Photograpy - Outtakes

Don't throw those outtakes away!
Use them as tools to determine how to capture a better image.

What makes an outtake an outtake? 

Clutter in the background, vague subject matter, improperly focused or incorrect lighting.


For each of the photos in this post, I'll identify some problems and pointers. There are three things that should always be considered: composition (placement of subjects in image, light (exposure) and clarity (sharpness).


Montmartre Vista

Problems: unknown people cluttering shot, nothing readily identifies this as Montmartre or Paris. As a slice-of-life shot, it's acceptable, but a better vantage point could make a difference in the framing or composition. This location is right below Sacre Coeur.

Montmartre near Sacre Coeur, Paris, Fr. by DG Hudson

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Versailles

Problems: Crowd scene image at Versailles Palace clutters image (this was an extra large group of tourists, per our guide) The golden impression of the gate is diluted and no detail can be seen. 


Wide angle gives more of a view, but reduces detail. (Black is the clothing colour of choice. . .which serves to highlight the contrasting golden hues of the gilt)  Waiting until the crowds clear and getting a closer viewpoint would enhance the detail, and the focus on the towering entrance gate.

Versailles and Tourists, France, by DG Hudson

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Is Traffic Going Beneath the Eiffel Tower?

Problems: An Image of the Eiffel that appears to show traffic going beneath.  This a result of foreshortening of the distance, but no traffic actually goes beneath this icon. In addition: the  very top of the Eiffel Tower has been cut off in this image (a sacrilege) and traffic is given precedence over the monument. 


This image takes advantage of optical illusions caused by distance and vantage point. Changing the distance (depth of field), the height of the point-of-view, and the framing of the Eiffel Tower will improve the results.

Eiffel Tower and Traffic in Paris, by DG Hudson

In summary, you can improve your images if you take more time to compose, but in a snap-and-shoot situation, you have to go with your instincts. Practice improves almost everything (sports, art, writing, etc.) These were location images, but portraits and interior photographs also need some preparation for images appropriate for various types of publication (blogs, articles, contests, covers of books)

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Do you work at improving your photography, or do you just hope for the best? Not everyone wants to take the time to compose a shot, but the payback is a much better photo.  Remember how artists who painted in the open, such as the Impressionists, had to wait for that perfect light?

Do you use your own photos for your blog when you can? Is photography an adjunct to writing or do you sell your photographic work to make it available for use by others?

Please leave a comment to let me know you were here and I'll respond. Thanks for visiting! 

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All images in this post taken in Paris France, by DG Hudson. 

Christmas Collectibles - Scenes 2015

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 

Since few have time to read many blogs during the busy holidays, here's a photo post with a sampling of arrangements using Christmas collectibles . . . the whimsical, the hand-crafted and things I like.  Our old faux Christmas tree was too large for our new space, so this year I improvised. . .decorating mantels, and other areas with family favorites.

Mantel decorations, by DG Hudson 2015

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'Thomasville', our Christmas Village

Christmas Village, handpainted by our family, image by DG Hudson

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Angels made from yarn and large beads:

Angels hanging about by DG Hudson

May the new year bring peace and more calm to our planet.  Wishing all of you who visit my blog a Happy Holiday season in whatever way you choose to celebrate it. I'm looking forward to new experiences and more writing. See you in 2016!!

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Are you ready for a New Year?  Are you glad this one is over or was it a great year for you? Do you try to make your collectible Christmas decorations look the same every year or do you try to change it up?

Please leave a comment if you visit, so I'll know you were here. I'll respond. Thanks for dropping by and Best Wishes for the New Year!

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Photography - The Little Ones and Historical Images

Capturing Innocence

How do you get the animals to add a little interest to the image? Put a couple of kids in front of them. 

