an BWC Announces $30M in Safety Grants By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation announced it is offering up to $30 million in funding for safety grants to support research and development of equipment and technology to protect… Full Article
an Mediation Process for Comp Claims Not Mandatory By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 07 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that the mediation scheme established by statute and regulation is discretionary, not mandatory. Case: Duke v. GE Haier, No. 2024-CA-0098-WC, and Long v. Universal Linen,… Full Article
an Electrician Doesn't Establish Entitlement to PTD Benefits for Back Injury By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the denial of total disability benefits to an injured electrician. Case: Blaker v. The Kroger Co., No. 2024-CA-0553-WC, 07/26/2024, unpublished. Facts: Robert Blaker Jr. worked for… Full Article
an KEMI Announces $19.1 Million Dividend By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Tue, 13 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0700 Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance on Monday announced a $19.1 million dividend. The workers’ compensation carrier said more than 12,000 policyholders will receive a 20% dividend when checks are distributed in August. “Our… Full Article
an Crane Service Has Single Citation Reinstated, Another Dismissed By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a citation against a crane service provider but reinstated another. Case: Secretary of the Education & Labor Cabinet v. Sterett Crane and… Full Article
an Court Remands Worker's PTD Claim for Fourth Time By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 27 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Kentucky Court of Appeals remanded a worker’s claim for permanent total disability benefits to an administrative law judge for the fourth time because of deficiencies in the causation analysis. Case:… Full Article
an Insurance Department Announces 8.4% Loss Cost Reduction By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Kentucky Department of Insurance approved an 8.4% average loss cost reduction for policies incepting in 2025. The department said this is the 19th consecutive rate decrease. Kentucky Insurance Commissioner Sharon… Full Article
an Employer Should Have Been Granted Continuance After Doctor's Unexpected Change in Opinion By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 A Florida appellate court ruled that an employer should have been granted a continuance after its medical expert expressed an unforeseen change in opinion shortly before the scheduled hearing on… Full Article
an ICA Sets Annual Claims Seminar for August By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Tue, 16 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Industrial Commission of Arizona is holding its 2024 Claims Seminar Aug. 15-16 in Scottsdale. The seminar will cover topics including an overview of state work comp statutes, the role of… Full Article
an ICA Names New Safety and Health Program Manager By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 20 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Industrial Commission of Arizona announced that Joanna Martelles was chosen to serve in the newly created position of Safety and Health Program manager. The new position will be tasked with… Full Article
an Industrial Commission Announces New Training Opportunities By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Arizona Industrial Commission announced that it's Medical Resource Office has added training opportunities for providers, payers and third-party administrators. The training course for providers is comprised of four, 30-minute webinars… Full Article
an Court Holds Guaranty Association Liable for Worker's Mesothelioma Benefits By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Wed, 22 May 2024 00:00:00 -0700 A Louisiana appellate court ruled that the state insurance guaranty association was liable for covering the obligations of two insolvent insurance carriers for a worker’s mesothelioma. Case: Ehlers v. Ports America… Full Article
an Federal Court Finds Worker Doesn't Qualify as Jones Act Seaman By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker did not qualify as a Jones Act seaman. Case: Edwards v. InterMoor Inc., No. 23-30727, 08/29/2024, unpublished. Facts: Lawrence… Full Article
an Court Overturns Approval for Change in Doctors, Denies Forfeiture Claim By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 13 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700 A Louisiana appellate court overturned a judge’s decision approving a worker’s change of physician but upheld the denial of the employer’s request for a forfeiture of benefits. Case: Southern v. Servpro… Full Article
an High Court: No Compensation for Jouster Injured at Renaissance Festival By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Louisiana Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a decision finding that a man injured while jousting was excluded from the state's workers' compensation system. On Tuesday, a 6-1… Full Article
