Sunlight In The Ravine Of 'The Forty', Grimsby - Hybrid HDR

(Click on the image for a larger view)

One of my 'Go To' places for photography is right here in Grimsby - the ravine down which the creek named 'The Forty' cascades from the waterfalls at the top of the Niagara Escarpment, down through the downtown and North to the shore of Lake Ontario some 1.5 km (1 mile) downstream. It is on my 'Go To' list because it is a short walk from the house and is right in the core of Grimsby,

The ravine is fairly narrow and deep, winter sunlight only enters it at a suitable angle for a short time in the afternoon. Any earlier or later and the angle is too low to illuminate the creek-bed. In this image, the large slabs of dolostone that have fallen into the bed of the creek as it has eroded the ravine out of the face of the Niagara Escarpment. and a recent cold temperatures coupled with a nice snowfall, have frozen the creek and blanketed the area in white, creating this classic scene.

I have been here often and will continue to wander here. - JW

The image is a hybrid HDR (High Dynamic Range) image, i.e. made of a combination of an HDR image and elements of the conventional images used to create the HDR. This has been done to clean up any artifacts of the HDR (and associated tone-mapping) process.

The original three images used to make the HDR were taken using a Nikon D5000, tripod mounted, with an 55-200mm VR lense set to 102mm, f/6.3, ISO200.+/-2EV auto bracket with a EV+1/3 bias (to compensate for the brightness of the snow and keep it white). The three images were processed using Luminance/Qtpfsgui using the setup information embedded in the file name and as detailed below. Then, in GIMP, the base HDR image as well as the 3 source images were set up as layers. The base HDR was combined with the EV+0 image using 40% transparency to form the working image. After that elements of the other layers were selectively combined by using a soft edge eraser to integrate areas impacted by HDR/tone mapping artifacts and to improve detail in some locations. Some tonal adjustment was then performed using curves, saturation was increased to compensate for the relatively flat output from the Mantiuk operator in the tone-mapping stage, sharpening, add border and scale to 1024 wide for posting here.

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Qtpfsgui 1.9.3 tonemapping parameters:
Operator: Mantiuk
Parameters:
Contrast Mapping factor: 0.1
Saturation Factor: 1.2
Detail Factor: 6
------
PreGamma: 1

For more photos in a new tab, visit my flicker phtotostream at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwvraets/ )

Or visit my Eyefetch posts at:

http://www.eyefetch.com/profile.aspx?user=jwvraets/ )

Red Leaf In The Snow

 From looking at this image you might be tempted to believe this is a black and while image rather than another sample of my colour work. Bear with me...

This photo was taken about halfway between the base of the Niagara Escarpment and Beamer's Falls along "The Forty" the lovely creek flowing down the Escarpment through the town of Grimsby, on its way to Lake Ontario about 1.5 km (1 mile) North of here. The bed of the creek lies in a steep-walled, heavily wooded ravine and, as a result of the thousands of years of erosion, is littered with huge slabs of dolostone that fell into the bed as the creek cut through the Escarpment face. With the recent heavy snowfall and cold temperatures, the waterway is largely frozen over and everything is pretty much snow covered. In places like this, a small amount of water has run over the top of the large rock slab and formed a border of icicles.

If you think this is a Black & White image, look again. Amidst all the white snow cover, a lone maple leaf, still in its full red glory, has somehow found its way onto the snow surface and sits there in lonely glory near the top centre of the image.

The image was taken using a tripod mounted Nikon D5000 fitted with an 18-55mm VR kit lense, at 55mm, f/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO200. Minimal PP was done using GIMP: tonal range expansion to recover full range, slight saturation boost, sharpen, add border, scale to 1024 wide for posting. - JW

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For more photos in a new tab, visit my flicker phtotostream at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwvraets/ )

Or visit my Eyefetch posts at:

http://www.eyefetch.com/profile.aspx?user=jwvraets/ )

Sittin' On The Dock By The Bay - Molson Coors Beer Vat Move, January 2011

This is a shot showing 3 (actually you can make out a bit of the fourth) of the 6 beer fermentation tanks as they sit on the Hamilton Ontario docks ready to begin what had been originally planned as a 4 -day convoy by tractor-trailer move to the Molson Coors facility in Toronto, Ontario, some 108 km (about 65 miles) away. This was taken from the publicly accessible border of the docks area on the Southwest of the facility. The whole area was illuminated by some serious lighting set up for the occasion and fortunately, made photography much easier. One result of the scale of the tanks and the convoy in conjunction with the dramatic lighting was to give the whole area the appearance of a number of rocket boosters being prepared for launch rather than the more mundane reality.

For a further description of the tanks and the event, see my other photos posted here.

