Daily Photo Gaines

Emerson Drive & the Land of My Oppretunity.

2007-02-06T15:03:00.000-04:00

I walked into the Rockin' Rodeo not expecting a big turn out, due to Snoop Dogg also being in Moncton that night, but a hefty turnout happened. I'm not sure exactly how many were there but I would definatly say a packed house.

I wasn't sure how tonight would go, I was supposed to be on the VIP list but they forgot to add me and Joanne to it. So eventually they remembered and we were in. I mentioned to the owner that I do photography and the pics they had on their site weren't that great. So I offered my photographic services. He accepted.

Greg Hanna stepped on stage for the first part of the show, I had never heard of him but he had a few tunes I liked. Following Hannas' finale was the Monctons "hometown heroes" the Divorcees. They had the crowd rockin', I had heard about them and never heard them. The impressed me immensely. During their performance the own of the Rodeo tapped me on the shoulder and said that the band wanted to meet me. I took Joanne up stairs to meet the guys from Emerson Drive.

Brad (lead vocals/acoustic guitar), Dale (keyboard), Dave (fiddle), Mike (drums) Dannick (electric guitar), Patrick (bass) and Mark (manager) met Joanne and I upstairs of the Rodeo. We all talked for a few minutes and we all got our pics taken as a group. Then the band left for a few minutes before going on stage.

When Emerson Drive came on stage all the crowd went crazy. They opened with "Sweet Natural Girl" which had the girls in the audience screaming like crazy. It was nice shooting a concert that while taking pics, I could actually sing along cause I knew the words. The entire show was awesome, with fast songs such as "Countrified Soul", "Fall Into Me", and "I Should Be Sleeping" mixed into the set with ballads such as "Moments", "November" and some acoustic covers of Lifehouse & G n' R. They finshed with their rendition of "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" which had even me dancing while trying to shoot which isn't the easiest thing in the world.

After the concert ended Joanne wanted her pic taken with just Brad Mates, the lead vocalist. So we waited in the autograph lineand she got her pic. I thought I was done with Emerson Drive. That was probably one of the funnest nights (which was a Wednesday) I have ever done photography.

On the following Saturday I went on a road trip to Nova Scotia to photograph animals, when I left the zoo I called Joanne and we decided to meet in Truro to go see the concert again, considering I never really watched it to begin with. So Joanne met me in Truro, and we went to the C.E.C. When we arrived we found out that tickets were gone, then I spotted the bands manager, so I said hi and we talked for a sec.

All in all, we all met the band again, exchanged information and my friends say the concert and I shot Emerson Drive again, this time with a "no holds barred" pass to do so. I got the ok to go where I want, when I want from the band. They just wanted some good shots so they could add to their site, with a credit to me.

If I learned anything over the past week about photography its this: You don't get anywhere unless you open your mouth and ask for it! ...

I do wanna thank ... Mark, Brad, Dale, Dave, Dannick, Pat, Mike, Cusack & Sons concert promotions (David and Shannon) as well as Greg Hanna, Pogey and my friend Joanne. Over the last week I have had a blast, and it wouldn't have been like that without all of you. Thanks for the experience and all the fun.

The photo your looking at is of Brad Mates and is aptly called "Acoustic Cover" it was taken during the cover session of Lifehouses' "You and Me". I was approximately 3 feet from Brad, shooting at probably 45mm, with a shutter of 1/50 (no flash, camera set to Shutter priority), the lighting came from spotlights. This photo was taken at the Rockin' Rodeo, Wednesday January 31/07.

A Mosiac Dream

2007-01-13T10:51:00.000-04:00

So this is the 4th month of Nick Gaines Photo Club, and the projects have all been passed out. My project should be easy, its a fascination project. Take 24 pics of things that fascinate you. Well, I recently descovered that I love shattered glass, and I'm fascinated by the design it makes.

