Parliament Hill

When I was growing up, I was often told by my parents that I was leaving things to the last minute.  Things would always get done, but they would get done with about 10 seconds to spare.  It is with my parents in mind that I proudly announce that this post has been ready and waiting to be used for about 10 months now.  That's right, I chose to leave the Mr. Last Minute name behind and try on a new moniker.  Mr. Planed In Advance seems to have a nice ring to it.  I took these photographs last September while My Lovely Assistant and myself were on vacation in Ottawa for a few days.  As is often the case, I took these shots and couldn't wait to share them with you all here on the blog, or as I like to call it, my virtual art gallery.  However, other photographs were taken and posted, seasons began to change and next thing I knew, we were already into 2014.  I didn't really want to post these pictures in the dead of winter and then I had a flash.  Last year I spent a good amount of time going around town trying to photograph a Canadian flag.  That was the perfect example of how Mr. Last Minute would operate. I figured that posting these photographs of Parliament Hill on Canada Day would be a nice touch.  Seeing as how I was so ahead of schedule, I actually did a little playing around with these photos in Photoshop.  I fiddled with the Levels function a little bit and added a bit of blue using Colour Balance to add a little more colour to the sky.  I like the effects I got.  The sky looks much better in these than my original shots, and the building itself seemed to get a little bit of punch from my fiddling as well. The first photograph on the page was shot at f/2.8, 1/4000sec, ISO 100 at 24mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/18, 1/100sec, ISO 100 at 24mm.  Here's another shot to round out the set.

f/2.8, 1/2500sec, ISO 100 at 24mm

If I could turn back time, I'd probably try shooting the first and third photographs with a smaller aperture.  There was all kinds of natural light that day and shooting at f/2.8 really wasn't necessary.  Though I feel the photos are still rather sharp, shooting at a smaller aperture might have made them a little sharper still.  I really like the way that the buildings stand out in the photographs, and I'm really happy with the sky in all of the shots.  With that, I leave you all to celebrate Canada Day, Dominion Day, Moving Day, Free Agent Frenzy Day or simply Tuesday.  I'm sure I'll find something to do at the last minute.  Shoot, I guess the Mr. Planed In Advance name isn't going to stick after all.