I have been shooting some pro hockey lately – the Ottawa 67s are a fun, sub NHL team that feeds into the big leagues. The arena is bright – as far as arenas go with some great shooting areas throughout the stadium for media – 3 rink side holes in the glass to aim cameras.

The glass is clear – not blemished plexiglass. It is rare that exposure is the easy part of shooting – but for indoor hockey the lighting does not change – EASY! However your eyes need to be everywhere at once, your equipment ready and your skills on high alert. 

It’s been a busy start to the year – which is good! The second half of next week will give me some time to catch up on submissions and administration.

Someone asked on my last Creative Business Seminar how much time I actually spend behind the camera shooting. It’s actually quite low. For every picture taken there is plenty of work to do to support the project and the business.

Take photos, have fun! 
Harry     

I just returned from 3 days in Callander, Ontario, living on the ice of Lake Nipissing in support of a feature for Canadian Geographic‘s November Travel Issue. Not sure quite what to expect.

 I arrived and met the writer, Bruce Gillespie, and our hosts, Scott, Christine and Tim at Glen Echo Cottages. A friend who grew up in North Bay confirmed that Glen Echo was THE place to experience ice fishing. 

Ok, first off, I am an absolute rookie fisherman! Our hosts went above board to bring us to the fish and make sure we landed some dinner. Bruce, the writer, and a friend, Greg, did most of the fishing and I spent most of my time behind the camera. Bruce and Greg had good luck and we feasted on some delicious pike.

A big thank-you to Scott, Christine and Tim at Glen Echo! Sorry, this is a pictureless post – Can Geo has first rights to use of the photos. Stay tuned for the November issue!

Tomorrow –  I should have more hockey pictures!

Harry   

I am starting to look at replacing a couple of lenses – my 24mm f2.8and 85mm f1.8 are still in good shape, optically, but they have seensome rough days of use. They have seen a few battles and beenknocked & bumped.I often visit my local used camera store – the Camera Trading Company– just to see what treasures they have in stock. Last week I saw animmaculate, like new – but used – 24mm f2.8 Nikkor lens. I bought it.I had to. It was a good deal!Does anyone have need of a battle scarred but hard working 24mm?

I recently covered some pro hockey – the Ottawa 67s. The NHL draft is on the horizon and these sub NHL-ers have every incentive to shine in front of the scouts. The hockey is fun, fast and furious!More hockey photos later this week. If you like hockey and you like photography consider my hockey photography workshop! 

I recently covered the Eastern Canadian Nordic Ski Championships held in West Quebec at Nakkertok Ski Club. Shown in this thumbnail are photos from the sprints – approximately 1.2km of pumped up, testosterone filled, controlled mayhem. Yes, it was fun!See the thumbnail full size 

More on style.

I choose to use a simple, “available light style” as in my ice climbing photo from ChelseaGallery.ca. Often, fill-flash is used to brighten any shadows or create a special effect. I don’t like the look. Notice no sign of flash in Doug, the ice climber at right – there would be a spark of light in his glasses, if I had used it. The reflective white ice and snow and his skyward looking face help reduce any harsh shadows.

Not using flash doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile. It’s just not my style! Check LA commercial photographer Jill Greenberg’s heavily flash dependent style. It’s pretty amazing!

Have fun,

H 

Yesterday, I posted my monthly Exposed! article, “Light up the night!” The photo, at right, was shot for an assignment to depict dinner in a ski cabin. It was lit with candles, lanterns and one large flashlight only.In that vein I found some pretty fun examples of light painting on the web – check the photos, watch the video. If you are curious to learn more consider my Night Light course in March.  “Style”Your style is determined by what you like. Easy! Consciously critiquing whatever you see – magazine ads, tv shows, billboards, advertising, newspaper photos helps you grow! What do you like? What don’t you like? Why?I often play a game called “Photo Detective Work”.I try and decipher how a photo is achieved without actually knowing anything.

• Did he use flash?
• Did she use a tripod?
• What aperture and shutter speed wer used?
• What lens was used?
• Film or digital?

All of these are possible to hypothesize quite accurately. Try to figure out prominent dance photographer, Lois Greenfield’s, style! 

Her technique is very simple but her style is quite extraordinary.

Ice Fishing!

I am going to North Bay sometime soon.

Canadian Geographic is preparing for a travel issue and has asked me to travel north. Kathy at Canadian Geo knows my work and said with a smile “we know you are ok with the cold!” I am to cover a “day in the life” ice fishing on Lake Nipissing. 

Sounds good to me.

I have just written my latest Exposed! Newsletter on the magic of night photography. Have a look.

Bye for now – more on style tomorrow…

Harry 

Style.

I recently finished a portrait course and talked a lot about style. What is style? It’s how you, or I, interpret a scene to be photographed. Imagine you ask ten people to photograph the same clothesline full of laundry. You will get ten very different pictures – showing their different styles.

Me? I like a hint of motion, a wide angle lens, and available light. I will shoot what is needed but – all else being equal – I will default to certain style elements. Check this past photo of the month from a roller ski race in the fall:

What is YOUR style of shooting? What creative elements do you favour?

Have fun,

Harry 

First some introductions – I am Harry Nowell, photographer and owner of Harry Nowell Photography Inc. There are four main lines of my work:

1. Stock photography
2. Teaching photography related workshops and presentations
3. Fine Art Photography at ChelseaGallery.ca
4. Assignment work

These activities are my full time work. They are also very fun – mostly. There are challenges and low points – paperwork, filing, taxes and editing dust take their toll! I meet fun people, photograph some pretty amazing subjects and get to make people smile. I work from home and often head into “global headquarters” as soon as I wake up. What will you find in this blog?

• ideas about photography and the business of photography
• interesting photo/design websites
• insights into running a small business
• pet peeves and inspirations
• upcoming workshops and presentations
• links to my “photos of the month”
• announcements of new Exposed! e-newsletters
• biases towards dogs, xc skiing, and the colour red

Please stay tuned and send your comments!