Tag: nature

Enjoy a Socially Distant Forest Walk

Tree Fern by Ann Williams

Last week I saw a fellow near my entrance way, photographing from the verge of the road. I invited him into my property and he spent a hour wandering about on his own. It got me thinking I could offer an open invitation to all camera club members who would like a walk in the woods. I live 6 km beyond the village of Carp.  I will re-mark some of the trails in the next day or so, but if you are uneasy about going into the woods there are open spaces to photograph. At the moment there are few biting insects, but there are tics, so dress appropriately. Phone (613 839 2747) or email (careysj@hotmail.com) if you would like to come and I will send you directions. I am home.

<Added Later>

With regards to the forest walk invitation, I do not want to dash hopes about a walk in the woods, but exploring the trails myself this afternoon, I discovered it is not a stroll or a walk, but rather a scramble. The once trail is now blocked by fallen large trees and it may be a challenge, in some areas, to locate the old trail. It would be an outing for the most venturesome or intrepid adventurer.

Sue Carey

Insect Seminar

If you are interested in the “critters” that Dr. Pete Dang introduced us to at the Pinhey Sand dunes in 2017, his organization — Biodiversity Conservancy International — is hosting a free one day seminar titled:

Insects, An Indispensable Component Of Life On Earth

It takes place on 1-5 PM, Saturday May 4th at the Central Experimental Farm. For more details, refer to the event poster.

April Camera Club Meeting

The next Camera Club meeting will be held on Friday, April 5th at 9:15 a.m.

Smokin Cornpipe by Shirley LeClair
  • Slideshow of Member Images from the Negative Space Assignment
  • Nature/Macro Photography by Danielle Barabé-Bussières
  • Winter Challenge Slide Presentation by Ron Pierce
  • Phil’s Tip of the Day on Motion Photography
  • Review of Chosen Photos
  • Announcements and Closing Remarks

Your images for the assignment must be emailed by noon on Friday, March 29th to be included in the slideshow. For details on how to submit photos, including formats and titles, go to our Pictures/How to Submit page.

The next assignment is Solitude and pictures from this assignment will be shown at the May 3rd meeting.

See you at the meeting.

Your Camera Club Executive

Presentation by Gordon Robertson on March 1st

Gordon Robertson is presenting on the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club – Area Trails and Wildlife. Gordon is a retired professor from the University of Ottawa and now primarily does nature photography and wildlife tours. He chairs the Education and Publicity Committee of the Ottawa Field Naturalists’ Club and volunteers at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden (FWG). Gordon is also treasurer of the Ottawa Duck Club, which allows one access to the Shirley’s Bay Crown Game Preserve – an excellent and relatively undisturbed wildlife area. He frequently gives tours of the FWG and several other areas such as Petrie Island and Mer Bleue; so he is familiar with the many “wild” areas around Ottawa.

Gordon’s interests in wildlife vary considerably from butterflies and birds to wildflowers and ferns. He is also quite handy with analog and digital photography and digital photo editing. Many of his photos are used in textbooks and in Wikipedia  (>1200) where he is a “Master Editor”.

<added 2019-03-01>

You can review Gordon’s excellent presentation here.

March Camera Club Meeting

Flower on Sill by Thomas Illing

The next Camera Club meeting will be held on Friday, March 1st at 9:15 a.m.

  • Slideshow of Member Images from the Monochrome Assignment
  • Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club Presentation – Area Trails and Wildlife by Gordon Robertson
  • Phil’s Tip of the Day on Negative Space Composition
  • Review of Chosen Photos
  • Member’s Corner (if time permits)
  • Announcements and Closing Remarks

Your images for the assignment must be emailed by noon on Friday, February 22nd to be included in the slideshow. For details on how to submit photos, including formats and titles, go to our Pictures/How to Submit page.

The next assignment is Negative Space and pictures from this assignment will be shown at the April 5th meeting.

Winter 2019 Photo Challenge Silhouette
by Valerie Clement

Don’t forget the Winter 2019 Photo Challenge which has deadlines of March 15th and 29th to submit pictures.

See you at the meeting.

Your Camera Club Executive

Total Lunar Eclipse

Robert Allan, a new club member sent along this link about photographing the upcoming total lunar eclipse on Sunday evening January 20th. He also provided a link to this page which shows the local start, maximum and end times.

