Pipes and Barrels and Rails

At least that is what the skateboarders and bikers call parts of the concrete pits that are build for them to play around.

If your are trying to capture some great action shots there is nothing better than visiting an outdoor facility that has been built for these kids and some adults to practice there extreme maneuvers.

























This was shot while crouched down in one of the tubes with a little fill flash to lighten person against the bright background. I had used a larger f stop (f16) so that I could still see the wonderful texture in the sky, which gave a Shutter, speed of 1/250. This is ok when you can catch hem at the apex and therefore there is little motion and the z bit of flash helps to freeze motion a bit even more









The teenagers were receptive when I asked I could capture some shots. I even think the shoed off a bit more.



















I just love this shot of the person doing a 360° somersault. I wasn’t expecting such dramatic shots as I had not set the camera to rapid fire at first.

The skateboarder were mainly sticking to the barrel they had brought over to jump and the bikers were in the pipes.

Occasionally a boarder would head into the pipes.

I experimented around with a fee ‘artsy’ shots with slower shuitter speed and a bit of panning

A few more shots to round out the set








































Over the top




















and just cruising


















Sometimes the boarder and board go in different directions.

Afterward I gave them my business card and told then that I would post some fo the photos on the web so that could look at them. There were quite exited by this as they normally don’t have any shots of them playing around.

Niels Henriksen

Statues and the 3 lucky Leaves

The other day I was out shooting photos of statues for this month’s theme, a competition that my brother, who is in Denmark, and I have. I decided the best place is to head out around the parliament buildings in Ottawa.

At the end of shooting as I was walking down one of the paths, I came across some bushes that has delicate clusters of white flowers. While shooting several shots of these I noticed these 3 leaves that were backlit with great dabbled light, dark background and I just enjoyed the texture and patterns created and also that the branch at bottom almost created a mirror image with the other leaves.




These are the white clusters of flowers that at first attracted my attention. One day I will learn the names of all the plants I photograph.





















Now as for the statues here are a few of those shots.


















A couple sitting on a bench in front of the National Archives Building

















A dancing group at the end of Sparks Street.





















The statue on top of the War Memorial of Elgin St.

And One of my favorites

4 men on a beam besides the National Arts Centre.

I hope you enjoyed the walk-about

Niels Henriksen

Street Photography (People)

In my previous Blog I stated that I had several hours to hang around while waiting for nightfall in the market. This gave me an opportunity to walk around and to photograph the unique charms of people on the street. The Ottawa Byward market is a busy tourist area and therefore attracts a diverse group of people. The more interesting people are those on the fringes of society.

When photographing street people, unless you are trying to steal a candid shot, it is always advisable to try and engage the person if possible.

I always carry change around so if the opportunity arises, I can provide coinage to help out, if they are begging or entertaining on the street.

This is a photo of a man sitting in the outdoor portion of a local bar, who seems to have a form of muscular disability and sits in a wheelchair. I was struck by the wonderful smile and a look of enjoying life on his face. I asked if he would mind if I took a few shots and he kindly obliged.

I learned later that his name was Ron and was a regular to the tavern. A week later I printed an 8x10 photo and had it framed and I took it back to the tavern to give to him. He was not there at this time and the barman, who knew Ron, said he would give it to him when he saw him again and placed it on the back shelf.

There were others taking photos on the street and I captured a shot of this person taking a photo of a street musician. We struck up a good conversation later on and at this point another photographer, who was doing a web project of 25 People a Day, took our photos.

This was a stolen shot of a person watching the same musician.












and this is the musician that they all were interested in.












I came across this man smoking a cigar in his bright orange plumage and I could not resist the shot, as he was juxtapositioned against the signage ‘Complet” which is french for 'Full'.

Later on I came across this pair who were slightly inebriated and who had made some disparaging remakes when they saw me with my camera as they were routing through the garbage bins on the sidewalk.

I said “ are you pretending to give me a hard time?” and they laughed. This seemed to alleviate any possible friction and we struck up a small good hearted conversation. I asked if they would mind if I could photograph them and the also obliged.

There can be inherent dangers when you try to capture street people shots. This girl did not like that I took her photo and began a rapid verbal tirade using street language, before I could even discuss the photo, she then decided to spit on me. Not a big issue as it is easily cleanable, but you never know how some people might react and therefore be ready to understand your location and be careful if engaging a large crowd.















Niels Henriksen

What I Saw, My Camera Captured and What My Mind Thought it Saw

The series of photos displayed here I hope provide clear examples of this mystery that as photographers we encounter from time to time.

