Author Archive

Windswept pine tree and star trails, Parry Sound, Georgian Bay

Starry Night

A lone windswept pine frames the celestial equator near Parry Sound, Georgian Bay.

Venus and Jupiter conjunction 2012 and aircraft trails over Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, Toronto Islands

A Modern Classic

Venus and Jupiter streak past the Gibraltar Point lighthouse on the Toronto Islands during their conjunction of 2012, competing with star and aircraft trails from the nearby Toronto City Center Airport. The oldest remaining lighthouse on the Great Lakes, Gibraltar Point was constructed around 1808 and stands 82 feet tall.

Danza de los Voladores, Monte Alban, Mexico

Voladore

A ‘flying man’ flies through the air, descending from a 30m tall pole using nothing but jute rope, performing the Danza de los Voladores near Monte Alban, Mexico.


KSC press site panorama, final launch of space shuttle Atlantis, STS-135

STS-135 Launch Panorama

Space shuttle Atlantis heads for orbit during the final launch of the space shuttle program.  The wideangle lens used in this 360° panorama makes the press site at Kennedy Space Center seem oddly empty, a huge number of people were on hand to witness the final launch of the 30-year program. Click image to view […]

Toronto Earth Hour 2012 Before & After screenshot, Visual Application Development

Toronto Earth Hour 2012: Before & After

Primary application: Adobe Flash CS4, Adobe After Effects Language: Actionscript 2.0 Client: In-house development Status: Launch Toronto Earth Hour 2012: Before & After Who left the lights on? Above:  a screenshot of the Toronto Earth Hour 2012 visualization. Earth Hour presents a particular photographic challenge:  how do you show the before and after on a […]

Upside down Christmas trees, Ward's Island, Toronto Islands

The Unforest

Heavy fog shrouds Christmas trees, hung in the Ward’s Island traffic circle in preparation for the annual Spring equinox celebrations.


Toronto at dusk skyline panorama

Manfrotto 303SPH

Manfrotto 303SPH Built like a tank, looks like a tank, works like a charm Manufacturer:  Manfrotto Website:  www.manfrotto.com MSRP:  USD $650.00 The Manfrotto 303SPH multirow panoramic head is a bit of an odd beast coming from a company that’s always had that Italian flare for design in their products.  It’s a bit like a Frankenstein […]

Space shuttle Atlantis clears the tower, STS-135, Kennedy Space Centre, Florida

Handoff to Houston

Space shuttle Atlantis clears the tower on the final launch of the space shuttle program, STS-135. Once clear of the tower, control is transferred from the Kennedy Space Centre to Mission Control in Houston for the duration of the flight.

Condensation cones around space shuttle Atlantis' Solid Rocket Boosters, STS-135

Booster Max Q

Condensation clouds form around the nose of Atlantis’ solid rocket boosters as the space shuttle makes the transition to supersonic speed. The effect can be seen below, in a frame taken from one of NASA’s HD video cameras mounted to the External Tank:


Chris Hadfield, Kennedy Space Centre, Florida

Chris Hadfield

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gives an interview at the press site of the Kennedy Space Centre.  Hadfield flew on two shuttle missions, STS-74 (Atlantis) and STS-100 (Endeavour).

Final launch of space shuttle Atlantis, STS-135, over a dry lake bed

Monsoon Season

A remote camera set up on a dry lake bed captures space shuttle Atlantis clearing the tower during launch of STS-135. Heavy rains preceding launch day dramatically changed the nature of this photograph, turning the foreground from a brilliant landscape of caked and broken earth to something approaching a mudbowl.

Gentleman on cell phone, final launch of space shuttle Atlantis, STS-135

Important Business

A gentleman conducts important business on his phone as Atlantis reaches for the clouds, mere seconds after the final launch of the space shuttle program.


Wall of cameras and photographers, final launch of space shuttle Atlantis, STS-135

Camera Wall

Photographers form a solid wall at the Kennedy Space Centre’s press site, in preparation for the final launch of the entire space shuttle program.

Quilt of all space shuttle mission patches, Kennedy Space Centre, Florida

Mission Quilt

Long-time NASA employees display a quilt of every single space shuttle mission patch, dating back to the first launch in 1981 of STS-1.

Photographers in front of space shuttle Atlantis, STS-135, Kennedy Space Centre, Florida

Economies of Scale

Photographers give scale to the enormity of the manned US space program, setting up their cameras at the foot of the launch pad in preparation for the final launch of the 30-year space shuttle program.


STS-135 final launch of space shuttle Atlantis from remote launch pad camera

Wonderful Profile

Space shuttle Atlantis clears the tower for the final time, signalling the end of the space shuttle program.

Save Canada's Lighthouses Logo

Save Canada’s Lighthouses

A storm on the horizon with no safe port in sight. Each region in Canada has it’s own type of landmark.  The prairies have their grain elevators.  Ontario has water towers.  Quebec has silver-spired church steeples.  The North has inukshuks.  And the edges, the edges, have lighthouses.  Canada has the longest coastline in the world, […]

Star trails over the Churchill Islands, Georgian Bay

Churchill Trails

The starry night spins around Polaris, framing my temporary home while kayak touring Georgian Bay’s Churchill Islands.


Shoot RS-80N3 product shot

Shoot RS-80N3

Shoot RS-80N3 The cheapest way from here to there Manufacturer: Shenzhen Shoot Photographic Equipment Co., Ltd. Website:  n/a (see below) MSRP:  USD $5.00, or thereabouts There’s photographic equipment, and then there’s photographic equipment.  If you’ve spent much time in a camera store, you know it’s almost impossible to escape without laying down at least a hundred […]

Lighthouse at Sunset, Snug Harbour, Georgian Bay

Snug Harbour Light

The light of the setting sun catches the lighthouse at Snug Harbour, in Ontario’s Georgian Bay.

DigiSnap 2800 Product Shot

DigiSnap 2000 Series

DigiSnap 2000 Series Good things come in small packages Manufacturer: Harbortronics Inc. Website:  www.harbortronics.com MSRP:  USD $149.00-$199.00 Designed to work with the original Nikon Coolpix line of point-and-shoot digital cameras, the DigiSnap 2000 series of intervalometers (or, really, camera controllers you might say) has evolved to embrace the modern digital SLR world.  But before going […]


T-Minus Productions Audio Trigger product shot

T-Minus Audio Trigger

T-Minus Audio Trigger The only tool for the job Manufacturer: T-Minus Productions Inc. Website:  www.tminusproductions.com MSRP:  USD $400.00 Remote photography is almost always problematic, and space launch photography doubly so.  Physical access is highly restricted, launches can be delayed at a moment’s notice, and launch windows shift daily.  In the case of photographing the final […]

Pclix LT Product Shot

Pclix LT

Pclix LT The Photographer’s Swiss Army Knife Manufacturer: 1017 Visual Effects Inc. Website:  www.pclix.com MSRP:  USD $150.00 The Pclix LT has long been one of those items that is always in my camera bag.  Small, efficient, and versatile, it’s the must-have tool for photographing star trails, timelapse sequences, and long-exposure work.  It’s field programmable, runs […]

Final launch of space shuttle Endeavour, STS-134

Orbit, Ho!

Riding 30 stories of fire, twin solid rocket boosters propel space shuttle Endeavour toward low earth orbit on the final launch of her career, and the penultimate launch of the entire 30-year long space shuttle Program.