To plan your photography, remember that The Photographers Ephemeris – available for  web, Android, and iOS – will show you moonrise and set azimuths for your location.

If you get any images of the eclipse that you want to share with the club, email them to us here and we’ll put them on the website.

<added 2019-01-16>

Ko Fung sent a link to this Global news item on the eclipse which includes a time lapse video of a lunar eclipse and explains why this is a super blood wolf moon.

 

 

Anthropocene

Lithium+Mines+#1,+Salt+Flats,+Atacama+Desert,+Chile++2017
Lithium Mines #1 Salt Flats, Atacama Desert, Chile, 2017 by Edward Burtynsky

If you are a fan of Edward Burtynsky‘s beautiful large format images be sure to see Anthropocene at the National Gallery Of Canada before it closes February 24, 2019. The show includes over 30 large prints and several photo murals. It also features film installations by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier.

Admission to the gallery is free on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 pm.

The show catalogue, published by the Art Gallery of Ontario, can be borrowed from the Ottawa Public Library. There is also a Studio book ANTHROPOCENE, featuring reproductions of photographs by Edward Burtynsky which will be released later this month.

The documentary film Anthropocene: The Human Epoch is currently being shown at the ByTowne theatre.

Burtynsky talks about his technique in this interview from 2017.

 

 

How I Got The Shot

I was asked how I took this photo:

Young Birch trees by Shirley LeClair
Young Birch Trees by Shirley LeClair

which I submitted to the September “Breakin All the Rules” challenge and was shown at the October 5th meeting.

Here are the instructions that will get someone started in panning trees (or other vertical subjects). The head movement is the key. As you can see white birch trees make a nice image however I have done dark trunks against a blue sky and it was awesome.

  • TV Mode with shutter speed 1/20 -1/30
  • ISO 200-400
  • Autofocus
  • Adjust tone by overexposing by 1+

If shooting in MANUAL MODE then set your speed then aperture according to meter
The above settings are a starting point. You may have to make adjustments to suit the lighting.
Now the technique to shoot !!
Compose your shot then, while camera is still next to your eye, START moving your head up and down. Using a count of 10 this is how it goes:

Compose……Move your head up and down 1-2-3-4-Press shutter button—6-7-8-9-10.

Do not stop head movement to click the camera on 5 . It is a nodding head movement all the way through the count of 10.

Move 1-2-3-4 ”CLICK” 6-7-8-9-10.

Ask Anne Jones or Marg Jackman to demonstrate.

Have fun with it .

Shirley LeClair

Sandy Sharkey

The featured speaker at our meeting on November 2nd will be Sandy Sharkey.

Sandy 9782 By Valerie Keeler, Valberg Imaging

Sandy is a former Ottawa radio announcer who is now pursuing her favourite passion:  photographing wild horses.  She has photographed horses in Mongolia, Costa Rica, and France.  In 2018 Sandy embarked on a 67 day road trip to capture images of wild mustangs in the American southwest.  She is immensely proud of our Canadian wild horses, having visited Sable Island five times to photograph the iconic horses off the coast of Nova Scotia.  In conjunction with Help Alberta Wildies, Sandy documented the magnificent horses living wild and free in Alberta’s Rocky Mountain foothills.

Sandy’s limited edition prints of wild horses can be found in homes and businesses throughout North America, and can be custom ordered at her website. You can also follow Sandy on social media at Facebook, Twitter  (@sandysharkey), and Instagram  (sandysharkeyphotography).

 

10th Annual Geoheritage Day

Ottawa Sand Dune

The 10th annual Geoheritage Day will take place on Saturday, September 29 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at The Pinhey Sand Dunes. To get there, drive south on Woodroffe Avenue, and turn left two blocks south of the Nepean Sportsplex onto Pineland Avenue. Park on the south shoulder beside the signed entry gate near the end of the road (T-junction with Vaan Drive).

You will have the chance to learn how geological processes have shaped the regional landscape, given us a glimpse into past environments and life forms and provided resources for our use.

Volunteers from Carleton University’s Department of Earth Sciences and the Ottawa-Gatineau Geoheritage Project will be on hand to explain what there is to see and how each site fits into the local geological history. The Pinhey Sand Dunes will be on the program.

For more information, please contact Joanne Hakkaku at the Biodiversity Conservancy:

hakkakuj@biodiversityconservancy.org

613-825-5492