007

I saw the new James Bond movie about a week ago and luckily was able to borrow this 007 Quantum fragrance bottle for a shoot.  I light-painted the bottle to get the lighting just right and did very little post production on the colour and brightness.

I love how well the white and red light mixed together on the textured bottle, and how it accentuates the logo.

Without the long exposure to paint the light, both the white and red lights appear less strong and don't blend.  However, they still give the bottle an interesting look.

Ink Creations

I have a new obsession, ink in water.  I had first seen this on the youtube channel The Slow Mo Guys, they shot acrylic ink into a tank of water and filmed the beautifully expanding cloud at 4,000 frames per second.  So I decided to recreate the effect inspired by the Rorschach psychology tests.  The ink kept reaching and molding into these beautiful shapes, I really love how amazing and complex they look.  What shapes or characters do you see?

You can view The Slow Mo Guys video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzkB574jivA

About Me

My name is KJ Rocan, I've been posting on this blog for two years now and taking photographs for 6 years.  I'm currently in the Professional Photography course at Red River College learning to fine tune and create beautiful images.  This blog is where I share some more intimate details about myself, my photographs, and what inspires me.

I would love to hear your feedback and answer any comments or questions that you have.

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram: @kjrocan

and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rocanphotography/

Glass

I have recently been shooting in a studio for the first time, glass and water have become my new favourite subject to photograph.

This shot was extremely difficult to photograph.  It took a lot of trial and error to set up the card in the back to illuminate the liquid just right.

This was the best lighting I've done so far and I'm very happy with it!  A friend of mine helped pour the water while I was shooting.

The same friend helped me with this one.  It was the perfect count down and the very first shot with food colouring.  I was so excited once I saw it!

Matlock Sunrise

Went to Matlock with my class last week, it was a 5 am start.  Despite the sleepy start I'm very happy with my photographs!

This image is so great in black and white, I love the texture of the wood and the leading lines of the pier.

Almost got my camera wet after this shot, but it was worth it.

One of my favourite images of the day, great leading lines and bright colours.

The beach was covered with lady bugs!  All the rocks and drift wood had these little beauties flashing their bright colour. 

The seagull in the middle was a perfect touch.

It's times like these that I wish I had a macro lens.  The little dew drops on the feather were so delicate and had this beautiful sparkle to them.

Black and White Horses

Although I have always liked black and white images, I seem to always forget to try the effect on many of my photographs.  Accidentally stumbling upon it's beautiful revealing qualities every once in a while.

 

 

 

This image is pretty on a computer screen but I wish I could show just how wonderful it is in print.  I've only just begun printing my images and trying different types of photo paper.  It look fantastic printed on matte paper and will be the first photograph hung on my wall.

Wheel of Flames!

I saw this idea on many Youtube channels: Take some steel wool, place it in a whisk, hook it up to a dog leash and light it on fire.  Yes this was dangerous, please don't try it unless you have a garden hose hooked up and ready to go!

(I set the grass on fire more then once!)

 

 

I really wish this one had turned out! unfortunately the camera didn't focus when I started to spin the burning wool, I will most definitely have to try this again!

 

 

Duck Duck...

Went down by the river to take some photos and found this lovely little spot where these ducks were swimming and enjoying the day.  They were very tolerant, I managed to get the camera within a foot of one of them.

 

Including a Goose!

 

Goose Lake

Seems a little silly comparing a goose to a swan, but these images reminded me of the ballet.  I would go almost every year to see either swan lake or the nutcracker and always marveled at the beautiful and inspirational dancers.

 

 

 

Pretty eyes

My favourite eye image, I found the overlay on a photo editing site, would love to make my own

Instagram

I recently joined the instagram scene, @kjrocan heres a little peek at what I've been posting there:

I've been trying out a little bit of street photography, I looked it up and for your photo to be considered 'street photography' it cannot be a set up, and shouldn't for the most part be edited.

Some lights through a rain covered window

My personal favourite! I really wish I had, had my big camera with me at the time, the whole field was covered in frost when the sun came up it made it so bright and beautiful!

Sun Sets

Since moving to the country I have seen so many beautiful sun sets and sun rises, still takes my breath away every time I see the sun paint the sky in bright pinks oranges and blues.

 

(my favourite!)

Paris

One day I hope to go to Paris and capture the wonderful architecture and beauty of the city.  For now my mini Eiffel Tower will have to do!

Fireworks

This was one of the first times I had ever taken pictures of fireworks, when I was first taking them I was a bit disappointed since they didn't look like 'professional' photos.  Looking back on them now, I love the artistic flow of the fireworks and the pretty sprinkling of the sparks.

Unfortunately they were all taken with my simple point and shoot, the print quality isn't fantastic.

Details

Details are something I always try to look for in a photo, the tiny things that make an image beautiful or add an extra spark to it.

I love the snow in the scarf, the colouring of each strand of hair and the pattern in the jacket.

This is a horses mane, she had just been laying down and I really wanted to capture the rough texture that looks weathered but at the same time beautiful.

This is probably one of my top 10 favourite pictures I've ever taken, I love the scratches, frosted snow, and rusty red paint!  It's been my lock screen on my phone for the longest time.

Joey the Horse

I love to be around horses, they love attention, carrots and cameras!

 

 

This is Joey, I was trying to take pictures of Moon but this big boy just had to be a part of it!  In the middle of some shots, he came and placed his head on my shoulder and smiled away for the camera!  He kept trying to nuzzle, smell and even lick the camera.  No edits.

Joey and Chili enjoying the warm sun. I love this picture because I managed to capture some of the snow falling down that day.  I added more contrast and a little bit of burn and dodge on Photoshop.

Moon, my horse also enjoying the sun, unfortunately I didn't get to many good shots of him that day.  Will try again next time I see him.  No edits.

Pups

My Pups are fantastic models! They're always willing to sit and wait patiently for me to take my shot, provided I have the faithful red Frisbee to keep their attention :D

 

 

 

This picture is actually two shots pasted together, I was having a difficult time getting both of the dogs in focus, so instead I took two pictures of each in focus then over laid them in Photoshop using a layer mask.  Other then the overlay there is no editing to the rest of the image.
 

 

 

Sadie often tends to make the best faces, this pictures has no edits.

 

I tried to get lots of action shoots, unfortunately since I was using my telephoto lens it was a lot more difficult to be able to take them since it can't take very good wide angle shots.  So instead I had the Frisbee thrown far away so that I could get a shot of the dogs running back with the Frisbee.  This was the best one, also ne edits. 

Returned

Hey all,

Sorry I have not posted anything new, my life underwent some changes which included no internet access for quite sometime.  However I am back now and ready with some new photographs ready to be shared :)

I will be posting once every week on Wednesdays, of course today is an exception ;)

I can't wait to hear from you all and get your feedback!

-KJ