Camping At Nahatlatch Lake

Last week I had the good fortune to get out of the city for a few days. Along with a couple of good friends, we hit Hwy 1 and headed East past Hope and up Hwy 7 past Hell's Gate to Boston Bar. From there we took a left across the Fraser River onto what soon became a winding, dusty, gravel road.

Twenty minutes later we arrived here... Nahatlatch Lake!

What a gorgeous, quiet and private spot this is. The campsite had enough room for our three tents, there was a fire pit and across the road, our very own outhouse.

This was our home for the next few nights.

This was our view from the campsite as the sun set on Day 1 of camping...

And this was our dinner on Night 1! Mmmm gourmet burgers cooked to perfection!

Between dinner and dessert (Smores!), Mel even managed to get in a few Yoga poses.

Okay, so maybe those aren't 100% authentic Yoga poses, but hey, full marks for effort! Is it just me or is there a silhouetted moose head in this next one?

I've been wanting to get away somewhere far from the city for awhile, not just for my sanity, but for the opportunity to get some decent, starry-night-sky-long-exposure-pictures. Preferably ones that weren't polluted with the sodium-light-orange of high-density populated city and suburbs.

I have to say, I'm really happy with how these turned out.

Behold! The Milky Way!

These were taken on a 30 second exposure, ISO 1000, with a 10-20mm lens at f/4.  The only post processing done was a little de-noising and a tweak to the color.

When we were camping we were at the tail end of the annual Perseid meteor shower so not only was I delighted to see more shooting stars than normal but I was shocked to see the surprise cameo appearance entering the frame of this next picture!

I always wake up early when camping. This was the view from our lakeshore campsite at 6.15am. Like the night shots, this is also a long exposure (about 5 seconds) which is why the water looks so ghostly.

I'm thinking I should get up at dawn more often because the light was absolutely stunning. Then again, being surrounded by mountains, lakes and forests definitely helps create a picturesque scene...

These pictures were all taken about a 10 minute walk along the shore from where our tents were.

After a day of relaxation floating around on the lake and when it got too hot, swimming in the glacial water, I grabbed these next pictures.

The mist is actually dust kicked up by an ATV that passed by our campsite. It took almost twenty minutes for the dust to slowly drift across the lake.

After a fantastic meal of steak and talapia (thanks Derek for the mad campsite cooking skills!) it was time to relax by the fire for another night of stargazing and long exposure fun.

I love the glowing trails from the embers drifting up into the air.

On this night the lake was so calm I managed to get stars reflected in it. The smudgy column running down the middle of the picture is the Milky Way.

Here's the view directly over our heads above our campsite earlier in the evening (also showing the Milky Way). The dark orange at the bottom of the frame is the light from our campfire.

If you're looking for a beautiful, quiet and private camping spot, head up to Nahatlatch Lake (its about a 4 hour drive from Vancouver) - you won't regret it.

Until next time folks.

Mulieris Futura: Behind-the-Scenes Part I

I hope those of you who took the time to check out the short film Mulieris Futura enjoyed it. We certainly had fun making it and this is how we did it...

My main goal going into this shoot was to test out some newly acquired gear. Do you need this gear to shoot video on a DSLR like the Canon 60D? Absolutely not. Does it make a big difference to the shots you can capture? Hell yes!

Arriving at the location I decided to get the "heavy lifting" out of the way first by getting a bunch of steadicam-like shots. For this I used the awesome Glidecam HD 2000 which is a poor man's version of the $8,000+ pro steadicam rigs used for those smooth-moving, floating shots we see in Hollywood movies.

I love experimenting with camera movement as a director but like smooth, STEADY movement even more. On any kind of a camera this can be challenging never mind on a DSLR. The advantage of shooting video on a DSLR (among other things) is it's small size and weight to image quality ratio. These cameras can capture amazing images if used properly. However, the small size and weight is also one of their big disadvantages too because 99% of the stability of every shot is dependent on how steady your hand and wrist are as opposed to using your arms, shoulders and upper torso to help stabilize as is the case with larger, shoulder-mounted cameras. Adding to the image capture problems are things like moire and aliasing but that's a whole other issue!

