Author Archives: admin

#66 Contest day!

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Blog contest (prize to be awarded!):
You are at a small festival and watching a local jazz musician getting intimate with his sax. You were lucky enough to get a front row view. The jazz man is 3m (10 feet) from you. It’s 8pm and the daylight is fading. The stage lights are starting to shape the light.

sax player

If you were doing an available light (no flash), photojournalistic portrait of the sax player from the waist up, what lens would you use?
I don’t care about the brand. I want to know the focal length & aperture. Zoom or fixed focal lens? Why?

Need help? Check this Exposed! article for ideas. It describes some shooting ideas and a photo from the Ottawa’s Bluesfest extravaganza!

Answers: The first reasonable and fully correct answer will receive a ChelseaGallery.ca print like the one mentioned yesterday. Please submit your complete answers via e-mail: Harry@HarryNowell.com.

The winner will be contacted by e-mail. A mailing address is needed to send the prize! Correct answer and winner will be announced next week.

Good luck,

Harry

#65 Tomorrow

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Tomorrow (Thursday, May 15th) is quiz day on the blog.

I will be posting a skill testing photo question on this blog in the late morning, early aftrenoon. The answer will be available within my Exposed! articles. The prize is this 9.5″ x 14″ print from ChelseaGallery.ca – framing and matting not included!

Blog Quiz Prize

Study hard! Send your answers as instructed tomorrow!

The first reasonably correct answer will be contacted and your print will be delivered to the address you provide.

Good luck,

Harry

#63 Exposed!, contest and ski awards!

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This week:

  • my monthly newsletter, Exposed! will be sent to subscribers. Catching Superman will be our quest!
  • there will be a prize awarded for the first correct answer of a skill testing question on this blog – stay tuned. The prize will be from ChelseaGallery.ca

On the weekend I went to an awards and end of season banquet for XCOttawa. I provide the elite XC ski team with photos every year: XCOttawa

The team is a small powerhouse of skiers lead by coach, John Suuronen, who, by chance, coached me many, many winters ago! Their site, XCOttawa, is full of ski info!

Some highlights:

Karl Saidla, team president, handing out awards:

XCOttawa

Megan McTavish thanking coach John Suuronen for his hard work:

XCOttawa

Coach John Suuronen showing off his smile:

XCOttawa

The snow will return!

H

#62 – Working Creatives Group

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Last week I facilitated the Working Creatives Network Group for people working primarily in a creative field. I started the group as many of us work without much interaction with others in the field. The group encompasses over 100 photographers, illustrators, designers, writers, film & video producers with an eclectic mix of talents coming to sessions. Meetings usually bring 10-25 creatives to share ideas.

The last session featured Claudia Salguero – photographer and digital painter. Claudia uses Corel Painter to produce fine art and portraits. She is a Master Painter and is holding a Corel Painter Workshop at the end of May.

H

#61 Going fast

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I like going fast.

I like making other people look like they’re going fast, too.

Mountain Bike Motion

The picture above was shot on trails in Gatineau Park using techniques of motion I will be discussing in next week’s Exposed! newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter at the top, right of this page.

I will be covering these motion techniques in my upcoming bike race photo workshop.

Yeah, it’s fun!

#60 Truth and Rumours

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Ok, rumour first.

Nikon is rumoured to be getting ready to release the new D3x – a full frame 24.4 megapixel camera. This would knock the socks off almost any other DSLR on the market and should have Canon a little nervous. For quite some time Canon has been top of the DSLR pile.

So what?

At 24.4 rumoured full frame megapixels this sensor will give you a reasonably big file. If you need a BIG (as opposed to plain big) film is still a very good option. I have been approached by clients with BIG needs knowing I still shoot a lot of film. The fabled D3x may make BIG a closer reality with DSLR cameras.

The potential D3x is starting to get my attention.

I keep a digital camera in my stable for editorial and speedy needs but film still does well for my stock and gallery needs. Claims that digital is cheaper than film are fewer now as people recognize the high cost and quick depreciation of digital cameras and necessary equipment compared to film bodies. The D3x may depreciate over a longer (for the industry) useful timeline because of the relatively big file size. My scanner still wins for quality at the BIG sizes. So the D3x rumours have my attention.

The gossip:

DP Review – Login may be required

Nikonwatch

Engadget

Imaging Insider

Truth

Want to try some pro or semi pro gear? Headshots Rentals is offering students on my Bike Race Photo Workshop a chance to borrow some pro or semi pro available rental equipment as part of this course! This is an amazing chance to try some high end gear for free within this practical photo session!

Much less exciting… I have a D100 for sale. I have just upgraded to a bigger digital camera for my editorial and speed needing clients. It’ll be a cheap entry to digital for someone. Interested? Let me know.

Truth and Rumours. Very fun.

H

#59 Prizes

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As a thanks to my blog readers I will be posting a quiz question on this blog once a month – The first correct answer will receive a prize from ChelseaGallery.ca Stay tuned – the first quiz will be within the next two weeks.

Lake Superior at ChelseaGallery.ca:

Lake Superior at ChelseaGallery.ca

The story – Years ago I drove across Canada many, many times.
One of the most magical areas for me was the north shore of Lake Superior. It has been immortalized by ancient native pictographs, Gordon Lightfoot’s eerie ballad “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”,
Bill Mason’s canoe films and art – and not to be missed – Group of Seven’s stunning portrayal of Lake Sueprior.

The north shore of Lake Superior has tugged at me to pay a proper visit. And that meant in a canoe with supplies for 10 days. I made my chance one summer. We drove to the small town of Wawa and set off on our adventure. It is stunning, beautiful, merciless… and tugging at me to make another trip soon.

This ChelseaGallery.ca photo glorifies the expansive beauty of this, the largest freshwater lake in the world. It is magnificent!

#58 Scooters

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Researching some new ideas for stock was on the agenda recently. My girlfriend bought a scooter last summer and loves it!

We went on an exploratory creative ride with her scooter and my teeny Nikon P50 ‘point and shoot’ to test a few scooter ideas for my stock photo work – likely for my main agency, AGEFotostock. The scooter concept went well.

scoot

I was a little frustrated with a couple of limitations of the point and shoot – ie a short & frustrating delay. It IS a consumer based P&S that I do not know well… I was asking a lot – like asking a SMART car to perform like a Porsche 911.

The session gave me enough info to shoot the work properly with an appropriate camera and more attention to the set – clothes, etc.

This is a great part of my work – very fun for Harry!

#57 Remember Scott?

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Scott was my assistant for two weeks as he completed his work placement portion of his Algonquin College photo program. He posted many of my blog entries while he worked with me.

Scott is now in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, a windsurfing mecca. He is combining his love of windsurfing with his photo skills to launch his photo career. A good idea, as people have a better chance at success pursuing those things they love! Of course, good business sense and good timing are needed to achieve your goals, too!

While Scott was here he most wanted to learn about the business side of photography and he helped prepare my Creative Business Seminar. He already has good photo and post processing skills!

Read Scott’s blog to learn about his new business adventure and windsurfing tales. He has an amazing summer scheduled following the wind around the world.

Good luck Scott! I’ll be following your travels to success.