an Supreme Court Says Injured Worker Using False Identity Can't Pursue 3rd Party Tort Claim By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Tue, 29 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that an injured worker lost his ability to pursue a civil suit he had filed under a false name and an illegally obtained identity. Rafael Antonio… Full Article
an OSHA Fines Waste Management Company $367,410 By ww3.workcompcentral.com Published On :: Tue, 23 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0700 The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined a Wisconsin waste management company $367,410 for violations identified during the investigation of a workplace injury. OSHA said a worker at John’s Disposal Services,… Full Article
an Social, environmental factors may raise risk of developing heart disease and stroke By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Wed, 27 Mar 2024 09:00:00 GMT Research Highlights: People living in neighborhoods with more environmental adversities, including pollution, toxic sites, high traffic and few parks, had higher rates of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease risk factors. This association ... Full Article
an Cardiovascular care centered on the patient is key and helps improve equity and outcomes By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:00:00 GMT Statement Highlights: Patient-centered care establishes a respectful partnership among the health care team, the patient and caregivers to make shared decisions about management tailored to the patients’ beliefs, preferences and... Full Article
an Brief anger may impair blood vessel function By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Wed, 01 May 2024 09:00:00 GMT Research Highlights: When adults became angry after remembering past experiences, the function of cells lining the blood vessels was negatively impaired, which may restrict blood flow. Previous research has found that this may increase the risk of... Full Article
an Personalized screening early in pregnancy may improve preeclampsia detection By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Thu, 02 May 2024 19:18:36 GMT Full Article
an El diagnóstico y tratamiento tempranos de la enfermedad arterial periférica son esenciales para mejorar los resultados y reducir el riesgo de amputación By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Tue, 14 May 2024 18:00:00 GMT Aspectos destacados de la guía: La nueva guía conjunta de la American Heart Association (la Asociación Americana del Corazón) y el American College of Cardiology ofrece recomendaciones para guiar a los médicos en el tratamiento de pacientes con... Full Article
an Palliative care beneficial to manage symptoms, improve quality of life for people with CVD By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Mon, 01 Jul 2024 09:00:00 GMT Statement Highlights: Palliative medication management focuses on providing relief from symptoms and enhancing quality of life for people with cardiovascular disease throughout the various stages of the disease. Decisions about initiating, adjusting... Full Article
an La atención coordinada en niños con síndrome de Down y cardiopatías congénitas reviste gran importancia By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:00:00 GMT Prohibida su divulgación hasta las4:00 a. m., hora del centro / 5:00 a. m., hora del este, del jueves, 12 de septiembre de 2024 DALLAS, 12 de septiembre de 2024 - Según una nueva declaración científica de la American Heart Association (la Asociación... Full Article
an La nueva guía explica en detalle cómo manejar el riesgo de enfermedades cardiovasculares (ECV) antes, durante y después de una cirugía no cardíaca By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Tue, 24 Sep 2024 18:00:00 GMT Aspectos destacados de la guía: La guía conjunta de la American Heart Association (la Asociación Americana del Corazón) y el American College of Cardiology, que aborda el tratamiento y la evaluación cardiovascular de los pacientes antes, durante y... Full Article
an Knowing you have a brain aneurysm may raise anxiety risk, other mental health conditions By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Mon, 26 Aug 2024 09:00:00 GMT Research Highlights: People diagnosed with unruptured cerebral aneurysms (weakened areas in brain blood vessels) who are being monitored without treatment have a higher risk of developing mental illness compared to those who have not been diagnosed... Full Article
an Remote monitoring and pharmacist helped improve hard-to-control blood pressure By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:00:00 GMT Research Highlights: A new study finds that up to 74% of participants with resistant or difficult-to-control high blood pressure, including those with chronic kidney disease, were able to improve control of their blood pressure within 12 months after ... Full Article