The photo u see here was taken out in Memramcook, NB at what I call the "car graveyard". In this place there is tons of cars looking kind of weathered. Its scary to just open the car door and sit inside, afraid a rat might jump out and bite you in the ass. So I sat down and shot this photo from the inside of the car looking out through the winsheild. The black in the background are the trees, which in my opinion is very cool.

This photo is called "Mosaic Dream" and it was shot with very low shutter and a f-stop of about 4.5. A bit of editing was done just to bring out the glow.

Existence of Strength and Beauty

2006-12-05T00:29:00.000-04:00

Existence of Strength & Beauty.

"A heart is a fragile thing. That's why we protect them so vigorously, give them away so rarely, and why it means so much when we do. Some hearts are more fragile than others. Purer, somehow. Like crystal in a world of glass, even the way they shatter is beautiful."

This photo was taken with a slow shutter speed 1/15 of a second, and an F-stop of 4.0, ISO 100.

In the last 2 weeks, I have been inspired by 2 people. The first is Jeanelle, and the second is Cynthia. These 2 girls are 2 of the most beautiful girls I've ever met. They both have showed me strength & beauty can co-inside with one another.

Something New

2006-11-20T23:44:00.000-04:00

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.

She never existed before.

The woman existed, but the mother, never.

A mother is something absolutely new".

In the 3 years I have been doing photography, I always thought the hardest subject to shoot was landscapes. With everything taken into effect I would have to say that landscapes are some of the easier, basically cause they don't move and all you have to worry about is lighting.

I realized that weddings and maternity photography is the most stressfull of all .... when doing weddings or a mom-to-be, its probably safer to be in a cage with a tiger.

All in all, my first wedding was a success. My photos turned out beautiful and creative as i was told, and last Saturday I shot my first mom-to-be. This was a little awkward for me being the first time I actually worked with a partially nude subject.

The photo your looking at is of my friend Kate, who is 5 months pregnant. Kate wanted some beautiful photos of her belly for a scrapbook. The photo was taken in a dark room with a black drape. A 60 watt buld was in a lamp and I placed it beside her on a level.

The shutter was set at 1/8 of a second, ISO of 200 and an F-Stop of 5.4.

TIP: Have the girl/woman look at her belly. It adds more of a loving feeling.

Abandoned

2006-11-13T15:02:00.000-04:00

Last month, myself and a group of friends started a photo club, whereby anyone can join. We would meet once a month to assign projects to each other, with small outings together during the month.

When a person is assigned a project he/she must take a total of 25 photos (24 being 4x6 and 1 being a 8x10) and they must be placed in a photo album.

Projects given out to members this month were: Sequence, the Alphabet minus 1, things starting with T, and What Am I? This month I got assigned the project of Somber.

Somber:

1. gloomily dark; shadowy; dimly lighted: a somber passageway.

2. dark and dull, as color, things in respect to color: a somber dress.

3. gloomy, depressing, or dismal: a somber mood.

4. extremely serious; grave: a somber expression on his face.

The photo your looking at is a photo from this months somber project. It was taken in Memramcook at what I would assume is a scrapyard. A friend of mind told me about this place, she said you can take beautiful pics out of depressing subjects.

I took this picture from leaning in through the shattered window. My settings were as follows, automatic mode with flash and 400 ISO. Then the pic was manipulated a bit, being turned into an older looking photo (sepia), and the contrast was turned up a bit as well as a little burning effect.

If your in the Moncton area and would like to have fun taking photos, email me about joining the Photo Club (NGPC).

nick_photo2005@hotmail.com

Miracles Without Understanding

2006-10-30T14:53:00.000-04:00

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

The photograph above was taken at Fundy National Park, just a few minutes away from Caribou Plains hiking trail. No editing was done to the photo, which is why the beauty of this photo is real.

The shutter speed was 1/15 of a second, an F-Stop of 4.0. ISO was set at 100, and the mode was TV.

My Visual Song.