Children, Turkeys, and Geese - A Pastoral Portrait by DG Hudson

The image above was taken with a SLR camera before the digital age, when visiting relatives who live in the country. There are a lot of details in this photo. Note the bandage on the chin of the child in the pink T-shirt. She fell while riding her bike that morning. That tells us she is no frail little girl, but an active child and likely has brothers who she tries to imitate in their activities. (In reality, she has several brothers and is the youngest in her family).  The child in front is a cousin of hers and is under two years old. Judging by her expression, she appears not to care whether she's in a photo or not.

As for the animals, they demand attention: the white geese are squawking - where's the food, the baby turkeys are curious - what's going on. Don't miss the little baby turkey looking around the girl in pink on the left side.  I didn't even notice the antics of the various fowl in the image when I took this photograph, as I was concentrating on the two girls. It was the first time I had seen little baby turkeys. They don't look so edible at that age and size. 

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Capturing History and Style

A historical photo can also show important details. This image was taken circa late 1880s or early 1890s. This young woman is of Canadian First Nations culture and is a relative of our family on my husband's side.

Woman, First Nations Culture, BC, Canada, prop. DG Hudson

The young woman in the image above lived in a simple time, in the country away from the Big City. She is dressed as suits the interior western culture and her time. She wears a Canadian maple leaf pin with pride on her scarf. Taking a photographic image during those times was a big event and having a portrait done meant you wore your best or neatest clothes. Ceremonial clothes would have been saved for band (tribe) events. These are practical, durable, no fuss clothes. The plain rough wood background accentuates the portrait.

The no-nonsense hair style shows a no-nonsense woman who could out-fish most of the men, and lived to be the ripe old age of 96 or so, still sharp in mind. It is said that she sang to the fish, calling them. Birth records were sketchy during the late 1800s and in smaller towns and on native reserves were kept at the local church. She married a First Nations man who came to the Nicola Valley in British Columbia, a man who led the First Nations posse of four men who tracked and captured Bill Miner, a disreputable outlaw and the first train robber of Canada. 

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References:

Billy Miner, 'gentleman' outlaw:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Miner

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Photography- Paris Layered Images

I wonder what would happen if. . .

This post highlights a photo experiment which came about when I arranged different elements related in some way or which seemed to suggest a story. In this case the elements are a framed poster of Paris, a couple of paintings and photographs either bought or captured while in Paris, a metallic figurine of a sax player (not from Paris but Jazz and Paris go together) and a Spanish figurine, beautifully sculpted.

A thin metal sax player blows his horn low and blue in front of the cafe, as Paris settles down for evening. . .

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A farm girl from the provinces gazes at her piglets while she dreams of life in Paris: the Moulin Rouge tempts and the bridges of Paris stand stoic as the river flows beneath. . .

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Cafes and bistros are two elements of Paris that symbolize one of the memories I have of the excellent food, the different manner of eating - more refined, which can be had in Paris if you know where to look. The painting shows a corner of a street, a place to meet, and the photograph, an actual cafe in Montmartre, a building which appears to be from the 1800s, . .

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Long shot of the elements in the experiment. The images captured above no longer exist now in this form, the poster is on the wall as are the two small paintings. A friend told me once that I arrange things like little vignettes.  The items were arranged on a buffet and an antique portable desk that clerks used to use in the early 1900s, as the lower portion is like a cash register drawer. I bought it as a writing desk but it now holds many little remembrances. One day it may inspire another photo  experiment or at least a blog post.

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Hope you enjoyed my experiment and it gives you an idea of what can inspire a story element, or just be pleasant to look at and imagine.  Every writer is a bit of a dreamer.

Do you arrange 'things' for your own pleasure, or do you prefer austerity and keeping to the tried and true? Some view 'things' as clutter.  Do you like the things you collect to be around you to be enjoyed and to promote conversation?

Please leave a comment to let me know you stopped by and I'll respond. Thanks for visiting!

