Jay Scott Photography

Jasper National Park – 3

Jasper National Park – 2

More from our first stop at Pyramid Lake the day we arrived.

Though the moutains were big, the sky seemed even larger.

Jasper National Park – 1

After a night in Edmonton we carried on in the drizzle to Jasper. I am not complaining about the weather because it was very mostly cooperative. Aside from rain the cleared up after we arrived, rain that held off until we left, a bit of snow at the top of the tram and a funny downpour as we raced for the van at the bottom of the tram the weather was very good.

The drive in was spectacular, but knowing there would be plenty of photo ops, we didn’t stop to shoot on the way in. As we arrived in Jasper we say a coyote trotting across the road. Then shortly after turning onto the Ice Fields Parkway to get to our cabin, a group of cars were stopped at the side of the road watching some elk. Angie took these from the van.

After checking in at our cabin we headed to Patricia Lake and Pyramid Lake. This is one of the beautiful vistas waiting for us at Pyramid Lake.

Edmonton Zoo – 2

According to the sign, this is the largest captive python in North America.

Funny looking haircut for this llama but I’m sure it’s cooler for it during the summer.

Edmonton Zoo – 1

This begins my series of photos from our summer holidays in Edmonton and Jasper National Park. Not all shots are masterpieces, but they will hopefully give you a scenic tour of what we saw on our trip.

On the way to Edmonton we heard on the radio that it was family day at the zoo and that there demonstrators protesting animal cruelty. We reconsidered our first stop, but decided to check it out anyway since we didn’t have any better ideas.

Everything was fine. There were no signs of demonstrators and the zoo wasn’t nearly as busy as I expected it to be.

They definitely had more exotic animals than the Saskatoon zoo, but the admission was just slightly more. I understand how economies of scale work, but I was envious of their zoo wishing Saskatoon had a bit better paved paths and a few more interesting animals.

Though there was much to see, many of my shots had the zoo look. It wasn’t until we were asking ourselves where the elephant was that we stopped mid-sentence as we rounded a corner to see her being moved from one area to her environment. I began shooting, not realizing that her path would lead her less than four feet away from me.

This uncropped photo was taken with a 70mm focal length. For readers unaware of the meaning of focal lengths, the human eye sees very near a 50mm focal length perspective. This was approximately a 1.3x magnification factor. Just imagine how close you would need to be to this girl for her eye and face to fill you field of vision. That was my reaction, also.

Pyramid Mountain in Pyramid Lake AKA: I like Mine Better

Van suspension issues made me question if going back was worth it; I was ready to just sit tight and limp back home. But the vehicle cooperated enough to give me the confidence to return to Pyramid Lake after dropping Angie off for her rafting trip. The photos I got that Wednesday morning made the whole trip worth while even with vehicle hiccups.

There will be more to come once we are finished holidaying. As I said a week ago, Google Earth made a very nice digital simulation but it in no way captured the majesty of God’s creation that calm, dead quiet, morning with only the sound of my shutter and the gravel under my tires as I sought better angles. Such wonderful peacefulness.

One Mean Machine

For some time I’ve been planning to shoot a friend’s Cobalt. Last summer & fall didn’t work for either of us and she stores it in the winter. Finally we completed the first of a series we plan to do. There may be a Camaro in her future next year so I plan to complete the shots of her baby in case it gets traded up next spring. Elva has taken such great care of this car and details it probably daily.

It was a great opportunity to combine some of the techniques I’ve learned from the late Dean Collins’ lighting videos from the 80s (proving the digital age hasn’t changed as much as you might think) and a local acquaintance, James Hildebrandt, who recently shot his new Mini Cooper. Collins’ technique involved revealing the form of the car through light reflected off the walls and ceiling as seen on the hood and door, and James’ technique was combining multiple surgically lit exposures to create the final product.

I took 51 exposures and used about 30 to create what you see below.

Preview of my Pyramid Lake Photo

We’ll see if I shoot from this location, but while Angie is rafting I think this location at Pyramid Lake looks accessible & decent for a nice scenery shot. Maybe I’ll have a real photo to compare to this digital rendering in a week.

My Meager Captures

Last night was looking good for reasonable thunderstorms in our area. Actually, the whole south half of the province. They looked to not be full of hail and ridiculous winds but news reports said there were some exceptions where smaller areas got hit hard. However, I got it in my head to go storm chasing as I watched, via radar, a system coming our way since before I began preparing supper.

After we were done eating I packed up my gear and headed to a satellite located place south of us just outside the city. The system appeared when I estimated from the radar but dissipated just before reaching me. Another was visible to the west so I drove about 7kms toward the river and directly under this unbelievable, beautiful, cloud bank.

I threw my camera on the tripod, prepared myself for the onslaught of mosquitoes and opened the side door. The whine in the air was no longer just from the typical ringing in my ears. It grew in volume and pitch as a myriad of mosquitoes swarmed in. I fired off frame after frame just hoping the milliseconds between photos would not be the time that bolt would jump between the ground and cloud. I was ready to give up as my insanity slipped closer to the edge all the while saying to myself, “Just one strike. Suck it up. Just one.” Finally, I caught a bolt, shut the door, put my camera in my bag, tossed the tripod on the back seat and fired up the van. In less than 2 minutes I got about 12 mosquito bites all for the mediocre photo below. Good thing there’s an entertaining story to go with it.

Both windows down, side windows open, vent fan on full, I hurried back mostly on the roads I took west to until I found the city and got home. The whole drive home, and even getting into the house from the still infested van, I felt like John Candy running from the bald bear.