2006-10-20T14:22:00.000-03:00

As of late I have ran out of ideas for photos. So I turn to song lyrics, or quotes to inspire me. Recently I bought the new John Mayer cd, and track 10 got my ideas running.

The track 10 title is "Dreaming with a Broken Heart" ... in my opinion its a story of a guy trying to deal with guilt or reget of letting the love of his life slip away.

I have always taken my classic portraits with just the face and maybe a bit of shoulder. I wanted to try a full body or semi-full body shot using my lighting techniques.

My friend Ariane, who is usually my muse for trying new techinques stopped by last night and we tryed out my thoughts.

The photo here is my visual representation of my thoughts of if you took a song and created an image to sum it all up. I used my regular 28-90mm lens, a black fabric covering the wall and floor, and 1 lamp that I positioned right beside her.

"Dreaming With A Broken Heart"

When you're dreaming with a broken heart

The waking up is the hardest part

You roll outta bed and down on your knees

And for the moment you can hardly breathe

Wondering was she really here?

Is she standing in my room?

No she's not, 'cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

When you're dreaming with a broken heart

The giving up is the hardest part

She takes you in with your crying eyes

Then all at once you have to say goodbye

Wondering could you stay my love?

Will you wake up by my side?

No she can't, 'cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

Now do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hand

Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hand?

Baby won't you get them if i did?

No you won't, 'cause you're gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

When you're dreaming with a broken heart

The waking up is the hardest part

This song is from the new John Mayer cd, Continum. (Available at HMV)

F.E.A.R = SPIDERS

2006-10-18T00:42:00.000-03:00

Spiders are an important and fascinating part of our natural environment. Their webs are wonders of natural architecture. They have major ecological and agricultural roles as killers of insects. Both their venom and silk are being used in medical research (stroke treatment) , pest control (insect specific pesticides) and fibre technology (transgenic biosilk production).

Many different spiders live alongside humans exploiting the nooks and crannies of houses, sheds and gardens. They are good to have around because they eat lots of insect pests.

This photo was taken at Irishtown Nature Park, the spider was hidden among the long grass. The only reason I found him/her was because I almost walked into the web while photographing other areas of nature. This spider was HUGE, but the colors and pattern were beautiful and I love how the photo makes the web glisten.

The lens I used was my Canon 50-90mm, I added a macro filter on to get a bit closer. If you could see the photo in full size you can see the hairs on what looks to be fangs. Overall, the photo was a first for me as I never tried photographing arachnids before.

Some editing was done, but mainly just darkening some areas and a bit of sharpening edges.

Bittersweet October

2006-10-09T01:46:00.000-03:00

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.

To me this photo represents "change", where the middle of one extreme meets the other.

Whether we all wanna believe it or not, change happens and we must all enjoy it one way or another.

The photo was taken roughly 3pm Saturday afternoon, the sun was glaring harshly putting the foreground and my friend partially in the shade. From there I colored in the rest and enhanced the colors in the trees.

BEP and PCD Rock PEI

2006-09-08T03:16:00.000-03:00

The first concert I ever saw was Alan Jackson at the Moncton Coliseum, years ago. Since then I have been to my fair share, such as: Terri Clark, Simple Plan, Great Big Sea, Hedley, INXS, even Britney Spears ( I really didn't go for the music) and the list goes on.

The day was the 3rd of September, I got up at 9am, showered and got dressed. My ride picked me up at 10am and we were on our way to Charlottetown, PEI for the concert "Blast At The Beach". After 2 hours of driving and a lot of potato fields later we arrive in Charlottetown.

By now we are all hungry, so Wendys it is. After all is eaten we head down to the concert site.

There were thousands of people at the gates, and I thought this was gonna take hours, but it didn't take relatively that long to get in the gate. First thing we did was browse around and then we found our spot to sit.

