#63 Exposed!, contest and ski awards!

This week:

  • my monthly newsletter, Exposed! will be sent to subscribers. Catching Superman will be our quest!
  • there will be a prize awarded for the first correct answer of a skill testing question on this blog – stay tuned. The prize will be from ChelseaGallery.ca

On the weekend I went to an awards and end of season banquet for XCOttawa. I provide the elite XC ski team with photos every year: XCOttawa

The team is a small powerhouse of skiers lead by coach, John Suuronen, who, by chance, coached me many, many winters ago! Their site, XCOttawa, is full of ski info!

Some highlights:

Karl Saidla, team president, handing out awards:

XCOttawa

Megan McTavish thanking coach John Suuronen for his hard work:

XCOttawa

Coach John Suuronen showing off his smile:

XCOttawa

The snow will return!

H

#62 – Working Creatives Group

Last week I facilitated the Working Creatives Network Group for people working primarily in a creative field. I started the group as many of us work without much interaction with others in the field. The group encompasses over 100 photographers, illustrators, designers, writers, film & video producers with an eclectic mix of talents coming to sessions. Meetings usually bring 10-25 creatives to share ideas.

The last session featured Claudia Salguero – photographer and digital painter. Claudia uses Corel Painter to produce fine art and portraits. She is a Master Painter and is holding a Corel Painter Workshop at the end of May.

H

#61 Going fast

I like going fast.

I like making other people look like they’re going fast, too.

Mountain Bike Motion

The picture above was shot on trails in Gatineau Park using techniques of motion I will be discussing in next week’s Exposed! newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter at the top, right of this page.

I will be covering these motion techniques in my upcoming bike race photo workshop.

Yeah, it’s fun!

#60 Truth and Rumours

Ok, rumour first.

Nikon is rumoured to be getting ready to release the new D3x – a full frame 24.4 megapixel camera. This would knock the socks off almost any other DSLR on the market and should have Canon a little nervous. For quite some time Canon has been top of the DSLR pile.

So what?

At 24.4 rumoured full frame megapixels this sensor will give you a reasonably big file. If you need a BIG (as opposed to plain big) film is still a very good option. I have been approached by clients with BIG needs knowing I still shoot a lot of film. The fabled D3x may make BIG a closer reality with DSLR cameras.

The potential D3x is starting to get my attention.

I keep a digital camera in my stable for editorial and speedy needs but film still does well for my stock and gallery needs. Claims that digital is cheaper than film are fewer now as people recognize the high cost and quick depreciation of digital cameras and necessary equipment compared to film bodies. The D3x may depreciate over a longer (for the industry) useful timeline because of the relatively big file size. My scanner still wins for quality at the BIG sizes. So the D3x rumours have my attention.

The gossip:

DP Review – Login may be required

Nikonwatch

Engadget

Imaging Insider

Truth

Want to try some pro or semi pro gear? Headshots Rentals is offering students on my Bike Race Photo Workshop a chance to borrow some pro or semi pro available rental equipment as part of this course! This is an amazing chance to try some high end gear for free within this practical photo session!

Much less exciting… I have a D100 for sale. I have just upgraded to a bigger digital camera for my editorial and speed needing clients. It’ll be a cheap entry to digital for someone. Interested? Let me know.

Truth and Rumours. Very fun.

H

#59 Prizes

As a thanks to my blog readers I will be posting a quiz question on this blog once a month – The first correct answer will receive a prize from ChelseaGallery.ca Stay tuned – the first quiz will be within the next two weeks.

Lake Superior at ChelseaGallery.ca:

Lake Superior at ChelseaGallery.ca

The story – Years ago I drove across Canada many, many times.
One of the most magical areas for me was the north shore of Lake Superior. It has been immortalized by ancient native pictographs, Gordon Lightfoot’s eerie ballad “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”,
Bill Mason’s canoe films and art – and not to be missed – Group of Seven’s stunning portrayal of Lake Sueprior.

The north shore of Lake Superior has tugged at me to pay a proper visit. And that meant in a canoe with supplies for 10 days. I made my chance one summer. We drove to the small town of Wawa and set off on our adventure. It is stunning, beautiful, merciless… and tugging at me to make another trip soon.

This ChelseaGallery.ca photo glorifies the expansive beauty of this, the largest freshwater lake in the world. It is magnificent!

#58 Scooters

Researching some new ideas for stock was on the agenda recently. My girlfriend bought a scooter last summer and loves it!

We went on an exploratory creative ride with her scooter and my teeny Nikon P50 ‘point and shoot’ to test a few scooter ideas for my stock photo work – likely for my main agency, AGEFotostock. The scooter concept went well.

scoot

I was a little frustrated with a couple of limitations of the point and shoot – ie a short & frustrating delay. It IS a consumer based P&S that I do not know well… I was asking a lot – like asking a SMART car to perform like a Porsche 911.

The session gave me enough info to shoot the work properly with an appropriate camera and more attention to the set – clothes, etc.

This is a great part of my work – very fun for Harry!