Day 273 - The Union Jack a-fluttering

I hope this photo doesn't offend any anti-monarchists reading this blog. I just happen to like the colours and shapes of this picture of the Union Jack fluttering against the wall of one of the historical buildings on Officer's Square in downtown Fredericton.

This stone-and-brick wall is part of the building that houses the local museum, which is actually surprisingly interesting for such a small place. And I like the way the brick section of the wall mimics the shape of the building itself. Blue skies never hurt a photograph either, do they?

Day 272 - The presence of a camera

I don't usually post photographs on this blog that feature people's faces. I'm not sure why but I don't. So why this photograph? Because I cannot figure out how this person who is about 50 feet up the air working on the clock tower of Fredericton City Hall would know that I was taking a picture of the tower, his crane and, to my surprise, him. Are people that aware of cameras around them that he would notice me?

This is the first of several shots I took because I liked the physical interaction of the straight lines of the red-brick tower, the roundness of the black-and-gold clock face and the diagonals of the blue crane. I was far, far below the clock and the man and yet he somehow sensed my lens pointing in this direction and turned to look.

I don't think he was upset or anything that I was taking my pictures (there were several other people with cameras there) but it's just so strange to me that he would look down at me just as I took my first shot.

Day 271 - Thrusting skyward

This is a point of view that I have never tried before: wide-angle, upward facing, such that the subject gains a slightly distorted aspect that, nonetheless, makes it seem even more impressive. I have to say, I like it. Wilmot United Church in downtown Fredericton seems to be thrusting upward into the sky. It gains a sense of power and majesty that is missing in the earlier shots I've taken of it. Neat angle. Nice shot. I'll have to try this again with other Fredericton landmarks.

And it's not just the angle I like. That sky is absolutely gorgeous with its deep, deep blue marked only by a whispy line of cloud that intersects the church's steeple. And the church itself is crisp with its black-and-white paint as it seems to rise out of the trees. But the thing I think I like most about this photo is the lamp-post and banner in the bottom left corner. They play an important role both in the composition of this shot and their colours (black, white and blue) match the church and sky perfectly.

Day 270 - Doodle in the grass

When I started this blog 270 days ago, I worried that I would end up putting too many photographs of our beloved golden doodle, Marlee, up. I think this is only the third or fourth such photo so maybe my worry was needless.

I've posted this picture most particularly because I like the angle. I was lying in the grass when I took it so we are actually looking up at the dog as she lies on the ground. I am also pleased with the quality of the focus, which captures every curl in her fur and the shape and texture of her tongue.

Day 269 - The leaves and grass

Autumn has come to New Brunswick.

There are many "must sees" about this province and autumn is definitely one of them. Outside, perhaps, of Ontario around Algonquin Park, I don't know of any place that does the annual trees-turning-colour ritual as well as New Brunswick does. But it starts early so you have to be careful not to miss it.

This photograph represents my first attempt to capture fall in Fredericton. No, it's not the most glorious photo you're going to see but the leaves come from a small maple tree on our property and the grass is as long as it's been in a while. I lay down on the ground and tried very hard to make the Olympus focus where I wanted it to, rather than simply on the nearest blade of grass. I also opened up the aperture (f3.5, I think) to create the nice contrast of focus on the nearby leaf and slight blur in the background.

There will be more pictures of the autumn leaves of New Brunswick, I promise. Fall out here is well worth the wait.

Day 268 - Surprise guests in our garden

These two lovely little guys have made a surprise appearance among the weeds in what used to be a rock garden in our front lawn. Surprise for many reasons but mostly because it's all weeds there right now and it's now late September. Much too late for flowers to pop up.

This is another example of a low-light photograph that should haven't turned out but, thanks to the miracle that is iPhoto, really looks great. I just did the best I could on-site and then trusted the computer program to improve the exposure. Thankfully, it did a great job and the picture looks really good. The flowers might not last much longer with these cold nights but at least I've got them preserved in this photo.

Day 267 - The patience of plants

Nothing says "Fredericton" to us more than this bush, which seems to thrive in the climate of New Brunswick.

We're not sure what this is called (no doubt many people looking at this picture will be able to identify the bush in a heart beat) but we think they're very beautiful. And yet silly looking at the same time.

