HDR and downtown buildings in Halifax Nova Scotia.

       This past Monday April 15th/2013. seemed like the first day of spring as it was sunny throughout the day and very seasonable temperatures. After a long day of working away at the computer, I decided to take my photo gear with tripod that night and try to capture an array of different photos with HDR post processing in mind. Since I wanted to add a architecture section to my website, I decided to focus on buildings that I thought would make an interesting subject. I took 80 or so shots and came up with the best of what I thought would be the most interesting to blog photos about. Each photo took a half or full day to work on using Photomatix Pro and Photoshop CS6.

Freak Lunchbox, Barrington St. Halifax NS. This is a photo-realistic shot that was digitally enhanced in Photoshop and Photomatix Pro.

ISO - 500 and aperture F8. This shot was bracketed for one and two stops over, one and two stops under and one shot at the proper exposure. I brought all 5 exposures into Photomatix Pro where I used a B&W artistic filter and again used a surreal filter and merged two separate files in Photoshop CS6 using layers and masks to paint in different areas. The adaptive wide angle and the free transform filters were also used to straighten lens distortions.

The Cable Wharf, Murphy's

ISO - 800, aperture F8. Five exposures bracketed one and two over, one and two under exposure and one correct exposure. All exposures brought into Photomatix Pro and final output was taken into Photoshop CS6 for final touchups.

The Old Triangle Pub

ISO - 800, f/5.6, 1/3 s. Five exposures bracketed in increments of one and two over and one and two under exposure and one correct exposure. Like the Barrington St. file, I brought two separate files into photoshop CS6 for layering and painting. I use layer masks in Photoshop for a lot of my painting work. 

Overlooking Prince St., 

An HDR Colour toned photo comprised of five files merged into Photomatix Pro. and output and toned through CS6.

      This coming Monday night I hope to get out again and again with HDR as the main focus of my shots. I will try to do a little research on what I am going to shoot before hand and try know exactly what time will be the " Blue Hour " to capture the most aesthetically pleasing photographs. For those who do not know what the Blue Hour is it is; (from the French expression l'heure bleue^{[citation needed]}) is the period of twilight each morning and evening where there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness. The time is considered special because of the quality of the light) ( Wikipedia).

         

www.stevejess.com

My Favourite Vintage Guitar Photos

     About 9 years ago a friend called me up to tell me about a business venture that he was doing where he wanted to hire me on a contract basis. He was selling vintage guitar calendars at kiosks in malls around the metro area of Halifax as well as shipping them worldwide to various interested vendors. He asked me if I would be interested in photographing  different vintage guitars for the yearly publication. Although I was working in the industry on a full time basis, I jumped at the opportunity as a part time business venture for myself and my photo business. I photographed 8 editions  of the calendar between 2005 and 2012. Each year I photographed a set of 4 new guitars and we brought back 8 earlier photos from calendars that were published previous to that years publication.

    Below are some of my favourite shots from the 8 editions that I photographed. 

"The Iceman is an Ibanez guitar produced by Hoshino Gakki. Hoshino Gakki exported copies of American electric and acoustic guitars in the 1950s, and by the mid 1970s the Ibanez guitars had reached a level of quality comparable to American guitars. Lower labor rates at the time, plus efficient manufacturing meant that Ibanez guitars could be sold for almost half (or less) of the cost of a Gibson Les Paul or Fender Stratocaster." (Wikipedia)

1978 Ibanez Iceman 

                                           

"Though a well-known brand in the music business, Guild guitars have been around since 1952, when a Polish music-store owner named Alfred Dronge founded the company in New York." 
(Vintage Guitar Calendar 2011)

Late 50's Guild Archtop

"Two 12 string editions of the  B 25 were produced starting in 1962. The B-25-12 had a cherry sunburst finish and was available through 1970." (Vintage Guitar Calendar 2011)

1964 Gibson 12 String B-25-12-N

"In 1958, Swedish - based Hagström started manufacturing electric guitars. The first Hagström Deluxe solid body guitars featured a distinctive sparkle and pearloid celluloid finish, an ingenious repurposing of materials previously used in their accordion production line." (Vintage Guitar Calendar 2012) 

Hagström Super Swede Guitar

"Hondo was an American guitar company and brand that produced entry level acoustic guitars, electric guitars and basses with designs that were usually based on the designs of more expensive models such as the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul." 

