http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/index.phpHot News!enuser@domain.comCopyright 2011 Adam Merrifield2010-10-08T13:19:03-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:02:09 -0500user@domain.comParks2010-10-08T13:19:03-04:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/0da18e714d7fdedf2c23417e28d77b68-11.php#unique-entry-id-11http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/0da18e714d7fdedf2c23417e28d77b68-11.php#unique-entry-id-11

Photography runs in the family I suppose. In the fall of 2010 I sent my 13 year old son on a mission to the Huron Natural Area–take 10 images of vistas that moved him. This is one of the 10 images he came home with.

I set the camera to fully automatic so all he had to worry about composition. I was quite impressed with the balance between the horizon and it's reflection, it's almost a perfect mirror image.]]>user@domain.comParks2010-11-08T13:10:39-05:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/55cf273405e6afaf1f7529c99ea3f8e4-10.php#unique-entry-id-10http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/55cf273405e6afaf1f7529c99ea3f8e4-10.php#unique-entry-id-10

One of my favorite places to shoot is Huron Natural Area, a wetlands park and sanctuary in Kitchener. One of my favorite shooting styles is macro. One of my favorite subjects is small flowers... very small flowers. That's all I really need to say. Shot with a flash on a cable so I could stop down to f22.]]>user@domain.comParks2010-09-08T13:06:33-04:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/de9799ff317021721b99cb547fefdcc8-9.php#unique-entry-id-9http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/de9799ff317021721b99cb547fefdcc8-9.php#unique-entry-id-9

Look at this image... and then take a closer look... it looks as though those leaves might be on those branches in the sky... but their not.

The beaver has been going to town at the Huron Natural Area in Kitchener and had recently felled this tree. Now here it lays submerged in the water. Meanwhile, the trees above stand leafless in the sky.

It was a very haunting, ghostly image when I came upon it. I am happy it turned out as well as it did. These things never seem to quite look like you remembered but this one comes pretty close.

Photographed with a Sony DSLR-A100 and a Minolta 70-210mm f4 (beercan) at an effective focal length of 112mm, handheld.]]>user@domain.comRivers2011-09-16T12:51:32-04:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/8f11af35e0c12cb8b3947267294de623-8.php#unique-entry-id-8http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/8f11af35e0c12cb8b3947267294de623-8.php#unique-entry-id-8

I love this image taken in the fall of 2008 on a lookout at Homer Watson Park overlooking the Grand River. I was initially trying to remake some magic captured by another local photographer in the same spot. What I initially viewed as a failure to do so turned out to be a brilliant success as I was later asked if the image could be used for a GRCA trailer and a GRCA Annual Report.

Opportunities like that don't come about everyday.]]>user@domain.comRivers2010-11-22T12:06:37-05:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/971ff9917e285e66b46f0a936490f71e-7.php#unique-entry-id-7http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/971ff9917e285e66b46f0a936490f71e-7.php#unique-entry-id-7

A very early morning, mist laden image captured with a group of photo enthusiasts from Waterloo Region. The spot was Kiwanis Park situated on the Grand River just before sunrise, before the suns rays could burn off the morning mist .

I enjoy the cool, muted colors, typical of an open shade composition, but I especially enjoy the effect the band mist has on the background, rising up but not quite making it to the tree tops. And of course I really like how the whole scene is mirrored, yet neatly compressed in the reflection in the water.
]]>user@domain.comStreet2011-01-08T11:39:23-05:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/bc9c58cc6cf976bbd19628fe206054b7-6.php#unique-entry-id-6http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/bc9c58cc6cf976bbd19628fe206054b7-6.php#unique-entry-id-6

On a morning walk in early summer I happened to catch a glimpse of this lone dew drop hanging precariously from the top of a single blade of grass. Ample side lighting and a large aperture allowed me to make this blade stand out against a blurred background of other grasses. Despite being a hand-held image I managed to capture a great deal of clarity and definition–enough that you can actually see the street-scape clearly inverted the dew drop.]]>user@domain.comParks2011-01-22T13:29:00-05:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/46b818499bac95af53b954e797824e8d-5.php#unique-entry-id-5http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/46b818499bac95af53b954e797824e8d-5.php#unique-entry-id-5

This image, of which I am very proud, resides in the archives at The NewYork Institute of Photography. When submitted as a first term project, my instructor, Elinor Stecker-Orel, was quite taken with the image and its use of motion while retaining a certain clarity and vibrant color.

