Photography

Smoke and Mirrors

Category: Rural

  • Captain William Kennedy House

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    High Tea

    North of Winnipeg lies the rural municipality of St. Andrew’s,
     an historic area with beautiful old buildings from Manitoba’s
     early days. Tea in the Maple Grove Tea Room at the 
    Captain Kennedy House was a lavish affair, replete with ghost
     stories and the best desserts this side of heaven. After a decade and extensive renovations, it has reopened as The Heritage Tea Room.
    Captain William Kennedy House

    While I haven’t been back to try The Heritage Tea Room offerings, its predecessor, Maple Grove Tea Room, did not disappoint. It was a lovely in every way. After a leisurely sojourn on the veranda eating Strawberry rhubarb pie while overlooking the Red River, we took a tour through the museum and gardens.

    Afterwards, we walked across to St. Andrew’s Anglican Church and cemetery to take some photos. St. Andrew’s on the Red was built in 1849 and is the oldest surviving stone church in western Canada. We’ve visited the area in every season and it’s beautiful. Next time I’m in Manitoba, I would like to go back again and see what work has been done to preserve this magnificent home. And definitely I’ll have tea.

    St. Andrew’s Anglican Church cemetery in spring

  • Reflections in Water

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    Minnedosa

    Minnedosa is a little town nestled on the banks of the Little Saskatchewan River in southwest Manitoba.

    It means 'flowing water' in the Dakota language.

    We found the bison park and a beach. And there are some sizeable hills, too.

    You never know what lies around the bend, like this little gem of a spot.
    Canon Digital Rebel XTi – ISO 400, shutter 1/500 sec, f/18, 28 mm lens

    This is not the optimal time of day for a shot like this, but I was there and the cloud was there. Some things just take your breath away. They appear out of nowhere, around a bend and over a hill. Yes, believe it or not there are hills in Manitoba and the closer you get to Minnedosa, the steeper they get. It’s beautiful country.

    We were on a road trip and I had been taking shots from the window hence the higher ISO. I wish I had taken the time to make some better adjustments. This was shot in RAW, cropped and levels adjusted in Aperture. Then I sharpened with the High Pass filter in Photoshop and then masked to fine tune the adjustments before final sizing and converting to sRGB color space for web.

    Writer’s note: The same thing happens in writing. You are on a bus, waiting in a doctor’s office, having coffee somewhere and people-watching when the words come flooding. Be prepared to write them down or record them. Take a shot of the general atmosphere with your cellphone to trigger memory later. The best things happen when we least expect them!

  • Outdoor Deep Shade

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    November

    Canon Digital Rebel XTi – Tv mode – Manual

    After experimenting with various settings, I settled on Tv for more control over exposure and set the focus to Manual. The shadows had deepened and the colors were bordering on surreal but when I brought them into Photoshop, the images seemed drab and lifeless compared to what they had been in reality. I didn’t want to increase the saturation and risk blow-out in any of the channels – my days of increasing saturation were over shortly after I discovered that everything did not have to look like it had been shot in the Amazon jungle. I have old photos processed in my early Photoshop days that now belong to a category called “What was I thinking?”

    Bringing back what we saw in the first place

    To bring back a sense of what I had seen along the forest trail, working in the ProPhoto color space, I converted the images to LAB mode and gently steepened the curve in the A and B channels, leaving the Lightness channel alone. I reduced the effect about 50% and switched back to RGB for a little sharpening using the High Pass filter before converting to sRGB IEC61966 and reducing the size for web. The final result is much closer to what prompted me to take the photo in the first place!

    Writer’s note: For me, November has always been a time when all things are possible. The world shifts in smoke and mist and musings can be rather melancholy. Light changes rapidly, leaving memories behind on the shore. It is the time of year I re-read books by Thomas Hardy. My love affair with November began with a novel I read as a girl. It was from the more innocent years of the early ’60s and was called Then Came November. There is the movie, Sweet November, that stayed with me for years. No, not the bad remake but the original from 1968 with Sandy Dennis and Anthony Newley. Nothing stands still in November — hold each moment. Capture the thought for it is extraordinary!

    Canon Digital Rebel XTi – Tv mode – Manual

  • Gull Harbor at Dusk

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    Evening Light

    When the deep purple falls
    over sleepy garden walls, 
    and the stars begin 
    to twinkle in the sky—
    in the mist of a memory 
    you wander back to me,
    breathing my name with a sigh.
    Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi RAW ISO 100 95mm f/4.5 -0.4s

    The old song suits the island. It’s a magical place.

    What is the one thing that we need for a successful shoot at dusk on a summer night in even the most magical places?

    Bug repellent! You can hardly tell there were a million mosquitoes biting like mad when this was shot but the light made it all worthwhile.

    The photo was taken at Gull Harbour on Hecla Island, Manitoba, Canada. I set up a tripod on the bank and waited for just the right moment. This was taken at the changing of the guard, when the sun sets and the moon rises. The sky had a very pronounced purple cast that deepened quickly.

    Writer’s note: I know what you are thinking. Being eaten alive by bugs has nothing to do with writing and, with the possible exception of Leiningen Versus the Ants, you would be right.

