Antique Desk Drawer Handle

Those of you who are long time visitors to the site are well aware of the fact that I really like to photographs small things that most people either don't really notice or wouldn't necessarily think to photograph.  It's kind of a personal challenge for me to take something ordinary, in this case, a desk drawer handle and turn it into what I consider to be a nice photograph.  This handle came off of an old desk that belonged to my Great Grandmother.  Sadly, it was bunched in with several pieces of furniture that my parents had to part with when they moved this past autumn.  I was asked to photograph those pieces of furniture and while I was doing so, my eye kept getting drawn back to the handle.  I just really liked it's shape and the way it sat against the wood.  I also liked the wear marks from where the handle had been turned several times, possibly by a younger version of myself, as well as the grain of the wood itself.  I took this photograph at f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 67mm.  I also cropped the photo a little bit and added a little colour by mixing some yellow, red and blue while in Photoshop.  I know, I broke the Photoshop Rule, but sometimes rules are meant to be broken.  I shot at ISO 1600 because though there was some sun coming into the room, there was not enough to properly shoot at f/2.8, which I wanted to use in order to put the handle in focus, but blur out everything else.  I probably could have achieved the same effect using a lower ISO number with a tripod, but I didn't have it with me.  What is the lesson to be learned from this?  Always bring your tripod with you as it can be used in many more situations than taking photographs at night.

Freeport Covered Bridge At Night

While I was on vacation a few weeks back, I made the trip down to Cowansville with My Lovely Assistant to visit my parents.  The other reason was to take a few photographs.  What you see here is the Freeport Covered Bridge.  It was built in 1870 and is still in use today.  Since the bridge is covered and on a curve, it is suggested that you honk your horn while inside of the bridge in order to warn oncoming vehicles that are coming from the other side.  I've taken photographs of this bridge before as part of an assignment while at Concordia, but I never took any shots of it at night.  With My Lovely Assistant behind the wheel, of my Mom's car no less (thanks Mom), I positioned myself by one end of the bridge and had My Lovely Assistant drive the car through the bridge so that I could capture the trails of light that the car left behind.  By doing so, not only did I catch the red streaks of light left by the car going by, but the headlights of the car lit up the inside of the bridge so that you could see some of the unique construction inside.  If you look at the far right of the photo, you can also see that the headlights of the car lit up the road sign and the tree on the other side.  This photograph was taken at f/11, 15sec, ISO 100 at 40mm.

Breaking News!!!

There's nothing like waking up to the sounds of helicopters flying around your building.  Those of you who are aware of Montreal's crumbling infrastructure will understand me when I say that my original thought was that the helicopter was there to record the long lines of traffic caused by the latest crack that was discovered on the Champlain Bridge.  I turned on the radio expecting to hear about there being 10km long lines of traffic trying to get on all three of the local bridges, only to find out that the real drama was taking place just outside of my kitchen window.  Three activists were climbing the side of the Biosphere on Île Ste-Hélène in order to bring attention to the 30 Greenpeace activists who are being held in Russia due to their protest of the Gazprom Prirazlomnaya oil platform.  The 30 Greenpeace activists, known as The Arctic 30 are currently being held in a Murmansk prison.  One of the members of the Arctic 30 is a man by the name of Alexandre Paul, who is from Montreal.  Thus the reason for the activity at the Biosphere this morning.  The protesters have said that they will not come down until The Arctic 30 have been freed. Local police are on the scene but have said that they will not intervene since public safety is not in danger and that the climbers don't pose a danger to themselves as it appears that they "know what they're doing."  Since this was taking place just outside my window, well actually outside my window, across the highway and then the St. Lawrence Seaway, it gave me the chance to take a few pictures from the comfort of my kitchen.  I just took out the screen, opened the window and began snapping away.  Luckily, My Lovely Assistant had already left for work at this point because it was a rather chilly -3 Celsius, not including the wind, and she's not as comfortable with the cold weather as I am.  The first picture you see here is actually the last one that I took.  With there being such a great distance between us, I obviously had to dig out my telephoto lens.  It was take at f/5.6, 1/1000sec, ISO 100 at 300mm.  It then cropped it real tight so that I had a better view of the banner.  The second photo you see was the first one that I took.  On it you can see the three activists, in the orange jumpsuits, as they were climbing the Biosphere.  This photograph was taken at f/5.6, 1/640sec, ISO 100 at 300mm.  I didn't do as much cropping on this one because I liked how the photograph showed how large the Biosphere is compared to the little orange guys who were climbing it.  As I said at the beginning, there was a helicopter flying around overheard while all of this was going on.  I took that photograph at f/5.6, 1/500sec, ISO 100 at 250mm.  The final picture here is the same as the first, just before I cropped it.  Here's to hoping that this all ends peacefully and that nobody gets hurt.  I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

