Photos by Stephen Gower

Christmas Ornaments

2026-01-16T00:00:00Z

Christmas 2025 was a different one for us; on the outside it was much the same - we stayed with my wife's parents for Christmas and New Year's. The events around Christmas were different though, and led us eventually to cooking turkey dinner on Boxing Day, the 26th. I took some photos, and I consider them to be slightly artistic. Both of these shots were taken with my Sony Alpha 5000. I put the camera in "Aperture Priority" mode so that I could have a kind of "bokeh" effect.

A close-up of a Christmas tree ornament with a clear glass ring accented by yellow swirls, holding a small white figure resembling a snowman with black and red details. The tree branches and glowing lights create a festive, warm backdrop. ƒ/5.0, shutter speed 1/60, 30.0mm, ISO 3200.

A close-up of a Christmas tree ornament featuring a clear, twisted glass ring with a small green teardrop-shaped decoration hanging in the center. The background shows warm yellow lights and other ornaments, including pearl and crystal bead garlands. ƒ/5.0, shutter speed 1/50, 30.0mm, ISO 3200.

Drone testing

2025-12-30T00:00:00Z

My wife gifted me a drone for Christmas - the DJI Mini 4K. I've dabbled with drones before but only to fly my friend's drone for a few minutes at a time. I may have taken some pictures or video...but none were "my own". Well, now I have one!

I haven't given it a proper test, between high winds and winter storms, but we took it out for a few minutes over the weekend and I took some test shots. Listed below are the original, followed by two edits in Lightroom Mobile (my own is "Edit 1", "Edit 2" is the auto setting in Lightroom).

I wish I had the specific camera information, but unfortunately that information was not recorded to the image meta data.

An aerial view of a vast, frozen body of water under a heavy, overcast grey sky. The foreground and shoreline are covered in deep white snow, with dark evergreen trees lining the edges. The frozen surface of the water displays a rippled, layered texture, stretching toward distant, dark, snow-dusted hills on the horizon. Alt text generated by Google Gemini.

Edit 1. An aerial view of a vast, frozen body of water under a heavy, overcast grey sky. The foreground and shoreline are covered in deep white snow, with dark evergreen trees lining the edges. The frozen surface of the water displays a rippled, layered texture, stretching toward distant, dark, snow-dusted hills on the horizon. Alt text generated by Google Gemini.

Edit 2. An aerial view of a vast, frozen body of water under a heavy, overcast grey sky. The foreground and shoreline are covered in deep white snow, with dark evergreen trees lining the edges. The frozen surface of the water displays a rippled, layered texture, stretching toward distant, dark, snow-dusted hills on the horizon. Alt text generated by Google Gemini.

C'est l'Halloween

2025-10-31T00:00:00Z

In case you're interested, the title of this post is inspired by a French song we heard every year in elementary school: C'est l'Halloween by Matt Maxwell.

Last year I shared a homemade Halloween decoration - it was amazing and crafted with love. This year the same neighbours put up another decoration: I think it's a big spider.

It's a lot more elaborate than last year's, and unfortunately the only photos I have of it are some daylight shots post heavy rainfall when it fell apart; and a badly lit night shot that I tried enhancing in Lightroom Mobile. Still, this was an amazing homemade decoration and I look forward to what they'll come up with next year.

All photos were taken with my Samsung Galaxy S21+ rear camera, using the 64MP setting.

A homemade Halloween decoration. It is some sort of monster with eight legs - perhaps a mutated spider. The technique used to make it is papier mâché. ƒ/2.0, shutter speed 1/50, focal length 5.9mm, ISO 25.

A night shot in poor lighting conditions. A homemade Halloween decoration. It is some sort of monster with eight legs - perhaps a mutated spider. The technique used to make it is papier mâché. ƒ/2.0, shutter speed 1/4, focal length 5.9mm, ISO 1600. Lightroom edits.

Full Halloween album

Low resolution rockfaces

2025-07-09T00:00:00Z

Back in April, I went for a long walk with my dog. I wanted to get some good exercise, and tiring out my dog was a bonus. I thought it would be cooler out but ended up quite warm. The other purpose was to get some photos using my "disposable lens".

The result was unsurprising - the photos aren't the highest quality and I was limited in terms of framing the images. I quite like the results, and enjoyed the challenge. I like how in the second picture of the rocks, you can see some faces there.

