looking for colour

Last night I was at my boyfriend's place reading a book I bought myself - Understanding Flash Photography by Bryan Peterson. There was this interesting photograph that he took & he explained how to achieve it (to a certain degree) so I was playing around with that this afternoon. I'll try again but I'll need something more colourful for the background. Hawaiian shirt? I don't have one.

In any case, this is what I have thus far:

This would be better if I had been slightly further away from the drop.

I was looking at this & it kinda looks like a bear walking. Or does it?

Photographing water drops is not the easiest thing to do. Timing is everything. Thankfully there's high speed capability on my Canon 7d.

Prince in Calgary

Last month, my sister text me saying that Prince was coming to Calgary. All I said was "I'm totally in". The concert was last night & it was great! The only thing that was disappointing was that he didn't play as long as he had in other cities due to this interaction (from what we could tell) with this woman on the stage. There were some people brought up on stage from the audience to dance with his posse & one woman was a bit out of control which may have ended the concert for everyone else sadly. I have to get over the length of the concert & just really think about how great the concert was all around.

The concert was at the Saddle Dome & the stage was pretty cool. It was the shape of that symbol he used to be known as.

Here is me before the concert wearing my old T-shirt I bought at his concert in 1988 in Minneapolis with my new T-shirt I had just purchased:

And one last shot of the stage when he was playing Purple Rain.

A seriously great concert. Too bad it was shorter than we all wanted.

ummm...?

Yesterday I was driving in Altadore (Marda Loop specifically) and as I was pulling up to an intersection to turn right at the stop sign, I saw this:

I swear I stared at it for awhile before realizing how ludicrous it was. It made me laugh & I took a photo with my iPhone (yes, after putting the car in park). It's certainly one way to use a pylon!

comparison

It has been nearly a month since my 365 project was complete. Clearly I needed time away from it since I haven't drawn anything since; I have done some photography, as the posts have shown.

I haven't done the review of my year yet & may do that tomorrow, we'll see. For now, I am posting the original drawing of the last drawing I did in my 365 project. It was completed in 1988.

This drawing has my signature on it but I cut it off in the photo I took since it wasn't important to see in the photo. I'm happy to report that the drawing was dated ('88). So I was 18 when I drew it the first time. There certainly has been improvements.
Below is the image from September 11, 2011. The drawing from 1988 has yellowed & the photograph isn't the greatest (my flash was too close then too far).

The eye is better by far - if I want the eye to look like a true to life eye. I drew hands lots back then so the hand is quite good & not as 'sketchy' as the one I did in September - I knew that difference would be there. The hand (in the 1988 drawing) or mostly the thumb looks like my actual hand. The main difference in the hand itself to my actual hand in the 1988 drawing is the nails on the fingers. The drawing from September has elongated fingers which is what I wanted since I did want slight differences between the two drawings and I knew I had drawn my hand as my hand's actual size when I drew it the first time. I hadn't seen the drawing before I drew it again so when I dug it out, it was a bit of a surprise how I did it the first time.

I like them both. They're good in their own ways.

sweet potato

As we were driving to Yamnuska today, one friend of mine was commenting about my short form for the hike - Yam. When I texted him about hiking Sunday, all I said was "Yam Sunday?" and he thought I meant "yes, Sunday" referring to hiking happening in general. He wondered what "Yam" meant. (: So we hiked Yamnuska. It's a great hike. Close to Calgary & a quick hike. Only 40 minutes from Calgary and the hike took us only 4.25 hours with an elevation gain apparently of 900m. I have two favourite parts on that hike - the chain around a dodgy corner (which used to be a cord) - and the scree. The scree is fun. It's a gentle 'float' down the mountain. It does not get you to the bottom but it certainly cuts down the descent time hiking down.

view from lunch stop

wheeeeeeeeee......

oh ya

We saw a moose in the parking lot at Ribbon Creek yesterday when we were heading back for the second vehicle. He was huge (as they typically are). The silly thing was, I had my phone in my hand & could have taken a decent photo of him but I was too focused on my other camera which was in the back of the car.

