Sun Sets On 2014

I've been sitting on this photograph for a couple of months now, it was falling into the void of forgotten photographs that I sometimes mention here.  It kept falling down the list because I've kind of already posted a similar photograph earlier this year.  Then it dawned on me, what better time to post a sunset photograph than just before the year comes to an end.  The sun sets on the year.  Kind of poetic, no?  Anyway, this is a view I have from where I live, and often I get some nice sky shots of the sun setting over the Montreal Biosphere.  On this particular day it was very cloudy and as the sun set, they sky began to turn into a kind of bright red carpet.  From past experience, I knew that this would last for no more than two or three minutes, I so grabbed my camera as quick as possible, frightening My Lovely Assistant as she's not used to seeing me move that fast, took the screen out of my window and shot as many photographs as I could before the effect ended.  The first photograph, shot at f/7.1, 1/160sec, ISO 400 at 300mm, and the second which was shot at f/5.6, 1/100sec, ISO 400 at 300mm were my favourites.  They were taken two minutes apart, the second photo being the earlier one.  You can see the difference in the sky.  In the second photograph, the sky is a little brighter, while you can see more detail in the sky with the first one.  I only get a sky like this maybe twice a year, but I still enjoy photographing it every time.

As I mentioned way at the beginning, the sun is about to set on 2014.  Photographically, it's been a pretty cool year for me.  I shot my first solo wedding, I grabbed lots of awesome fireworks photographs, I managed to photograph a couple of bands, some openly, some being a little bit sneaky about it.  All of that and some flowers, bugs, buildings, candy and anything and everything that I might have found interesting along the way.  I was thinking about doing a little retrospective of 2014, with links to all of those photographs, but I guess that it's my hopeful nature that tells me that the majority of you who are reading these words have seen all of those photographs.  If you haven't there's a whole archive of photographs to be seen here and a good place to start would be the little links on the right-hand side of this page.  You've got access to the 'popular' photograph, but also access to everything else but simply clicking on the year, month or post title of the blog archives.  Photography is my fun.  You may not like all of the things you see, but maybe you'll find something that speaks to you.  Happy New Year to you all, I hope that 2015 brings you all much happiness.

Unobstructed View

There was a particular weather situation here last week that made it very difficult to get any clear shots of the fireworks down at the Old Port of Montreal.  I still tried, and in my own admittedly biased opinion, came home with some interesting photographs of a very cloudy landscape.  I really liked the location I was shooting in, so I had planned on going back there eventually for another shot.  Eventually ended up happening one week later.  It wasn't my original plan to go back up on the Jacques Cartier Bridge, but the sky was much clearer than the week before and I was unable to control my desire to go back up there again.  Truthfully, I probably should have waited as it was still kind of a cloudy night as rain was in the forecast.  I'll just use that as an excuse to use the location another time, though I think I'll save it for another edition of the yearly fireworks event. 

The experience almost became somewhat expensive before the fireworks even began.  As I was setting up, I tried to pull my remote trigger out of my pocket and then ended up watching rather helplessly as my iPod, which had gotten a little bit tangled in the cord while sharing the same pocket, went crashing to the ground and skidded to a halt just centimeters before going over the edge of the ground rather far below.  I managed to grab my heart out of my throat and slowly bent over to pick up my gadget as I was suddenly reminded why I don't like bridges to begin with as I took a look over the side at the fate that my iPod had just avoided.

Once everything was nice and secure, and you had best make sure I double checked the lock on my tripod after the falling iPod incident, I took a few test shots and waited for the action to begin.  It did end up raining on me a little bit, but I was equipped with my umbrella, though I was kind of wondering what the drivers were thinking as they passed by and saw me up there.  Mostly I was hoping that their minds were on the road.  The first photograph of this batch was taken at f/16, 22sec, ISO 100 at 40mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/16, 14sec, ISO 100 at 40mm and the third photograph was taken at f/16, 10sec, ISO 100 at 40mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took.

f/16, 18sec, ISO 100 at 40mm

f/16, 7sec, ISO 100 at 40mm

f/16, 22sec, ISO 100 at 40mm

As some of you may have noticed, I've got a couple of different sizes.  I've cropped some at 8"x12", 12"x6" and 12"x4".  Shooting wide allows me that option, and I really like the widescreen style shots as they highlight not only the fireworks, but the skyline of Montreal as well.  Now I just have to make sure that the iPod never ends up in the same pocket as my remote trigger ever again.

