September

     September. That month of suspended transition. The trees have started to change colour but have not, as yet, reached their glorious peak. Although the days can be pretty much as warm as in the summer months, the nights are cooler, a harbinger of the cooler months to come. The kids are back to school and most people have finished their summer vacations. We don't have quite the activity of summer, but the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is still a ways off.

    I had a very nice September this year. In addition to my usual photo activities in Paris and Hamilton, I managed to get away for a brief vacation to Pelee Island with my significant other.

Pelee Island Sunset

Pelee Island Lighthouse

    

                              

Trellis Pattern Leamington On.

   

Ferry Dock, Leamington, On.

 

The old Pelee Islander, Leamington, On.

 

   

     

   

Sunset at the Ferry Dock, Pelee Island, On

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Closer to home, I got out on a beautiful foggy morning to make some pictures of Paris.  I love how fog tends to mute colours and provide a plain backdrop to isolate a subject.

     Ultimately, for me, the joy of photography is found in the ability to previsualize an image and then have the knowledge and capacity to make it a reality.  Fundamentally, it's about creative choices. Sometimes these choices are made with careful deliberation, other times they are made almost instantaneously. What I said earlier about September being a month of suspended transition lends itself to this photographic philosophy. It's up to the photographer to make the necessary creative decisions in utlizing it.     

    So as September ends, I'm looking forward to October, when the fall colours are at their peak and every moment spent outside seems almost magical.  

                        ...more later

    As always, if you like what you see here, feel free to "like" and share on the media platform of you choice.

Labour Day 2024

     I owe my regular readers an apology. Without any notice, I have failed to publish a blog post for the last Saturday of July and I'm late in getting this post out, as Aug. 31 was the last Saturday of August. 

    I took a hiatus while I considered giving up the blog.

    I have to admit to being somewhat discouraged by the low number of page views that the blog receives. It led me to the point where I became something akin to a petulant child. "Why should I write it if no one's going to read it?"  

    When did I get so damned arrogant? I should be grateful that anyone at all shows an interest in what I write and in the photographs that I make. 

    The reality of creative expression is this. No on owes me a page view. No one owes me a "like" on social media. No one is required to visit  whatever public venue might be displaying my work. It is an honour that anyone at all is interested and supportive of what I do. Furthermore, it is an honour that I shouldn't take lightly.

    That being said, I'm back. I traditionally publish a piece on the Labour Day Weekend and this year should be no exception. 

    This Labour Day weekend I did something that I haven't done in years. We went to the Burlington Ribfest. Billed as "Canada's Largest Ribfest," it has become something of a Labour Day tradition in its own right. We enjoyed a good feed of ribs from one of the vendors and listened to two cover bands performing some classic rock. The evening before, we attended a "Shakespeare in the Park" production of "As You Like It" performed on the grounds of Dundurn Castle in Hamilton. Sometimes that's how we roll. Shakespeare in the park one day and ribs and classic rock the next!  

       

                              

    
                     

       Although I haven't taken any long trips this summer (I do have a short vacation trip coming up soon.) I have enjoyed  some memorable events and moments during the Summer of '24.

     

     I spent an afternoon at the Cactus Festival in Dundas, as well as exploring the Carnegie Gallery in that community. The gallery featured a number of photographs by local photographer Paul Simon https://www.paulsimonphotography.com/   I had the pleasure of meeting Paul a while ago. He does some very impressive photography.

    My son, Greg and I were displaying some work of our own over the summer at the Dog-Eared Café here in Paris, On. Our pictures were well received and it's always a pleasure to work with Jeanette and Darren of the Dog-Eared Café. https://www.dogearedcafe.ca/

     Probably the most memorable evening of the summer was when we enjoyed a dinner of fish and chips at Hutch's On the Beach in Hamilton. We followed it with a sunset walk along Van Wagners Beach. It was a beautiful evening and although we avoided getting rained on, you could see the rain showers out on the lake. The light was just awesome!.

                 

  

 

   

    So, as the Summer of '24 draws to a close, there is the usual bittersweet feeling that accompanies Labour Day. A bit of sadness as we say farewell to the long warm days of Summer coupled with the happy anticipation of the Autumn season ahead, my favourite time of the year.

    So I guess that I'm back to  cranking out a blog post on the last Saturday of every month. Thank you to all my regular readers for sticking with me. Your kindness and support is greatly appreciated.

