~ Photography by Pat Beaudoin, Sioux Lookout Photographer
Welcome to my website and blog, designed as a place for my photographic interests to congregate and grow.
I'm an amateur photographer with no real niche at the moment - I enjoy it all! The majority of my images are taken in Northwestern Ontario, Canada where I reside.
Please scroll down to view my Photo Blog.
Left-click to enlarge the thumbnail images.
The Photowalk badge below denotes my participation in the 2010 Photo Challenge, this year totally revamped as a Virtual Photo Walk. Consider joining in, it's a great way to advance your photography skills and enjoy doing it.
The badge itself will take you to the official site and complete details. Sample a few of the blogs I'm following here.
PsD - Photoshop Disasters
I came across this fun site where they share real-world editing blunders.
"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller
John Shaw, John Shaw Photography
Martin Bailey, Martin Bailey Photography
Darwin Wiggitt, Natural Moments Photography
Klaus Rossler, Klaus Rossler Photography
Sioux Lookout Lakeshore
COMPELLING PHOTOGRAPHY SITES...
Photo-Quotes - Quotations from the world of
photography.
Transform - A short film made by Zack Arias, for
Scott Kelby.com. If you have ever felt discouraged
with your photography you will relate to this piece,
just see it through to the end.
Strange Buildings of the World - The original list of 50.
Vision and Verbs - A collaboration of
women of a certain age.
Long time since I’ve taken any kind of landscape; these were quick shots, late afternoon at my niece’s home on Sturgeon Lake. Three shots later I was running for the shelter of my car to escape the down-pour.
Only minutes earlier, this was the scene; what a difference clouds make…
… sunflower seeds help as well. Isn’t this Chipmunk just a cutie, look at how tiny his “hands” are! He’s one of four new little ones that we’re enjoying in our yard this year.
For some reason he also reminds me of a wise little gnome – I hate Gnomes!
My granddaughter, Kelsie, graciously agreed to help me out by sitting for some tedious camera practice. We got some nice portraits but I knew the session was taking too long when…
.. her smile began to fade .. her eyes glazed over ..she began to plead
It WAS OVER when an approaching mosquito was mistaken for a monster alien wanting to devour her…. LOL
THANKS FOR HANGING IN THERE KELSIE!
(I was experimenting with various reflectors which accounts for different skin tones.)
My daughter’s family dog, Mylo. I think the simplicity of B&W expresses his gentle nature better than the colour version does.
I have been focusing on portraits this month and photographing little else. Nothing worthy of posting as yet; it is difficult to find models to practice with which makes for a slow learning process. My grandchildren have lost their patience with me but Mylo doesn’t mind.
I ran for my camera when I noticed the Irises beginning to bloom. As I snapped along, I thought of my mom as I always do; many years ago after a visit in Thunder Bay, I dragged home a large clump of these Irises from her yard and they have graced my yard since, ever moving and spreading and eventually shared with my daughters as well. Now that she’s no longer with us, each new bloom is a cheerful reminder of her.
I was also thinking about how difficult I find Irises to capture, I’ve just never caught them from an angle that made them very attractive to me – they always looked the same and other than their rich deep colour, were never satisfiying. I even wondered why I was bothering again.
Well, I finally managed to go on and get just ONE shot where I liked the angle I caught the flower from – and one was enough! The background is very different, a bit busy for my norm, but I liked the feel of it for a change. I think a reddish wooden fence in the background is responsible for the red tones and I processed it high-key to emphasize the peeking light that was scattered about.
I am really enjoying this one… thanks Mom!
We’ve had an early warm Spring with all my trees in full bloom this year. I took some time over the last couple of weeks to photo a few examples before the wind and rain took them all away last week.
My favourite, the Artificial Crabapple tree. Beautiful blossoms but you cannot eat the fruit that follows. A ton of chubby bees were loving these as well.
A “real” Crabapple tree Pincherry
Seems to be lots of these in bloom…
The first four images were taken with a Macro 100mm lens. The last two are Lensbaby images, close up with the zoom lens… I think!
The main event at the Dryden Air Show was The Canadian Forces Snowbirds Jet Demonstration Team. They put on an excellent show as they are known to do, having highly skilled pilots and technicians along with superior standards.
I’ll have to chalk up this part of the photography to a great learning experience, I failed to do the Snowbirds justice this first time out. Even with a 400mm lens the planes were small in a group, difficult to focus on and track; just when you think you have focus lock and are following them in closer, they suddenly veer out and the shot’s gone! lol A clear blue sky would have helped with exposure as well since the light was forever changing. So many considerations if you are looking for good shots. The planes are beautiful to behold in the sky… and fast!
Still in all, an enjoyable afternoon at a well-organized, inspiring event. Thanks Dryden!
Read about our Canadian Snowbirds and aspire to the images taken by their team photographer.
More of my photo experience in my Image Gallery.
