Architectural & Interior Design Photography, Corporate Commercial Photography, Advertising & Portrait Photographer | Ottawa | 613-558-7585 | justin.vanleeuwen@gmail.com
Plans change – fast. This was supposed to be a catch-up time (financially) where I paid off that line of credit that allowed me to indulge myself and my family in luxurious and L-glass. Well, here’s an argument for always having a reserve: washer and dryer broke down SIMULTANEOUSLY. The plus is stores give great […]
A downwards pan shot with the G11. I think the thing about new gear, for most photographers, isn’t the need to have it to get the shot they’ve always wanted, but the “new gear” feeling you get where all your creative options are wide open to you. That’s what’s great about a point and shoot […]
Haven’t posted (or done) an HDR in a while, this one seemed alright. I especially liked that I processed it through plugins only – Photomatix, Lightroom, and ColourEfex Pro… no Photoshop. This week I was supposed to get an iPhone. I had been wanting one for a while as the “photographers” phone of choice. Big […]
This is some crazy-ass vegetable that makes me think of this article and a bit of that cool new Romulan ship from the Abrams Star Trek.
Got a call from Younes this week, “wanna go shoot a sunrise?” Wake up at 5 AM, sub zero temps at the faint hope (failed hope) of getting one of those truly memorable mornings? What else was I going to do – Sleep? The man’s a talent, visionary really, he gets sickly excited when he […]
Great sunset in Ottawa today, good thing I got to see it from behind this tree!
Projects are good. It doesn’t have to be a brilliant one, or even one that you think will win any awards, but setting out with a goal in mind. Like, say, shooting descending sequential odd number or even numbers gets you thinking. Thinking of how to find “the shot” and a bit more, how to […]
Spent a GREAT few hours out at Westboro beech in Ottawa today. More than half the time was me trying to figure out a few spots to take some portraits and actually sitting and just taking a breath! AMAZING! Sitting down is certainly under-rated. Sadly I was solo (aside from my subject) so I was […]
The best days are the days I get to pick up my camera and spend time with my son. Or maybe I meant to pick up my son and spend time with my camera? Either way, today was a good day for that.
Processed this sucker in the Lightroom 3 Beta, which I’m liking okay, but being a beta it’s got ups and downs. using the new tech is a definite plus, seen in this image, I’m using the new crop vignette effect and I’m liking it about a million times more than the LR2 post crop vignette; […]
Taken at Dow’s Lake, this is a 5 image vertical pano taken with the Canon new 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS lens. The reason for the pano is simple, at a fixed 100mm I couldn’t get a clear shot of this tree without including lots of other trees and distracting foreground elements. So I got in […]
This’ll probably be my last post from the fall workshop, maybe not my last from Fall, but that weekend is SOOOOO over now.
So I got a new toy today. The Canon 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS, sold my regular Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro in favour of adding an “IS” and “L” for about twice the price: Lucky me. One of the benefits of this Macro, aside from the IS which is supposed to give stabilization up to 4 […]
I’ll let the mood of the scene speak for this one. Except what I just wrote. And that too.
I am TERRIBLE at coming up with names for my more abstract images, good thing there are musical artists out there with a more inspired vernacular. This was a slight downward pan shot, hand-held I think since my tripod wouldn’t ease my camera down straight.
ND filters are the COOOOLEST. That and high f-stops. It’s like a special effect DURING reality. No photoshop required.
Be warned, I took many photos at the workshop this past weekend, so there may be a lot more photos of leaves and stuff for the week ahead. Though, at some point, I have to be sure to keep up my sequential promise to others. You can also see some more images from the workshop […]
I kept trying to figure out how to make this image work in colour – the contrast I wanted just wasn’t there – then I flipped it to black and white and voila; I’m happy. Lesson learned, B&W, always making my photos better and more artsy.
Normally I’d be one to avoid unwanted glare and colour-casts in my photos, here, I think it works.
Another shot from the workshop this weekend, not the greatest one, I could have stood for a bunch of ND filters to smooth out the water… but then I don’t really have those so you make do y’know? Since I probably wont’ post everything I process, you can see more from the YB workshop on […]
My first of, what is likely to be, many photos from my weekend workshop with Younes Bounhar. I had a great time, visited a lot of places around my adopted city that I’d never been to before, and was well taught the virtues of wide angle lenses, compression in telephoto’s, patience, and sarcasm. Younes is […]
Not much to say today save that the Canon 1DMKII is not a subtle camera and does not easily fit in pockets when needed to be put away. Looking forward to that G11 when she ships…
Some people are pioneers, they set new standards and literally make things, that were unknown to others, new. Some of these are good things, some of them aren’t. Mel’s mom recently went through a divorce, that saw her left with her home, but very little money to support it. In an effort to reclaim some […]
I had an awesome weekend visit by my buds Will & Dan that taught me two things; good friends are rare and therefor valuable, and that I can no longer drink more than a few pints of beer in a sitting. I mean it – I feel awful today.