***UPDATE***
The banner began to come down around 10:00AM.

Jelly Jelly Beans

It was rather grey outside today, and they're saying that it will remain so for the next couple of days as well.  What better time to inject a little colour into your lives, and what better source for getting that colour than some tasty jelly beans!  A few weeks back I found myself at this wonderful store called Bulk Barn with My Lovely Assistant and her Grandmother.  They were on a mission to find ingredients for a dessert she wanted to make, but I had a different mission in mind.  To get myself some tasty treats!  Then, as happens from time to time, a thought flashed through my head.  Back in April, I put up a photograph of a plate of Smarties and I immediately thought it would be cool if I did the same thing with the jelly beans.  I waited for a nice sunny day, which took a little longer than I thought it would, and put the plate next to my patio door and snapped away.   This photograph was shot at f/9, 1/40sec, ISO 100 at 51mm.  Don't they look so very tasty?  I'd invite you all over to have some, but there was a tragic accident just after the shoot and the jelly beans spontaneously combusted.  It seems that the molecular structure of the jelly bean is such that a prolonged exposure to sunlight causes them to suddenly burst.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The Last Thing My UV Filter Saw

To follow up on yesterday's memorial to my UV Filter, I thought it would be a fitting tribute to post the final photograph it helped me take.  I've always been obsessed with traffic lights and have been taking long exposure photographs of them forever.  I personally blame Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood as Mr. Rogers always had one in his playroom.  This photo was taken at f/11, 16sec, ISO 100 at 68mm.  What originally drew my eye, other than the traffic light, was the reflection of the lights on the hand rails at the right of the photograph.  I was in the process of trying to reposition myself so I could try to lose the street light you see at the base of the clock when my camera went crashing to the ground.  I suppose that I'll try and redo this photo the next time I get the chance, though you can be sure that I'll be making sure that my camera is locked in tight on the tripod first.

My New Former Best Friend

Those of you who know me are well aware of the fact that one of the words that can be used to describe me is 'cheap'.  I prefer the term 'fiscally responsible', but it all means the same thing, and is also something very hard to be when you love taking photographs.  With that in mind,what do you think my reaction would be when told that I should spend an extra $80 to buy a UV filter to go along with my obscenely expensive lens?  Those of you who think I would pass on the option, you'd be right in just about every other instance except for this one.  One of the lessons drilled into my head by professors Anber and Teoli was the importance of a good UV filter.  It doesn't really do all that much in terms of photography, it was originally used to protect film from the UV rays.  However, it acts as a great protective barrier for your lens.  Something I learned first hand this past weekend.  I was out in Cowansville taking some night shots when my camera came crashing down from my tripod.  It fell a good three feet to the concrete steps below.  Once my heart rate and breathing came back to normal, My Lovely Assistant picked up the camera as I was still frozen in place with images of a shattered lens going through my mind, and my wallet.  Upon first inspection, the glass looked intact and no cracks were to be seen, but I did notice two nice sized dents on the UV filter.  The filter was stuck in place, I needed a good pair of pliers to get it off, but there was no damage to the lens at all.  Sure, I had to replace the UV filter, but when you consider the price of a good lens, buying the new UV filter was the happiest I've even been to spend $80 in a long time.  So allow me to pass this wisdom along, always, ALWAYS, make sure to equip your lens with a UV filter.  It might end up being the most important piece of equipment in your camera bag.