Can you see the moose? This is the only shot I got. Sad photo. I've seen a moose before (being from Ontario & all) but it had been awhile. Too bad I didn't have my 7d with the 70-200mm IS lens!

If you can't see him, I understand. The S95 can only do so much.

playing hooky

Friday (yesterday) was to be 26C in Calgary & 22C in Kananaskis. What better way to spend your work day but in the mountains! I was supposed to hike today as well but it was calling for cold & rain so we passed unless there was sunshine this morning (which there wasn't but it was before 7 o'clock in the morning). At the end of it all, there was very little rain today. That's likely ok, I'm hiking tomorrow & could use a day of rest.

Back to yesterday's hike. I have done 2/3 of the hike before. We started at Ribbon Creek heading up to Ribbon Falls (this part I'd done) then up some chains to get to see Ribbon Lake and hike Guinns Pass (this I had not done) which connects to Galatea Creek trail that I hiked just last weekend. Whew! I had NO idea how long this was going to take & we did start late (I did not go with my regular crew). The hike was 7.5 hours including all stops for photos, lunch & rests. The gain was also higher than I thought - I did not do the math ahead of time - 920m. This hike is not a difficult hike, just long. There was one spot where we lost the trail & were bush whacking which I do NOT like (I was yelling 'this sucks' when we were there). That part was short lived. Thankfully, I've hiked many times before when we have had to do that & I knew which way to direct the lead guy - down! I knew we would run into the trail sooner than later.

I always like trees that appear to be growing out of rocks like the one below.

I took this so the length of the root was showing. Very cool how things grow!

Here is Ribbon Falls - not the normal angle that everyone takes.

The chains that we climbed up to get up to Ribbon Lake. Very fun! I loved that.

Where we stopped for lunch after the climb.

Ribbon Lake

These shots are up Guinns Pass. Sometimes I want my 7d - in this case so I could shoot at f22 to get a starburst effect in the shot below. The last image is at the top of Guinns Pass.

first autumn hike

Last Sunday we finally hiked Galatea Creek up to lower Galatea Lake. Since it was Sunday, we did not continue to upper Galatea Lake due to time restraints. Along the way we passed Lillian Lake also. It is a gorgeous hike and yes, I feel like I sound like a broken record. What hike in the mountains is not gorgeous?
As I have mentioned before, I have stopped taking my 7d with me when hike; at least I have lately. I have enjoyed getting to practice with my S95 and it really does take great shots. I actually considered taking the 7d last week and only bring my 100mm macro lens just for fun - I've hike that way before. Instead, I opted to use the macro on the S95 and it performed well. I also took a few wide angle shots, of course. I played with the aspect ratio on the camera so these are all shot at 16:9 format. I cropped the last shot on this post in Photoshop™. I really should have paid more attention to changing the image when I was taking each shot since some did not suit the 16:9 ratio. I'm not used to having that ability in the camera I'm using.

This is a view from the trail on the way back to the trailhead. I did take a few at the lake but since it was overcast, the sky was too white for my liking.

I love red in autumn colours & Alberta is really lacking red. I don't know what plant this is but it's red so I took a photo. I also like the green leaves which were turning red.

The bee in this image was VERY busy. It was on that flower so long that I was watching it thinking I could take a photo yet thinking again that it would move if I got my camera out. I just kept watching it & even when I did take the camera out, it left and came right back. Good of it to pose for me. (:

trying to survive

Last Sunday was our last hike of the summer of 2011. What a difference in weather compared to what tomorrow will bring (29C & sunshine). I wasn't focused on sunshine apparently last Sunday until we were on our descent. The overnight had left a dusting of snow & the weather was a wee bit chilly.

