Photography & the Arts

Site's under construction- most of the key parts are here, but check back soon for more!

Photography is my visual art of choice when I'm away from the drawing board. I tend to experiment a lot, manipulating light and colour in unusual ways in the hunt for interesting visual effects.

If you're in or near Kingston, Ontario and are interested in a unique portrait, personal or commercial shoot, I might be the photographer you're looking for. (This section of the site is still under construction, so it might look a bit sparse for now- and please contact me if something's missing or broken.)

If you see something here that would look good on your wall, ask about ordering a print.

Photography: Articles & Ramblings

Light Shifting

Submitted by Matthew on

The camera gives us direct control over many things that, when we're studying a scene with our eyes, are handled automatically and subconsciously.

Most notably, the camera's idea of exposure – i.e. whatever we tell it to expose – gives it a tremendous light-shifting ability compared to our eyes, which always adapt to give our brain the most well-balanced exposure possible for the conditions.

Nowhere is this more obvious than the night sky, viewed here from near Dorset, Ontario in August.

Awesome pet photos don't have to be hard

Submitted by Matthew on

Despite what Humane Society website listings would like you to believe, it is indeed possible to take a good photograph of a dog. While pretty much every dog in the country gets its photo taken dozens of times a week, there is a significant difference between the "OMG his nose is right up in my lens it looks huge!" shots that end up on Facebook and the nice, elegant, beautiful shots that get framed and hung on the wall.

Stars and a spruce

Submitted by Matthew on

One of a few night sky shots from last summer. Simple and rather neat.

The sky was shot at 30 s, f/4, ISO 1600 and pushed up one stop in post processing. The tree? Painted in with a flashlight during the exposure.

The new gear treadmill

Submitted by Matthew on

There's money to be made in trumpeting the latest and greatest gear every few days. Jumping on everything new that comes along, though, is neither necessary nor useful if you just want the equipment to quietly do its job so you can focus your attention on what really matters.

Off-axis flash

Submitted by Matthew on

Two shots for you today, of our lovely new Great Pyrenees, "Buddy".

There's only one small difference in camera equipment between the images. And it's a ridiculously simple one.

Ice Storm Aftermath

Submitted by Matthew on

Part of living in Kingston is that we have to deal with ice storms.

It's cold, it's slippery, the roads are barely passable, trees fall down, the power goes out, the buses are late, and it takes the better part of an hour to chisel your car out from a solid block of ice.

But it is oh so beautiful at night.

First Snow over Lake Ontario

Submitted by Matthew on

The first snowfall of the year is always a special moment for Canadians. We are, after all, a country of winter. A country of hockey. A country of snow shovels, sleds, parkas. A country that, despite going through the exact same thing every single year, routinely forgets how to drive on bad roads for a week every December (but that's another story).

If you're lucky, you'll find yourself outdoors for the first snow of the year, watching the storm come in over the lake.

Dumb assumptions about copyright

Submitted by Matthew on

Re-blogging sites, such as Tumblr and Pinterest, are trendy at the moment and might actually be sort-of useful on occasion. Let's not delude ourselves, though, into thinking that they aren't violating the copyrights of thousands of artists.

Katy's Epically Awesome Hallowe'en Pumpkins

Submitted by Matthew on

Katy's made something of a tradition out of carving intricate, epically awesome pumpkins at Hallowe'en. This year, the theme is Doctor Who and.... well, her artwork speaks for itself.

Don't blink.

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