Monthly Archives: July 2017

Practicing Street Photography      

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I have read that Street photography is the practice of photographing chance encounters and random incidents in public places, Well, like the street.

In an article about my experiences in Vancouver BC some time ago I wrote, “I think that successful street photography captures a moment from the society around us. It’s a moment in time that is an important for the present and future.”

I am fascinated with this kind of candid photography that has been around since people began to carrying cameras in public, and I am always up to any occasion that allows my somewhat reserved and not so confident approach to photographing strangers going about their life on any public street. So when that opportunity presented itself at the giant outdoor flea market in Anacortes Washington I was excited.

Most modern street photographers seem to be recommending small, inconspicuous mirrorless cameras. However, in spite advice posted on many of the forums I have visited I still wondered if I could again try using my big DSLR with a battery grip and 24-70mm attached. I admit that’s a huge and very noticeable combination that the last time I tried at this event had curious by-passers looking right at me.

I remembered a 1969 Algerian-French movie, called “Z”, about some foreign dictatorship and a photojournalist who helped to uncover evidence about a murder. The photographer, wielding a big camera with a loud motor drive, continually shot from his hip. So I thought, what the heck, lets see if I can get away with that. Also, knowing I could easily crop, I moved the lens to its widest 24mm and photographed everything holding my camera at my waist.

I also figured that people at the street sale would be so absorbed with their treasure searching that if I didn’t hold my camera up to my eye, like I did last time, they would be oblivious to my photography.

My results were much better than last time. I wandered releasing the shutter anytime I observed people doing something interesting. There were a few camera conscious people that remarked about how big and nice my camera was, and one guy even asked the model I had. Nevertheless, none of my pictures showed people turning to look at me as I was taking a picture, except for those times when actually I asked someone to pose.

The big street market made things easy, and my new “stealth” photography technique made me more comfortable. And as I said, my results were much better this time. Whether it will work when I am not at an event that distracts people’s attention away from me remains to be seen.

Anacortes Shipwreck Festival         

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After an easy six or so hour highway drive from my home in Pritchard British Columbia and I pulled into the picturesque town of Anacortes, referred to as the homeport of the Pacific Northwest’s San Juan Islands, for an annual event called the Shipwreck Festival. Gosh, it had been two years since my return to the enjoyment of what is certainly one of my favourite places and events. The last time was when my wife, Linda, and I made two trips to that area in 2014, the first in July to Anacortes and a second the week before Halloween for a short stay in the neighbouring small town of La Connor.

The Festival’s website says that some thirty years ago commercial fisherman would gather to sell their used gear on Anacortes’ Commercial Avenue. That popular event expanded to what is now called the Shipwreck Festival, a giant community garage sale that on the third weekend of July each year occupies about nine blocks of the town’s main street, offering, unique treasures from over 200 or more businesses, organizations, antique dealers, small vendors and local families.

The Fidalgo Island Rotary Club organizes the Shipwreck Festival and this year I was fortunate to be included with the Rotary Club volunteers as photographer.

I am sure there was a lot of behind the scenes work that went on before I arrived the Friday afternoon before the big event, but I was greeted by a fresh and enthusiastic group that were gearing up to mark street locations for the next day’s deluge of vendors that I was told began happening at 4AM.

I will say that over the many years I have been attending that festival I have never heard or met with a sour word. The people I encountered are always warm and generous and after a short time one gets the feeling they are old friends. And I immediately felt that way as I joined that group decked in their Rotarian vests.

When they were finally all prepped with measuring poles, blue chalk and “street closed” signs, they fanned out onto the town’s main thoroughfare redirecting traffic and marking the street with me running around documenting everything with my camera.

I have been attending the festival for years; I don’t remember when I started. I am pretty sure I first learned about the Shipwreck Festival when joined some friends that were there for the Fidalgo Island crab festival. I also remember stopping in Anacortes with some Army buddies back in 1967. I was stationed at Ft. Lewis Washington and we set off to see as much of the state as we could on our weekend pass. I seem to remember sleeping (jammed uncomfortably) in the car. These days I sleep comfortably in motels and don’t drink as much beer as I did then.

I will say that I don’t get to make the trip every year, although I’d like to. So this year’s opportunity to join the festival’s local volunteers will stand out as one the most memorable.

I had a great time creating images that the festival committee will be able to use for next years advertisements and my fun didn’t end with just taking pictures of their efforts that afternoon. I spent the next day taking photographs and shopping.

This was the kind of vacation that I like – the opportunity participate as an event photographer, to try my hand at “street photography” on the packed avenue and to spend time photographing the coastal landscape. All less than a day’s drive from a completely different environment then the one I live in, and with a chance to meet new people, eat at great seafood restaurants, and, of course, wander the Shipwreck Festival looking for treasures.

Pritchard Rodeo 2017    

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A whole year has past and once again I joined my friends and neighbours for a dusty, fun-filled Sunday at the Pritchard Rodeo.

