This was the third year I participated in one of Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walks (WWPW). They are held the same day in cities all around the world. My local walk for the Victoria, B.C. Area was in Oak Bay and started at the marina.
This year was the 103rd edition of the Sooke Fall Fair and it marked the first time I have entered prints in any competition. While I entered many of the categories, I really didn’t know what to expect for results. I was not disappointed.
I know it’s been a month since my last post and that’s way too long. Once again life has been hectic and it’s been hard to find the time I’d like for my photography hobby. There have been a few developments (pun intended 😉) related to it, though. I now have pretty much everything I need to develop B&W film (but not to print or scan it yet) and once I run a couple rolls through my camera, I will be giving it a go.
Basic Chemicals to Develop B&W Film and two rolls of 120
It’s been a busy couple of months and I haven’t been getting out with my camera(s) much lately. I did manage to take a short walk around Charters Creek recently, though.
This is the third in my series of my Eastern European locations I visited and captured on my iPhone, and it is the one place I got to that wasn’t somehow work related. Bran Castle is said to be the castle that Bram Stoker based Dracula’s castle upon, and as expected, it is located in Transylvania, Romania. This part of the country was very different from the area I had just come from, around Constanta, on the coast of the Black Sea. Travelling for about six hours the land changed from beaches and flat prairie to rolling, lush, green hills and mountains. Perched high up on a hilltop was the imposing Bran Castle.
Constanta, Romania, is the second, and final, Eastern European city that I travelled to for work. As I stayed there for almost two weeks, I managed to see a couple other places in Romania that I will describe in upcoming posts. Constanta is an interesting city with contrasting beauty and decay. One area on Piata Ovidiu is now a pedestrian only street, lined with cafes, pubs and souvenir shops, as well as the Museum of Natural History and Archeology and the Grand Mosque of Constanta. When looking at Google Maps Street View of the area, the image, from 2011 shows it was filled with moving and parked cars and far less pedestrian friendly than it is today.
With the day being a sunny break from an otherwise rainy week, I decided to head out for a walk along the Ogden Point Breakwater and of course I had to bring my camera along. The breakwater is a favourite of many locals and tourists alike, even on a windy February day.
A while ago I wrote about how I took an online photography course to help develop my creative side. It was a great experience and I want to keep doing things to challenge myself and explore more creative options, so I took another leap. This time I bought what is technically a Medium Format, antique camera. I say technically because it is certainly not what first comes to mind when I hear medium format (ie. Hasselblad, Mamiya, Pentax… Or one of many others with interchangeable backs and lenses…). It is a Pocket Ensign No. 28 camera (made in England), that is somewhere near a century old and I have been assured it works. It’s by no means in mint condition, but that’s part of the charm.
It was another wet, grey weekend, but I wasn’t going to let that keep me in, so I went for a visit to Sheringham Point Lighthouse near Shirley, BC. The lighthouse is at the end of a short trail that winds down a fairly steep hill.
After a couple of rainy days when I was stuck inside with a cold, I was getting anxious to get out with my camera, but wasn’t feeling up to it. Instead, I thought I’d stay inside where it was warm and dry and try to find something creative to do with my camera.
Wild Drake Photography 