Category: Photography

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My Top 5 Favourite Android Smartphone Photos

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The following are my five favourite android pictures I’ve taken with my smartphone (A Motorola Moto G).

I love images with reflections so when I noticed this bus on my way to Union Station in Toronto I had to stop and take a picture.

Black and white tour bus in Toronto Ontario
A tour bus parked on Front Street, Toronto, Ontario after a rainfall.

This was taken at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario before a U2 concert on June 23, 2017. It had been overcast all day but before show the sky cleared and the roof was opened, revealing the CN Tower. Many people took a version of this picture, as a quick search of Instagram will demonstrate.

Rogers Centre and CN Tower
The CN Tower is revealed as the Rogers Centre roof opens.

A pet cat, half in the light and half in the shadows. This is a shot where I didn’t have a proper camera on hand and had to use my phone before the opportunity vanished. Luckily the photo turned out OK, thought the hot spots are quite noticeable.

Cat in sunlight
A Cat basks in the late afternoon light.

This is a slightly blurry photo taken after the aforementioned U2 concert. While it’s not a perfect image I like how it conveys the busy night streets of downtown Toronto. It’s more about feeling and the moment at hand rather than the perfect photo.

late night streetcar
Waiting to catch a late night streetcar in Toronto, Ontario.

Another reflection shot, this one taken in the spring when the trees were still bare. The trees are reflected off the viewing screen of my Canon T5i camera.

Trees reflected off a camera viewing screen
Trees reflected off a camera viewing screen.

 

water lily at springbank park, london, ontario

Right out of the Box (or Camera)

John Herd Leave a comment

I love using Photoshop. Ever since I began to learn the program 10 years ago I have enjoyed importing my photos and improving (or completely destroying) them to test Photoshop’s filters. Despite this love of Photoshop there is something extremely satisfying about taking a picture and realising it doesn’t need any changes. This photo is an example of that happening to me.

I have recently purchased a Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens to augment my 18mm-55mm and 70mm-300mm kit lenses I’ve been using for the past 5 years. While I’ve taken decent images with these lenses I thought it was time to take a more advanced step into the world of photography and this lens was relatively cheap and has good reviews. I decided to test it at Springbank Park, London, Ontario.

There is a small garden at Springbank Park that has a water feature containing water lilies. I snapped some pictures of the water lilies and was immeditaly pleased with the results. I loved the pink flower contrasting with the water, I loved the reflection, and I loved the bokeh. I’ve taken too many flower pictures over the last few years but this one stood out from the others.

A water lily and it's reflection at Springbank Park, London, Ontario.
A water lily and it’s reflection at Springbank Park, London, Ontario.

While I enjoy Photoshop and continue to learn it (Photoshop is one of those programs you continuously learn, no matter your skill level) I always have a feeling of satisfaction when I take a picture I love right out of the box (or camera).

New Photo Galleries

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I have uploaded two photo galleries. They contain digital photographs of birds and insects I have taken over the past couple of years. The content for this gallery will evolve as I continue honing my photography skills.

Digital Photography – Insects

bee-collecting-pollen
moth-on-plant-leaf
moth-portrait
butterfly-spreading-wings
A water lily and it's reflection at Springbank Park, London, Ontario.

Digital Photography – Birds

Male Cardinal
House Finch at a feeder
Fighting Birds
Sparrows sheltering in a hedge
A Robin on the ground
A feeding male Cardinal
A House Finch in a tree
A House Finch in flight

Here is a link to the Gallery Section.

Photography – Sparrows are Vicious

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The sparrow, a tiny collection of feathers, skin, and bones, is a nasty, vicious species’ of Aves (is that scientifically correct terminology?), which rules the backyard birdfeeder with the ferocity of third world dictator fighting a populist uprising. Pouncing upon smaller birds, such as the gold or purple finch, or its brethren, a singular sparrow is not satisfied until it holds solitary possession of the food source. This leads to an endless, if not entertaining, cycle of violence, birds fighting each other instead of moving to empty perches where they can eat in peace.

I made these observations over the course of this rapidly retreating summer, while taking pictures of birds. My original plan was to capture images of birds in flight, which happens frequently around a feeder. I set my camera to the fastest exposure time and started taking pictures the moment birds came to eat. While I managed to snap a few decent images of flying birds the images that really struck a chord were of birds competing for food, especially the sparrows. I assembled the best images into animated gifs to showcase the sparrows behaviour.

Sequence 1

Sparrow food fight

What is this guy’s problem? Does it just assume the food on the other side of the feeder is better? Is it a bully? This sequence reminds me of a Bugs Bunny cartoon for some reason. I think its because the attacking bird momentarily hidden behind the feeder.

Sequence 2

Sparrow food fight

The aggressiveness on display in this image is at least understandable, as the food level is rather low. What this gif demonstrates is that many sparrows are mean, not just one outlier. They are quite happy beating up each other, and all claims to the throne (birdfeeder) are fleeting.

Sequence 3

Sparrows fighting

This is the silliest sequence by far and I was very lucky to get the kick at the exact moment of impact. It’s straight out of a cartoon. I can see the motion lines and a large graphic POW!! The other hilarious element is how full the feeder is: there are lots of empty spaces, but the sparrow would rather kick out another bird. Why? Sparrows are nasty creatures.

Sparrow Comic Page

Sparrows in action

Update and Corrections

Some of the birds featured in here are finches. They are still vicious.

Photography – A Red Cardinal

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Red Cardinal feeding, London, Ontario

I was taking garden/flower pictures the other day when by happenstance a cardinal came by to eat. I turned my camera towards the bird and took as many pictures as possible. This image is the best of the lot, and I’m quite happy with the results. The amount of post-processing in Photoshop was minimal, consisting of cropping, removing a few loose strands of rope holding the feeder, and minimizing a yellow hue which dominated the image. All this took around a minute in total.