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The Ovaltine Cafe - History gets a second Chance

In a little cafe. . . just this side of the border 

in Vancouver

Ovaltine Cafe, Vancouver, Canada, *Vancouver Neon image

At 251 E. Hastings Street, Vancouver, sits The Ovaltine Cafe, a retro picturesque local place that survived the fifties, the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties and rolled into the 21st century. It's in the downtown eastside, very close to Chinatown and the last news I heard is that it's getting a new lease on life, with a mother-daughter management team. To these new owners, simplicity and good food are the order of the day. This cafe is also a showcase for the possibilities of neon signage.

My mother-in-law, shown in the image below, worked in this cafe back in the forties when this part of town was thriving and a good restaurant like this one was a centre for the police from the nearby precinct. MIL rode her bike to work and knew many of the local constables.

Ovaltine Cafe, Vancouver, BC, retro image prop DG Hudson, c.1940s

Anytime a heritage building is revived, the locals dread gentrification and the lovers of retro want it, along with a few modern conveniences. Gentrification will happen in some pockets of the city, but not at the Ovaltine. Keeping what's good about it and a little sprucing up is all that's on the menu of the new and improved Ovaltine Cafe. It was good enough for a few movie sets. . .

The Ovaltine has starred in countless TV shows and a few blockbuster movies. It's a four level Edwardian Italian Renaissance Revival style, popular 102 years ago when it was built. This cafe has a quaint Rockwellian coffee counter, varnished wood panelling, worn cloisters and smoky mirrors, but this address has been home to other restaurants, a tailor's shop, government offices, apartments and even a postal substation in its lifetime.

One of my favorite movies, I, Robot, has a scene with Detective Spooner (Will Smith) and his boss are having coffee and discussing the robot problem or rather Spooner's take on the robot problem.  It has also been in Fringe, X-Files and Da Vinci's Inquest.


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Do you like the neon that used to be used on all signs several decades ago? Do you like visiting old establishments that have been revived? What do you think of gentrification? (gentrification is the reboot with improvements and some modernization of old establishments that have began to decay due to changing demographics in an area)

Please leave a comment to let me know you stopped by and thanks for visiting. I apologize for my absence lately, and will try to improve posting frequency.  

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References:

http://ovaltinecafe.ca/

http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2014/09/17/ovaltine-cafe-survives-a-new-ownership/

http://scoutmagazine.ca/2014/09/10/diner-iconic-ovaltine-cafe-on-the-dtes-to-change-hands-next-week-before-reboot/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/restaurant-reviews/ovaltine-cafe-a-diner-that-stayed-true-to-its-eastside-roots/article24464912/

*Image of Ovaltine Cafe: Vancouver Neon image - highlighting the neon used at this establishment.

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Vancouver's Past - Local History

Old photos give us a peek into the past, when times were slower and the cars were too. These images of Vancouver come from the archives. 



The Orpheum Theatre
Circa 1940s

Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Archive Photo

Several decades later, the same theatre with new buildings in the background.

Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, BC Street Scene

The Orpheum is a theatre and music venue in Vancouver, British Columbia which was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1979. The theater and its neon sign have been used as a key location in several episodes of the science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica and Fringe, as well as Highlander: The Series. In the latter decades of the 20th century, the theatre's interior still retained the aura of a grand lady, golden and elegant. 

The Orpheum Interior, Vancouver, Canada, see Credits * below.

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Woodward's Department Stores

Note the fashions and styles on the ladies in the vintage photograph below. 

The Woodward's Department Store Archival Imge, Vancouver, Canada

The Woodward's Building was a historic edifice in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. The original portion of the building was constructed in 1903 for the Woodward's Department Store when that area of Cordova Street was the heart of Vancouver's retail shopping district. It endured past 100 years of age before its demise. Why did it fail after so many years? The area was changing in demographics, it was no longer a family destination, and the store managers made an ill-fated attempt to change their target market.

The store was famous for its Christmas Window animated displays, and its basement Food Floor, an unusual feature for those times. The prominent "W" sign at the top of the building was a distinctive landmark in the downtown core of Vancouver.


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Duck down the alleyway. . .when they were unpaved.

