#210 Exposed! Photo Newsletter – Cheating or Tweaking

Our latest ‘Exposed!’ newsletter has been sent out:

Post Processing – Cheating or Tweaking

“But that’s cheating!”

It’s a common response when people discuss tweaking or ‘post processing’ work.
In this edition of Exposed! we look at what happens after you close the camera’s shutter. We discuss the options and ethics of tweaking photos.

Some of you will have received the newsletter by email in our new format. We’re very excited! We welcome any comments – please comment via the blog below. If you would like to receive this by email please sign up at the top, right of this page.

Post Processing - Cheating or Tweaking?

#209 Photography for Communications Professionals

After requests by government and organizations for photo instruction for communications departments we are now offering Photography for Communications Professionals as a standard course.

Past clients have included:

  • Accreditation Canada
  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
  • Canadian Red Cross
  • CHF (formerly Canadian Hunger Foundation)
  • Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
  • Service Canada

Photography for Communications Professionals

In this one day session we start by covering some photo fundamentals as well as ideas specific to communications departments. We get practical on the course by pulling out the cameras and covering in the field photo exercises.

Communications employees will learn to:

  • take better photos
  • evaluate imagery for department or company use
  • understand photo concepts when working with photographers

We have run this course for teams and departments – now it is available for individual members of an organization.

March 25th, 2009 – full day workshop
$575

#208 Canadian Ski Marathon photos

This weekend we skied in the Canadian Ski Marathon. It’s my fourth time since the early 80’s. While it was a fun adventure – and not work – I brought a little point and shoot.

We had decent weather despite the drizzle Saturday afternoon and ‘hard packed’  conditions on sunny Sunday. Below – Ralph is a proud skier from Nakkertok Ski Club!

Canadian Ski Marathon

The ski marathon is a wonderful event – not a race – that brings out old and young alike. See a video clip – en francais – thanks to Radio Canada. I met people on the trail whose jackets were proudly covered with CSM badges – some had participated for thirty years! Notice Bill’s sleeves below:

Canadian Ski Marathon

The event brings skiers cross country from Lachute to Gatineau, Quebec offering the adventurous the chance to ski 80 km each day. Skiers can choose to ski as little as 12km.

The most challenging category is Coureur de Bois Gold where skiers ski 80km each day carrying all gear needed for the weekend and sleep outside overnight on the trail. Read a Coureur du Bois story.

Canadian Ski Marathon

I took only a few photos – what you see here. I spoke with one skier who knew I was a photographer “You must have lots of great photos…” Just a few – I was working as a skier not a photographer!

#207 Alaskan photographer featured

In 1992 I graduated from Yamnuska Mountain School‘s three month
Mountain Skills Semester program. I was 24 and wanted to learn the
challenging mountain skills of climbing, back-country & telemark
skiing, glacier travel and whitewater canoeing.

I was more interested in learning the soft skills of teaching in physically and mentally challenging environments. While on the course I met Laurent Dick, one of the other students. He came from Switzerland as he had fallen in love with the mountains and northern climates of North America.

Antarctica Laurent Dick

As often happens, we went our own ways and lost sight of each other. Then, last week in a pub in Chelsea, I visited with a friend  who was drawing verbal pictures with his stories of a recent dog sled trip in the Yukon. He loaned me a book of the Yukon Quest, a 1000-mile dog sled race from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon. I beamed
when I saw the book’s photographer was Laurent Dick!

Antarctica Laurent Dick

I found Laurent on the world wide web and 17 years after our shared Yamnuska experience we ended up talking for an hour this past weekend. It was interesting to discover we have followed similar, but different, photo paths.

Antarctica Laurent Dick

Laurent now lives in Juneau, Alaska and pursues his passion for the
outdoors and photography with a good business. He is the author of three coffee table books  – the latest being “Antarctica” – as well as the co-author of two other books. He runs polar-photo.com and www.alaska365.com. Well worth a visit! Laurent’s photos are listed in this post, with permission.

antarctica

#206 More Student Successes!

In the fall I met Stanley Saganash who enrolled in our Creative Fundamentals photo workshop. An avid photographer, Stanley was interested in making photography part of his work.

Stanley was dedicated! – he drove almost 700 km each way to attend the workshop from Waswanipi in northern Quebec.

He enjoyed the course and enrolled in our Natural Light Portraits course in January. His skills improved again. He now offers a photography service within his community.

Nice work Stan! Photos printed with permission:Stanley Saganash

Stanley Saganash portraits

all photos © Stanley Saganash

#205 Eastern Canadian xc Ski Championships

This weekend I had a small assignment to shoot part of the Eastern Canadian Nordic Ski Championships in Gatineau Park hosted by Skinouk. I was shooting for XCOttawa.ca who cleaned up in the women’s open race – 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th. XCOttawa.com

Not bad, eh? It was relatively mild but felt blisteringly cold due to humidity. I saw some heavily frost bitten noses:

Frsotbite nose

Racing was tough and conditions were good.

XCOttawa

Below are some select race photos shot on Sunday’s 10 km course.

Photos are available for sale:

  • $15 for a web sized photo – not intended for printing
  • $20 for a 1000 x 1500 pixel file (prints up to 5×7) – high speed internet needed
  • $45 for a high res file (20+megabyte file)

Please  contact us with your bib number for availability and payment options.
Eastern Canadian xc champs
Includes license to use the image for personal use.

Eastern Canadian xc champs

Eastern Canadian xc ski champs

Thanks to the ski patrol for keeping us safe!