The Glidecam is a low-budget solution for taking the shake out of your steps by using a gimbal mechanism that allows the camera to "float". The key to it is a) Balance and b) Operation. There are many Glidecam type stabilizers available on the market (like the Flycam for example) but very few allow micro adjustments for balancing which is crucial in finding that perfect center of gravity.

For a great video tutorial on balancing a Glidecam go here.

In terms of operation it's a very tricky piece of gear and like any instrument requires a LOT of practice! As you can see from my first real attempt shooting with it in Mulieris Futura I have a long, long way to go with it - Standing still I'm fine; Walking backwards or forwards I'm fine (providing I don't have to suddenly stop then move again); Walking sideways and tracking the subject as well as tilting up or down is a whole other challenge... The key is in a very subtle finger-touch of the gimbal - Grab it firmly and you defeat the object of the delicate balance, too light a touch and the rig wants to pendulum on its axis. A lot of the moving/tracking shots in the film I'm not very happy with - the horizon should NOT be swaying from side to side like we're at sea! I have a steep learning curve ahead...

Finally, when loaded up with the camera, battery and lens (in this case the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5) the rig can be quite heavy. All together it weighs around 5.5 lbs/2.5 Kgs which is a lot of stress on one's wrist. I found a cheap forearm brace (its the pad/velcro thing beside the rig in the picture above) on eBay that makes a huge difference in spreading the weight and allows me to shoot longer shots without grimacing in pain!

To reduce time screwing bolts in and out of my camera between Glidecam and tripod etc. I have a Giottos quick release plate system. The plate's tightening knob didn't quite clear the side of the Glidecam so I added a couple of layers of fabric tape to the bottom which also stops things from loosening and/or spinning off axis.

Mulieris Futura was shot on 3 lenses: The Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 on all the Glidecam shots and the wide shot that closes the film, the Super Takumar 28mm f/3.5 and the SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4. I've blogged before about the old Pentax Takumar M42 lenses and every time I use them I like them a little more! They are especially good when shooting video because they have a good amount of turn to their focus rings making it much easier to follow the subject and adjust during the shot.

Take a bow fellas - you too trusty fotodiox M42 to Canon-EF lens adaptor!

If you have any questions, fire away, I'd be happy to help!

Until next time folks, I hope I was able to share some useful info here. I'll cover another important new rig element next time as well as touch upon the Post Production side of making Mulieris Futura.

Mulieris Futura

As promised, here's the resulting short film from what was essentially a fun four hours of shooting on the shores of Deer Lake in Sasquatch Provincial Park. Located about a 20 minute drive from Harrison Hot Springs, it's a beautiful place especially this time of year. We were the only people there the entire time we were shooting!

Mulieris Futura from Neil Every on Vimeo.

"So what was that all about Neil?"


Well, that's entirely up to you. It's one of those, "make what you want of it" short films. The title is a Latin translation of Her Future and my interpretation is that the dreamy segments are actually flash forwards to an eventual or possible future the woman may or may not experience.

The story and indeed the shooting style itself came mostly from us arriving at the location and thinking "Wow! We have to film here!" I had some new camera gear I wanted to test out (I'll do a separate post on that next week) and we literally just started shooting at the edge of the lake with zero concept of a story beyond doing something moody and evocative. I'll leave you to decide as to whether or not that was achieved.

Huge thanks to Melanie for just going with the flow. Maybe next time (when it's warmer!) we'll go with your original suggestion of covering yourself in mud and twigs etc. and playing a wild woman in the wilds!

The music is all royalty free and is from a composer by the name of Kevin MacLeod who has lots of free to use music available here.

Until next time folks, I hope you enjoyed the film and I look forward to sharing more soon.

The Best of 2011 Part III

October began with me scoring front row tickets to a Vancouver Canucks pre-season game against the Edmonton Oilers and the pictures that resulted led to (in terms of numbers) my most popular blog yet. According to my tracking software, I received 1500+ page views - and that was just within the first 2hrs of posting!

