The Colours of Algonquin

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Ron and I played hooky Friday afternoon and drove to Minden to hang with our friend Glenn Springer for the evening and Saturday morning.  Glenn has blogged about the fall colours in Algonquin Park this year being the best he's seen in years.  Check out his blog here.

We arrived mid afternoon, and planned to visit the park Saturday morning to photograph the sunrise, and then the fall colours around the park. (Actually, we drove to the park earlier Saturday morning to photograph the stars, but I'll save that for the next blog entry.)

We scouted out locations, and decided on the south shore of Lake of Two Rivers.  Here is an early shot, before the sunrise.

Because of the mist in the atmosphere, the sunrise cast a beautiful warm glow.

The mist in the marsh made for some interesting photography.

The campsites around the lake were full, once the sun came up the beach began to show signs of campers

Once the sun was high in the sky, it was time to head back to Glenn's, and find some fall colours along the way.

The drive on Arrowhon Road was particularly colourful.

We were also fortunate enough to come across one of the "locals", a nosy red fox.

As I mentioned above, stay tuned for the next blog entry for images of stars and the fun stuff that included.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Lightroom vs HDR

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Amazing how time flies, isn't it?

I have been meaning to stay active with these blog entries, but I have been incredibly busy with my day job, and getting the new season of the camera club off the ground.  I have moved up to the Presidency of the Richmond Hill Camera Club this year, and our current season started at the beginning of September.

I wanted to return to the Scotland images to test a theory.  Many of the landscape images I took in Scotland were done as 5 shot brackets, with the intention of using HDR Efex Pro to blend them into a single HDR image.  For those non-photographers, HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, meaning the image captures more range of tones, closer to the way your eyes see the scene.

My theory was that an HDR image from a 5 shot bracket would look better than any single image.

Let me set up the scene.  The location was the Quiraing, a geological formation on the Isle of Skye. It was about 5:30 in the morning, still before sunrise, so very little light.  This image was exposed for the landscape, to give you an idea of the beauty of the scene.

This image was exposed for the sky, to give you an idea of the structure of the clouds.

 I also took three additional images at various shutter speeds to fill in the range. [Photo tip - remember to set your camera on manual so that the aperture is fixed and that the only variable is shutter speed.  Changes in the aperture would affect the depth of field and would affect the overall quality of the blended image.]

I used Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro 2 to blend the images, and found a preset that I liked to punch up the contrast and saturation, but not going too far to make the sky look over processed.  Here is the result.

I brought it back into Lightroom for a little tweaking, but otherwise not much additional processing.

I'm very impressed by Lightroom's ability to deal with a single image.  I used the second image above (the one exposed for the sky), to see what I could do with a single image.

The key adjustments made were:

• Shadows + 100 to bring out the detail in the dark parts of the image
• Highlights - 74 to tone down the brightest parts of the sky
• Whites +51, Blacks +37 to use the full range of the histogram
• Contrast +33, Clarity +46, Vibrance +31 to punch it up, and give it that gritty look  

There were graduated filters used in the sky, and local adjustment brushes used to dodge and burn the clouds to punch them up a little as well. Most, if not all of these settings are personal preference, that's just how I like the look of the image.

Here is the final image.

In this particular case, I like the single image better than the HDR processed image.  I like the sky in the single image, I think it looks more natural.

Don't get me wrong, I love HDR Efex Pro 2, and love processing HDR images.  I have had great success processing landscapes, especially old abandoned buildings with lots of textures. Glenn Springer, a friend from RHCC has become a guru of HDR, and has crafted some incredible HDR images using this software.

The point is, that Lightroom is incredibly good at bringing back detail where you thought there was none.  Those bright skies, or dark shadows can be saved.  Having said that, the highlights can't be saved if they are overexposed to the point of being pure white, with no detail.  Similarly, the shadows cannot be saved it they are underexposed to the point of being pure black, with no detail.  One additional point to make - RAW images are more forgiving than JPEG images.

So don't give up on an image, just because it is overexposed or underexposed, there is still lots of detail in that image to recover. Just keep an eye on the histogram to make sure none of the blacks or whites are being clipped.

Try this experiment yourself - YRMV (Your Results May Vary).

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Toronto Aquarium

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Mary Ann's nephew Bryan, wife Sandra, and kids Lauryn, Nolan and Cameron were in Toronto for a few days this week.  Mary Ann and I met them at the Toronto Aquarium on Wednesday evening.  We had not been there yet, and it was something I was interested in photographing.

