Weathered Window

Hope Floats

I happened upon this derelict fishing vessel today while out driving. It is in really bad shape and would sink if not for the two ropes someone fastened to it and anchored to a tree. There it is, clinging to life as it were... hope still floats.

Blue Eyed Boy - Post Processed Portrait

It is amazing what can be done with an otherwise typical photo when it is post processed with a program such as Microsoft's Digital Image Suite Starter Edition 2006. The program is packed with loads of enhancement utilities and special effects filters. Two of my favourtites are the poster edges and pencil sketch filters. I merged the processed photo with the original leaving the colour of the eyes entact and enhanced. I guess it could be called computer art.

Old Schoolhouse

An old schoolhouse in Glenora Falls. I isolated the building to B&W to signify the passage of time.

Time For A Cat Nap

Using the macro setting on my wife's Canon PowerShot A550 I snapped this shot of our pet cat "Tiger" as he was entering alpha-state before drifting off to cat dreamland. I wanted a soft feel to the photo so I disabled the flash and opted for the natural light coming through the window. I adjusted the curves, and color balance and added a greyscale sketch filter as well. I really like pencil sketches so I am really attracted to photos with this treatment that give an artistic but hopefully not overdone post-processed look.

Bazoki

My brother modified a six string guitar into a Greek instrument called a Bazoki. It sounds great... if only I could learn to play it like him...

Winter Sunset

Canon S3 IS Camera

Cape Breton Fiddling

Taken in 1995 of my father at his home in Inverness. Scanned photo that was taken with the Canon T-70 35mm camera.

Golden Sunset

Shooting this sunset through the tall grass seemed to give the ocean and sun an intersting perspective, the same as if you were there watching it.

Josiah

I like this photo of my oldest son.

Friendly Horse

I was pleased with the exposure and colour of this photo.

Day's End

This was a random photo I took one day while standing on a railroad track. It looks like someone heading home after a long day's work. I thought the track made for an interesting perspective, B&W seemed to match the bleak surroundings.

Tiger The Kitty Cat

Tiger is a very large and beautiful Maine Coon cat. He is very stupid but relatively harmless. In his spare time he takes piano lessons and updates his Facebook page. He is in touch with cats the world over.

Atlantic Summer Sunset

Birthday Boy!

Happy 11th buddy!

Kitty Cat Snow Tracks

These looked cute in the snow after the cat stepped outside very breifly. He is a big sook.

Summer Sunset

Taken at Broadcove in August of 2004.

Margaree River

At Gillisdale, Inverness County.

The Raging Sea

The power of the sea can be seen in this shot taken at Broadcove on a dark and stormy day.

Miss Congeniality

She is as nice as she is beautiful!

The Narrow Road

Majestic Meat Cove

Wouldn't this be a great shoot location for a motion picture?

Who Is There?

I forgot to fire up the flash for a suprise photo of my son and instead captured him siloutted against the window. I adjusted the gamma and applied a tiles and texture filters for effect. Looks like an advertisement for a scary movie maybe?

Hockey Action

High school hockey action provides lots of excitement on a small town Fridat night.

The Cross

The cross was photographed against a clear blue sky which was then removed in Photoshop. Then I added texture and color filters to the cross and placed it over an ominous looking backdrop. I had hoped to convey that in this world of sorrow there is a place we can look to for redemption and hope.

Misty Graveyard

On my way home from work in the early morning I passed this graveyard where many of my own relatives are buried. The heavy mist created a rather ominous mood. I adjusted the contrast, hue and brightness slightly in PhotoShop 7.

Self Portrait

Using only a small lamp for light for this self portrait. Kodak DX3500 photo with conversion to B&W.

The Long View

This is about as abstract as I get. At a local museum the long deck planks looked interesting in the viewfinder. I think it was the convergence of lines that attracted my eye.

Sky At Dusk

Taken in Scotsville, Inverness County on a warm July evening. I increased the saturation some and adjusted the gamma. The clouds and setting sun are amazing.

Thinking...

Converted to B&W and sharpened some in Irfanview. The light source was a regular lamp to the subject's right. I was quite pleased with this one. B&W seemed to work well.

Soccer Buddies

Shot with the Kodak DX3500 camera. These guys love soccer!

The Artist

Artist Barrie Fraser of East Lake Ainslie with one of his amazing works.

Girls Hockey Team

Shooting in arenas and other venues with tricky lighting is always a challange. I used full manual overides on this one. The lighting was brightest at this end of the rink and the fact the girls were stationary made the difference here. I adjusted the contrast and increased the saturation slightly in PhotoShop 7 and ended up with what I think is a very decent photo. You can see one girl smiling through her mask. Here is the EXIF info:

Camera - Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Exposure Time - 1/40

Shutter Speed Value - 1/40 seconds

ApertureValue - F 3.19

Exposure Bias Value - 0.67

Max Aperture Value - F 3.19

ISO Value - 800

Metering mode - Evaluative Focus type
Exposure mode - Av-priority

Focal length - 600 - 7200 mm (100 mm)

Continuous White Balance

Big Pumkin!

I took this photo with a Kodak DX3500 Camera someone gave me for helping them with computer problems. On October 18th, 2003 this little boy found a big pumpkin!

Red Headed Fiddler

This young lady from Cape Breton played some lively jigs and reels for folks stopping by our town's visitor information center. I don't think I have seen anyone with such vibrantly colored red hair. That fiery red matched the passionate fashion in which she played her tunes. This was taken in portrait mode with the macro setting enabled thus producing great detail. The midday sun brought out the great colors. Look closely and you can see the fiddle is very well worn.

Zoom On The Moon

Using 12x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom on the Canon S3IS I was able to snap this decent shot of the moon in May of 2007. I converted the photo to B&W in PhotoShop 7 and then applied some sharpening. The moon often looks different according to sky/weather conditions and I am always facinated by it's varying appearance.

The Light Within

A physical light at least can be seen through a glass darkly in this small country church window.

Guitar Concentration

This young lad is focused keenly on his guitar playing, I think it shows in his facial expression.

Sky, Land and Sea

The majestic beauty of Cape Breton never ceases to amaze me, even on a dark and stormy day.

Welcome To Cape Breton

This photo was just by chance. As far as Cape Breton Island is concerned, it says alot!

Dad and Mom

Another photo of my parents of whom I am so proud and love so much. This was also taken with my Canon T-70 35mm camera in the summer of 2004. This photo is one of my favourites of my parents.

Just After Sunset

This shot was taken at Inverness just after sunset on September 7th, 2007. I love the light contrast from top to bottom. I had just purchased a Canon PowerShot A550 camera for my wife and was trying it out. Needless to say I am very impressed with the PowerShot line of cameras.

Eyes Of A Child

This beautiful little girl visited our home one day with her mother. As is obvious this photo is heavily post-processed. I converted the photo to B&W with the excetion of the eyes. I then appled a poster edge filter in PhotoShop 7.

I was very impressed with the final result, who is this mysterious girl with mysterious eyes?

My Parents

I wanted to begin this blog by posting a photo of my parents, Francis and Corrine Mac Donald of Inverness. This was taken in 2004, they played a few tunes during a visit. This is a combination of two seperate photos taken using my 35mm Canon T-70 before switching to the Canon S3IS Digital camera which I now use.