(Vintage Guitar Calendar 2012)

Mid 70's Hondo II

"The Dobro name originated in 1928 when the Dopyera brothers formed the Dobro manufacturing company. The Dobro had a single resonator cone which was inverted, with its concave surface facing up."
(Vintage Guitar Calendar 2010)

1960's 12-String Dobro

"First introduced in 1948, the double pickup Gibson ES-350 was produced in small numbers only until 1956." 
(Vintage Guitar Calendar 2011)

1951 Gibson ES-350

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As well, scenic landscapes and seascapes of our Atlantic Provinces can be viewed and purchased @;

http://stevejessphotography.photoshelter.com/

Vintage Guitars - Images by Stephen Jesswww.stevejess.com

A few food photos.

Recently I have had the opportunity to shoot a few food assignments at local restaurants here in the Halifax area. I can't print those photos before they are published but it has reignited my love of food photography and styling. So I decided to photograph a few interesting food subjects here in the luxury of my basement studio and across the street at a neighbours who was preparing food for a local market in Truro.

                             

So tomorrow I am off to another food establishment on another assignment for the same magazine. In a few months after the publication, I hope to have another blog entry with a few more interesting food shots and a little more story to go with the photos.

Thanks for Reading

www.stevejess.com

2013 Winter Highlights

In a few days winter will be officially over and I wanted to do a photographic blog highlighting some of the things that I enjoyed photographing over the last three months.

My son's grade one Xmas concert. My first time attending and I had a blast watching my son and all the kids do such a great job.

Dec 12/2012

I had to include one picture from Boxing Day morning. At that time Angry Birds was his favourite thing to play which is why he is wearing an Angry Bird blanket. As of today it is Lego Star Wars on his Nintendo DS. Another three months and dad and mom will be buying some new hip toy or game.

Dec 25/2012

My friend Tom has been doing the Polar Bear dip at Purcell's Cove for three of four years now ( Yes he is a bit crazy ). I decided to come out that morning to support him and get a few photos for myself.

Jan 1st./2013 Polar Bear dip, Purcell's Cove


There is definite determination in Tom's face. He wanted to turn back but couldn't due to 100' s of people behind him cheering for him. He did it...LOL.

Jan 1st./2013

Jan 1st./2013

When I was growing up on Evans ( where I live now ) all this space behind my house was trees and our parents didn't want us going in there. They cleared all that out about 20 years ago and made a nice green space. Now the kids play year round in summer and winter which has one of the best sliding hills.

Jan 2/2013, Randall and Evans

Jan 2/2013, Randall and Evans

Second time second at the Oval on the commons. Always lots of people and always a great time skating and running into friends.

Emera Oval, Jan 14/2013

I ran into this lady walking her three dogs in Point Pleasant Park on Jan 18.2013. I asked her if she minded if I took her picture and she especially wanted a picture of the dog in front. He is 17 yrs. old and does not have  many years left, if that. I was happy to send her a copy over e-mail.

Point Pleasant Park, Jan 18/2013

Point Pleasant Park, Jan 18/2013

First time attending the " Everything to do with Sex Show". Got a few pics, met a few interesting people and saw some pretty girls with very few clothes on. What more can I say.

2013 Everything to do with Sex Show. Cunard Ctr., Halifax NS

Feb 9/2013 weekend was our biggest storm of the year dumping roughly 50cm's of snow over two days. The storm started very late on a Fri. evening and continued through until early Sun morning on and off. I went out for four hours driving around in the snow and taking pictures on the Sat Feb 9 and Sun. Feb 10.

Feb 9/2013, Citadel Hill, Halifax NS.

After the snow had stopped on that Sunday, I took a drive out to ketch Harbour and Purcell's cove. Along the way I stopped by the entrance to Chebucto Head Lighthouse and walked up the hill towards the lighthouse.

Chebucto Head, Feb 10/2013

The weekend of Feb. 15th., the boy and I checked out Little Ray's Reptile Zoo at Exhibition Park. My guy really wanted to go but not long after we got there, he got bored.....LOL. $20.00 for two of us wasn't too bad to entertain a 7 year old for a little while anyway.

Little Ray's Reptile Zoo. Feb 15/2013

Little Ray's Reptile Zoo. Feb 15/2013

March 9 at Exhibition Park was the 2013 Sports and RV show and my personal opinion being that it was definitely worth the $10.00 per person admission. They had lots of displays and things for kids to watch and do. I didn't have my son that weekend but he would have liked it. The below picture was one of the shows highlights where the lumberjacks had many competitions against each other. Entertaining for all.

