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Dennis C. Boyd bio picture

Welcome to my Adventures in Photography

This blog has been created to document my adventures in Photography as well as the day to day learning of new techniques and composition skills I am obtaining along the way.

My intent is not only to showcase my experiences and photos taken, yet to help others along with their learning experiences as well.  I will be posting not only my favourite things, yet my mistakes and my attempts at various techniques.. the whole thing.

I would love feedback as well... comments, critiques, questions... you name it... would love to hear what you think about my mis-adventures.

Thanks for visiting... and hope to hear from you soon :)

Project for work… sort of…

Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 11:03pm Posted in High Dynamic Range, OnOne Software, Vehicles

A couple of weeks ago I was asked about some photos to be used for our new Central Ambulance Communications Center (CACC) and their grand opening.  I dug threw some of my old photos which I had on various hard drives, yet decided I needed to do something new for this.

As luck would have it and nearing the deadline we ended up with five Ambulances in Dryden this weekend due to the addition of a new vehicle to the fleet in Ignace.  Yes… it stopped here for a bit, along with one going into retirement from Sioux Lookout and the old Ignace Ambulance stopping amidst the action on it’s way to Sioux Lookout.  Sound complicated… well it was… but throughout it all I had about 3 hours of play time with five ambulances of various years sitting at our base.

My first thought was to arrainge them according to years, space them out and see if I could shoot it wide.  Unfortunately the only time I could do this was from about 6am till 9am… the bright sun rising quickly and harsly… yet… I had to try.

I shot with intent to try HDR… set on manual instead of bracketting three exposures this time.  I found the point on the vehicles that I wanted exposed properly then set my Apeture to stay constant and played with the shutter speeds on both sides of the exposure recommended.

After all this… I’m not too happy with the HDR…

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For the shot above I could not get a head on shot as there is a chain in the way to prevent cars from getting to close to the natural gas lines.  It looks a bit odd on the angle up the driveway and from the wide angle lens… but it was the best location I could find for keeping just the base and vehicles in the shot.

Next up was a second attempt at HDR…

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For this I played around with a few more options in Photomatix, yet find I am still getting the halo effect off the roof and vehicles.

Well… so much for that…

Yet I did have a couple of other options to try out with respect to salvaging these photos.  I dug through the exposure variations, found the ones I wanted to play with in Photoshop and fired up the OnOne Suite (Focal Point and PhotoFrame).

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Now that’s a different look than I set out to get… and despite the massive pixel reduction to post here (notice the artifacts in the sky in the upper right?) the full size version looks AWESOME.

Well… have to try it out on a few more shots from the day…

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Now thats what I’m looking for!!!

Anyhow… that’s it for the quick editing on the photos… just thought I’d share some for the evening.

Happy Full Moon everyone… it was nuts at work this weekend :)

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Experiments in Lighting #3 - Results

Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 12:17am Posted in Group Get-togethers, Lighting, Topaz Adjust

Dereck, Bruce, Andrew and Joel showed up tonight for another experiment with lighting.  Joel pulled out his Vivitar 285’s and Cybersyncs and set them up, I pulled out my 580’s and Cybersyncs as well, but then threw in the Elinchrom 400BX’s to the mix.

We had a great time playing with the Elinchroms and trying out the different looks from the softboxes compared to using the reflector and grid combo.  We shot indoors for a bit but then decided to head outside to see what we could come up with as well.

For me… the best part of the night was being outside.  Yes… it was cloudy and the skies were not very colourful, but it was a good experiment trying to darken the sky while keeping the lights from blowing out the subject.

Here are a few quick shots from the night along with a few edits in Photoshop.

1. Joel shot this of me on my deck using the Elinchrom 400BX.
1/200sec @ f/8, ISO 100, 24mm (12-24mm Tokina)

(Edited with Topaz Adjust)

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2. Joel and his ZR2 in the driveway.

Shot with the 580ex on 1/2 power camera left, 580ex II on full power camera right shooting down vehicle and using the tokina 12-24mm.
1/160sec @ f/9, ISO 100, 18mm with Canon 50D

(Edited with Topaz Adjust)

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3. Joel and his ZR2 in the driveway again.

Shot with the 580ex on 1/2 power camera left, 580ex II on full power camera right shooting down vehicle and using the tokina 12-24mm.
1/200sec @ f/9, ISO 100, 16mm with Canon 50D

(Edited with Topaz Adjust)

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4. (Edited with Photoshop)

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Experiments in Lighting #3 - Wednesday June 03, 2009

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 5:05pm Posted in Group Get-togethers, Lighting

It’s that time again… time to get the camera out and start experimenting again.

With the girlfriend and kids moving in on the 18th I’ve been quite busy on the renovations trying to get the basement ready for carpet and ceiling tiles.  Needless to say the holidays have been spent working around the clock with little time for the camera.

