©Jane Chesebrough

This house on the corner of 144 Av and 97 Street happened to still be displaying its lights this week when I happened to pass by. Apparently it was done as a labour of love in memory of the man’s deceased mother(whose name was Maisie) and is supported by Home Hardware store in the northeast of the city.

©Jane Chesebrough

After hearing that the best time to take pictures of Christmas lights is around sunset, I ventured over to the legislature grounds from 3:30 to 5:30 and took this at  5:08 p.m. I used shutter priority at 1/20 second, aperture of 4 and  set WB at cloudy to get more golden tones. I don’t have a lot of detail on the building but was going for the colour in the sky and the lights and am pleased with the result.  It helped that a couple wandered into view for perspective. There are still some shots I took earlier while it was still daylight and thought afterward, “Now why didn’t I get that point of view when it was darker and the lights were on?” I will get my chance when I go on a shoot with the Edmonton Meet Up Photography club next week, weather permitting. I am playing with different settings and using horizontal and vertical layouts for landscapes with interesting results.

Something a little less traditional….

©Jane Chesebrough

and definitely more abstract….

©Jane Chesebrough

Because I was working throughout the holidays I decided rather late in the year to go to the New Year’s Eve  celebrations in downtown Edmonton. Enjoyed the indoor entertainment at CBC radio and at city hall. The last hour outdoors was minus sixteen celsius but felt warmer with the crowd of thousands; the music from Soulijah Fyah  helped us stay warm, too. Sometimes having a conversation with a friend while you are both taking photos is almost impossible. Every time I turned to say something to my friend she was clicking away at something and I am sure I did that to her too. But glad I had the camera for the crowd shots and fireworks. For the latter I just set my camera to night scene mode and fired away, sometimes had to wait for the the camera to catch up before I could shoot-annoying being in a crowd and people are pushing you to get by when you are trying to line up a shot-being short has it’s disadvantages at times as well. Ha Ha got a few “head shots” when I was taking photos of the fireworks.Helps to be patient and not take myself too seriously.

I do wish all a happy, prosperous New Year of good will and the heart to follow your dreams.

©Jane Chesebrough

This is just how it was taken, such a beautiful day to visit friends at the lake . It was a truly Canadian Christmas with a lot of us kids and adults playing  hockey on the rink and I even got out for a cross-country ski.This was a quiet moment with blue hues and mist rising from the distant horizon.

shutter priority 1/500 second , f stop 13

©Jane Chesebrough

A little bit of a nip in the air, but goodness why haven’t I been out for a cross-country ski with all the snow we have now? I confess that I  got into that negative thinking of  being out of shape and feeling out of shape which led to laziness and apathy about working toward a solution. Knowing that the solution is to get out there and get active and  I will  feel better, I pushed myself a little to get the skis out and get back on the road to fitness. Just getting started in that direction got  the ball rolling…I instantly felt better and felt more inspired to be more active…it’s all good! There was no worry about overdoing it because I took my camera and stopped frequently to take a few photos as the sun was going down. Dare I say it? I may leave the camera behind next time so I can focus strictly on the skiing. . .

f-stop 5.6 shutter 1/100 using aperture priority

©Jane Chesebrough

After our photo club outing to Candy Cane Lane got canceled on Wednesday because of a storm with high wind-chill factor, I went for a quick look this evening.  1/10 second, 4.5 f stop 500ISO using shutter priority mode.

©Jane Chesebrough

©Jane Chesebrough

Went into the streets the other night with a friend to capture some of the seasonal  lights. We learned a lot from each other, as I do from others on this blog site. I saw a person in this composition, reaching up to embrace the light.

used shutter priority of 1/10 second, f3.5 at a focal length of 18mm and 800 ISO

©Jane Chesebrough

This photo is from the other night when I took my walk-about.did some post-editing on Photoshop, straightenened it out a tad, and lightened it. shutter priority at 1/10 second, f-stop 4, ISO 800

©Jane Chesebrough

Used shutter priority mode with 1/25 second at aperture of 3.5 The ISO was high at 800.18 mm

I would love to hear others opinions on the best way to take a photo of the Christmas lights with a DSLR. I am sure that it may be personal preference though I have heard the opinion that the best time is around sunset. I am happy with this one because it is in focus, and the colour is true, the way that I remember seeing it. I used a tripod, although a flimsy one.

