I am looking for dramatic colours I underexpose at least one stop.  I was really happy with how the sky turned out and the the effect of an HDR was underexposed tree bark was brought back by the treatment in HDR Efex Pro.  The image really jumped after I applied this effect and I was really happy with it.

-Russell Berg