13 Months Old and a Photo Walk

 

  One Month - 4 by Jay Scott on 500px

A lot has changed, hasn't it?

 

  13 Months - 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

Not just her above average height, but comprehension. Not that I had a great idea of a child's development, but she constantly surprises me with how much she understands. Just this morning I fed her breakfast and kept her entertained while Angie was out at an appointment. We had to make a few trades to get her to give me her bottle of milk when she was done. After she was done being very cooperative about letting me wipe her face and hands, I had to trade her a toy for the washcloth but she really seemed understand. I feel like she knows about my limitations and is okay with when I tell her something has to be the way it has to be. I also understand that she's far too young to have full control of her emotions. But I understand how a friend, also a quadriplegic, has done so well with her children and how they simply understand the way things have to be because of their mother's limitations.

Friends of ours, Joel and Lindsay, who I have always admired, demonstrated a great way to reason with their children to the extent of the child's ability to comprehend. I always wanted to be a parent like them because of their calm demeanor and the way that there kids responded calmly to talking. All this is prefaced by understanding that kids will be kids and if they are tired or hungry a lot of that negotiation will be ineffective. I reiterate that I'm constantly impressed by Fiona's ability to understand which toy or book we asked her to bring us or what we are asking of her.

 

  13 Months by Jay Scott on 500px

This past Saturday was the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk and it was a rainy day in Saskatoon. We were pretty impressed with how many people actually came out considering the rain. I wasn't going to miss it but I did do all of my shooting from inside the van. Those soft and greasy paths around the park and zoo would have been a nightmare for me and I'm confident I made the right decision.

 

  Worldwide Photo Walk 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

That meant it was time for some creative lighting, pulling my van up right under any interesting trees and digging deep into some macro shots to produce something interesting. All things considered, I think I did a pretty good job for shooting an hour and a half from my van in the rain.

 

  Worldwide Photo Walk 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

I don't know if it's my favorite, but a long exposure abstract was definitely an opportunity on a dark day like this to try to make something interesting and artsy.

 

  Worldwide Photo Walk 5 by Jay Scott on 500px

 

  Worldwide Photo Walk 3 by Jay Scott on 500px

 

  Worldwide Photo Walk 4 by Jay Scott on 500px

This was an accidental discovery. A misfire on my part made for a frame where I noticed the light for my flashes peak into the leaves, yet needing a nice shadow on others. It happened to just fall on the still-green leaves while the turned ones were in shadow.

 

  Worldwide Photo Walk 6 by Jay Scott on 500px

 

  Worldwide Photo Walk 7 by Jay Scott on 500px

Afterwards we all headed over to Rock Creek & and Grill where we had a meal together and concluded our day. Things like this need to happen more often and I have tried this summer to increase the numbers. I will do so again next year and maybe a few prizes will bring out more people.

Now, I am working on wrapping up the accessible home tour from this summer. We may shoot one more home but I have only one shoot that process and that it to be delivered. After that will be something pretty big, pretty wild and pretty excited. It's coming together nicely and the best clues about it will be if you take a peek at my Instagram feed.

Who knows, maybe I will find a niche in our city and become known for something pretty cool, if I can execute it properly.

On Smart Phones vs Real Cameras - Also Some Lily Photos

Our lilies were in bloom and it was time for me to make this year's photo of the pink ones. The orange lily photo will be made today.

Unfortunately, my setup was postponed by the much needed rain. No complaints here. It gave me more time to think and execute it. Did you know that shower curtains love to float? I sure didn't until I tried to line Fiona's pool with one to serve as my enchanted pond. Thankfully, I had enough attractive stones and glass ornamental stones around to weigh it down and complete my photo. I was a little concerned about the weight of all that water and stones sitting on our patio table, but it held up. It wouldn't be necessary were I able to get down on the ground to make the photo. Thankfully, this worked.

Now, I know that a current smart phone can make some pretty excellent images. I also know they have their limitations. There our technologies being developed that may, one day soon, allow them to trigger flashes or other external light sources. You are still stuck with the fixed focal length, a screen that's difficult to see in bright daylight, which makes composing and exposing correctly much more difficult, and there is no compensation for a larger sensor size and the appearance it can provide.

