Hang in There

 

It's interesting how some images evolve.  In recent months I have spent more time down Marchand Road as it has become my new favourite area to do photography. The white poplar in this area have always drawn me in and I have photographed them with different lenses, different points of view, different weather conditions, different times of the day and I've taken some okay images but not quite what I want or was seeing.  I find that I learn from past images that don't quite work out. I often learn while I'm editing an image and the lessons happen by accident.  I may zoom in on an area to see if there is a dust spot or if it's in focus and in the process find what I really was looking at and what's drawing me in.  That's what happened here.  As I was standing in the middle of this quiet country road I was recalling what I was looking for.  A nice tight, close shot of all the branches reaching out and tree trunks with all their black spots all blended in together, looking like an abstract painting.  I pulled out my Nikon D90 with a Nikon 70-300mm lens along with my tripod.  This big clunker will tighten things up nicely. I took about dozen different shots.  When I had exhausted everything I could think of I went back to the car, packed up my camera and tripod and went to my next stop.  A few days later when editing this photo I noticed the bright orange leaf hanging on for dear life on the top right side.  I hadn't seen it while I was there but now while editing I zoomed in to see if things were in focus and there it was.  It totally made this image work for me, I love it!

A Sunday Afternoon Drive

A Sunday afternoon and I was having one of those strange head spaces.  It had been about a year or so since I was diagnosed with meningoencephalitis and this was one of its side effects.  They are difficult to describe so I'm not going to try.  I do know that I sometimes will feel antsy and such was the case on this particular day.  I asked my wife, Julie if she would like to go for a drive with me in the country and she said yes.  So I got my camera gear ready and we headed to the car.  I asked her if she could drive as it had been a month or so since I got my drivers back and I didn't trust myself behind the wheel at this time.  Julie suggested we pop by Coffee Culture and get a coffee so that's what we did.  After getting our coffees we drove west and I noticed beautiful clouds coming in.  We went through Mitchell and I suggested we head north as I remembered an area I used to photograph a lot.  There was a cool wood bridge there with a creek running under it as well as a tree with a lot of character in the field nearby.  As we approached the area I was immediately drawn to the tree so grabbed my tripod, Nikon D90 camera with my wide angle Sigma 10-18mm lens on it.  Looking the area over I loved how the low sun was lighting up the tree and the amazing clouds all around it.  I knew I didn't want to get the road or my own shadow in the image, so that would take some figuring.  The sun was behind me and was casting a long shadow, so I tried a few different points of view before I came up with something that I liked.  The clouds were going to be critical in this shot and I was liking what I was seeing on the back of my camera.  After a few different exposures and slightly different angles I packed up and caught up with Julie who was in the ditch picking up garbage as she is prone to do.  I felt I had what I wanted so we headed back to the car and slowly made our way home.  As we got home I realized that I was feeling much better, just getting out and being creative had helped a lot.  Thank you Julie,

 for your patience and understanding.

Be Strong and Courageous

 I woke up early Saturday morning with the intent on going out to do some photography.  I had not gone out that often since getting my drivers back.  One of the reasons was that I had a strange fear of being out by myself.  I don't know where that came from, I'd never had that before my illnesses.  I checked the weather on my iPhone it was in the -30's C.  Well, that seemed like a good reason not to go out, right?  That and the fact that I was feeling scared to go out again.  So I sat down on the couch with a cup of chamomile tea and my cell.  I was so frustrated with myself.  I would do some devotions on my Bible app then maybe go back to bed.  I went to one of the devotions for the day and looked up my first verse, Joshua 1:9.  Are you kidding me?  It said "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."  Well, what can I say to that?  Okay God I get it, I'm going.  Well, brain, I guess I'm taking you out to do some photography, whether you like it or not.  I grabbed my gear, and went to the car and was on my way but not before taking a quick detour to pick up a coffee at my favourite coffee spot, Coffee Culture.  Now, where do I want to go?  I headed west down Main and just stayed with it as it turned into the highway 52.  Otterburne, that's where I will go.  As I drove I prayed as it helps me not to think about myself but rather to focus on God and on those individuals who are in need of prayer.  I found a peace come over me and enjoyed my drive looking at the countryside.  I wasn't totally sure what I wanted to photograph but knew it better be worth my while as I would probably freeze my fingers again.  So when I saw this cornfield, with the beautiful fresh snow all around, I knew this would be worth freezing my fingers over.  I stopped, looked things over, grabbed my camera bag and tripod and walked out across the field.  It definitely felt cold out and was not looking forward to taking my mittens off  to work my camera.  When I found what I thought was a good spot, I put my camera bag down and got my tripod ready.  Now, what am I looking at? What is grabbing my attention?  The sky was nice and blue with some clouds showing and I wanted that to really pop.  I loved the rows of corn and wanted the rows to be nice and straight.  The fresh snow looked amazing and I wanted it to be really white without losing it's textures.  I grabbed my Nikon 18-70mm lens with my circular polarizing filter and put it on my Nikon D90 camera.  As I have said in a previous post, I have challenged myself to shoot more vertical images.  So with that in mind, after I had shot a few horizontals, I set up for a vertical.  I was having a difficult time at this point being able to feel and press my shutter  release button.  That's my cue to pack up and head back to the car.  So after packing my gear in my camera bag I got my command start out and after a few tries did manage to start the car.  I was so happy to reach the started car and sit on a warm seat.  I grabbed my lukewarm coffee and wrapped my hands around it to bring back some feeling.  When that didn't do much I cranked the heat and put my hands on the vents.  Once my fingers had warmed up some I drove on.  After a few more stops I headed home for another coffee and an incredible breakfast sandwich with my wonderful wife who has been so patient with me through this tough journey in dealing with my mental health.

Coexistence of Life and Death

Looking back to when this photo was taken, it had been 7 months since being diagnose with meningoencephalitis and I still didn't have my drivers back.  Individuals had offered to take me for photo outings but I felt bad having them drive me around using their gas. Also, my creativity was just not there yet.  On this particular day my Stephens Minister, Jeremy, who had been helping me deal with my anxiety, asked if he could take me for a drive in the country to do some photography.  We had received one of our first snowfalls of the season and I knew that the combination of fresh snow, autumn colours, and the Seine River's running water could make for great images.  So we made our way to one of my favourite spots, under a bridge along the Seine where I often go to capture flowing water images.  When we arrived, I noted that the river was high from the recent heavy rains.  Thinking wide angle, I took out my Nikon D90 with my 10-20mm Sigma lens.  The water was running so high under the bridge that I couldn't get the shot I wanted.  I tried to make it work but I kept getting the bottom of the bridge in my image.  After a few shots I realized that I needed a different approach.  I took out my other D90 with a Nikon 70-300mm lens and headed back under the bridge.  As I was setting up for my next shot I noticed that Jeremy was under the bridge as well and seemed genuinely interested in what I was doing.  It really impressed me as I don't often get that with individuals who aren't into photography.  With this new point of view I managed to get some decent shots.  I could have stayed longer but didn't want to use too much of his time, plus, like I said earlier, my creativity wasn't there yet.  I was happy though that I had my first good images in a long while.  Heading back to the truck Jeremy asked me if I'd send him a few images and I said I would if I find something I like. When he dropped me off at home he prayed for me and it gave me a feeling of peace like I hadn't felt in some time.  Praise the Lord! This is the picture I sent Jeremy for which he wrote the following;

"Reminds me of the harmonious coexistence of life and death, the in between stage we're all in between good and evil, temporal and eternal..."- Jeremy Janzen