    What does have to do with writing is the color I found and continued to capture when the sun was completely down. For the first time in my life, I watched as deep purple fell over the landscape. No, not purplish or somewhat shadowy violet. Deep purple. And it fell.

    The lyrics to the song were written in 1938 or I might have been compelled to write them that evening, mosquitoes and all.

    Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi RAW ISO 100 f/11 130mm 0.5s

  • Low Light Interior

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    Patterns

    These are my first digital photos taken with a Sigma SD9 way back in 2001. It was at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario on a bright summer afternoon.

    This is less than optimum for interior shots with a window as a backdrop. Because there was an expanse of white fabric in the foreground, exposure was lowered to capture more detail outside. Same problem though in low light situations – noise present in the foreground. Again, minimal adjustments here. Shadow Highlight with masking brought out detail in the curtain on the right side of the window but once again, Levels had to be adjusted to avoid confusion in the shadow zones.

    Lesson learned:

    It’s much better to slightly overexpose than underexpose. The math of digital photography maintains more information at the light end and allows more detail to be recorded and rescued when needed.

    Writer’s note: 

    By now it’s probably apparent that I have a ‘thing’ for windows and doors. For me they represent portals to the past, to the future, and to the unknown.

    There is a feeling that I try to capture in some of these impossible shots and even though it may be technically challenging, the underlying emotional response is still there.

    Can I still smell the linens as they were being pressed? Can I imagine the summer activities outside as I sprinkle more lavender water over the sheets?

    Yes! The same holds true for my writing notes as for the photo.

    Pay attention to the foreground when near time portals!

    Sigma SD9 – ISO 400+

  • Shadowlands

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    Washed Light

    This photo was taken at Upper Canada Village about 25 years ago with a Sigma SD9. It was shot in RAW and adjusted in Aperture and Photoshop.

    I still miss Aperture.

    This is what should be an impossible shot but I was going for the mood of deep shadow in the interior. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of noise in the low light areas so I made some minimal adjustments to these areas.

    It was taken at midday during the summer so the light is very harsh, intensifying the contrast. There is blowout in the road outside and flare that I removed from the metal hanging by the window. Still, there was something about the mood of the shot that made me want to keep it.

    Levels adjustments were used to unify the shadow zones and I adjusted the RAW image for deep shade to capture the colours more accurately. Finally, a noise filter was applied to reduce the colour noise in the green and blue channels. If I were doing this again, I would make multiple exposures at the time of capture.

    Writer’s note: I love going to places where it feels as if I’ve stepped back in time. I’m keenly aware of the heat, the buzz of summer insects, the sound of everyday activities.

    Wait.

    Horses hooves and distant oxen are not exactly everyday noises. The scents and colors are different, too. Colors of milk paint and dyed wool have a depth and feeling of permanence that is hard to describe. Take the shot. Pull in as much as you can for reference. Can you feel the meaning and purpose of things? This is how it used to be every day. Remember and use it for your historical novels.

    Sigma SD9 – ISO 400+

  • High Noon Light

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    Breakwater

    I wanted to see if there would be any exposure problems or color shifts with the sun shining directly on the light rocks and the sky in the background.

    This was shot in RAW format in the harsh light of early afternoon against an almost cloudless sky – ISO 100, f/14 at 1/400 sec. No filter used.

    The image was then imported to Aperture and simple adjustments made in RAW before exporting to Photoshop for resizing and sharpening for web.

    The image was exported as a 16-bit TIFF in ProPhoto color space to preserve the oranges and reds at the upper end of the tonal range. Then, after applying a slight curve and sharpening, it was converted to sRGB IEC61966 and resized for web and saved as an 8-bit JPG.

    Normally, this type of image should look terrible on the web, but this process managed to maintain the detail and texture in the rock, with no clipping in the orange areas and blue tones that stayed true to the original. Update 2026: Displays have improved immeasurably since this post.

    Writer’s note: Is there a benefit to writer’s block? Does exploring it have the same result as shooting this kind of photograph? I think it does. Exploring that which blocks us and looking for the overall balance with the rest of our creative life is what makes breakthroughs. Blocked? Fine. What does it feel like? Is the texture different? Describe it without ‘clipping’ and make it work!

    Canon Digital Rebel – ISO 100, f/14 at 1/400s

  • Dandelion

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    Lion’s Tooth

    Ah, the dandelion. This is one of nature’s most useful plants. Every year we do our best to eradicate it and it bounces right back! In this case, it grew between the cracks of some highly textured concrete.

    This shot was taken with a Canon Rebel XTi and basic adjustments in Aperture – now I would use Affinity.

    The effect of light and shadow is harsh because it was taken in very bright sunlight. It was so high contrast that it seemed as if it had been over-processed and the contrast boosted. Even the colour appeared too saturated. This is a great example of when not to shoot. Either that, or be prepared to do something creative with it in editing. I had fun making this ‘old Polaroid type’ transfer.

    Writer’s note: Do you have anything stashed away that makes you wince but you can’t bear to throw it out? Give it new life, just like this. Do something different with it. Take phrases and make greeting cards, or word puzzles. Have fun with bad writing! If anyone is fresh out of that, I have a stash I’m happy to share!