an Analysis found weight-loss surgery may help people with obesity manage high blood pressure By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:00:00 GMT Research Highlights: In an analysis of 18 randomized clinical trials, people with obesity and high blood pressure who underwent bariatric (weight-loss) surgery were almost three times more likely to achieve blood pressure remission, defined as... Full Article
an High blood pressure a concern for adolescents and young adults in U.S. By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:00:00 GMT Research Highlights: In the first study, nearly 23% of young adults (ages 18-39 years) included in the NHANES 2017-2020 datasets had high blood pressure (130/80 mm Hg or greater). In addition, they were more likely to self-report being uninsured, food ... Full Article
an Better cardiovascular health in early pregnancy may offset high genetic risk By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Sat, 07 Sep 2024 19:15:00 GMT Research Highlights: Favorable cardiovascular health in early pregnancy, as measured by the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) cardiovascular health score, was linked to lower risk of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, ... Full Article
an New Spanish language stroke prevention website aims to remove barriers to equitable health By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Mon, 09 Sep 2024 13:00:00 GMT DALLAS, September 9, 2024 — While stroke is the fifth-leading overall cause of death in the United States, it disproportionately impacts Hispanic people. It is the third leading cause of death among Hispanic women and the fourth leading cause of death ... Full Article
an Happy with your life? Research links contentment with fewer heart attacks and strokes By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Wed, 18 Sep 2024 09:00:00 GMT Research Highlights: People who are satisfied with their lives or feel contentment or well-being may be less likely to develop heart disease and stroke than their unsatisfied counterparts. The analysis of health records for more than 120,000 adults... Full Article
an Initial prescriptions of sedatives among older stroke survivors may include too many pills By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Thu, 17 Oct 2024 09:00:00 GMT Research Highlights: Within 90 days after having an ischemic (clot-caused) stroke, about 5% of stroke survivors ages 65 and older were prescribed benzodiazepines (depressants that relieve anxiety, muscle spasms, produce sedation and reduce seizures)... Full Article
an Protected: Nature-based solutions and adaptation to flood & drought By nicolasrapp.com Published On :: Tue, 29 Aug 2023 22:15:00 +0000 There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. The post Protected: Nature-based solutions and adaptation to flood & drought appeared first on Nicolas Rapp Infographic Design Studio - Freelance Designer. Full Article Uncategorized
an Protected: Andrew Nusca By nicolasrapp.com Published On :: Wed, 21 Aug 2024 18:01:51 +0000 There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. The post Protected: Andrew Nusca appeared first on Nicolas Rapp Infographic Design Studio - Freelance Designer. Full Article Uncategorized
an Nomine hoy a un héroe del derrame cerebral: Ya está abierto el plazo de presentación de candidaturas para los Stroke Hero Awards 2025 By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:30:00 GMT DALLAS, 1 de octubre de 2024 - Los derrames cerebrales pueden producirse a cualquier edad, lo que obliga a los supervivientes a superar cambios físicos, emocionales y cognitivos. Ya está abierto el plazo de presentación de candidaturas para los ... Full Article
an Free estate planning webinar provides tools for a secure financial future By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Tue, 08 Oct 2024 16:55:00 GMT Full Article
an Nearly $10M investment will expand and enhance stroke care in Minnesota, South Dakota By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Thu, 10 Oct 2024 12:00:00 GMT DALLAS, October 10, 2024 — Across the United States, more than 90% of stroke patients have some form of disability as a result and more than 11% experience a second stroke within a year. This risk weighs particularly heavily on people living in rural... Full Article
an Hot news flash: Menopause can impact a woman’s heart health By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Wed, 16 Oct 2024 13:00:00 GMT DALLAS, Oct. 16, 2024 — The risk of heart disease increases with age for most people, however, for women that may be even more true. The menopause transition, those years leading up to and through menopause, is a time of increasing heart disease risk,... Full Article
an Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine Dr. Robert Harrington to receive the 2024 Chairman’s Award By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Wed, 06 Nov 2024 13:00:00 GMT Embargoed until 7 a.m. CT/8 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 DALLAS, Nov. 6, 2024 — Robert A. Harrington, M.D., FAHA, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, will receive the 2024 Chairman’s Award at the... Full Article
