Still Stuck
Well my car is not really STUCK. But I haven’t tried to move it either. The parking lot is a MESS from the snow that was blown by the wind into deep drifts. Someone did some shovelling but deposited a portion of snow close to my car which will give the front of the car no space to turn as I back out. The graders plowed the alley so the windrow is one more obstacle to get past. That and the temperature. I will get the shovel out tomorrow and try to get the car on the move. Tonight the wind chill is going to feel like -40 so for now I am staying indoors, reading and staying warm. The photos show the first night of the snow, we got more the next day. Most people are out driving, some slow, some ridiculously fast and there have been hundreds of accidents.. I am sure Buffalo is having major problems but have not heard a thing on the news.
The positive side of this is the beautiful wonderland that I see when I ride the bus to work.Must take photos…
Capture the Morning Light
Got up earlier than normal to work on a project and it was so lovely outside that I was inspired to take a trip to the park and was happy with the early morning sun and reflections at the pond , as well as the colours that are still left on the leaves which are coming down quickly with the gusty breezes. I used a polarizing filter today, did not drop it (too loose) nor get it stuck on the lens (too tight).
Down Memory Lane
©Jane Chesebrough
I just want to say that the woman that I went to visit last week passed away early Monday morning. I was going to see her again on Wednesday and on Sunday but went Monday. I really believe the whole point of this was to make the visit last week so I could say my goodbyes.I did not see her a lot but we met 31 years ago and there were periods when we spent a lot of time together.She came to my 50th birthday party. I picked her up and we travelled to Elk Island National Park together to enjoy the fresh air and scenery. She was very good at Scrabble and we had many games when we would talk about what was going on in our lives and discuss religion, theology, humanity, found love, lost love, despair and hope. I enjoyed the mental stimulation. She had a tough childhood and struggled with depression all her life. I have so many memories over the years, times she laughed and times she succumbed to illness and would end up in the hospital. She taught me so much. I have been checking with friends about services and checked the papers but have not found anything yet. For now I just pray for her to know how much God loves her, happy that she can receive it and be whole . I remember.
Bark Texture
©Jane Chesebrough
I haven’t been out much lately but have been reading other people’s work and looking at photos and while realizing a need to practise the basics of photography and elements of design, I have been inspired to push the envelope and explore more ways of expressing myself through the medium of photography.So off I go…
Skyline at Sunset
©Jane Chesebrough
Was having trouble uploading my photo. I am not well at this time and SLOWLY recovering so picking a photo from earlier in the month.. Not a good time to deal with anything stressful like problems up-loading.This shot was taken at dusk and darkened for a better effect and truer to what I actually saw. Taken with a 34 mm lens at f-stop of 4.5 and ISO 400 It will be nice to get out again and get shooting.
Bleriol Ferry Recreation Area
©Jane Chesebrough
My friend Frank has been trying to get me to go to Drumheller area for years now and I finally made it.I was very snap-happy, wildly shooting in all directions but came up with this shot that I like with the hills in the background that I took from where we were camping.
Jasper National Park in Spring
©Jane Chesebrough
For my birthday this year I met my friend in Edson then we travelled together to Jasper National Park to go on the Maligne Canyon Ice Walk with one of the local tour operators. We hit a snow storm going to Hinton then we saw grass and sun the first time in a long time due to a very long cloudy winter. It was a little rushed for photographers using manual mode and my exposures and focus suffered some as a result.It was a great day none the less.
More Close-ups of Giant Icicle
I thought that it would be fun to insert a few photos then saw slideshow and thought, ‘”Sure!” That sounds like fun!” Let’s see how it works…I really enjoyed studying the intricacies of this giant icicle. Perhaps this will give a better idea of the process….
Nature’s Ice Sculpture
I went on a spiritual retreat this past weekend and a photo-savy sister alerted me to this wonderful huge icicle that had formed from the flow from the eavestrough so I went out for fresh air and to capture these images during a break. This monstrous icicle had detached itself by the time I saw it but it still made for a great subject and I took lots of snaps at two different times: once in the darker cloudy afternoon and the second day when it was bright and sunny with rich blue sky.