All photos were taken with the Sony ILCE-5000, using a "disposable lens".

A highway curves to the left with a "Birch Island" sign on the right. The road has double yellow lines and a white shoulder line. There are bare trees and some evergreens along the side of the road, and a snow-covered bank on the left. The sky is clear and blue. ƒ/0. 0.0 mm, shutter speed 1/500, ISO 100.

A close-up view of a rocky cliff face under a clear blue sky. The rock layers are horizontal and vary in color from light tan to dark gray. Sparse vegetation, including some small trees and bushes, grows on the top and sides of the cliff. In the lower right corner, there are some bare tree branches. ƒ/0. 0.0 mm, shutter speed 1/200, ISO 100.

A snow-covered road curves to the right, with a dense forest of evergreen trees on the left and a snowbank lining the right side. Yellow chevron signs indicate the curve in the road. In the distance on the right, there's a green and white sign with an arrow pointing to the right, and what appears to be a smaller road branching off. The sky is clear and blue. ƒ/0. 0.0 mm, shutter speed 1/400, ISO 100.

Pink and Blue Doors

2025-05-16T00:00:00Z

There's a short street near my office that I've been to several times. The houses are townhomes, tightly stacked together. I suspect it may be a condo unit.

The doors I photographed here are the most colourful; the rest are the same dull shade so these ones stand out. I took a photo and edited two versions: one slightly more muted, and the other a bit more vibrant.

One of the things I especially like about the photo is the reflection of the doors in the wet pavement.

The photo was taken using my Samsung Galaxy S21+ Rear Telephoto Camera.

The front entrances of two units, numbered 100 and 102, in a multi-unit dwelling. Unit 100 has a bright pink door, while unit 102 has a blue-grey door. The building has a facade of white and tan brick. The ground appears wet from rain. ƒ/2.0. 5.9 mm, shutter speed 1/120, ISO 40.

Framed!

2025-03-10T00:00:00Z

You can view the full album for my challenge entries on Flickr.

For week 3 of Hiro's composition challenge, we were to demonstrate the use of frames in a photo. The goal was to frame a subject within the frame of the picture. No specific requirements for this, anything could be used to make up a frame. We had some bad weather this week so I didn't get the chance to go outdoors very often.

Photos were shot with either my Sony α5000 or Samsung Galaxy S21+. Some photos were edited in Adobe Lightroom Classic or Mobile. I attempted to infuse some colour in some of my photos this week - I've been a little jealous of some of the other entries that just pop that other people are taking.

A potted weeping fig plant with bright green leaves is seen through a closed window. The window has a white frame and is surrounded by a brick wall with varying shades of brown and orange. The plant is centered in the window, with reflections visible on the glass. ƒ/8.0, 43.0 mm, shutter speed 1/125, ISO 100.

Bailey stands under a white desk, looking directly at the camera. A blue plastic bin is visible in the foreground. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/30, ISO 500.

Bailey looks out of a window at a bunny in a snowy backyard with a fence and trees in the distance. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/130, ISO 40.

The word "OTTAWA" spelled out in large, silver, block letters against a dark, textured background that resembles stone. There is a horizontal line of water flowing beneath the letters, with red and blue lights illuminating it. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/1000, ISO 3200.

A black steam locomotive, Canadian National Railway 6200, is positioned on a snowy display area in front of the Ingenium building, which features a facade of blue and gray panels. The photo is taken through a red metal railing with decorative elements, creating a framed perspective. Cars are parked in the background, and bare trees are visible on either side of the scene. ƒ/4.5, 39.0 mm, shutter speed 1/2500, ISO 100.

Rule of Thirds

2025-02-21T00:00:00Z

This past Monday, Hiro's Photo Composition Challenge started, beginning with the Rule of Thirds - a basic photography composition challenge that most beginner photographers learn. I use a 3x3 grid overlayed on all of my photos when lining them up, but I can't say that I actively focus on the "rule".

Here are some photos I took to demonstrate the rule of thirds. I will be uploading all of my photos to a single Flickr album but will be making individual posts highlighting specific photos. Click through on the photos to see the full size.

All photos this week were taken with my Samsung SM-G996W main camera; specific settings are noted in the captions. There was minimal Lightroom editing done except in one or two cases.

A snow-covered path leading through a residential area at sunset. Deep snowbanks line the path, with houses, cars, and a tree silhouette visible. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/240, ISO 40.

