Comments

I've had a few people ask why I don't allow comments - and given the content of my recent journals I thought I should explain before I look like a hypocrite! I always like to respond to feedback that I receive - and I'm always grateful when I have the time to reply to each person, even if it is a generic message. But as school has moved on that has become more difficult to do. I reached a point last year when I was spending too much time replying to my own work - I was missing out on the work of others which was the main reason why I joined this site. I'd rather be commenting on work that doesn't belong to me and learning through the creations of other artists. But, and this is a big 'but' - I still like to receive feedback. As a photographer I still have a lot to learn and I'd really like to hear what you think of my work. If you have any critiques please send me a note - I'd be more than happy to read it and consider your ideas / input!

The Location

To the right of this photo is my old apartment in Halifax - sitting on the corner of Walnut and Watt Street. On February 12th of this year we had a large snowstorm that crept through the region - once it hit the city shut down early for the night. It was fun to walk outside with the tripod and capture the area in the snow. I wasn't expecting to grab any shots of people walking around but when I turned my head I saw this figure illuminated by the headlights of a waiting taxi (and even a snowblower moving behind it!). The neighbourhood was very quiet that evening and the only sound I could hear was that of the falling snow.

The Photo

This wasn't too hard to set-up - just the camera on the tripod using a Canon 17-40mm L and a Hoya UV filter to protect the lens. The hard part was keeping the camera clean as I was worried that it would be ruined if I got it too wet. Because the snow was coming in hard I had to give up after a while - by the time I was finished there was a nice layer of ice on the body and lens which I had to chip off inside; the camera survived and I haven't had any problems since! Because the light was low and I wanted to capture as much of the moving figure as possible I opened up the aperature of the camera to f4 (as low as it goes). I had forgotten to set the ISO to a higher rating though so I was left with a shutter speed of 1.3 seconds. By the time I reset the camera the figure had moved from the street to the sidewalk - Murphy's law in action.

The heavy blur at the top and bottom of the frame is due to a Photoshop process that I used in an effort to mirror the effects of a traditional tilt-shift lens. I wasn't happy with the way the shot originally turned out - in the back of my mind I had really wanted to capture the scene with one of these lenes. I'll describe the process below.

Photoshop

Another photograph and another tutorial to share with everyone! Even though I haven't been able to get my hands on one, a lens that has always had me hooked is the Tilt-Shift. The effect that the tilt function creates is surreal and I like how it can turn the everyday street scene into a model set due to the change in perspective. I was always told that emulating this effect in Photoshop was impossible but I've found an internet tutorial that will take you through an easy process is you have CS or CS2.

[link]

While I save for that Canon TS-E 24mm f3.5, 45mm f28, and 90mm f2.8 I'll have to make due with this process. Be warned - once you start the filter you'll have enough time to make some coffee and a large sandwhich. It can be painfully slow depending on the size of the photograph - but the end result might be worth the wait!

I've also added a Pantone Duotone to the piece, grayscale seemed a little flat to me and didn't suit the mood of the scene.

Tools

Canon EOS 20D | Canon 17-40L | ISO 100 | f4 | s1.3 | Hoya UV Filter | Manfrotto 190CL Tripod |