Many of the ones we see have pure white balls but others have interesting combinations of white with a pinky colour (like this one). The nice things about them as well is that they are easy to photograph, especially on a windless day. Mostly, they just stand there, posing for you. And they're patient. They'll wait all day until you get the shot you want.

Day 266 - More sunlight, more trees

Still on the theme of sunlight and darkness, I offer this photograph of a nearby yard, with morning sun spilling in light a spotlight.

I'm finding that I really like these kinds of photos (can you tell?), as much for their drama as for the challenge of creating an interesting composition to complement the lighting. In this case, the trees and their leaves create a neat circular frame for the sun-splattered lawn while the fence post to the right adds some vertical contrast.

Again, I played with exposures on this shot in order to find the one that would prove most effective. In general, I prefer the darker images but this one, where the fence and some of the branches of the trees can actually be seen, stood out for me on this occasion. Of course, if I had tried to go any lighter, the area of the lawn that is bathed in sunlight would have been washed out.

Day 265 - Illuminating the fog

With 100 days to go on this year-long journey, I bring you this rather amazing combination of sunlight, tree and fog. Taken as I waited for my bus this morning, this photograph exemplifies for me everything that is good about reportage photography.

There was no planning to this shot; I simply had my camera with me and my eyes open. There was no arranging of elements into a nice composition; I simply moved myself until I was in a good position to frame the existing elements well and used the zoom to make the final adjustments.

I took several shots of this scene and am happy with them all. But I think this one, with the dazzling sun just visible through the dark tree on the right, the rays of light illuminating the fog on the left and just enough of the roof to provide a foundation for the shot, worked out best.

Day 264 - The curved lines of chairs

I love the browns in this photograph. Just like yesterday's image, this picture was taken using a narrow aperture and a slow shutter speed to create depth of focus in a dimly lit dining room.

The browns just feel so deep and soft and I think the composition is quite lovely too. The slightly curved lines of the chairs work well with the straighter lines of the door frame to create a nice perspective to the shot while the gold in the table coverings adds just a hint of colour to an otherwise monochromatic photo. I'm surprised at how happy I am with this one.

Day 263 - Still life with a tea pot

Can you see the airbrushing I did on this photograph? Top right corner? I've never used this feature on iPhoto before. It's quite cool.

I took this photo at a restaurant in downtown Fredericton because I liked the way the tea pot looked on the reflective plastic cover of the table, with the the pattern on the table cloth adding interest, the water glass nearby and the medley of browns in the background. What I didn't expect was for my friend's chin to show up in the photo. So, I airbrushed it out.

This picture is another example of one of my favourite techniques wherein I set the camera on the table in a dimly-lit room and then adjust the shutter speed to a very slow level to ensure proper exposure. I keep the aperture as small as possible (f8) to ensure depth of focus but keep the shutter open for two seconds or more.

I like the warmth and depth of the colours that this technique creates. In this case, the tea pot glistens and the blue in its floral patterns comes through strongly.

Day 262 - Wrapping up the Harvest

I might have failed entirely to get a single photograph of the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival that just wrapped up here in Fredericton but at least I got this interesting shot of the clean-up efforts taking place today after the four-day event ended.

I had thought about trying to get a close-up of someone carrying something (maybe just their arms and hands, gripping their heavy load) but then I saw this nice combination of elements in Officer's Square, with the statue overseeing it all.

I also like the lines of porta-potties in the background: they kind of capture the overall tone of the day, I think.

Day 261 - A thicket's secret

A walk along one of Fredericton's many pedestrian paths brings us this little gem. I honestly don't know what this pipe contains nor why it is located in the heart of a thicket. The tiny little lock makes me laugh, though. It's not going to stop anyone who really wants to get past the pipe's cap but I guess it'll stop the curious (like me) from opening it up.

This photo is another example of how the new technology helps photographers. In this case, there was clearly not enough light in this densely wooded part of the path for me to take a properly exposed photo but I took it anyway. I just made sure I kept the shutter speed high enough to avoid camera shake, even if that meant the light meter was yelling at me for more light.

iPhoto saved the day. It has a feature that allows you to adjust the exposure: just slide the little bar and the photo lightens up, without losing colour balance or focus. Neat. And an interesting little picture is born.