The Silk & Snow store in a snowy urban setting, with a tall wooden utility pole and other buildings visible. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/12000, ISO 100.

A modern, two-story building with large windows and a sign that reads "W Dental Studio." Snow is visible in the foreground. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/12000, ISO 250.

A black and white mural depicting a Doberman Pinscher-like dog and other figures on the side of a building. A large pile of snow is in the foreground. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/12000, ISO 800.

A narrow path cut through deep snow, leading towards a building with a green and white flag. Tall snowbanks line both sides of the path. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/8000, ISO 40.

Magnetic Utensils

2025-02-07T00:00:00Z

I discovered a long time ago at certain restaurants that utensils are occasionally magnetic. This usually happens if they are made of a metal that is naturally magnetic and are exposed a magnetic field of some sort. I'm not sure what kind of magnetic fields are present at restaurants, but I always check to see if my knife and fork stick together.

At the most recent dining experience, my knife was extremely magnetic and I could lift the fork clear off the table.

A metal knife is holding up a fork - seemingly by magic, but in reality is due to the knife being highly magnetized. There is a dessert menu behind the utensils. Samsung SM-G996W ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/24, ISO 800. No flash.

New Year's Walk

2025-01-13T00:00:00Z

On New Year's Day, my wife and I went for a walk in nearby Sunshine Alley. We took our dog so that she had an opportunity to run around freely, off-leash. She loves this place and bounds around the snow. More photos of our dog to come, but for now here is what ended up being a perfect image to me that I captured on my phone (instead of the camera I had been carrying the whole time, which was stowed away in the carrying case). And a bonus picture including Bailey.

A tranquil moment in the woods as the ice is still present among melted snow. Samsung SM-G996W. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/7760, ISO 320.

A tranquil moment in the woods as the ice is still present among melted snow. A dog runs joyfully nearby. Samsung SM-G996W. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/8192, ISO 320.

Kenny Rogers Christmas

2024-12-13T00:00:00Z

Winter and Christmas provide an excuse for people to decorate their house with inflatables and lighting - not dissimilar to Halloween. In my neighbourhood there is one particular house that caught my eye, but not because it's a shining example of creativity. It's very simple: the house is red, like really red. It really reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about a Kenny Rogers Chicken opening across from Kramer's apartment and the bright red lighting.

This photo was edited slightly, ~~and used the Portra Soft Green preset by Luke Taylor.~~

Edit: I'm mixing up photos I've edited - I don't believe I used the "Portra Soft Green" filter on this photo, but I did edit it with Lightroom.

A house decked out in red Christmas lights. Samsung Galaxy S21+ Rear Main Camera, ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/40, ISO 400 + Lightroom edits.

PWHL in Ottawa

2024-12-10T00:00:00Z

On Friday December 6th, my wife and I went to see the Ottawa Charge take on the Montreal Victoire for a PWHL game at the Canadian Tire Centre. We won tickets in my company's suite, in the 100 level. The suite is at the top of the section, so we had a great view of the action. The play is different from NHL in a few ways - there are some interesting rule tweaks designed to generate more offence - and the skill level is a little bit below that of NHL players. But the PWHL represents the top talent in women's hockey, and overall it was a great game. Unfortunately, the Charge lost the game 2-1 in regulation time.

It took a little bit of time but the orange and yellow colour scheme for the team has grown on me. I'm happy that the team went with different colours than the usual red and black scheme that the sports teams in town tend to go with. I think it's a little silly that all teams should follow the same colour scheme, it's not necessary in my opinion.

All photos were taken with a Samsung Galaxy S21+ using the Rear Main Camera

Fans use their cell phone flash lights to create a moody atmosphere as the PWHL team Ottawa Charge prepare to skate off the bench. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, shutter speed 1/45, ISO 160, no flash.

The Ottawa Charge and Montreal Victoire prepare for the opening puck drop. ƒ/2.0, shutter speed 1/60, ISO 25, no flash.

Portrait of a Sleepy Dog

2024-12-03T00:00:00Z

My dog Bailey sure knows how to set her cuteness factor to 11. Her most effective pose is when she's got her eyes closed and appears to be sleeping. But as we all know, dogs are always on alert and can wake up at a moment's notice (and just as easily go back to sleep).