Remembrance Day 2013

I'm a firm believer that Remembrance Day should be a National Holiday.  There are very few things more important than taking a moment of our time every November 11th to remember all of the fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives so that we can enjoy the freedom we have today.  Until that day comes, I try to book one of my weeks of vacation to coincide with Remembrance Day every year so that I can either go in to Montreal for the service there, or at least attend one of the many ceremonies that take place closer to where I live.  I skipped the Montreal service last year, so I decided to hop into a Metro car and make the trip downtown.  The ceremony used to be held at the Place du Canada in downtown Montreal, but was moved to the lawns of the campus of McGill University a few years back due to renovations.  It seems that McGill has become the new home of the ceremony, though I preferred the former location as it was easier for me to move around.  As a result, I was stuck near the back of the ceremony and missed seeing the laying of the wreaths.  In the middle of the ceremony, I decided it was in my best photographic interest to move around.  The first order of business was to go to where the canons were being fired.  I got some good pictures of that, which you'll be seeing in a future blog post here on the site.  Afterwards, I knew that I had to find a better position than the one I had been in before if I was going to get some shots of the parade as the Veterans and others made their way from the site.  I managed to find a good spot just outside of the gates, right behind a police utility vehicle.  This provided to be a great spot for two reasons.  One, how could I find a more secure spot than right behind a police car?  Secondly, it was kind of chilly outside, so the feeling of the warm exhaust against my leg was kind of comforting.  After everyone had left the site, I returned to the make-shift cenotaph and took a few pictures of the wreaths that had been left behind.  I really wanted to take a picture of a balloon that someone had left behind.  Written on the balloon was "Thank you our brave heroes, we remember" in English.  I felt that it best summed up the what the day should have been all about.  The first photograph was taken at f/4.5, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 42mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/5.6, 1/320sec, ISO 400 at 24mm and the third photograph was taken at f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 35mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took, with the settings I used written underneath.

f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 62mm

f/7.1, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 27mm

f/7.1, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 24mm

f/7.1, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 59mm

f/7.1, 1/320sec, ISO 400 at 40mm

I know what those long-term readers of this site might be thinking.  "Eric," you're thinking to yourselves, "all of your pictures were taken at ISO 400.  Did you forget to reset your setting again?"  Fair question, especially since I have been guilty of doing so in the past.  Nope, I was shooting at ISO 400 on purpose because it was really cloudy outside and I need to raise the ISO in order to have enough shutter speed to capture the movements of the people marching in the parade.  Taking a few moments out of  my day to pay my respects was the least I could do on this day.  I hope that most of you out there did so as well.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly 
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

That, ofcourse, was the poem In Flander's Fields by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian Army Medical Corps.  The story behind the poem tells us that Lt. McCrae composed it after the death of a close friend in Belgium while near a field of poppies, thus why the Poppy is used today as a symbol of remembering those brave men and women who gave their lives in battle so that we may enjoy the freedom that we live in today.  I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for our Veteran's, partially because of the several members of my family who served in World War II, most notably my Grandfather, Frederick Paul Mahannah.  We were fortunate in that everyone in our family came home, but the same cannot be said for so many others.  So these poppies, photographed in my Mom`s garden, are dedicated to all of the war veterans out there.  Do them all a favour and buy a Poppy for all of the sacrifices that they made for us.  I photographed these poppies with my Macro lens, the details follow in the order they are presented.  f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 60mm.  f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 400 at 60mm and finally, f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 400 at 60mm.  These particular poppies are Oriental Poppies and I really like the detail that the Macro lens brings out in them.

 

Au champ d'honneur, les coquelicots

Sont parsemés de lot en lot

Auprès des croix; et dans l'espace

Les alouettes devenues lasses

Mêlent leurs chants au sifflement

Des obusiers.

Nous sommes morts

Nous qui songions la veille encore

À nos parents, à nos amis,

C'est nous qui reposons ici

Au champ d'honneur.

À vous jeunes désabusés

À vous de porter l'oriflamme

Et de garder au fond de l'âme

Le goût de vivre en liberté.

Acceptez le défi, sinon

Les coquelicots se faneront

Au champ d'honneur.