Day 260 - I lay in the dirt for this

I lay down in the dirt to get this photograph. Was it worth it? I don't know but I figured my sacrifice alone warrants the inclusion of this picture of a ploughed field on this blog.

I like the lines of the furrows in the distance and the texture of the clods of dirt and the colours of the ground and field on either side of the ploughed bit. I like the fact that the earth close to the camera is in crisp focus and that the lines become more blurred as they move off into the distance. I wish the sky was more blue, however.

Day 259 - See Spot Run

Okay, so his name is likely not Spot. But this is a fairly decent photograph of a dog in full flight. The trick is to try to get the dog in mid-stride and in full focus, while the background field blurs behind him. The blurred backdrop helps deliver the sense of the speed of the animal as he, in this case, chases a flock of geese that have had the temerity to land nearby.

Day 258 - The 30-Year I-Spy Pony Quilt

I don't know much about quilting but I do know that the best quilts tell a story. Often a family story. Sometimes, a family's history.

That's the case here. Our good friends Lola (right) and her daughter Patty (left) show off a family quilt that Lola has dubbed "The I-Spy Pony Quilt". It's a gorgeous combination of exquisite needlework and exceptional quilting that has been more than 30 years in the making.

The story is quite complex but also rather lovely. Thirty years ago, when Lola's son and daughter-in-law were expecting their own son, her daughter-in-law asked various members of the family to stitch pony squares for the baby's quilt. Though several people (including Lola and the daughter-in-law's own mother) complied, the baby quilt was never completed and the lovely squares were wrapped up and left in storage.

Now, thirty years later, the baby for whom the original quilt was intended is married and expecting his first child (who will be Lola's great grandchild). Lola's daughter-in-law decided to resurrect the quilt project, but this time for the new baby. The old pony squares were brought out of storage, several new squares were contributed by family members and Lola was asked to create the final quilt in time for the baby's birth, which is fast approaching.

As is her habit, Lola imbued the final project with a wonderful combination of love and craftsmanship, resulting in the gorgeous quilt you see here. She's also added some really special touches. The initials of the new baby's family members are stitched in the saddles of the various ponies, with the top left pony's saddle left blank to accept the initials of the newborn once he or she is christened.

Lola has also stitched the names of family members who contributed pony squares in tiny letters on the squares each has created, ensuring that the generations and their contributions live on in this beautiful work of art.

Now I am quite confident in my skills as a photographer but I have no problem admitting that no photograph, no matter how carefully planned and how masterfully executed, will ever capture the true beauty of this 30-Year I-Spy Pony Quilt.

Day 257 - Of fear and high fliers

This photograph is dedicated to my colleague at work who told me today that she is afraid of birds and why. The explanation seems to be a combination of early exposure to the Hitchcock film, The Birds, concerns about the unpredictability of bird behaviour and the feeling that birds are very dirty creatures (which, of course, they are).

I love the deep blue sky in this photograph as well as the brilliant sun that is illuminating the details of the geese as they fly in formation. And I trust the birds are far enough away that they won't freak my colleague out at all.

Day 256 - A bird in hand...

This is reportage photography at its best. You've got your camera with you, you see something unusual and you take the best photos you can as the scene plays out.

In this case, a pigeon (yes, another pigeon) decided to wander into the Second Cup outlet in King's Place Mall in downtown Fredericton. It apparently got trapped in the window, looking with a sense of yearning out at freedom on the street. Two slightly frazzled baristas tried to figure out what to do. Eventually, one of them got the idea to try to wrap the bird in a towel (top photograph) and carry it outside (bottom photograph).

As so often happens with reportage photography, the actual pictures are far from perfect. I had only a few seconds to get the camera up and operational as the brave barista swept in with the towel so I couldn't do much to address the reflection of the window that interferes with your ability to see the pigeon inside the store (top shot).

I'm relatively pleased with the photo of the young women releasing the bird from the towel in the court outside the doors to the mall but I wish I had had the time to adjust the Olympus to its "burst" setting, which sees the camera take five or six pictures in rapid succession. With burst, I might have gotten a better shot of the pigeon spreading its wings as the towel falls away, with the barista's concerned face still tight in the shot.