Both photos were taken using my Samsung Galaxy S21+ Rear Main Camera, in Portrait mode.

A dog lying down on a bed with her eyes closed. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, ISO 250, shutter speed 1/40. No flash.

A dog lying down on a bed with eyes open, her right ear pointed up to the ceiling. The photo is in low-key mono. ƒ/1.8, 5.4 mm, ISO 250, shutter speed 1/40. No flash.

Power Lines

2024-11-14T00:00:00Z

I was out walking at lunch yesterday and was keeping my eyes open for some interesting "banal", everyday photo opportunities. Leading lines are always interesting visually, so I was drawn to this intersection of vetical and horizontal power lines. I'm not particularly thrilled with the result, but I still like the lines.

The photos were all taken with my Samsung Galaxy S21+ rear telephoto camera. ƒ/2.0, 5.9 mm, 1/1150, ISO 25.

Power lines against a cloudless sky.

An edited version of the original power lines photo. Minor changes to colour, cropped.

Power Lines photo but made black and white in Lightroom.

Bate Island

2024-11-13T00:00:00Z

My friend Mike wanted to take his drone out again and thought that the rapids on the Ottawa River at Bate Island would be an ideal spot. There's a bridge that crosses the river from the Ottawa side over to Gatineau, Quebec, and plenty of water around. Plus, the rapids themselves. We got some great video footage while playing with the drone, but I also brought my camera out to get some shots. It was the first time I've visited the island, despite driving past it multiple times.

All pictures in this set were taken with my Sony ILCE-5000 using a 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 lens.

A view of the rapids on the Ottawa River from Bate Island. Gatineau, Que. can be seen on the other side. ƒ/11.0, 36.0 mm, 1/80, ISO 100.

A drone flying in front of a life preserver sign. ƒ/9.0, 55.0 mm, 1/125, ISO 100.

Two geese in the foreground standing in front of a puddle. A handful of geese are laying in the grass on the other side of the road. ƒ/7.1, 70.0 mm, 1/160, ISO 100.

A seagull standing in mud and grass. ƒ/5.6, 70.0 mm, 1/160, ISO 125.

Forlorn Dog

2024-11-07T00:00:00Z

I can't believe I have a photo blog and haven't shared a picture of my dog. She is probably the most photographed subject in my phone's camera roll. Despite her best efforts to avoid photos (she is notorious for moving out of the way or ruining a candid shot), I usually manage to get something good.

ƒ/1.8, shutter speed 1/25, 5.4 mm, ISO 500. Samsung Galaxy S21+ Rear Main Camera.

Droning On

2024-11-04T00:00:00Z

My best friend - Mike - recently bought a drone. He wanted to try to get some dramatic sunset pictures with it on Friday so I went out with him with my camera.

Unfortunately, the sunset wasn't so dramatic and I wasn't in a great position to get photos of my own. So I got some pictures of the drone and my friend.

ƒ/5.0, 77.0 mm, 1/60, ISO 800. Sony ILCE-5000, E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS.

ƒ/4.5, 55.0 mm, 1/160, ISO 200. Sony ILCE-5000, E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS.

ƒ/0, 0 mm, 1/20, ISO 3200. Sony ILC-5000, plastic lens.

ƒ/3.5, 28.0 mm, 1/160, ISO 3200. Sony ILCE-5000, FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS.

The Monster in Your Mind

2024-10-28T00:00:00Z

Our neighbourhood seems to be getting into the Halloween spirit in a big way this year. Way more houses are decorated, and creatively at that.

This house is on my regular walk route with my dog. It's such a great job. I wish I was this creative and capable with arts & crafts.

It occurs to me the more I walk by the house that the eyes probably light up at night. I'm hoping I get the chance to see it this week.

ƒ/2.0, 1/60, 5.9mm, ISO 32. Samsung Galaxy S21+ Rear Telephoto Camera.

Lightroom Edits

Exposure -0.66
Highlights +31
Shadows -33
Whites -47
Blacks -26
Temperature -20
Tint +10
Vibrance -27
Saturation -33
Texture +3
Clarity +12
Dehaze +43
Vignette

Amount -22

Grain

Amount +30; Size +29; Roughness +50

Pumpkinheads

2024-10-25T16:45:00Z

On Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, my sister-in-law asked us to take photos of her and her friend wearing carved pumpkins on their heads. They did an incredible job - though apparently the pumpkins pressed a little too hard on the nose and was a little uncomfortable. These photos are from Sunday October 13, 2024.