Last Saturday we attended Dryden’s Centennial Air Show, about an hour from home. It’s been years since we enjoyed an air show and this was my first experience with a camera in hand. I learned tons about what not to do the next time in terms of photography, however it will likely be years before another show comes our way and what I learned will be long forgotten by then! Quite the experience.
The first half of the show was commemorative in nature and very interesting historically.
This B-25 Bomber heads back through the smoke to survey the result of the “bombs” it has just dropped.
Swiftly moving in on the target. Stunning Pyro effects! The bomb cavity wide open.
The B-25J “Miss Mitchell” completed over 130 missions as part of the 12th Air Force in North Africa and Italy during WWII. Following a 12-year restoration by the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in 1992, Miss Mitchell now appears at air shows throughout the United States and Canada.
The sounds and visual effects of this demonstration were quite sobering for me… one can only imagine what war really is.
Luckily, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Water Bombing Demonstration followed shortly afterwards. 
One from the May Photowalk Theme List for a change… it’s the back of an old barn, taken while we were in Barrie. I thought the padlock on the door was cute…
EF-S 17-55 2.8 lens @ 51mm – f.8, 1/30s, ISO 200
Lots of blue tones in these and I decided to ramp up the vibrance and go with it. I used a circular polarizer but did not have an effective angle for it in the full barn shot, as you can see from the uneven sky colour.
Just up from the waterfront is Dunlop Street, where the city has retained their oldest historical buildings. This is Downtown Barrie with interesting shops and lots to eat. This triangular old hotel is one of my favourite buildings and looks like it is undergoing some spring maintenance. (B&W Preset from Nicole Van)
(Zurich Street Scene Preset from Preset Heaven)
Billz – this is your kind of restaurant!
The Barrie waterfront is one of my favourite spots to spend the day in the summer. However, April visiting is another story. Despite the warm sun it was horribly cold with strong bitter winds, we weren’t there for long. There is a beautiful large fountain on one of the penninsula’s that I wanted to photograph but it was not running this early in the season. I was disappointed to find that it was the same throughout the Barrie area – the interesting places I had hoped to photograph were not yet open to the public.
The Spirit Catcher Sculpture, an impressive Barrie Landmark at the waterfront. It dwarfed my three grandchildren, who were very good sports about yet another photograph even though they were freezing! I liked the distortion of the city in the background in this one, taken with a wide-angle lens; I’m thinking a fisheye just might be a fun addition to my equipment at some point. More on this sculpture and Barrie, ON here.
Despite the cold there were still people boating, fishing off the shore and walking the many pathways on this sunny Sunday. Even though we live in a more northern area of Ontario, we found the Spring dampness and cold strong winds of Barrie much harder to take!
Very early morning, cold, foggy… but the fishermen were all over this deep crevice for the Rainbow Trout. Gorgeous little nook off of the Chippewa River, just outside Wawa, ON. There was fresh snow along the highway in this area, much to our surprise.
Our trip to Barrie involved 1028 miles and 20+ hours of driving over two days; photo-stops had to be limited or we would have never arrived!
Enroute to Barrie, Ontario we could not pass through Thunder Bay without a visit to the Terry Fox Monument. The monument and grounds are beautiful and the view serene, overlooking Lake Superior and the highway below. I never cease to feel humbled by this poignant reminder of who Terry Fox was.
Briefly, Terrance “Terry” Fox lost his leg to cancer at the young age of 18. Believing he had beat the disease by the age of 22, Terry embarked on a cross-Canada run in 1980 to raise money for cancer research – his Marathon of Hope. He began the run by dipping his artifical leg in the Atlantic Ocean and followed the highway west toward his home in British Columbia. What I remember most from watching his progress on television at the time, was the familiar “hop” to his gait as he conquered the highway, how exhausted he was at the end of each day and most of all, his incredible courage.
Sadly, after 143 days and 3,280 miles, he was forced to end his run 18 miles out of Thunder Bay because the cancer had spread to his lungs. He died June 28, 1981, a month short of his 23rd Birthday.
His spirit lives on in all those who continue to run for him each year - the annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, involves millions of participants and is now the world’s largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research.
The view overlooking Lake Superior, the Sleeping Giant in the background.
There are many places on the internet to read about Terry and his courageous quest. Here are a couple of good articles from various news archives:
News Broadcast re the Unveiling of the Monument (CBC video archive)
Toronto Star Newspaper Article
Commemorating Terry Fox’s Run (You-Tube video)
“What the heck is that” ! Young Bella catches her first glimpse of a large Raven passing overhead. Bella’s a very sweet Yorkie-Poo and the newest member of my daughter’s family.
Thanks everyone, for continuing to stop by and leave comments in the absence of postings this month. It’s been an extremely busy month and now we’re off on a two-week vacation in Southern Ontario. Hopefully the trip will be inspiring and I’ll have lots of photos to post when I get back.
by PatB
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