REO Speedwagon – Manning, Alberta

Best Practices - Photography, Canon 60D, Canon Camera, Canon Lens, Canon Live View, Fall, Farm, High Dynamic Range (HDR), Photoblog Intention, Photography & Conceptualizing Beauty, Project 365 - Photo-a-day, Vehicle, Vehicle Restoration

REO Speedwagon – Manning, Alberta 1

REO Speedwagon – Manning, Alberta 2

REO Speedwagon – Manning, Alberta 3

REO Speedwagon – Manning, Alberta 5

REO Speedwagon – Manning, Alberta 6

My drive south allows a stop just north of Manning, Alberta. A La Crete, Alberta auctioned vehicle draws attention – an old rusting relic; but, it’s more … its badging sports the name of a Rock and Roll band that achieved notoriety in the late 70s and early 80s … REO Speedwagon – the revelation, here, is that the band’s name links to a truck, something similar to an International Harvester, a one tonne truck designed for heavy use such as is found in farming communities. I have stumbled across an REO Speedwagon one tonne, a rarity, a vehicle that’s been sold from a La Crete, Alberta auction (a neighboring community to us in High Level) and this truck now resides without a grain box and without headlights along the highway that takes me south in my travels. It’s the kind of vehicle that might be made good use of by the owner and vehicle-restorer of Deanz Garage in Vulcan, Alberta.

Listening to – Imagine Dragons’ ‘Radioactive’ and Cheap Trick’s ‘Ain’t that a Shame.’ Then to recall the band it’s REO Speedwagon’s ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ and ‘Take It On the Run.’

Quote to Inspire – “For me, photography has become a way of attempting to make sense of the strange world that I see around me. I don’t ever expect to achieve that understanding, but the fact that I am trying comforts me.” – Mikhael Subotzky

July Cloudwork – Alberta’s

Barn, Best Practices - Photography, Canon 60D, Canon 70-200 mm 2.8 IS L Series Lens, Canon Camera, Canon Lens, Canon Live View, Farm, Farmhouse, Flora, High Dynamic Range (HDR), Journaling, Light Intensity, Photography & Conceptualizing Beauty, Project 365 - Photo-a-day, Summer

Farm HDR, Greencourt, Alberta

High dynamic range results in this fused image combining three images (-1 stop, average and +1 stop) creating an image representing early summer cloud work in north-central Alberta, a farm within kilometres of Greencourt, Alberta.

Listening to – Allstar Weekend’s ‘Mr. Wonderful’ and ‘Not Your Birthday.’ ‘Blame it on September’ another Allstar Weekend tune follows. I’m listening to my daughter’s tunes pulled from iTunes.

Quote to Inspire – “Looking and seeing are two different things. What matters is the relationship with the subject.” – Christophe Agou

HDR Efex, Viveza, Color Efex, Silver Efex & Lightroom

Best Practices - Photography, Canon 60D, Canon Camera, Canon Lens, Canon Live View, High Dynamic Range (HDR), Journaling, Light Intensity, Photoblog Intention, Photography & Conceptualizing Beauty, Project 365 - Photo-a-day, Spring

1a McLure, British Columbia – HDR 1

1b McLure, British Columbia – HDR 2

1c McLure, British Columbia – HDR 3

1d McLure, British Columbia – HDR Raw -1 Stop

2 McLure, British Columbia – HDR Raw Average

3 McLure, British Columbia – HDR Raw +1 Stop

The images above are examples of the high dynamic range (HDR) images that can be achieved in end state for comparison with the three original photos of -1 stop, average and +1 stop exposures, HDR being something allowing the photographer (image taker) to deal with landscapes/images of extreme contrast. For these photos Adobe Lightroom was the starting program into which Google’s NiK Software was used for handling HDR (HDR Efex), for sharpening and editing (Viveza) and for colour adjustment (Color Efex); Silver Efex was used to work with Black and White. I could have used Trey Ratcliff’s HDR presets in Lightroom to move more rapidly to end state; but, there would not have been control of sharpening, editing or colouration.

Question – How did everyone do with yesterday’s World-wide Photo Walk?

Quote to Inspire – “I only know how to approach a place by walking. For what does a street photographer do but walk and watch and wait and talk, and then watch and wait some more, trying to remain confident that the unexpected, the unknown, or the secret heat of the known awaits just around the corner.” – Alex Webb

Listening to – U2 & Paul McCartney perform ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ Richard Ashcroft & Coldplay perform ‘Bittersweet Symphony,’ the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s ‘Open Heart Surgery,’ the Devlin’s ‘Love is Blindness’ and the Fray’s ‘You Found Me.’