Photo of the Week (POW) - Karen Alley

Karen at the Ride for Sight charity bike wash in Midland, Ontario in March 2008.
Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR. Fill flash provided by built-in camera flash
in TTL-backlight mode. (Click on the photo for a larger version)

Karen is a good friend of mine. We met a few years ago at the now defunct Spiducci's in Newmarket, a regular morning fill-up spot for our bellies and launching point for rides (many fine memories of the 507, Muskoka, and sausages). I'm a little selfish when I say she's a good friend of "mine" because really she's a good friend to anybody. Fun-loving, smart, loyal, caring are all attributes that come to mind when I think of Karen. So are cute and sexy.

It's inconceivable to look at this photo and not smile. Between Karen's natural sweet smile and the silly flower's matching expression, your only choice is to respond back in kind. Karen’s gentle, caring spirit brought her to Midland that day for a bike wash that was raising money for Ride for Sight. It's about a 2 hour ride from Toronto if you take the direct route which might seem a long way to some but for bikers like Karen, getting there is 1/2 the fun.

(more after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - Racer Nicole Pilkington

Nicole Pilkington in the pits waiting to get on the track at Shannonville
Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR.

Motorcycle racing is cool. But women racing motorcycles is really cool. And a 17 year old woman motorcycle racer? That's really cool + awesome + sweet!

In 2010 Nicole Pilkington raced in the CBR Cup (her best result, finishing 3rd overall), AM 125 GP, and AM 250 GP classes in R.A.C.E. In SOAR she raced in Formula Femme, and Formula 2 Stroke, and in the National series she ran in the CBR Cup. That's 6 different divisions across 3 series! Most teenage girls would rather go to 6 stores in 3 different malls. So why does she do it? By her own words, "The one thing I love most about racing is the escape. The track is like therapy to me. It relieves all my stress. Just getting on track and putting all your concentration into what you need to do to improve on track and nothing else." So that tells me that in her "normal" life she's either really stressed out, or super relaxed like Jello.

Nic Pilk grew up at the racetrack. Her father Stuart started road racing in 1989 and Nicole spent every summer of her life at racetracks across Canada and the U.S. with him. He was her inspiration to get into the sport. But first she had to prove herself so at 13 years of age, a determined Nicole hopped on a motocross. The deal was she had to show she could crash and get back up before being allowed to road race. Now that's tough love! Nicole's first road race was 2 years later at Shannonville in 2009 when she was 15.

(Read more after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - Emma

Emma in a peach tree during sunset. May 8, 2009.
Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR and SB-800 to camera left using CLS*.
IS0 320, 1/200 sec, F3.5 at 28 mm
(Click on the photo for a larger version)

Emma is a Senegal parrot (Poicephalus senegalus) who lives in my house. We have a pear tree on our front lawn that blooms for only 2 weeks each spring and the house faces west. The weather was warm and dry, the sunset was pretty, the flowers on the tree were blooming -- everything was lining up for the perfect photo. If I took a shot of  the tree and sunset, it would've been a good photo ... but not a great photo. Enter Emma. (skip the next paragraph if you don't want to read the technical details).

I put Emma on the lowest branch and took a reading in aperture priority mode using F3.5 (the minimum for this lens) for the shallowest depth of field. I then put my camera in manual mode and underexposed by about a stop and a half by increasing the shutter speed to 1/200. I put my SB-800 flash in remote mode and then put the commander mode in my camera to TTL for this flash. All this while standing on a milk crate on my front lawn with Emma crawling around on the branch. I did a few test shots while holding the flash in my left hand just above Emma to make sure I was happy with the exposure. I popped off about 10 - 15 shots and had to stop a couple times to make sure Emma didn't crawl to the top of the tree while holding the flash in my left armpit. I'm sure I looked quite stupid to my neighbours, but you gotta do whatever it takes to get the shot, right?

