Dolo Foto

Embracing the Blur

I tend not to use a flash. This can be tricky when you have less natural light to work with, particularly at night. Lately, I have come to embrace shots that I may have otherwise deemed imperfect in the past. When it really comes down to it, sometimes a picture can be beautiful with a blurred effect.

My dear friend and fellow shutterbug Laurie wrote a great piece on her blog a while back (link below) where she discusses this very subject.  

I was at a good friend’s wedding last month in a little mountain town. After the reception was over, all of the guests dispersed. I was waiting outside with some of her friends and family outside of the ski lodge where the reception was held. As it was a mountain, there was fog in the air late that night (or I should probably say early that morning). Someone had randomly parked their car in the middle of the barren parking lot outside of the lodge. I took this shot with my camera of the car as the only available light from a nearby light post shone down on it. The image came out blurry but I ended up liking the eerie effect that was created. There is a moodiness in this shot that I am not quite sure would have been achieved had the image not been blurry. It may look like a big mess to some but not to me. I have to say, I am really starting to embrace the blur.

http://www.blogher.com/photo-focus-sharp-bokeh-plus-they-finally-took-your-kodachrome?wrap=blogher-topics/arts&crumb=181

Above the Clouds

Clouds have been on my mind lately. Since it is spring, we have had some showers in recent weeks. I love the way clouds look before it rains. They are so plump. I almost think of them as pregnant women whose water is about to break which I realize sounds a bit odd.

What is also odd but interesting is a group I found on the internet known as The Cloud Appreciation Society. They can be found at www.cloudappreciationsociety.org. They actually had a page on their website that referred to the art of sky watching which I thought was neat. They feature nice photographs and paintings of clouds.

Last weekend, I snapped this picture of some clouds in the sky. I was at the Home Depot of all places buying some blinds. I took a few moments to snap some shots of the clouds before it rained when I was outside in the parking lot.

This past Monday one of my favorite hip-hop musicians Guru passed away. My favorite song of his was called Above the Clouds. This picture is for him.

Hair

This picture was taken a few weeks ago when I was wandering the streets at night with a pretty expensive camera. It was the night of Nuit Blanche here in Montreal. It is a night when the art galleries stay open until the wee hours and public transit is not only free but also runs all night. It is an artistic feast for the eyes. If one is not careful, one could conceivably overdose on too much art consumption. Although, perhaps that is not necessarily a bad thing. 

I spotted these punks with matching mohawks as I was walking back to my car to go home. It was one of those moments when I wanted to take a picture but I sort of wanted to chicken out at the same time. I knew if I didn’t take the picture I would be kicking myself all the way home so I did what any respectable petite female roaming the streets at night with a nice camera would do. I backtracked and approached a group of punks on the side of the street to see if I could take their picture.

Best case scenario: They agree and say yes

Worst case scenario: They say no and run off with my camera

Below is what actually happened.

I approached the gentleman on the left and asked:

“Is it cool if I take your picture”? 

He responded: “Well not really, but uh okay”.

I then said: “Are you sure? If you don’t want me to, that’s okay”.

He said: “No, no really it’s cool, take my picture”.

Seconds later he was posing like he was born in front of the camera and getting his girlfriend (I am guessing) to face him so she could be in the picture too. I gave no art direction whatsoever. I usually like taking candid shots of people on the street and I will only give art direction if I am taking a portrait of someone. This picture was sort of a hybrid of the two so it was nice that he took the reins as far as any sense of directing.

Turns out the girl on the right was into photography herself. We chatted for a bit and I told them about this bizarre photography show I had just seen moments earlier by Jean François Bouchard called Still Life. There were these eerie photographs taken of realistic life-size dolls which men treat as their girlfriends. Here is a link in case you are curious: www.jfbouchardphoto.com.

Their friend who was leaning against a lamp post asked if the show was anything like that movie Lars and the Real Girl to which I responded ” Yes, it’s exactly like that”! I am not sure if they ended up checking out the show in the end but I am happy that:

a.) They let me take their picture

b.) That it came out pretty nicely

and 

c.) That I still own my camera

Butterflies

I heard the butterflies would be let free at the botanical gardens. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to take some photographs of these lovely creatures. I thought it would be a perfect time to get more familiar with the macro settings on my camera as well. So me and the boys ventured out after breakfast for a little field trip.

I am always struck by the vibrancy of colors in nature - how flowers can have such deep, rich hues or how tropical birds and butterflies can embody such saturated tones of color. This beautiful butterfly nestled in bright orange flowers is one such example. No photoshop here folks - just Mother Nature in all her glory.

Picturama Show

I am participating in a fun group photography show called Picturama in Ottawa beginning March 2. The show is at an artshop & gallery in Ottawa called Canteen. They are basically turning the whole art space into a Dollar Store except each 4x6 picture will cost $2. 

I submitted ten images. This photo, Baldes, is one of them. We were asked to submit a little story or fact on the back of each photograph. I wrote my stories on the spot when I dropped them off.  It was fun to write little anecdotes (some actual, some imagined) about each photograph. I also placed a link to this blog on the back of each one so if you end up buying one of my pictures - thanks!

You can find more information about Canteen, this show and some of their upcoming shows at www.canteenlife.com or at www.canteen.tumblr.com and if per chance you happen to be in the neighborhood you should definitely stop by and check it out!

My Funny Valentine

For my husband Jer and me our idea of a fun, romantic day together is a photo excursion. Since we were in his old stomping grounds last weekend, he was assigned the role of scout for our shoot. I have to say, I was quite pleased with his choice of location. He drove us down by the Locks - a place I had never been. It is a series of eight points, which due to a marvel of engineering connects the Rideau River to the Ottawa River. It basically allows boats to pass by leveling out the different elevations in the water. We shot by one of the locks adjacent to City Hall. There was this beautiful waterfall gushing water, encrusted by huge chunks of ice. A layer of fresh snow caked the area in and around the waterfall. It was really striking to both see and hear. It’s funny because all natural beauty aside, it kind of reminded me of Superman’s home planet Krypton as it is depicted in the original movie with the giant jagged icicles that were hanging near the edge of the waterfall.

To say it was cold that day was an understatement. We eventually started to get slightly sprayed by the water and since water is not an SLR camera’s best friend, we decided to cut our shoot short and head back to the warmth of the car. Trust me: this executive decision was completely mutual! I was really glad to have captured a few shots of this stunning site before we headed out that afternoon.

As far as an actual Valentine’s gift, when Jer asked me what I wanted I responded: a pair of galoshes. He said he would be happy to oblige. Perhaps water is theme for this Valentine’s Day?

If you’re slightly bored and want to learn more about the Locks here is a link to a slightly hideous yet very informative website:

http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/history/locks/h01-08-ottawa.html