an Dr. Lauren Sansing to receive the 2024 Basic Research Prize By newsroom.heart.org Published On :: Wed, 06 Nov 2024 13:00:00 GMT Embargoed until 7 a.m. CT/8 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 DALLAS, Nov. 6, 2024 — Lauren H. Sansing, M.D., M.S., FAHA, professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, will receive the Basic Research Prize from the ... Full Article
an A Very Social Christmas and A Happy Connected New Year By niels-henriksen.blogspot.com Published On :: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:44:00 +0000 I want to wish everyone, whether you celebrate Christmas or other seasonal festivities, a very happy holiday season and a great new year with many new opportunities for creative growth.From the title you may guess that I am talking about social media, which I am, but more about how I try to fit within that world. Taken in 1955 in Denmark at 4 years old and trying to be a grown-up I believe that, like many people, I seem to have those social connections that you need to link with other people. This works fine if I need to talk or connect with someone but I’m not sure how my articles about photography and other art works all fit within the new worlds of social media. How do I remain fresh and new with all these social outlets competing for the same information. I have My Camera World Blog this and there is a corresponding Facebook page FaceBook My Camera World There is also my art blog ' Niels Henriksen Artworks ' where I post articles about my artwork, whether a painting, fine art photography or other mediums. This is again is matched on Facebook with Facebook - Niels Henriksen Artworks Who says all self portraits have to be ugly. Well maybe they are. There is also just plain old me on Facebook at Niels Henriksen. This Facebook page was initially just to connect with people I talk to regularly but I find I do post mostly about my photography and paintings.I have also loaded some of my photographs on Niels Henriksen on Flickr Please take the time to connect and I'll connect back so I can see some of your photographs. My first studio work where I placed my model battle ships and tried to created a war scene. DOF and focus what's that. Then there’s my Linkedin page which is only visible if you are on linkedin and we have connected. Since we are heading back to San Miguel de Allende for 3 months in Jan I have contacted people about conducting walkabouts with some basic photography lessons included. More than 20 people have shown an interest. To help co-ordinate these walk-abouts and share photos I created a Facebook page ' San Miguel de Allende Photography Club '. Even at 12 years of age I had penchant for the abstract. Honestly this was not an accidental shot, at least that's what I say now. And just lately I've signed on to Goolge+ but as yet haven’t posted anything and that’s the dilemma. How do I remain somewhat fresh across all the media outlets? I just don't want to re-post the same material available on other sites. I don't mind using some of the same images if there is some contextual difference for the audience. This year I want to get a better handle on the whole social media culture and ensure that on each site there is something new and relevant to the reader. I sure would like to here how you are handling your multiple media streams with your content or any ideas about what would work. Please feel free to connect with me on any or all these social sites as I'm happiest when I'm connected with you. Niels Henriksen Full Article Portraits
an The Making of a Fine-Art Print 'Man, Lantern and Orange Wall' By niels-henriksen.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:22:00 +0000 I am once again in San Miguel de Allende and for the last 2 weeks I've been like a young boy running around in a large candy shop. It feels great to be back and there have been so many favourite places to visit and most importantly eat some great food. I have managed to photograph some new scenes and these will be the subject of future articles. Last year I photographed the image below from the section of the Casa Mission on Cerrada de Pila Seca which is only a walking street that runs behind Cafe Monet. I was initially struck by the strong primary colors, the lantern and its shadow and the texture on the wall, but when I printed it, it seemed to lack something to give it extra punch. Some extra texture. Man, Lantern and Orange wall 12” x 16.5” Final image with texture added I tried several generic textures that I had on file, mostly splatter type patterns but none provided the effect that I wanted. Not that I knew what I wanted but I felt that when I saw it, it would feel right. From the article title you may wonder about the man. If you look closely at the image you should be able to see a man walking in amongst tall bare trees and their branches. It is subtle and that's what I wanted but it's there in the image. Only by accident, I decided to try other B&W images that were actual images. I came across one image with a man walking amongst tall trees and when I