Winter Berries

I just can't walk past something as visually striking as berries in the winter. Fuji X10 28-112mm at f/2.2 1/600 ISO 200

I bought a new camera just before Christmas. It is a beautiful Fuji X10. I say it's beautiful because it's styling is very reminiscent of the Leica range finders from the 50's and 60's. This camera has clearly been designed by someone with and eye for the aesthetic, and how can that not appeal to a photographer. It is small, fast and light, and the image quality is excellent. I was walking past the hospital the other day and I saw these berries sitting on bare branches and the image was so evocative of the harsh realities of winter amidst which we have the joy of Christmas. I stopped pulled my new X100 from my purse and snapped off a few images. It lifts my spirit just a little bit to do something creative, even if it is just a small thing, in the midst of a difficult time. It is interesting to me to see the way that my creative impulses can affect my mood. Anyway, after I got home I pulled these images into my iPad and applied a very nice filter to them that helped to accentuate the mood i wanted to evoke in the image. I used a very good images editing app called Snapseed. I highly recommend it.

-Russell Berg

A Blur In The Corner

Catching cyclists on the track as they blazed past at 50+ km/h was an interesting challenge. Canon EOS 7D EF 50mm f/2.2 at 1/100 ISO 1600The access at this event was really remarkable.  My daughter and I were able to get into the infield of the track and right up to the edge of the track.  The sense of speed as these atheletes blew by us was really visceral.  I wanted to get an image that gave an impression of that speed.  I was able to get right into the corner of one of the very steep turns and because of the steepness of the turns it almost appeared as though I was looking down on the racers.  I felt as though I could reach out and touch their helmets and the wind that swept past as they blew past was remarkable.  I had to keep my aperture almost wide open because the light was low so it was difficult to keep everything in focus.  I was able to keep a shutter speed of 1/100 which was fast enough to freeze my subject but slow enough to allow the feet and wheels to blur, giving a sense of the speed.  The fact that I was tracking allowed the trach to smooth out to a blur as well.  I was really happy with the image that I got.

-Russell Berg

Canon Eos 7D EF50mm f/2.2 at 1/200 ISO 1600

Rolling Alone

Cyclist on the track at the Burnaby Velodrome. Canon EOS 7D, EFS 50mm 1.4 at f1.6 1/250, ISO 1600My daughter and I went to a track racing event at the Burnaby Velodrome a few months ago and it was a wonderful time.  I will feature a few photos from that event in coming posts.  This one, however, was probably my favourite.  The races are filled with speed and tension, the acceleration of a leader and the response of the pack, it was very exciting.  If we stood next to the track the wind that the cyclists created as the rushed by so silently was quite forceful.  There was huge energy and excitement in each race but I know enough about cycling to know that that energy and excitement only comes about at this level, (Tour de France sprinter Tyler Farrar was there), if the riders are prepared to spend many lonely hours on the track.  This race was a matched pursuit with 2 riders starting at opposite ends of the track and racing agains the clock.  I was looking down the track from the infield and there were a couple of patches of light and a long length of track leading into the corner.  There was such a lonely feel to rider all by himself pulling through the pools of light and on into the corner that I thought it was a great representation of all the lonely hours that he had spent preparing for this moment.  After I saw the photo I knew that it had to be presented with an extreme aspect ratio, I want the viewers eye to hit the near foreground in extreme right and then track through the light to the rider on the left just as mine did as he sped past me.

-Russell Berg

Twins

Black Oyster Catchers in the sun on Vancouver Island Canon EOS 7D EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 at f9, 1/250, ISO 200On a fine morning in the middle of May last year my daughter and I went out in our kayaks to do a little exploring around Departure Bay.  We were out interested to see if there were any seals out sunning themselves on the rocks as paddled by one of the small islands in the middle of the bay.  I was watching for birds and seals to photograph as we paddled out with my dry bag open between my knees I had my telephoto lens on the 7D ready to yank out and fire away if we saw something.  I place my cameras lens down into my bag in such a way that when I reach in to grab them I am holding on to the grip and it comes up to my eye ready to fire.  I have missed too many shots while I was fumbling for my gear.  This did require some careful paddling to prevent the water from dripping into my open bags but it wasn’t too difficult.  When I move out into open water or I am paddling for speed I close up the dry bag which holds my whole camera bag.  Anyway as I looked up two Black Oyster Catchers walked up over the rise.  The Island sloped up from the water so I was below them and I think this adds to the visual interest of the frame.  I snapped off a few pictures and then the one bird moved behind the other and I knew I had the image I wanted.

-Russell Berg

Big Hugs

Hugs in the street. Canon 7D, EFS 50mm 1.4 at f2.2 1/80, ISO 125A Perfect Photographic Morning Part 4

After I left the barber shop I continued around the block and I saw these two guys causing a bit of commotion up the street.  It looked interesting so I headed up towards them until I could see their sign.  These two, a huge 6’8” older guy in cowboy boots and a little skinny guy had come downtown on a December Sunday morning and were giving out hugs.  At first I was wondering if people would be a little creeped out but they were so open and genuine and not doing it in an creepy way so a lot of people came up to get their hugs.  After I got my hug I hung back a bit to take some pictures of them and I don’t think that anything I got was really good but it does help to tell the story of my morning.  I was so glad I went out for  a walk with my camera and took some chances, it was really worth it.

-Russell Berg