The Candid Frame – In My Back Pocket

Dyrhólaey Arch – Lighthouse

Beginning Southward - Iceland 1 — Beginning Southward – Iceland 1

Beginning Southward - Iceland 2 — Beginning Southward – Iceland 2

Beginning Southward - Iceland 3 — Beginning Southward – Iceland 3

Beginning Southward - Iceland 4 — Beginning Southward – Iceland 4

Cloudwork, Þjóðvegur, Southern Region - Iceland 1 — Cloudwork, Þjóðvegur, Southern Region – Iceland 1

Cloudwork, Þjóðvegur, Southern Region - Iceland 2 — Cloudwork, Þjóðvegur, Southern Region – Iceland 2

Lighthouse at Dyrhólaey Arch, Iceland 10

Lighthouse at Dyrhólaey Arch, Iceland 11

Lighthouse at Dyrhólaey Arch, Iceland 12

I was in Iceland a year ago. The time was opportunity to move within and over unexplored terrain, alone. I would respond to it all, feasting my eyes through my camera lens, always working to understand the visual narrative of the land, its weather and people.

The windward-leeward interaction of mountain weather is a visible dynamic in Iceland. Atlantic clouds push into mountains producing rainy, spitting drizzle along their path. On the lee side they roll down, over mountains becoming a moving cloud blanket that dissipates, evaporating in its encounter with sunlight. Iceland’s cloud-work is extraordinary in its shift and shape, its play of light and shadow, its depths and in its interaction with the island. It is mountain weather, weather that can change radically within the space of a few moments. What was seen is revealed, here, as high dynamic range HDR images.

The lighthouse grounds at the Dyrhólaey Arch serve as orienting point for most images. From this crag black, volcanic sand beaches are visible. The Atlantic Ocean shimmers and rolls in. Mist and rain shroud distant islands. And, rays of sunlight stream through cloud and reflect upon the ocean. Inland, mountain snow melts exposing rock, sand and dirt. Lighthouse access is found driving up the side of this mountain outcrop along a steep, muddy, one-track gravel road, a series of switchbacks without road barriers. Poor weather needs a careful driver’s eye to prevent an unfortunate tumble off this crag. With my smaller SUV (a 2006 Ford Escape), the climb and descent were exhilarating as was greeting opposing traffic.

Quote to Consider / Inspire: “I never tried to revolutionize photography; I just do what I do and keep my fingers crossed that people will like it.” – David Bailey

Listening to – two ‘On Being with Krista Tippett’ interviews/podcasts: ‘Carlo Rovelli – All Reality Is Interaction’ and ‘Pádraig Ó Tuama – Belonging Creates and Undoes Us Both;’ ‘The Candid Frame podcast with Ursula Tocik;’ and, Ólafur Arnalds, Atli Örvarsson & SinfoniaNord perform ‘Öldurót,’ a remembrance in music, recalling Iceland.

April 2, 2017April 2, 2017 by Lumens Borealis

Summer Look-back

Summer images remind of other photos yet to edit and look back through. With our Ford F-150 we pulled our Tracer Ultra-lite southward from High Level, camping around Alberta – Edmonton, Pigeon Lake, Gull Lake, Hinton, Jasper, Banff, Nanton and Red Deer. We saw cousins and family. We enjoyed an afternoon, with my father in assistive care – out among the flower gardens. We explored the regions we camped in in a more settled way, always having a familiar, yet temporary, home to return to at day’s end. We got out to the Calgary Stampede and my daughter got me on a sky-lift tram – a first for us both. My daughter attended dance camp. I cycled in Jasper National park along highways and upon cycling / hiking trails – the Maligne Lake canyon and trails 4 & 7. I cycled in Banff National park and up to the Johnson Canyon. I attended a conference with our trailer.

Quote to Consider – “It is always the instantaneous reaction to oneself that produces a photograph.” – Robert Frank

Listening to – The Candid Frame podcast and an interview with Andrea Francolini, an Australian sport yachting / sailing photographer and his charitable work in Northern Pakistan setting up and supporting a school – ‘My First School.’

January 29, 2017January 29, 2017 by Lumens Borealis

Skyline Silhouette

A summer image, looks west from Baseline Road at 17th Street to Edmonton’s skyline; it appears as silhouette. To the left and right are various petroleum-based industries – the road is known also as ‘Refinery Row.’

