Welcome to the New McFarlane Imaging!

It is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of my new website and email, and I invite you all to be a part of it!  The website might seem a bit sparse at the moment but I assure you that will change shortly, as I import my content from the far corners of the internet.  In the next week I will be adding my portfolios, fee structures, list of services, photo restoration examples, upcoming events calendar, links to other photographic services (my peers and inspirations), and a new store offering large format prints of my portfolio work!

Portfolios will include:

 - Portraiture
 - Events
 - Weddings
 - Commercial Product
 - Bands (Portrait & Candid)
 - and a special section for my analog film work!

You can come to my blog to view old favourites as well as new segments, including:

 - Philosophy Wednesdays (lessons that photography can teach us)
 - What's In Your Bag (a gear-heads favourite)
 - Repost Fridays (the best of the internet)
 - Large Format Roundup (a weekly report on my 4x5 projects)
 - Letters from the Front (updates on my roving photographic adventures)
 - Darkroom Tips
 - Book of the Month
 - Polaroids from Last Night
 - 100 Photographers who are Worth Your Time

And a great deal more one-off posts like camera and film stock reviews, event announcements and recaps, and general photographic news hot off the presses.

Tune in for new posts every weekday (and maybe even a few weekends if you're lucky!)

As always, my other other online outlets will provide their own style of information.  My flickr stream will be a source for current and less edited-for-content photos than my portfolios, and my twitter feed will provide you with more up-to-the-moment updates.  Also in the near future you will have the opportunity to "like us on Facebook!" as I set up that page.  

These are exciting times for me and I hope you will join me for the ride!

See you TTL!

James McFarlane
mcfarlaneimaging.com

Home from War!

Sorry about the posting black out, preparations for the 1812 Battle of York Bi-Centennial Commemoration were taking up most of my time but I am once again returned to the 21st century and ready to resume posting!  I was on honour guard duty for the event and not able to take many pictures but what few I did will be making it up shortly.  If you would like to see more from the event do a flickr search or follow this link: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Battle%20of%20York

For more information and another photographers eye on the War of 1812 visit http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/ and check out Alex's Project1812

They call me MR. Tripod!

I just got back from Burlington Camera and I have $300 worth of tripods put aside for me. How many tripods does $300 buy you these days? Two and a half :P I am very fond of the big "Pan and Tilt" heads from Manfrotto and I will accept nothing less for my upcoming 4x5 kit. Pictures and details will be forth coming when I buy the gear in 3 weeks.

100 Days of Summer

Me attending FPP Findlay Workshop 2013 (Photo by: flickr.com/photos/lancekingphoto/ )

Hello my photography people!  After a long absence I am on summer break from school and I intend to keep this blog thing up for the next few months!  -cue fanfare for my triumphant return to the blogosphere-

As the title suggests, there are 100 days to go in my summer, discounting weekends, and I am committing to make a post at least 5 times a week for these 100 days.  Hopefully by the end of this I will have this blog more in my routine schedule and I will continue into the school year.  But in the short time what, humble reader, does that mean for you?
For starters, you can continue to come here for a link to the latest stuff I have up on Flickr.  I'm not sure if I can do a photo a day, but I do have a long backlog to get through which will keep flickr busy for a while.
Also you can look forward to the return of my "Philosophy Wednesday" segment, joined by a couple of new ones like  "100 Photographers that are Worth Your Time," "Polaroids from Last Night," and when my 4x5 rig gets up and running (read, delivered) "Weekly Large Format Roundup."
There are a great many other one-off posts that I am excited to get to, like the FPP Findlay Workshop 2013 recap, "What's in your Bag?" and its companion post "What's in your Darkroom?", "Report from the Front!" where I'll keep you posted on this years 1812 re-enactment season, and many more I am sure.

Anyways, enough time in cyberspace, it's time I started shooting!  Tune in every weekday (and maybe even a couple weekends if you're lucky)!

Lightning Storm!

Anyone who lives in the GTA will know that last night we had a spectacular electrical storm for several hours last night, and there was even a tornado that reportedly touched down in Milton. I was out and about when the storm hit and was caught without a tripod (Doh!). Luckily I was still able to get some good Lighting shots freehand. This was my first attempt at this kind of shot and I think that my technique is sound, I just need to iron out some wrinkles. Check out more of my results on Flickr!

Oh the shame, the shame of it all!

What goes through your head when you see a shot that you missed. This Philosophy Wednesday will be a point counterpoint on this situation. In one corner we have Thomas Leuthard, a Swiss street photographer, and in the other, Pete Souza, the Kansas State educated official White House photographer to President barack Obama. Watch as they square off on the subject of "Missing that Decisive Moment."

"Often It's more important to see things than capturing them. When I miss an opportunity, I'm always happy that I saw it in the first place." - Thomas Leuthard

"[Interviewer] Is there a photo opportunity that you completely missed or regret?

[Pete Souza] Oh but I'll never talk about those ... Occasionally I'll miss a picture and ... it keeps me up at night."

- Pete Souza, 'Open for Questions'

How many times have we seen a great shot happen right in front of us but we didn't have our camera ready, or the shot didn't come out right, or *gasp* we didn't have a camera with us! It can be disappointing when we don't get what we want, but Thomas Leuthard would have us learn that something can always come from just getting out there, even from a missed opportunity. At first glance it may seem unfair to pair these 2 quotations off against each other as the situation, style, and pressure on the photographer are different for both of these people, but I believe that most photographers have felt both of these reactions at some point in their experiences.

The idea that is better to have seen the shot than not at all is very important for the photographer getting out of their house and training their eyes. When building up visual skills, especially as a street photographer, there are going to be many failures. Many shots that were too far away, not focused right, not framed properly (especially when shooting from the hip), or just plain taken at the wrong time will plague you and it is important and comforting to remember that this is all a part of the learning process.

However, Pete Souza has a valid point, that we should be in fear (at last in some degree) of missing the shots that we want. That fear will keep us sharp and on edge, waiting for the moment to cross our path. When I put down my camera in a busy room I am anxious. Not that the camera will be stolen, but that something will happen in the crowd while I am "unarmed" or otherwise unable to take the shot.

If one is to seek a middle ground, may I interject a third point. Being afraid to miss the shot and not simply be aware of it can often times result in a shot that, while alright, is definitively sub-par. Having something close to what you want can be infinitely worse than not having anything at all. Many times I have come home to my digital darkroom and been pleased when I see the thumbnail of a shot I wasn't sure I got, then disappointed when I see the full res image. But, I have already become attached to the image and so I begin to convince myself that it is good enough. Whatever aspect is lacking in the photo is made up for by my recollection of its context. To anyone else this photo will not bear the appropriate meaning, and my work will suffer for it. Don't try to convince yourself that you have the shot when you don't. Sometimes you just need to take solace in the fact that you saw it ... and then never speak of it again! :P

New Camera Mania!

I feel like my film hobby is taking off this month! In addition to the large lots of pack, roll, and cartridge film I have coming my way via the interwebs, I've also received a camera in the mail, retrieved 2 cameras from the repair shop, picked up an old polaroid off a friend of mine and won a polaroid on ebay! With several trips into the city planned, a portrait shoot, a golf tournament, Toronto-henge, a sci-fi-convention, and a wedding still to go this month, this promises to be a busy and film packed couple of weeks!