TIME magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2011 was The Protester and October marked the beginning of the Vancouver "Occupy" movement. Given the events that followed the Canucks loss in Game 7, I'm sure the officer below had a busy year when it came to crowd control...

Week 42 brought with it a trip to the Westham Island pumpkin farm.

The result of my pumpkin carving certainly isn't up there in terms of great pictures from 2011 but as creative endeavors go I had to include it because I'm still proud of what I came up with!

Week 43 brought with it a trip to the PNE's "Fright Nights" exhibition. I had a frustrating night as far as picture taking went and mostly failed to meet my high expectations (if only I'd brought a small tripod!) but this one turned out great and wins the award for "Most Macabre Shot of the Year"!

One of my regrets of 2011 was not taking my camera everywhere I went. There were so many missed shots. However, in November while on my way to a meeting across town I did have the foresight to pack my gear and ended up with some nice images in and around historic Gastown. This one turned out to be my favourite...

Despite the freezing cold temperatures of Week 45, I wrapped up and had one last foray into long exposure night photography downtown. This image from the corner of Burrard and Nelson ended up being my personal favourite.

With the Fall there often comes some stunning sunsets and armed with what turned out to be one of my best performing lenses of the year, the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 wide angle zoom (had to get some geek material in here!) Week 46 ended up being hugely successful.

Inukshuks and Canadian Geese - talk about being a true Canadian eh?!

As 2011 came to a close, terrible weather and massive work commitments curtailed my photo-taking adventures to a large extent. Testing out a lens I picked up dirt cheap from a pawn shop I was happy with how this one at Vanier Park from Week 48 turned out...

And in another test (the newly acquired Tamron 90mm Macro lens), this one turned out okay considering the low light.

Sticking with lovable pets, Max, the Powell River Goldendoodle made a return and won the award in the 2011 "Awww!" category!

Perhaps its fitting that I close this retrospective photo blog look back through 2011 with this image...

All in all, 2011 was a big, crazy, unwieldy year in many ways. A lot of transition for me personally and professionally. Through the tougher times, along with my awesome circle of close friends (you know who you are!) my trusty Canon 60D and this blog helped me stay creatively inspired.

Though the sun has set on this particular journey, others await! There may be fewer photo blog posts to come in 2012 but I'll still be out there doing my thing - Stretching the muscles of my creative side is hugely important to my physical, mental and emotional health.

Thank you for letting me share my pictures with you over the last 12 months, for giving me hugely appreciated feedback and for continuing to encourage my endeavors. Stay tuned for what's to come next and as always...

Until next time folks!

2011 WEEK 51: A Sunshine Coast Christmas

The trip up to Powell River on the Sunshine Coast can be a little exhausting. There's a ferry connection to make from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale followed by a 2hr. drive along the extremely twisty road that runs up the peninsula followed by a second ferry from Earl's Cove to Saltery Bay.

Thankfully one of the ferrys was serving a new brand of Christmas Punch to keep passengers entertained...

The unfortunate recipient of said punch is Joel, a man I envy mostly because he's able to fall asleep practically anywhere. But he's a pretty good writer, doesn't smell bad and knows more about music than anyone else I know. If you love discovering cool albums and songs, if you love to laugh and if you're not at all politically correct then I highly recommend you check out Joel's blog here.

When we took Max the Goldendoodle out for a walk down to Powell Lake I saw this mysterious woman who may or may not be in search of her next starring role in a Fellini movie...

There was a break from family tradition this year with dinner on the 24th rather than on Christmas Day.  Great to see Laurie finally getting to relax on Christmas Day instead of being focused on performing miracles in the kitchen - and a good thing too since there were 14 for dinner this year.

There's something awesome and terrifying about the fact that year in and year out millions upon millions of families around the world spend so many hours (maybe even days!) preparing a feast that is consumed in the space of 2 hours.

Another family tradition is the presenting of gifts from family pets - on reflection this is absolutely ridiculous but, hey, its a tradition and I love it! This year I got this from one of our cats...