Now that the rodeo has come and gone and I am sitting at my computer looking through the many pictures I took, it is easy to see that I had a great time. Actually I am pretty sure everyone that attended, participants, organizers, spectators and photographers, had a great time.

This year’s event was a little sparse. Not when it came to all the spectators, the stands were full. But the numbers of cowboys and cowgirls participating was way down because of the wildfires across the province. I expect many were either evacuated and were struggling to safeguard their homes and livestock or they couldn’t get to the rodeo with all the road closures.

The days leading up to this weekend have been smoke filled and the sky has been grey. But by 10AM on Sunday blue sky with a few clouds. My friend Dave Monsees stopped by my house and ten minutes later we were ringside with our cameras, Dave with his 100-400mm and me with my 70-200mm.

At 1PM the Rodeo Chairman, Pritchard Rodeo stood center ring and waved his hat, the announcer called out the first event, a bronc rider burst into the arena, and all the photographers along the rails started shooting.

I’ve written before how suitable the Pritchard Rodeo grounds are for photographers. There’s a strong metal arena railing that makes it safe to stand close to the action without restricting the view. And every year I look forward to standing there along side all the other photographers that, like me, enjoy capturing the fast moving test of wills between animals and riders. I think that photographing any action event is fun and there’s always action at a rodeo.

This year I met two well-known British Columbia rodeo photographers, Elaine Taschuk from Vancouver and Tony Roberts from Kelowna. They talked about other rodeos in BC and their favourite lenses for capturing the action, and naturally the Canon vs. Nikon quips were flying.

Pritchard is the only rodeo I attend. Its close by, easy to get to, and easy to photograph. All one has to do is pay attention to where the participants are coming from and take up a position that allows everything to move towards the camera. Then I select shutter priority, choose a fast shutterspeed and start shooting. I prefer to use Shutter priority (“TV” on Canon and “S’ on Nikon) so I can select the shutter’s speed and let the camera choose the aperture. Yep, it’s darned easy.

This year’s rodeo (or any rodeo for that matter) was a great way to spend the day. When I got home I downloaded my images and quickly edited out those that didn’t look good, then cropped and balanced the exposure on those I chose to keep.

There will be lots of rodeos over the summer and into the fall that are well worth any photographer’s time. My advice is to grab that camera and mount any zoom lens that, at least, goes to 200mm. Then enjoy a day that will fill your computer with some great action photographs.

Another trip to Chase Falls             

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When I suggested to my friend, photographer Jo McAvany that we should drive over to nearby Chase Falls I imagined we’d be walking up a water filled creek to an overflowing falls and expected to be spending as much time wiping the water spray off my camera as I was taking pictures.  However, to my surprise the water coming over the falls was really diminished from its usual early summer flow.

The narrow stream canyon had been assaulted by a lot of water at sometime in the last month or so because there were lots of large rocks where there once was sand and my usual place for wide pictures was covered by a large pile of washed out trees.

3PM on a hot, cloudless July afternoon was definitely the wrong time to photograph the falls. The bright sun was cutting its way across the left side of the canyon leaving the right side in deep shade.  Even with graduated ND filters, trying to balance the scene’s high contrast was impossible.  Nevertheless I scrambled up and over the scattered boulders to find a better position, while Jo chose to work along the bank under the trees accompanied by, as she soon noticed, an ever-growing swarm of mosquitoes.

I guess there were enough breezes coming from the falls to push the mosquitoes away from my position, or maybe I was so fixed on my struggle to get some kind of image out of the contrasty scene that I didn’t notice their feasting.

I stacked ND filters over my lens and pointed my camera either into the sun or into the shade. It was one or the other if I didn’t want over or under exposures in my captures.

When I clambered back to where Jo was I found she had all but given up on the harsh lighting and was photographing people zip-lining above us. Well, that and giving her self up to the blood sucking hoards. She mentioned to me that she was being bitten everywhere, but dedicated photog that she was she still stood waiting for another zip-liner to zoom by screaming over-head.

I climbed down the bank and got a few more shots of the fast moving water and, of course, I just had to snap a couple shots of the people flying by.

Jo had just about had it with the mosquitoes and I finally began to notice the pesky creatures, so even though it was cooler by the creek than back at the car, we tore ourselves away from the falls with a promise to come back covered with repellent on an overcast day.

I will admit that what I like best about Chase Falls is they are only a few minutes drive from my home. It’s a cool location to scramble around and even though I have photographed it multiple times in every season during the last 40 years I have lived nearby I still enjoy making the trip there with my camera.

I guess there are lots of us photographers that have photographed local subjects over and over and over again.

I remember a long time old friend complaining. (Well he seemed to be) about a high mountain place we had climbed to countless times before. As we waited for the sun to rise he said, “I have taken every photograph that can be ever taken here”.  I quietly continued to drink my coffee without replying.

I am sure he knew I disagreed.