The ship in the backgound is the Algolake, a Great Lakes cargo vessel not related to the move.

For more photos in a new tab, visit my flicker phtotostream at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwvraets/ )
 

Or visit my Eyefetch posts at:

http://www.eyefetch.com/profile.aspx?user=jwvraets/ )

Shooting Info: While posted across a street bordering the docks area, the image was taken with a tripod mounted Nikon D5000 (ISO400, f/5.6, 1/3 sec, aperture preferred mode with a EV-2/3 bias to compensate for general nighttime darkness), 55-200mm VR kit lense at 165mm, processed with GIMP (very minimal - sharpen, add border and scale to 1024 wide for posting).

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Molson Coors Beer Fermentation Tank Move , Hamilton, Ontario Docks- January 7, 2011

On Friday night, January 7, 2011, a convoy of some 50 vehicles began to transport six huge beer fermentation tanks from the Hamilton, Ontario docks area to the Molson Coors brewery at Carlingview drive in Toronto, Ontario, a distance of approximately 108 Km (65 miles). Each tank is a monster: 45 meters (110 feet) long, 7 meters (22 feet) in diameter and capable of holding the equivalent of approximately 1.4 million bottles of beer (feeling thirsty?). By the time you account for the height of the flatbeds, the total height of the load is about 8.7 meters (27 feet). The sheer size meant the convoy had to move at walking speed, and along with the need to temporarily take down power lines, traffic lights, street lights, etc., as they moved forward as well as restore them after passing by (about 1,200 power lines alone, I was told by a crew member), and the restriction that they move only between 21:00 and 06:00, meant a 4-day journey as initially planned, and, as of Monday January 10, 2011, expected to take double that time due to weather-related delays. Hamilton was chosen as the port of landing for the tanks since route from the Toronto docks to the brewery did not permit loads of that size to pass.

These show one of the Challenger Motor Freight tractors and some of the 6 tanks (one per tractor). What you do not see are the power line crew vehicles, the police vehicles, the various support crews, etc. This was taken in the dock area where the convoy was staged and shows the site shortly before departure. The tanks have the appearance of rocket boosters as opposed to their more mundane purpose. (For more photos in a new tab, visit my flicker phtotostream at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwvraets/ )

These images were each created from a 3 shot auto bracket (+/-2EV ISO400) using a tripod-mounted Nikon D5000. The Nikon was fitted with an 18-55mm VR lense set at 18mm for the tractor close-up and 26mm for the panoramic view of the tanks, f/5.6. The resulting images were processed with Luminance/Qtpfsgui to produce the base HDR image using the setup information embedded in the file name and as shown below. The base HDR image was then loaded into GIMP along with the 3 images used to make the base HDR, and by selective deletion using a soft brush, various parts of the base HDR image were replaced by corresponding elements of the original images. This was done to repair the artifacts arising from HDR processing and tone-mapping, as well as to get a more natural look in certain areas. Once done, the resulting multi-layer adjusted image was flattened, border added, and, scaled to 1024 high for posting.

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Qtpfsgui 1.9.3 tonemapping parameters:
Operator: Mantiuk
Parameters:
Contrast Mapping factor: 0.1
Saturation Factor: 1.2
Detail Factor: 3
------
PreGamma: 1

The Vasco Da Gama Soccer Club, James Street North – Hybrid HDR

The James Street North area of Hamilton, Ontario has a rich Portuguese cultural history. This can be seen today in the Portuguese influenced restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and, in the cultural clubs. The Vasco Da Gama Soccer Club is one of the most visibly prominent buildings in the area, in part due to its architecture but, at the Christmas period, the lighting. - JW

The image was created from a 3 shot auto bracket (+/-2EV ISO320) using a tripod-mounted Nikon D5000. The Nikon was fitted with an 18-55mm VR lense set at 24mm, f/5.6. The resulting images were processed with Luminance/Qtpfsgui to produce the base HDR image using the setup information embedded in the file name and as shown below. The base HDR image was then loaded into GIMP along with the 3 images used to make the base HDR, and by selective deletion using a soft brush, various parts of the base HDR image were replaced by corresponding elements of the original images. This was done to repair the artifacts arising from HDR processing and tone-mapping, as well as to get a more natural look in certain areas. Once done, the resulting multi-layer adjusted image was flattened, border added, and, scaled to 1024 high for posting.