overlaid on colorful wall image it worked for me. In the detailed close-up below the man becomes clearly visible. The print I made is 12” by 16.5” and to all I showed the print, no one could see the man. In fact, several people showed other areas that they thought was man, which became an added twist to the print. The overlay photograph is shown below. A fine-art photograph is about what inspires you. It not about what others are doing with their art or what people think is right or wrong. Don't be intimated with experimenting or concerned that others don't get it. If you like the results and it provides meaning for you then it's a perfect piece of art work. With so many people on the planet you can be sure that there will be some that find your work inspirational. When I printed my final proof photograph which I keep around to ensure that my impressions don't change, one was immediately spoken for. This photograph is printed on 300 gram, 13” x 19:, Ilford pearl paper. Usually, I tend to print on textured fine-art matte/watercolor paper but this image called for more vibrancy in the colours. My prints are limited within a series and these are normally sets to 5. If I do another series they will be different in some form, either paper selection and other tonal attributes or printed larger. But any future series will be sold at a price that is higher by a reasonable margin than the highest price for the previous series. 2 prints, unframed, are currently available at the Orange Gallery near the Parkdale market in Ottawa It's just a coincident that the major color of this print and the art gallery are the same. Niels Henriksen Full Article Absract creativity Prints San Miguel de Allende
an Using the Camera GPS to find the Sunken Church In San Miguel By niels-henriksen.blogspot.com Published On :: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:26:00 +0000 I've now been in San Miguel de Allende for almost 6 weeks, about half way through our winter stay here. I have been enjoying all flavours and experiences that this city has to offer. I've even experienced some of the standard tourist events such as fighting with the Aztec gods (Montezuma of course). This laid me low for a few days but unfortunately after a few days when I thought I was getting better I developed a secondary infection that required visiting the doctor and getting medication. Now after 2 weeks I'm finally starting to get the spring back in my step and venturing back out. This does curtail your photography. But back to the GPS item. Several weeks ago my friend Mike took me out to see the sunken church on the large shallow lake south-east of San Miguel. The lake is really a reservoir and during the dry season, winter here, the church becomes fully visible. The ground is still too mucky to be able to walk all the way out, but you can get close enough for some good shots. If you look closely you can see some cacti growing out of the top portion of the church spire and therefore the church is not completely sunken. What was really surprising when we first arrived was that we saw pelicans, which to many may not be unusual near water but this is at an elevation of 6,000ft and and 550 km from the nearest ocean. I've been using on-camera GPS for almost 3 years, at least capturing the meta data with the image but I've never had to really use the info as until now I've always known exactly where I was. Not this time as this was new territory, so when I tried to use the Nikon format to enter into Google maps it took a while to find a site that would convert correctly. Nikon gives a format such as:Longitude: 20,52.1567NLatitude: 100,50.1574WAltitude: 1853m Nikon is not DDD, MMM, SSS (Degrees, Minutes , Seconds but in format of DDD, MMM.MMMM) Whereas Google maps required decimal degrees only in format DDD.DDDDD. After some web searching I did find one site that would provide conversion in the Nikon format. Nikon GPS Converter In the Google map below the green arrow shows where I took the photo of the church above and the red arrow the top of church spire above the water. This Google map (satellite view) was taken when the area was flooded. It is a bit strange to see that where you were standing is now underwater. A little north east of red arrow is a round ring. This is visible in the last photo of this article. Towards the hill on the south-east in the map above is another church, not sunken but still abandoned. Most of the foliage,except for the cacti at this time of year, is brown. This make a colour image rather drab. But converting to B&W and adding some contrast can make the photo stand out more. In the image below the green cacti with a blue sky does make a colour version work better. Below is the map and the green arrow shows where I was standing taking the photo above with the cacti. As you can see the camera GPS is very accurate in capturing within feet where you where standing at the time when photograph is taken.Another version of the sunken church where you can see the round ring that shows up beside the spire in the Google water map. Church with ring structure Niels Henriksen Full Article Equipment Landscape San Miguel de Allende