3pm, Stabilo came on stage. Their set wasn't great, the only thing I even listened to was "Everybody and Flawed Design".
4:15pm, Mobile stepped out and rocked the crowd. I, myself only knew their single "Outta My Head".
5:30pm, it was time for The Philosopher Kings. I had no expectations, but I was blown away. Truely a great Canadian band. They performed "Hurts To Love you" and "Cry". The lead singer ever brought a girl from the stage and serenaded her, to his rendition of a classic Marvin Gaye tune.
7:30pm, the stage is not set with it metal stairs and poles. The fog machines start pumping out the white fog and all 7 of the Pussycat Dolls graced the stage, led by the lead singer Nicole. NowI have a couple things to say about the PCD. A lot of people claim they are just eye candy and they are right. Mostly. But can they ever dance. They performed songs such as "Buttons", "Beep" and my favorite "Don't Cha".
9:15pm, by now I have made my way to pretty much the front of the crowd. Armed with 2 cameras I'm ready for The Black Eyed Peas. Will.I.Am, Taboo, Apl De Ap, and Fergie came to the stage with the blue lights lit. The crowd was crazy. 17,000 people in attendance for these 4 individuals. The kicked it off with classic BEP tunes such as "Shut Up, Shut Up", "Where Is The Love?", and "Don't Phunk With My Heart". Then they moved on to individual performances, and thats where Fergie kicked it with "London Bridges". After the individual sets are done they perform together to finish off an exciting night, with "My Humps, and "Let's Get Retarded".

Overall, the BEP concert was an amazing night. I met some great new people, Jacqueline (Cape Breton,NB) and Kristy (Fredericton, NB) who saw what I could do with a camera and trusted me with theirs.

The photo was taken with Jacquelines' 4.8 mega-pixel digital camera. After getting the photo emailed to me I touched it up taking out the 60% of the digital noise, and then changing the picture to B&W.

Vandalism Should Not Be Tolerated.

2006-09-05T15:47:00.000-03:00

For many years, ghost stories and local folklore have caught my attention. Whether it be, stories of Rebecca's Grave, the Dungarven Whooper, or even the statue of Jenny Steeves in Grey's Island Cemetary.

Now I know most people don't believe in ghost and strange phenomena, but a story usually starts from something true, and over the years it gets exagerated immensely.

The photo above is of the statue in Grey's Island Cemetary, located in Hillsborough, NB. just outside Riverview & Moncton.

The story of Jenny Steeves, from what I have studied is just a sad story. It's not a murder story or anything gruesome like that. It's about a young girl, Jenny Steeves who I believe was aged 12-13, from a well-to-do family. She passed away from Diptheria in 1912. Her parents had a statue of her made purely of marble. And so the story should end there. But it doesn't.

Here are the 3 stories I have heard about Jenny Steeves and her infamous statue:
1) At night her spirit walks along the path by her grave and her brothers unmarked grave and picks flowers. She picks the flowers on her brothers grave so people can tell where he is. (notice the bag she carries in the photo).
2) It is believed she once had ruby eyes, and a gold ring on her finger (her hand once pointed outwards, as if saying "look there"). Now people believe she haunts the statue, in hopes of finding what was once hers.
And this last story I have tested and studied, and I'm not saying its true, but it was definately weird.
3) Folklore has it that if you walk around the statue backwards 3 times while staring at her eyes, the eyes will follow you, and then you will disappear. I believe the ruby eyes, and the ring, cause i have seen the statue years ago when the head and hand was there. When the head was there there were spots where something should have been in the eyes, and the hand was there but the finger was missing. I have tried this along with 2 of my friends years back and I video taped it. What I found disturbing was that I saw no such activity when walking backwards. When we checked the tape over, her eyes sure as hell did follow us. However, I believe its just the way the sun hit the shadows of Jennys eyes. And as for the disappearing ... I'm still here.

The picture was shot during mid-day, directed straight at the object. The camera was set on all automatic settings. What makes me sick is that for some sick reason vandals broke her arm off and stole her head.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Jennys head, please contact the town of Hillsborough.

