Sellick Event Photography

The Difference That Lighting Conditions Can Make . Same location, Same Eastern Screech Owl One sunny the other overcast. The overcast has the best camouflage while the sunny shows off the beautiful reddish brown color of the Owl. You don't always have to wait for perfect lighting conditions they almost never happen. I have added a couple of Snowy Owl captures (not the best as they are heavily cropped from a great distance but thought I would share anyway for the Owl Lovers out there) Rick

My New Best Friend Yesterday I went to one of my fav places to photograph birds Hilda rd. Ottawa west end. As I was driving in i noticed a smallish bird running towards my car. It was odd so I stopped my car reached into the back seat and pulled out my camera expecting to try to catch the bird zooming off into the trees.... Nope as i rounded the car there he/she was and the bird came right up to me and for about 10 minutes would not leave my side. I fed it from some birdseed I keep in my trunk but the bird Ruffed Grouse (I'll call it Ruffi) just kept following me and pecked a bit at my boots.Some other birders joined me and as they had peanuts my new best friend shuffled off. Here are just a few of the images from the session that I won't soon forget. Rick

Some recent Images from Hilda birding location

No additional words required

I usually post my nature images but this time something completely different. Here are 2 composite images showing the evolution of my editing process. Image one of each composite is the original mostly straight out of the camera some would call it wysiwyg and for some photographers this is the apex of seeing and capturing an image. There is nothing wrong with this as we all see differently.... Another school of thought means making the image as you see it in your mind using editing skills and available tools. My philosophy goes to the latter but both schools are valid and photographers often line-up in one camp or the other. I am a tools guy and I like to use my tools to give new life to images I might otherwise discard. This approach is also beneficial in my Event photography business. Weddings for example are filled with stock (traditional poses) which are often required. This does not mean to say that creativity is lost. You can still give your client traditional images but by using editing skills and available SW tools you can give the client something more than just a standard image. A professional Photographer takes the time after the images are created in the camera to make them his own and with knowledge gained by interacting with the Client attempts to give the wedding or event couple a truly unique set of image from their special day. The 2 composite images of a simple wooden barn show changes that I have made. The beauty of digital means its easy to convert colour to B&W or somewhere in between. The first image of each composite is the original and the other 3 are variations. The fun part is that the viewer gets to choose which one speaks to them. I have my favorites but it's for you to decide which if any you like. Rick Sellick Sellick Event Photography Cell 613-720-6581 www.SellickEventPhotography.com [email protected] Your Go-To Photographer 4 All Life's Important Events

I want to wish everyone who follows my Selllick Event Photography Page a Very Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year. Yesterday I closed out 2020 with a productive Nature Shoot spanning several Nature Locations Around Ottawa Here are the results. The images include a Barred Owl taken at Fletcher Wildlife Garden and a Red Bellied Woodpecker captured at Hilda Rd birding location. Rick Sellick

One of the many magical things about Mud Lake is the variety of wildlife sightings and that u always see something different each and every time you go there. This composite image was developed over several years. Its best viewed on a big screen to take advantage of the txt on the poster. Hope you enjoy. Rick

A composite image from Saturdays Fireworks display over Gatineau. Images were taken from my balcony across the Ottawa river

Post 20 From Isolation Most people have a bucket list of things they want to accomplish, places they want to travel. For a Photographer there can be so many it can become overwhelming. In this post i am documenting an unfortunate occurrence that led me to photograph a Photographers dream, Antelope Canyon in Arizona. The unfortunate circumstance was to be a trip of a lifetime visiting many of the US National Parks in Arizona/ Utah /Nevada. The trip was scheduled for Oct 2013, ...booked and paid for and shortly before departure the US Govt was shutdown due to a budgetary fight between Democrats and Republicans. This meant many of the parks we were to visit including the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon were closed to the public. As the tour company scrambled at the last minute to hold the trip together they added different locations including Antelope and Horseshoe Canyons and a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon. Antelope Canyon is on Navaho Lands and luckily not part of the Nat parks. After a jaw rattling trip in the back of a pickup truck over washboard roads in very cold temps we arrived at an opening in the rocks and then small groups were ushered through with a knowledgable Navaho guide, If the park system was not shut down we would not have made the detour to Antelope Canyon. Here are just some of the images from this amazing natural location. If you want to see images from the whole trip visit this gallery on my personal site. https://www.smugmug.com//Grand-CanyonAntelope-CanyonVegasS Rick #AntelopeCanyon,#SellickEventPhotography, #GrandCanyon, #LasVegas See more

