Friday 27 February 2015

Landscape Photography/ Using Long Exposure Photography Exploring Niagara Falls

Landscape Photography/ Using Long Exposure Photography Exploring

 Niagara Falls

 I was in the Niagara region recently and had the opportunity to do some Landscape Photography and Urban Landscape Photography. I love exploring, so naturally I like this style of photography. Niagara Falls in the winter is a totally different place than in summer at the height of tourist season. All times of year offer some great photography but winter tends to attract less people allowing a photographer to shoot relatively freely from the better vantage points without throngs of tourists and other photographers. And of course the falls look totally different with the ice and snow. Since I was out and about both before sunrise and in the evening I took advantage of lower light to stretch my exposures upwards to 30 seconds. 

During my shooting I did discover some new things and remembered some things forgotten. One was during my night shooting outing. The falls are lit by a multitude of spotlights and I am not sure if its unique to winter with ice and snow but the lights have a very noticeable dark spot at the centre as you can see in the following picture.


My solution in this case was to overexpose slightly and do some major dodging and burning, then convert to Black and White using Nik Silver Efex pro. This view is a rather common and iconic vantage point. 


This photo was taken in the morning before sunrise and was my first exposure of the day. The colours were quite dramatic and warm at this time. 


Another shot, below, was taken in the am a little later than the previous and although the processing was toned to give a different look the light had also changed dramatically. This was a lesson relearned; the winter season doesn't give a long window of opportunity for great light. 


And probably about ten minutes or less later, the dramatic saturated look above, was almost gone replaced by a blue even light below. I chose to include the viewing station in this shot just to do something different and give the shot some foreground interest. I think the inclusion tells more of a story. 


After shooting the falls at night in the first shot, I ventured up the Clifton Hill tourist area and caught the bright lights and a blurred spinning Ferris Wheel using long exposure. I love the dynamic sense of movement captured. As you can see, in the winter, this often busy area is almost deserted with the exception of a few car light trails going through the frame.


If you like my photography and want to see more of my professional work please check out my website www.fulcrumimaging.com. It has just been redesigned so it may be worth a second look too. All of my photography is copyrighted and can be licensed or sold as prints. Please contact us for more information. 

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Food Photography| Gluten Free Baking

Food Photography | Gluten Free Baking

By Toronto Food Photographer Robert Greatrix | Fulcrum Imaging


Much of my food portfolio up to this point is self assigned and when I make a dish generally we eat it for lunch or dinner. This does raise some difficulties as my wife, Marie is Gluten Free and we have both friends and close family that have been diagnosed with Celiacs Disease. I myself, am not sensitive to Gluten and I consider myself a foodie, so I find that dishes made Gluten Free do not have the same taste or texture for the most part. In the past I found one of the most difficult was finding good GF pastries or recipes to make them that were simple and had ingredients that were easy to source (which continues to get easier). So thanks to a little research, some experiments and some slight tweaks I finally have a recipe that I love. The original recipe I found here: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/11/gluten-free-pastry-crust.html and after a couple of tries I found I liked the pastry with 1/2 cup of oat flour substituted for part of the rice flour. You have to read the above linked recipe very carefully to get the ingredients correct as it is formatted to show two different recipes and it is confusing. I will list out what I use to avoid the confusion:

1/4 to 1/2 cup Oat Flour (preference)
3/4 to 1 cup Brown Rice Flour (preference but keep the total of the two top flours 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 Cup Sweet Rice Flour 
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
I teaspoon Xanthan Gum
I cup (8ounces) butter (2 Sticks) 
7 Tablespoons Ice Water (may need to be adjusted up or down)

Method:

I freeze the butter first. Combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor. Then shred the frozen butter through a box grater or equivalent into the dry mixture, pulsing a few times after the first half (1 stick) is shredded and again after the second half. This gives a cornmeal like textured mix. I then add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time giving it a pulse after each one then a few more after to ensure it is evenly combined. I then transfer the dough to a freezer bag, squish it slightly into a ball and put in the fridge for an hour or so. I then work it with a rolling pin on a piece of parchment paper coated liberally with Rice Flour (or all purpose GF Flour mix). I also sprinkle the same on top to stop my rolling pin from sticking. The pastry is a little difficult to work with and you can also use a second pice of parchment on top to roll it and help place it in your baking vessel but when you get it right the results are fantastic. So far we have made Berry Tarts and Butter Tarts (my favourite), Apple Pie, Tourtiere and Quiche. See the photos below. I hope you enjoy. 

Food Photography is my business and if you like to see more of my portfolio please click HERE  to go to the Fulcrum Imaging Website. 








We are Toronto Food and Corporate Photographers and are booking shoots for food and corporate clients for February and March. Call or email us to save your time slot now or just to talk :-)

Phone: 647-408-6354

All images are copyrighted and the property of Robert Greatrix, and Fulcrum Imaging and cannot be used without permission.