2009 Atom Champions!

Finally!!! After three years of finishing second in this tournament, the boys finally won the gold!

Métomedia Official Photographer!

I had an objective to bump off everyone`s weather image on the Temiscaming Weather page and have 5 of my images in-sequence.  I did it! Why? Who knows, just for fun I guess.

Surprisingly the Fall reflection image got over 14000 views in one week!

From the lighter side of the darkroom,

Pierre

It’s a small world

You don’t have to go to Walt Disney and ride the “It’s a small world” attraction to realize just how small the world really is. 

This week I received two e-mails that proved that.  The first e-mail was from the World Energy Council’s London office you wrote to tell me that my image “Modern Day Farming” was the global winner in the Council’s annual photo competition.  Aside from getting a T-shirt with my image on it, I get a £500 Amazon.com gift certificate.  I’ve been considering purchasing a high-end Epson Archival ink printer and this is making the decision that much easier.

My second e-mail came from a flickr contact.  He wrote:

“Hi Pierre,
We last spoke some time ago after I'd expressed my
admiration for one of your locomotive HDR's, a very strong
image which really stuck in the mind. Anyway, the other day
as I was glancing through my weekly edition of "Amateur
Photographer" magazine, I spied an ad for, I think, the
Tokina 11-16. Since I find myself shooting more and more
architecture on a professional basis, I read the ad as I'm
considering swapping my Sigma 10-20 for the Tokina.
Unusually for a lens makers ad, it featured a decent quality
photo which caught my eye and closer inspection revealed a
credit for "HDR by Pierre Contant". I immediately thought "I
recognise that name, thats the locomotive guy!" and was
delighted that your HDR skills had been recognised!

Amateur Photographer is the UK's oldest and most respected
photo mag, celebrating its 125th birthday this year. As part
of their celebrations they gave away a reflector and white
balance target/diffuser with last weeks issue and since I
wanted both gifts I bought two copies. If that was the same
week I saw your work gracing the Tokina ad it means I should
have a spare copy floating around somewhere, which, if I can
find it, I'd be happy to send to you.

Either way you've been refining your HDR skills for a while
now and it's great to see them recognised, congratulations!!

If you'd like any more info about the Tokina image then
just Flickrmail me. Have a great weekend!

Best Wishes, Adrian " 

That image was sold to Kenro, the UK distributor for Tokina for a one year license agreement for an ad campaign. 

The internet has made our world small, very small.  I've sold images in Canada, the US and the UK.  And to think that just maybe the Queen is sitting on the throne reading “Amateur Photographer” and gazing a my image of Lumsden Dam just tickles me. 

From the lighter side of the darkroom, 

Pierre

Workshop Update

My fall Outdoor Digital Photography Essentials workshop did take place last Saturday and I would have to say it was a success.  Although we crammed in tons of information, we managed to get out there and try things out.  

I shared many tips and tricks which will undoubtedly improve each and every participant’s photographic skills if they continue to put in practice what they learned.

I truly enjoyed the day and the fact that the workshop attendees were great people who wanted to learn made it that much better and a perfect day.

Thanks to everyone who participated.

Pierre

Photography Workshop

FULL - This workshop is now booked. If you wish to be on a cancelation list, please send me an e-mail.  
 

I’m looking at hosting a Digital Photography Essentials workshop this fall. I have a few things I need to iron out but I should be in a position to confirm if the workshop will take place in a few weeks.

Where: Temiscaming, Quebec

When: The tentative date is Saturday September 26^th, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., rain or shine. A one hour preparation session will take place the night before from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. to get started and ensure that everyone is prepared for the next day.

Workshop Outline: I will cover just about everything in digital photography except for post processing and studio lighting. At least 4 hours of the day will be out in the field trying and testing the various learning with one-on-one coaching. Night time and flash photography will be covered after dinner.

Prerequisites: You need to be a serious amateur willing to learn and improve your photographic skills.

Required Equipment: A DSLR and a tripod is a must. Most Point & Shoot (P&S) digital camera will not qualify as they do not have the level of functionality required.

Limited seats: The workshop will be limited in participation in order to maximize the one-on-one instruction. Since space is limited, seats will be on a first come, first served basis.

Workshop Fees: The cost for the workshop is $100. You will need to bring your lunch and cover your dinner costs.

Language: My last workshop was in French only and this one may be in English depending on who attends. If the lectures are in English, French may be used during the one-on-ones to better explain and understand the theory. 

f you are interested in improving your photographic skills by participating in this workshop or have any questions, please e-mail me at pierre.contant@yahoo.com as soon as possible.