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DSC_2997_jamesvascoclub01v02multlayadjcropbordx1024_pregamma_1_mantiuk_contrast_mapping_0.1_saturation_factor_1.2_detail_factor_2
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Qtpfsgui 1.9.3 tonemapping parameters:
Operator: Mantiuk
Parameters:
Contrast Mapping factor: 0.1
Saturation Factor: 1.2
Detail Factor: 2
------
PreGamma: 1

Toronto Skyline - Looking South Down Bay Street

Over the past couple of months, I have become more and more involved in night photography and HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography, somewhat as a result of acquiring a new toy, a Nikon D5000 DSLR. Over the next while I am going to post some of these images, and hopefully others, and get a bit more active in this blog again. Hope you enjoy them.

This is the view looking South from one of the office and apartment towers in downtown Toronto. The street running up diagonally from roughly the lower left frame corner to the frame centre is Bay Street, North of the financial district (which is the complex of tall buildings in the background). The large tower-like structure in the foreground rising right through the frame is a smokestack for a large heating plant serving many of the towers in the downtown core. The CN tower is the blue spike-like tower in the upper right of the frame

The whole thing looks rather festive and if you have to live in TO, then this is a pretty fine view. Best wishes to all of you in the New Year. - JW

This is NOT an HDR image but is rather a manual blend of two conventional images with a little bit of shadow area supplemental detail also manually blended in from an 2-image HDR (Mantiuk operator using Luminance/Qtpfsgui). All PP done with GIMP. Taken using a Nikon D5000, 2 images, +0EV and -2EV, ISO 640, f/4.0 with an 18-55mm VR kit lense at 18mm. And, of course, a tall building.
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Warner Bay Sunrise #3

This is yet another in the series from that one special morning. Colours in the sky changed rapidly and it was simply a matter of moving the tripod to recompose and shooting as fast as possible.

Warner Bay Sunrise #4

On that same morning as the previous shot, I waited a few minutes and the sky changed yet again. Truly a very dynamic sunrise event.
Once again on a tripod and the subsequent postprocesing with GIMP was minimal

Warner Bay Sunrise #2

This is another in a series of images taken last autumn while visiting friends at their home on Warner Bay. Everything was changing fast and the sky was simply spectacular during the sunrise.

Once again, on a tripod and long exposure with minimal post-processing in GIMP.

Sunrise Warner Bay #5

This was taken after getting up early while visiting friends at their house on Warner Bay, about 10 km Southwest of Tobermorey, Ontario. Some days it really does pay to get up early.
Edited in GIMP. Minimal PP other than levelling the horizon, scaling and sharpening. A tripod was used (with an 8 sec exposure there really wasn't another option).

Custom Bike?

During a walk along Gerard Street in Toronto this past Saturday, in a futile attempt to get into the Don Jail (part of Open Doors Toronto, nothing criminal here) Adrienne and I passed an "Antique" shop. As part of the effort to lure you in, this motorcycle was parked up front.

In its better days this was a fairly nice Kawasaki bike. Now it has passed into bike oblivion and has been tarted up to attract potential customers. Any trace of what passes for macho-chique is now long gone and it is chained to the wall to prevent its (unlikely) theft.

Visit to the Mystic Muffin

This past Saturday, while on a fruitless attempt to visit a few of the choicest venues for the open Doors Toronto event, Adrienne passed through the Moss Park area and found ourselves Elias Makhoul's Mystic Muffin restaurant at Jarvis and Richmond of Toronto.

The first thing that caught my eye was the sign on the side of the building. Satisfied that we were both of age (by the Muffin's criteria anyway), we entered. Deliberating at the extensive and colourful menu, Elias (the owner) encouraged us to try the apple cake - $2.00 a piece (a generous one at that) for with our coffees. He looked at his watch, noted he was closing in half-an-hour, and proceeded to enter into a negotiation process. The offer was to sell us half of an apple cake for $8.00 instead of $8.95. We hummed and hawed. But it sure smelled great so I agreed providing he cut off some for us to have with our coffees. Elias then said we should leave the cake intact and he would give us a couple of regular pieces of apple cake instead as a snack (since he was going to close soon anyway). The deal was done and Adrienne and I settled on stools at the bar to enjoy.

A few moments later and slightly agitated man entered, clearly under the influence of some type of recreational pharmaceutical, and proceeded to loudly offer to pay Elias $10.00 tomorrow (i.e. Sunday) if he could have a piece of Rice Crispy Square now. Elias then suggested he may never see the money if he did that. Elias furthermore reminded him that he was still owed money from the last time. A debate ensued. Although the man was somewhat agitated, the verbal sparring was clearly good natured, although protracted. The offer to pay tomorrow was repeated. Elias reminded him that "tomorrow" was Sunday and the place was closed. I quietly signaled to Elias that I would buy the square for the man. Elias nodded and winked to us and carried on with the negotiations, but quickly gave the man the square, after which he left the restaurant and returned to the Moss Park grounds.