I make no apology for the general lack of festiveness to these pictures... Way too predictable! Besides, I decided to shoot some video over Christmas instead of stills as a warm up for what I hope to be doing a lot more of in 2012. Stay tuned for more on that. As for the Christmas video, well, I'll see how it turns out before I decide whether or not to share it!

In the meantime, here are some images from our trip back. The light at this time of year with the sun low in the sky really does some wonderful things.

What's that on the right hand side? Looks like Ogopogo decided to visit the Sunshine Coast for Christmas too!

A view of the ferry approaching across Saltery Bay. This truly is a beautiful part of the world isn't it?

The cats were especially happy to see us return home. Mostly because this meant that the lights on our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree would be turned on again. Based on how keen they are at trying to chew on it I think it must have had catnip infused into it during manufacturing...

H'mm... Next year's Christmas card image perhaps???

Until next time folks!

2011 WEEK 47: Jericho Beach

Finally some sun and finally a chance to get outside and suck in some fresh, albeit chilly air!

I had no plan. No specific spot in mind. So I jumped in the car, hit the gas and headed West... Eventually ending up at Jericho Beach. It's been forever since I walked around this area of Vancouver so I figured it was as good a place as any to start off. I ended up spending my whole photo excursion there.

Normally I quite like bringing out the colours in pictures - you've probably noticed my fondness for bright, vibrant tones. To try and capture some of the chilly weather I chose to desaturate many of these pictures. This next one was shot in colour but the strong highlights and shadows seemed to look better in black and white.

Here's an example of my usual "vibrant" tastes. Unlike the picture above, this one looked best in colour. In case you hadn't guessed yet, these were all taken with my Sigma 10-20mm super-wide.

You'd think that on a bright sunny day it would be easy taking pictures but the Winter light played havoc. I had to be extremely careful to avoid my own shadow. Believe it or not, it was 12.30pm when I took this picture. That is one low sun...

Several months ago I picked up an old used lens from a pawn shop for $30. Back in the day the EF 35-80mm was a kit lens that came with the purchase of the camera and like the current 18-55mm kit lens its a light, plasticky piece of garbage. I bought it with very low expectations but the wide to telephoto focal range was intriguing. This is the first time I've had a chance to really try it out and you know what? It's not half bad!

What a load of old bollards!

I couldn't really tell from the LCD screen of the camera whether or not any of these pictures were going to be keepers. Those that went to the trash mostly went there due to "operator error" (ahem! Still learning...). All things considered, for a piece of plastic with a few bits of glass in it, the 35-80mm is actually pretty sharp and renders nice, realistic colours and detail.

I wonder what the sign on this post once read? Maybe, "Warning: Do not park here during high tide"

"Nope, I'm not talking to you. I'm done with your crap". "Oh, yeah? Me too!"

You didn't think I could get away with not including a bird picture or two did you? This one would have been so good if I'd been just a little quicker with the focus.

Something that struck me with El Cheapo aka the 35-80mm, is it's funky, inconsistent and irritable nature. Especially when it came to lens flares and highlights. Some shots turned out garbage then others, where I moved the camera barely an inch, turned out fine. From this next angle, this was the only one that worked. It's an odd composition but the sparkles make it okay.

In hindsight, this next one would have turned out better if I'd switched back to the super-wide and gotten more of the trees framing the subject on either side. That's the downside of shooting with the Canon 60D which has a 1.6 sized cropped sensor (as opposed to the top of the line Canon 5D which is a full frame sensor). What this means is that a 35mm is closer to a 50mm in its field of view hence my love of the Sigma 10-20mm. Too much geek talk?

This is another one that took several attempts to get and probably would have been easier to nail with a lens more up for the task. In colour it looked very odd with ugly, strangely coloured lens flare. This is one fickle piece of glass/plastic... Shots taken with exactly the same settings, from exactly the same angle had completely different coloured and lens flares as well as variations in shape... Weird! Thank goodness for black and white at the push of a button.

Desaturated baby! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Stay tuned for WEEK 48 coming very soon... Until then, thanks for stopping by.