Vandalism should not be tolerated.

Visual Elements: Light vs Dark? Good vs Evil?

2006-06-20T02:27:00.000-03:00

CURIOSITY -- the passion to ask questions, to find out the hows and whys. Its a psaaion that begins with patience and skill and ends with a special relationship between the photographer and his/her subject.

Although you will likely never feel the texture of a lions mane or muzzle, you get a strong impression of it from this photograph. A picture design that uses texture creates a more immediate experience for the viewer than a design that is restricted to visual elements.

The photo was shot during the evening when the sun went down. The lioness sat in the shade which made for dark shadows. With a little photo editing, to enhance the darkness in the background, the photograph easily becomes a "classic portrait" of a lioness.

Secrets To Creating Ghosts.

2006-06-13T01:33:00.000-03:00

Its 12:42 am, on a Saturday morning, and what am I doing?

I'm standing in Riverview, 2 minutes from the old Coverdale Bridge on the walking path with my good friend Brad. All night Brad and I have been taking photos of various things, I think we actually started about 4pm. We covered flowers, nature, people, and even a porcupine on the side of the road. But now it's dark, and neither of us were ready to call it a night.

Then a little lightbulb appeared above my head like in a cartoon, and I had an idea. An idea that seemed impossible at the time. I told Brad lets photograph "ghosts". What I meant is lets make Brad seem eerie, and transparent. It took 45 horrible photos before I got the hang of it with all the right settings. Then I got the photo that is placed before you. It's aptly titled "Transparent".

We took out a spotlight from the trunk of the car and placed it on the ground facing Brad. I then proceeded by setting the tripod up and setting my camera settings to not allow a lot of light to enter my camera, so I could cause a motion blur. I told Brad I wanted him to take a step, and stop for 5 seconds, then another step and pause for 3 seconds and continued doing the same until he reached 1 second, then I would shut the lense.

What that did was make it so Brad was in the photo about 5 different times at 5 different positions at 5 different transparencies. All that mixed with the very sharp cityscape of Moncton and the black sky, and the fencing that you can see right through Brad made for one ghastly image.

My next creation will be a self portrait, standing behind a grave (tombstone) with my last name, with an arm motion making me seem almost Angelic. That photo should be interesting, and about a month away.

Behind The Scenes With Rene.

2006-06-06T00:55:00.000-03:00

This is a behind the scenes photo look at preperation for a fashion show/photo shoot.

Rene, seen here working on the hair and makeup of one of this past Friday nights fashion models at the Voodoo Nightclub in Moncton, NB.

The fashion show was put on by Glamis, located in Champlain Place (down by Sears).

The reason I like this photo is because of how natural it looks, and how I managed to keep myself out of the mirror ( I positioned myself off to the left enough that no reflection was made of me).

The photo took place at 5:18pm in the lower level of the Jean Raymond building across from the Rockin Rodeo on Elmwood Dr. The settings used were a shutter speed of 1/50 of a second, 4.5 F-Stop with a ISO of 400. No flash was needed due to the light being very well inside the building.

Swimsuits to Leathers.

2006-05-02T23:52:00.000-03:00

The photo your looking at was taken on the first night of SpeedsportEast at the Moncton Coliseum. It was taken during the Ruth Barnes Fashion Show, where the girls and guys sported swimsuits and clothing available at "Toys For Big Boys".

I'm not sure of the girls name in the photo as I was actually there to shoot some pics for a friends, who was also modeling also, which none of her pics turned outby the way. The lighting was horrible, which made if very difficult to get a good shot.

This shot I really like cause she is a gorgeous girl with a perfect pose. I love the black background and how the light fades her body in and out. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the spotlight on her face, but if you think about it too it shows that she was on stage with "all lights on her".

The photo was taken on automatic settings with no flash, so i had to wait for her to completely stop in her tracks and then when I snap the photo I must me still, very still.

Property Guys Weekend At The Beau.