                                                           ...more later  

                                                                                                                                    

       As usual, if you like what you see here feel free to hit "like" and share it to the media platform of your choice.                                           

                                         

The Church of Light by Gord Barker

    It's the end of June and the Summer season is in full swing. The tiger lilies (one of my favourite flowers) are blooming almost everywhere. We've already survived our first heat wave. The days are long and the light during the day is intense. Sometimes too intense!

    

    When you think about it, good photography is really about the appreciation of light and the ability to use that light in the presentation of a subject. When you've been at it as long as I have, that appreciation of light becomes almost second nature. I can't tell you how many times I've stepped outside and said, "Wow! Look at the light!" Sometimes I work in reverse. The light will be amazing and I will frantically look for a subject or scene to utilize it. For a photographer, the appreciation of good light and it's interplay with a subject is key to making appealing photographs. Second to that appreciation, is the ability to utilize the photographic equipment at hand to capture the nature of that light with what is hopefully an interesting or beautiful subject. But the light comes first. Without it, photographic imaging is null and void.

    I can almost hear my readers asking, "So, old grey bearded photo freak, what exactly is  defined as good light?"

    

 The answer, quite simply, is any light that enhances the subject being portrayed in the photograph. For example, the hard specular light of a clear sky at mid day is usually not good for portraiture. It produces hard shadows in the eye sockets and under the nose on the face. The light of late afternoon or the softer light of a slightly overcast day is usually better for that application. However that same hard light can serve to emphasize the graphic nature of a building's architecture quite well. In essence, there's really no such thing as bad light, there's just bad application of the light that is available. And in photography, there's always a work-around.

    It was photographer Jim Richardson who said, "If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff."  I would add, "Stand in front of more interesting stuff lit with really great light!"

           ...more later

    

    

    

    

     

Big Sky By Gregory Barker

    The sky was vast and clear. The world woke up a couple hours before me. With my eyelids still heavy, I was sitting outside drinking my coffee, puffing smoke from my cigar in between sips. Despite waking up slow. I knew today would be a good one when the caffeine kicked in. The plan was simple. Grab my camera and set off to a childhood place. Off to spend time with the horses and the cattle.

    I’ve been to the farm plenty of times. Spent time with the horses plenty of times. Never with my camera though. Going to a place I love with a brand new perspective ended up being the author of my excitement all morning.

    About a half an hour past 9am by the time we got there. I knew the light would get harsh. With it being the time it was, and no clouds fixing to visit. I knew pretty quick that hard shadows and stubborn highlights would be taunting me at all times. The crisp, dried out dirt beneath my boots quickly transitioned to lush fields. The horses thought so at least. A handful of them surrounded me. However 2 in particular made this shoot special.

Mac and Caliber.

Mac is an old Belgian draft. Used as a work horse in pulling carriages. A gorgeous blonde coat, hulking physique and a personality even larger. If a golden retriever could be a horse. It’d be this behemoth.

Horses are always communicating with you. Not speaking, but communicating. The better you can listen and observe, the happier a time you’ll have. Many of the quarter horses were older. Calmer in temperament, but insistent on peaceful solitude. I didn’t get in the way of their time. Didn’t want to risk stressing them out. Especially Bella. An Appaloosa with a very timid demeanour. I only grabbed one photo of her from a distance.          

Mac however, was the opposite of such a concept. Often getting offended if you didn’t spend time beside him while grazing, and would make a point to walk on over to you and hang out with you. If you were giving time and affection to another horse. Mac presented himself quick and made sure to take back the stage.

In addition to such a memorable horse as Mac, there was Caliber, an old race horse. Though more reserved, she was just as motivated by the same laconic affection. A beautiful coat, numbers up her neck and a well kept mane. Sweet, friendly and easy to photograph.

It wasn't long after hopping the gate and shooting that I forgot about being a young gun photographer, eager to go out and grab explosive photos, and became the same ol’ kid who just straight up digs this stuff.

It’s always better to have fun. If you can't love what you shoot, then love the act of shooting. How good you are becomes a low bar to set for yourself. The passion has to be wed with the technique. Lacking one or the other is like wrapping a bandage for internal bleeding. It's something you can do, but it'll do you no good in the long run.