Of course, I also would have liked to have a little more time to get the focus right. While the bottom photo is not bad, it's not as crisp as I would have liked it to be. That's because the young woman is moving fairly quickly with the bird in her hands and the pigeon, of course, is anxious to get free again. The rapid movements are too much for the camera's autofocus function, especially in the shady conditions near the mall doors.

These photos would be fine in a newspaper, where the printing process would further mask the deficiencies in focus and framing. People would look at the shots more for what's in them than for their artistic merit. To me, they still tell an interesting story, flawed as they are. But we can always wish that things were slightly better, can't we?

Day 255 - That takes the cake

An exercise in focus and perspective, this shot of a piece of cake at a recent celebration at my place of work is one tasty photograph.

Once again, I tried to work with the available light and the depth of focus to create interest in this close up of a piece of cake on a paper plate with a plastic fork. I'm surprised with the result, which I think gives a vivid depiction of the piece in the foreground but also a feeling for just how many pieces there were arranged on this table.

To my surprise, similar shots taken with the flash were not as interesting: with both focus and light in its favour, the central chunk of cake was too dominant. The other slices, which were both out of focus and much darker, lost all importance in the shot.

Day 254 - A tale of two Rileys

Riley takes centre stage today as he gambols through the beautifully lit fields of the potato research farm on the east side of Fredericton. Riley is the golden doodle pal of our own Marlee Marie. The two are best friends and get along famously, even if Riley is older, male and a lot more gregarious than our own puppy.

I always think Riley looks like a Muppet but his is one of the most expressive faces I've ever seen on a dog. And he's the perfect subject for showing the amazing difference between face-on sunlight (top photo, with a vividly green backdrop of the field behind him) and backlighting from a slowly setting sun (see below).

With these two shots, and Riley in such absolutely similar (and characteristic) poses, the differences are clear. While the top photo looks like a portrait (and is really quite nice, I think), the bottom photo has more drama, with the backlighting catching the fur around his edges and bringing it to life, while the rest of him is less clear, less crisp, less detailed.

Yes, I know, the bottom photo is not perfectly focused (the auto focus always has trouble with tricky light situations) but the exercise is, I think, worth it. And Riley is a cutie, isn't he?

Day 253 - Science fiction dudes

For some reason, this photograph scares me. It looks like something out of a science fiction movie, especially with those "beaks" open and ready to bite.

I honestly don't know what these dudes are. They seem to be some kind of air exchangers for one of the UNB science buildings. That's my best guess. I like their shapes and the strange animal-like quality of their "faces". They really do belong in some kind of a movie.

This photo is all in the framing. I wanted to make the dudes the centre of attention but to place them in an environment, a space if you will. That's why you've got the brick walls on the left and bottom and that interesting little vacuum cleaner hose as well.

Day 252 - Couch, sofa or chesterfield?

I'm beginning to wonder if a trained psychologist could find out a lot about me from the photographs I take or, even better, figure out the kind of mood I'm in from the photographs I post on a given day. Not that I'm suggesting any trained psychologist would want to waste a lot of time on the likes of me but still...

Today, I feel like garbage and I'm in a bad mood. I'm sure the latter is related to the former but it doesn't make for a nice combination. So what do I choose from the photo library for today's shots? You guessed it: photos of garbage. I'm sure every city and town has scenes like these scattered all over the place but I have to admit that I find Fredericton's little dumpy scenes all the more shocking because of how pretty the rest of the city usually is.

The top image comes to us from the alleys of downtown Freddie, where it looks to me like some kind of renovation is going on in this building. I mean, what other explanation can you give for leaving a lidless toilet out in the open like this? I kind of like the composition of this shot, including the fact that the toilet is facing away from the camera.

The lower shot is intended to be a reminder that the university students are back in town and, with them, scenes like this one. Apparently, someone decided that their second-hand, battered couches were a heck of a lot better than these battered old sofas and dumped them in a clearing behind the Lady Beaverbrook Arena. I guess that's an improvement on the old way of getting rid of old chesterfields: putting them on the front lawn of your house and setting them on fire. That particular method of tidying was quite popular in New Brunswick's capital a couple of years ago.

I can't say that this second picture has that much going for it, artistically, but at least it captures my mood. And gives me a chance to use all three words that I know for this type of furniture. By the way, which word do you prefer: couch, sofa, or chesterfield?