Post 19 From Isolation I miss sports in general and Hockey in particular. Even with a 2nd last place finish for the Senators the fans can look forward to a productive if not spectacular franchise changing draft which happens today at 8pm. We will have to wait till sometime in Oct-Nov for the actual Draft and as the Sens have no play in whatever post season the NHL has in mind we will take solace that no matter how the draft goes we will be better going forward. Here are images of past Senators from various Sens Skills that I have attended. Once again these are great opportunities where you are allowed your DSLR or point and shoot camera into the arena to Photograph your fav players and often times you can catch them without helmets on. . Rick #OttawaSenators,#SensSkills,#SellickEventPhotography

Post 18 From Isolation Its been a while since I have posted. I have been under the weather for a month or so and hope to post more frequently going forward. I think that for the most part even if you are not as bird crazy as i am that most people like to see images of Owls. My recent cataloguing efforts make it a lot easier to bring like subject matters together to make these posts from isolation a lot easier to construct.. The owls come from both wild locations and zoo’s. A... few here are kodachrome slide conversions but most images are from DSLRs and or point and shoot cameras. Back in 2005 there was what is called an Irruption of Great Grey owls in Kanata around where the Marshes Golf Club and the Connaught Rifle Range are located. I have reprocessed some of the early digital with newer tools to help sharpen and remove digital noise often associated with early digital or small sensor images. Rick #Owls,#SellickEventPhotography See more

Post 17 From Isolation This Post highlights a bunch of things important to me. A Grand Event, one that once you experience it you will want to see it again and again. An amazingly rich photographic environment that anywhere you point your camera there are images to be had. I am talking about Tall Ships in Halifax. These images are a combination early digital 2004 and Kodachrome Slides from 2000. Usually when the Tall ships are travelling around the world a small # may sail... up the St Lawrence for viewing but the real way is to see a Parade of Sail in Halifax Harbor. With a little luck we may see the Tall Ships again in 2022 or beyond and I will keep you posted if I hear of any gatherings in the future. Lastly I have created a new gallery of Tall Ships images should you wish to see more than what is posted here. The slide conversions are not the best quality but have added them as well. Here is the link to the full gallery https://rick-sellick.smugmug.com/Vehicles/Tall-Ships-Halifax Rick #TallShips, #Halifax-tourism,#SellickEventPhotography

Post 16 From Isolation Happy 33rd Anniversary to my Darling wife Carol. I could not think of a better person to spend isolation days with. Rick #SellickEventPhotography

Post 15 from Isolation When we were children we might have collected hockey cards, baseball cards, pokeman cards, Types of coins or stamps, whatever was your interest. As a photographer and specifically one who loves photographing birds an equivalent would be the search for Warblers. There is a specific time of year when they migrate through Ottawa. late April through May. in eastern Ontario there can be found around 30 of 54 Warbler species in North America. There are common... species of warblers and then there very uncommon (at risk) species which makes the hunt for rare Warblers a lot of fun. The short time that they are in Ottawa also can add to the frenzy of tracking Warblers. Mud lake is an awesome location to find warblers although by no means the only area that they can be found. Locating a new species for me is always a thrill. Its not hard to spot Warbler Hunters (there are many) They either have Binoculars or very long lenses with or without tripods. The good news is that the warbler hunters are a fairly nice group of people that if you ask, will tell you which species they are seeing hearing. Warblers are usually very tiny and extremely fast flying birds. You need to be on your game to get a decent image as they often flit from branch to branch hiding among the leaves. Experience birders (i am not considered one) can identify different species by their calls which is sometimes all you see. I use a Nikon D500 DX 20 mpxl and fast, up to 10 frames / second with a Tamron 150-600 G2 lens that reaches to 900mm focal length on the D500. Point and shoot cameras also can work well and often have long reach lenses. Patience is also a prerequisite as well as strong neck muscles as you spend a lot of time peering up at the trees hoping to catch a glimpse. Technique is important along with a fast focusing system and sharp lens. My birding gear is ideally suited to hunting Warblers and I use SW Topaz SharpenAI to help get the sharpest images of fast flying birds. I am still learning about Warblers and use bird identification software (Merlin smartphone app and EBird both from Cornel apps) to figure out one species from the other. Sorry for the long post. Most of the images in this post are from this year although a few come from previous years at mud lake. Lastly, Perhaps next year (post Covid) I will do soom tours of Mud Lake for anyone who may be unfamiliar with this jewel of nature. Let me know if you would k\like to go on a list for mud lake tours. Rick. #SellickEventPhotography, #Mudlake, #Warblers, #Birding See more