an An Explosion of Colors at the El Señor de la Conquista Festival in San Miguel de Allende By niels-henriksen.blogspot.com Published On :: Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:13:00 +0000 The one thing I enjoy most about San Miguel de Allende is that you'er busy. I'm taking photographs everyday, meeting old and new friends and enjoying lots of events. There are many artist shows opening every week and then there's the special film showing and theater plays. The downside, at least for my blog readers, is the problem with actually getting down and writing a new article. I was working on a theme and then on Friday the 2nd of March there was the 'El Señor de la Conquista' Festival in San Miguel de Allende in and around the center square called 'el Jardin'. There were 5 different groups from local towns nearby each with their own style of dress and costumes. Withh such a display of colors and action it was not hard to keep photographing as they almost performed continuously for 10 hours. There was a small break in the afternoon as they started around 10:00am and continued until 9:00pm. Even the people resting provided good photographic opportunities. It's easy to see from the next photo how much these dancers enjoyed and were engrossed with their performances. During breaks they laid their headdress on the ground. The music playing and drums resonated over the whole town all day long and if you wanted a quiet spot you almost had to head out of town. Great costumes and action. Even fathers and sons participated. San Miguel is first an historic town with stunning architecture but the festivals which almost happen every weekend during some months add that extra spice and color to your stay here. Niels Henriksen Full Article Action San Miguel de Allende Street People
an Why Photographing Hats Can Improve Your Street People Photography By niels-henriksen.blogspot.com Published On :: Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:40:00 +0000 This wasn’t something that I consciously knew, maybe deep down we all tend to know these types of things, but something I discovered while undertaking a new photography project in San Miguel de Allende. There are many, many ideas to photograph in San Miguel. Doors are a very common theme, I did one last year and one I am continuing this year. I was looking for something different and with the almost constant blue skies and bright sun, even stronger at 6,800 feet, most people if not all the gringos wear hats. Everyday I walk around photographing almost anything and everything. Great fun and focusing on Hats gave me a new challenge. I am reserved when it comes to photographing people out and about on the street. I feel reluctant to invade their privacy but deep down I love how people relate and engage the city streets. Here in Mexico, being such a tourist destination, the locals are even more wary of being photographed and many times hide there face or just look away. If a person is not comfortable with their photo being taken I won't take it. A different type of sun covering When I photographed street people I tended to hesitate too long (should I or not) with taking the shot and the impromptu moment was lost as they tended to now be aware of the camera. This man is not praying but doing close-up photography of the cactus I found out after the fact that when I was just focusing on people's hats I tended to think less of the person and more on the object of the hat. This allowed me to be quicker with the decision to shoot and also it allowed me to shoot more often. Who wouldn't love this big Mexican hat Because I was focusing on an object it even allowed me to approach people and ask then if I could photograph them with their hat as this was a project of mine. I think people felt more comfortable in letting me photograph them because I wasn't really just photographing them. It was an inanimate object and somehow that was OK. A hatted man with lots of hats I suggest you give yourself a try at this project and see if you don't now photograph more people. Niels Henriksen Full Article Portraits San Miguel de Allende Street People
an Festivals in San Miguel de Allende By niels-henriksen.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:21:00 +0000 It seems like there is always some sort of festival going on in San Miguel. In fact, there really is. Most of these are tied to religious or Mexican national events, but at times there also those unexpected festivals. When they involve children they can make for extra special photographic events. And who doesn’t love the smiles and special faces that children can make. Add a few costumes and now there is magic in the air. Last year and again this year there was the multicultural school event with kids coming from many districts. I wasn't paying special attention to the date as I didn’t even know it was happening again. I only came by the festival when I was heading by the Jardin. Which is a daily ritual for me in my treks around town. I didn't notice the festival