Back in August of 2011 I broke myself in an effort to be cooler than I really am. Those few moments of absurdity were likely the launch for the Light Budget Project. If you’re the "train-wreck" loving type you can get your fix with a clickety click… https://vimeo.com/66946586
At the time I had recently purchased a Panasonic DMC LX5. It was compact, had accessories, and even an “M” for manual mode on the dial. The “M” was the selling feature for me, though I had no clue how to even begin using it. That Fall as I healed up from surgery (and trying to keep busy) I took a free intro to digital photography lesson at the Lake Louise Fall Festival and learned what “M” was all about and the possibilities it created. Once I had the strength to lift it, I also started using an old 2007 prosumer level camera, a Canon EOS 40D, that Francois Pelletier insisted I use. With that 40D I started trying hard to capture images like Dan Hudson, Ryan Creary, Paul Zizka, Eric Figon, Dave Trumpore, Michael A. Vincent and others infinitely more inspired than myself. Now taking a decent photo, capturing a moment, has become as much of the reward as the moments themselves.
Photos inspired by the pros
The Light Budget Project
What’s it all about… capturing some light on a little sensor and not spending much money doing it.
Here’s the scoop, it’s 2014 and I’m still using the old 2007 40D, I have a couple Sigma lenses, shoot in jpg because my Mac Mini wasn’t ever intended to store a library of raw files, all my editing is done with iphoto, pixelmator, and photomatix essentials. Long story short, it couldn’t be much more Mickey Mouse unless I was just walking around with my iphone. There’s definitely limitations to using old kit and software that is more or less free, but my own creativity is likely more of a hindrance than the equipment and budget.
The Light Budget Project – Blue Light
It’s starting to sound like a broken record; but… snow is scarce so far this season. With the lack of white nectar, glaciers in the Rockies from Yoho to Jasper are down to the firn and there’s an abundance of blue ice. With little quality skiing to be found it has been easy enough to talk people into spending several hours just to get a shot or two and go home with only a handful of turns. The reward in getting a single shot almost makes up for the complete lack of snow. Here’s the results of a little light, a little budget, a bunch of hours, and a few turns.
So many more moments to be captured… just need the right light.