We unintentionally hiked Mount Galatea instead of the intended Galatea Creek hike - not realizing the difference until we were up there. I was told there were 3 lakes & Mount Galatea from the Chester Lake approach has 3 lakes but I think that hike is actually called the "Three Lake hike" - I'm totally making that up. I have no idea what it's called. Either way; easy, low elevation hike but my legs were tired from the hike the day before so I'm glad it wasn't higher. We turned around at the top of one crest since it was windy & downright cold.

Maybe we'll do it again some day - not this year clearly.

This little flower was along the trail on the way up so this is out of order. I took a few shots of flowers with snow on them but this is my favourite. I like that the face is totally covered with snow.

And this tree I saw on the way up and took the image on the descent. It totally looks like a torso & legs. I was trying to sort out how to get one of my friends heads in the shot & have it make sense but no luck. It looks like tweezers from the other angle.

this way please

Last Saturday I went hiking at Cory Edith Pass with a friend from the gym. She had 2 other girlfriends with her & I was supposed to have 4 others with me but the weather was calling for rain so my friends were not ready when at the last minute we chose to go (actually one friend went before the gal from the gym chose to go after all). It was a great hike & I could see going again when it's a full sunshine day. The weather was decent all around - sunshine at times & overcast at other times. We had a bit of drizzle on the descent near the trailhead which was ok cuz it was a sun-shower. This hike is considered to be the hardest hike in Banff National Park & I do not agree. It is more technical with the scrambles & bouldering but if you like that, it's not hard.

I took my wee camera with me as usual now-a-days. Nice not to have the weight of the 7D.

This was after the scramble down some fairly steep terrain. The trail was not well marked in some places so we were kinda guessing at times. Always great to see a sign like this once you make an unknown turn on some rocks & head down (hoping that you don't have to head back up!).

These are just a few shot along the way - out of order from the ones posted already.

I really liked that I saw this. Someone else had made this rock & I like the photo op I had. Too bad the sky was overcast at the time I was here.

the end of something...?

I haven't posted in over a week. It's weird actually. I was chatting to a girlfriend this evening about my last drawing & she 'gets it' more than she did before we chatted. I found the older drawing dated 1988 & will photograph it & post it up. It's too large to scan unfortunately.

I don't have an image to add to this post, it's more of a reflective verbal-thing ultimately. I miss having something like my 365 project on the go. What did I say about it earlier today? I said it was me doing something that I loved that I had gotten out of the practice of doing regularly. I did love it yet I am thankful to not have that daily obligation any longer. I suggested us meeting once per week yet I don't trust that could happen with this friend. It's all good. I can continue on my own regardless...and I will.

Smiles. (:

ending with things I love

Today is the last day of my 365 creative project. I will go through what I have done later this week/month & reflect on what my favourites are/were. For now, I ended with a drawing of things that are my favourite things to draw - eyes & hands - and I drew them with graphite (also my fav).

I thought of doing something 'significant' as my last drawing but it's not as though my drawings/photography will end. I'll get into that more on the reflective post.

Thinking about it now though, I suppose the drawing I did is somewhat significant. I have drawn this image before & I plan to find it & post it on this blog (hopefully it's dated). The reason I think this drawing is significant is for one, today is September 11 & it is the 10 year anniversary of that dreadful event in New York City (which I will not get into). Also, it is the end of my 365 project which is sad in some respects & yet a bit of a relief in others.

I drew the eye without looking at an eye but my hand was right there so I looked when I needed to. I purposefully elongated the hand & made it sketchy. I wanted the eye to be the focused part yet the hand is connected with the drop of the tear. I don't know why I initially thought of drawing these two subjects together so many years ago, perhaps I was sad one day. I have since thought of that old drawing & wondered where it was. I drew it again because for some reason I needed to and not because I'm sad, just because it just speaks to me and that's what art is all about.