But… this is my last week of holidays before the household changes so I thought what better time than now to hold another “Experiments in Lighting” get together.  Wednesday night, just because… :)

I’m thinking that we can set up on the deck and shoot with the river as a background while the sun is still up, or even head back up onto the rock and get some photos as the sun drops down.  Inside the house again we can play with the white projector screen as a backdrop, maybe use the kitchen table, the couches as props… hmmm

I’m hoping Joel shows up with his Vivitars and Cybersyncs, I’ll have my 580’s and the ST-E2 along with the 400BX’s and the Cybersyncs along with the 5-1 reflector… that way we should be able to keep everyone fairly busy experimenting with the various set ups.

Yet… with all the gear, all the possible set ups… one thing is still needed… models to sit in for us.

Well… a quick note on facebook and voila… think even that problem has been solved.  A friend of mine sounds quite interested in coming out and possibly bringing another friend or two of hers, Chris might bring his daughter Emma as well… and now I’m thinking this could be a LOT of fun with a lot of variation.

The one thing I keep on seeing on various photo sites like Model Mayhem is “TFCD”.  At first I wasn’t sure what it meant… but now… now I understand.

If we are lucky enough to have my friend and her friends show up… the least we could do is compile the photos onto a cd for them after the editing and all is done… their time for a cd of photos… why not… sounds like a good way to learn and a good way for them to get some good shots of themselves?

So… maybe this is a way to get even more people to come out to these photo shoot nights… compile all the photos taken after we are happy with the end results and hand over a cd of the images to the people that show up to let us experiment and learn new techniques.  Yep… like the idea a LOT… will have to see what everyone else says now.

Anyhow… stay tuned, the books are open, the strobist site is being browsed again… and the batteries are being recharged….

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Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photowalk - July 18th, 2009 (Dryden, Ontario)

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 12:10pm Posted in Community Events

Well… it’s official!!!

Scott Kelby has allowed Dryden to be part of the Worldwide Photowalk being held on July 18, 2009.

A site has been created here for those interested in signing up for the walk as well as for more information.

photowalk

Please pass this site on to anyone you know with a camera in Dryden to see if they would be interested in coming out for the afternoon.

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Low Light Photography - bright background lights, no tripod, reflections and all sorts of complications

Sunday, May 24, 2009 at 2:03am Posted in Emergency Medical Services

Over the past week or so I’ve been asked several times to shoot some Emergency Medical Services photos for our Dispatch Center in Kenora and their grand opening.

I haven’t had a chance to borrow one of the rigs and head out during the day to do some shots for them yet, but tonight I just happened to have my camera sitting in the truck.

I talked to my partner and we moved our vehicles out of sight, pulled the rigs out into the open as the sun dipped down and thought what better time to catch some dramatic lighting than right now.  Unfortunalely the sun goes down behind the building so I can’t capture the brilliant reds and oranges, yet the blues do show up nightly.

I wanted a lower view, wide to show all three vehicles… and went to set up the tripod.

Sure enough, today of all days was the day I pulled it out of the truck and put it in the closet at home.  Arghh… talk about the timing, and talk about a challenge trying to hold the camera steady for so long.

I knew it would be next to impossible to handhold the camera with the low light conditions so I picked a Point of View (POV) where I could use the ground to steady the shot.  I layed down in the parking lot, threw the camera on manual and fired away.

Well… I decided on a shallow Depth of Field (DOF) as I did not want the shutter to be open for too long and would risk introducing more blurriness into the shot, and knew my ISO could be bumped up on the 50D quite a bit so…. to keep the shutter speed down as best possible here are the settings I fired off:

0.8sec @ f/4, ISO 800
17mm (using the Tokina 12-24mm)

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Yes… the bright lights eminating from the garage blow out and onto the vehicle, yes the lightstand on the far right is distracting and yes… the rigs aren’t crystal clear as I had hoped for… but… for pulling out the camera with no tripod, laying on the ground in uniform as the sky darkened… I think it is a good first rough image for this project.

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OnOne PhotoFrame Professional

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 6:15pm Posted in OnOne Software, Photoshop CS4

Playing around with Photoshop CS4 and the OnOne PhotoFrame Professional plug in tonight I decided to give it a go with some shots of Kim’s new horse “Fonzie”.

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I actually kind of like the finished look, a lot better with some final touches over the straight out of camera shot.

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Chris - I stumbled on a tutorial a while back on how to make some snazzy custom borders like that in Photoshop. Damned if I can find the link to it now though. I'm mixed on them myself. They can add something to a photo, but sometimes they just look kind of bad. Depends on the subject and choice of border I think.

admin - Ohhh definately Chris... can improve the look or detract from it soo easily and I'm still trying to figure out what looks good on what. The thing I'm finding lately... I haven't really gotten into post much and pretty much post up straight out of camera for the majority of things. Maybe I should be concentrating on less photos, but better post...?