2006-04-10T22:51:00.000-03:00

The Hotel Beau in Moncton, NB was host to the National Conference for Property Guys.com.

Property Guys hired me to photograph the whole conference, starting Thursday the 6th, where I took photos of all the regestering guests. Friday was a long day, as I sat in the conference room with all these people and shot the guest speakers and such, but the evening was a blast as I photographed them at the Beausejour Curling Club, singing karaoke and curling. Sunday, I shot more conference and in the evening I shot the Gala (consisting of comedian Lucien, and afterwards the award ceremony)

The photo was taken in low light, using the built in flash on automatic mode. I seriously did not think this photo would turn out but low and behold it did.

The photo above is of all the recipients of awards given by the President of Property Guys.Com Ken LeBlanc.

Denis - "Get To Know"

2006-04-04T00:10:00.000-03:00

Here is another "Get To Know" article on former Future Shop computer associate, turned MINACS personnel Denis Caissie.

Denis was brought into the world on January 1st, 1980. He tells me he was the 3rd baby born on that morning. Denis was raised in Irishtown, and graduated high school at Moncton High School in 1999.

This photo was taken at a higher level than the subject, using 1/100 shutter speed, f-stop of 5.0, ISO 200 with no flash. I had him sit on the driveway, and I took the photo from the top of the deck looking down. I hate face to face pics. Very boring.

Here is my Q&A with Denis:

1) What is your favorite song?
I like Brian Wilson by Barenaked Ladies.
2) Would you rather have 4 quarters, 20 nickels, or 10 dimes?
I wouldn't mind having 20 nickels to upset a cashier for fun.
3) Who was the best villan in all the Batman movies?
The Joker- by Jack Nicholson.
4) What are you afraid of?
I'm afraid of loosing a love, or someone dying. I guess I worry too much about people. But I can be shocked to witness something instead of being afraid. I am afraid of loosing something worth of value. I am afraid of failing at something I want to succeed at.
5) Superman or Spider-man?
Spiderman, cause I would love to hang upside down in the rain and kiss Kirsten Dunst.
6) Ever been to Alaska?
No. Isn't that really up north where the Eskimos live? Hah!
7) What cd is in your stereo right this minute?
Bryan Adams (Room Service). Getting pumped for the concert tonight.
8) What did you wanna be when you were growing up?
A singer. I used to sing on the bus at age 6 and people hated me for it.
9) If you could be any cartoon character who would you be?
Homer from the Simpsons because he gets more stupid every year. Doh!
10) Which came first the chicken or the egg?
One day, the chicken was walking down the street, and came across this beautiful female chicken, and then came chicken little. So basically I say the chicken came first out of nowhere, but the egg came at a close second.

I would like to thank Denis for his very insightful answers into the life of Denis Caissie.

Gail's "Pride"

2006-04-03T00:51:00.000-03:00

Over the past 2 years, I have been taking animal photos. They are my favorite subjects, and quite honest more easier to work with then people. The photo your looking at was taken in Aylesford, NS on March 25, 2006 at about 3 in the afternoon.

Oaklawn Farm Zoo is not your typical zoo. Not like Magnetic Hill Zoo. In my opinion much better. Not only do they have a wider variety of big cats but the owner, Gail Rogerson, interacts with the lions, tigers and bears (oh my!). By actually going in the cages with the food and putting on a show with these magnificent mammals.

The photo above is of Gail's "pride", Rutledge, Blackjack, and Tawny. They are African lions, and nice/beautiful cats they are. Rutledge was born in May 1991. Blackjack in December 1991, and Tawny in November 1991. Missing from the photo is Esther who will be 13 this month. Also missing is Teeka, and the oldest girl Kiaya who will be 17 this July.

In 1997, Oaklawn Farm Zoo officially received word from Guinness that they housed the heaviest living lion in captivity, Rutledge.In January 1996, his official weight was 807Lbs (366Kg).

