Finding The Light

Young lovers in the light of a dying sun. EOS Rebel XSi, EF 17-85 4.5-5, at 38mm f5.6, 1/2000, ISO 200

Sometimes photography isn’t too much more than finding, waiting for, looking for the perfect light.  This was the first time that I had ever done photography for someone else.  A friend of mine asked if I would make photo-cards to lay out on the tables for their daughter’s wedding.  This was a former student of mine and I was excited to do it.  I went out to scout the location, Neck Point, and noted when sunset was.  I had them show up in the hour before sunset and we got some really beautiful light.  For this shot I knew that I wanted them in full silhouette so I set them up directly in front of the sun to avoid flare and just kept stopping down the exposure until I got the look that I wanted.  This is one of the moments when shooting in digital, is so valuable, getting that instant feedback on what your changes are doing to the exposure let me be sure that I was getting what I wanted.  I end up only needing to take it down to -1 EV.  I was really happy and it was a lot of fun.  A couple of the finished cards are below.

-Russell Berg

Almost Home

A mother and daughter in the walkway to the ferry at Horseshoe Bay, BC EOS Rebel XSi, EFS 50mm 1.4 at f/1.4, 1/60, ISO 320

My wife and I were travelling back to the island on the ferry and as we were heading to the boat we came upon a mother and daughter as they approached the boat too.  I saw them heading down the long walkway and I love the way that the lights and the hallway curled away.  I was reaching for my camera as the little girl started to run, I quickly pulled it up pushed the lens wide open and got off one quick shot.  The sense of isolation is quite strong and I feel that the photo captures the loneliness of those late night ferry rides when you want to get back to those you love but have to wait 2 more hours.

-Russell Berg

Tasting Green

The textures and character of this green leaf leapt out at me. EOS 7D, EFS 50mm 1.4 at f/2.5 1/250, ISO 110, Lumopro flash at 1/32 power

I have often wondered what a blind person’s ideas about colour might be.  How do you tell someone who has been blind from birth what green is.  I had a friend who became blind as an adult due to a car accident.  She told me that when she needed to remind herself what green was she would eat an avocado.  When I made this picture I wanted the same kind of intense green feeling that biting into an avocado would give you.  That, and the texture of the leaf needed to be explored.  I took this picture in Victoria, BC on a kind of overcast, grey day and I could see that the texture was there but I didn’t feel like it would come through in a photograph without some special treatment.  I put a flash on the ground below the leaf and used Cactus brand wireless trigger to fire it.  I had to experiment with the power a little bit to get the exposure right but eventually the green just leapt off of my LCD screen and I could see the light of the flash pushing through the veins in the plant illuminating all of that glorious complexity.

-Russell Berg

Menace In The Sand

My wife and I were walking out on Duke Point when we came across this very interesting sandstone formation. EOS Rebel XSi, EF 50mm 1.4, at f/9.5, 1/90, ISO 200

On one of those beautiful spring days that we get in Nanaimo in late March my wife and I went for a walk in an area where there is a lot of sandstone.  The ocean has worn it away in a lot of interesting formations, some of which you can climb right into.  This one looked particularly menacing to me, like something very ancient and filled with the threat of an oppressive darkness.  It  didn’t really look that way on that sunny afternoon but the image was so monochromatic that I immediately felt that it would be best served in black and white.  I imported it into NIK Silver Efex Pro and darkened the background of the image to emphasize the face-like shapes in the foreground.  I then increased the size of the grain structure to emphasize the texture of the sandstone.  I was really happy with how it turned out.

-Russell Berg

Artist Without Residence

My daughter and I were driving through Victoria when this very striking graffiti caught my eye. EOS 7D, EFS 17-85mm f 4-5.6 at 85mm, f/9, 1/60, ISO 640

We really were in a bit of a hurry as we drove down Douglas street but the flash of colour in the corner of my eye drew all of my attention and I quickly changed lanes and turned off of Douglas.  On two buildings graffiti artists had sprayed an amazing set of paintings that cried out to be photographed.  The painting is so vivid and crisp that it is hard to tell that you are looking at three different buildings here.  I stopped down to f 9 to keep the foreground building on the left in focus and took the shot.  The very sinister looking angel who is hiding behind the oil tank is very compelling and the fact that it is all a tribute to “mom” made me smile.

-Russell Berg