Gratitude

    It has not been a very happy Thanksgiving weekend  in our little household. Yesterday, I had to have our beloved  house cat, Goofy, (the Doofer) put down. I won't go into the conditions that led to having to make that most difficult decision. Suffice it to say, she had lived a long and good life and her time had come. Goofy came to us shortly after we moved to Paris. She was the runt of a litter of kittens that had been born next door. As the runt of the litter, she was always a small cat, but she lived her life with an intensity and ferocity that belied her diminutive size. I'm so thankful that she was a part of our lives for so long.             

 

     So it's Thanksgiving. It is hard to generate a feeling of happiness in the face of powerful loss. I had a hard time sleeping last night. I guess I missed the comfort of my little cat curling up on my legs while I dozed off. I awoke about 4:00 a.m.  Feeling kind of restless, I went downstairs for a snack. The house was a little cold. I bumped the the thermostat up a degree and was thankful to hear the faint sound of the furnace in the basement kicking in. We had had some trouble with it last year. I returned to my room and pulled up the wool blanket folded at the foot of my bed. Thankfully, I had remembered to wash it the day before. It had dried  on the clothesline and had that fresh scent that only comes from fabric dried outside. I was thankful for it's comfort.

     This morning I grabbed my cameras and went for a walk. It's become something of a tradition for me  to post some fall colour pictures on social media after I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the digital age. The sky outside was kind of overcast. Not quite the kind of crisp light that I prefer for fall colour shots. I was thankful for getting some shots earlier in the week under bright blue skies. They would make for a nice Thanksgiving post.                                   

 

     The camera I was using this morning is my Fuji XE-3. I purchased it earlier this year (pre-pandemic) as a 60th birthday gift  to myself. https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2020/04/bridges.html  Unfortunately the camera had a minor glitch and had to be sent back to Fuji for warranty service.  I was thankful to get it back in time for the fall colour season.

     I wandered  up to the dam and did a few shots there. The XE-3 performed flawlessly. I enjoyed the usual photographer's satisfaction of working with a really nice camera. I was thankful to live in a place where I could take beautiful photographs so close to home. 

     I later mosied downtown and was greeted by John, owner of John M. Hall Linens, who was laying out some colourful matts in anticipation of the weekend crowd. I took a few photos of his colourful merchandise. In the words of Harry Chapin, ''All my life's a circle.'' It occured to me as I walked away, that the Canadian made MacAusland blanket that had provided  me some comfort last night was purchased at his store. I was thankful that I lived in a town where caring merchants still provide good quality stuff.                                                                                   

   

 By now, you've probably noticed that I have used the words ''thankful'' or ''thankfully'' a lot in this post. I have learned something this holiday weekend. If you're looking for happiness, first find gratitude.

    Thanks for the love and the lesson Doofer. I'll see you on the other side.

           

                     ...more later

     

     

     

Bridges

     We're living in difficult times. The word ''unprecedented" has been used so much that it has become trite.  It's a language development that in and of itself is ''unprecedented''. Everything and everyone has been affected in one way or another.

     So I went out for a walk this morning. I made some photographs that, hopefully are decent or at least mildly interesting. Of late, I've been shooting with a Fuji X-E3 that I purchased for myself back in February. You know, back when life was relatively normal. At the time,  I purchased it as an early birthday gift for myself. I know, I know, I didn't need another camera! But I believe Fuji was in the process of discontinuing this model and a store in Toronto was clearing them out with an incredibly good package deal. Besides, it was my 60th birthday coming up.  After surviving six decades on this planet, I wanted something shiny! I'm glad that, on the advice of a friend, (Thanks Francine!)  I decided to grab it early.  When I got to the shop in Toronto,  they only had one left! And, you guessed it. It was a silver one! (Regular readers of this blog know that I generally prefer black cameras.) 

https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-silver-camera.html

     Well at least the two lenses I have available for it are black. They were purchased for another recently acquired camera,  a black  Fuji X-T1. (Thanks Tom!) It kinda creates a cool retro vibe for it. Back in the day, most camera lenses were black even though they were often mounted  on silver camera bodies. Think Pentax Spotmatic or Leica M3. (God! I'm so old!)