Horses and Apeture Priority Mode

Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 2:45pm Posted in Horses

I stopped out quickly to the “Fenwick Farm” again today to see how the clinic was going and brought my camera along for the trip.

Sure enough it is May long weekend… and snow hit the region last night.

Even though the temperature has been hovering around 0 Celcius today, the snow has melted a bit, the wind is still howling… and the clinic must go on.

Given that, a couple of the local sports photographers (Rob and Jeff) mentioned I should mix it up a bit when shooting horses.  I think Jeff was the one who mentioned I should try shooting in AV mode for this, get my depth of field and let the camera decide what shutter speed it wants.

Well… I do want to work on Manual mode some more, yet also thought… hmm… why not give AV mode a shot instead of the TV mode (shutter priority) that I have for sports.

Here are a couple from my 5 mins of shooting just before lunch.

1. Kim and Melanie taking turns while Trever gives instructions to the group.

1/2000 sec @ f/4, iso 200, 200mm (EF70-200 f/4L IS USM)

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2. One of the girls from Fort Frances and Dale in the ring.

1/1250 sec @ f/4, iso 200, 200mm (EF70-200 f/4L IS USM)

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3. Kim and Fonzie…

1/3200 sec @ f/4, iso 200, 200mm (EF70-200 f/4L IS USM)

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4. Kim and Fonzie again

1/1600 sec @ f/4, iso 200, 135mm (EF70-200 f/4L IS USM)

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Now to get back out there and see if I can finally get a shot of Nicole and Lurch….

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Graham - good depth

Playing with horses and photoshop… again…

Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 12:46am Posted in Photoshop CS4

Well… snow is here yet again… It can’t decide if it should snow or rain… but either way it’s been one of those cold miserable days outside today.

Nicole, Kim, Dale and a few others are taking a horse clinic this weekend out at the Fenwick Farm and from what I’ve heard the “Farm” is looking completely different this week from all the work Dale and the crew have done in anticipation for the clinic.  I can’t wait to get out there and see all the renovations to the riding arena… but… it will have to wait until my tile work is underway.

In the mean time… coming off nights, kids and Nicole are fast asleep, I decided to fire up Photoshop CS4 again tonight and play around a bit.

Here are some older picutes yet again (I know… I have to get out shooting NOW)… reworked a bit in Photoshop tonight (using the Totally Rad! Caffine Jolt - Super Fun Happy preset).

The presets really darken the photos and even moreso they are a wee bit dark on my uncalibrated monitor (so assuming that most others don’t calibrate theirs it might seem too dark to them as well)… but since it is bright on my workstation… good enough for me.

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That’s it for tonights edits… off to bed I go as it is going to be an early morning and lots of renos to do between sneaking out to the farm to shoot tomorrow. :)

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NAPP Insider - Shhhh they say…. Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photowalk

Friday, May 15, 2009 at 6:16pm Posted in Events

Well… another one of the benefits of belonging to the National Association of Photoshop Professionals is something like this.  A quick announcement that something big is coming on Monday…. a Worldwide Photowalk… with chances to win prizes :).

Who is Scott Kelby… well he is not only the one who runs NAPP (the National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and Kelby Training… but the author of some of the best books on photography and computer programs that you can find.

So… with an announcement like this coming out… one definately can be interested in what the new Worldwide Photowalk will be about.

For more information on last years Worldwide Photowalk… check out these two links;

Does this sound like fun?

Dear Dennis,

As a valued NAPP member, we want to let you in on a special, secret scoop on an announcement that Scott Kelby will be making on Monday, May 18th on his blog.

Scott will be announcing the 2nd Annual Worldwide PhotoWalk™ scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 18, 2009 all around the world!

Participation is free and there is a chance to win some fabulous prizes!

Check out Scott’s blog on Monday morning to get all of the information. We hope to see you at one of the walks!

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Where’s Lurch…. in all these photos?

Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 10:25am Posted in Horses

After looking through all these posts and talking about the “Monster” named “Lurch” I just realized that I don’t think I have a good shot of him up here yet.

So digging through some of the old photos I managed to find one taken with the Canon SD790IS the night we came back from the Professional Bull Riding Championship in Winnipeg.

I caught a ride back with the Fenwicks as they brought back a “ditch horse” to try out for a couple of weeks and had an extra seat in the truck.

Ditch horse… from what I understand is one that anyone can ride, good for the kids, good for people like me :)….  Not really meant for showing… but actual riding :)  haha…

So… as we arrived back at the Fenwick Farm I pulled out the little point and shoot and fired off this quick shot of Lurch and the crew eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new one to the farm.

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It was so neat to see them all bunching up at the fence eagerly awaiting the new horse, all wanting to check it out.

Lurch of course is the big boy on the far left, the new one is on the far right just coming out of the trailer and poking it’s head into the shot :)

Anyhow… just a point and shoot style shot, but honestly… think it’s the only good one I have so far of Nicoles horse, the rest are all partial shots not really showing his size…

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