Back to the love of Black and White Photography

I first got a much better understanding of Black and White photography from my mentor and friend , Bruce Zinger of Toronto. At that time, we were still shooting with film with our medium format and 135mm cameras. Bruce was producing images that jumped out at me from those prints . No one in my circle of friends had the deep understanding and knowledge of Black and white photography as Bruce did. In that same token, no one was able to explain to me about tonality, Ansel Adams method of capturing, previsualization and printing using the Zone System.

Over the years, I have grown to appreciate the art of Black and white photography even more by studying the work of many talented photographers. It is an exciting journey for us as Photographers to explore and express our photography in the medium of Black and white Digital capture and post processing.

I wish to express my gratitude and thanks to my friend Bruce Zinger for his help and knowledge .

Jimmy

Lijiang 2013

Lijiang

My home town, Lijiang is located in the Province of Yunnan in South West China. It never ceases to amaze me each time I visit my family there.  It is certainly a land of blue sky and white cloud . Mountains surround all sides of the Old Town where it has now become one of the most visited places in China. In the next little while, I hope to post a few pictures of my recent visit in late April and beginning of May, 2013.

The above image was taken from a window in the upper room of a building in Mu Fu , in the Old Town . The majestic  Jade Dragon Mountain can be seen through the window in the distance beneath the blue sky and white clouds.

A Little Bit of Island Delight

The Greater Toronto Area was under severe snow storm warning when we woke up on Friday morning last week. School buses were cancelled . Flights at the International Airport were delayed. Traffic on the streets and highway were a nightmare for drivers commuting to and fro to the workplaces. There were two snow storm systems merging in the Boston, Massachusetts area . We thought we had it bad but in reality , the Boston folks got a lot worse than we had. It took many hours of back breaking shovelling to clear the drive way . Thanks to our kind neighbour Ron and his wife Debbie , who used their snow plow to remove the 3 foot snow bank so we could move our cars out of the drive way.

I was going through my pictures in my archive and came across this image I took in Roatan , Honduras 2 years ago. I thought it would be nice to post it on my Blog to remind us that there are places a few hours away by flight where the sun still shines and the flowers and the plants still bloom . I can still dream and fantasize that some day soon I could go back to visit the Island and enjoy a bit of the island beauty and warm weather.

2013 YMCA Chinese New Year of The Snake

Our branch of the YMCA where my wife and I are members celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year of The Snake this past Saturday, February 2, 2013. The YMCA had organised the event at the basketball courts. Members as well as visitors were all welcomed. Vendors and sponsors had dressed the place with colourful Chinese lanterns and ornaments. Many of the staff members wore Chinese jackets in various colours. We were entertained by the Cadet brass bands in their blue uniforms , The Chinese Dragon Dance Company , the YMCA Kung Fu and Tai Chi students. Many dignitaries and community leaders all showed up to show their support for the Y and the organisers.

 

-->