Quote to Consider – “Just put on the lens and go.” – Miroslav Tichy

Listening to – Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Open All Night,’ as first rendered on his Nebraska album – a rockin’ boogie on an electric guitar and the voice of Bruce, those two instruments, nothing else; the song is quite different from piano and band boogie as it is rendered on his ‘Live in Dublin’ performance. Also, listening to ‘The Candid Frame: A Photography Podcast’ and Ibarionex Perello’s interview of Stacey Pearsall and the subject of Military Journalism and the Veterans’ Portrait Program.

January 28, 2017 by Lumens Borealis

Land’s Next Use

Strewn Timber - Rocky Lane, Alberta - Canada iv — Strewn Timber – Rocky Lane, Alberta – Canada iv

Strewn Timber - Rocky Lane, Alberta - Canada ii — Strewn Timber – Rocky Lane, Alberta – Canada ii

Strewn Timber - Rocky Lane, Alberta - Canada iii — Strewn Timber – Rocky Lane, Alberta – Canada iii

Strewn Timber - Rocky Lane, Alberta - Canada i — Strewn Timber – Rocky Lane, Alberta – Canada i

Timber, pushed down, lies strewn throughout a farmer’s field, a first step in clearing the land. Timber has also fallen across the structure of a homestead house yet has not crushed it. The house and a water-filled dugout suggest that a previous owner, another farmer, had initiated and abandoned a similar project in an earlier era. For now, timber will be gathered for burning; a winter or spring burn will reduce these trees and this homestead house to ashes, the land becoming ready for another use.

Quote to Consider – “I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.” – Diane Arbus

Listening to – Ibarionex Perello’s ‘The Candid Frame’ – episode 238, an interview with Sara Jane Boyers, Jesse Cook’s ‘Ocean Blue,’ Shadowfax’s ‘Move the Clouds,’ Agnes Obel’s ‘Fivefold,’ U2’s ‘Song for Someone’ and Sigur Ros’ ‘Glosoli.’

The Place Where We Are Right
by Yehuda Amichai

From the place where we are right
flowers will never grow
in the Spring.

The place where we are right
is hard and trampled
like a yard.

But doubts and loves
dig up the world
like a mole, a plough.
And a whisper will be heard in the place
where the ruined
house once stood.

October 25, 2015October 27, 2015 by Lumens Borealis

Manning, Dixonville & Blue Sky HDR

Grain Bins - Dixonville, Alberta 1 — Grain Bins – Dixonville, Alberta 1

Grain Bins - Dixonville, Alberta 2 — Grain Bins – Dixonville, Alberta 2

Grain Truck Box - Manning, Alberta 1 — Grain Truck Box – Manning, Alberta 1

Grain Truck Box - Manning, Alberta 2 — Grain Truck Box – Manning, Alberta 2

Grain Truck Box - Manning, Alberta 3 — Grain Truck Box – Manning, Alberta 3

Grain Truck Cab - Manning, Alberta 1 — Grain Truck Cab – Manning, Alberta 1

Grain Truck Cab - Manning, Alberta 2 — Grain Truck Cab – Manning, Alberta 2

Mercury Grain Truck - Manning, Alberta 1 — Mercury Grain Truck – Manning, Alberta 1

Mercury Grain Truck - Manning, Alberta 2 — Mercury Grain Truck – Manning, Alberta 2

Mercury Grain Truck - Manning, Alberta 3 — Mercury Grain Truck – Manning, Alberta 3

Mercury Grain Truck Badge - Manning, Alberta 1 — Mercury Grain Truck Badge – Manning, Alberta 1

Mercury Grain Truck Badge - Manning, Alberta 2 — Mercury Grain Truck Badge – Manning, Alberta 2

Mercury Grain Truck Badge - Manning, Alberta 3 — Mercury Grain Truck Badge – Manning, Alberta 3

Mercury Grain Truck Badge - Manning, Alberta 4 — Mercury Grain Truck Badge – Manning, Alberta 4

Images this morning are from a farming community in the region that lies between Manning, Dixonville and Blue Sky, Alberta. Grain bins done in HDR with swirling, heavy clouds above and a set of HDR photos of an early fifties grain truck at the pioneer museum minutes north of Manning.

Listening to the Candid Frame – an interview of Niel and Susan Silverman, a husband and wife photographer duo who provide photography workshops around the world; also, Sheryl Crow’s ‘Riverwide,’ U2’s ‘Wire’ and ‘Promenade,’ Roxy Music’s ‘India’ and Christine by Siouxsie & the Banshees.

