Frosty Morning #2

Here is the second of my frosty morning photographs.  I almost missed this one being aired.  After the first photograph was aired at the beginning of the broadcast, I left the room to do other things.  It was only later, just after the newscast had ended, that I called my Dad and he let me know that a second photograph had also been used near the end of the telecast.  Thanks for watching, Dad.  This photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 50mm.  One of my favourite subjects, it never lets me down.  Thanks again to Lori Graham, who also shared these photographs on her Twitter account and for her nice comments on the air.  Thanks also to the fine folks at CTV News Montreal.  One more update to go.

Frosty Morning #3

Those of you following live, this is maybe the first update you'll be seeing, but as they will be posted chronologically on the old blog, this will end up being update #3, hence the title.  After two of my photographs ended up being aired during the noon broadcast, I got an email informing me that all three would be shown again at 5:00PM.  Sure enough, here they are.  Since the other photographs got solo viewings, I figured I'd show photographer #3 with this update.    The photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/800sec, ISO 100 at 24mm.  I've had photographs show up on the news before, but this was my first hat trick, as all three ended up making the air.  Thanks once again, to Lori Graham, who also shared the photographs on her Twitter account, and the fine folks at CTV Montreal.

Rebelles 3 - Félines 1

My favourite goaltender, Florence Bouchard-Maynard, and her hockey team, Les Félines de Saint-Laurent, were playing a tournament in Longueuil this weekend, and despite the horrendous winning percentage I bring to the team, I was still invited down to the rink to take some photographs of the game.  Sadly, my bad karma came back to haunt that decision as they ended up losing the game 3 - 1 to the Rebelles de Laval in what was a spirited contest.  I try to take some solace in the fact that Florence and her teammates really like the photographs because I still end up feeling pretty bad when I walk out of the arena after a loss.  I shot the first and third periods from the stands as the area around the rink had been marked as reserved for volunteers and coaches.  I managed to get myself down there by talking with some of the arena staff for the second.  I didn't stay though as there were offices around the ground floor, the stands are well above the ice surface in this arena, and the lights from the offices were reflecting off the glass and into my photograph.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/2000sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm and the second photograph was taken at f/2.8 1/1000sec, ISO 1600 at 90mm.  Here are a several more photographs that I took during the action.

f/2.8, 1/1000sec, ISO 1600 at 88mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 100mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 120mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 142mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 120mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 1600 at 140mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 123mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 135mm

f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 3200 at 145mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 200mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/1000sec, ISO 3200 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 115mm

All hope is not lost.  There was still a chance of advancing further in the tournament, so with a little bit of luck, you just might see some more hockey photographs here soon.  If I get invited back.

Gone Fishin'

While out on a little photo walk looking for a nice sunset, my plan ended up getting changed when some clouds ended up swallowing that bright ball in the sky and ruining things.  Luckily, there was still a little bit of red that remained and a few steps away I came upon a group of fishers who were looking for fish under the frozen St. Lawrence.  It wasn't quite the photograph that I was looking for, but atleast I didn't come home bredouille.  The photograph was taken at f/5, 1/320sec, ISO 400 at 85mm.  I'll be out to try and get the big catch some time soon.

Booms & Bumps

Sometimes you have to go to the back-up plan.  It was the final Natrel Fire On Ice fireworks and since it was kind of cloudy, I thought I'd just go back to the waterfront, but the parking lot I usually go to was closed.  Not a problem, I figured I'd park a little higher up on the island but the meter refused to take my card.  That meant it was down to parking lot #3, and that one wasn't really ideal for waterfront access.  So, it was up to the walking/bicycle path of the Jacques Cartier Bridge that I went.  The deck of the bridge offers a nice view of the fireworks and the city.  On the downside, because most of the path is closed for the season, the best shooting spot is right next to an expansion joint.  That means that that every time a fast moving car or heavy truck goes by, I would feel the bump where I was standing.  If you look closely at the fireworks streaks, you can see bumps in the streaking light.  Every one of those bumps was a passing motor vehicle.  Luckily, the shaking camera didn't blur out the buildings or the entire outing would have been a waste.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 13sec, ISO 100 at 40mm.  Here are a few more.

f/16, 8sec, ISO 100 at 48mm

f/16, 10sec, ISO 100 at 48mm

f/16, 8sec, ISO 100 at 48mm

f/16, 6sec, ISO 100 at 48mm

f/16, 13sec, ISO 100 at 48mm

With the exception of the first photograph which was cropped to 12" x 4", the others were all cropped to 12" x 6".  The bumps were a little frustrating, but shooting from the bridge does offer a unique view.  I guess we take the good with the bad.

Blowing In The Wind

What I like best about photography is that anything can be a subject  Even something as ordinary as a Christmas decoration blowing in the wind.  We were celebrating the new year with My Lovely Assistant's Family up North and there was a Christmas tree planted next to a skating rink they had made on the lake.  While everyone was skating, my attention was suddenly taken by the wind whipping through this garland which was wrapped around the tree.  The sun was catching the red and green colours and was just screaming at me to photograph it.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 105mm.  Something as simple as a garland blowing in the wind, that's what I like about photography.

Starting Fresh In 2019

The 2018 Watermarks have been deleted and the folders full of photographs marked 2018 have been archived.  We're starting a new year at the old Blog with this photograph of the Biosphere, one of my many favourite subjects.  It was taken just after the big fireworks celebration that marked an end to the 175th anniversary celebration for Montreal.  It was lit bright white for the occasion and I loved how the light reflected off of the structure into the cold air, surrounding it in an illuminated mist.  It looks fresh and new, just like the new year that has begun.  The photograph was taken at f/10, 78sec, ISO 100 at 24mm.  Happy New Year to all of you from My Lovely Assistant and I.  Hopefully you'll all enjoy seeing the things that I enjoy photographing for another year.