     Like most children,  I tend to play more with my newest toys. So, for the last two months, I've been doing most of my shooting with the X-E3. I like its sleek minimalist design, it's touch screen and some of the newer bells and whistles it features.  This morning however,  I opted for my trusty Fuji X-100F. (Hey, it's nice to have choices!) The X-100F has been my main camera for the past few years. It has provided the majority of the images I have taken. It features a very cool retro design and, from a functional standpoint, harkens back to the days of rangefinder film cameras. It's a photographer's camera. Lacking a zoom or even interchangeable lenses, it forces me to work a little bit harder for the shot.                                                                                                     

     I guess that I chose the X-100F this morning because, perhaps on a subconscious level, I'm looking for a return to the way things used to be. That's the biggest problem with this crisis that we're experiencing. It's the damn uncertainty. How big is the risk? When will it be over? What if it's never completely over? Just part of a new reality like the seasonal flu. How will we adapt to this new reality? Let's face it.  This new virus has set the whole world on it's ass. The medical community, the scientists, the politicians. No one is really capable of providing solid answers as yet. Maybe this will all be over in a month or so. Even if it is, there's no question that, one way or another, there will be a new reality.

     That being said, in addition to shooting with a camera that is as familiar to me as an old comfortable coat, perhaps I was functioning on another subconscious level.  When I got home and uploaded my pictures, I noticed a common theme. A lot of the my photos were of bridges. Not entirely out of the ordinary. Considering that I live in a town where two rivers meet, bridges are a crucial part of the infrastructure. I've photographed them before.

 William St. Bridge here in Paris, Ont. Taken Oct. 2019

     

     Maybe there's a silver lining to this cloud. We've already seen a greater appreciation for the courage and dedication of   medical workers on the front lines of this crisis. Maybe the politicians will now provide proper funding for hospitals and healthcare. Maybe we can raise the minimum wage so that people working in the retail sector, especially in food markets, pharmacies and other essential services can live with dignity above the poverty line. Maybe we can develop domestic industry so we are not so dependent on foreign supply lines at a time of crisis. Maybe we can burst the housing bubble so families don't have to have two incomes just to have a place to call home. Maybe our politicians will realize that they are elected to serve the people and not provide tax breaks and handouts to greedy corporate billionaires. Maybe  we can provide seniors with the pensions and resources they deserve so that they are not our most vulnerable when times are hard. Maybe we can each do with a little less so that as a society we can all have a little more.                                                              

                                                              

                                                                

     Then again, maybe none of the above will happen. It's that  enormous uncertainty factor again. There are, however, some things of which I am certain.  Bridges exist to provide a means of passage over obstacles, like a river or ravine. Perhaps my photographing them is symbolic of a hope to find a way to overcome the obstacles now present in our lives. Ultimately, all we really want is safe passage in this journey of life.

     Safe passage everyone. 

               ...more later

     

                 

     

       
   

Refractive Reasoning: The Camera Club That Isn't, The Paris Photo Collec...

Refractive Reasoning: The Camera Club That Isn't, The Paris Photo Collec...:       About  five months ago I gave in. A number of  local shutter hounds and artistic types had been encouraging me to start a photography...

The Camera Club That Isn't, The Paris Photo Collective

     About  five months ago I gave in. A number of  local shutter hounds and artistic types had been encouraging me to start a photography club here in town. It was an idea that I both liked and resisted. For me, photography is a relatively solitary pastime. Basically, it's just me out with my camera making photos and later, me in front of a computer screen, editing them, either for printing or presentation on line. On the one hand, I liked the idea of sharing my love of the craft with other like minded people. On the other hand,  I wasn't really interested in organizing and maintaining a club.  Trying to organize any group of individuals can be a pain in the butt. One has to deal with personalities,  egos,  politics and power plays.  One has to come up with activities,  topics for discussion,  guest speakers,  events and funding arrangements. My solution to the dilemma was simple. I would start the group, but apart from the most basic  organizing tasks,  I wouldn't do any of it.

