ExploreCanada – Creativescans

ZZ Chrome for Kids Truck Show & Shine at Mission Raceway

Some photos from the ZZ Chrome for Kids Truck Show & Shine at Mission Raceway

Photography tip…

Photography tip: When taking photos through glass get as close as possible to the glass to reduce glare. Camera lens was almost touching window glass. Make sure flash is off. Photo of the ems truck taken through glass after sunset.

Electric Buses

I had a chance to check out Greenpower Motor Company’s all electric zero emissions bus at the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Fall Conference and Expo held at the Vancouver Convention Centre. They have been in the news in B.C recently when they provided the world’s first double decker all electric bus to the transit authority in Victoria BC.

From a passenger perspective, the fit and finish of the bus on display looks good. There are slight differences to the buses we are used with Translink buses here in the Vancouver area; the seats are a formed plastic with no covering or padding and there was no bike rack on the front of the display bus. There are two spaces for wheelchairs or scooters (or baby buggies too I suppose). There are plenty of hand rails to hold on to while standing and there are ample next stop buttons throughout the bus. The bus is also equipped with multiple (8) security cameras on board. I almost forgot to mention how quiet the bus is. While I was there they had to start up and move the bus and it was pretty much silent. In talking to one of the company representatives this was a big issue for Victoria testing out these busses for the cruise ship industry. If you have several busses waiting dockside for cruise ship passengers all running their engines and air conditioning it can be quite loud. These busses should help address the noise issue as well as the issue of emissions.

From an operators perspective the company says there could be more than $50,000 a year saved in diesel fuel costs and less money needs to be spent on electric bus maintenance.

It will be interesting to see how well all-electric buses are received not only in BC but across the country and the world.

Greenpower Motor Company’s all electric zero emissions bus at the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Fall Conference and Expo held at the Vancouver Convention Centre

Fraser Atkinson, Chairman of Greenpower Motor Company in front of thier all electric zero emissions bus at the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Fall Conference and Expo held at the Vancouver Convention Centre

Horse racing season almost finished..

My two thoroughbred race horses, Shooting Jacket and Merlot, are finished racing at Hastings Racecourse for this season. They are wintering in Aldergrove, BC. Merlot will be back in 2017 but not sure about Shooting Jacket.

Shooting Jacket had 9 starts. Finished first twice, second three times and third twice. Finishing top 3 in 7 of 9 starts. Pretty good if you ask me.

Merlot had 9 starts. Finished first once, second three times and third four times. Finished top 3 in 8 of 9 starts. Again, pretty good if you ask me.

It was a lot of fun being a race horse owner. Seeing a bit of what happens behind the scenes, talking with jockeys and trainers, visiting the paddock area and getting into the winners circle a few times was a lot of fun. I am not sure if I will sign up as an owner again next season but I have a few weeks to make that decision and will let you know what I decide to do going forward.

Merlot finishing 2nd at Hastings Racecourse, 2016.

Shooting Jacket winning a race at Hastings Racecourse. 2016

Photographing fireworks basics

If you missed the fireworks on Canada Day or July 4 or want try your hand at photographing fireworks you have another chance during the http://hondacelebrationoflight.com/ in the Vancouver area July 23, 27 and 30^th.

So here are some basic tips on how to photograph fireworks.

Try to scout out your location before the event. Know where the fireworks display will be and where you will shoot in relation to that location. Finding a location that will give you an unobstructed view of the fireworks is key. With popular fireworks shows there will be A LOT of people at the event so plan for this. You do not want to set up in a spot nice and early only to have people end up in front of you blocking your view. And it is best to get into your position as early as possible. I usually try and be at my spot at least 3 hours prior to the show starting.

As far as gear is concerned I use a Sony A77ii DSLR but you could use a point and shoot camera with manual settings or a “Fireworks” setting. No matter what camera you use, it is best to have and use a good sturdy tripod. The shutter stays open for relatively long periods of time when shooting fireworks and if you try to hand hold the camera you will end up with blurry pictures. Using a sturdy tripod can help eliminate camera shake and blurry pictures.

If you can, use a cable release to activate the shutter to take the photos. If you do not have a cable release or the camera does not support a cable release then use the self-timer function to activate the shutter. Using a cable release minimizes how much the camera moves to activate the shutter…your finger doesn’t touch the camera it touches the cable. Using the self-timer gives the camera time to settle down after your finger pushes the shutter button. Many cameras have a self-timer function that lets you delay the shutter by 2-3-4 or 10 seconds. I have used the 2 second delay with good results when I have forgotten the cable release.

The camera settings that I find work best for photographing fireworks are pretty straight forward. Most often I use shutter speeds of between 2 and 6 seconds, an aperture of between f7 and f11 and ISO of between 100 and 400. You will need to play around with the settings to see what works best for you and your situation but these settings can be used as a decent starting point. I will change camera settings during the show if segments of the show are brighter or less bright to try and get the best results but don’t get carried away with changing settings during the show.

