After two weeks visiting family and getting out for some photography in the great Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, I am back home in Oregon. I’ll be adding some of my favorite photographs here soon after I spend some time processing them.

If my pre-order information is correct…Photoshop CS5 will be available for download tomorrow 4/29…but you never know, they make it clear that the release date may change. I hope not. I’m looking forward to the many new features.

I’m going to be writing a much longer blog about my experience in Newfoundland and how I have developed a very inspired love for that island.

I’ll also be sharing some of my thoughts in Photoshop CS5 after I get my grubby hands on it.

Until then….

It looks like we’ll get a break from the rain today, and maybe even some sun. I’ll be loading up the camera gear and heading to a locations in search for some good photography subjects. I’ll probably be hitting Quidi Vidi Village, Portugal Cove, and a few other areas.

I’ve been in Newfoundland a week now and it’s mostly been a great deal of rain, a 24 hour blizzard, more rain, a lot of fog and about 5 minutes of sun.  While it hasn’t been ideal for photography every day, it hasn’t been THAT bad.  You can always find something to photograph in almost any condition.

Yesterday it was raining most of the day, and then it stopped, the wind died down an I saw sun streaming through the windows of my in-law’s home while I played with my daughter.  I told my wife I had to go chase the sun and I picked up my camera back and jumped in the car…in a flash the sun was replaced by some of the densest fog that we’ve seen since our arrival.

I drove around a bit and decided to head out to one of my favorite areas: Cape Spear.  Cape Spear is home to one of my favorite lighthouses.   There are actually two lighthouses at this location, the new one, which you see to the left and an old one which I didn’t photograph this time out.  Both are photogenic.

I now have a photograph of this lighthouse in spring, fall and winter, which are the seasons when I’ve been in Newfoundland.  I haven’t made a trip here in the summer yet, so I’m sure when I’m here some summer, I’ll take the familiar drive to Cape Spear and capture the scene again.  I can’t help myself, not only am I a sucker for lighthouses, I’m a sucker for this one.

I had a nice drive along some of the Avalon peninsula today, but I’d say I didn’t come away with any keepers. Some interesting scenery, but nothing that really seemed to pop out at me. Definitely some areas that I’ll go back to again. Today the light was very drab and the fog left the sky with no definition.

Tomorrow, I plan on hitting some small harbours and perhaps some close ups of some colorful boats.

I wrote last night that “rain or shine” I’d be heading out for a drive today.  I decided to head out around Conception Bay, Newfoundland.  It was overcast with some drizzle here and there, but heading inland from St. John’s it did warm up a few degrees and was a not-so-uncomfortable 12 degrees (Celsius).  It was a welcome temperature after a small blizzard dumped almost foot of snow the night before last.  It had all but disappeared from everywhere by the time I headed out this morning.

I had known of the shipwreck at Conception Harbour from doing research before I headed out.  It was only about an hour away from where I was staying.

Given the weather, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived, but I decided I like the dark, cloudy atmosphere contrasting with the rusty hull and the bright yellow on the foreground rocks.

I didn’t take many other photographs while I was out, as I had a short window to return back to my base of operations, but I was happy with the drive and happy to get out and take a few “snaps” as my mother-in-law would say.  I can’t complain.

You can also see I took a shot of a Gull on this rock in the harbour.  I found the rock and the pose of the gull quite interesting.  Although common, I have to admit that I like photographing these birds.

I processed these photographs on a laptop that isn’t properly color calibrated, so please excuse me if they are a little too dark or if the color is off.  I’ll be working on them again after returning home to my main computer.

I hope to get out for another short drive tomorrow morning, but I’m not sure if that is going to happen.  It may be a couple days before I head out again depending on the weather.  I’ll be sure to make a update when the time comes.

Rain or shine (it will be rain) I’m taking a coastal drive on the Avalon out to an old ship wreck and some fishing villages. I’m trying to hit some places I haven’t been before. It will be a relatively short drive, but I hope to do a few of these drives over the next week. The weather doesn’t look to be clearing up or warming up until we leave…rotten luck. I’m going to do what I can to turn lemons into lemonade….

Spring in Newfoundland….today, snow flurries most of the day and then this evening a borderline blizzard has dumped more than a couple inches on the ground. It’s a little frustrating and a little too windy to get out for some photography time. I plan on giving it a go again tomorrow.

I’m just getting warmed up (figuratively, it is actually quite cold…it snowed today) with my photography here in Newfoundland.  The weather doesn’t look like it will be much help, but I know I’ll come away with some good photographs.  Today was just a few bird photographs at a local pond.  I took my 3 year old daughter along with me, and she had a great time even though it was right at freezing.

There were many pigeons around the pond, looking for handouts, of course.  Although common, I do really like the variety and colors of these birds.  The light today wasn’t particularly good, so I used some fill flash to help out.

There were several ducks, mostly mallards, black ducks and northern pintails (as seen below)

Tomorrow, depending on the weather I’ll be heading to photograph some of the colorful houses around St. John’s and/or heading to a butterfly/insect exhibit that is in town.  I believe some of the insects are live and may provide some interesting macro opportunities.

Although it looks like there is quite a bit of rain and the potential for snow flurries over the next several days, I’m still motivated about what I’ll find around St. John’s.  I suspect that we’ll be back here in June or July, which may be a great time for some iceberg photographs and an excellent time for more migratory birds.

We landed in St. John’s, Newfoundland last night via Portland, Boston, and Halifax. Weather outlook is cloudy with rain and fog, but opportunities abound. The fog can be quite interesting along the coast and in St. John’s harbour. There are some birds moving in, and of course, the very colorful houses on jelly bean row and other areas of St. John’s always make interesting subjects.

Today is mostly a day of rest, but I’ll be getting out soon to check out some areas around St. John’s.

Not that I haven’t taken a few snapshots in my day, but I try to think like a photographer whenever my camera is in my hands.  Today, one of my cats, “Q” (yes, named after the character in Star Trek TNG) was resting and I really tried to capture a sense of complete relaxation.

Sometimes, pets can be rather difficult, not just because they may not be the most willing of subjects, but their fur, how it absorbs or reflects light (or a combination of both) can be difficult to deal with.  Whenever possible, I try to take all our pet photos with natural light.  In this case, late afternoon light through a glass door.

Every moment is a learning moment.  And, every moment can be an artistic moment, if you want it to be.  It’s not always going to turn out like you had hoped, but keep trying.  Keep learning.

Never stop being a photographer.