Sunset on Ottawa River

Sunset on Ottawa River

One more beautiful sunset on Ottawa River. I was trying to catch that small boat crossing the sunlight path on the water, so here it goes. I also like how the glare from the setting sun shoots ahead of the cruise boat into the left side of the frame. Skyline across the river is the city of Gatineau, QC, Canada.

Take on Film

While not too many people still shoot film, I used Ilford  ISO400 35 mm film to take a shot of guitars hung in the air-conditioned room of the music store upon available lighting.

Please click here to purchase it framed or canvas print from Imagekind, or click here do purchase high resolution digital download from Photoshelter.

Used Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L Lens on Rebel 2000.

Hammock at Sunset

Sun setting through the forest beams its farewell rays through the hammock strings. Lovely.

Shot it with a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L Lens.

Happy New Year 2010!

Happy New Year to all my visitors! Come back for more photos.

Freezing Rain in Ottawa

Truck on HWY 416 moving to Ottawa

This picture was taken with a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L from the Highway 416 overpass outside of Bruce Pit Park. It was shot in the Shutter Priority mode with the shutter speed set to 1/15s to achieve blurring effect.

Volunteers Make A Difference

I shot and edited the story on Stu - The Volunteer with Tony Grace reporting for 'A' Morning Ottawa. Opening shot with Christmas decorartion hanging off the ceiling is purposely striking to wake up the viewer. It's followed by more traditional sequences.

From shooting prospective I wanted to touch on two clips in the story - Stu's and Suzanne's. Since the story was set in the dining hall among the St.-Vincent Hospital patients having Christmas dinner, I naturally wanted to shoot the interviews right there. The lighting in the hall was dimmed out. Normally traveling light, the only light source I had on me was 25W Anton Bauer camera light (there is too many 'lights' in the sentence, but I don't know how to describe the lighting situation better).

I aimed the light up into the low ceiling. The ceiling was painted off-white, so with fluorescent light bleeding from the serving area on the right and the bouncing light I was able to bring the subject forward, while keeping the background visible. Using direct camera light into the subject's face would have made the shot harsh and "news-like", and it would have eliminated the background, making it totally dark.

After resolving lighting situation I had to soften the background, because otherwise I would have had to go around the tables and ask everyone's permission - that was the rule imposed by the hospital. I could not step back and use tele photo to narrow the depth of field, because I was supposed to ask the questions and both Stu and Suzanne had enough hard time to hear my voice in the noisy room. So I shot it wide, but focused for infinity and adjusted focuse on subjects' face with the macro ring. I recommend to try this technique if you are using a zoom lense with separate macro control. Technically you would probably ruin all the efforts the optics designers implemented into their great and expensive product, but the shot will worth it. Use it sparingly.

As for the rest of the story - the color temperature was different in every corner of every room and every hallway in the building. Just had to do my white balance over and over and over again.

Freezing Rain

Ice covered tree branch during freezing rain in Ottawa, ON, Canada on December 27, 2009. I have taken this shot at about 2AM, that explaing dark background, with a Canon Speedlight 430 EX II controlled remotely via Pocketwizard pair and pointed sideways towards the camera and the icy branch.

Picnic Table

I have taken this shot from underneath of my friends' picnic table during sunset.

From AndreiPhotos

The image is available in High Resolution at Photoshelter and Alamy.

Photoshelter December's Featured Images

Photoshelter editors included one of my older photos into the December's Featured Images collection on the home page. The photo of the video DA's rear side with attached cables was taken with Canon G7 upon available fluorescent light.

 See all the Photoshelter December's Featured Images.

Penny's Fudge Factory

Judy Gravel, the owner of the Penny's Fudge Factory, cutting fudge slabs, August 9, 2009. Penny's Fudge Factory located in Fitzroy Harbour, ON, Canada, outside of Ottawa, the Capital of Canada.

Photoshelter Features 20 Images of November 2009

Although neither of these images is mine, I like them!

Parliament Hill Everywhere

091030_Majors_hill_01
Originally uploaded by andrei.filippov

As you can explore the ocean by the droplet of water, so you can find the Peace Tower everywhere in Canada

Rideau Canal Drained

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Originally uploaded by andrei.filippov

Rideau Canal in Ottawa had been drained after the 2009 Summer season to be turned into arguably the longest skating rink in the world.

"I Do Re-Do" TV Show on A-Morning Ottawa

The A-Morning presented the "I Do Re-Do" show on Friday, October 23, 2009. Ingrid and Gino had one more chance to say their vows live on-air during the only local morning breakfast time show broadcasted by Atv.ca in Ottawa, Canada.

See behind the scene photos at Flickr as a set or as a slide show.

Leaves Falling

The leaves are falling in Major's Hill Park in downtown Ottawa. More falling leaves here.

Parliament Building Through The Fence

Central Block of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa being seen through the iron fence - September 3, 2009. Peace Tower is the central feature of the Parliament Hill building complex surrounded by the iron fence.

Live On-Air Wedding

Next Friday, on October 23, 2009 there will be a live on-air re-wedding built on success of the one aired before, on May 1, 2009.



Here are some photos taken on May 1, 2009, at the wedding of Christina and Stephan. Press play and enjoy!

Ceremonial Guard at Ottawa War Memorial

Ceremonial guards protect War Memorial in Ottawa, Canada from misbehaving public and serve as a natural tourist attraction. The guards were first placed at the War Memorial in the summer 2007 after the incident of desecration on Canada Day July 1, 2006.

The War Memorial unveiled in Ottawa, the Capital of Canada in 1939, was originally designed to commemorate Canadians who died in World War I, now honours all of Canada's war dead.

Lianne's Blog

Another cancer related story fronted by Tony Grace. We met with Lianne for the interview during her lunch break in the Hog's Back Park in Ottawa.



It was bright sunny day. I needed to find two spots, one for the interview and another one for the cutaway shots. For the first one I based ourselves in the shadow of the big tree.

Although the lighting was "spotty", I played it around placing Lianne exactly in the trunck shadow. I stepped in the shade, facing away from the sun, so when we looked at my shadow we were able to see only my shoulders sticking out of the trunk's shadow. I asked her to do the same, then framed her "head and shoulders" with the shallow depth of field, exposing face normally.

For the "walking shots" I could not find the way to avoid spots altogether, and I set exposure so the faces would be a bit underexposed while Tony and Lianne were walking in the shade, but not too much overexposed when they were hit by the sun.

Sun is photographer's friend. So is shade.

Chateau Laurier Hotel at the Locks

Chateau Laurier Fairmont Hotel in Ottawa is located at the Rideau Canal first 8 locks, as the water flows into the Ottawa River. The Rideau Canal has a status of the UNESCO Heritage Site.