Group portrait from our first meeting. Some of these people have left the group since then. No worries. I realize this group may not be for everyone.

     First off,  it's not a camera club.  It's a photographers' collective.  Everything and anything photography related can be brought to the table.  Let's say you shoot Nikon and you're  having a problem with a specific piece of gear.  There's probably someone in the group who shoots Nikon and can help you out. Let's face it. There's not a photographer alive who hasn't had gear issues at one time or another. We have a range of photographers who shoot Canon, Nikon, Fuji, and Sony. Hell, we even have some folks with Leica experience! The same goes for different genres of photography. We have people who specialize in street photography,  landscape,  portraiture, wildlife, special event  and fine art photography. We have a range of  experience that goes anywhere from a rookie who just bought his first serious camera  to pros and semi-pros with more than fifty years of  experience. The variety of skills and experience in this group is a constant source of amazement  to me. What amazes me even more is the kindness and generosity of spirit that we show in helping each other.  There are no stupid questions.

     As far as activities and events go, I leave all of that up to the individual members. If you want to have an event or activity involving the group, YOU organize it. Want to bring in a guest speaker? YOU make the contact and organize the evening. Want to do a field trip to a great photography spot? YOU make the arrangements for it. So far, the membership seems quite happy with this arrangement.

      The meetings are generally pretty loose. People talk about whatever aspect of photography is on their minds. There's lots of friendly banter and joking  going around. Anyone with a problem or question is free to bring it up and usually it gets resolved one way or another.    Most of the members tell me they prefer it this way. A lot of our members have attended camera clubs where they just sat on chairs and got preached to in a seminar style. We're a little more wide open than that. We sit around tables in a coffee shop and discuss whatever subject comes up.  I remember one meeting where a little group business was discussed and then someone looked out the window and commented that we still had good light, let's go for a photo walk. We all hit the streets and started making photographs. Hey, sometimes that's just the way we roll! 

Grab shot of Joe, Randi and Brian hittin' the mean streets
 of Paris, Ont. for a photo walk.

     I also remember another interesting night. The coffee shop where we usually meet tends to close early at about 8:00 p.m. We all wound up on the street outside and no one really wanted to go home. It was a beautiful summer night. We ended up sitting outside in the parking lot of another coffee shop, the Tim Horton's at the edge of town. One person lowered the tailgate of his pickup to provide a place to sit and another pulled  some lawn chairs out from the back of his vehicle. There was a full moon that night and a couple of people who had long lenses for their cameras were doing their best to capture it with a lot of (helpful?) advice from the rest of us. I defy anyone to find a photography group that can have an after meeting meeting in the parking lot of a donut  shop!



    I wish that I could take credit for this group but I really can't. All I did was start with an idea and it kind of morphed from there. I have to credit my co-chair, Luvern, for doing a lot to get the word out and grow the group.

     The spirit in this group is awesome! From the very first meetings it felt like a group of old friends getting together to share a common interest.                                                                            

Adam in action with Ina and Luvern in the background. Sparklers and
moving light photography from our last get together

 

Moving light photography from our last get together.

     I don't really know where this group is going but I think that's part of the fun. I do know that I've started an awesome group of friends who, like me, are happiest with a camera in their hands, making the best images they can.

                      ...more later 

    P.S. If you like what see here, don't be afraid to like and share to the media platform of your choice. The deal is if you keep likin' it, I'll keep crankin' it out.