Photographing at the aquarium presents many challenges.  The Aquarium is a new attraction in Toronto, and being there during summer break for school kids, meant that the crowds were heavy, even at 8:00 at night.  In addition, the lighting was very dim and uneven, not a great combination photographically.  And I understood that tripods were not allowed.  In any event, a tripod would not have helped much with the fish moving all the time.  Using a flash was a no go, to avoid the reflections off the glass.  Speaking of glass, many of the tanks were rounded, so that meant diffraction.  And the glass was at least an inch thick.  So... that meant handholding the camera, ISO in the 3200 range, shooting wide open at slow shutter speeds.  A recipe for disaster...

Having said all that, the Aquarium did have some interesting features.  Here is a shot of Bryan's family in the Dangerous Lagoon.

The Dangerous Lagoon is a series of glass tunnels that you travel through on a moving sidewalk.  The tank is the largest on the site, and filled with lots of interesting fish including many species of sharks.

Here is another shot of a shark.

There are other large tanks with rays of all sizes.  Very graceful...  This guy caught my attention, with his big smile.

There are many other interesting exhibits.  This is a tank of alewives, shot from below through a glass bottom in the tank.

One of my favourite tropical fish has always been the lionfish.  Very poisonous, except to other lionfish.

Another interesting area of the Aquarium is the jelly fish exhibit.  Here are a few of my favourite shots.

Given the incredible challenges photographing at the Aquarium, I was happy with a few of these shots.  I would love to go back on a weekday, during the school year, and try a few more.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

I Feel The Need... The Need For Speed

What is it with guys and fast cars?

We feel the need... the need for speed!

My son Jeff and I had an opportunity to drive 3 laps in an exotic car at Cayuga motor speedway.  The three cars to choose from were a Porsche 977 Turbo, a Lanborghini Gallardo, or a Ferrari F430 F1.  When we booked the date, we chose to drive the Ferrari F430 F1.  We thought this was the only car with "paddle shifters" as opposed to a gear shift and clutch.  Jeff can't drive a stick shift, so we wanted a car with paddle shifters.  It turned out that the Lanborghini also had paddle shifters, but the Ferrari seemed faster in acceleration.

For my gear-head friends, the Ferrari F430 has a 4.3 litre V8, and 490 horsepower, and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 4.4 seconds.  It was made from 2004 to 2009, and retailed for about $200,000.

We arrived early enough to check out the cars.  Here is our Ferrari.

The engine compartment is directly behind the drivers seat, but honestly, I don't recall the engine being loud while driving.

Jeff was pretty excited, maybe a little terrified...

After checking in and a brief orientation session, we were ready to go.  We drove with an instructor in the car with us.  Our instructor was Brian Stewart, a former Indy driver and champion.  Brian's philosophy was simple, you're either full on the throttle or full on the brakes, nothing in between.  After getting in the car, and looking to adjust the mirrors (as they taught us in the orientation session), Brian said don't bother, you won't look a the mirrors once.  And he was right, I don't recall looking at a mirror once.

Jeff went first, so I could get the camera set up and tested.

Jeff was showing fine form, and eventually caught up with the slower Porsche.

Brian instructed Jeff to pass the Porsche, which he did easily.  Brian later was told that passing was not allowed for safety reasons.  Oh well... it's easier to beg forgiveness, than to ask permission.  Take a look how pumped Jeff was when he was finished.

My turn... showing fine form on the take off.  Brian's only instructions were - get on the throttle as hard as you can, shift at 5,000 revs, and don't brake until I tell you.

The straight away seemed like the length of your driveway, but by the time we got there the Ferrari was in 5th gear, and time to hit the brakes, and down shift to 2nd gear.  The next turns were a chicane, and very fun to accelerate through.  Boy could this car handle.

After rounding the last turn and heading for the straight away, the instructions from Brian had changed - get on the throttle hard, and shift at 7,000 revs.

By the time we reached the braking point, the car was in 5th gear, but we were travelling about 190 km an hour.

The third lap was much of the same - either full on the throttle or full on the brakes.

I still don't know what it is about guys and fast cars, but I'm not complaining either...  After seeing all three cars in action, I'm glad we picked the Ferrari.  We would both love to go back and drive it again.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

One of the highlights of the trip to Edinburgh was the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.   The Tattoo is performed outside of the Edinburgh Castle, which provides a dramatic backdrop for the performance. This year was the 65th anniversary of the Tattoo.  Performances have been sold out for the last 15 years, so our tickets were ordered when they went on sale last December.

The term "Tattoo" refers to a long standing tradition where a piper would walk through town playing the pipes at the end of the evening, which would call the soldiers back to barracks.  In Dutch, the phrase "Doe den tap toe" meant "Turn off the taps" to the innkeepers.

The performers are by invitation only, and made up of bands playing pipes, drums, fiddles, as well as dancers.  Twenty eight troupes were included, comprising of over 1,100 musicians and performers from around the world.  Canada was represented by the Paris Port Dover Pipe Band.

The Pipe Major led the procession into the Esplanade.

