Our Deck Guest

 

  Wolf Spider by Jay Scott on 500px

A good photo should evoke a reaction from people. I know that the reactions will certainly be mixed about the first one in this post.

As the title indicates, we have had a guest making good use of the structures on our deck to make its web. I wasn't sure how large the spider would get, starting from the tiny little thing that it was. But, I've intentionally left the web alone so it had the opportunity to grow. A few days ago I tried to rescue a few damselflies in distress but they were too wrapped up in webbing and died shortly after I freed them.

It took a few days for the spider to rebuild its web, especially as a new smaller spider of a different genus moved in and was competing for the web presence. Last night they had a small face-off just before I made this shot. With this heat and today's smokiness, I wonder how much longer this growing arachnid has, especially as it is getting too large for its usual hiding spots. I will keep watching and make a few more shots as it grows.

A huge credit goes to Angie and her boundless love and devotion as she helps me set up flashes, at 10:30 at night to make a picture of something she doesn't care to see much of. Credit goes further to her for making the two photos of myself and Fiona coming in the next post.

My apologies if you will be humming the Spiderman theme for the rest of the day…

Aged Tenth Anniversary Roses

 

  Aged Roses - 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

As Angie had said before, roses just don't last as long as most other cut flowers. They certainly smelled nice and were beautiful but one week was definitely the extent of their life. The last two that looked half decent were the subject of these photos but I'm glad I took the opportunity to shoot them one more time before they were time to be disposed of.

 

  Aged Roses - 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

Most of the time when something starts to have areas of being less attractive it's the macro lens and close-up abstracts that tend to look the best so that is what I aimed for. Also, going against my natural tendency, I just used a few reflectors to light these photos. I have nothing against that, it's just that the sun moves quicker than you might think, especially when lighting is so precisely planned out. One five-minute delay to respond to an e-mail and you have to re-position to reflectors to get the same look you had previously.

 

  Aged Roses - 3 by Jay Scott on 500px

I don't think this will be the last bouquet I buy this winter. It's a pretty affordable and enjoyable thing to purchase to brighten up the home and give me something beautiful to make a photograph with.

10th Anniversary Roses for My Sweetie

 

  10th Anniversary Roses 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

Last week was our 10th anniversary. We both have no idea exactly how it came up so quickly. Counting milestones such as building a house, getting a dog, Angie beginning working from home, Fiona joining us, along with numerous other smaller things, seem to all blur together into a significant portion of our lives lived together.

 

  10th Anniversary Roses 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

Because of this it was about time I bought my wife some nice flowers. I don't do it often enough. I guess we are just both so practical that flowers don't often rank high on the list of priorities. More often we are likely to buy each other a treat from the store or something consumable like that, if it's going to be something that has a temporary life.

At any rate, I did enjoy photographing them and had considered purchasing flowers to photograph for long winter weeks. I guess this time I got the best of the best as a bonus for buying them for my dear Angie. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as she has enjoyed looking at and smelling her roses.

 

  10th Anniversary Roses 3 by Jay Scott on 500px

Frosty Apples For Ma

My mom has wanted me to make a photo of frosty berries or apples for a long time. Finally all of the conditions came together for me to be able to make a few nice shots today when I got home from some business. The early morning fog made for the hoarfrost, the wind had not blown it away, yet, it was not too far into the winter that the apples were shriveled or ugly looking, and it was in a location that I could easily get to. Though, the excuse could be made that the teleconverter I have been coveting would have made an even stronger, closer photo than these. Angie supports the purchase but perhaps I will wait a little longer to see if it's the right idea. There have been more than a few instances lately where it would be great to have more reach and that seems to say to me that this purchase would be justified.

 

  Frosty Thunderchild Crabapples 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

First, I will complete a few more shoots, think about it a little bit longer and maybe save a little bit of money from Christmas to go with birthday money to make my decision. One of my doctors believes that it would be better for my neck than the 200-400mm f/4 alternative, and be better for my mental well-being if I had that extra technology at my disposal. Unfortunately, Dr. Branimir Gjetvaj is not a medical doctor but one of genetics and ecology and an acquaintance who also knows his way around a camera so a bit of the weight behind his purchase opinion is lost there since his background isn't so much concerned directly with my health. Today, though, I was told that because of the number of times I have recently wanted more reach, in addition to giving my disabled self every advantage I can, I would be wise to consider this. Of course, neither of these guys are the ones swiping the plastic for the purchase. :-)

 

  Frosty Thunderchild Crabapples 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

Kiwi in Red

 

  Kiwi in Red - Full by Jay Scott on 500px

I have no reason to believe that Kiwi has been neglected since Fiona arrived, though her behaviour might convince you otherwise. However, today's photo was for Kiwi and she knew it. She didn't pose quite as well as usual because her perch wasn't as comfortable as she's used to. But we got the shots and I hope she enjoyed the attention.

