CURATING COLLECTIONS
Curating this site has given me all kinds of lessons on how to put together a collection of images. Something I would previously have taken for granted actually takes a fair bit of skill and lots and lots of practise.
You would think finding “like” images is a simple process but I’m often surprised by how it looks when done. There’s so many variables from the subject matter, the colors, the shapes and so on. It’s a never ending battle of trial and error.
These are a few from our recent trip to the south of Italy. The images look “warm” to my eye. Not surprisingly, they were taken in July during the hottest time of the summer.
SHOT WITH X100F
IAN MACDONALD WORKSHOP
A big thank you to Ian MacDonald - @ianmacdonaldphotography - for a wonderful 2-1/2 days in mid August. The recent workshop was held in downtown Toronto, beside myself there were 10 other willing photographers.
Always a great experience learning from a new instructor and Ian was a willing and gracious host with lots of terrific tips.
SHOT WITH X100F AND X-PRO2
COLDEST DAY OF THE YEAR
Saturday, February 13, 2016 was indeed a very cold day. The car's digital temperature readout said -25ºC but it felt more like -35ºC. Not that I know what -35ºC feels like but really, after a certain point it hardly matters. It was cold. Very very cold.
The day before I had a training session with Patrick Laroque, one of the most talented photographers in Canada, perhaps the world. He's also one of a small group of people who are official Fuji X-Photographers; ambassadors for the Fuji X series of cameras. Patrick is helping me to become a better photographer, to "see" better and to try to make something of my limited skills.
I've recently started getting assignments from Patrick. This week, lucky me, was the theme of Winter. Patrick asked me to find the art in winter. I knew where the temperature was going and figured this was the needed jolt to get me out of my comfort zone and out with my camera on a day where it would normally be safely tucked away in the warmth of my house.
So here's the thing I learned, the Fuji cameras are made mostly out of magnesium dies cast bodies. This is a wonderful, light metal that is very strong. It also gets unbelievably cold in these conditions. After 10 minutes it's like carrying a solid piece of ice.
So my early morning walk didn't last too long. About 15 minutes tops. But it was a beautiful start to the day. Later we would all venture to Kensington market for our weekly shopping. Everyone was seriously bundled up for the task. We Canadians are a hearty bunch. No need to let a little arctic chill ruin our day.
SHOT WITH FUJI X-E2