Some from the last few weeks

A Bouquet of Spring Flowers Taken at Various Locations Around Ottawa. Rick #SellickEventPhotography

Post 14 From Isolation (Victoria Day) There is not a lot of story behind these two images. A friend provided me some archival photos of the old Parliament Hill before the fire. I believe they were cleaning out their office before retirement.Sadly I could not keep the originals. I am not sure of the dates but somewhere in the late 1800’s to before the fire in 1916. The originals were not in good shape stained/cracked so I did a bit of digital triage on the image. I know some of my good friends will ask how old was I when I took the originals and to them I say No Comment and raspberries. Rick #ParlimentHill, #OttawaTourism,#SellickEventPhotography

Here is a collection of nature images taken in the past week or two. Some of them are from a new location The Beaver Pond (Kanata) That I expect to add to my regular rotation. For those keeping track My Fav close to home spots Are 1) Mud Lake, 2) Hilda rd (Great for practising Bird In Flight or (BIF) Images, 3) Andy Haydon park Lots of Ducks and wet land birds, and 4) The Beaver Pond in Kanata A fantastic ecosystem with a wide range of Warblers, Water birds, Flowers walking ...paths. NOTE: Let me know Your Favorite Spots for Wildlife viewing Photographing. I love finding new locations. As to the images in this post. A composite sequence of images of a great blue heron taking off at Mud Lake, Male and female Red wing blackbirds. Love the markings on the female, A pair of cormorants basking in the sun at the beaver pond, Note the blue color in the open mouth glinting in the sun, A new Warbler for me A Black Throated Green Warbler taken at Mud Lake, Goslings, Mud lakes most famous Screech owls and Owlets and lastly a Spotted Sandpiper taken at the beaver Pond. Enjoy. Rick #Mudlake, #SellickEventPhotography, #ThebeaverPond,#warblers See more

You may have seen some strange ads on my business facebook page.It was not me so assume I was hacked. Please check to make sure you are not seeing ads on your page and if yes I recommend u change your password . Rick

Post Lucky 13 From Isolation Those who know me know that I love to play golf. Every year in April the Masters signals to me that spring and golf season is almost here and after a hard winter I cant wait to get out on the links. I have always been an early morning golfer and I like to play fast no nonsense golf. In the early years I used to bring my clubs when we traveled. I have had the pleasure of playing Golf all over Hawaii (amazing vistas), I have played Several Famous PG...A courses Hilton Head Harbour Town, (Hawaii) Mana Kea, The Plantation Course at Kapalua Maui and the Ocean Club of James Bond Casino Royal fame. I watched in horror with my Brother Doug as my brother Rob fluked a "Hole in One" while we, as yet, have none. i have a ton of golf images and memories. My Favorite image is the one here of us teeing off into a dense fog at Emerald Links. Some of these images are really old slides witness me on the tee at mana Lani. Golf season has been delayed as have all other things covid related. This weekend may signal the start of the 2020 season and i expect to be teeing it up in our weekly Senior Mens League at Manderly on the Green. Play well all. Rick #Ottawagolf, #golfhawaii, #SellickEventPhotography See more

Some Nature images taken Last week at Multiple locations.