     

       

Canada Day On The Rails

     One of the joys of photography is how seamlessly it fits in with other interests. Anyone who knows me or is a follower of my blogs, knows that I have an ongoing fascination with trains. (or practically anything that runs on rails) I come by it honestly. My Father was a brakeman/conductor on the Ontario Northland Railway.  I was practically raised on trains. Or, if not on the trains themselves,  the lore and stories of adventure that went along with them. As  child and youth growing up in small town Northern Ontario,  the railway was, quite literally, my ticket to the outside world. To this day, l can't board a train without a happy feeling of anticipation of the adventure that awaits. Sometimes, the adventure was simply the trip itself, travelling through scenery that was a little less familiar.  For me, a window seat on any form of transportation is still a prized possession.

     This fascination with all things railroady extended to streetcars and subways during  the  brief period of my life spent in Toronto. (my first home away from home)  Saturday afternoons would often find me on Queen or Dundas St., my trusty Yashica FX-3 camera slung around my neck, taking pictures and checking out the junk shops

to see what treasures could be acquired on a  budget of ten dollars. A few photos made, a bite to eat downtown,  and then a ride home on the streetcar.  Often It was one of the venerable PCC cars still operating in those days. 

     So, with a car rented for the long weekend,  my son and I headed out to the Halton County Radial Railway. It is home to  vintage streetcars, railway stuff,  and a beautifully restored radial railway car. I had visited this place before, (Did I mention that I'm a bonafide 
railway nut?) but that was some time ago. I thought that it would be a nice way to spend the afternoon. We stopped in at the gift shop to buy our tickets. The rides are quite short, about twenty minutes round trip. But with your admission ticket you get to ride as often as you like on whatever cars they have operating that day.

     Our first ride was aboard #8, the beautifully restored radial car from the London & Port Stanley Railway. This car is awesome. From the craftsmanship in the interior woodwork and brass detail to the beautiful panes of stained glass in the windows. This car was definitely built in the heyday of railways!  It's almost like rolling along in a beautiful Victorian living room.

The interior of Car #8 The scruffy lookin' kid in the right hand corner is my son, Greg.

     As their name implies, radial railways were relatively short passenger (and sometimes freight) lines that radiated out from larger centres. Unlike their streetcar cousins, radial cars were usually built a little bigger and heavier to handle longer distances away from city streets. They often had amenities such as washrooms and a baggage section for express packages.
    
 Naturally, I gravitated toward the head end of the car and struck up a conversation with the operator (motorman) who allowed me to ride there for pretty much the whole trip. I found all of the volunteers who keep this operation running to be very friendly and knowledgeable. On returning from our ride, I asked if I could take pictures from the opposite (non boarding) side of the track. They were quite kind and helpful in accommodating my request. 

      On our return to Rockwood Station, the operator, noting my interest in the equipment, introduced us to one of the shop guys who carefully restore and maintain these cars. In short order, we got a tour of the shops where several cars were in the process of being restored. We were treated to a behind the scenes look at what goes into this operation. At one point we were looking at a copy of a  blueprint of the truck assembly of a Peter Witt streetcar. It was from about 1915 and had been pulled from the archives of the Toronto Transit Commission. A lot of the parts needed for the restoration of these cars are no longer available. Replacement parts are often machined or crafted right in the shop. As a guy who does mechanical work for a living, their craftsmanship and attention to detail was not lost on me. These guys do amazing work!  

  

       Our last trip of the day was aboard a 1915 Peter Witt streetcar formerly operated by the TTC. Although not as ornate as #8, It too, has been carefully restored with attention to detail right down to the vintage advertising in the overhead card slots.

This time we got off at Meadowvale Station. One of the old streetcars there has been turned into a small cafe/snack bar where you can get ice cream.  As the lady behind the snack bar  scooped ice cream for us, I mentioned that I used to ride these streetcars  back in the day. I remarked that an ice cream shop/snack bar at the back of the car would have been a nice touch when these cars were in operation on the TTC!

The snack bar at the end of the line.