I shoot as a freelance photographer for Gail, during winter and summer when ever I get a chance to go to Aylesford, NS. Some of my photos of her black jaguars, and snow leopard are being sold as postcards and posters.

This photo was taken on a sunny Saturday afternoon, with a 90mm lense. I was in the cage kneeling down (by the door). My settings were set at automatic with no flash.

For more animal photos to take a look at or purchase click my business name for my personal site. Nick Gaines Photography, and click on the animals section.

"How Sweet it Is"

2006-03-23T01:38:00.000-04:00

This photo was taken on the 9th of April, 2005 for a friend of mine and his girlfriend. This was the first time I took "couples or family" portraits and was paid for it. I took about 120 pics and about 12 really stood out to me.

Here are a few things I learn while out shooting on this day at Centennial Park:

- The sun is a killer. Avoid wearing black or white. Either it makes the photo bland or whites out the clothes.

- Try to incorporate the background.

- The most beautiful photos come when the client is not looking at the camera. Always have camera ready, if the couple or family you are photographing are talking amongst one another, you will more then likely catch real emotion, not just the "say cheese" emotion.

This photo you see of Shawn & Julie holding each other is one of my favorites. I had my camera ready but I didn't like them looking directly at me, so I pretended that my camera wasn't working and they just started to talk and eventually this is the outcome. Magnificent!

This photo got it's title as I was listening to Michael Buble on the stereo.

"How Sweet It Is"

"Wingspan"

2006-03-22T00:02:00.000-04:00

Every year about this time, I start my annual "Circulation of the Eagles" photography set.

Two bald eagles perch in a huge tree around the UdeM, waiting until its time to have a baby/babies. Last year these eagles had 2 babies, and the previous year they had one. Often you can see the eagles from the highway perched on a branch almost guarding the nest. Its not often you can see these spectacular birds of prey in flight or in the act of catching prey.

This photo was taken the other day about noonish, I went for a drive with my friend to see the eagles nest and see if the eagle was there. They weren't. All of a sudden my friend spotted a eagle flying and I prayed to God it was gonna land at the nest, and luckly it did. But before it landed, I got a photo of the wings spread wide across. The wingspan must have been at least 6-7 feet tip to tip. He/she must have circled the nest 5 times before landing on his perch.

I took this photo from standing on the back of the truck, with a tripod on automatic mode. I find when shooting animals, automatic mode is best cause of the unpredictability of the animal. Make it quick and easy, simple and sweet.

This photo is titled "Wingspan" .

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart".

Brothers & Sisters

2006-03-18T00:49:00.000-04:00

My mother is a big fan of my photography, especially the people photos. She has a wall in the house leading up the stairs with all different type of photos of my sisters, my step-sister, my dog and myself of course. My family is very important to me.

This is the newest addition to the wall. It's a artistic family portrait of my sisters and me.

There were actually 3 photos taken of each of us seperate. I took all three on different days. With a black blanket behind and a white light shining on the side of the face. Then I played around with the contrast and turned it black and white. After I edited the 3 photos, I made a new 12x8 size photo and colored it black and then spliced the 3 pics into it. After about 4 hours and 5 cans of pop later, this is the finished product.

From left to right: Emily, Me (Nick), and Katie.

"Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet"

I would like to apoligize to everyone reading this, because I have not put a article up in over a week, as I have been sick and had surgery on Thursday. I do feel much better now and I will now start putting up articles again.

This Is The Face Of Extinction.

2006-03-09T01:44:00.000-04:00

I asked Abby Brewer, from Zealand,NB to write an honest opinion of what she though about the photo above, whether it be good or bad. Abby was one of the first people to make me realize that the photographyI was doing wasn't just a waste of time and that I should pursue it.

Here is what she wrote:
"When first wandering my eyes over this photograph I notice the crispness, how well focused, and detailed the tiger is. I’ve never seen a photograph before where you could almost see the unique shapes of the snowflakes that rested on this tigers face. The blured snow packed background brought out the gold and rust colors in the tigers fur.

