A change in Blogger URL - http://brian-douglas.blogspot.com/

I was finding that my initial blog URL was quite long and frustrating to share and for people to write down and/or remember. Since my name without a dash was taken and as I have just learned Blogger will not delete peoples accounts for inactivity I have decided on the below URL to replace this one:

http://brian-douglas.blogspot.com/

I have transferred all my previous posts here and this is where I will post new entries. I cannot delete this URL so if you are here please go to:

http://brian-douglas.blogspot.com/

Thanks,
Brian.

Kitchener; Downtown on Day 1 of the Waterloo Region Skills Competition

Between the painted lines

Every year the Waterloo Region Public & Catholic Board participate in a skills competition. They have competitions in everything from cabinet making to hair dressing to my person favourite, photography. I was lucky enough to be one of two co-chairs this year. I had the opportunity to help with some of the initial planning, helping select the theme and today watch 20 students from the Public Board take, edit and print photos which they all hope will land them in one of the top 3 spots.

The theme this year: Take a picture that tells a story. The day broke down as follows: 


830-10: Walk around downtown Kitchener taking pictures and creating their interpretation of the theme
1030-1230: Create and print a contact sheet of their 20 best pictures and edit their best image and print it as an 8 x 10

The Stag Shop Smokes

130-230: Attempt to replicate the alterations of a stock image. This was fused with brief personal interviews and followed by feedback. 


It was great to watch the students move through this process and to see the results of the efforts. I am looking forward to see what tomorrow will bring. But, I had no intentions of letting the students have all the fun!


Although I kept the theme in mind I was more interested in experimenting with Hoya Circular Polarizing Filter. 


I have been reading more about filters lately and have had this filter since December. I never took the time to use it so decided that today was as good as any other day. 

No Filter

With Filter

I don't often see dramatic changes on my LCD screen but I noticed this difference. It also 'told the story' of the Stag Shop which caught fire on Sunday. I couldn't believe that it was still smoking when I arrived.

It is still on my lens and when I head back out tomorrow with the Catholic Board I plan to test it out as soon as I head out and before my hands freeze!

Where the neon sign once read...

Until tomorrow...

RMS Factory - Kitchener, Ontario

On March 20, 2011 I was invited along with a number of other photographers to photograph the RMS Factory in Kitchener. From what I know of the factory it was established in 1917 and had custom machinery to make various automotive parts as well as tires.

Sadly the Kitchener plant is now closed and, at some point, the building will be demolished. March 20 was a last opportunity to capture the building and preserve a piece of its history.

As you all know I love photographing factories and have been trying to capture as many of them as I can in the Kitchener-Waterloo area so was happy when this invitation was extended to me.   



Cobble Stone Floor - made from wood blocks

Photography in low light situations is never easy. Any photography guide you read is going to say virtually the same thing I am about to say: 

1. Use a tripod. There is nothing worse than uploading your photos and finding that they are blurry.
2. A remote trigger or what I often your camera’s self-timer are helpful tools. Reducing camera shake during longer-exposures is crucial to avoid blurry results. It is even worse when you are using a tripod to steady the camera but it shakes when you snap the picture
3. Have fun and be creative. There can be a lot of interesting things to photograph so take your, think your pictures through and decide what you are hoping to achieve.

Safety Glasses - TTV



First Aid

I want to give thank you to Cathy from the BOX Art Show for setting this up. Check out the site here: http://www.boxartshow.ca/ and to the owners of RMS Factory for granting us full access to all corners of your wonderful space.

The March break comes to an end.

I am sad to report that the March break is officially over. With that said though, it was a good week off. Overall the weather was pleasent and I was able to get out almost everyday to take some pictures as I hoped. I didn't make it to all the locations I was hoping to explore but that is okay. They are not going anywhere.

Here are a few pictures from a walk I took around Waterloo Park:



Trunks




A small ice ledge

I will be posting again either later today or tomorrow pictures from the RMS Factory in Kitchener that I had the honour of exploring yesterday (March 21) along with about 16 other photographers.

With nothing to show for it...

I drove out to Guelph this morning hoping to photograph the old prison. When I arrive Security informed me that I would have to get special permission. I was hoping it would be as simple as a phone call but unfortunately it will be a little more involved. At the end of the day I came home with nothing to show for my drive but this panorama.

I decided to play a bit with this picture and each stitch has been edited differently. Let me know what your thoughts are on the end results.

And a note to anyone interested in experimenting with panorama photography - make sure you switch to manual mode otherwise you can end up with drastically different colours as you take each overlapping image.

I am hoping that the weather forecast for the rest of the week is wrong otherwise my March Break photography may end here.

Sheave Tower - Just outside Kitchener

Today was the first day of my week off and the weather didn't let me down! It is my intention to get out at least once everyday this week to some locations I have been wanting to explore.


I have two main goals this week:


1. Enjoy my time shooting
2. Work on and/explore landscape photography

Cracked Bridge

This morning I arrived at Sheave Tower around 830. I was worried I'd miss the morning light but the sun didn't let me down. A great little spot for anyone who hasn't checked it out. It was also the perfect place to work on my landscape photography. Being the only one there was a nice treat too!

In the reflection

Although the Tower is a great structure to photograph I found myself drawn to the sound of the water. I have always enjoyed slowing the shutter speed to capture the movement of the water.

Rushing

Another element in photography I have always enjoyed are Black and White landscapes. Maybe it is because I started photography with black and white film. Whatever it is, I want to use more black and white as I work on my landscapes this week.

Stump

I am excited to get back out tomorrow. They are still calling for sun and that is all I can ask for. The rest of the week though...