On a Friday evening I was heading out to the Byward Market area in Ottawa to hopefully get some great B&W shots of dark alleys with lots of mood and mystery at least that was my goal.

I arrived at 7:30pm in order to find a parking spot and even then it took a while, as by 9:00pm the market, which really means the bars and bistros at that time of night, start to hum with people.

Since the sun sets about 8:30 and there was heavy overcast I decided to first photograph people in the market area. (a future Blog) By about 8:30 I started to scout out suitable alleys or courtyards for my image theme capture and I came across this man sleeping on a bench in a courtyard under a canopy of trees.

It wasn’t completely dark at this time but even with a fast 2.8 vibration reduction (vr) lens at ISO 640 @ f4.0and at 100mm I would still needed a tripod, as the shutter speed was 1/9 s.

Since most cameras want to take darker elements to mid-grey values it captures the scene below. Not really a nighttime image.












Using Adobe Capture Raw I was able to reduce exposure downward to the scene below. While it is darker in tone it was also reducing the wonderful lights created by the yellow light coming from the window.

In my mind I had a different picture, darker surrounding areas with a light streaming on the gentleman. The problem was it was not quite dark enough when the photo was taken. When I returned in about 20 minutes latter the man was getting up so there was no opportunity to retake this shot and you have to go with what you captured.

Using Photoshop and blending 2 different exposure layers together I was able to better realize the image I had in my mind. I also needed to perform some localized burning around the perimeter and a clean up of all the cigarette butts. The final work presented below.

Niels Henriksen

Mother’s Day at ArtsPark

I was invited to display some of my photos at the ArtsPark Fair at the Parkdale Market in Hintonburg community of Ottawa on Mothers day, 13 May. It is a one-day festival of art, music, and performance theatre.

As an artist and photographer and since I am not internationally or even regionally known, I always accept opportunities to display and hopefully sell some of my photos.

For this show I was on-site all day and this gave me the chance to observe how people interacted with my photos and which ones they lingered on the longest. There were a few people that took the time to discuss artist merits of the captured elements.

The photographs and painting were displayed inside a large tent and in the photo below shows my small corner.







A friend of mine Pierre Kerr was also displaying his B&W photos.










These outdoor events are really for the kids whether it was taking in outdoor theatre







or a musical band and watching the sliding rhythms of the trombone players










For some they may even find it too loud.











For the older crowd there was a band on stage with an accordion player who supported













the McGillicuddy Sisters









Niels Henriksen

1933 Voiglander Bessa II

When it comes to photography and I guess most things in general I love technology when it helps me achieve my goals. That learning curve is something else, as initially there is hesitation and tiredness at having to learn once again something that I think I already know at least with older equipment.

That is why I love the simplicity of my old cameras, which I occasionally use. To take them of their display shelf, load the film and venture off are special moments.

My oldest is a 1933 Voiglander Bessa medium format 6x6 and 6x9 (which is the size I use most. It does get much simpler that this unless you are into pinhole cameras. All manual, no electronics or batteries to go wrong. Set the focal distance, f-stop, shutter speed and cock the shutter. Point and shoot.

There is something magical about its simplicity.

This is a photo of a group shot taken on a bright day with a large dynamic range.

A section (see red Box) has been cropped to show the detail you are able to capture on 6x9 format.

There are 2 pleasures form owning older cameras, one is looking and examining them in your hands, the other is taking very interesting photos. Take the time to scour Ebay or vintages stores and these can be acquired cheaply. Most large towns and cities still and process these films

Niels Henriksen

St. Francis D’Assisi Church

St. Francis D’Assisi Catholic Church located at 1060 Wellingtons St. Ottawa.

The sun was just about to set and it cast a warm glow on the front of the church, which gave a nice contrast to the cooler and darkening sky. The feathery clouds were just coming over the top and for me this really establishes the scene.

In this photo I wanted to capture a more dramatic effect of the towering height and the majesty of the front of the building than a normal architectural shot from across the street and therefore I decided to get close and look up.

Only a wide angle lens (Sigma 10-20mm) would be able to capture the entire image at this close a range as I am standing only a bout 20ft from the front of the building, near the top of the steps.

I angled the church a little to try and make it appear a bit more towering and to add a little drama to its appearance.

The lens gave more keystone effect than I wanted and I used Photoshop to correct a bit of this I enjoyed how the feathery clouds were just coming over the top. I used to RAW smart layers, one to warm the front a little more and the other to cool the sky more to better reflect what I saw at the time.

Niels Henriksen