Some recent captures from various locations close to home. Most are easily recognizable but feel free to ask if they are new for you. Rick

Post 12 from Isolation The CF Snowbirds crossing Canada as a morale boost for all Canadians Sacrificing to fight the pandemic. In the true spirit of Stay at Home this image is taken from my Balcony (16 Floors up) Along the Ottawa River as the Famed Aerial Ambassadors left Ottawa for Perth Ont and beyond.. #CFSnowbirds,#ottawa, #SellickEventPhotography

Post 11 From Isolation. A Little levity during Stressful times. The Osprey Image was just great timing. I am just super glad I was not beneath him when he let go (white Stream) . . I usually shoot wildlife in bursts of 6-15 images then edit the best 1 or two discarding the duplicates. Having a DSLR with a good buffer, and solid auto focus helps. The Screech Owl was yawning after a night of hunting and I could not resist adding a little photoshop. It just seemed to be apropos. Ill post the one without the mask another time. Rick Rick Sellick

Post 10 From Isolation For my 10th post I thought I would do something a bit special. the Royals seem to have had another anus horibilis as the queen might say. But back on Canada Day 2011 the sun was brilliant but was over-matched by the radiant Duchess of Cambridge. I waited well over 2 on a hot sidewalk hoping a) I was on the right side of the road b) That the sun would be in the right spot and not full on into the lens. Normally I would not wait this much time for anyt...hing but in this case as time went on it became a party type atmosphere with more and more people lining the roadway. As I had been there early I had none in front of me but allowed some small children to get a better vantage point. The end result was a sequence of images that I rarely share with anyone until today.. Rick #Will&Kate, #Royals, #CanadaDay, #SellickEventPhotography, #OttawaTourism See more

Post 9 From Isolation How many remember the real Ottawa Ex at Lansdowne not the current watered down iteration. The food the rides the games the smells, the sounds. You either loved it or avoided it like the plague. The glebites complaining about noise and parking while some tried to make $ by parking on lawns. Here is a composite image for The Last Ex held at Lansdowne in 2010. I still cant resist fair food. rick #OttawaExhibition, #OttawaTourism, #SellickEventPhotography

Post 8 From Isolation This post covers several things I like. 1) Creativity 2) A sense of community 3) Humor/whimsy I have lived in the same west end neighborhood for around 33 years (Lincoln Heights/Fields) We moved to the west end when we bought our first house together, stayed in that house for approx 30 years and now live in a condo only a few short blocks away. Over the years I have taken Photographs of the same changing scene that takes place on the roof of Carling Ch...iropractic and Sports Injury Clinic in a house that sits right on Carling ave and the Lincoln fields Shopping centre (soon to be demolished). On the Roof is Mr Bones or Perhaps Ms Bones depending on the outfit.After watching Bones be dressed up x # of times each year I now have a large collection of Bones Images. For the last 10 or so years i have been making custom Calendars to be used by Carling chiropractic Office staff and Clients. Here are just a few from my collection of Bones. Rick #MrBones, #Ottawa See more

Some more captures from Mud Lake on a beautiful Day. Still trying to figure out Hash Tags lol Rick #MudLake

Post 7 From Isolation In a week or two the Tulips will be up and bloomimg but I expect people will be discouraged from heading to Dows lake to view / Tiptow through the Tulips.The tulips/flowers popping up is one of the things not being controlled by the pandemic which is a nice thing to say. Here are some images from past Tulip Festivals to tide you over to till next spring. Rick Sellick Event Photography, 613-720-6581 #OttawaFestivals, #CanadianTullipFestival, #OttawaTourism

Post 6 From Isolation The news this week included the cancellation of BluesFest One of the largest Ongoing Music Festivals in North America. For 3 years I attended and took images of the bands/people. Shooting concerts is just one of many subjects that interest me. Others include Nature,Street Photography, Portraits, Any and all Events both when I am paid and when I am not, Sports Pro & Am, Travel, Pets, etc etc etc. I stopped attending Buesfest because of an idiotic decisio...n to ban DSLR cameras when Iphones have as much processing pwr,pixels and are prob better at video. i jammed a lot of images and not all will be recognizable to everyone so From Left to Right and top to bottom The B52’s, Bootsy Colllins, ICE-T, Big JeeZus Truck John Hiatt, Levon Helm, Lynard Skinard Kevin Bacon, Steve Earle, Joan Jett, Cheap Trick (During This concert a Micro Burst/hurricane blew the Stage Down Injuring several crew. Huey Lewis, Drake, Courtney Love, Leon Russell, Peter Frampton Let me know if u would like a link to other Concert images. #OttawaBluesfest Rick See more

A Brief hiatus from the posts from Isolation (they will be back). Today the weather was beautiful so I spent a few hours roaming around Mud Lake. I have put together a composite image from my day. This is a great time the birds are back and fairly easy to see / photograph. Rick

This is my daughter Beki. She rewrote some lyrics to the song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" to reflect on the pandemic. Music composed by George Harrison, all right reserved by him.

