Photography – Page 8 – Karen Greaves Photography & Fibre Art

Up wind surprise

Published on August 15, 2014 by greavesadmin1 Comment

Yesterday we were able to get away to our private cottage (camp) for a night to decompress after some stressful work days. This morning Lindor & I headed down to the dock to enjoy the solitude and warmth of the rising sun. While sipping my coffee, I was startled to hear a rustle and splashing down the shore from me. I looked expectantly for a loon or other water bird but found to my surprise, a young bull moose wandering out from the brush and into the water for breakfast in the reeds. Realizing I had neglected to bring my DSLR down the 22 steps, I reached for my phone (always on me) to capture what I could before he noticed me or my dog. Both brown boys were oblivious to each other as the moose was up wind of me and Lindor was exploring the shoreline in the opposite direction!

Young bull moose grazing — iPhone capture

I finally gave in to the temptation to move and as quietly as I could, snuck up to the cabin to notify Brad, distract Lindor and grab the DSLR from inside the cabin. In my excitement, I let the screen door close not so quietly behind me which alerted the moose to our presence. I managed 1 quick shot before he took cover in the greenery. I don’t plan to leave my DSLR behind next peaceful dock time!!

Young bull moose in the move — Moose on the move

Young bull moose on the move close up — Moose on the move – cropped

August 2014 Calendar – Island in the storm

Published on July 30, 2014 by greavesadmin2 Comments

One of my favourite aspects of living lake-side is watching the rain move across the lake. Whether a light shower or raging storm, the sight, sound and smell is amazing. This past week we experienced several days of sudden and brief thunderstorms. I was able to capture the dramatic change in the colours of sky, shore and water before heading for cover!

I decided to lay the calendars on two images taken in the sequence but could not decide which I liked better. So, I’ve set them both up so you can choose. Different screen resolutions can be found here.

free desktop calendar august 2014_1440x900 — Calm before the storm

Night lights

Published on May 24, 2014 by greavesadmin3 Comments

Didn’t see the expected meteor shower at 1:30 this morning but was treated to the beauty of a moonless night sky!

I found this article very helpful in getting my gear set properly the evening before so I wouldn’t have to do it ‘in the field’ in the dark. I used my widest, fastest lense a Tamron 17-50mm at f/2.8, 17 mm, ISO 3200 set the mode to BULB and used my wireless timer remote shutter. It was impossible for me to see well enough to fine tune the focus so I crossed my fingers. made sure it was on manual focus and dialed to infinity.

Because of the brightness of our yard light, I took several images with different exposure times. In Lightroom, I selected the image shot at 25 seconds for the horizon and sky (on the left below) and one with a 4 second exposure for the foreground.

The two images were then layered in PhotoShop. I added a layer mask to the darker shot then applied the gradient tool to reveal just the bottom of image for the foreground.

All definitely worth the effort, I’d say. 🙂

April 2014 – Spring?

Published on March 30, 2014 by greavesadmin2 Comments

This is definitely not the view out our window currently. As I write this, we are preparing for another blizzard bringing up to 30 cm of snow! The image above was taken two years ago on March 19, one of the earliest springs I can remember. Pussy willows likely won’t be showing up around here for at least another three weeks but eventually they will herald spring.

March Moon

Published on March 17, 2014 by greavesadmin2 Comments

The moon reached fullness March 16th. In anticipation, I kept an eye on the eastern sky the day before, though I wasn’t very diligent (a casual glance out my front door). Then all of a sudden there it was! Although my camera was accessible, I couldn’t locate my tripod so snapped a quick hand held shot. Not bad.

Lesson learned; sort of. I had 25 hours to gather my gear in preparation for the rise the next evening. According to my favourite photography app The Photographer’s Ephemeris, the moon was scheduled to rise an hour later which would make the sky and surroundings darker than the night before. The forecast was for cloud cover by sunset as another snow storm was moving in from the west. An hour before the scheduled moon rise, I headed out to locate a suitable angle for a shot assuming the gap between cloud and horizon would be sufficient. I had all but given up when I noticed a hint of colour.

Although I had located and packed my tripod, I didn’t bring my remote shutter which would have given clearer shots.

Photo Tip: When you don’t have a remote shutter, use your camera’s delay shutter option. My camera has a 10 second and 1 second option. I prefer the latter in this type of shot. Your camera should be on a tripod but can be propped up on something. Mittens or a jacket work well to create soft, flexible platform. The brief discomfort in the elements might be worth the shot captured.

I will have to remember that next time.

Wanna play?

Published on February 7, 2014 by greavesadmin4 Comments

The other morning we spotted a pair of foxes interacting with black birds on the frozen lake in front of our house. I quickly grabbed my DSLR and longest lense, dressed for the cold and snuck outside. I planted my elbow on the top of a snowbank to stabilize the camera looking very much like a sharpshooter I imagine. It was such fun to watch them play; tag, I’m guessing.