Day 251 - Harvest jazz and blues

I chose this picture not for any great artistic or photographic merit but solely because of its content. This shot shows the new street banners for this year's edition of Fredericton's annual "Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival", which begins next week.

This event has been going on for years and manages to attract some pretty fantastic acts to this small city. The downtown core is shut down to traffic and becomes on large pedestrian mall, with music coming at you from all sides. Huge tents are set up to provide one kind of venue, while bands and solo artists also put on shows in clubs and bars and even on make-shift stages on street corners. For the big shows, of course, you have to buy a ticket but a lot of people enjoy the Festival just by walking around, drinking in the sounds, even if they never enter one of the venues.

If you look closely at the banner, you can see the web address for the festival (harvestjazzandblues.com) which will give you all the details. And maybe it will convince you to come to see our fair city at its best, with the beautiful fall weather, the leaves just beginning to turn and the fabulous music that brings the downtown to life.

Day 250 - A rare traffic jam in Freddie

A photograph taken from a city bus in the middle of a traffic jam in downtown Fredericton.

There are many things about that sentence that should be explained, first and foremost the unusual phrase "traffic jam in downtown Fredericton". This phrase is not often used. Fredericton simply does not have enough vehicles to create a traffic jam under normal conditions. Even during what they call "rush hour" here, a regular cross-town drive takes maybe three minutes longer than at any other time.

But today a major intersection in the downtown core (York and Brunswick) was closed down as a result of a car-pedestrian accident and the daily drive home from work was thrown into chaos. My bus home took a route that tried to avoid the problems but got caught up anyway and I tried to take advantage of the time to take photos of this unusual event.

I'm pleased with this shot for many reasons, including the fact that I think it actually captures the jammed nature of the traffic on the road. I'm also pleased with the details from the inside of the bus that show up (especially the rim of the passenger's eyeglasses!) and the texture created by rain on the windshield.

Here's hoping the accident wasn't serious and the pedestrian comes through okay!

Day 249 - Back to the old red brick

Red brick and white trim appear to be a staple for Atlantic Canadian universities and the University of New Brunswick is no exception. Here, Kierstead Hall fills the shot with its square lines, crisp colours and green landscaping.

I find taking interesting photographs of buildings especially challenging, not so much from the standpoint of f-stop and shutter speed but with regard to framing and composition. I think I'm pretty good at finding small details and photographing them in interesting ways but I still haven't mastered the art of introducing drama to the standard building picture.

I had hoped that the angle from which I took this shot and the inclusion of the two trees that break up the straight lines of the edifice and its bricks might add interest but I'm not sure I've been successful. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a nice picture. I just don't think it's a great picture.

Day 248 - The intensity of the colours

Does this photograph work for you? I tried very hard to get deep colour, a very narrow depth of focus and an interesting composition. Though I'm pleased with the result, I worry that the central branch and flower are still too dark and blend too much into the out-of-focus background. What do you think?

This photo was taken at the top of the Fredericton walking trail near the entrance to UNB. I really like these rust-red flower things on the trees and the way they hang regally over the path. As I said, I wanted to get a picture that would feature the flower and lose the trees behind it into a blurred but still colourful background. I took another shot of the same composition that was brighter but I thought it lost too much of the intensity of the colours. So I went with this one.

Day 247 - The smiles would soon fade...

My friend Lisa and I have signed up for a fun cycling event scheduled for next weekend in Fredericton called "The Tour du Vin". The idea of it is that a large group of people ride 10 km, stop to partake of a taste of wine and a sampling of food from a particular country, then ride another 10 km before stopping again for another set of samples, this time from a different country. You visit four countries all told and ride between 30 and 50 km. Great fun.

Except that I haven't ridden a bike in two years. Uh oh. Lisa's alright: she's a runner and a cyclist and a former top calibre rower so this shouldn't be too tough for her. In order to have a hope of keeping up with her, I've been riding for the past several weeks, slowly building up my stamina (from eight blocks the first night to about 15 km last weekend).

This weekend, we agreed to try my most ambitious ride yet: 40 km, from Fredericton to Mactaquac and back.

