Peter Van Rhijn Photography

Peat Passion My plan for today’s post called for some spring flowers. But I’m not in the mood for flowers. It’s too wet dark and cold out there.... This is a picture from a few years back. I was very much a beginner and yet, something in this peat bog scene had been talking to me. At the time I did not know what it was. It’s clear to me now that it was the simplicity, the dark peaty pattern and last year’s frond of fern brightly off-set against it. Easy on the eye. Settings unrecorded. Canon Ftb, K64. 50mm Macro. www.naturephotos.com www.naturephotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog

Spring beauties. A well-known spring favourite in Ontario’s woods. This flower should be blooming in a couple of weeks. It has to wait its turn. Skunk cabbage first, then coltsfoot, then bloodroot, then hepatica, then trout lilies, then spring beauties, next the cherry blossoms at High Park. ... This image shows what I call the ‘dress-up technique.’ I would never attempt to actually create such a composition. They need to be found as they are, or they look unnatural. The thing to take away from this is: look at nature through the lens, and once in a season you’ll run into something like this. All you need to do is recognize its potential and don’t mess with it. (Photoshop had nothing to do with this image.) Ingredients: simplicity, good direction for the eye. The flower is close to the right upper strong point. Close, but not quite. As a result this composition has some tension. Relax: there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of tension. Settings unrecorded. Peter Van Rhijn www.naturephotos.com www.naturephotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog.

Beach Sill Life. The rough story behind this still life was the storm that abused the beach the day before. And clearly not just the beach, but the ocean floor as well. For me this was a bonanza. The wind had produced an abundance of sand patterns and plenty of washed-up marine life to be inspired by.... I am preparing a new talk on Macro Photography. This image was made with a Mamiya RZ 67 camera. With this camera the focusing mechanism is done with a bellows, which is part of the camera body. The lens design is simplified: none of my lenses needed the built-in focusing function. And all my lenses could be used as macro lenses! This image was also treated with a Topaz creative digital filter. Topaz Labs Glow2, the preset ‘Wonderland’ was dialed in at roughly 10 %. Peter Van Rhijn www.naturephotos.com www.naturphotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog

Pete’s Peat. My interest in photography grew from small beginnings. It started with wild orchids and I spent a few years searching for Ontario’s most photogenic species. Then I moved to lichen. Because orchids and lichen often hang out in peat, peat was next. So here’s a pic from the years of Pete's peat passion.... I have moved on since then, but even today, hiking past a patch of peat with some brilliant Hygrophorus Miniatus mushrooms, I have to check it out Invariably my darling rolls her eyes: Come on Petey! Lets move!. This was my first image that showed simplicity and balance of two subjects. I was just starting to figure things out. Camera: Canon Ftb, 50 mm macro. Kodachrome 64. Settings unrecorded. Imacon/Hasselblad virtual drum scanner. Peter Van Rhijn www.naturephotos.com www.naturephotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog

Nature’s Fractal Design. Although we are part of nature, mankind did not figure out Mother Nature’s mathematics until the last few decades. In nature there are few straight lines, few right angles and few even numbers. Nature is very comfortable with the use of fractals. This image shows the fractal nature of clouds above the fractal nature of sand dunes. Humans have not understood fractals until about two human generations ago but we have always appreciated their beauty and... design because fractal design has forever surrounded us everywhere we look, on earth and in the universe. What are the ingredients in this image, besides the obvious complementary colours: blue and orange? May be it’s the soothing familiarity with nature’s design and its simplicity. It’s also why we enjoy the fractal nature of mountains and the ocean’s surf. It’s embedded in our double helix: our genes. Sony ILCE-@7R M2 ISO 125, 1/50thsec, f 22. Lens: FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS Peter Van Rhijn - www.naturephotos.com www.naturephotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog.

Peat Passion My plan for today’s post called for some spring flowers. But I’m not in the mood for flowers. It’s too wet dark and cold out there.... This is a picture from a few years back. I was very much a beginner and yet, something in this peat bog scene had been talking to me. At the time I did not know what it was. It’s clear to me now that it was the simplicity, the dark peaty pattern and last year’s frond of fern brightly off-set against it. Easy on the eye. Settings unrecorded. Canon Ftb, K64. 50mm Macro. www.naturephotos.com www.naturephotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog

Spring beauties. A well-known spring favourite in Ontario’s woods. This flower should be blooming in a couple of weeks. It has to wait its turn. Skunk cabbage first, then coltsfoot, then bloodroot, then hepatica, then trout lilies, then spring beauties, next the cherry blossoms at High Park. ... This image shows what I call the ‘dress-up technique.’ I would never attempt to actually create such a composition. They need to be found as they are, or they look unnatural. The thing to take away from this is: look at nature through the lens, and once in a season you’ll run into something like this. All you need to do is recognize its potential and don’t mess with it. (Photoshop had nothing to do with this image.) Ingredients: simplicity, good direction for the eye. The flower is close to the right upper strong point. Close, but not quite. As a result this composition has some tension. Relax: there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of tension. Settings unrecorded. Peter Van Rhijn www.naturephotos.com www.naturephotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog.

Beach Sill Life. The rough story behind this still life was the storm that abused the beach the day before. And clearly not just the beach, but the ocean floor as well. For me this was a bonanza. The wind had produced an abundance of sand patterns and plenty of washed-up marine life to be inspired by.... I am preparing a new talk on Macro Photography. This image was made with a Mamiya RZ 67 camera. With this camera the focusing mechanism is done with a bellows, which is part of the camera body. The lens design is simplified: none of my lenses needed the built-in focusing function. And all my lenses could be used as macro lenses! This image was also treated with a Topaz creative digital filter. Topaz Labs Glow2, the preset ‘Wonderland’ was dialed in at roughly 10 %. Peter Van Rhijn www.naturephotos.com www.naturphotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog

Pete’s Peat. My interest in photography grew from small beginnings. It started with wild orchids and I spent a few years searching for Ontario’s most photogenic species. Then I moved to lichen. Because orchids and lichen often hang out in peat, peat was next. So here’s a pic from the years of Pete's peat passion.... I have moved on since then, but even today, hiking past a patch of peat with some brilliant Hygrophorus Miniatus mushrooms, I have to check it out Invariably my darling rolls her eyes: Come on Petey! Lets move!. This was my first image that showed simplicity and balance of two subjects. I was just starting to figure things out. Camera: Canon Ftb, 50 mm macro. Kodachrome 64. Settings unrecorded. Imacon/Hasselblad virtual drum scanner. Peter Van Rhijn www.naturephotos.com www.naturephotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog

Nature’s Fractal Design. Although we are part of nature, mankind did not figure out Mother Nature’s mathematics until the last few decades. In nature there are few straight lines, few right angles and few even numbers. Nature is very comfortable with the use of fractals. This image shows the fractal nature of clouds above the fractal nature of sand dunes. Humans have not understood fractals until about two human generations ago but we have always appreciated their beauty and... design because fractal design has forever surrounded us everywhere we look, on earth and in the universe. What are the ingredients in this image, besides the obvious complementary colours: blue and orange? May be it’s the soothing familiarity with nature’s design and its simplicity. It’s also why we enjoy the fractal nature of mountains and the ocean’s surf. It’s embedded in our double helix: our genes. Sony ILCE-@7R M2 ISO 125, 1/50thsec, f 22. Lens: FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS Peter Van Rhijn - www.naturephotos.com www.naturephotos.com/ingredients www.naturephotos.com/blog.