 

  Kiwi in Red - Headshot by Jay Scott on 500px

My biggest frustration was, once again, struggling not with the photo's execution, but with limited space, a wheelchair that just cannot hop over a precisely aligned lighting setup to tweak a setting and the other limitations not based on my photographic ability. As always, I was grateful for Angie's assistance with the photo and posing Kiwi as well as taking my van in for the seasonal inspection and winter tires.

Red Curry with Blue Rice

 

  Red Curry with Blue Rice by Jay Scott on 500px

Angie had a girls' night out so I whipped up a red curry so spicy that, even though it was cold by the time I was done shooting, I had to eat slowly and a smaller portion for fear of burning my mouth.

I tire of "nice" photos so, despite an overhead soft box to believably imitate to candle, I added a blue touch to the rice for an element of surrealism. It was also nice to have a good time to incorporate the candle holder made by my grandfather's skilled hands. It deserves a detail shot of its own. His choices of wood, glued together in such a way to make the pattern it does, has always impressed me. It, in itself, is art.

Welcome, Baby Drayden

I'm received a very positive reception from my photos of Rebecca so I've decided to post a few more.

Along with his coming home outfit, Rebecca had the cutest pair of moccasins that ended up being part of some of my favourite shots from the session.

Rebecca Expecting-4 by Jay Scott

Rebecca Expecting-5 by Jay Scott

Rebecca Expecting-6 by Jay Scott

Her son, Drayden, entered the world Saturday. I hope I have the opportunity to make some photos of him once the time is right. From what I have seen he is cute as a button and would be a lot of fun to photograph.

Stages

The best photo shoot I had ever had was grad photos of Rebecca, Cassie and Kayla. The energy and enthusiasm they had, despite the unbelievable mosquito population was motivating. The comfortable weather, their lovely dresses, hair and makeup all came together to make for one of the best 45 min. of my life. I wish I had three times that much time to work with them but they had ceremonies to get to. :-)

Rebecca's Grad by Jay Scott

That was a few years ago and it still sits in the top number of photo sessions I have ever had. Rebecca is about to enter a new stage in life when she gives birth to her son in a week or less. It was my pleasure to photograph her to help her preserve the memories, hopefully mostly the good ones, of this pregnancy.

Rebecca Expecting - 1 by Jay Scott

Recently on a Facebook page for disabled photographers the question was posed, "what do you use for adaptive equipment?" I thought about it, and aside from the oral shutter release I designed and built for my Pentax, I do not use any adaptive equipment. I am grateful to have found a way to make photos without any additional barriers, that is, relying on more specialized equipment. When we first got our point-and-shoot camera it was wonderful to just have a camera that I could use with my clumsy hands. When the time came to upgrade to a DSLR I, once again, made my decision largely based on what I could use with my hands. Thankfully, I was not able to use that camera in the way I intended because the weight was greater than the demo model I tried in the store which had a lesser lens on it than mine would. I was forced to find a better way to hold the camera because I had already purchased it and surpassed the time frame permitted for a return. Thanks to that I was able to base my next upgrade almost solely on the merits of the camera system and not on what would work for my hands. If I was dependent on a camera body design, had Nikon's next body been what I was looking for, but been redesigned to a shape I could not use, I would be stuck with what I had hoping that their next model would work for me.

My point is that I am thankful I do not require any adaptive technology but, to answer the question posed on the Facebook group, I had to say how greatly appreciative I was of having Angie to assist me as efficiently as she always does so that we can get as much done in two hours as we did. I know most photographers have an assistant and that it makes a huge difference in their ability to work but Angie's efficiency, and familiarity with my style of working, made a huge difference in the final results.

Rebecca Expecting - 3 by Jay Scott

That assistance allowed me to spend more time talking with Rebecca and keeping her in the spotlight and not told to just "wait a minute" while I am adjusting a light or some other small thing. Her mom was there, as well, which helped me to keep the expressions real and make photos that are difficult to make until your talent is comfortable and at ease.

Rebecca Expecting - 2 by Jay Scott

I hope everything goes very well for Rebecca in the coming days and that she will be able to look back on these photos with fondness. I know I certainly will because it was an absolute pleasure to make them with her lovely smile, wonderful personality and easy-going nature. I'm happy to say that now two of my best photo sessions include her.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Angie, Arleen and Karen spent a nice day baking together. These sugar cookies are the first of their efforts.