Merci Beaucoup

It's the unexpected surprises that are the best.  I was at the library with my Lovely Assistant the other day and looking at the various brochures and leaflets that lined the hallway, looking if there were any opportunities that an amateur photographer like myself can take advantage of to get his work seen.  As I was scanning the brochures, something caught my eye.  It took about a second before I suddenly said, "that's my photograph!"  I pulled out the brochure and discovered that it was from my old friends at the Troupe de théâtre musical Choeur Vives Voix.  And even better, there was another one of my photographs on the inside.  The smile on my face on grew larger when I saw my name in black print just underneath my photograph.  Just like that, my week was made.  They're getting ready for their big 2014 production, Facade, and hopefully I'll be able to work with them once again.  If you'd like to see the full version of the photos that were presented in the brochure, you're kind of in luck.  The photograph from the front cover can be seen right here and the photograph from inside the brochure hasn't been on my blog, but other photographs from the same show can be seen here and a few more right here.  Un gros merci, encore une fois, au Choeur Vives Voix.

Election Results Are In

We had municipal elections last night in this part of the world.  Various mayors, city counsellors and other municipal titles were decided all in the name of democracy. I had the honour of winning a prestigious position as well.  I was elected Best Photographer in my Condo unit.  Sure, only one vote was cast, but I'm sure that if My Lovely Assistant had been aware of the election, she would have voted for me as well.  Sadly, my victory won't get me a nice corner office in Montreal City Hall, which you see in my photograph here of Old Montreal.  It took a while for me to get this photograph as you see it.  I arrived a little earlier at the location and was annoyed to see that a tour bus was parked on the street.  True, not the end of the world, but I needed for that bus to be gone in order to properly capture the light trails of the cars that were passing by.  I walked off and took some photos around the area and made a quick trip back to this spot just in time to see that the bus had gone.  I set up my camera and shot away.  This photograph was taken at f/9, 19sec, ISO 100 at 38mm and was one of the chosen 25 that was on display at my photography exhibit last year.  There's several things I like about this photograph.  The already mentioned light streaks, the red in the building on the old Hotel Nelson, the clouds in the sky behind the statue and how clear the guy sitting on the corner appear.  Not bad considering with the long exposure time, it means that the guy didn't move very much over the 19 seconds that the photograph was being taken.

Two Go Up The Mountain...Will Two Come Down?

As I've mentioned here, my parents moved back at the end of August.  It's a rather complicated situation that saw them spend a month living in a pretty cool cottage at the foot of Mt. Sutton.  My Mom thought it would be a good idea if I were to come down one day and take a little trip up the mountain as it would be sure to result in several good photographs.  I thought it seemed like a good idea and I invited My Lovely Assistant along for the trip as walking around a mountain is the kind of thing she enjoys.  Little did I know, my Mom's good idea would almost spell my doom!  The first sign of trouble came when I discovered that the ski lift wasn't available the day that I went to visit.  That meant it would be time to climb.  We decided to go to the Round Top, a spot that the guide told us would provide all kinds of nice views.  The board at the base of the mountain said that it would only be a two hour hike to where we wanted to go, but despite spending a good five hours on the mountain, we still never got closer than 1hr 30 minutes, according to the signs along the path, from where we wanted to go.  Not being the most fleet of foot, I managed to slip on a rock and knowing that I had a camera in my right hand, I decided it best to use my left arms to cushion my fall.  We finally found ourselves at this lake you see here in the photograph, despite my being sweaty, bloodied and sore.  I wasn't coming down without at least one photo, so I put the camera into Manual mode and tried to find a way to capture the image you see here while preserving the blue sky and the reflection in the water.  I ended up taking this photograph at f/11, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 60mm.  I really like the reflection in the water and how it, along with the treeline in the sky seem to lead you towards the center of the photograph.  I was also happy to keep the blue in both the sky and the water without either being blown out.  Another of the features I like are the three trees in the right hand side of the photo that managed to have some sunlight fall on them, despite the rest of that side being in shadows.  We then decided to head back down the mountain despite never reaching our destination, which is probably a good idea since my Mom was on the verge of calling the police since we had been gone so long.  Guess she had a feeling that My Lovely Assistant was trying to kill me, as well.  Or maybe they were in on it together.  Hmm.  Better luck next time