Post 5 From Isolation I love movies and especially love going to a theatre to see them on the big screen, even with the ridiculous prices for Popcorn, candy and drinks. Carol and I share a love of horror films among other genres. Here again is an old slide of the Bates Motel and House House from a movie lot Set that most will recognize. Always be careful in the Shower..... #Bates_Motel Rick

Post 4 From Isolation One of my many go to events every year would have been this weekend (Cancelled) . Its the annual Orchid Show that is presented at the RA centre. They usually have a special time period on the Sunday where Photographers/Tripods are welcome. I almost never use a tripod in my work (too bulky , easy for someone to trip over) as I still have steady enough hands to shoot without one. I love this event due to the magnificent colours and variety of plants. I usually take a ton of images and then only edit a select few. Here is a composite of Orchids from a few years back. I like bringing multiple images together (especially in my Sellick Event Photography work) as it is an easy way to tell a story in pictures or highlight things like wedding details, decorations, food etc Rick

Post 3 From Isolation. Remember When Space Travel was New/Amazing? Here is another old Kodachrome slide of a visit by the Space Shuttle Enterprise to Ottawa Airport in June 1983, I can remember long lines of cars snaking around the airport to view the Shuttle loaded on top of a custom 747. The Enterprise never flew into space (it had no engines or Heat shield and was used for Glide testing) but it was still impressive to see. I believe plans are to return to the Moon some time in the 2022-2024 time frame and then after that to MARS. Perhaps we can get the wonder back into space. Rick

Post 2 From Isolation This is one from the Remember When theme . Appologies on image quality they are very old slides converted to digital. If you not as old as me You may not even know this existed. I think people paid 5$ for a numbered rubber duck and then a huge dumpster dumped Thousands of the ducks into the canal and they raced on a wave of water from one of the locks. I cant remember the 1st place prize $ and I think it may have been a 1 time event but it was fun rooting for your duck as it bobbed down the canal. Lastly if u still have slides it probably best to get the important ones digitized before they fade and or get lost. Rick

Post 1 From Isolation Why these Images? These are 2 images from the very first Wedding I shot As Sellick Event Photography in 2011. My Business was litterally only a few days old and the Bride and Groom were getting Married at Ottawa City Hall on an emergency basis. I was scared to death but also excited to be doing something I loved after 30 Years as a PS Employee. I have never regretted my decision to start a 2nd career and continue to Love what I do. Rick

Its been a while since I have posted anything and for that I apologize. The reasons are many and I wont bore anyone with the details . The question for me as a Professional Photographer is what to do when business evaporates and no end in sight as to when we will all get back to the new normalcy. . In my case I have always had a plan to cull, reorganize and re-catalog a vast number of digital images. I have started, but it may take the entire length of the social distancing ...exercise to make a proper dent and get to a point where i can easily call upon images at a moments notice. I plan to, going forward, post a lot of random images that for the most part either mean something to me, Highlights a technique, Is an image with a story to share or ones that follow a theme of Remember When I will hope to perhaps cause you to Laugh, Think or, Learn Something, Inspire you to take better images make you smile, or simply to help you remember good times in the past that WILL come again.. I have always loved connecting with people, been sociable , tried to help when I can. This is me trying to continue this while staying mostly at home. To friends/family you may see yourselves in some of the images. To my clients who follow my page you may see the odd event photo that has meaning to me and I hope that you will find the posts to your liking.. Stay safe 1st post coming up soon and lots more to come. Rick Sellick Sellick Event Photography

A Safe / Joyous Christmas and a Happy/Prosperous 2020 from Sellick Event Photography. p.s. Sweets courtesy of Sugar Tarts Bakery