Classic Cars

I love old cars. Especially those from before WWII. My next favourite group are those manufactured in the late 40s & 50s.

Last year (2010), Saint Lambert (Quebec, Canada) held a Classic Car exhibit and I was lucky to go. I had a blast photographing all the old classics on display.

So when I saw they were having it again this year, I was eager to attend. What follows here are a few of the many beautiful cars on display.

1947 Ford Mercury
One thing I discovered last year was that these events are usually packed with people and the cars are pretty close together. So you end up with very cluttered surroundings. To compensate for the clutter, I've developed a processing method that is meant to reduce the impact of the surrounding while enhancing the focus on the vehicle. Basically I duplicate the image, convert the duplicate layer to B&W. I then apply a mask that allows the coloured vehicle to show through. A bit of darkening and blurring on the B&W layer and there you have it.

1926 Cadillac Custom
1930 Ford Model A
1939 Dodge D11 Luxury Liner 4 door sedan
1941 Chrysler New Yorker

As I write this, I am still processing the photos from this event. So I expect I'll post another Blog entry with a few more images once I'm done. I hope my humble attempts at processing these images properly display the true beauty of these Classics.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

Other photos taken that day can be seen in my Saint Lambert Classic Car show - May 2011 gallery on Smugmug and may be purchased in various formats on my Classic Cars & Trucks Collection on RedBubble.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Painting Spring

One of my joys in life is to watch as Mother Nature gets out her paints each Spring and transforms a dull gray and dirty world into a rainbow of glorious vibrant colours.

Another of my joys is photographing such beauty. And then attempting to convert those photos into digital paintings. Here are a few of my humble attempts from this year's crop

Some can be found in neighbours' gardens.

Tulips and daffofils

Golden Petals

Purple Cress (Aubrieta deltoidea)

And some are found at the flower stalls at a Farmers' Market.

Flower Burst

Osteospermum

Collerette Dahlias


I hope I have with my humble attempts conveyed what I see when I look at Mother Nature's beautiful paintings.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

These and other digital paintings can be seen in my Smugmug Photo Art gallery and may be purchased in various formats from my RedBubble Digital Paintings & Watercolour Collections.

Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Spring Flowers

Each year, as Winter reluctantly leaves and Spring eases gently into season, the flowers return.

One of the first to appear in my neighbourhood is Glory-of the snow. Its full common name is Lucile's Glory-of-the-snow; Lucile being the wife of the Swiss botanist Pierre Edmond Boissier according to Wikipedia

Lucile's Glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa luciliae)

Next, typically are the crocuses.
Crocus

Then Daffodils appear. First in Malls being sold to support charities, but then in local gardens.
Daffodils

One of the most interesting (to me) flowers appears about the same time as the Daffodils. Those are the Grape Hyacinths. Tiny little blue/purple flowers, they are best appreciated when viewed up close.
Grape Hyacinth (Muscari)

You know Spring has hit its full stride once the tulips bloom.






I hope you found at least one image to your liking.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site, where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

Other floral images can be seen in my Flowers - 2011 gallery. Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.

Line Art

Wikipedia defines line art as "any image that consists of distinct straight and curved lines placed against a (usually plain) background, without gradations in shade (darkness) or hue (color) to represent two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects. Line art can use lines of different colors, although line art is usually monochromatic."

It goes on to say, "Line art emphasizes form and outline, over color, shading, and texture. However, areas of solid pigment and dots can also be used in addition to lines. The lines in a piece of line art may be all of a constant width (as in some pencil drawings), of several (few) constant widths (as in technical illustrations), or of freely varying widths (as in brush work or engraving).

"Before the development of photography and of halftones, line art was the standard format for illustrations to be used in print publications, using black ink on white paper. Using either stippling or hatching, shades of gray could also be simulated."

I love the simplicity that line art shows. I learned a while back to create digital line art images based on original photos using PaintShop Pro. Here are a few I've created over the past several years.

First, some B&W versions . . .

Blomidon Inn - Wolfville, Nova Scotia

St Benoit du Lac Abbey, Austin, Quebec

Sometimes adding a single colour adds interest . . .

Yellow tulips II
Dianthus
Then there's Sepia toning . . .

Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia
Hotel Nelson, Place Jacques Cartier, Old Montreal
Or you can go full bore with a multi-coloured version. . .

St. Paul's Anglican Church, Trinity, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland
Grand Hotel - Malahide, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Whatever your preference, I hope you found at least one image to your liking.

Remember that clicking on any image on this page will open the image in my Smugmug site, where you can view a larger version. Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Blog.

Other Line Art images can be seen in my Line Art images gallery. Please feel free to leave comments here on the blog, in my Guestbook or in the photo gallery.

Thanks for looking. And please stop by again.