So this was pretty much it for personal photography highlights of my winter past. In a few days it will be officially spring. ( although it is still pretty cold ). I hope to update my Blog every week with new material and I hope you will enjoy reading and following. 

Steve Jess

www.stevejess.com

Chasing Surfers

My Day Chasing Surfers;

I have  never been a big sports photographer but  certainly enjoy the genre.   I’ve never made it the main focus of my portfolio however, I like action photography whether it be sports, dance, or motocross racing. I love a photograph that captures a moment by freezing the action on a very fast shutter speed or by “panning” and having the main subject in focus and the background blurred and out of focus.

So I decide to tackle some surfing photography as I want surfing photos as part of my portfolio. After some hurricane research I find that Tues. Sept. 11th at noon is the highest swells and I decide to head to  Lawrencetown Beach at 12:15 pm. Lawrencetown is known for its big waves and a lot of local surfers spend a great deal of time there.

When I get there I see my friend and great sports photographer Scott Kirkpatrick with his camera equipment in hand. He's not looking too happy as he starts telling me that the waves are just not surfer-friendly and there are no surfers around to speak of. Scott decides to follow a car that pulled up with surfing boards on top but leaves shortly after for another location after they see the wave conditions as not favorable at Lawrencetown Beach. I decide to get my gear and take a walk up the Hill that overlooks the beach and on the way up I meet another photographer. He tells me of a place 5 kms down the road where all the surfers have gone because it has  better surfing conditions than Lawrencetown beach at this time. I still decide to go up the hill where the Kannon Beach Wind and Surf shop resides which has a café and art gallery and a very picturesque walk overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean. On top of the hill I see two surfers heading out and one captures a wave and gets a decent ride. My photograph of this action is the first picture on this blog.

Because the shot wasn't a real interesting picture taken from afar, I decide to apply some “lens blur” from Photoshop and then remove some of the blur on a layer mask. Basically I am trying to create a Tilt Shift photography effect. I think it is one of my best shots from this days excursion.

I ended up heading out to where the other photographer suggested and was delighted to see more surfers catching decent waves. There I park my truck and head out on the rocky beach where there are other spectators and photographers. Finally I’m getting some shots but the surfers are not doing too much complicated stuff which I hoped to capture. I notice some other surfers further down a rocky beach and I quickly decide that I came this far so I might as well pick up and try my luck “shooting” down the beach.

A long walk over rocky terrain and passed by a grumpy land owner who wasn't pleased I was walking down near his property. I started getting the photos that I want, big waves, surfer guys and girls riding bigger swells. I notice down the beach another surfer dude coming with his board and he's interested in who I’m shooting for. He tells me that “down here” they don't like photographers coming on their land and I ensure him that I was not on anyone's private land walking down the beach. I certainly didn't feel welcome in this particular area.

I continue getting shots of these more experienced surfers (pictures I uploaded) but wrap up kinda quickly as the tide is coming in and I am out on a point of land where I am not sure how far the water would come to shore. All in all this wasn't a bad day as it was good to get out and shoot on a warm sunny day on the Nova Scotia coastline. I enjoyed the challenge of photographing surfers and I hope to get out and try getting better shots another time and hopefully this fall. As stated above, my favourite photo was the one where I used the Tilt Shift effect. One of the things I like best about photography is trying to make a photo better by manipulating it in Photoshop or another image editing software program.

Last Camping Trip of the 2012 Season

Oct. 7/12 was the last provincial campground camping weekend for the 2012 camping season and It wasn't my weekend with my little boy and most of my Rv'ing camping friends had either put their campers away or were finished for the season. I wanted to get one more camping weekend in as well as to get away from the city even if that mean't camping by myself. So I decided that I didn't want to stay at a provincial campground as I would be kinda isolated as well as dependent on my generator for power. This is usually not a huge deal during the summer