I say this because I've seen a fair amount of content online from both sides. One insists all you need is a smart phone, but I argue that they are not able to produce the image below that I was able to with a DSLR. The other side demands high resolution photos not from a smart phone. I don't know exactly what the definition of high resolution is but mine has the same resolution as most current mirrorless DSLRs. This camp that I am thinking of, Lac Pelletier Regional Park who is rebuilding their website, has requested photos from visitors. I would argue that the resolution needed for a website is minimal and that a properly exposed JPEG from a phone would be perfectly adequate. This is especially true because they probably are looking for scenic photos, not shallow depth of field portraiture.

This is irrelevant to me, though, because all they are offering is photo credit, no remuneration. If you were considering contributing, I urge you to demand a proper licensing fee. You are worth more than credit. Credit will not repair your camera, replace it, pay the bills or feed your family. But, I digress.

My point was that the second shot I made of the above behind-the-scenes photo was actually quite nice. But it certainly was nothing compared to the final product as seen below.

 

  Enchanted Pond Lily by Jay Scott on 500px

I have been teaching a couple of young people to learn to use their cameras. This also includes using their smartphones but it emphasizes the difference in the capabilities between tools. A phone still does not have any variance in the available focal length, without adapters that will greatly degrade the quality of the image, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its place.

I was complaining earlier about not being able to get down on the deck to make the photo above. Countless times, in order to get that nice lower perspective, all I have had available to me has been my smart phone. I argue that the better angle was more important than impeccable image quality, especially if it were simply a photo to be shared online. Certainly there are times that I've made the effort to get my DSLR down where it was necessary to make the wanted photo and also make it with the best quality available.

Regarding a phone's ability to work close-up, you can get a pretty decent close-up shot with a smart phone but the technology has yet to make it capable of a true macro photo. Below are examples of pushing macro to the limits. That photo above? This is the same flower's stigma, stamen and petal. No, the image quality isn't perfect because of the amount of glass and adapters involved, as well as the laws of physics limiting the clarity of light at this scale. But it's still pretty amazing to see something that magnifiedhim.

 

  Ultra Macro Lily Parts - Stigma by Jay Scott on 500px

I was hoping to use this combination of tele-converter, telephoto lens, reversal ring and backwards 50mm lens to photograph Mr. Spider but after realizing how razor thin your depth of field is, and how precise your focus has to be, I don't think it would be possible for me to make happen. Maybe if I find a dead insect, that won't move, get away or bite, I might give it a try.

 

  Ultra Macro Lily Parts - Stamen by Jay Scott on 500px

Now that our pink backyard lily has been photographed it is the orange lily's turn. I feel like the result of the pink one was better than anything I've produced with lilies so far. Here's hoping I can turn the orange lily photo into something that will be tough to beat, next year. Keep your eyes on the site for that photo in the next few days.

 

  Ultra Macro Lily Parts - Petal by Jay Scott on 500px

Beef and Onion Stuffed Biscuits on a Rainy Day

I was in a cooking mood the other day. Seemed like a good day to be making something tasty to take the chill out of the damp air.

Beef and Onion Stuffed Biscuits on a Rainy Day by Jay Scott

They weren't spectacular but the leftovers dunked well in out roasted red pepper and root vegetable soup we made for supper last night. I always like it when Angie's clients come in and comment on how good it smells in here when I have something aromatic on the go like that soup was.

It sure is nice to be able to cook interestingly.

A Person Can Dream

I've often thought that having a well heated studio would be great on cold winter days when getting out and working outside is difficult or even unsafe for me.

After shooting that veggie bread the other day I gleaned a vision of a studio, with a barrier free kitchen and dining room including remote controlled ceiling tracks with multiple winches and riggings to secure lights, reflectors, silks or scrims to.

Cooking and shooting that food. And, of course, eating said food. That's my idea of the good life.

And the food in my photos would be entirely edible. No white glue being poured on my cereal or shoe polish painted on a raw turkey. People aren't stupid. A loaded burger is not 5 inches tall. If it were there would be few mouths large enough to eat it. The only trick I would continue to use is a simple steam producing technique, using clean water, that does not affect the food.

Or, perhaps I would miss the walks and shooting what I come upon. Still, at those less convenient or picturesque times of year. But, then I'd miss opportunities like the simple beauty of morning dew after a rain.

Morning Dew by Jay Scott