Portraits: Ellie King

Portraits: Matt Gencarella

The not-so classic thinker. This is my friend Matt, who is definitely not a stranger to this blog. Lately I have been shooting with a home-made lighting set up. This shot is the latest addition to the experiment... And I like it. And yes... He really does take himself this seriously.

Black And White

The portrait here is a shot of my friend Cameron. I wanted to try a nice side-lit portrait with lots of contrast. I think this really captured his more serious side, so I was pretty happy with the way that it turned out.

The other photo was really a joy to shoot. I just set out the other day "thinking in black and white" and looking for a shot. I saw the setting and knew I had to compose a frame.

It's always nice when things work out that naturally.

A Couple More Portraits

Portraits

So here are some portraits that i've shot lately with my ghetto lighting. They've been fun to shoot. I've been shooting a ton lately, but I haven't taken the time to post any photos lately. But more will be coming, I promise. The self portrait at the bottom is a joke. Ha. I was showing off some new poses.

Trampoline.

This is my friend Matt Gencarella. He's pretty intense. Don't believe me? Check out this kid on a trampoline. He's a rogue gymnast with a taste for adrenaline and aspirations of becoming a flying squirrel. All in all, these were pretty fun to shoot.

Sea Kayaking- Johnstone Strait, B.C.

These photos are from my recent adventure in British Colombia. As you might or might not know from previous postings, I spent the last couple weeks traveling all over Vancouver Island, cycling with my mom. For the final portion of our trip together, we embarked on a sea kayaking expedition following pods of Orca whales along the strait. It was an incredible experience to say the least. These pics don't actually contain any orca shots. Those will come later, so check again later.

Thanks for reading

Campbell River- B.C.

Overlooking the bay.

"Sea Breeze" in the harbour.

Lots o' graffiti on this rock.

I made a new discovery today. Apparently in Canada you get a complimentary biscuit on top of your cheese pizza. How thoughtful.

Today we drove from Qualicum to Campbell River, farther north on Vancouver Island. Our original plan was to do a ride out of Qualicum, but it was rainy in the morning. So we decided to drive North to avoid the rain. We ended up  having a great ride along the bay, pretty decent mileage, about 52 total. We missed out on lunch, so by the time we were done riding we were starving. Cheese pizza never tasted so good.

Sidney, B.C.- Jellyfish

Favorite photo of the day.

Cycling Trip- Victoria B.C.

Parliament Building

This photo of the Ship Yard was shot in color, later converted to black and white. Then i added some spot coloring for a final touch.

This is part of a stained glass window in the old Parliament building in downtown Victoria.

I have been spending this week on a cycling trip to British Colombia with my mom. She has made all of the plans so that each day we ride a new location, of which i have not yet been informed of. This makes each day a new adventure and a lot of fun, with tons of great rides. We spent our first day riding in Anacortes, Washington, where you catch the ferry for Vancouver Island. The following day, we took the ferry to Sidney, a port town on the island, and afterwards, we drove down to Victoria to spend the day. There were lots of opportunities for great shots and we had a lot of fun taking a break from riding to see the city. I'll be posting more shots as our trip progresses. Good stuff, hope you enjoy.

I just really like this photo.

Glacier Lilies: Tubbs

These flowers are Glacier Lilies, which are currently in bloom around here, especially on Tubbs. Tubbs hill is definitely a special place worth preserving. It's a place that displays incredible beauty to be enjoyed by all, and remains a glimpse, and testament, to the beauty of our world. Right now there are fields of these in bloom that could be observed on a short hike.

Photo Editing: The Battle of Good Vs. Evil

I believe that photographers can be crippled by Photoshop if they are not careful.

Fact is, Adobe programs have reached near mystical proportions as photographic tools, and believe me, I am an advocate of their effective use in the imaging world (and/or similar programs for that matter.) However, the thing that kind of turns me off is the excessive use of Photoshop to completely overhaul the organic image fresh off of the good ol' sensor. It's kind of a photographic disease from my point of view. People who shoot in the field with the intention of "fixing" something in Photoshop is a little bit artificial (at the least). And it's a bad habit that anyone can fall into.

Now the world of basic levels adjustments and haze lifters is often a dramatic improvement to any photo. Word. More power to us. I just think that people should be conscientious users of Photoshop, in order to keep photographs from straying into the realm of graphic art and design. And I know, personally, that it's a lot easier to improve my skills with my camera by capturing the image on my sensor, instead of on my computer screen. Harness the program, grab it by the horns and don't let it control you (it can tend to get a bit hostile...).

But, be free to shoot as you please, that's the beauty of it. Just think about it!

Happy Earth Day humans,
-The Clag

'Barrios' (Slums) Outside of Trujillo Peru

These were shot when I was in Alto Salaverry, Peru, a large Barrio outside of the major city Trujillo. The children shown here are some of the orphans residing where we were working during our venture.

Last Bit of Winter

These were all shot around town with what I thought was the last bit of snow. It was incredibly uplifting to see the rest of it melt a couple days later, only to see it snow again next week. Boooo.

February Ice

Tanzania, & CDA