October 9, 2013 – In My Back Pocket

Storehouse, St. Louis Mission – Buttertown, Fort Vermilion, Ab 1

Storehouse, St. Louis Mission – Buttertown, Fort Vermilion, Ab 2

The northern lights were out this morning in my pre-dawn walk around High Level – ice crystals are in the air; with last night’s heavy billowing clouds we’re nearing our first snowfall. Here, an image contains two end-points of high dynamic range editing; curiously, I’m liking the colour (tinted) version of the old, old store house at the St. Louis Roman Catholic mission in Buttertown – Fort Vermilion, Alberta. The image has me thinking to former priest, John O’Donohue and different parts of four lectures he’s presented and a journaling exercise he has people work through. The first question to work from is to articulate the seven things that are controlling ideas/elements in your Life – premises upon which your Life is founded.

Listening to – an investigation of the ‘Primitives,’ a group recommended with the ‘iambead.com’ photoblog; ‘Crash’ is the first tune I come across. Then it’s ‘All the Way Down’ and ‘Earth Thing.’

Quote to Inspire – “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough” – Robert Capa

Valley – McLure, British Columbia 1

Valley – McLure, British Columbia 2

Valley – McLure, British Columbia 3

Valley – McLure, British Columbia 4

Valley – McLure, British Columbia 5

Valley – McLure, British Columbia 6

This high dynamic range image is a final outlook over the valley that leads north and east into McLure, British Columbia. Depth within the image is created overlapping elements within the composition, the mountain forming the background is overlapped by the central mountain, then the mountain on the left (middle ground) and finally the mountain on the right (closest – foreground). The train track leads the eye into the photo and you explore your way from foreground to background. Colouration versus black and white in the images also helps accentuate depth.

Listening to – U2’s ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Miracle Drug’.

Quote to Inspire – “I have to shoot three cassettes of film a day, even when not ‘photographing’, in order to keep the eye in practice.” – Josef Koudelka