One of the highlights was a fly by from the Royal Air Force.

The choreography was spectacular, and frequently included multiple bands and dance troupes performing together.

Te Matatini Maori Dancers from New Zealand were especially entertaining.

One of the more enjoyable performances was by the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Band, the only military marching band in the world playing steel drums.

The musical programme also included vocals provided by the Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools Choir, singing from the Castle entrance.

Much of the programme included the entire complement of musicians and dancers.

The finale was very touching.  It involved a single piper playing from the castle ramparts.  Traditionally, the lone piper signalled the day's end to the troops, and also bid farewell to the fallen soldiers.

The finale included all of the musicians and dancers playing a medley of tunes, including "Scotland the Brave".

That wraps up the blog updates from the trip.  I now face the task of reviewing the 4,500 images for further editing.  Ron and I have already talked about putting together a joint book of images.  I think two books are needed, one for the artistic side, and one for the fun side.  Mary Ann and Ricki were busy taking shots with their iPhones, so the book will be drawn from all four of us.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Around Edinburgh

Edinburgh was the final destination of our 12 day trip to Scotland.  We arrived Friday evening and have had two solid days of sightseeing.  Edinburgh has retained much of the old architecture compared to Glasgow, which I love to photograph.

The George Hotel is within walking distance of the Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile.  Our first stop on Saturday morning was Edinburgh Castle. By the time we arrived in the Castle, it was already crawling with tourists.  Not great for photography, but here is one from the Great Hall.

On our way out of the castle, Ricki and Mary Ann couldn't resist...

The Royal Mile was a terrific walk for shopping, photographing architecture and people.  Most of the architecture dates back to the 18th century, and was interesting to photograph.  Here is a shot of the clock tower on the Royal Mile.

While in Edinburgh we had tickets for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which deserves a post all of its own, so stay tuned.  As part of the festivities, there were parades through the city by pipers or drummers.  I caught this shot of the drummers parade from the street above.  I loved the sun shining through the alley onto the street.

The Royal Mile has many small streets and alleyway which provided photo opportunities.

St. Giles Cathedral is also on the Royal Mile, not far from the Castle.  The church organ was particularly interesting.

In addition to everything else going on, Edinburgh was also hosting the Fringe Festival.  While we were visiting St. Giles Cathedral, there were two performers playing the violin and singing in the Cathedral, very interesting indeed...

Holyrood Palace is at the end of the Royal Mile.  Ricki and Mary Ann wanted to tour the Palace, while Ron and I photographed the new Scottish Parliament buildings across the street.  The architecture of the Parliament buildings was very photographic, here is a shot of the debating chamber.

Mary Ann and Ricki were off to see the Royal Yacht Britannia Sunday morning, so Ron and I took the opportunity to photograph the Forth Rail Bridge, an iconic symbol around Edinburgh.

Sadly, we are headed to the airport first thing tomorrow morning.  I have saved an amazing part of our stay in Edinburgh for last.  Saturday evening we attended the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which was incredible.  I have not had a chance to work through those photos yet.  I'm saving those for the plane trip back to Toronto.  Stay tuned for the next post...

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

A trip to Mecca

What trip to Scotland would be complete without a trip to Mecca.  St. Andrews is the centre of the Universe for all golfers, so we had to work that in to our trip.  St. Andrews is less than 2 hours from Edinburgh, so it was a perfect spot to lay over for the night.

We stayed at the Fairmont St. Andrews, a first class resort, highly recommended.

We arrived just in time for a dinner at the resort.

The net morning Ron and I had a tee time booked at Balcomie Links, a 15 minute drive south along the coast.  Balcomie Links is the 7th oldest course in the world.  It was founded in 1786, and the current layout was updated by Old Tom Morris in 1895.  Old Tom Morris also updated the Old Course at St. Andrews a few years earlier.  The 14th hole is a particularly difficult par 3.

Unfortunately for me, the green slopes from the front to the back, so my shot funnelled back into a pot bunker behind the green.  I'm too embarrassed to tell how many strokes it took to get out...

Here is a shot of Ron's fine form off the tee at the par 4 15th.

And here is my bunker shot at the par 4 17th.  No trouble getting out of this one, after the many practice strokes on the 14th!

After our round, we met Mary Ann and Ricki in St. Andrews for lunch at the Old Course.  After lunch we walked out to the Swilkin Bridge for photos.  It is a tradition there, that the players will wait until the photos are finished before playing through.  A wedding party was waiting their turn after our group stopped for photos.  Here is one of Ron on the bridge.  I'm sure he has one of me.

Along the way, we had to stop for those iconic photos...

And finally, the 18th green and the clubhouse behind.

After lunch and the photos we were off to Edinburgh for the final leg of the trip. :(

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark