Say Cheese

Another outing with the club. This time to take pictures of waterfalls in Grey County. It was a lovely morning in April, clear skies etc. We left from Fred’s place about - well - shortly after 7. Got to Flesherton at around 9:30 or so. We had breakfast at a lovely spot, South Grey Inn and Restaurant. Nice rustic atmosphere. There were about 20 of us.

For April 19 it sure got hot. 82F, at one point. Walking up and down the stairs by the falls while carrying my gear, was tough. At one point I sat on a rock and got my posterior wet. Oh what we won’t do for “that” picture.

Had lunch at Kettle’s Restaurant around Chatsworth.  Had their enormous lunch.  It was great.  Fries and all.  Then we headed out again.

Didn’t get home till after 7PM. Boy, was I tired.

Just see what this new Canon Rebel XSi can do. Awesome. Live view. You can actually see the picture before you take it, much like video cameras. I think I’m in love.

Make no mistake.  I love my digital SLR.  It’s a Canon.  I love Canon, anyway. I have a Canon printer, scanner and, of course, my beloved DSLR.

This is supposed to be a hobby but in fact is really an obsession. I never want to go anywhere without my camera. Sometimes it’s a pain to drag it around. It does, after all, weigh some. After a few hours of it hanging around your neck, it starts to hurt.

There is a couple at the club that have won every contest they’ve entered.  Their specialty? Birds. 

Now, they are the sweetest couple of people you’d ever want to meet.  Both of them high tech specialists.  Amazing how they seem to love shooting birds.  They’re not the only ones.  There is a group at the club that are bird-shooters.  Period.  They fly off to the Florida wetlands and bird sanctuaries and line up with all the hundreds of other bird shooters to catch the darlings as they preen and hunt. 

I watch in awe.

Now, I like birds as much as the next person and I know the difficulty in shooting the darlings but I have no interest in shooting birds.  First of all, I don’t have the equipment to do a good job.  Secondly, I don’t have the interest. 

So, it never fails.  You just can’t win if you’re up against a bird entry.  So, I’m pissed off.

Oh, I should lighten up.  I won 2nd prize and 3rd prize.  OK, but I want first for once.

A snapshot steals life that it cannot return. A long exposure [creates] a form that never existed. -Dieter Appelt, “1000 Photo Icons” by Anthony Bannon (Foreword), George Eastman House , ISBN: 3822820970, page: 708

Thanks to DPS for this video.

So you think you can’t take a decent picture without hauling around a tripod?  Think again.  I wanted to share this video with you because we could all to with a lot less stuff to cart around. 

We all know blurry pictures are heartbreakers, especially when they are important pictures, so here goes.  Please watch carefully.


$1 Image Stabilizer For Any Camera - Lose The Tripod - video powered by Metacafe

Last night we had our camera club meeting.  I won third prize in the creative category.  I guess I should be happy but I so want to win first just once.  Well, the judges just don’t understand my art.  So I tell myself. 

The ones who seem to win all the prizes are the bird shooters.  I like birds.  They make pretty singing noises and make me feel light-hearted.  But you’ll never see me flying to Florida’s Everglades so I can line up with all the others to shoot a flippin’ bird.  It holds no interest for me.

I was sceptical at first.  I mean, what can we shoot at a racetrack.  The same old horses running one race after another.  Well, let’s keep an open mind.

Anne and Jerry met me in our parking lot at around 6:30 Friday morning.  We piled into Anne’s car and headed out to Campbellville.  The drive was easy.  I was surprised, given it was a workday.  Oh there was traffic but nothing to panic about. 

We got to Campbellville by 7:13.  Wow, way too early.  We’re supposed to meet them at the racetrack at 8AM.  No problem.  We found a great restaurant called Mohawk Inn or something.  It was connected to a Motel.  They were open.  The place was wonderful.  Very country with lots of wood panelling.  It looked so cozy.  We had coffee.  Then we headed to the Racetrack.

Our people from the club were there and after we got our security passses, we were given a tour of the place by a very nice young man.  We were not allowed to use flash as the horses get very skittish.  No problem. 

Then we started shooting.  I thought “OK, this is better than sitting in front of the computer doing data entry.”  We went inside the paddock.  I took a couple of shots.  Most of the shots were shit anyway but I got one good one, I think.  Then I went outside to talk to the staff.  One of the girls suggested I take a ride in the start car.  I went over and asked if I could go along.  The driver said sure so in I went.  The other man sat on a structure in the back seat.  They were great guys and had been doing that for over 25 years.  Now that’s a great job to have.

What a thrill!  I was up close and personal with the racing horses as they had to run behind the gate that was controlled by the folks in the car.  When they dropped me off after going around for a four races, I was met by almost a cheering crowd.  Well, my fellow club members were impressed. 

We shot some more and then it was time to pack up and go.  But before we did, we wanted to take a group shot.  Well, here you have 10 photographers, most with incredibly expensive equipment - trying to set up a tripod and timer so we could all be in the picture.  What a riot.  I must have taken the better part of 15 minutes before we finally got it organized.

We then all went back to the Mohawk Restaurant for lunch and then got on our way.  A beautiful time was had by all.  I got home around 2PM

Here in Southern Ontario, we see plenty of Canada Geese.  We watch them fly north in the Spring and fly south in the Fall.  That distinctive Vee formation pointing South always makes us sad.  It’s the end of summer and our feathered friends are leaving for warmer climes. 

Same thing with the Monarch Butterfly.  Before they fly to Mexico for the winter, they flutter all over the place.  The first time I noticed them gathering was driving along the Gardner Expressway.  At first I thought that someone was burning something and large flakes were floating around.  Then I realized they were Monarch Butterflies getting ready for their big journey to Mexico.  Isn’t Nature wonderful?

Back to the Canada Goose.  Last May I was in James Gardens one Sunday morning.  After parking my car and getting my gear out of the trunk, I was alerted by that distinctive honking the geese do.  This one seemed different somehow.  Louder.  Almost alarming.  I followed the sound.  It became louder the closer I got to the Humber River.  I looked and looked and finally raised my head to look in the trees and there he was, high on one of the limbs, making the world’s greatest racket.

I have no idea what was troubling him.  Was he looking for a mate or his mate?  I’ll never know but since I had never seen or heard of a Canada Goose in a tree, I took his picture - first with my 17-55mm lens and then with my 70-300mm lens for a better close-up.  Here they are.