 

     After enjoying our ice cream we caught #8 again for our return trip to Rockwood Station. I made a few more photographs and chatted with some of the volunteers.  It was a great way to spend Canada Day. I liked the place so much I bought one of their baseball hats. You see, in addition to trains, rail travel, streetcars, cameras and photography, I'm kinda partial to  baseball hats too.

                      

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              ...more later

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Shooting with Intent

     One of my favourite quotes in the realm of photography is attributed to the incomparable Ansel Adams. "There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept"

     With the rise of digital photography, it has been estimated that there are now more photos taken in a single year than in the entire history of analog (film) photography. What this means to serious practitioners of the photographic arts is that,if we want our craft to be taken seriously,  we have to up our game. We have to learn the craft of photography in such a way that the  images we create are powerful. It's no longer enough to take a "good picture". Any of the millions of people with a cell phone in their pocket can do that. Photography has become so simplified, that almost anyone can take a decently exposed, relatively sharp picture of whatever happens to be in front of their camera/cell phone. If we are just "taking pictures" without any thought to composition, style , the visual elements or the final presentation of our work. we are really doing nothing more than contributing to the mass mediocrity of the millions of images posted to the web on a daily basis. 

     The term "editing", in modern parlance has come to be synonymous with "post processing". If an image is solidly good but could be made even better with some post processing enhancement, by all means do it. But do not rely on post processing to save a mediocre image. The result will simply be a boring photo with some pretty enhancement. I'm old school. I started my photographic journey in the days of film. To me, "editing", in the truest sense of the word means choosing the best image before even reaching the stage of possible processing and presentation.  

     But for a photograph to really work. the image should  be made with intent   

     Here is an anecdote from my days shooting film. A long time ago, a photographer friend of mine invited me and my wife (at the time) to his place for dinner.  After our meal, he asked if we would like to see some of his photos. In those days we were both shooting a lot of slide film and he dutifully set up his projector and showed us a couple of trays of his images. (Kodak slide trays held 140 slides each.) After his slide show he asked what I thought. I was diplomatic. I said that I liked it and that he had some very good stuff, which was true. However what I didn't say was that the vast majority of the images were, in my opinion,  pretty mediocre. 

     A few weeks later, my wife (at the time) and I returned the hospitality and had them over for dinner.  After the meal, my friend asked to see some of my photos. I set up my projector, a Rollei, which used European slide trays of only 50 slides each and proceeded to show them 40 or so carefully selected images of my stuff. My friend's wife was positively effusive (almost embarrassingly so) in her praise of my pictures. My friend, in what he saw as an effort to defend his own work, said something to the effect of "My slide show would look good too if I only showed my best shots!"  My response was something to the effect of "Well why would you show people your shit?"  I was pretty outspoken in those days.  I'd like to think that I've somewhat  mellowed with age. Needless to say, the evening did not end particularly well! 

     In all honesty, I cannot claim to be a much better photographer than my friend was at the time. But I was definitely a more critical and ruthless editor! 

     Bear in mind that, in those days,  I was shooting lovely Kodachrome slide film. A roll of 36 exposures, with processing, cost about twenty dollars. Yup, 20 bucks for 36 shots! For about the same money today, we can pop an SD card into our favourite electronic whiz-banger and get upwards of a thousand images. It's small wonder that our creative selectivity in what we shoot and what we present has taken a massive tumble!

     Okay, I realize that this has become something of a long winded rant from an old school photographer to simply say "Quality not Quantity!" But, there is more to it than that. In my opinion, If you have more than a few hundred pictures posted to any photo sharing website or social media page, you're not a photographer. You're just someone who likes to take pictures. I know, that sounds like an incredibly arrogant thing to say and perhaps it is. But let me turn that arrogance around with a simple question. Are you really arrogant enough to believe that anyone wants to wade through a thousand or more of your questionable images to find a handful of really good ones? Or worse. Are you really arrogant enough to believe that more than a thousand of the pictures you have taken are really great and deserve to be shared with the world? Editing pictures to be presented  is part of the craft of photography. It is either done by the photographer or perhaps by a highly skilled photo editor. It should not be left to the viewer. No one in this day and age has the time to look critically at that many images. If you want some respect as a photographer, show a little respect for your viewers. Their time is valuable.