Deadpan Photography by: Gord Barker

      When did mediocrity become an acceptable standard for creative work? It seems that many practitioners of the craft of photography are almost afraid to achieve any degree of accomplishment in their work.

    Admittedly, that rhetoric is a harsh way to begin a blog post about photography and the creative experience. Furthermore, in making statements like that, I realize that I'm opening myself up to strong critique of my own work. I mean, who am I to say what is good or bad in the field of creative imaging?

    This diatribe came about after watching a YouTube video about "Deadpan Photography." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W1dmfG699w&t=12s  Up until I watched that video, I had never heard of deadpan photography. I had no idea that it existed as a genre or style in the craft. Now that I'm aware that a style name has been given to boring low contrast images made with flat lighting and questionable composition, I will try that much harder to eschew that style in my own photography. For myself, I like images that pop with a richness of colour or strong monochromatic contrast. Let the image be strong enough to tell a story, evoke a mood or trigger an emotional response. 

    How do you become better at photography? The answer is simple. Strive to create powerful and / or interesting images at a standard greater than the level you currently occupy. Nothing more, nothing less. 

    But please don't try to make flat, boring images visually successful by simply applying a term like "deadpan photography." Ultimately, you're not fooling anyone. 

          ... more later 

   

    

February

         It's the second to last Saturday of the month and I'm sitting at a counter at Detour Coffee in Wincey Mills in Paris. I'm having an Americano and trying to think of an idea for this blog post. I tried to take a picture through the window that is in front of me but found that the memory card in my Fuji X-E3 is filled up. Hardly surprising. The X-E3 is one of the two cameras I took to Spain in the spring of last year. I took a lot of pictures in Spain. Considering the cold grey weather we're having, I wish that I could be there again. I fell in love with that country! 

    No worries. I've got a new SD card in my camera bag. I change out the cards and take a few shots through the window. Back to the matter at hand.                                                           

   

        My son brought up an interesting point in regards to artistic discussion. All of the philosophical rhetoric regarding the artistic experience is null and void if you don't have a reasonably solid body of work or if you're not in the process of creating that body of work. Within the photographic community there are a quite a number people who talk a good game but ultimately fail to deliver. Some people are too busy being photographers to create good photographs! I know that sometimes I'm guilty of it.

     In my opinion, if I am going to make a good, or at least interesting photograph of something I have be, at least to some degree, in awe of it. The subject has to have some visual value or I have to provide that value in the way that I photograph it. Often, it's a combination of those two aspects of image making that result in the creation of a picture. Sorry folks. As a photographer, sometimes ya gotta work for it!

    When I'm at the top of my game making photographs, there are a lot of facets of the craft, that ultimately go into making the image. My skills, experience, vision, choice of equipment, knowledge of the controls of said equipment, training, tips and tricks that I've picked up along the way. All are concentrated into a simple squeeze of the shutter button. Hopefully it results in the creation of an image that is pleasing or at least visually interesting both to me and those who look at and appreciate the pictures I create.

    Ultimately, it's the reason I loaded a fresh SD card into my camera. It's the excitement of putting all I've got in this craft at any given moment into the press of a shutter button.  That's the joy and the challenge of it. It's what keeps me going. 

    Even on a grey winter day in February.

    ...more later 

    

    

    

     

     

     

    

Year Ahead Plans

     So the month is almost over. Is it too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year? I really don't know the protocol on that. What the hell! Happy New Year anyway!

    This first month of the year has been kind of a drag. It seems like all we've gotten so far is endless days of grey cold weather or, if it does warm up a bit, it's raining. Not exactly inspiring weather  to grab a camera and enjoy outdoor photographic pursuits.

    However, there have been some good things happening. A new year is a good time to take stock of my photographic life. I don't really make New Year's resolutions, but that doesn't mean that I don't have some  plans for the year ahead. 

 

    With my son, Greg, purchasing his first serious camera last year, we have plans in the works for a father and son photo exhibit coming up in May. Details to follow closer to the actual date.  We also have plans in the works for a collaborative  short video production. Storyboards and screenplays are currently being developed. 

    For myself, I hope to create a long overdue website as well as expand into some previously untapped opportunities for continuing to get my pictures out there. 

    So prospects for the coming year promise to be interesting if nothing else. Stay tuned this could be kinda cool! 

...more later