A few weeks ago, it was summer. Hot days and warm nights. The ideal time to go camping with the loved one. We had been roasting here in Winnipeg for a few months already so the time had come to take some of that to a different place. We decided to go east. The west was burning and suffocating from what we had heard.
The east, as far as Ontario went was still fairly spared from forest fires and it looked like the best solution for us. So east it was.
The time has come. Huddled inside with nothing to shoot, a warm cup of [favourite drink] and a good book. Yes, I’m one of those old fashioned guys that still read paper books, no e-book or e-reader for me. Just a plain old paper book, the thicker the better. No more photography until the snow and the sunshine have come to change the landscape into a wonderland.
Is that reality? Not really. I can not stay away from my camera for too long. Bringing it in to get it cleaned is a big step for me. I often end up digging up my old point and shoot during that time. Taking snapshots and often disappointing “artwork” shots.
Here in Manitoba, summer and winter go hand in hand. With hardly any space for fall or spring. Winter ends, followed by 10 days of spring and summer is here in full swing. The same can be said for fall. While summer is winding down, or more accurately crashing down, winter is not far away. This year, however, we got a small reprieve to enjoy fall colours and temperatures.
On one of those days, I went out with a friend, to see what we could come up with, photography-wise.
Fall is today in full swing. Rain and hard wind, places that already see snow coming down – summer is gone. Get over it. After a few years living in Winnipeg, the chances are that you have the impression that there is nothing more to shoot, only to wait out the change of the seasons and get a few shots as novelties of the year. You feel the need to go further and further out of the city in order to get some “decent” shots.
It’s not just Winnipeg, it’s every place where you reside for an extended period of time. No matter how photogenic the place can be. Nothing left to shoot, you feel in a slump. No more original subjects to shoot, it’s time to hang that camera on the willows and move on. Or is it?
Summer’s drawing to an end. A few more weeks and we’ll have forgotten the beautiful days and the sweltering heat. Gone will be the evenings of preparing food on a barbecue and eating outside. We will be welcoming fresher evenings, less mosquitoes and other flying crocodiles. All we will have left are the memories we recorded in our brains and on our memory cards.
For now, both are working fine, but I’m hedging my bets by doubling up my memories on an SD card 
.
Lately I see more and more people put to shame. Including myself. It seems that shaming photographers for the choice of their shooting location gives more satisfaction than looking at the quality of the pictures or the subjects themselves. Shooting train tracks is one of those reasons to go berserk it seems. Lately, the actions of a few irresponsible people that call themselves photographers have caused an outrage over shots of sunflowers on farmers’ lands. The same can be said for those shooting “dangerous” wildlife.
So what can you do to protect yourself from social media outrage?
We’ve all been in that situation. Shoot it or miss it. RIGHT NOW. Most of the time I missed it. I am a relaxed kind of guy. Push me too much, however, and I’ll bite. Not necessarily where it is appreciated. So how does that show in my photography? I understand that this is different for each photographer, whatever his or her perceived status (pro, seasoned, beginner, …). Is the rush visible in a photograph? Is preparation visible in a photograph?
Let's find out. Some situations are easily recognisable, like this church interior in Belgium.
When you’re living in a city, the skies at night are fairly underwhelming. The shots you will get are the well lit buildings and bridges. A rare time you will find a place to shoot light trails from passing cars. Winnipeg has little traffic for light trails after dark. I’m not sure as to why, there is enough traffic, but perhaps not enough places from where to shoot that live traffic. However you turn it, in Winnipeg one will end up shooting this bridge.
It is now nearly world famous, in Manitoba. Shooting it in winter or summer makes little difference, as long as the skies are nice and clear. Sometimes, the sky over Winnipeg is lit up.