I really had trouble with fog-up of both my LCD and my glasses, sometimes could not see the image at all-was surprised that the photos came out. I will take a plastic bag with me next time-the idea is to put the camera in the bag before going back indoors to avoid condensation. But mine was fogging up outside, probably because I kept breathing on it. Ha Ha….It was minus 15 celsius.

I am registered in a Continuing Education Photography course in January-looking forward to that! I know it will help me get more range out of my camera and help with catching the light in a variety of ways. In the mean time I will practice from the instruction manual and explore the different settings.

©Jane Chesebrough

I looked into the sun, half covering it with a branch so I would get a starburst effect. Started with a fast shutter speed , then lowered it until I got the effect that I wanted. Unfortunetly there is a brighter patch of light that is distracting my eye away from the star effect.

f20 at 1/200 second, 18 mm using shutter priority mode

©Jane Chesebrough

©Jane Chesebrough

Took this photo of a frost-tipped pine branch while I was walking my friends’ dog. f5.6  aperture priority, 1/400 sec focal lengthof55 mm.Small crop using photoshop.

©Jane Chesebrough

I took this at the festiva and figured my lighting was set up for me so took the shot using shutter priority of 1/30 sec and aperture of 5.6 Kept my WB at daylight. It was so much fun but so many of my shots are not focused, or lack a strong point of view to attract the viewer’s eye. Must remember what it is that I want to express: contrast in light/shadow? Texture? Phenomenal colours? All of the above? Well in this one it was the subject and the lighting that caught my eye as well as the background busy-ness…

Jane Chesebrough

I went to the Festival of Trees at the Shaw conference center. It was beautiful and a good cause, too, as it is a fundraiser for the UofA hospital. Took photos for a couple of hours. used mostlyshutter priority to get enough light.

©Jane Chesebrough

©Jane Chesebrough

I made some edits to make the photo darker. It was cloudy and some snow so those conditions made the light even brighter. I took this using shutter priority 1/13 sec f3.5. I see now that I adjusted the Av up 2/3-maybe wasn’t necessary. A reminder to check my histogram and do a little more thinking and looking before I take the shot…..hmmm…..would also save time erasing all those unwanted shots….

©Jane Chesebrough

Put my camera on a flimsy tripod and set shutter speed at time value of 1/15 of a second, f stop at 4.5 and white balance at incandescent light ISO 800 set my exposure up 2/3. Happy with the result.

©Jane Chesebrough

Whoa! It was cold outside today, minus 26 and dropping as the afternoon progressed. But I went out to do errands and while passing the Ski Club saw the snow blowing from the snow machines and loved the clouds and  fog with the lowering light in the background. Didn’t last long out there because I was FREEZING. I wanted to have my “photo frenzy” that I promised myself yesterday so I went into the conservatory. Like I say, from one extreme to another. Now here’s a place where you can find a flowing waterfall in the middle of winter. My camera was hand-held, no tripod.

©Jane Chesebrough

©Jane Chesebrough

It is so exciting to see the beginning of the seasonal lights in the city. I took shots of the downtown area from Telus field and the Mutart Conservatory.  It was interesting to me to see the clouds in the photos , something that I didn’t see when I was taking the photo. I used live view and was experimenting with  manual, auto focus , aperture priority and shutter priority. Some were a disaster. All part of the learning process and grateful that this is digital and not film or I could never afford it.

I went to the Muttart Conservatory to catch the lights on the pyramids. Amazing how focus changes and colour, too, with the change of focal point.Aperture priority  f11 at 10 seconds, focal length 18 mm

©Jane Chesebrough

©Jane Chesebrough

©Jane Chesebrough

Found this very pretty with the mosses and lichens. There is always colour around if you look for it. Aperture priority f 4.5; shutter speed 1/32 sec.; focal length 35 mm. Only thing missing was a stream of light striking a portion of the trunk but took a shot anyway.Every day is a good day to enjoy a walk in the woods.

©Jane Chesebrough

Amazing colours in the ravines, everything is green or blue-green. I liked this shot of fungi, what more can I say?  f-stop 5.6  not sure of the shutter speed.