Datamining last year's photos

Back Harbour, Twillingate Newfoundland,  July 2010

Recently, I found myself looking through some of last summer's photographs, and I came across a couple of photographs that I had overlooked when I originally processed them.  This image posed a number of difficulties during processing (for example, how to keep the foreground bright enough without blowing out the background), so I guess I passed it by in favour of some easier images.  

Although it's not the best image from Twillingate, it was fun going through the photographs, and pulling out some photographs that I had forgotten about.


. . . Rob Williams http://www.robertwilliamsphotography.ca

Blakeney Rapids in Winter

Winter can be very grey -- many days are overcast, with snow on the ground, and forests without leaves.  When the weather clears, it is often very cold, thanks to arctic air moving south.  So, when a bright sunny day comes around with tolerable temperatures, it's great to see some colour return.

The top of Blakeney Rapids in Winter

The Blakeney Rapids are well hidden on the Mississippi River outside of Ottawa (Canada -- not the US).  You can't see them from the highway, or from the local regional roads.  However, if you drive between Pakenham and Arnprior, and turn onto Blakeney Road, you will find a small parking lot where the road crosses the Mississippi River.  Walk down the path a bit, and you will find the rapids.

Pines on the Blakeney Rapids

It's a spectacular place in summer, and just as great in winter.  The path can be quite slippery, and the rocks at the edge can be get covered with ice, so great care is needed.


. . . Rob Williams http://www.robertwilliamsphotography.ca

Daily Shoot #ds454: Tell the story of a subject today in a photograph by photographing one specific detail of it.

                                                                            Guitar Strings

The daily shoot topic yesterday was to tell the story of a subject by shooting a specific detail of it.  I decided to use my son's guitar, sitting directly in the sunshine in our kitchen.  I liked the combination of the strings, their shadows and the curves of the sounding hole.  This photograph was shot handheld with my 105mm macro lens.

. . . Rob Williams http://www.robertwilliamsphotography.ca

Barns

Barns outside Ottawa

I love the look of old barns around the Ottawa area.  Barns in the immediate area of the city are disappearing quite quickly now -- I can think of two at least that have been taken down in the past year.  I hope that the farming heritage won't disappear completely in our haste to build golf courses and houses.   My house was build on farmland, so I can't say that all house building is bad, but at the same time I don't like to see farms and barns disappear.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robertwilliamsphotography.ca

First Snow

Every year, no matter what era I've reached in my life, I still get excited at seeing the first new snow of the season.  It happened again last night when the snow started to accumulate.  For some reason, it's hard not to stop and watch.

Trees along Brophy Drive near North Gower, Ontario

When I woke up, the snow was still on the ground, so I took my camera out and drove some back roads around where I live, looking for some interesting images.

NCC Forest along Moodie Drive, Ottawa

The snow stayed around all day, and so it will be a chilly night for the ghosts and goblins.

Bushes at the Lime Kiln Trail, Ottawa

Fence post on Brophy Drive

Bush beside the road on Brophy Drive

. . . Rob Williams http://www.robertwilliamsphotography.ca

How to remove a stuck filter

Earlier this year, I wanted to remove the polariod filter from my 70-200mm lens, but it was badly stuck.  Filters are hard to grip, and doubly so for polarizing filters with the rotating ring.  I tried everything I could think of, including putting a rubber band around the filter for better grip, but I could not get it off.

I tried searching the web for a solution but I didn't find any good suggestions for a polarizer other than a filter wrench, and I couldn't find them (they're available at B&H, but I didn't want to wait for the shipping).  Eventually I went to a kitchen store to see if I could find a jar lid opener that would be kind to the filter.  Most were metal, but I found one that was made from soft rubber, called "EasiTwist Jar Opener":

I liked this one because it had a wide opening at one end, and smaller openings closer to the end for different sizes of filters.  It turns out that the widest opening was perfect for a  77mm filter.  I tried it out, and it worked immediately and very easily:

Highly recommended.

. . . Rob Williams http://www.robertwilliamsphotography.ca