Elias then explained to us the man was a regular there. He had no money, lived in a men's shelter and was a long-time drug user. His history was typical for the area: recurring cycles of drug use, police arrests followed by cleaning up and getting clean, return to the only place he knows and could afford, reestablishing his "friendships", getting that first "free" welcome back hit from his dealer and the certain and rapid return to the druggie lifestyle. The area has an inordinately high concentration of shelters and halfway houses. The parks are home to many others in the same boat. Elias said that in the 16 years he had been in that location, nothing much has changed and he has a number of regulars who benefit from his end-of-the-day cleanup.

The Mystic Muffin is an intriguing place. If you visit, spend some time reading the menus and especially the notices on the blackboard. The apple cake fully lived up to Elias' claims. Visit for a great snack and enjoy the local colour.

Bev's Diving Platform: Variations on a Theme

Last winter was pretty hard on the diving platform just offshore from my in-law's place on Long Lake in Northern Ontario. It finally succumbed to the ice and had to be rebuilt. With fewer young ones around, a smaller platform was in order and this is what replaced the old one.


These images of a favourite spot area variations on a theme. They were taken at different times: dawn (with mist off the lake), at night with a flash-light for illumination and during a particularly spectacular sunrise.

Variations On An Iris.

I love Iris, the flower , not the girl (otherwise my wife would disapprove!!!) These are a collection of variations on images of a single stalk of Iris blooms taken in varying lighting conditions and at various angles. As you can see, most are close-ups of various strengths.

Iris are not only beautiful, but in my opinion are the most improbable looking flower anyone could design. Hence the fascination, I guess.

Enjoy.

Some Spring Flower Close-ups

After a recent rainstorm, I went out to the garden and captured a few images.

The first one is a water droplet in the junction of some leaves.

The second is a pink Columbine (Aquelegia) covered in fine water droplets. This close-up image is of a section perhaps 2 cm (about 3/4 inch for our American friends) wide.

The third image is of water drops on a tulip petal (alas, one of the last tulips of the season here).

The fourth image shows a close-up of a section of an Iris, also with a single water droplet.

Springtime in Algonquin Park

It is spring in Algonquin Park, a large provincial park in eastern Ontario. The snow still (rarely) appears in sheltered pockets but, for the most part is gone. Flowers are blooming. This includes the iconic Trillium, Ontario's provincial flower.

The first image is of a white Trillium along the Mizzy Lake trail in the south-eastern portion of Algonquin. Note the red markings. This is quite different from the more common type of pure white Trillium found in southern Ontario (this one is in Grimsby) as shown in the second image.

The third image is of a red Trillium, also along the Mizzy Lake trail.

The fourth image is of flowers on a shrub that grows quite extensively in the park (and also in the Bruce Peninsula). In the fall, I have seen bears eating the berries. Unfortunately I do not know the name nor did a search produce any results. If you can identify it, please leave a comment - would be much appreciated.

Also along the Mizzy Lake trail is a stream running out of (not surprisingly) Mizzy Lake. A few small falls appear there and two are shown in the fifth and sixth images.

One thing you can count on when driving through Algonquin is when you see cars parked along the roadside, look for a moose. The seventh image is of a young moos with small antler buds. Its winter fir is moulting and thus the bare-looking spot on the shoulders.

Finally, there is the Beaver. In this case it is not the animal but the aircraft widely used to access remote areas lacking roads but with lakes large enough to land and take off from. This model is, I beleive, an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources deHavilland DHC-2 Mk 3 Turbo Beavers on amphibian floats and is parked right besidethe road. It is perhaps the most widely photographed beaver in the world.

Dandelions, Marsh Marigolds and Cattails

Spring time is here and the new plants are inevitably accompanied by dandelions.

These first image is at a peach orchard on Lake Street in St Catharines, Ontario, (yes that is how you spell St Catharines). These orchards are becoming less common, particularly since the closing this month of the last fruit packing plant in the province. Seems it is cheaper to import the fruit and then use loopholes in labeling laws to claim a deceptively high Canadian content. Go figure!

The second and third images are of dandelions among grape vines. This vinyard is on top of the Niagara Escarptment just south of the town of Grimsby. There is a significant wine industry in this area and that is also adding to the pressure to pull out tender fruit orchards as farmers caught between a rock and a hard place seek crops that can in fact pay the way.

While returning from a family function in the Shelburne area, we passed a marsh with a large patch of Marsh Marigolds. Thanks to that, the fourth and fifth images.

Finally, the last remnants of the 2007 crop of Cattails stood up just a little longer behind the dam in Rockwood.

Spring is here.

Continuing With the Theme - Flower Macros

And here we go again....

The first and third images are Tulips.

The second is a Scilla.

The Fourth is a magnolia.