months when it's warmer but when the weather is colder and you want to use an electric heater instead of all your propane plus battery power, it becomes a bigger deal plus the fact you can only run generators from 10am in the morning until 8pm at night in NS provincial campgrounds. I decided that a campground near a town with two or three way hookups would be the way to go for this camping trip. I have always been fond of Lunenburg and their artistic community and galleries. I made a quick decision that Lunenburg would be a great spot as my trailer resides in Chester and the drive from Chester to Lunenburg is not that far. However finding a campground close by and with the proper amenities might be a bit of a challenge. Of course Google played a huge part in finding a campground almost in the town of Lunenburg called; The Lunenburg Board of Trade Campground (http://www.lunenburgns.com/the-lunenburg-board-of-trade-campground.html) and it's literally a 5 min. walk to downtown Lunenburg. I have been RV'ing or camping for about 11 years now and I have never heard of this campground. Making reservations was pretty easy as it was off-season. I arrive about 3pm on a Thurs. and have everything setup by about 5:30pm. I will say that this is NOT the “ hard core “ campers campground as there is very little wilderness and it is next door to a nursing home PLUS no campfires allowed due to it being in the town. I really didn't care as this was perfect for my agenda this weekend. I am usually pretty tired after picking my trailer up in Chester and getting it hooked on and then the drive ( which really wasn't too far) and then to disconnect and have everything set up to perfection. Next on the itinerary was food and a sociable. I head downtown Lunenburg ( by foot of course ) and before I get my fix of edibles, I decide to walk along the waterfront part of the town and take a few pics. with my Iphone. It's dusk and not a lot of people around being that it is off-season but the quiet and serenity of this small town is perfect. I ended up finding a bar and grill called the Grand Banker(http://www.grandbanker.com) with a great menu, nice wait staff and looked over the water and Lunenburg Golf course ( which you can barely see now as it it's dark ). After Dinner and the walk back to the campground, I call it a day.

I never sleep in but I slept until 9am Friday morning so my day had a late start and I had made arrangements with a pastor friend of mine to have coffee for 10am at Kate's Sweet Indulgence Catering and Cafe  (http://www.sweetindulgence.ca). Steve Hiltz and I haven't seen each other in 25 years and I think we could have talked all day but just stayed the hour or so and then Steve took me to Blue Rocks where both him and I got our photography gear out. It was not the best time of day ( Cloudy ) but we snapped a few being “ Photog "   guys. SteveH. had to leave due other commitments and I drove to another scenic place in and around Lunenburg called Stonehurst.

Believe it or not I have not been to Blue Rocks or Stonehurst before and they are commonly photographed scenic places in and around the Lunenburg area. Mid afternoon I make it back to the trailer for a bite, rest and then head out to see some galleries in Lunenburg. This was one of the main reasons I came to Lunenburg, to take in some of their( besides getting away from the city ) galleries and artistic community, maybe even buy a painting. I went into 3 or 4 galleries and the one I liked the most was a gallery by the name of Peer Gallery, www.peer-gallery.com. A lot of abstract art with many oil on canvas paintings. One particular artist was working there by the name of Barbra Mclean and besides being a great person to talk with, she is a great artist. Check her site out at; www.barbaramclean-artist.com.  A contemporary artist who uses muted colors with strong dark details. I went to a few more galleries and one artist that really stood out was an artist by the name of Paul Kelly. I really thought his paintings were extraordinary and at first glance I thought they were a photograph; www.paulkelley.ca .

 Saturday was my last full day of camping and of course I got up late again. Weather was not the best again but I wanted some more photo opportunities. I decide to take a drive up to Petite Rivière where I photographed a wedding a few years back . From Lunenburg I took highway 332 into Bridgewater and then hooked up with the 331 (which is very scenic ) and then continued down past the Lahave Bakery ( http://lahavebakery.com/ ) and Rissers Beach until I got to Petite Rivière.

I stopped at a china/antique shop and the woman who was working was nice enough to let me take her picture while she carried on her duties. On the way back to the Lahave Ferry I stopped at Crescent Beach while wind and Kite surfers were tackling the elements.

As well they were kind enough to let me take their pictures while I invaded their space. By this time I am kinda tired and decide to call it a day. With Stops at Lahave Bakery, Crescent Beach and Rissers Beach and then the Lahave Ferry back to East Lahave, the whole trip was roughly 4 to 5 hours. Quick shower and a short walk and I am back to the Grand Banker for another fantastic meal with one or two sociables. My last camping trip for the season was incredibly relaxing and I was able to see some old friends, cousins and snap some scenic shots as well. In May 2013 it will be the beginning of camping season again and I am sure my/our opening camping excursion will take us either to The Lunenburg Board of Trade Campground or The Ovens Natural Park to kickoff camping 2013.www.stevejess.com