BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY

STOPS ALONG THE WAY

Tag Archives: Street Photography


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DOWNTOWN SUNDAY (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)

Taking a walk downtown on a rare sunny afternoon in May, I hoped to see some things of interest to photograph. I had borrowed a wide angle lens (12-24mm) and was trying to get a feel for it. The sharp lines and colour attracted me in both of these photographs.
Canada will be celebrating its 150th Birthday on July 1. There is a multi-year plan to renovate many Federal buildings in Ottawa. You can just see some scaffolding in the reflection of the Parliament Buildings in the first photo. The fencing covered in colourful posters dressed up another construction site and made for an interesting composition.


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ANOTHER DOOR OPENS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)

There’s a pedestrian mall in town that has a mixture of shops, restaurants and government office buildings. Many of the buildings were built after the Second World War in the Gothic Revival style of architecture. I have always liked this door and the detail of the frieze with it’s iconic Canadian scene. I think the colour version works quite well but the black and white version is more in keeping with the period in which it was built.


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OFF THE MAIN (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)

This photograph was taken in Montreal just off St. Lawrence Boulevard. This area of the city has plenty of street art; the play of light and shadow makes for interesting photography. I used Macphun’s Tonality Pro to convert the photo to Black and White. My main interest was the B&W version and working with contrast, detail, and tones.


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SPRING FORMAL (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)

Spring sunshine and temperatures are slow to return this year. Green shoots are slowly pushing their way through the soil and I’ve seen a few blackbirds and robins at the reserve but no nest building yet. Instead of trudging through the snow melt on the trails, I took a walk in a neighbourhood not far from where I live. I liked the display in the shop window and took this photo. Another shot that lends itself to black and white.


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WALL ART (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)

A neighbourhood bike shop got creative. The bikes suspended from the colourful wall look like a wonderful piece of art. A simple idea yet full of imagination. The owner even took precautions against theft as the bikes are locked into place. I liked the vibrant colours but with all the detail and texture in the wall I thought the photo would work in black and white as well.


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UNGUARDED

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I had driven by this old gated lot many times before but hadn’t paid it much attention. We were returning from a neighbourhood street festival one day and walked by on our way home. I was struck by these wildflowers pushing through the gate and stopped to take a photograph. I wanted the attention of the viewer to focus on the centre of the photograph. To do this I used an adjustment layer in Photoshop to lower the brightness of the stone, and then again for the entire photo. Finally I painted back some brightness in the flower and lock to make them stand out from the background.


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CITY PEAKS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)

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The first photo was taken in an Ottawa laneway, the second one in Toronto. I liked the shapes and play of light in the first shot. In the second photo the neighbourhood basketball court facing Toronto’s financial centre brought a sense of community to the big city. The colours caught my eye as well. I haven’t done much urban photography but I enjoy it and it’s something I’d like to do more of in the coming year.

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