Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

Fall 2010 in Calgary (Part 2 of 3)

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

In this post, I continue my series of fall photos in Calgary.

Two bridges are stacked over the Bow River.

I was actually exploring the Centre Street Bridge for the first time in this shot. This shot is somewhat misleading since the building at the left, The Bow, isn’t nearly finished yet. When it’s done, it will be Canada’s second tallest building.

Before the leaves fell, the pathway in Prince’s Island Park was a tunnel of Autumn colours.

The Calgary skyline looms above a much lower residential area on the north side.

Check back soon for more of my Fall in Calgary photos!

Fall 2010 in Calgary (Part 1 of 3)

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Since getting my new camera, I’ve been taking lots of pictures around Calgary. I’m sharing a few photos in this post with more to come soon!

Here is a beautiful shot of Bragg Creek during one of the last weeks for good Autumn colours. Wedding photos are being taken at the left.

Here is a close-up of a flower in Nose Hill Park. I enjoy the texture visible here.

Mountains are visible in this view of northwest Calgary. Canada Olympic Park is visible at the left.

Here’s a slightly unusual view of some sort of radio tower in Nose Hill Park.

A pathway runs parallel to Nose Hill. The leaves are already gone from the trees in this shot.

Check back soon for more Calgary photos!

Bow River and Bowness Park

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

The weather was actually so-so one day last week after many cold days, so I took the opportunity to go biking and use my camera again.

Autumn is already in full swing in Calgary with leaves changing and starting falling off trees.

Three bridges are visible below the mountains in this shot, including the very long and very high Stoney Trail bridge.

These houses in Bowness are surrounded by trees.

Calgarians are out on the trails, enjoying the day, and taking pictures.

Another photography session by the river, with another young child as the subject.

Geese and ducks are incredibly tame at Bowness Park.

Although packed on a hot summer’s day, not many people were in the park on a cold, cloudy day.

Joggers run through falling leaves next to the Bow River.

Train tracks run through Bowness Park for kiddie rides.

Introducing my reorganized Gallery

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

You may already be familiar with my Gallery, including it’s previously organized yet still disorganized layout. I have finally taken on the task of going through all the photos I have every taken, and selecting the best ones for display online in the Gallery, pruning out all the others that are less interesting to most of you.

In the future, I will likely still post more photos through this blog, but the Gallery will remain a showcase of my favourite and best photos.

Check it out! Gallery

Brain dump: Some of what I’ve learned about photography and DSLR cameras this month

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

As you may have read in my previous post, I was in the market for a digital SLR. Clueless about them until now, I had to do a lot of research.

Lenses

First of all, lenses matter just as much if not more than the camera itself.

While typical consumer point and shoot cameras usually have a built-in “do everything” lens that cannot be changed, an SLR can use many lenses. Professionals usually have lots of them for different situations.Most lenses made for older film SLRs are compatible with the newer digital SLR cameras. However, a lens usually only works with a certain manufacturer, but you can buy mounts to make it work others. This interchangability is very important since a good lens is also usually more expensive than an entire point and shoot camera! My lens actually cost as much as the camera body itself.

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Lightroom error "The file appears to be unsupported or damaged" caused by Picasa

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Following the purchase of a DSLR camera, I have switched to using raw mode and Adobe Lightroom for post-processing of these photos. Up to now, I have been using Google Picasa to organize and tag my photos. Initially, my collection of photos worked just fine in Lightroom as I invested hours of work of retouching my favourite photos for my gallery. After doing some mass tagging and organization of photos in Picasa, Lightroom stopped reading many of my JPEG photos taken across many years with several different cameras.

Now, when selecting a photo in Lightroom’s Develop mode, I would see a error message:

"The file appears to be unsupported or damaged."

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Griffith Woods in Southwest Calgary

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

Last weekend, I walked through Griffith Woods in Southwest Calgary with my friend Roddy.

These are my first pictures to be posted from my new Canon T2i camera! I am also now using Adobe Lightroom for post-processing of my photos.

Sadly, it’s the end of the summer, but nature still looks great!

Berries like this are everywhere.

The river runs through the woods next to the trail. Roddy actually took this shot, not me.

Old wood lays in the river.

This is me!

There are also white berries everywhere!

This is Roddy.

A moth rests on the long grass.

Keep checking back, as I have more photos to post again soon.

I bought a Canon EOS Rebel T2i (550D) digital SLR with a 15-85mm lens

Monday, August 30th, 2010

After a couple weeks of careful research and consideration, I bought a Canon EOS Rebel T2i (550D).

I made this decision after reading many online reviews, and comparing features with the upcoming 60D. Overall, for my use, I decided this was an excellent upgrade for my photography.

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