ƒ/7.1, 1/250, 28.0mm, ISO 100. Sony ILCE-5000, FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS.

ƒ/8.0, 1/125, 55.0mm, ISO 100. Sony ILCE-5000, E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS.

Forest as captured by an iPod Touch

2024-10-21T16:27:00Z

Over the weekend I was listening to some music on my iPod Touch rather than streaming, and took my dog out for a walk through our nearby mini forest. I left my phone at the house, and the thought struck to take some pictures. I've never really tested my iPod and wanted to see what it could do, especially since I would like to try using it with my binoculars (my phone is too big to use with the rig to attach a phone to the lens). So, here are the results!

iPod Touch, 3.3mm ƒ/2.4, ISO 25, 1/40. Flash off.

iPod Touch, 3.3mm ƒ/2.4, ISO 32, 1/40. Flash off.

I liked the cooler colour temperature from this photo so I thought I would edit it to bring it out a bit in Lightroom Mobile, but ended up using one of the free presets I found:

Same settings as above - edited in Lightroom using the "Portra Soft Green" filter by Luke Taylor.

I like the way this photo turned out considering the limited capabilities of this camera (compared to any smartphone camera out there):

iPod Touch, 3.3mm ƒ/2.4, ISO 25, 1/242. Flash off.

Photo Dump - September-October 2024

2024-10-18T02:01:00Z

I took a lot of photos between September and October this year and until now I didn't get around to pulling them off the camera SD card and save them to my hard drive (and One Drive too, for good measure). I had to take some photos I took of my sister-in-law and her boyfriend on the weekend to fix some of them that had lighting issues, so I took the opportunity to download the rest of the photos I've been sitting on.

I picked a few that I liked and I have them for you here. Some of them are using my cheap plastic lens and others are using proper lenses - I'll note in the captions which is which. Enjoy!

Testing The Cheap Lens

2024-09-09T18:07:00Z

I think it's safe to say that the results I get from this lens are not going to be great without ideal natural settings. That's OK - I knew what I was getting into when I bought it. Here are some samples; I made some slight edits to the first one to crop it so that there's not so much sky in the photo (I did a horrible job framing it). The picture of the coloured leaves definitely turned out better than the other 2.

A collection of red and orange leaves in the middle of green foliage.

Here are two photos - the original, plus an edited version where I tried to clean it up a bit to bring the lamp post into better focus. I think to fix it I'd need to work with the RAW file in Lightroom (or, basically any tools more robust than what Flickr provides).

The original photo of a classic-looking lamp post.

An edited version of the same photo.

Black Squirrel Books

2024-08-30T18:38:00Z

I took this photo 20 days ago (along with a few other photos of the bookstore), but never really did anything with it. I might have shared it to social media, I don't know.

Black Squirrel Books, Ottawa Ontario. Shot on Samsung Galaxy S21+ rear main camera, edited in Lightroom Mobile.

It's a neat little book store, selling both used and new books alike. It's also a cafe serving an assortment of hot (and cold) beverages as well as beer, if you're into that.

LINE UP STARTS HERE

2024-08-16T14:00:00Z

An image that I call "LINE UP STARTS HERE".

Shot with Samsung Galaxy S21+ Rear Main Camera, edited in Adobe Lightroom Mobile

I made some edits to this photo in Lightroom Mobile. I darkened the image and desaturated some of the colours so that the wall isn't such an ugly colour (it really is an ugly colour), and the white text against the black sign is more of a stark contrast. Additionally I added some grain to the photo because recently I just like grain.

Boats and Landscapes

2024-08-10T15:00:00Z

Various photos from the 2024 August Long Weekend in Northern Ontario

August 2024, Whitefish River First Nation, Sony ILCE-5000 (α5000)

August 2024, Manitoulin Island, Samsung M-G996W (Galaxy S21+) Rear Main Camera

Saturday Evening at Dow's Lake

2024-07-29T16:00:00Z

On Saturday July 27th I went for a bike ride to cross the Chief William Commanda Bridge in Ottawa, ON. On the way there, I biked along Queen Elizabeth Drive and found this amazing photo opportunity at Dow's Lake. Taken with my Samsung Galaxy S21+, in default/auto mode.