Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

I haven't been blogging for most of this past summer. There's really no good reason why I didn't, except that I was very busy and that it has been my best summer ever (photography wise).

I spent the summer photographing for my lowest salary ever, and yet, I enjoyed my summer job more than any other job I ever had. Yes...you probably think I've gone crazy. Let me explain:

I spent the summer working for the YMCA, photographing kids at summer camps. Yep...the salary wasn't great, but the experience more than compensated for it. 

I'm retired now and around April or May, while reading the local paper, I saw an ad looking for a photographer for the summer. The assignment would be taking pictures of summer camp activities at two local YMCA summer camps. I didn't think I could get the job, as I was sure there were many younger candidates. To my surprise and satisfaction, I got the job. Sometimes, experience wins.

So I gathered my faithful Pentax K-3, my Pentax 50mm f/1.4, my 10mm x 17mm wide angle lens and a 300mm telephoto. This combination got me all the results I needed, without being too heavy to carry around.

The camps are located in the San Bernardino Mountains, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles. You can look at some of the landscape images below. It’s easy to appreciate the locations. At elevations ranging between 6,000 feet and 8,000 feet, the air is thinner but certainly less polluted than in Los Angeles.

I took hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures and videos ranging from landscape, actions, activities, and the summer camp kids.

One thing that every single one of these ordinary children had in common, despite their different ages, background, ethnicity, or religion, was bright, discernible spark in their eyes. The kind of spark that, in previous generations, has produced the most extraordinary of people – those with the intelligence or persistence or determination to change humanity. People like da Vinci and Einstein and Newton and Beethoven and Hawking and Tesla and many others that have achieved so much...they had the spark.

The spark isn’t reserved for those few and far between anymore. Kids today are smarter, more empathetic, more aware, and more progressive than any other generation before. They have access to more information at any given time than anyone else before them and they want to learn. These kids will use all the resources given to them by those extraordinary predecessors and make this world their world, making it extraordinary as well. Our newest generation is entirely extraordinary, and it shows.

They all have the spark.

 Now, for you Pentax owners, I do have e-books for most of the Pentax DSLRs. You can check this site ebooks4cameras.com and even download any e-book for checking the contents. 

The K-1 e-book is available NOW.

Click on the image above to visit our e-book store. You can also download sample e-books and get the free AF front and back focusing adjustment charts at this e-commerce.

http://www.ebooks4cameras.com/

Portfolio of my images taken with the Pentax K-3 and Portfolio of my Pentax e-books.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

After all these years, I finally put a Portfolio together of my work as Photographer and Author. The Portfolio is in PDF format and cannot be displayed on Blogger, as is. For that reason, the full Portfolio is only accessible by clicking any of the pages below. It will open the PDF link.

Feel free to email me with your comments or suggestions, good or bad. brqyvn@gmail.com

Note: Because the file is saved on Google drive, the links inside the document may not work.  

Thank you for reading.

Best Regards,

Yvon Bourque

More Big Bear Lake, California, images of the Snow Storm. In the end, at my house we got three feet of snow.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

Here's more Big Bear Lake, California, images of the Snow Storm. In the end, at my house we got three feet of snow. On the north side of the lake, they got up to four feet of snow. I'm from Montreal, Canada, and I was raised in a snowy place but I never experienced four feet of snow. That is because we are above 7,000 ft. elevation.

The good thing is that the temperature is going up to the 40's during the next two weeks, so most of it will melt. That's the big difference between Montreal and Big Bear Lake. The snow doesn't say for six Months. If you want to go to the Beach or the Desert, it's only a few hours away.

All photos taken with the Pentax K-3 and various lenses. I used Lightroom to fix the clarity and shadows. 

Now, for you Pentax owners, I do have e-books for most of the Pentax DSLRs. You can check this site ebooks4cameras.com and even download any e-book for checking the contents.

Click on the image above to visit our e-book store. You can also download sample e-books and get the free AF front and back focusing adjustment charts at this e-commerce.

http://www.ebooks4cameras.com/

BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL: All e-books $10.00 each through Sunday November 29th

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL

All e-books are $10.00 each through Sunday November 29th.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Orange Empire Railway Museum, photographed with my trusty Pentax K-3

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

Today I visited the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perry, California. I was looking for  photo ops and I found that there. Here is an excerpt from their website:

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Orange Empire Railway Museum operates a Museum Railway where visitors can ride on the historic trains and trolleys that helped shape the Southern California we know today. The Museum Railway operates every weekend and on most major holidays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and also on weekdays for charters and other special events.  The Museum grounds are open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

On a typical weekend (other than during special events), two city streetcars are running on the half-mile dual-gauge Loop Line, and another train is operating on the 1.5 mile standard gauge Mainline. The northern end of the Museum Railway is presently at 7th Street, although during certain special events trains operate all the way to the historic 1892 Perris Depot at 4th Street. Future plans call for regular operations to be extended to 4th Street as the depot area is rebuilt into the new Metrolink station and transit center...Click here to continue reading and visit their site.

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All images were taken with my trusty Pentax K-3. I used the DA* 16-50 mm, the DA* 60-250 mm and the FA 50 mm f/1.4. I love my camera and these are my favorite lenses. As you can see, I did use Photoshop Lightroom on all images...a little clarity, a little sharpening, some light vignetting and sepia on the last three photos. Post processing is the new standard.

Click on any image to view full size.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

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If you need an easy-to-understand e-book for your Pentax DSLR, please check our e-books store. 

http://www.ebooks4cameras.com/