I found my focus never left the tigers face, it just compelled me to look deeper. Then I noticed the eyes. I wonder what the tiger is fixated on, what has caught his attention. His eyes give him a serious look, that look you see on a wild tiger, the Glare. It kind of reminded me that even a tiger in captivity never looses his basic instincts.

For the photographer to have captured a look of basic instinct, the glare, on a captive tiger just shows how extreme his artistic abilities are".

Its reasons like this that I do what I do. Its never about fame or fortune. Its for the passion of being able to create a beautiful image that can be enjoyed by others.

Tomar (pictured above) is a 19 yr old Siberian tiger at the Magnetic Hill Zoo. He was one of my first subjects to be photographer and somehow a bond was made in the months that I photographed him. I was able to get some beautiful photos that didn't show him as a "maneater" but more as a "friend".

This one was taken from over the guard rail at 110mm, no flash, and set on automatic mode. It took 93 photos to land the right one. My positioning was simple, kneel down, aim through the holes in the fencing and I patiently wait in the cold snow for almost 3 hours, but it was definately worth it.

Path Less Travelled. A Photo From Fundy.

2006-03-04T14:10:00.000-04:00

"Do not go where the path may lead,

go instead where there is no path

and leave a trail."

This is a quote of what I see when looking at this photo.

This photo was taken during a road trip to Fundy National Park, about an hour outsie Moncton,NB. It was taken about mid-day (1pm or so) and the sun was shining bright. Pretty warm day for winter. My focus when I went on this trip was to photograph trees. Those creepy old leafless trees, but when I took this picture I just had to post it here.

The area where the photo was taken was by the kids play area, over looking the golf course.

I used my Canon Digital Rebel, with a 300mm lense (not fully zoomed in), I shot in full automatic mode and I used a star filter to make the sun seem almost starish. What I love most about the photo is the colors and how the path on the golf course sort of fades into effect.

The photo also looks amazing in black & white.

Peering Out From The Dark: Self Portrait.

2006-02-19T19:46:00.000-04:00

I find this photo awesome. I had taken it last night while being bored and working on my photo project "The 365". It was pic of the day for the project. The photo is a self portrait, with sort of a abstract touch to it.

I set my camera up in one hand, held a lamp with another and shot a photo of my eyes with my sweater neck pulled up.

The photo was taken in automatic mode, with no flash. I had to keep very still cause any shake of the hand would blur it. The picture that turned out sucked.

So to make it like this, I mirrored the photo and then did a reflection of the left and side, split in two, then I added some Accented Edges, and Dry Brush Strokes to give it a painted feel.

The cool part about looking at the pic is that both my eyes are my left eye.

Wildcats Tear Up Mooseheads.

2006-02-18T00:38:00.000-04:00

The Moncton Wildcats continue their streak by defeating the Halifax Mooseheads at the Moncton Coliseum, with a 5-2 victory.

The first goal of the game came by way of the Mooseheads during the second period of play, but Moncton came back with 4 more before the end of the second. Halifax then got their final goal of the night in the third period, and with only 5 seconds left on the clock the Wildcats put the puck in an empty net making it 5-2 final score. Moncton out shot Halifax 45-23.

The photo above is of Cole Harbour N.S native, Nathan Welton (#27) as he belts a slapshot at Halifax goalie Jeremy Duchesne.

This photo was taken during the first period, from directly across the ice. The shutter was set at 1/125 sec, with a F-stop of 6.3, ISO 1600, no flash.

I really like how I caught the shot in mid-motion. The only thing I don't really care for is the blurred hand, but the more I think about it, the more I like it cause it shows the speed of the shot. Another nice part of the photo is the postition; one leg lifted in the air.
I think if I could go back and re-shoot the photo I would use a faster shutter (1/250) and possibly zoom out a bit to get the blade of the stick.