A Vancouver, BC, Residential Alley Image from the Archives

Nostalgia comes in many forms. It's usually referring to a memory of places or things which have been enhanced with the passing of time. Children played in these alleys, or cut across to the next street on their bikes. Now, domestic entrepreneurs near the Pacific National Exhibition sell parking spaces in the alleys. Lane-way homes are starting to appear. Dusty in the summer and muddy in the winter, it was ordained that alleys should be paved to reduce the dust. Power poles lined the way, much like the laundry poles found in many of the backyards of yesteryear.

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Do you like historical photographs? Do you like to see comparisons of places them to the same place in a different time? Do you like browsing the archives of your city or country?

Please leave a comment to let me know you were here, and I'll respond. I have been a bit absent due to life issues monopolizing the time, but I hope to improve that after the summer. Thanks for dropping by!

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References:

* Interior image of Orpheum Theatre stage:
Author: Michael Thoeny

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

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History of Vancouver wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vancouver

The Orpheum wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheum_(Vancouver)

The Woodward's Building wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodward's_Building

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PARIS Outtakes - Analyzing Photo Images

An outtake, a less than perfect image, can still be interesting. Here are some that I found in my archives of photographs. The original definition* of outtake is what was left on the editing room floor when a film or a photographer's work was edited.


The Petit Palais
Paris, France

The Petit Palais, Paris, Triple Arched Entrance by DG Hudson

Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, this building is now the home of the City of Paris' Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des beaux-arts de la ville de Paris). Construction began in October of 1897 and was completed in April 1900. 

The image above was taken from a moving vehicle as we passed by, but there are some details you don't see until you look at the image later. The triple arches at the entrance capture the eye immediately, but I later noticed the sculptures on the sides of the steps, the French tricolour flags and the gilded gate. I did notice the posters announcing what was showing at that time.


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Egyptian Antiquity
Louvre Museum

Antiquity Grooming Implements, Egyptian display at Louvre, by DG Hudson

The items in the images above were necessities - for any woman of that era wanting to ensure her grooming. Quality was determined by what one could afford, whether wooden, ivory or other materials commonly used in that time. Combs, hair picks, mirrors, and some small items are shown. 

Crafted from various materials, we see some grooming tools carved more elaborately than others. Imagine Cleopatra's female friends (if there were any) using these implements. By keeping them protected at the Louvre, these items have endured, although the mirrors seem to have lost their reflective ability.

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The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Arc de Triomphe, Paris

French Soldiers, at Arc de Triomphe re-Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by DG Hudson

A small group of soldiers marching before a dedication to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe. We saw this event in passing, so not sure of the reason for it, but many onlookers were there to observe. Note the umbrellas among the spectators, as a light rain was falling. 

When photos are taken 'on the fly', we don't always know the details, but the image is preserved and the location should be identified as soon as possible to make the image more informative when viewed in retrospect.

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A Gilded Gallery
Versailles Palace, France

Versailles, the Sun King's Palace - Gallery Furnishings, by DG Hudson

The furnishings at Versailles were lush and designed for maximum effect, especially to impress. That gilded lady is wrapped around a light fixture which may at one time have held candles to light the galleries at night. 

A tour guide told us some of the furnishing were 'appropriated' by various persons during times of strife in Paris, and some have been acquired anew via ebay and other auction sites. Looting is something that has been considered the victor's right for centuries. . .

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Do you sit and peruse your photographs remembering when and where they were taken? Do you look at them for inspiration in your writing, for blog or a story? 

I'd be interested in knowing how you view images, e.g., the difference in an image of a speeding car in a Grand Prix race as opposed to a tranquil water scene? You get the picture? used to be a common question for 'do you understand what I'm trying to say'.

Please leave a comment to let me know you were here, and I'll reply. Thanks for dropping by! 

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References

All images in this post taken by DG Hudson, on location in France.

* outtake - a length of film, etc. rejected in editing. Definition In Oxford Dictionary,Canadian version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petit_Palais  The Petit Palais Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Versailles Palace of Versailles

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