©Jane Chesebrough
The Pyramids
Went back to The Mutart Conservatory to shoot some night photos. Was sick for a day or two so haven’t experienced the snow but that will be an inevitable event. This was shot using shutter priority of 1/4 of a second f stop 5.6
©Jane Chesebrough
Seasonal Lights
©Jane Chesebrough
It is so exciting to see the beginning of the seasonal lights in the city. I took shots of the downtown area from Telus field and the Mutart Conservatory. It was interesting to me to see the clouds in the photos , something that I didn’t see when I was taking the photo. I used live view and was experimenting with manual, auto focus , aperture priority and shutter priority. Some were a disaster. All part of the learning process and grateful that this is digital and not film or I could never afford it.
I went to the Muttart Conservatory to catch the lights on the pyramids. Amazing how focus changes and colour, too, with the change of focal point.Aperture priority f11 at 10 seconds, focal length 18 mm
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Chasing the Light
I am always looking at how light stikes an object or reflects off it, such as this log and colourful grasses.Other than sunrise and sunsets I like the light of late afternoon with the long shadows.This was taken after 4 p.m. using aperture priority of f 5.6 1/80 second ISO 400
©Jane Chesebrough
Feeding Time
©Jane Chesebrough
Happened to reach the look-out just as the chickadees were coming to feed. They move so fast! But captured this one using shutter speed of 1/160 of a second with an aperture setting of 5.6 and 800 ISO
Respite in the Woods
Joined some Grant MacEwan students and friends for a workshop in Nature where we went to a spot by ourselves and observed the environment then wrote about it or drew or used a camera. It was great to get outdoors to experience a thoughtful process, fun to meet others, to write what came up for me and of course, take some photos.
©Jane Chesebrough
Lines and Shapes of Trees
©Jane Chesebrough
I love trees because of their beauty and the imagined stories that they tell through their twisted limbs and scars on the trunks and branches. I am intrigued by the lines that the limbs make as well as the shapes in the negative spaces.
f4.5 1/800 sec ISO200 camera set on Monochrome Picture style and using aperture priority
City Lights and Reflections
©Jane Chesebrough
f11 1/10 shutter ISO800
It was a beautiful day and evening as well and I went out to take photos of the city from the water. I see this scene when I come down the hill in the morning on my way to work so I drove to a park this evening and walked out on a bridge to get these shots. The brightest one I used aperture priority and the others I used Shutter priority.
- ©Jane Chesebrough
- ©Jane Chesebrough
The last two are both f stop 4.5 1/20 sec ISO 800
Last Days of Fall
©Jane Chesebrough
I took some shots at Hawrelak Park last month as the sun was setting and liked how the light reflected off this tree and in the pond. I have no record of the settings, just that I was using aperture priority.
Hallowe’en Fun
Had a good time at a private party at a hall. Was amazed at the creativity of many of those who attended.I found it a whole new challenge to take photos in a dark hall when i could not see anything through the viewfinder- a time to use the live-view features for sure (haven’t done that yet)This actually was taken by someone else using auto mode, 1/60 second, f stop 4.5 ISO 400 Happy Halloween!
Staying Indoors with the Orchids
- ©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Harvest
Getting nostelgic for the days of autumn and I found myself counting on my
©Jane Chesebrough
fingers how many months til Spring. Well what an opportunity to practise snow scenes of various kinds. Hope the farmers got their crops in. hmmmm…better bring in the garden hoses.
First Snow
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©Jane Chesebrough
1/100 f5.6 ISO 200
I knew this was coming. The worst part is the anticipation and the chills that I feel as the weather changes. Then, when the first snow falls, I am ready and my attitude is “get out there and enjoy it.”
©Jane Chesebrough
1/80 f5 ISO 200
Remembering a Friend
©Jane Chesebrough
I took this photo of a Thundering Crabapple tree in the spring.The tree was planted in memory of a deceased friend by her parents and I took the photo so I could send them an image of the tree in bloom. It was the first time that I saw it in bloom myself. She died in the fall a few years ago .Remembering her…
Taken with Kodak C813 point and shoot
Skeleton of an Old Barn
©Jane Chesebrough
I took this shot with my Canon Rebel XS looking into my friends’ old barn from the front door. I liked the skeleton structure. I have so many memories of this place that belongs to a family that I “adopted” shortly after my arrival in this province thirty (Yes, thirty!) years ago.
1/60 shutter, f 5.6
Maple Leaf Forever
© Jane Chesebrough
My Heartsong 