Cat-on-the-wall, or "Damn the Paparazzi!"

Cat-on-the-wall, or "Damn the Paparazzi!", originally uploaded by Debbie G.

I love the expression on this cat's face.

Wood duck

Wood duck, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

I love te colours in this, but particularly the water effect. This was a successful shot more by chance than design. Birds are one of the most difficult things to caputre, and sometimes you just have to point click and hope for good results afterwards.

Girl in Window, China

girl in window, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

This is a scanned slide, taken in China in 1985. It is exactly "as shot" - no Photoshop or cropping. Now, I would adjust the lines somewhat and probably do a closer crop, but I like seeing what I could do without processing so many years ago.

It's taken at a building site near Tsingtao (where the beer comes from), on the East coast of China. I was struck by the loneliness of the figure and wonder what she was thinking about.

Paris Mosque

Paris Mosque, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

Out behind the back of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, you find this wonderful building. I like the geometric lines and shapes in this photo.

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/13
Focal Length: 80 mm

Monet's poppy field, Giverny

Monet's poppy field, Giverny, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

I've often tried and failed to take a successful shot of a flowery meadow. Too often, they turn out flat and boring, when you want to capture the mass of colour and the depth. I find that it's better to resist the temptation to use a wide angle - a narrower focus brings everything to the foreground more. Then I used a wide open aperture to create more depth of field. And this from Giverny is one of my more successful shots of this kind.

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 80 mm

Frog, Jardin des Plantes, Paris

Frog, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

As I strolled through the plantings of the Jardin des Plantes, I was surprised to hear loud and distinct croaking of frogs. To one side of the path was a small lily pond, in which there were probably dozens of healthy, happy frogs flopping around in the water and sitting on the pads croaking their little hearts out. This is one of them.

Cholmondeley the Fire Demon

Chums on the cliff, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

My Flickr photostream is filled with many shots of my two Bearded Collies, Cholmondeley and Robinson. This is an early shot of Cholmondeley (Chums for short) when he was quite young, shot on film and scanned.

Windflower

Windflower, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

This is one of my more successful macro shots. The blur of the dof and the bokeh give the impression of delicacy and movement in the other flowers, but the center is sharply in focus.

0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 60 mm macro lens
mini tripod used

Mont St Michel Rear View

Mont St Michel Rear View, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

Here, I was trying to capture the sense of space - the vastness of the bay behind the Mont and the distance you were from everywhere. The sand goes on for miles. It also conveys the quiet - what it must have been like in the old days before hundreds of tourists crawl all over it every day. I liked to think of a knight on horseback thundering over the sand (though he'd have to beware of the quicksand!)

Taken with a Canon Rebel XT 18mm lens 1/500 f/14

Owl

Owl 2, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

One evening, when I came home from work, as I walked away from my car my eye was caught by a shadow moving across the front of my house, which was dark but lit from the front by a streetlight. I shivered a little, because it was slightly spooky (and I'd been watching Buffy on dvd), turned to go up the path and again movement caught my eye, this time on the ground. Thinking it was a dog or a cat, I walked towards the shape on the ground, and to my great surprise realized that it was this owl. As I approached, it flew up into a small tree in front of my neighbour's house. I sped inside to get my camera. This and others in this series were taken handheld, without a flash, the exposure pushed up in photoshop in postprocessing.

Vanishing point, Southwold

Vanishing point, Southwold, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

This is one of my favourite shots ever (so far). However, I've got better at using some tools in Photoshop since I took this (May 2006) and need to think about revisiting it to correct the perspective a bit.

Victoria misty skyline

Victoria misty skyline, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

Taken for the Flickr 07-07-07 project, fairly early in the morning looking east from Esquimalt Lagoon. Photoshopped with a blue filter to enhance the misty layers.

Taken with Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, 200mm lens, f/20, 1/320.

shell

shell, originally uploaded by Debbie G.

Taken July 13, 2007 with Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT. 55mm f/5.8 1/640.

Taken while walking my dogs on Island View Beach, Victoria, B.C.