James Shearer

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Pumpkins at the orchard, originally uploaded by jamesshearer.
Around about Thanks Giving, Vanessa, Rob and I were driving from Vancouver to the Okanagan. The route took us along BC […]

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Fresh produce at the market, originally uploaded by jamesshearer.
I spent a few days in the town of Lugano in southern Switzerland. Unfortunately for me it rained the entire […]

I am going to be adding my photographs from my travels over the past 8 years. This is a case of me going through the many DVDs and CDs I have burned with the photos on, selecting a few and uploading them. Considering that I have been to over 30 different countries / provinces / […]

I can’t say I am a big one for making new year resolutions, or maybe it is just not sticking to them. However the new year is a good time to take stock and make a plan for the new year which may involve making some resolutions.

Today I read on a great local (Vancouver) photographer’s blog about new year resolutions for photographers.

They included:

• Actually read the manual for your camera.
• Learn to use the lenses you already have rather than buying more.
• Buy a new lens.
• Take a photography class or workshop.
• Take a Photoshop class.
• Join a photo club.
• Use your tripod more often.
• Learn to spot meter and use manual exposure.
• Shoot things in both horizontal and vertical.
• Convert to digital.
• Start shooting raw instead of jpeg

These are all good bits of advice.

Last year I managed to buy a new lens, I went on a photography course, bought a new tripod (used it a few time) and started to shoot in RAW.

I already knew about spot metering, and use manual exposure and all my kit is digital.

However, last year I also set up a photoblog and for the first month I added a photo every day. But during the end of November and into December I lapsed. This year I intend to add a new photo every day so keep an eye out and any suggestions or submissions may be considered

Happy New Year, make some resolutions but remember you don’t have to wait for a new year or any other reason to make one!

After some computer problems I have neglected to put any photos on my photo blog for the past 2 weeks. All my photos are on discs so I haven’t had a chance to copy any onto my computer to upload onto my photo blog nor have I had the time to go shoot some new material.

This afternoon I had to make a quick stop in Gastown and given that it was still light out for about another hour I took my camera with me just in case! And just as well! I saw Stephen Harper the leader of Canada’s Conservative party hastily heading for a car. I was able to get a few photos but nothing great.

My photography skills are quite lacking when it comes to spontanious flash photography. If it is inside, staged then no problem. Outside and ‘argh, quick something’s happening’ snap snap - ain’t gunna be a pretty sight afterwards.

Anyway, I did manage to get a few shots of Stevey boy and I will be updating my photo blog more regularly from now on… well, I’ll try!

– added
In the process of adding a link for this post I went to the Conservative Party webpage and Stephen Harper’s image is right at the top with the Canadian flag in the background. That is not a good photo! If that is what he looks like when he smiles, he shouldn’t smile. Not a good look Steve!

I’ve decided to showcase some of my photographs with a daily photoblog. The Blog contains images in no particular order listed by the day they were put online. There is no method to the madness, completely random, completely fluid, completely mine.

Posts start from September 14, 2005 and are a collection of all kinds of subjects from all over the world.

Have a look and feel free to let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Visit the Photo Blog, click here

I have finally managed to put all my Canadian wildlife photographs online.

At the same time, I wrote up some information on each of main species of animals found in Canada and some tips about where to see them and how to safely and responsibly watch animals in the wild.

Some of my favourite animals to watch and photograph include Grizzly Bears and Raccoons. Some of the more difficult to photograph are, despite the ease in which to find them - Squirrels and Birds. The reason why is because of their fast movements and small size - this can lead to out of focused shots and also missed poses.

The photographs are online now for everyone to enjoy.

It seems strange being in Canada but not seeing much of the snow. Vancouver’s mild, Pacific coast climate keeps the city warm even during the winter months. From time to time snow does hit the streets and chaos is unleashed.

At the moment, Vancouver is enjoying spring weather with bears coming out of hibernation and spring flowers appearing. The sun shines all day high in the blue sky but across the country in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, other Canadians are experiencing a big freeze, feet deep in snow.

Here are some photos of Vancouver in the snow taken during January 2005.

Vancouver in the snow photos

Enjoy the weather, whatever it is, where ever you are!

Well, I’m back in Vancouver after travelling to San Francisco then returning on the train (28 hours up the interior of California, Oregon and Washington into British Columbia). What a great city to visit and what an amazing train journey.

The photos of San Francisco are here

So with Trail Canada expanding to a size which can be somewhat impossible to notice all the new and cool features, here are my top 10 favourite pages:

Hotels in Canada
The Trail Canada hotel guide has thousands of hotels across Canada. I think this is a great part of the website because the hotels are available at great rates, really really great rates and there is a huge selection.

Photos of Vancouver
I live in Vancouver now and these are all my own photographs (as are 99% of the Trail Canada images) but these are the most recent and some of my favourites.

Car rental in Canada
There are so many websites offering car rental in Canada. This area of the website offers loads of information on how to rent a car. Instead of having ca rental shoved in your face, you can find out about the dos and don’ts of renting a car in Canada.

Maps of Canada
A really great resource for Canada maps. There are maps of Canada, maps of provinces, city maps and also maps of the territories. Really useful to get an idea of how big Canada really is!

Photos of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the most unique places I have ever visited anywhere in the world. Anyone traveling to Canada should not miss the chance to visit this remarkable province on Canada’s Atlantic coast. These are my photos of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Canada travel guide
One of the few online guides to Canada. This constantly expanding section of the website is one of the features which makes Trail Canada different. A complete and detailed guide to travel to Canada and what to do when you get there, how to get around and how to make it the best trip ever.

Destination guides and city guides
New to Trail Canada is the guides to each major Canadian city and popular destination. The number of featured destinations is growing and so is the information on each city.
Detailed city guides currently exist for:
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Toronto, Ontario
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Calgary, Alberta
Vancouver, British Columbia

Free e-cards of Canada (greeting cards)
Another great little feature of Trail Canada is the ability to send an e-card - an electronic greeting card. Each e-card can be customised with your own personal message and will be sent with an accompanying photograph of your choice. This service, like the rest of Trail Canada, is free to use!

If you have any thoughts on Trail Canada, what your favourite areas of the website are or any comments or suggestions, please click here to contact.