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As I love the functionality of WordPress I’ve moved to a self-hosted version on my own site. I will no longer be updating this site, so please click over to www.dibytes.ca and adjust your bookmarks or RSS feeds accordingly.

www.dibytes.ca

See you there!

Diane

Collingwood Outdoor Art Festival 2008, photo courtesy of Larry Lawrence

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take part in the Collingwood Outdoor Art Festival. The weather cooperated beautifully for the two days of the show, although the wind did pose a few challenges.

The venue was superb – Collingwood’s historic Hurontario Street! Art vendors lined three blocks of the street which was turned into a pedestrian mall for the weekend.

The many visitors over the two days were treated to displays of stained glass, photos, jewellery, paintings, wood burning, carvings, wire sculpture, ceramics, painted floor coverings, bead work, metal work, garments and pet accessories! Live music at three different locations along the street added to the festivities.

Discussing photography, photo courtesy of Paul Richards, PRmediamix

Congratulations to GBACA’s Yvonne Gibson and Darlene West for all their hard work in organizing the event! Downtown Collingwood’s Sue Nicholson and staff provided great support to make sure everything ran smoothly.

Mark next year’s event in your calendar for the long weekend in August – it will be well worth the visit!

I’ve added a new series to my Image Galleries page; I’m calling it “Almost Black and White: The Sentinel“.

I found the inspiration for the series in Collingwood’s Millennium Park. Actually it’s more accurate to say the inspiration found me.

I’m a frequent visitor to Millennium Park. When my Dad passed away four years ago, he was very clear in his wishes for no funeral and no graveside. To honour his memory, the family made a donation to the Town of Collingwood for the addition of a bench and garden to the waterfront park overlooking the former Shipyards site where my Dad had worked for many years.

As I sat on my Dad’s bench about a week ago, I was kept company by a sea gull who insisted on posing for me until I had snapped a card full of shots. He was totally unfazed by the hikers, bikers, swimmers, boaters and picknickers enjoying the summer afternoon. He contentedly watched over the goings on as if he had been appointed park sentinel.

To give the prominence to the subject that he so clearly “demanded”, I’ve edited the original images in Photoshop, converting the background to vivid black and white, leaving the subject in the foreground in full colour. Although the prints at first glance appear to be black and white, the subtle colour makes the subject “pop”.

Almost Black and White Series - The Sentinel

Visit my Image Galleries to see other sentinels in this series. The Inuksiuk in Collingwood’s Sunset Point Park is an impressive park sentry.

My summer phlox seem to be coming into bloom later than in other gardens I’ve seen around Collingwood, but the results have been well worth the wait!

Summer phlox in Collingwood, Ontario

I love the strong contrast between the delicate, bright white blossoms and the deep green of the long stems and jagged leaves. Another perfect subject for the polarization technique I’ve been using in my photo art! The light has been “captured” inside the sphere, creating an interesting interplay of light and shadow.

Beauty Within: Garden Series - Summer Phlox

Visit my Image Galleries to see more photo art in this series.

It’s such a treat to go out into my yard each morning, cup of tea in hand, and note how the garden has changed from the day before!

Summer lilies in my garden in Collingwood, Ontario

The lilies have been incredible subjects for the polarization technique I’ve been using for this series. The colourful waxy petals wrap beautifully around the long green leaves, which in turn spiral into themselves.

Beauty Within: Garden Series - Summer Lilies

Visit my Image Galleries to see more photo art in this series.

This series of images was taken in the spring of 2008 along the Georgian Trail close to the historic “Depot” in Craigleith. Once covering an area of almost nine acres, the stands of lilacs are thought to have originated with some cuttings brought to the area by the wife of one of the early Depot Stationmasters. The lilacs have became famous, and it is common to see visitors to the area stopping to take photos of the display when the lilacs are in full bloom. Of course no photo can capture the heavenly perfume of the blossoms!

Acres of lilacs line the Georgian Trail at Craigleith, Ontario.

Lilacs make excellent subjects for the polarizing technique I’ve been using for the Beauty Within series. The delicate petals wrap beautifully around the tight blossom clusters and shiny green foliage of the lilacs. Lovers of delicate spring shades of white, purple and green may enjoy images in this series.

Beauty Within Series: Lilacs at Craigleith

Visit my Image Galleries to see more photo art in this series.

The following images are part of the Black Ash Creek series. The original photos all have the common elements of rock, water and light.

Black Ash Creek - Collingwood

The edited (polarized) examples below emphasize the interplay of these elements.

Beauty Within: Black Ash Creek Collingwood

Visit my Image Galleries to see more photo art in this series.

I’ve spent the past few months working on a series of photographs that I call Beauty Within.

I look for scenes that have strong elements of light, shadow, shape and, or texture. Here are some examples of the images I’ve used for the jumping off point for the series.

I took the photo on the left in the Spring of 2008 on the Black Ash Creek Trail in Collingwood. I particularly liked the way the light played on the vegetation just below the surface of the water. The light, watery texture is in direct contrast with the solid, heavy rock.

The edited image on the right gives prominence to the shimmery, spring green of the vegetation.

Black Ash Creek - Collingwood

As you can see, the original image has been turned “inside out” taking the center focus to the outside, wrapping it around the rest of the image – hence the title, Beauty Within.

In the second example below I’ve chosen spring magnolias as my subject. I liked the contrast between the strong branches and the delicate, “ephemeral” blossoms.

Spring Magnolias - Collingwood

Polarizing the original image allowed me to bring greater emphasis to this contrast.

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to display some of my recent photo art at the Collingwood Farmers’ Market. It was a gorgeous morning to spend out of doors chatting with people about photography.

Collingwood Farmers

I will be there July 12th and 19th as well. If you happen to be in the area please drop by!

“DiByes” – Diane’s Digital Information Storage

Welcome to my explorations in photography and digital photo art. Make yourself “at home” and please feel free to post comments.