Here is a problem many beginning photographers face – people will ask, “what sort of photography do you do?” I was asked that just last night, in fact, and it can be a very difficult question to answer convincingly. Fortunately, I was prepared.

A couple of months ago, I read an article that talked about consistency in photography being a hallmark of a good photographer. This does not mean that an excellent landscape photographer cannot take a nice portrait here and there; it means that if I am trying to market myself as a serious photographer, albeit an amateur one, my portfolio should reflect my strengths, interests and what is unique to my work. That is what spawned my “Photo of the Week” challenge, which I have embarrassingly neglected twice when life got in the way.

So, over the last two months, here is what I have discovered (and begun to hone). I like landscapes. I don’t know if this is because I like landscapes or if it is because that is what my environment is most suited to right now, but most of the nicer photographs I am getting are of the wider environment around me. I also like high saturated colours – a polarizing filter s in my future, but in the mean time I have been using computer software to increase saturation slightly. I like textures in snow and in the sky, and like to have sharp (crisp, not necessarily pointy) objects contrasted against a bright, saturated and nicely textured sky. Where saturation is difficult, I like to add a filter to make things a little more interesting – I have been particularly fond of adding a purple tint to some of my photographs. Generally speaking, I prefer a slightly warmer than suggested white balace during morning and evening hours, but like to cool things off a bit when the sun is high in the sky.

These preferences, which I believe are beginning to incubate my “style”, are observed in these photographs:

Little Playgreen Lake (Norway House, MB, 2013)

Speed Limit on Mission Island (Norway House, MB, 2013)

Afternoon Sky (Norway House, MB, 2013)

So, when asked, “what’s my style”, I would generally answer that I focus on landscapes during the earlier or later hours of the day, looking at well saturated colours, rich contrast, and that I try to have the sky paint a nice backdrop for crisp subject matter. I am beginning to develop a consistent portfolio of work to back that up.

I hope to continue to get better at event photography, portrait photography, and when finances and time permit, would love to experiment with night, macro and more abstract photography – at present, my personal and work routines as well as my environment are not easily suited to that (though I do have control of all of that, with the exception of not having a macro lens). Fine art photography is not only outside my comfort zone, but likely falls outside of whatever shreds of innate talent I am trying to exercise.

Nature and wildlife photography… well, we’ll just have to wait for bear season to see that that goes.

Today is the last full day I have with my family in Brockville, Ontario, and my father and I figured we ought to spend some time outside practicing our photographic skills (playing with our cameras, really). While aspirations for a full afternoon in the wilderness fizzled in the face of necessary errands and post-lunch fatigue (on my part, not my father’s), we were able to make it to the Brockville Yacht Club for a short while. After all, it is a place full of interesting shapes, colours and textures – my father has gotten some great shots there over the years.

Here’s the problem – I’m “Arctic Tim”, meaning I should know that if it is cold outside, I should dress warmly. My warm clothes, however, are in the back of my car waiting for me in Winnipeg. I figured the eastern Ontario winter would pale in comparison with northern Manitoba winter, so I put on my finest loafers and we went for our stroll. Then it snowed. It snowed on top of the mountains of snow we got a week ago. Very quickly, my feet got wet and cold. This, combined with the fading natural light, cut short our little expedition. The lesson here is: always dress/plan for the conditions you expect to photograph in! It seems obvious, but most notable and illusive truths do.

Fortunately, I was able to get two images I like. One is of the hull of the BYC utility boat, Recovery, and the other is a close-up of a blue weathered rudder. I hope you enjoy – leave some love (or loving criticism).

Rusted Hull of Recovery at BYC (Brockville, ON, 2013)

Close-Up of Blue Rudder at BYC (Brockville, ON, 2013)

Welcome to the new site, and thank you for visiting. I suppose this is ArcticTim.ca 3.0, and I hope I will not have to do any upgrades that leave content behind in the near future. However, leaving the old ArcticTim.ca behind is something of a blessing… perhaps.

Up until now, my website has been: a personal website, detailing miscellaneous ongoings or thoughts crossing through my mind. It has been a professional website, sharing links and resources relating to teaching in fields of media and technology. It has been a photography website, with me posting various recent images to galleries. In short, it has been all over the place. What started as a blog grew into a wild incongruous mix of core aspects of my life. With ArcticTim 3.0, we get to start fresh.

Photography is currently my most favoured hobby. It also reaches into my professional life, as I teach Photography and Digital Imaging. It is something that I have had a longstanding interest in and have continued to develop, at different intensities at different times of my life, as the years wash over me. It is something that I am determined to get better at and something that I might consider marketing in the future, should I advance my skills sufficiently. So ArcticTim 3.0 is now a photography website, chronicling my successes, mishaps and goals.

What’s New? The Photo of the Week is the most notable new addition. As part of my challenge to become a better photography, I am forcing myself to publish my favourite photograph from each week. This means I have to take a lot of pictures each week. With any luck, this practice coupled with careful thought will lead to notable improvements in the quality and consistency of my work.

What’s Gone? I have left behind the Teaching Resources section of the website. I am a teacher, and if you have any questions at all about my teaching or would like me to share any resources I may have, please feel free to get in contact with me. I am also leaving behind posts relating to my personal whimsical thoughts – while my whimsy may be reflected in future posts, they will not be whimsy for the sake of whimsy. The site is decreasingly about me and increasingly about my photography.

For those of you who enjoyed reading my tumultuous adventures, fret not – there will inevitably be plenty of mishaps for me to write about or even share photos of. Photography is simply to glue that will hold this new and improved version of the site together – I, complete with my sens of adventure, inescapable charm and penchant for mischief and mishap, am still at its core.

Please feel free to comment, e-mail me, or tweet to me on Twitter (@ChouBot) with any comments, questions, criticisms or complaints. I hope you like the new and [hopefully] improved ArcticTim.ca – enjoy it in good health.

Flowers at 13th St. Winery
Vineland, ON, 2011)