I know some of you will have some questions about Emma so I'll try to answer them proactively:

(More after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - Racer Aubrey Bailey

R.A.C.E. Round 5, Shannonville Motorsport Park,
September 4, 2010. Shot with Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR
at 130mm. ISO 400, 1/800, F5.6 in Aperture Priority
(Click on the photo above for a larger version)

 Aubrey in the zone as he looks through the corner in the final hairpin before the front straight at Shannonville during R.A.C.E. Round 5 in the AM 600 class. This is one of my favourite angles as you can see how the body position is integral to going fast around a corner. His weight is on the inside of the bike with his right cheek off the seat, his right knee scraping the ground, and his head and shoulders on the inside. Racers wear knee pucks and I can hear them grinding as I take the photos. I like to call this the frog position because the legs remind me of a frog sitting on a lily pad.

I first met Aubrey in January 2009 at the motorcycle show in Toronto. He was a beaver and I held his tail. 100% true story. But I digress.

(Continue reading after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - Wiggly

Since it's Valentine's week, I thought I should post about the love of my life. Not the motorcycle. Not the camera. My wife.

Margot and Sadie at the "Woofstock" event in downtown
Toronto. Shot with a Nikon D80 with a 18-200mm
zoom and built-in camera flash in TTL mode for fill.
Click for a larger version.

This photo was taken in front of the flatiron building in downtown Toronto during Woofstock on June 12, 2010. There was a concrete divider that provided the perfect platform for Sadie to sit on. When we tell her to do a sit stay, she does this regal pose. I wanted a fill flash which would have me busting out my SB-800 but when you're this close to the subject, it tends to give unattractive glare on the face and harsh shadows, especially in the vertical position. I was close enough that I was able to use the built-in flash which provided the fill but still looks natural. I also like composition in this one where the eye is lead up to the point at the top of the building. I also Margot's natural smile in this one.

Margot and I have been married for almost 13 years. We weren't quite high school sweethearts but pretty close. We met at the University of Guelph and tied the knot right after graduation in 1998 then moved to a 1 bedroom apartment in the sky in Scarborough, Ontario. Living on the 21st floor we affectionately referred to it as our "hole in the sky".  We had a great view, but there wasn't much space for 2 people, a cat and a 90 gallon aquarium full of fish. We somehow made it work.

(read more after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - Jay's Custom 1972 Honda CB350

Jay's custom 1972 Honda CB350.
Nikon D80 with 18-200mm VR. 2x SB-800 flashes to
camera left and right. Click here for the lighting
setup. Note the umbrellas were used to keep the
flashes dry, not to diffuse the light

Pretty cool bike, right? You'd be forgiven if you parked this old custom beauty in a showroom and charged people $0.25 just to see it. But Jay is a biker first and this is his daily ride. In fact he rode it back from Mods vs Rockers Chicago last summer, 850 kms in 14 hours.

His project began in 2002 when he wanted to buy a couple wheels from a crashed bike but ended up bringing the entire bike home for not much more. She was destined to be a parts bike but Jay saw her beauty past her broken fork legs and non-functioning engine. After about a year and a half of major and cosmetic surgeries, she was reborn and granted the license to stroll on the roads once again.

Chicks dig his bike and many have asked to pose with it for photos. It's inspired at least two women to get their own vintage Hondas! "I can't go for a ride in the summer without at least one person giving me the thumbs up or yelling 'Cool bike!'" exclaims Jay.

(More after the jump)

Photo of the Week (POW) - February 3, 2011

I had a ruff time thinking about this week's POW and it's pawsitively gone to the dogs.

I like to call this the Poodle Model Photoshoot. Sadie (black poodle) belongs to Margot and I, while Tessa (lightest) and Buffy (middle) belongs to our friend Debbie. Tessa is Buffy's mom. Sadie and Buffy have been friends since they were puppies.

We shot this on October 13, 2008 at Bruce's Mill Conservation Area in Stouffville, our absolute favourite place for fall walks. They have a mature forest so the trees are ablaze with colour during the autumn season.  The photo I took of Mel and Mackenzie was also taken here. It's my secret spot. I guess not so secret anymore...

Tessa, Buffy and Sadie, all miniature poodles.
Nikon D80 with 80-200mm F/2.8 with 1 SB-800 flash to
camera left above the dogs' head.

I'm going to get a bit more technical in my description of this photoshoot so if your eyes start to glaze over, I won't be offended if you skip to the next paragraph where I go back to talking about doggies.

(More after the jump)