Chris Empey's Photo of the Day

Leanne and I were in Toronto last night to see Fish in concert live at the Mod Club.  Previously the lead singer of Marillion, I have been a fan of Fish and Marillion since I was about 12.  I missed him last time he was here, about 10 years ago, so would not miss him this time.  We worked our way to the front of the stage where I was able to get in a few good photos of him.

Taking a break today to post some concert photos.  My friend Julie and I went to the Friendship Festival in Fort Erie and watched The Spoons, Helix and Teenage Head play. This is a photo of Teenage Head guitarist Gord Lewis.

Tonight I will be in Toronto to see Fish so hopefully will have some shots from that show to put up as well.

Rocks along the beach on Georgian Bay.  This was shot with my new Canon G9 that Leanne gave to me for our anniversary! I had been looking at them for a while as I wanted a good camera I can carry around with me without always having to take my SLR and assortment of lenses.  The G9 has full capability, a Canon Digic III sensor and will sync to my existing Canon flashes if I need it too.  In the words of Monty Burns… Excellent!

A slow shutter photo of Hoggs Falls.  This was shot at ISO 100, 1 sec exposure and f22 with the use of a polarizer.  The polarizer was partially to reduce the glare on the water but mostly because I could use it slow the water down one and a half to two stops (the difference between 1 sec and 1/4 second exposure).

This is just upstream of Hoggs Falls.  One of the water falls we stopped at on the way up north.

I shot this group of three people on the end of the peer across from the cottage I was staying at on my recent trip to the Bruce Peninsula.  There was a thunderstorm approaching from the south and the rest of the sky was lit up in this amazing wash of red.  I thought the placement of the people against the dramatic sky would yield a nice photograph.   We did not get to shoot too much longer as the rain came and we hurried into the cottage.

I spent a few days on the Bruce Peninsula last week photographing wild orchids, sunsets and other nice things.  On the way up, Scott and I stop at a couple of waterfalls along the way and this spot, the Caledon (or Cheltenham) Badlands.

Over the next little while I expect to post images from that trip.  Photos of Yellow Lady Slippers, Grass Pink Orchids, Showy Lady Slippers, sunsets, and waterfalls. Maybe a self portrait as well!

Earlier this spring, Leanne and I took a vacation in the Dominican Republic. I did a little bit of photography while there including this photo of a Great Egret perched on a tree.

I like the composition of this photograph and hope that I can use in one of my weddings or portrait sessions.

A wild geranium photographed along a roadside earlier this spring.

This is a photo of a hanging basket taken at the Niagara Falls Camera Club outing this past week, where several of my images of the Niagara Skywheel were taken along with yesterday’s self portrait.  This is a gimicky technique of using a long shutter speed and zooming the lens during the exposure.  I think it works well for this photo as the Tivoli lights are obviously showing the zoom but many of the other objects still seem to be stationary.

Self Portrait of myself in the courtyard plaza on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls

This is another view of the Niagara Skywheel ferris wheel located on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls.

This is a photo of the Niagara Skywheel in Niagara Falls, Canada.  I shot this last week on an outing with the Niagara Falls Camera Club to Clifton Hill.  The Ferris wheel is 183′ tall but with the help of a 10mm lens I was able to get most of the wheel in very close without too many obstructions.

This is the first butterfly I’ve shot of the season. This is a Crescent Spot and is perched upon a piece of foxtail barley. In order to get photos like this I am getting up a little before 4:00 am in order to get to the location and be ready to shoot just after the sun has risen.

A couple of tips on early morning photography may be read at http://potd.chrisempey.com/tips/archives/2007/08/very_early_morning_photography.php.

This is another photo from the same location as yesterday’s.

Reeds in the fog at one of our favourite locations. We do not always shoot here, but the area has a nice ‘feel’ about.

f16 2.5 sec

This was shot a little while ago just outside of St. Catharines, Ontario.  Shooting early in the morning when the light levels are still low let me capture this with a long shutter speed to exaggerate the motion of the water.

Shot the past weekend. I like how the road disappears into the image.

Raindrops on a tulip. Again, shot with a 100mm or 135mm lens and a set of extension tubes.

Lightning illuminates the sky over my neighbours house in an evening thunderstorm last night.  A tornado watch and severe storm warning were issued for the Niagara area though the storm where I am was really not that bad.

This is a photo of a some of the tulips from my garden. I shot this with either a 100mm or 135mm lens and a couple of extension tubes.

I wrote about using extension tubes for macro photography here.

I shot this while out with my father a while back.  Hepatica is one of the earlier wildflowers to bloom in my area. About the same time as Dutchman’s Breeches and before the Trilliums are up.  This was found protected under a fallen tree.

Other photos of Hepatca can be found here, Dutchman’s Breeches here and Trilliums here.

On another note, I have been using WordPress for a week now and am still working on getting it to behave how I would like it to.  If you have experienced any errors or have any comments, please fill out the comment form and let me know.

This is a photo of one of my long time friends and shooting buddy, Dave.  He doesn’t seem to appreciate when I take his picture but I think he usually likes it when I post them.

This is the last of the Cally Lily shots I am posting. Tomorrow, something different.

Calla Lily #2. I have five different versions of this Calla ready, not sure if I will post all five though.

f8 1/125 s

It’s been a while since I have posted.  The absence has been a combination of things, vacation, busy with the business, other priorities and an issue with my hosting provider and problems with the software I had been using for the blog, Movable Type.  I still believe that it is the best software for what I was doing but because the hosting company didn’t work with it well I have had to change.

I am now using WordPress.  I have been trying to get used to it and get the site set up the way I want, but I find it is not as customizable as Moveable Type.  I will be posting more often though!