Oddly enough, I used the last page of my 8.5x11 Bateman cover series sketchbook today. Another completion.

impossible

I chose to draw simon (my "manikin") last night. I tried to bend it into a pose that seemed tough yet interesting to draw. When I say 'tough' I meant, can I bend that way? At the end of it all, how it was posing was impossible for most anyone (aside from perhaps Cirque du Soleil performers). I kept changing the way I was seeing simon so it's almost an optical illusion. If you look at the torso, it could be the back yet the way I had it posed, it was the chest. If it is the back, the head is attached incorrectly - there are eyes in the back of the head. (:

I wanted simon to look like it wasn't a mannequin but actually had muscles so the drawing shows some definition in the glutes, arms & chest (if it's his chest when you look at it). The extended leg in the front looks hyper-extended at the knee. Ouch.

erased with right

I started this drawing on Wednesday. I did a quick line drawing of the plant on my coffee table which ended up being too light to even scan in for a progress shot. I continued on the next day & shaded in the stem for the other leaves (not drawn) and the plant pot. I softened the stems since the drawing wasn't reading right without the differentiation of the textures. I finished this today for last night (I was out too late & was out all day for work). The main leaf was the focus today & I softened that too with my blender then added the veins of the leaf on top for definition. I can't see them all so I only drew in the ones I could see from where I was sitting. The lighting may not be 100% accurate since I did the other two days in the evening & I did the leaf in the morning.

This was all drawn with my left hand (including the initial line drawing). I really feel I have much more control with my left hand after so much practice. I started this creative endeavour with my left hand so I thought I should have at least one drawing in the last week done with my left hand. This one turned out quite well as far as I'm concerned. The shadows really show that the leaf is elevated off the table it sits on.

mask-like

I took a photograph of a friend of mine a month or more ago. I have drawn from another one in the past and this one is a different pose. I had this vision to do a black/white with shapes type of drawing. I used a red tone instead of black since I needed a colour for his hair and that ended up being black. I made a slight error when colouring in the hair so I added a few locks of hair down the forehead to cover it up. Seemed logical although I did try to erase it initially.

I am not putting the reference photo up since it really is irrelevant.

I like how this turned out & my friend (who is the subject) loves it - he saw it last night after I finished it. I love the shadows of the clavicle bones at the shoulders as well as the pecs. He is a very lean individual so seeing definition was a great bonus. I did fix the nose slightly this morning & added the hair down the forehead, as I mentioned. Otherwise, all was completed last night.

my final week

I thought of going sketching with my sister again today but then thought perhaps I could work on a project that would take longer or perhaps even the rest of the week. That didn't happen.

I had an idea to draw one of the butterfly photos I took when I went to the zoo a month or so ago. I figured it would take awhile to draw but I was wrong. I have had it set out on my drafting table for quite some time; yet, just tonight I chose to work on it. I am happy with the stage it's at so I feel it's complete. It is done with oil pastels on pale green pastel paper.

I did not use my blender like I did with the baby portrait. The colours of the drawing are not as strong as the image and the flower is a bit on the pink side. Perhaps I'll keep working on it after all...

Sometimes though, things are just best left as a photograph.

wiped out

I went for a bike ride today since it was to be such a warm & sunny day. The ride overall was great but I did wipe out. I have done the ride countless times & I was with a girlfriend who had not done the ride before so when we had to basically do a very sharp U turn, I was warning her about it & I unclipped the wrong foot from my pedals & down I went. I'm not sure what actually cut my knee/leg. It was either my pedal after I got my foot out or my handlebar. The reason I fell is cuz I couldn't get my foot out fast enough so I would think it was the handlebar but the jury is still out on that. (:

After all this, my sister & I went sketching. We started at St. Mary's Cathedral. She sketched the entire church & I only sketched the mural above the door. I wasn't in the mood for perspectives & so many lines.

I left the people faceless since sometimes, that's just best. This was done with my default, graphite.

Since the sun had moved so much & we were no longer in the shade, we moved on to Lindsay Park. We found a great playground area & I quickly sketched some people watching their children on the monkey bars then I drew a knot on one of the trees - both with ink pen.

yes, it's blurry

I was visiting some friends & they had these gorgeous orchids on their window sill. I think orchids have such pretty little faces & the colours on hers were quite unique to others I've seen. Yellow & red. Very 'hot' in some respects.