Pierre

El Rodeo, more than trucks....

El Rodeo!

Every year, the Rodeo du Camion (El Rodeo) attracts over 65,000 people in Notre-dame-du Nord, a small 1500 resident community on the Ontario/Quebec border. The rodeo is filled with attractions such as the amazing Show & Shine competition, truck parade and up-hill truck drag racing. This event has become the biggest activity of this nature in Canada attracting people from across the country and the US.

Coors Light like you've never seen

This year I decided to attend the event as I hadn’t been there for over 20 years. I was perplexed to see how big this event had become and floored to see how much beer was being consumed. Beer shacks were all over the place and the grounds’ were covered with empty beer cans. This big beer drinking party attracts many young people looking for a good time.

Entertainment

But what really titillated me was the free entertainment between each race. Motivated by Mardi-Gras style necklaces and crowds of cheering men, ladies of all ages were encouraged to lift their tops and show their breast and that they did. From woman young enough to be my daughter to one that was old enough to be my mother, many participated.

Now I could tell you that I was totally appalled by this behavior and to stand there and see all these perverted men cheer and holler to the women on the opposite side of the track to take there tops off was disturbing, but that would be a lie. In fact, I truly enjoyed the entertainment and best of all it was free!

I quickly reviewed the fine print in my marriage contract and no where did I see that I could not photograph these bare chested women.

So as I stood their in the crowd, actively scanning for the next lucky contestant, I quickly realized that most of these rowdy guys were on the other side of the track which meant that most of the ladies participating were on my side. Needless to say, it was time to change sides.

Once on the other side I found the perfect spot with a great view but I guess it wasn’t my lucky day. It seemed that by time I got to the other side most of the action had changed sides as well. But nonetheless I was determined and decided to wait it out for things to go my way which they finally did.

Reality

When I got home I shared the experience with my wife and confirmed that I hadn't missed any fine print in our marriage contact. And as I sat there later that evening, replaying the day’s events in my head, I suddenly realized that these young girls had a father and the older ones participating probably had grand children! Having a daughter myself made the fun of the day take sudden change in perspective.

The next morning at breakfast I had a little chat with my daughter. She was well aware of what I had seen at the Rodeo so I shared with her my thought about the concept of her participating in such an activity. Being a mature and reasonable girl, she was disgusted by the event and unquestionably supportive of not embarking in such activity. I told her to scratch this event out of her list of events to attend.

Now just to make sure she doesn’t go, I’ve convinced my wife that I should be attending each year!

From the brighter side of the darkroom,

Pierre

DIY Camera Raingear

It doesn’t take much rain to get a 10 year old boy outside but to get a 13 year old girl to put aside her iPod and get off the couch to go out and play in the rain takes an impressive downpour.

Well that’s what we had last Sunday night, a very heavy downpour and what better time to test my home made camera raingear. Now while most photographers were looking outside I was out there taking pictures and getting wet, really wet.

The camera raingear worked perfectly and in fact outperformed my worn out raincoat. It was raining so much, perhaps too for a first test. It kept the camera dry but I could not keep the front lens dry which made photography a challenge.

The Design

I’m a canvas sewer hobbyist and designed and sewed the raingear myself with the following features.

Seal – The rain gear seals around the lens with a pull cord and the bottom of the cover seals up with velco so that I can seal it around my hand.

Window – I put a clear plastic window so that I can look in the viewfinder and see the LCD display. With my right hand inside the cover I can adjust any setting.

Fabric – Lightweight water repellent black nylon.

Size – The fabric is collapsible for my 50mm lens and extendable for my 80-200.

Version 2

I give this design 100 % for normal rain, wet or snow conditions. However, for torrential rain such as in this test, the nylon fabric eventually became drenched. No water got through but I could begin to feel the dampness on my hand. This was undoubtedly more rain than I had ever imagined testing this gear. It was raining so much that pouring buckets of water over the covered camera would not have been any worse. That said, I've made a second version made out of 100% waterproof marine canvas. This on is fully sealed model and you must operate the controls from outside the cover. I made a 1/4" hole under a sealed flat for a tripod mount or the adapter of my fantastic Rapid-R strap. This unit designed for extreme conditions and I can't wait to try it out.

VERSION 2

Click on image to view larger

From the brighter side of the darkroom,

Pierre