Last Post

'trumpets  blaring'

Actually, all thats happening is that with the move of my website to the root directory georgebarr.com

I'm now going to retire the blogspot blog and use the one built into my wordpress site.

SO THIS IS THE LAST ENTRY INTO THIS BLOGSITE BUT IT WILL CONTINUE TO EXIST TO ACCESS OLD ENTRIES

Website Move

for some time you have been able to access my new website at georgebarr.com/photographs but as of today you can now get to it by the root georgebarr.com

I notice that if you try the temporary georgebarr.com/photographs you get an oops, but you can click on the home page and all is well.

If you have a link to my website, you might want to update the link.

More Website Progress

The site seems to be relatively stable. Today I added backup so the site has some protection. I fixed the contact email (it was going to a email I don't actually have activated).

Now I need to activate some statistics so I can see if anyone comes visiting.

I'm curious about how the website is viewed on various devices, from phones to macs, tablets, windows android etc. so do let me know how it's working for you.

Commenting is now active - I think!

Link to the website at george barr.com/photographs/

New Website Progress

I have decided that if the new website is running smoothly, I will stop using blogger to create and publish my blog entries and do it directly from my website.

You can check the first two entries by clicking HERE but in the mean time, I'm looking for feedback and beta testing feedback.

Thanks,

George

And The Results Are:

Woops, that didn't work as hoped. The image once clicked on was about 1600 pixels but noticeably unsharp, definitely not what I'm looking for. Time to do some reading. Now, one issue is that when I copied the onscreen image, it was actually 3200 pixels - the effect of working with a 5K monitor.

Image Size For The Net

This is a test, do not adjust your set...

In working on my new site, I decided it was time to use higher res images for the website, and possibly for the blog as well.

The image above was shot at the Abbotsford Airport, while waiting for our very much delayed flight - minus 35 in Calgary, but freezing rain in Abbotsford.

The image was shot hand held with the Olympus EM1 II, in regular resolution mode which is 5184X 3888 pixels. In the past I have reduced images to 800 pixels for on the web, but today started reprocessing images to 1800X1400 pixels. Of course, my blog won't show that in regular format, but if you click on the image, you should see it at 1800 pixels - thus the test,

Developing A New Website

Over the years I have tried just about every possible way of creating a website, short of actually being proficient with html code.

I used Rapidweaver and it was fairly easy to use, though really only gained strength through all the plug ins, each of which had to be learned, and readers complained that text would do odd things like not quite fit, or overlap and generally not quite look like I intended.

I tried and still have an account with smug mug but it couldn't do all that I needed, at least not without a whole lot more learning than I wanted to get involved with.

I checked out Squarespace and didn't find it as friendly as I'd been led to believe.

I broke down and paid for a commercial site. The price was reasonable, the work good, but I had to resort to phoning the developer to ask once again, how do I upload images. And as for changing things significantly on the site, forget it without help. I wanted to be independent. It was based on Joomla which when I started investigating, didn't find as friendly as Wordpress.

I finally decided to watch some how to videos on using wordpress - turns out it wasn't significantly more difficult than Rapidweaver or Squarespace, while also being more flexible.

After several watchings of the tutorials, I created a website for my local model railway group (intended just for ourselves), and started to tackle the more daunting task of a real website for my photography.

It needed to present images cleanly - not all systems can do that.
I wanted to be able to shuffle through images via the keyboard arrows - ditto.
I needed it to be able to handle some zip files needed for my books.
And I wanted it to promote my next book effort.

i searched for the best gallery plugin for wordpress and came across Envira Galleries, which not only would display my work as I wanted, but was compatible with Lightroom's Publishing so that I could select images in Lightroom and place them in galleries, to be published directly from Lightroom. After a few trials (largely my own fault) I was able to do this very easily and effectively. This had to be the right way to go.

So, I have created a site. As yet I have not removed the old site but you can check out the new via the link below, or by typing in george barr.com/photographs

New Website

This new site has hundreds of images going back more than 10 years but more importantly includes images shot in the last few months.

The video I started with was an older version by Tyler Moore, and by clicking on his name you can link to a recent version of his very effective introduction.

Keep in mind all this stuff about website development changes Joomla has improved, but so does Wordpress, and the plug-ins, and for that matter the tutorials.

Quebec City

Just back from a medical conference in Quebec City. Wonderful place. Spent two hours walking in the rain and mist and dark after arriving, shooting hand held with the Olympus EM-1 Mark II.

Most of the images were made at 1/4 second and the results are very pleasing. I did stop in at a cafe and begged  napkin to dry my lens but quite like the water droplets showing in the second image, of the Chateau Frontenac Hotel.

Last time I saw this hotel I was sailing by, on the Empress of Britain as I immigrated with my family to Canada from Scotland at age 8, 1958.

I was using the Olympus 12-100, a lens that combines it's own image stabilization with that of the camera body to make efforts like this possible.

Editing Tribune Bay

Seems to me that the image I uploaded yesterday looked weaker on the blog than it did in Photoshop. This happens sometimes, perhaps part of the toning. Here's what happens when I edit the uploaded image. It particularly seems weak on the right side so that is where I did most of the work. I had thought to lighten the light areas but in darkening the dark, it has the same effect without weakening the detail in the light parts.

Thoughts? Too heavy handed?

Before, then after.

Tribune Bay, Hornby Island

Have You Tried It In Black And White?

Cliff asked 'had I considered the image in black and white?" I did try it, but didn't even save the image, preferring the colour version. I've redone the monochrome image, adding a bit of contrast, but still prefer the colour photograph.

I think there is more to be done with the black and white image, but I doubt that at any point it will become better than the colour, and if so, why bother. Definitely not always the case.

Print from The Gordon Lewis through theonlinephotographer.com

Gordon's image was previously featured on The Online Photographer, and when It came time to do my book Why Photographs Work, it was one of the first images I chose to discuss. It really is a lovely photograph and I can't recommend it enough, and a print for $149 is a bargain. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER - BY 10 PM

Link torThe Online Photographer

And the wonderful photograph:

Three Valley Gap

Selection of images from Three Valley Gap, south of Revelstoke B.C.

Boulder

This was a large boulder inclusion in a sandstone formation on Hornby Island, about six feet across and overhead. Two high res images with the Olympus EM-1 Mark II

Othello Tunnels

 

Part of the Kettle Valley Railway, near Hope, B.C. and now a short hike with views of the Coquihalla Canyon and River.

Lancaster Continued

The second image is a re-edit - I'd been living with a print for the last week and it was too dark. The upper image is a gun turret from a Lancaster bomber, shot from the inside.

Lancaster Bomber Again

The first image is what happens when you shoot a rotating propeller with the camera in high res mode - but hey, I liked the effect. The other three images are turrets from the plane.

I'm particularly fond of the second and fourth images, and that last one is quite abstract, about light and form - definitely not illustrative.

smithy 3

This actually took quite a lot of work. The light was from behind my left shoulder, and was blocked from the right side of the motor entirely. The foreground was much brighter than the background.

Smithy 2

 

The first image is an automatic focus bracketing with the Olmpus.

The lower image is high res, manual focus blend of the left and right halves of the image, then stitched together.

Smithy

Backsmith shop at Pioneer Acres, near Irricana and about 45 minutes N.E. of Calgary. Olympus EM1 Mark II, Pansonic 8-18 mm. lens, High Res Mode.