Pet Time

I just got back from a trip back home to Alberta. Every time I go back, I end up spending a large portion of my time visiting my friends' pets. I love animals, and I rarely meet one who doesn't like me. And so I also enjoy photographing them. Plus, pet people ALWAYS appreciate a good photo of their 'fur baby.'

This is my 'sister in law's' dog Riley, and like most labradors his nose is bigger then his stomach. This is his you want to share your pizza with me, even if you don't know it face. Pizza is his most favorite of the MANY, MANY foods that he loves.

This is his I didn't get any pizza face.

This is one of Amanda's cats Weechee. He has a habit of appearing suddenly and creepily staring at you, but he is probably the sweetest cat I have ever met.

I couldn't get enough of his beautiful blue eyes, even if they are two different sizes!

And this is Amanda's other cat Penny, she is huge! And her hobbies include eating Amanda's plants, and beating up Weechee.

This is Wilfred, and well, he's a pug, and very puggy he is!

Long Exposures - June 2010

Once again while my parents were in town, my Dad and I went looking for some photo nerding opportunities. This opportunity came in the form of "Niagara Falls"; A large (though nowhere near as large as the real Niagara) waterfall in Goldstream Provincial Park. We were pretty surprised (and pleasantly so, considering the tripods and gear we had with us) with how close the falls were to the highway. Anyway, everybody loves a good waterfall shot, you know the ones where the water looks all fluffy. Well these are done by stopping down the shutter, so it lets less light in, and lengthening the shutter speed (aka. exposure time). By doing so, anything that is not moving remains sharp, and anything moving (the water) becomes blurred.

This is just the top part of the falls.

Some little mini falls.

This is another use for long exposures. In low light conditions, with the use of a tripod, you can recover details, and colour that would otherwise just be dark. In this case I used the technique to capture the tunnel, which is used for both hikers, and water to get under the Malahat Highway which crosses through Goldstream Provincial Park.

Lake Cowichan - June 2010

While my parents were visiting this past June, we took a drive up to Cowichan Lake. I had to feel sorry for my Mum, as my Dad and I nerded out with our cameras all day. There are so many amazing patterns in the forest, and we were getting into the details that day.

While I was focusing in on this fern, I came up with a great bokeh, due to the sunlight filtering through the leaves, and reflecting off of the near by water.

Those ferns were casting some great shadows too!

These ones remind me of bicycle spokes.

Using a polarized filter, can really make the sky look amazing.

Bikes, Beers, Beaches - June 2010

One night in early June, some of the ladies and I decided to have an evening of bikes, beers, and beaches. We biked down to Willows Beach. Being from Alberta originally, sitting on a beach and watching the sunset, while enjoying a nice cool bevy, is a luxury I'm not so used to. But I sure do enjoy it.

It's pretty lovely to take off your shoes, and burry your toes in the sand too.

I had fun playing with the silhouette of the trees against the brilliant colours of the sunset.

Mount Finlayson - May 2010

My friend Nick and I went hiking on Mount Finlayson one weekend in May. It's in beautiful Goldstream Provincial Park just outside of Victoria. After driving around in confusion for a while we parked on the back side of the mountain and hiked the short, but steep trail. It was cloudy and overcast the whole way up, and extremely windy at the top. But of course, the moment we left the top the sun appeared through the trees. We saw lots of slugs along the way.

These black ones (known as black arion) always fascinate me, with their beautiful deep black colouring.

I brought my sturdy (ie. 8 or 9 lbs) Manfrotto tripod along - which Nick pretty much lugged the entire way - and only ended up using it for one shot. So I figured I should probably include that shot.

Oh, and it was one of my favorites from the day! I just love the lush, mossy, green, of the rain forests on the island.

First Try

So, this is my first post. Just wanted to try this out. I figured it was a quick and easy way to share the photos that I have been working on without having to update my website every time; because anyone who knows me, can tell you, that I'm always taking photos. And if I had to update my page every time I had a new shot, the page would never be up! So anyway, here goes nothing! I sincerely hope that my images can mean something to someone, because that is the whole point. And of course, please visit my website: GemmaLouise.ca and if there is anything that catches your eye, feel free to contact me!

Also, I have a little catching up to do since my site went up, so there could be lots of posts!