Next tip. Shoot a lot. Especially when you are starting out. Don’t expect all your photos of a fireworks display to be award winners. If you take more photos you increase the chances of you getting some really pleasing images. Like anything else, if you keep at it and do it enough you will find that you will have more and more good images from each display you photograph.

A few words about composition. You can focus tight on the fireworks and that is perfectly ok or you can try and add other elements to the composition to try and give the photos a sense of place. If you add in your city skyline or maybe a prominent building or bridge to the fireworks photos it can really add something special to the final photograph.

There are other more “advanced” techniques to photographing fireworks but I hope these few tips help you’re your next fireworks photos a little better. Below are a few fireworks photos I have taken over the years.

SONY DSC

Canada day citizenship ceremony…

I attended a citizenship ceremony for the first time on Canada Day. I was surprised how emotional it can be just watching (and photographing) the proceedings. For the people getting their citizenship it must be a really emotional day.

From a photography stand point it can be a challenge to photograph events inside a large indoor space (one of the halls at Canada Place in this case) with low light, different colors of light, crowds of people getting in your shots as well as other photographers and media people jockeying for position to get good images.

On the plus side most everyone is in a good mood. And hey there was cake! And when there is cake it’s usually going to be a good event.

I hope everyone had a Happy Canada Day!

Canada Day citizenship ceremony 2016

Canada Day citizenship ceremony 2016 cake!

Watched Shooting Jacket workout…

I went to Hastings Racecourse early Wednesday morning to watch one of my two horses, Shooting Jacket, workout. Trackside, the smell of coffee and hay were in the air along with the occasional whiff of horse poop. When you are this close to the action you get all the sights and smells. There were more owners horses trainers and agents of different horses at this workout session compared to the last session I attended a few weeks back. Everyone seems to know everyone and is very friendly. I am still getting to know people but it’s all good.

Shooting Jacket ran a few slow laps or parts of laps around the track, then did at least one flying lap at a good clip. Then it was back into the paddock and barns and the word is he is in good shape. I think Shooting Jacket and Merlot are both running on Canada Day but need to confirm that.

Below are a few photos of Shooting Jacket working out Wednesday morning. This was the first time using the new Sony A77ii at the track. It was a good real world test to help me get used to the new equipment and I am fairly happy with these early images..

For more on how I got involved with horse racing check my previous post here:

https://creativescans.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/so-i-bought-a-race-horse/

For more information about Hastings Racecourse visit their website:

http://www.hastingsracecourse.com

Shooting Jacket workout

Sony A77ii camera HDR test

The Sony A77ii has a HDR setting so tried that feature out just to see the results. I rarely shoot HDR but wanted to see what the new camera could do. Below are a few images testing the HDR feature of the camera. The images are straight from the camera unedited except for being resized. Most of the menus are in the same places as the A77 but some have been redesigned so I am still getting used to the menus on board the camera.

HDR test on the Sony A77ii

Look for a new perspective…

Photographically speaking, try shooting from a very low angle next time you are out and about with your camera. Show a subject you might photograph from normal or standing height from a new perspective. Try this on a subject you might never think of photographing. A few examples of what can make for an interesting photo if shot from a different perspective are flowers, walking paths, cars and tall buildings. There are a lot of things you can try this technique on so give it a try.

Below are a few examples of things photographed from a different perspective:

Middle of the road. Shotr when the road was closed. Do not attmpt on an open road.

Formula1 car from down low.

A marine bollard (used to tie up boats) from down low.

The Space Needle in Seattle from down below.

I watched one of my horses workout…

Sunday morning was the first day I watched one of my two race horses work out live and in person at the track.

First I had to check in with security at the “Horseman’s” entrance to get into the property. (The entrance for the general public is not open this early.) The stables were bustling with all kinds of activity as I made way through the stables to one of the viewing platforms track side used by owners trainers and other track personnel. Horses were being fed or groomed and some horses were being kitted out for training sessions. Two horses were behaving badly as was evident by one horse repeatedly kicking at a wooden fence while being led back to the stables and the other horse that was not listening to its rider and was galloping through the stables erratically causing me to give it a wide berth just to be safe.

Once alongside the track at the viewing platform I watched as several horses made their way onto the track. At first I was the only person at the viewing platform but soon there were than a half dozen people watching the horses “breeze” (work out but not at full speed or intensity). I met the trainer of our horses, a jockey agent and a few other owners.

It was interesting to see my horse work out and see the differences in how the different horses went through their work outs. Some ran faster than others some slower than others. Some horses ran in pairs some alone. I learned that horses going at a slow pace do not stay close along the rail because the faster horses are usually running close to the rail. And photographically it was nice to get some images of the horses and the track from a new perspective.

After the workout was over I walked over to New Brighten Park to look around and get some waterfront photos then it was back to the track at Hastings Racecourse to take in the afternoon racing. I will be writing about and sharing some photos of New Brighten Park soon.

Below are a few photos of one of my horses, Shooting Jacket, “Breezing” on the track.

“Shooting Jacket” working out.