Bean There, Done That

In a change of pace from tackling the whack {technical term} of images from vacation, with inspiration fuelled by caffeine, I happened upon this scene with my iPhone this afternoon.  In need of some coffee I popped into my local haunt, and on my way out stopped and looked and shot.

Anyone who has an intense interest in photography will recognize the need to search out light, and be quick to point a lens in its direction when you come across it.  This of course becomes easier these days with phone cameras being much more useable.  With care, of course.  Their dynamic range is next to nothing and you need to pay extra attention to the highlights else they get blown to smithereens.

This article was linked in one of my online readers.  The author makes the following statement: “Once you become fully aware of the quality of light around you, you will become more curious with your camera.”  This is absolutely true, and is what leads me to be interested in seemingly mundane scenarios like this:


Simply a woman enjoying an afternoon coffee fix.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Except for the light.

It’s burning through the window and backlighting the shop’s ad banner, which is what first caught my eye.  It’s bouncing up off the table and the cup and lighting her face.  Exposing for those highlights presents them in stark contrast to the surrounding shadows and with that some added drama.  The warm/cool color contrasts don’t hurt either.   Ideally a better camera with a faster lens would have allowed me to blur out the distracting background across the street to better isolate the subject – not a chance with an iPhone.  Regardless, for me the light shows the comfort and warmth of the coffee house.  

Or maybe it was just the caffeine sizzling through my veins.

The Hand of God

Last weekend we returned from a lengthy and much needed vacation at Universal Studios in Florida and an Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas.  Was a fabulous trip but still paying the price on two counts:

1. Detoxification.

2. Image editing.

With more shots than I care to admit to pour through, catalogue, and develop the latter may be the most difficult but I hope to start posting some of my favorites over the next while.  To cap things off I’m going to start with this.

God Rays.


This type of show on the open seas was fairly common, with a degree of cloud cover allowing the setting (or rising) sun’s rays to poke through and spotlight a small portion of the water.  I have many… MANY… of these with different framing and crops and spot size.  This may or may not be my favorite, but I had to start somewhere.

And while the skies look incredibly ominous and threatening here it is purely an aesthetic choice, one that I made at the time of shooting.  It was actually bright and warm and we had mostly smooth water the entire trip.  Which is good news as rough seas would have either made me hurl and/or spill my Margaritas.

The Riverbank

Took advantage of a free morning and beautiful weather yesterday to saunter over to ye ‘ol riverbank near home.  The Red River is usually high and a mad rushing Torrent of Flood Terror this time of year.  Actually… no… wait…  It’s usually still mostly frozen this time of year with ice jams of primary concern.

Enter Global Warming.

It’s been 20’ish Celsius here on the prairies which for mid-March is insane.  Snow is pretty much all gone, and the waters are flowing freely.

And they’re low.  Incredibly low.  Thankfully low given the burden flood fears this city has enjoyed over the years.  To wit this post from last year.

So with the well exposed riverbank there is ample textural detail to capture.  Wasn’t “seeing” as much as I would like so frames are limited, although I ended up really liking the first of this series.  


Now let’s see if this lasts and merges into another glorious summer.

Travel Trilogy Too

Strange how travel ebbs and flows.

After an almost-three-month drought of being grounded I found myself last week on the second of a back-to-back let to Toronto.  Gear in tow and with a seat at the window I thought I’d expand upon the engine shot from the week prior.  This time around in black and white, with the addition of a simple horizon image with the clouds sweeping in like rolling water.


Back down to Earth for a little while now.

Rarified Air

I’m a travel snob.

I freely admit it.

Having achieved airline status now on my third (?) year I’ve come to very much enjoy the perks associated with priority boarding, lounge access, and the piece de resistance…

Executive Class upgrades.

All these things make the chore of travel less of a, well, chore.  And so I find myself this morning sitting in my comfy exec seat with not one.  Not two.  But three open seats along my row.  Strangely only half the executive cabin was occupied.  Presenting me with a photo opp that I’ve not had before…



This was in stark contrast to my Friday return from last week where Air Canada saw fit to change aircraft and plow us into an “economy only” air bus that had nothing for chow other than light snacks.  And no seat-back entertainment.

Heathens.

Copyright © 2009-2014 Jay Mitchosky | All Rights Reserved