2011 WEEK 5: Inukshuks, Sunsets & Other Cliches!

Who doesn't love a good sunset?


I took the opportunity of some clear skies this week to do some experiments in silhouettes and back lighting to capture some Vancouver landmarks around False Creek. This first photo was the toughest challenge due to the sheer number of other eager photographers around. Oh, and to the guy with the words Press Photographer emblazoned across his shoulders, I say "You sir, are not nearly as important as you think you are and just because you have a bigger camera, a bigger lens and a press pass does not give you the right to barge in front of others when they are taking pictures!"

For much of the Winter in Vancouver we're used to it being damp and grey. On a clear day it can still feel damp and chilly but I love the light that comes from a sun low in the sky - wonderful long shadows... This can present its own set of problems for a photographer especially with the sun behind you - my trick is to find a good shadow and hide myself inside it. Shooting towards the sun is a whole other bag of problems. In this next one the Granville Street Bridge provided a great silhouette while helping eliminate bad lens flare.

Further around False Creek near David Lam Park, there were at least 25 inukshuks that someone (displaying far more patience than I could ever show) had carefully constructed. This time I decided to embrace lens flare, play the reflection on the water and use the flash to compensate for the crazy backlight while highlighting the foreground detail.

This is pretty much an archetypal False Creek image with the exception of there not being a little ferry. I tried waiting for one but the driver refused to bring it up to the dock at the right angle and the picture looked too cluttered. Plus I was getting cold by this point!

Not too much to say about this one except I love Vancouver's whacky sculptures! I still miss the upside down church that used to be over by Coal Harbour.

THE GEEKY:

All of this weeks entries were taken with the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 wide-angle zoom. Most of the work was done in-camera tweaking f-stop and shutter speed. No filters, nothing. Considering how much orange/gold light there is in these pictures you'd think a lot of  post-processing and manipulation was done. In fact all I did to these images was increase the contrast, increase the shadow detail for some of the shots with foreground detail and nudge up the warm tones a hair.