event in the local paper Atencion which is great for highlighting events in and around town. There is always so much going on that it's easy to miss one, or sometimes the festival's name is in Spanish and it may not be evident by its title. I asked one of the girls participants to pose with the rose as she seemed to have the best smile of all of them.She and the boy in the image above were the central characters in their school skit. The pair of them started off sitting on a bench and the boy appeared to reject the advances of the girl. I believe that this was part of a Valentines theme as every person had a heart on their palms. After a short interval, with the music was playing all the time, the rest of their class mates joined them on stage and performed a choreographed dance. It was great fun to watch and in this photo you can see all their hearts on their hands. A few weeks later I came across an art festival called “Thank You Art' project. This is were kids and some adults, me included, glued coloured tissue paper to a clear plexiglass sheet. They were allowed to cut the sheets into strange shapes or with cut-outs and even write messages on their sheets. Then they were glued on top of each other in a multitude of different colors. When the panels were hung in a lighted area they glowed like stained glass panels. During my photographing of the kids enjoying themselves one of the directors of the project asked me if they could use some of my photos for the up coming display of the final glass sheets. I was fortunate to have several of my images selected for the Art show in the Biblioteca that ran for 2 weeks.They printed my images 39cm x 52 cm (15” x 20”) and hung them on the wall around the 2 plexiglass sheets that looked like large stained glass windows. When in San Miguel you should always, and I mean always, have your camera with you as you never know what's just waiting around the next corner. Three times during my winter stay I did not take my camera with me and I regretted it each time. Now I don't leave home without it. It may be a bit heavy so I carry it in my backpack. Niels Henriksen Full Article festivals San Miguel de Allende Street People
an Buildings of San Miguel By niels-henriksen.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 02 May 2012 18:17:00 +0000 This is a story that evolves over time. Every year as I explore new parts of town or even revisit other parts at different times of the day, there are new buildings emerging. Not new in the sense of being just built but new in the sense of discovery. Especially when its not your town and even not your region, everything is so different. Along the side of the Biblioteca on Relox This is almost an abstract image with 3 main sections. I wanted the yellow to be dominant so I increased the contrast in this section and a bit in saturation. On some monitors if not calibrated it will display as very bright yellow, whereas it should be a bit soft. I darkened the blue and decreased saturation to make the yellow appear brighter. I didn't want to lighten the whole road so I increased the brightness in the highlights and strengthened the yellows. Sometimes you get a 'batch perfect apples in the basket' so to speak. In the image below, the house was painted a blue to match the strong blue skies of San Miguel. The sky is also a darker blue here at approx. 7,000 ft. Strong blues ranging from this sky color to almost navy-blue can be found on several homes. Near the corner of Aldama on a walk-only side street between Xichu and Oje de Agua Google map reference (20.90370, -100.7432) A very skinny house. Not sure what it's used for. I guess someone wanted to build a house in an alleyway. I seen places like this in Toronto where the house is 3 storeys high and 10' wide. This building in San Miguel may be actually skinnier. Even with a 18mm lens I needed to stitch 2 vertical photos to get the whole building in one combined photo. San Miguel, like most Mexican towns, is always undergoing some sort of building repainting. The standard building colors are yellow, rusty-orange, burnt-red, and some white. They may be repainted these same colors or even repainted a vibrant new color such as blue. That's why in Google Street View the photos of the buildings may not now be as shown in Google. Sometimes as in the photo below there has been some new painting with bolder colors. This small section of buildings has all the colors of the rainbow and a few extra. Corner of Aldama and Terraplén This colorful green building with just enough red to give it some accent caught my interest I. It wasn't until after I looked around that I realized that it was beside the entrance to the Bull Fighting Ring. And sometimes with luck a car drives by, whose color enhances the photo of the building. Next year I will be in San Miguel for six (6) months and I be conducting photo-walks again. If you are in the area then drop me a line and we can go out and photograph this lively town together. Niels Henriksen Full Article San Miguel de Allende Street Photography travel