Except we got lost. We took the wrong trail and, after more than 30 km, had still not found Mactaquac. We found ourselves in Millville, about 16 km north of Mactaquac. We decided to turn around and head back. But not before we stopped in at "Bird's (C)orner Store" in, you guessed it, Burtt's Corner, for a drink and a snack. And a kind young woman in the parking lot agreed to snap our picture (see above).

We look happy here. But, by the end of our 64.5 km death ride, the smiles were no longer available. As Lisa kept saying, however, it's a story to tell and a great photograph: a snapshot of Mark and Lisa in Burtt's Corner.

Day 246 - The gates of academia

Back to the picturesque University of New Brunswick, where we find the brick pillars of the school's front gate. It's just too bad that this is not the gate most University faculty, staff or students use. Located at the bottom of the University, this gate (with a matching pillar on the other side of the entrance) leads to the football-shaped road that circles the main campus.

I'm pleased with this photograph because I managed to frame out all of the objects located nearby that interfere with the image: road signs, traffic lights, litter, construction barriers, etc.

I also had to fiddle with the light a bit and, to be honest, ended up using iPhoto's "Enhance Image" function to brighten the colours. It was a strange, kind of dismal day but the sun was still pushing a lot of light into the area from the left and behind the north-facing gate, making it difficult to get the colour and detail to show.

Day 245 - Fun with fog

Fog represents a great opportunity for the photograph. It adds mystery and texture to a shot, making an average landscape special.

We've had fog most mornings this week but, unfortunately, I'm usually out and on my way to work just after the sun starts to eradicate the stuff, so it's too late for the really great fog photos. That's not to say I'm unhappy with this shot of King's College Road, looking east from York Street in Fredericton. I'm actually quite fond of it. But you can see that the fog in this picture is not pea-soup thick and, in fact, is at this point in the morning receding fast.

Still, I'm happy with the dark intensity of the trees on the left, the foggy figures in the distance and the crispness of the lines on the road. I think it's a nice photo, not an iconic fog picture but not bad nonetheless.

The lower photograph is more of a standard fog shot, this time with the sun serving as the central focal point. I don't think this photograph is as successful as the top one but it's interesting nonetheless. I played with the shutter speed to adjust the amount of light getting in to create the proper contrast between the dark trees and building (the new Fredericton YMCA, by the way) and the bright sky. I wanted the sun (through the fog) to be a crisply shaped ball in the sky and I think I've come up with a decent picture.

Day 244 - Sir Howard Douglas (Old Arts) Hall

The University of New Brunswick campus at Fredericton features the longest continuously serving university building in Canada:a lovely stone building which has been known by many names, among them "King's College", "Old Arts" and its current moniker, "Sir Howard Douglas Hall".

Old Arts was the school's original building when the university began operation on its current site on the hill in Fredericton in 1829. At that time, Old Arts housed classroom space, lab space, office space as well as dorm rooms and a chapel. The chapel, a lovely room on the ground floor, is still in use and contains much of the original furniture.

Photographing Old Arts is not easy. To get a good shot of the front (top picture) you have to wander down the grassy slope in front to a line of trees. Both the branches overhead and the slope below you tend to get in the way of your shot. In this photo, for example, the bottom of the first floor is lost behind the lip of the hill while the dome is obscured somewhat by leaves.

The picturesque entrance on the east side of the building (lower photo) creates challenges because of the close proximity of other buildings and a parking lot. Difficult to get a nice shot of it but well worth the effort. Unfortunately, the west entrance (which offers itself up to your camera) is not nearly as pretty.

And, as for the rear of the building, well, it's not as nice as the front, it is skirted by a busy parking lot and, to get far enough away for a full shot, you have to climb onto the terraced roof of the science library and still deal with wires.

To sum it up, Old Arts is a gorgeous building but just a little bit shy.

Day 243 - Something wicker this way comes

A theme that seems to have emerged in my photography for this blog is landscaping and outdoor home decorating. I find that homeowners in Fredericton (especially in our neighbourhood) often do a really nice job of creating "sidewalk appeal".

In this example, I like the balanced composition created by the two white columns and the wicker chairs behind them. I also like the two flowering plants (one central and the other lower right) which add some sway to the composition and, for some reason, I love the foundation created by the green bush and the outdoor carpet on the steps.