Quote to Inspire – “On the odd days Auto Tone gets it right I assume it’s using some kind of voodoo.” ― David duChemin, Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

August 23, 2013August 23, 2013 by Lumens Borealis

That Thought, Complete

Alberta Reflection - Grande Prairie 1 — Alberta Reflection – Grande Prairie 1

Alberta Reflection - Grande Prairie 2 — Alberta Reflection – Grande Prairie 2

Alberta Reflection - Grande Prairie 3 — Alberta Reflection – Grande Prairie 3

Alberta's Big Sky - 1 — Alberta’s Big Sky – 1

Alberta's Big Sky - 2 — Alberta’s Big Sky – 2

Along Northern Roads - Grande Cache, Alberta — Along Northern Roads – Grande Cache, Alberta

HDR - Subject Revisited 1 — HDR – Subject Revisited 1

HDR - Subject Revisited 2 — HDR – Subject Revisited 2

Trestle Bridge - Grande Cache, Alberta — Trestle Bridge – Grande Cache, Alberta

Wet Rock - Banff, Alberta — Wet Rock – Banff, Alberta

Wooded Reflection - Jasper, Alberta 1 — Wooded Reflection – Jasper, Alberta 1

Wooded Reflection - Jasper, Alberta 2 — Wooded Reflection – Jasper, Alberta 2

Wooded Reflection - Jasper, Alberta 3 — Wooded Reflection – Jasper, Alberta 3

The following text is excerpt, core invitation to a cousin to interact with me through my photo blog and exposes intentions for the blog and posting.

“My photoblog’s URL is http://www.lumensborealis.com , written from the point of pseudonym, also most often written at day’s end … a mind saturated, releasing the day; sometimes this can seem very close to the poignant remark made by an Auschwitz inmate in Schindler’s List … ‘I had a complete thought, today.’ Sometimes my posts are good and flow and cohere. But, I’m also editing what I write to limit consequence along parameters suggested by William Stafford in his book, ‘Crossing Unmarked Snow:’

1. The things you do not have to say make you rich.
2. Saying the things you do not have to say weakens your talk.
3. Hearing the things you do not need to hear dulls your hearing.
4. The things you know before you hear them, those are you and this is the reason you’re in the world.

A compelling set of assertions, for any of us, that aims at honourable and integrated Life … a good thing – it’s how I’m aiming to write the blog. Still, in my reading of it there often is opportunity to add more Art within my writing.

The Photoblog – Photography is what the photoblog is about – a photo-a-day kind of thing as intention and as means to grapple with photography and enhance skills; but, at almost two years in I’m only on post 271 and not beyond a year’s 365 posts. The blog is also about responding to each photo or set of photos as starting point to engage the rabbit trail of memory associating to family and times.” And, it often leads my thought to a set of Rimbey farms and my cousins, there.

Listening to – the Candid Frame with Ibarionex Perello in an interview with Will Jax about his Juke Joint photography in the French Quarter of New Orleans; part of the discussion that intrigued was the matter of consent, of giving back, contributing – all parts of what grants access within the exchange that is photography.

Quote to Inspire – “You yourself are unique–you have ways of seeing your world that are unlike those of anyone else–so find ways to more faithfully express that, and your style will emerge.” ― David duChemin, Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

August 19, 2013 by Lumens Borealis

Metal Geometry

Train Trestle - Lac St. Anne, Alberta 1 — Train Trestle – Lac St. Anne, Alberta 1

Train Trestle - Lac St. Anne, Alberta 2 — Train Trestle – Lac St. Anne, Alberta 2

Train Trestle - Lac St. Anne, Alberta 3 — Train Trestle – Lac St. Anne, Alberta 3

High above a creek running in spring’s thaw, a train trestle’s metal geometry, angles bolted and welded together, contrasts against water’s fluid state and creek bank flora … colourful, yet still to come alive.

Listening to – Ibarionex Perello interview Walter Plotnick on ‘The Candid Frame,’ a discussion of wet photography and digital process – check out episode #189 http://thecandidframe.blogspot.ca/ (you’ll find this as a podcast through iTunes).

Quote to Inspire – “Everything shifts as you move, and different things come into focus at different points of your life, and you try to articulate that.” Chris Steele – Perkins

June 10, 2013 by Lumens Borealis

In My Back Pocket – Photography

Category: The Candid Frame