Christmas Sugar Cookies by Jay Scott

Their other work will be photographed and posted soon... then eaten. ;)

Fruits of Labour

Last year she learned to knit and has learned some serious techniques. This year Angie has decided that our fully loaded Thunderchild Crab Apple tree couldn't go to waste. We knew by the ample blooms in the spring that there would be plenty of fruit.

Forestry Farm Thunderchild Crab Apple - 1 by Jay Scott

So she picked about 25 pounds of apples and brewed up a few batches of juice, the straining aided by a few jelly bags suspended from a light stand and my boom arm. The results are very tasty and now we have the supplies to can more food in the future.

Crab Apple Jelly by Jay Scott

Autumn Snap Dragons

It may not technically be autumn, but overnight frosts have begun (better blow out the sprinklers soon) and I made a point, after much procrastination, to shoot our few remaining snap dragons. They really were beautiful this year and spread out so much from the tiny shoots that were planted not so long ago.

Autumn Snap Dragon 2 by Jay Scott


Autumn Snap Dragon 1 by Jay Scott

Author of Life

You may recall, from mid March to May 5, my repeated posts and tweets regarding an upcoming day of creation with our arts team at Ebenezer Baptist Church. It was on Saturday, May 5 that we gathered to work on a piece in our preferred medium with the theme: Author of Life.

The unveiling took place Sunday, May 27 in the morning before the services, but the complete show was that evening at Scott's concert. Due to sold pieces, exhibits elsewhere and class requirements not all of the pieces could remain on display.

Not all of the pieces in these two photos were from the Author of Life Theme.

In this first photo the bottom painting was Leah's from the day of working together. I believe Laurel's painting of the dancer's feet was as well.

 

Janet's photo or the colours reflecting over the water (top right) and my photo, "From Beginning to End" (top left) was from that day. A larger version is right below.

I respect Leah's creativity and Janet's interpretation of a photo turned into a painting. My approaches are simply more direct. I definitely feel more creative than I used to be, but still struggle to think of ideas to create that represent something else well. One way I've thought that painting has the advantage is that the artist can paint whatever they see in their mind. Perhaps that could be made into a photo, but often logistics and even physics get in the way of that. I still love photography and doubt I would have the passion and commitment to put in the hours to move beyond painting photos if I did try painting. A person can think if only to let the mind consider the possibilities.

Without further adieu, here is the result of waiting weeks for my duck quills, planning, painting the edges of the book silver (that and fences I can paint). After three hours of setup, four hours to let the candle burn down in the candle holder made by my grandfather and get the angle just right, you have the below result. Though the above photo does not represent the final look well, it was a 20x30 metallic print on a floatmount with a glossy laminate. The piece is for sale if you are interested and, as always, prints of any size are available.

Beginning to End by Jay Scott

Tuffy and Kiwi

As you may have observed on my Twitter feed, we looked after Tuffy last week.

Both dogs were pretty good and even played together quite a bit. I guess Kiwi still knows how to play with other dogs, it just takes the right dog and we have met very few of those.

Watching her come running in to greet me in the morning, then turning around to bolt for the bathroom (where Tuffy slept), sliding to the door on her chest in a playful bowed position, was great. His play noises sound like a grumbling old man, but he was having fun.

That said, he is getting up there and slowing down. Certainly we got a few bunny runs out of him, and he looked about two again, but I thought a few nice shots of him might be a good idea.

Tuffy by Jay Scott

Aside from a few stern warnings about barking when Angie's clients arrived, he was very well behaved and I look forward to seeing him again now that I know his personality, likes and dislikes better. I will know how to play with him and get him excited more.

Joel, Lindsay and Corban, Christmas 2011

Last autumn we had the pleasure of going for a photo stroll with Joel, Lindsay and Corban at the university. It was an very nice day and made for some solid photos. It is times like this that I miss the old website and its content which I could refer you to for a look at those past photos. I have yet to add them to 500px as what has been uploaded there is either saleable or very current work. I will try to remember to update this post once my favourites from that autumn session are uploaded.

For now, my favourites from Monday evening of last week.

Joel, Lindsay & Corban - 1 by Jay Scott

Corban was so cooperative, even with it getting close to his bed time. When he did have a brief moment his parents would talk so calmly to him and really listen to what he had to say to help him feel better. I truly respect and admire their parenting.

Corban by Jay Scott

The flashes were a bit intimidating to him at first and when he had had enough we agreed to two more. When those were finished he insisted on a few more, yet. What a great little guy.

Joel, Lindsay & Corban - 2 by Jay Scott

Their family will be growing in a few months and this was also an opportunity to make a few photos of the little one growing inside mommy. I hope we have the opportunity to make photos of their family again.