Day 56 - 20110225

Day 42 - 20110211

Day 37 - 20110206

Astoria, Oregon

Alberta Beach Sunset

Late this afternoon I rescued my good friend Graham from a serious bout of cabin fever.  We picked a direction and set off, each with our choice of camera.  The adventure that unfolded was one of relaxation and awe inspiring as we watched some high contrast clouds move across the sky.  We reached our destination with enough time to walk over to a dock and take some photos and video.  The sky was naturally over saturated and allowed me to capture some stunning colour.  I hope that you enjoy the following images:

The Beach

Heaving Dock

Alberta Beach Sunset

Jump off Point

I believe that there is a point where a photographer looks at an image that he/she has taken and knows that it is a fantastic shot.  He/she is blown back by the result and becomes truly passionate about photography, and is inspired to capture the world around them.  Some people experience this early on, but others spend years shooting what they may consider to be “average” shots, but to their viewers they are amazing.

In my case, the following picture is what I consider to be the image that inspired a passion for the craft:

Sunset Silhouette Tree

The date was December 31, 2004, the location was White Rock, British Columbia, and I had been shooting with my first DSLR for about three months.  I had left my sister, brother-n-law and then fiance at the beach to run back to the car to grab a jacket.  As I turned to start back to the beach, I saw this scene unfold before me.  I composed, shot and hurried back to the beach to watch the sunset.  There have only been two edits made to this image:  very slight levels adjustment and the removal of a very dark “no parking” sign in the foreground that was barely visible.  This image has haunted my dreams, won second place in a competition, and inspired me to learn; to know why that shot worked, and how to reproduce the same results in the future.  This is the image that does not let me stop.

If you had walked up to me on December 31, 2004 and told me that on my birthday in 2009 I would be creating a journal entry about that day while charging batteries for a wedding shoot in the afternoon, and drinking Hoodoo Jo roast from Kicking Horse Coffee, I would have probably laughed.  Today I look back, and am so thankful that I needed a jacket.  As well, I am so thankful for the support of my wife, family and friends.  I have been very fortunate to receive realistic feedback about my photography.  My thoughts on that will have to wait for a different post, but for the moment I’ll just say that honest feedback has helped me to push myself and I’ve been grateful for it.

As always, thanks for reading.  Now get out there and start shooting!