November

November, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Photos: November 13, 2011
November - that month when all turns grey. I sometimes feel we are all being pulled into a vortex of shorter and shorter days and more darkness. I fight November blahs each year - trying to focus on positives.

Photography pulls me outside to notice all the beauty - even as the world around me goes dormant. I find even when I don't have my camera handy, or can't get to it while I drive, I notice so much more. What some people call a dull drive turns interesting as I imagine the photographs I could have taken.




Walking, we passed a house with many bird houses. The woman there told us she decorates for the birds, placing berry laden branches around so they will have sustenance on cold days.

I'm always intrigued by the milkweed, gone to seed - each pod a delicate sculpture. And I think of the butterflies that may find their start on the plants that grow next spring from these seeds. 

And always the geese, whose haunting cries fill the air as they gather in ever larger flocks flying south. Nature exhibits such strength and resilience. It sets my mind wondering about so many things.

Photography makes me look, it makes me see in new ways and it makes me appreciate the many things around me. It opens my eyes.

Along McGill College...

Along McGill College..., a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Each summer for the past several years there is a photo exhibit that runs along McGill College in Montreal. At one time it was a few blocks long. Now it is limited to just this block. This year's photos are from the collection of the McCord Museum. Each features a detail of a large photograph (which can also be seen). With photos on glass, the image could be greatly enlarged to reveal details that might not have been observed when looking at the photo as a whole. Interesting concept and well worth exploring.

Playing with Motion 1

DSC02863, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I've been taking a photography course and this week's assignment has to do with capturing motion. Two different exercices - one to keep the background in focus and show the motion, the other to try and pan as you take the picture to show the background going by.

With longer shutter speeds, I seemed to be creating ghosts. Can you see all the skaters?


My panning shots give a very different feel.


Not sure I'll want to use these techniques a lot, but it was an interesting exercice. Freezing fingers seems to be part of this course as the exercice requires multiple images at different shutter speeds. Oh - the pain as the fingers thaw. I need to find a pair of hunter's mitts (they are gloves with a mitten top that can flip off).

Trees are Bare

Trees are Bare, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I've been thinking about my experience with photography and photographs in general.
From The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels "...when we take a photograph - we're looking at only a few things, half a dozen or even a dozen - and yet the photo records everything in our frame of vision. And it's those thousand other details that anchor us far below what we consciously see."
Interesting that in this photo I am there in shadow form - watching. I do find in looking at photos after taking them that I see things I did not know were there (e.g. my shadow) and find ideas to think about that were not the original intention for the capture. Photography brings those things into focus.

Then there is the issue of memory. The photos sometimes become our memories. Each time we view them it reinforces that moment, that image of the event. The things not photographed lose intensity compared to those we revisit through these images. Does this distort our memories? making moments more important than others out of proportion to the experience?

I also look at photo as memory in another way - as a marker of little events. When did it first snow last year? When did the first flowers appear? I find myself looking back at the historical record. With photography we have all become social historians whether capturing events, daily life or just the change of seasons. There will be lots of fodder for future PhDs as they sift through the mountain of material we all produce and share. I wonder whose PhD will be based on the notion of 365 photos shared with others.

So photos let us see, before, during and after the photo is taken. Just a few thoughts I've been mulling over.

Sept 7/10: Rainy Reflections

Sept 7/10: Rainy Reflections, originally uploaded by susanvg.

A late night - I caught yet another photo of lights reflected on a rainy road. I have a painting by Sylvia Ary, a Montreal artist which is a street scene on a rainy day. This photograph brought it to mind and I am including a photo of it here. It is interesting to see how different media can portray similar subjects. Each are abstract in their own way - yet each gives the feel of the rain at night.

May 1/10: Welcome Home

May 1/10: Welcome Home, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Much to learn about photography. I am trying to understand how to use my camera on manual - I set the f stop and shutter speed for this (and many others) in an attempt to see what the different settings provide for me. I'm going to have to keep a notebook and mark everything down, so I really understand what is happening. Right now I'm working with my Canon PowerShot, but am working towards growing my knowledge, so when I buy my DSLR camera I won't by completely stymied.

The path this photography has led me down .....