     There are trillions of images on the net. As a photographer, if you're not editing and presenting your best work, you're just adding to the clutter.

Winding Down The Year

      So Christmas is over for another year. My son is away at his Grandparents place for their annual Boxing Day Bash followed by a stint at his girlfriend's place in a nearby town. I'm left here with some time on my hands and about ten pounds of leftover turkey. In between munching on turkey sandwiches and watching YouTube videos, I thought that I'd take the opportunity to inflict yet another blog post on you.

     Santa   was  good to me this year. I acquired a LaCie hard drive to back up and store some of the thousands of images currently residing on my overworked little laptop.  I also got a very cool  Lowepro photo backpack. https://www.lowepro.com/ca-en/photo-hatchback-bp-250-aw-ii-black-and-grey-lp36957-pww/    The pack enables me to schlep my gear around to get more pictures to feed to the computer to feed to the hard drive. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's the cycle of life! Or, perhaps more accurately, a vicious circle. Either way, it's kinda what I do and I dig it.

     

                                                                                                        

         So, as I stated at the top of this post, I've been watching some YouTube videos. The most recent one I watched was " The Bucket Shot" by Peter McKinnon. Peter McKinnon has risen to be You Tube royalty and rightfully so. His vlogs and tutorials are always both fun and informative. He is a  brilliant photographer/videographer  whose skill and enthusiasm for the craft has often inspired me to just go out and make images .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r25IWquxe9s&t=491s

     I totally relate to this video.  At the beginning of the video, he talks about getting up early in the morning while it's still dark and going to a location before sunup. Then watching as the light lifts the veil on the scene.  "That's a feeling only photographers know well." I am one who knows that feeling. While I've never flown across the country to get just one shot, I have coordinated a car rental with a weather report with a specific location  and time just to get the images I want. It's often said that, with the advent of smart phones, "Everyone's a photographer."  I don't think so.  With a smart phone, virtually anyone can take a picture, but not everyone is going to make the effort to really make a photograph.                                             

     Another video I watched was a documentary about the great Ansel Adams. His dedication and passion for the craft was powerful. He too was always in search of the perfect light and the perfect moment to capture. At one point in the video, a voice-over actor is reading from one of Adams' letters as he tries to describe the clarity of light he  experienced  in the mountains and how it defined everything so beautifully that he wanted to photograph everything. I too have experienced moments when the light is so pure that every detail of a scene is caught in perfect definition.  In many ways, I found myself relating to Adams' experience as well. Adams was a proponent of what he called pre-visualization. The ability to perceive the finished image in the mind's eye before even tripping the shutter. I'm quite confident that he would have approved  of McKinnon's cross country quest to get the perfect shot of Moraine Lake                                                                                                          . 

     So where does that leave me? Do I dare to have the audacity to compare myself to the likes of Peter McKinnon or the incomparable, legendary Ansel Adams? Hell no! I'm just a small town photographer who sells prints and postcards in a couple of local shops. Once or twice a year I might  do a display at  an arts and crafts show. But I do share their spirit in my attempts to capture the essence of the beauty that I see around me.  That sense of joy,  wonder and adventure is the spirit that I want to bring into the New Year.                                                                    

     To quote from the Desiderata, "With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world."

...more later


P.S. I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to thank all of you who read this blog, who appreciate the images that I post to Facebook and other sites and who support my efforts as a photographer by purchasing or licensing my pictures. I am forever grateful. As usual, if you like what you see here, don't be afraid to hit "Like"  comment or share to the media platform of your choice. I'm looking forward to sharing more photos and content in the New Year. "....more later" isn't just a tag line you know!