Here's the reference shot:

This is what I ended up with. I really wanted to only focus on the centre of the flower since that's where all the colour is.

It could use a few more shadows but I like it anyway. Tough to sort out how to layer these colours. The watercolour class may be appropriate for where I am with watercolours. I keep trying them but I have no real formal training (aside from quick demonstrations when I've been in a more general art/rendering course).

playing with colour

I am thinking of taking a watercolour course later in September. I kinda understand watercolours & yet I don't. Taking the course would really give me the basics I think I'm looking for. I'll make the choice within the next week or so...

The other night I was playing with watercolour & really wanted to see what I could do with colour. It was fun. I started with basic blue, red & yellow then added green and added red to the blue & blue to the red & yellow. It was fun & I love how the colours turned out. Very deep yet transparent in some ways.

I almost wanted it to be the background of a card or something I could write on in general. I haven't done anything with it yet but I can if I chose to.

hothouse™

Many years ago, there was an Edmonton based company that made some pretty funky stuff for the house. I have a few items that I bought from there when I was living in Thunder Bay. The company is no longer in business - which is a shame. So I wonder how long ago it was now...

Last night I drew the picture frame I have which they produced. I really like it & always have. It's not exactly a frame though, it's a piece of stainless steel with magnets to hold on the photo. I had a photo of my previous boyfriend attached to it (taken at Gordon's Wine Bar in London) & I have since removed the photo to clear space so I could place the birthday watercolour card I received from a girlfriend & lean it against the frame. The paper is too thick & is also warped since it's watercolour paper so the magnets won't hold it on (not strong enough).

The watercolour card is gorgeous & I love it. The colours are really strong & I love the message on the card. I see it everyday since it sits on my fridge.

saved

On Tuesday night I completely forgot to create something until I was lying in bed & remembered that I forgot. I had thought of it earlier but had a friend popping by & I had something to get ready for him so I figured I'd just do it when he left, which didn't happen.
I had taken this photo in the morning of August 6, 2011 before I hiked Mount Allan. I did it early since I figured someone would lop off the top of the mushroom by the time I got back. I was wrong, the mushroom was still in tact, just shrivelled up from being in the heat of the sunshine.

I've taken shots of mushrooms before but the one above had more colours & I really liked it. I use my macro lens for close up shots but those were a bit blurry even with a tripod. I realized why photographers use the self-timer to take shots. That way, triggering the shutter of the camera doesn't cause shake & therefore blurry images.

no smoking

I have never been a smoker. I tried it way back in high school but it never took, thankfully. Both my sisters & even my younger my brother smoked. My sisters have long since quit & I have no idea about my brother. I can't picture him smoking anyway so hopefully he has quit too.
When I was thinking about this post, I remembered this email quiz that I was given years ago which asked which way the diagonal line of the no smoking sign goes. Is it right to left or left to right? Most people think it goes right to left but it actually goes left to right - just as if you were reading in any Latin based language. The cigarette symbol can be modified slightly but otherwise, they're all pretty similar.

Regardless of all that, I drew a box of matches last night. I like wooden matches. I think I like them because they normally come in some nice little boxes & they light easily. I generally grab a box whenever I see them at restaurants which, let me add, is rare now-a-days. The last ones I picked up were over a year ago when I was in Vancouver with my previous boyfriend. Matchboxes are handy to keep around since that way I can be reminded of where to go on a future visit to Vancouver. I didn't go to either of them this time, but the restaurants are still there so I'll shoot for next time!

dried

I did this painting and actually let it dry between stages. I don't totally understand watercolour aside from the fact that I need to let it dry and it can go on in layers. So that's what I played with on this painting. It took a long time to get this done. Thankfully I had something else I was working on as I was waiting.

I did all the fruit first then added the bowl at the end. The avocado in the group is off but not much can be done when it's on the paper. I like how the apples turned out.