Spring on the island

Cattle point about 10 minutes before sunrise.  15 sec exposure.  I had been shooting long exposures for the water, the sky looked very dim the morning I took this.  Sometimes it's really surprising how much color the camera pics up.  As soon as I looked at the preview of this image I started shooting like mad.  I think this one is one of my favorites so far.

Sunrise off the pier at the end of James Island Rd.

I saw a tutorial that explained some of the camera settings to use when shooting the moon.  This is the result of having learned how to set up the camera beforehand.  I think it didn't turn out too badly.

Full moon over the water at Cattle point. It felt so peaceful to sit on the beach with so much light coming from the newly risen moon.  

Pebbles on French Beach.  

This log is on French Beach.  I think he looks like a giant sea turtle or something.

This boy was throwing rocks into the water at Beaver Lake. His mom was really nervous because he had no fear at all, and the water is 15 feet deep 6 inches out.

On the sea wall at Ogden point.  I enjoyed getting a shot of this little lady flying over head, I think I may search for more flying shots.

This is the Fisgard lighthouse, a very cliche picture but there's a reason everyone takes a picture of this lighthouse.  It has a very rich history, and I think a lighthouse really is a shining example of strength and power.

A stranger walking along French beach. I liked the mist kicked up by the crashing waves.

This is the sea wall at Ogden point.  In Victoria where I live it's a very popular place.  On any given day hundreds of people walk to the end and back for no reason other than the view.

I know I haven't updated this blog in a while, but I was very busy with paid work.  The fact is since I had several clients waiting for their pictures I thought it would be very poor taste to be updating my blog with pictures of my personal travels.  It would only look like I was not working on the products they purchased.  Coupled with my monitor breaking down, it has been a long time but I'm back.

The thing I love about Victoria is the incredibly diverse terrain we have here.  All of the pictures above were taken in and around Victoria, and required almost no travel time.  Ten minutes for most, forty or so to French beach.  

Spring time is amazing! The flowers are blooming and you are walking in the sun one afternoon, and the next day the wind is strong and the waves are crashing against the sea wall erupting in huge white clouds.  No matter where I go, I will always come back to Victoria.

Tania

I had a shoot with a woman named Tania and she agreed to allow me to post a few of the photos.

I love to do boudoir stuff because I enjoy the process. Often the model if she hasn't posed before is quite nervous, she stands awkwardly and feels a little pressured to find the poses for me. "OK just tell me what to do because I don't know." Is a very common comment at the start of a shoot. But once they see that they will be gently guided through the shoot with respect and humour just as I had let them know before we began, I see them loosen up. Their body language changes and they begin to have a lot of fun. After the shoot the feeling I get from showing them what they looked like is great. I've even had some people close to tears say they can't believe it's them in the photos.

The model above was very confident and fun which was great also because very little time was spent teaching. We just had a good time and a few laughs, she had lots of her own ideas and was very open to mine, which I loved. I wish I could share the whole shoot with you because it went very well but I do have to try and keep it short for the blog. Probably I will post more of them on model mayhem

Some have mentioned that model photography doesn't fit with what I'm doing here on my blog. To those I say "What I'm doing here, is showing the pictures I have taken so that anyone who might be interested can see and talk about them. So I think it fits just fine, thank you."

Hidden world

I went out the other morning to try and get a few sunrise pics. There is a beach with a lovely view of a mountain range that I know will look amazing with the right light on it. That light didn't come yet again so I don't have any pics worth sharing of the mountains. However, I love to set up well before the sun comes up and try to get a few long exposures done while I'm at the water. I really enjoy the silky feel to water when the shutter is left open for a long time.

The funny thing is I have been to this rocky shore many times waiting for light and spent countless hours looking around from my favorite little spot on the rocks. I had no idea that this was an historic military site and only a few feet away from me hidden by the hill was a huge area holding two massive canon mounts and several munitions bunkers.

I know the picture isn't great as far as colour and clarity but like I said the light didn't come and the photo is actually a photo merge of several shots. The area was quite big and I couldn't get the shot even at 18 mm.