an Sections of Buildings in San Miguel de Allende By niels-henriksen.blogspot.com Published On :: Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:04:00 +0000 The photos displayed in the blog article focus mainly on parts or sections of buildings in San Miguel. While some photos, such as the image below, are clearly understood. The rest have more of an abstract genre and for these the lines become the main compositional elements. Within the city, the walls along with the sidewalks are continuous, except for the odd entrance to an inner courtyard or alley way. In the photo above, this wall is most likely not part of a house, but used more as a high fence to an inner courtyard. Inside could be a rubble heap or a grand garden and fountain. Never knowing what you'll find behind these walls is one of the intriguing aspects of San Miguel. On the walls in the courtyard of Bellas Artes (the National Institute of Fine Arts) these lanterns hang on the abutments on the adjacent walls. The darker brickwork along these abutments were darkened and made more gritter to enhance the texture of the lanterns. This image is from the same courtyard of Bellas Artes, the photo above with the lanterns, but here I'm looking from across the street and the 3 curved protrusions are form the top of the outer wall. Atotonilco is a UNESCO world historic site (church) about 20 mi out of San Miguel. It's only a short distance from here to the Hots Springs which is a favourite spot for many people in San Miguel. On Saturdays in the village (50 people) there are many street vendors selling unique religious objects. Within the core of San Miguel is a Bull Fighting Ring. Only a few blocks from the central square (el Jardin) of the town. In the photo above you can just see the top the homes which abut to the walls all around the Bull Ring. There were no events or spectators on this day and this allowed me to take photos of the beautiful curved lines of a circular bull ring. While walking around I just couldn't resit this bit of abstraction with the 2 different lanterns and their corresponding shadows. Niels Henriksen Full Article Absract Cityscape San Miguel de Allende Street Photography travel
an Photographing Metal Sculptures and Art Objects By niels-henriksen.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:51:00 +0000 I had the opportunity to photograph metal artwork for an artist friend who lives near Lynhurst Ontario. For those unfamiliar with this little village, it is about 45 km north of Kingston Ont. along Hwy 15. Noah, the metal-sculpture artist, has a large manicured estate with a man-made pond that is just perfect to have his animal based artworks scattered all about. Almost like seeing a herd of deer in the fields. In fact I did mange to see one deer at the edge of his lawns. But having a couple of Noah’s dogs playing around me meant that I could not get close enough to the deer for a great shot. The reflections on the screen worked to create great contrast with the darker pond water, which meant I didn’t have to do much to have the artwork stand out. Just moving about for greatest contrast. I cropped the right wind since it's a mirror of the other and including it would make it appear smaller. Most of his sculptures are made out of scrap metal parts and therefore, for the most part, tend to have a dull rust color. Dark and mid-tone oranges do not usually stand out well against bright green fields. Even the biker (bicycle and motorcycle) sculptures that have figures on them have muted tones in their clothing. To make them stand out better I desaturated the greens, as with the above example, to an almost grey tone to give the figures more prominence. There are 5 of these along the front near the road. Some artworks, like the bug series below, are painted, but even here we still need to have darker background (hedge in shade) to give more punch to the colors. Even in the above image with its strong yellow and reds, the green has been slightly muted. Most of the bug pieces have long insect like legs but if you include the whole art piece then the main body parts become very small in the photo. Focus on the main sections but include just enough of other parts to give context to photo. For some images I wanted the distortion created by a wide angle lens, where objects nearer are larger and distant objects becomes smaller than reality, to change the perspective in how we view the artwork. I had to use HDR on the photos where I was looking up and a bright sky was behind the sculpture. In the above photo the rust is made more vibrant and the green and blue colors muted a bit. I now know that I need to come back again when the sun is near the evening horizon so that for some sculptures the shadows will add to create a larger subject. Who couldn't love this old Flintstones type car. Some close-ups to focus on the texture of the artwork. And finally a photo for the biker in all of us. Many of his artworks can be seen on Noah's Metal Art and he also has a link with the Frontenac Arch Biosphere And here's the photo of the deer in the field. Niels Henriksen Full Article art Machinery
