looking north...

i was going through some of my photographs the other day, and came across this one from september that i don't think i posted. if any of you know the mississauga area, this was taken on ninth line on the bridge that goes over the 407. the clouds were all over the place that day, and the bobbing and weaving they did around the sun made for some interesting lighting conditions. in the distance you can see the escarpment running it's was from rattlesnake point (to the left) up towards glen williams.

farm fields, ninth line - september, 2006

another foggy day...

i must be a fog magnet...the last time i got out to the escarpment, i took the photos that made up my eFolio Elements: Fog, and today the clouds came down to meet me once again. i really enjoy making photographs in the fog though, and driving in my grandfather's pick-up truck with damien, listening to dean martin sing "baby, it's cold outside" made for an awesome day.

tree lighting...

every year, mississauga has a "tree lighting" ceremony with a bunch of events, magicians, singers, etc. the square in front of city hall this year was packed, and the trees looked awesome. there was even a giant snowflake hanging from the building (reminiscent of the times square new years eve ball). good times...

efolio no. 2...

i've added a new eFolio to my site entitled "Elements: Fog".
the 11 photographs contained within were taken on november 16th, 2006 during one photographic trip my brother and i took in the fog. hope you like them!

not sure about this one...

i took this photograph a few weeks ago near mansfield, ontario. still not sure if i like it or not. it was the only exposure i made on that trip.

ansel adams exhibition...

today was the opening of an ansel adams exhibition at the art gallery of ontario. marina and i went, and it was our first time seeing his actual prints. i was blown away. if you get a chance, definitely check it out.

we then spent the rest of the day in sherway gardens doing some christmas shopping. i went into the pet store. this puppy was just as enamoured with my camera as i was with him.

a foggy day...

damien and i, upon seeing the heavy fog blanketing the city, took off in the dagobah tour vehicle (a.k.a. the dodge) in search of a photograph of two. we were not disappointed. i'll have some posted soon. this however is a photo of damien making a photo.

lucky under the fence...

lately i've been reading a great book by ansel adams called "examples: 40 photographs". the whole premise of the book is that along side the 40 presented photographs is a short piece of narrative by ansel describing the events prior to, during, and after making the exposures. it's a really neat idea, and i thought i'd do something similar in blog format for anyone who is interested.

the first photograph i've selected is called "lucky under the fence", and i took it in the summer of 2004. i took up photography in earnest in july of 2004 when my dad gave me his old pentax spotmatic slr. not knowing anything about the medium, i began experimenting. at one point i was in the backyard with our jack russel Lucky, and decided to leave the yard and cross the road to the forest behind my house. needing two hands to use an slr, i decided to leave lucky in the yard instead of wrestling with her leash while attempting to keep the camera steady. as i closed the gate behind me, i saw lucky run to a little hole at the bottom of the fence to watch me. i immediately saw a great composition, and started trying to set the shutter speed and aperature as fast as i could (really not knowing exactly what the outcome of this fiddling would be). the sun was going down fast, and knowing lucky, if she had a camera staring at her for too long she'd just leave (with my brother and i being shutter bugs, she's sick of having her photo taken). i made one exposure, but was worried that the image may have been blurred because of the slow shutter speed and the fact that i was hand holding the camera. i advanced the film and made a second exposure, that being the one you see. even back then i was not one to make multiple images to get the 'right one'. i know what i want, set up the camera accordingly, and make the exposure. in this case, with my limited knowledge of photography at the time, thank god i got all the settings right!

a woodpecker...

i was waiting for my food to warm up in the microwave this morning, and noticed a little bird pecking at one of our "food stations". never having photographed a woodpecker, i ran downstairs, grabbed my camera, and ran back to the window hoping he'd still be munchin' away. i was in luck.

the moon...

i took this photo in april of 2006. it's just the moon, but i like it.

i finally got out...

...of the house and went to the hobby show at the international centre. it's an annual tradition that's been going on since i was a kid. i always dig the model trains...

in my continuing...

...state of sickness, i watched a film called art school confidential. it was a really neat film, and it reminded me of just how much i dislike the pretentious art crowd. i highly recommend it.

also, while channel surfing last night, i stumbled across my buds ill scarlett making their first appearance on mtv. if yer diggin' the reggae/dub stylings of sublime (and to some extent yours truly...hehe), you should definitely check them out. although, considering they're sony's newest signees, i'm sure you'll be hearing from them soon anyway. right on, guys!

through a window...

i haven't been feeling well the past few days, so i've been spending most of my time either in bed or just around the house. this morning i looked out the window and saw a bird i had never seen before just sitting by itself in the middle of one of our trees. without a tripod, only this one of the 6 i took came out...and even still it's not as sharp as it could be. i just didn't know how long it would be there so i rushed to grab the camera and make the exposure. cute bird, though.

new photographs...

...for a new month! i've added 6 new photographs to the photo section of christian stepien.com, as well as a new desktop photograph (a nice, wintary scene that i call "candy trees").