Recent Events

I thought it might be time for an update to let you know what I have been up to through means other than photographs.

Yesterday I was given the opportunity to fill in at a spina bifida workshop for a friend who is dealing with some health issues. I have learned more about spina bifida in the last few weeks that I have ever known before. It’s interesting how you can be friends with someone and be aware of the cause of their disability but not take the time to look up all the finer points and symptoms until that friend is dealing with some severe consequences from the cause of their disability. I will sum it up to say that they have finally figured out the problem and have a solution in place, but as always, slotting him in for the minor surgery to implement that solution is what is taking the time. Meanwhile, he’s stuck in the hospital watching the World Cup (he’s a big fan) on a tiny little TV hovering over his bed. Hopefully he will be home Tuesday and by the time we are done holidays I will be able to get back to the zoo with him for some exercise and conversation if he is up to it.

The workshop was called Power Full Independent Living. I expected a bigger group but there was just a handful of age 10 to 16 boys with spina bifida who are learning the importance of developing independence as they begin reaching that age when it will soon be time to learn to drive and likely go to school and move out on their own. I don’t think this workshop would’ve been a bad thing for any boy that age but it was targeted at the specific issues these boys would be facing and how to overcome them. I was able to demonstrate my van along with Golden Mobility and their brand spanking new Chevy Venture van that was modified to have a lower floor and a ramp. It was nice for them to be able to see a few different types of hand controls and a few different van’s both a few years old and brand-new.

After listening to a talk on nutrition they made some smoothies and then barbecued some burgers. It was supposed to be the boys barbecuing but I ended up doing it. Paul, my friend and coordinator of the workshop, invited me to demonstrate some cooking techniques for them. Now, I had no problem with that but Paul and I were the ones there with paralyzed hands so, aside from learning cooking techniques, there wasn’t too much but the boys could learn from us. I suppose reaching across myself from a wheelchair to reach the barbecue is something that they could have observed. But, I think that if I had picked up the flipper started turning the burgers we might have ended up having some hockey pucks instead; None of them wanted to grab the barbecue tools and get it done. The most outspoken of the boys insisted that I burned the burgers and I tried to assure him that had I not flipped them, as everyone else was too busy chatting, we would have had them far darker than I like and made them.

Disability or not, those boys seemed like typical boys and that’s good to see. However, when I was beginning to give my presentation, that same outspoken boy who had got it in his head that he was going to add a slice of cheese to a smoothie after lunch, was given more freedom than I would have hoped your typical boy would be given when someone is trying to speak to you, before an adult suggested that making a smoothie and running a blender while someone is trying to speak is not the best idea.

It was good workshop, I was more than happy to help and spend time with them and to show them, should they be interested in photography, some of the great equipment out there both adapted for my disability and simply factory made devices that are helpful for anybody, but particularly someone in a chair, could help them make better photos and make it easier to enjoy the hobby.

As for things I’ve been doing lately, most of what you see in photo related blog posts is pretty much what I’ve been doing. Soon I’ll have a post of a photo that strays from my typical techniques. I like to do as much as I can in camera and with the lights that are available to me. The photo I am working on is a composite of 48 different exposures using only one SB-28 (and the tail lights and headlights of the car for two of the 48 exposures) to create the photo. Some purists might say that it isn’t a photo but a hacked together image file. Honestly, I tend to lean toward the right with them but I’m also aware that it is 2010 and that the digital age is upon us. If you don’t embrace it and keep up with the techniques you will be obsolete very quickly.

Soon our holidays will begin and we will be off to Edmonton and Jasper. Perhaps then I will have the opportunity to rekindle my original love of photography, scenery. I’m sure I will have many photos to share after the trip is finished. This coming week will be a lot of preparation for holidays so if the posts are thin for for a few weeks please keep an eye on the site and I guarantee when we return this space will be worth a few visits!

Hard Earned Day – 4

The final of my best shots of these great kids as mentioned in the first post.

Hard Earned Day – 3

More of these great kids as mentioned in the first post.

Hard Earned Day – 2

More of these great kids as mentioned in the first post.

Hard Earned Day – 1

After some trying shoots of larger groups I’ve avoided anything involving a larger number of people. Whether the cause was my inexperience or a lack of communication of what was expected and wanted or other factors does not matter. What matters is that I’ve learned more since that time and I stepped out of my comfort zone to have the best photographic experience of my life.

The kids (I feel old saying that) were so photogenic, in such a great mood and just so fun to work with. And they should have been in a great mood. They just had a huge accomplishment, looked the best they may have ever looked and had a fun evening in front of them not to mention a future full of possibilities.

I had a great assistant, Becky’s mom, who was invaluable as a VAL (Voice Activated Lightstand) and at posing and catching details I would have missed. It was a great learning experience for me.

A thought crossed my mind during the shoot. I wonder if the vastly increased presence of digital cameras has made younger generations more camera accustomed and less shy. Maybe it was just a great group of friends in a great mood on such a big day.

Enough philosophical musings; on to the photos.

Midnight Snack

Here is the blueberry shortcake I mentioned earlier on Twitter. Angie found the recipe in a Chatelaine magazine and executed it beautifully.

Sorry to make you hungry at this time of the evening… No, I’m not.

Sorry for the wrinkles in my new backdrop. It needs washing and to be hung to get rid of them. Maybe you didn’t even notice for the delicious treat on the plate.