This is another shot from my days on film, a time when I feel that shooting images was considerably less technologically involved. I could concern myself more about composition and capturing light then worrying about histograms and white balance.]]>user@domain.comHome2010-10-22T13:28:48-04:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/27c933582f5f56e1931a20cabfe45f20-4.php#unique-entry-id-4http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/27c933582f5f56e1931a20cabfe45f20-4.php#unique-entry-id-4

Believe it or not this macro shot was taken in my house. These leaves were part of a floral arrangement my wife received for her birthday one year. Again, this was shot in the days of film so the color, texture and contrast were all determined by the subject and the film I captured it on.

To this day, the lens I shot this with–a very old Sigma 90mm Macro–remains one of my favorite lenses to shoot with and is one of the prime reasons I shoot so many macro's.]]>user@domain.comParks2010-09-22T10:57:00-04:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/d650ed76e2182fb811a64404b5e0bdfe-3.php#unique-entry-id-3http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/d650ed76e2182fb811a64404b5e0bdfe-3.php#unique-entry-id-3

This image was taken many years ago in the days when I still shot film. I took this shot on one of the many walking paths at Bechtel Park in Kitchener. I originally had not thought much about it when I took it but once the image was developed I was quite moved by the haunting feeling of it. I ended up submitting the image as a project shot for a course I was taking at the time (NYIP) and as it turns out, my instructor, Elinor Stecker-Orel, shared my feelings and submitted the image, along with another image of mine, to be archived by the school.]]>user@domain.comFarms2010-08-08T10:47:13-04:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/d00cc2ada094debdd70c4a18bec08cbf-2.php#unique-entry-id-2http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/d00cc2ada094debdd70c4a18bec08cbf-2.php#unique-entry-id-2

Mid-day photography is rarely rewarding but I felt compelled to take some images of this particular vista while venturing down some country paths in my neighborhood. Not because the crop is particularly interesting or because the colors spoke to me in any way. It was more the lines–the very blue sky and the very green field separated by a band of dark trees. The clouds also add an ominous feeling regal sailing ships on oceanic skies.]]>user@domain.comRivers2010-08-22T10:35:08-04:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/d2f2ce886d3736ee384d7c24974a4199-1.php#unique-entry-id-1http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/d2f2ce886d3736ee384d7c24974a4199-1.php#unique-entry-id-1

I don't remember the exact place this shot was taken but I do recall that we were on our way home from Niagara on the Lake one summer evening. This beautiful vista presented itself. Unfortunately, due to the time of day and lack of light, I was not able to capture the whole range of colors in one exposure so I was forced to snap a series of images that I would later compose into an HDR image.

The result was more "electric" then my minds eye remembers it but it's still a worthy image for those that didn't see what I saw.]]>user@domain.comParks2010-12-22T09:57:50-05:00http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/5227b5531a0e126a0894820a5daafc02-0.php#unique-entry-id-0http://showcase.seydesign.com/Flavorite/writing/blog/files/5227b5531a0e126a0894820a5daafc02-0.php#unique-entry-id-0

This image was taken at what we in Waterloo Region affectionately call "Mount Trashmore", an old heap of a reclaimed garbage dump. The landfill was relocated in the 1970's and the surrounding area built up to what is now known as Country Hills, Laurentian Hills and Glencairn. The landfill was covered and eventually naturalized into what is now the cherished McLennan Park.

For decades sledders braved the winter chill to tackle the regions most popular tobogganing site, and in the warmer seasons, joggers have used the steep slopes to kick their workout into overdrive. The hills geographic location and higher altitude relative to the surrounding area also make it the best place in Kitchener-Waterloo to fly a kite. The community has long since embraced "Trashmore" as their own.

In recent years there has been multi-phased construction projects at the park to make it an official community recreation area. With the addition of Ottawa Street access and a parking lot, the park has become accessible to all. Park benches, landscaping and even a regrading of the sledding slope were some of the first signs of a revitalization, an ambitious and sophisticated bike park soon followed.

And now, land to the immediate north of the giant hill is being developed to accommodate a skatepark, accessible play-structure, splash pad, washroom building, beach volleyball, basketball courts, picnic shelter and more.]]>