July Image of the Month

Something slightly different this month. We left for Newfoundland on June 28 and returned July 26. There's still lots of stories to tell about that, and one of them is about that previous sentence. Since I had picked the June IotM before the trip, I decided that for purposes of this selection, July would run from June 29 to July 31. Not that there was IotM competition in those last days of June or July.

Going into the trip, my thinking was that digital was going to be the main camera with whatever lens seemed appropriate for the subject at hand. The 35mm film camera would be the carry around for in-town strolls or places where I didn't want to be carrying a big camera. The medium format camera would be for times and places I could put it on a tripod and play with long exposures, or the subject was particularly suited to that camera. I took lots of film but actually exposed only 3 rolls of 35mm, and 6 rolls of medium format.

The problem is carrying the medium format camera also committed me to carrying a tripod, and the digital camera with the associated lens decision. Plus thinking about carrying via a backpack, which adds several pounds but leaves my hands free, or carrying things in pockets and hands. Complicating the choice, was not knowing what the destination looked like, or how difficult the hike might be. Several of the hikes had places where hanging on to the hand rail, or a strung rope was a good idea. 

As I was planning the trip, and then winnowing and editing I was also thinking about how the photos would be used, or what the destination for them was. Several groups of photos came to mind. In no particular order they are:

- for the blog and to tell a story about.

- for the blog Image of the Month, and hopefully Image of the Year.

- a few where I took the photo for a particular person. (Linda, Michelle, Susi, and Adrian come to mind at the moment.)

- for a 'Memories of Newfoundland book'. (Still struggling with what that should look like.)

- for a project book currently titled 'The Film Project Book'. Yes, I know I'm so imaginative with book titles it just kills you.

- a photo so amazing I'd have to drop everything else to print and frame it. (Nothing bonked me on the head and forced that decision, but a few are growing on me. Then again, that's true for lots of photos, and we have limited wall space.)

As it turns out, there are 22 on the short list, out of 660 or so edited photos. I landed on the IotM fairly quickly. But struggled with the other choices. You'll see all of them eventually.

2nd Runner Up

The smaller waterfall at Cox's Cove swimming hole. There was nobody else there for much of the time I was working the scene, although a few people came and went. They respected my space and didn't wander into the photo, unlike that one woman at Baker Creek Falls. If someone had come to swim, I probably would have asked them to pose. I enjoyed working on several different compositions. 

1st Runner Up

Along the shoreline near Daniel's Harbour. One of my bucket list photos was huge waves crashing into a rocky shoreline, generating the splash photo, and the misty water photo. Well, we had such nice weather there were no huge waves to be had, but it was pretty windy this day, and the waves and rocks were nice. Really pleased how the exposure and misty effect on the water turned out. You wouldn't know it, but this was taken in full on harsh afternoon sun. 

One unanticipated difficulty was actually getting to some shorelines. In many places it's a cliff straight into the water, maybe with some rubble at the waterline. Sometimes there's a beach, usually pebbles, but it's small, and a daring boat operator is required to get there. In a few places it's an actual scramble down, and a few are so scramble-y that someone has installed a rope. We looked down (and it's usually a long way down) at some and decided we weren't going to do it.

July Image of the Month

Sunrise from the deck of our rental in Chance Cove. There was coffee, and the only noise was a few seagulls getting an early start. The mist came and went, always changing. I took some photos, but mostly just enjoyed the scene. I could totally come back to this house for a longer term rental. I'd get a vehicle that was a bit more suited to rough roads than the low-slung car we had, and travel all the little back roads looking for light and photos.