Parker Park

Yesterday I went down to the beach for sunrise. It isn't that I always shoot sunrises although I know it can sound like it since every day I say I'm going out for sunrise. I am often asked just how many sunrises I need to take pictures of before I get it right. If you have ever sat all the way through a sunrise and tried to shoot it you know that not only is each one vastly different from another but within a single morning the sunrise changes from second to second. A sunrise has life and movement and is an amazing thing to behold.
However one of my favorite parts of a sunrise is the time just after, when the light is perfect for taking pictures. Everything has an incredibly warm rich light bathing it, bringing out details and colours that you wont see at any other time of day. This light, if it happens only last for about a minute, and is the perfect time to shoot things other than the horizon.
Got side tracked there sorry, anyway I went down to the beach and while trying to pearch myself in the perfect spot I slipped and fell down a concrete ramp and into the water. I am still having some trouble walking properly and am quite sore, but after making sure all my equipment was ok I found a spot and shot for a couple hours. Those pics aren't up yet, I haven't even looked at them but I wanted to share it with you. I think to someone who doesn't know what it's like to hunt for light it would seem stupid to sit on a rock covered in sea water while the February wind freezes you to the bone just to snap pictures knowing the sun is going to rise again tomorrow just like it has for millions of years. But for a photographer, (or maybe it's just me and I'm crazy) after realizing that falling hard with hands in the air trying to save expensive gear worked and all was dry other than clothes and skin, it made no difference at all and sitting shiverring on a rock all morning was all worth it no matter how the pictures turned out.
Back on track again haha. This morning I went to Parker Park to catch sunrise. The clouds were way to thick and it didn't look like there would be anything to shoot. But I climbed out of bed and into the 3 layers of clothing I had laid out the night before. There must have been a storm way out at sea or something because it was very peacefull without any wind but the waves were pounding right up around me and I had to be pearched up atop a rock wall to avoid getting wet. Even had to shoot for a while with camera on legs, and umbrella in hand. I think it was worth it. Who doesn't love to blur waves? I think it looks so cool and is a great suprise when the sutter closes and you see what you shot. You can see in the top couple shots I took after the waves had died down and tide went out a bit, everything was wonderfully washed over with a warm rich light. Even a picture of a rock can be amazing at this time of day.
Anyway I hope you like these even a tenth of how much I enjoyed shooting them. As always I welcome all forms of comments to help me on my journey. Don't forget all of my images are yours for a price, I can be contacted at listerheb@hotmail.com.

Gardens

The weather hasn't been great the last little while where I live. I've gone out several times to shoot but haven't really been to keen on the images I've come up with in the rain. I took my girls with me to the gardens yesterday but we arrived just before closing time. The shock of moving from the cold outside to the tropical temp and humidity in the garden was too much for my lens and I didn't have enough time to let it warm up. So although I'm not particularly happy with the quality of these photos the content is surely different than one would normally see in Victoria on a wet February day. I have a shoot tonight that I am hoping will go well and may be allowed by my model to post a few for you to see.
This morning while hunting for a sunrise location I was sad because there was way to much cloud cover, but really wanted to get out and scout locations. I found an amazing spot and have an idea for a shot that at least in my mind is amazing. I'll need a couple of models for it but once I am able to set it up I'm excited to see what happens. Stay tuned....

Windy day

I woke at 4:30 and set out for a sunrise this morning. When I looked outside the sky looked so crisp and clear, but once I arrived at the spot I had chosen a few days ago it turned out the only portion of the sky that was totally covered with thick cloud was the Eastern horizon. Needless to say there wasn't much to shoot in the way of a rise.
Sunrise or not it was a great morning, the moon looked very nice and was situated right ahead of me at the end of the point. Mount Doug park later in the morning was quite windy but beautiful. Below are a few pictures of my morning, and at the bottom is a sunset shot from Mount Tolmie which I took last night.
Got some new gloves today, that I'm excited to try out!

Michelle

I had a photo shoot with Michelle the other day which was great. She was so nervous at the start but got right into it and became a super model workin' it like she's been doing it all her life. Thanks Michelle

Sunrise on Mt Tolmie

After several attempts to catch a sunrise only to be thwarted by a double cloud layer there was one this morning. It wasn't vast or spectacular because of a low lying cloud layer on the horrizon, but it was there. I am really enjoying the morning now. There is something amazing and humbling about being up before the sun, climbing up or down to your chosen vantage point and waiting for the moment to come. It's like the sunrise is for you alone, I know that doesn't fit it with the humble part too well, but the peace I feel when I hear nature waking up really fills me with renewed spirit. Hearing a far off bird call, or a racoon family returning to the trees, the distinct sound a heron's wings make, or the swoosh of water foul landing in the water truly takes me away from the gut wrench stress of my normal life.

The colours are amazing, and change so rapidly that once the sun starts to rize it's a race to capture every small change in the light.

I worked last night, and caught the rise this morning, here are a few pics for you. I'm going to bed.

Morning light

I work a lot of odd hours, and I am up early with my kids most mornings so I don't get a lot of chances to shoot in mornings first light. This morning was one of those rare mornings, so I went down to a dock in Esquimalt hoping to get a few nice B&W shots of boats being launched. I got some but was really blown away by the amazing colours in the morning. If you're paying attention you can actually see the light changing colour around you. Here are a few shots from this morning.

Jan 27 BW portraits

Had a short photo shoot with a couple of friends and one of my daughters. I'm really starting to love black and white shoots. At first I, like many thought B&W was a way to hide the flaws both on the model and from the photographer. I'm beginning to see now that it's a whole different world all it's own and painting with light is starting to have real meaning. Here are a couple of the many shots I took, I haven't had time to process many but it's a taste.

How much land in a landscape?

Really I have no idea! I have to do a landscape for this assignment and I don't want to do the normal thing that everyone does. I want to add or subtract from the norm to make it my own. The question is how much land is in a landscape? I don't know. Anyway on my search I took some pics that I know won't qualify but I wanted to share them.