The Original Elf

One of the latest crazes to take off over the last few years has been that of the elf who runs wild in your house while you're asleep.  'Legend' has it that these little elves run around people's homes doing all kinds of odd things while the humans are asleep.  In the morning, or when the lights are turned on, the elves return to their frozen state, often still holding the evidence that links them to whatever naughty little deed they had done the night before.  You've probably seen many photos over on Facebook of what these little elves have been doing at the homes of some of your friends.  It's a fun little idea that I'm sure fills little kids with wonder, but it's hardly new.  In my younger days, there was an elf in my family as well.  Infact, he's still around.  He's not quite the troublemaker that this new generation of elves is.  His name is Jack Frost and he likes to hang out in the Christmas tree.  When he first joined the family, he could always be found in the tree that my Grandparents would put up.  After my Grandparents had sadly passed away, old Jack ended up with my parents.  He's a Country Elf, after all.  Every year it was always an adventure to try and find where Jack was hiding in the tree.  He didn't run around the house spilling flour or putting toilet paper on everything, which is probably a good thing or my Grandfather would have had him sleeping with the cows in very short order.  He just liked to hang out in the tree and hide out amongst all of the decorations.  Jack is still the first thing I look for when I get to my parents house and the tree is up.  These are a couple of photographs that I took of Jack last year after finding him in the tree.  I used a large aperture so that all of the decorations would have a nice blur on on them as I've always felt that those little Christmas lights look better that way.  Same goes with all of the tinsel and other decorations.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/10, ISO 1600 at 25mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/30sec, ISO 1600 at 32mm.  I can't wait to see where Jack will be hiding this year, but in waiting, I'd like to wish all of you out there a Merry Christmas of your own.

Obstructed View

f/16, 13sec, ISO 100 at 52mm

Last night was the second night of the Telus Fireworks On Ice fireworks display down at the Old Port of Montreal.  Being a fan of bright lights and loud explosions, I couldn't help but want to photograph another show from this four weekend activity.  Those of you who have followed my summer adventures with the Loto-Quebec International Fireworks Competition, which you can find all over the rest of this website by clicking on the July & August links on the side of this posting, know that I like to find new locations for shooting the fireworks.  The same can be said for these shows as well.

f/16, 6sec, ISO 100 at 52mm

 

This week I decided that I'd try my luck by shooting the fireworks from the bicycle path of the Jacques Cartier Bridge.  The path is closed for the winter, but it still somewhat accessible by foot.  This location was in the back of my head since November 2013 when I had been up there to take some other photographs that for some reason still haven't found there way here to the blog.  Remember a while back when I mentioned that sometimes I get backed up in my photos and some end up getting pushed back on the docket and then forgotten?  Yep, still guilty of doing that.

f/16, 21sec, ISO 100 at 52mm

 

As I was making my way home from the Day Job, I noticed something a little odd.  There was a huge cloud hanging over Montreal.  It ends up that there was actually a mist warning for the city as a thick cloud hung over the city and pretty much blocked everything from view.  Needless to say, I was pretty sure that this would be a problem, and sure enough, it was.  All of that darkness you see at the top of the photographs, that's not the sky, that's the giant cloud of mist.  A good example of how thick it was can be seen in my third photograph.  If you look at your left-hand corner, you'll notice that only the bottom half of a large explosion can be seen.  The top is completely blocked by the cloud.

f/16, 6 sec, ISO 100 at 52mm

 

I stayed long enough to take a couple of photographs, but didn't even wait for the end of the show to begin packing up my gear and leaving.  I ended up cropping all of the shots to 12" x 4" as the cloud ended up blocking out not only the fireworks, but the buildings of Montreal as well.  No point in showing an 8" x 12" of darkness.  Those photos will probably find their way to these pages as well, if they don't end up getting forgotten on the waiting list.  As for the fireworks, I guess not every outing can be a winner, though I think these shots are still kind of cool.  It's not every day that a giant cloud of mist crosses your path.

It's On The Wall

This is a bit of a repeat, but since this photograph first appeared on this blog way back in September 2012 and featured the ugly old watermark, so I figured it's not that big of a deal to post it up again.  There's also the very good reason that this is the photograph that is currently hanging on the walls of the Saint-Lambert Library for the rest of the month.  There's not much more to add.  You can find out the original story behind this photograph by visiting the link I provided at the beginning of this update.  It was taken at f/20, 9sec, ISO 100 at 34mm.  If you need a break from your holiday shopping, I can't think of a better idea than stopping in at the Saint-Lambert Library and picking up a good book...after stopping to see my photograph.  It looks much better up on that wall than it does here on the site.

Fire On Ice

Last night was the first Telus Fire On Ice fireworks display down at the Old Port of Montreal.  I took some photographs last year at a few of the Saturday night shows, which you can find by looking though the December 2013 and January 2014 pages of the blog.  There are lots of other pictures you can find on those pages as well.  The theme for the show was music from video games, however since my video game glory days date back to Pac-Man & Mario, I didn't really recognize any of the songs.  I wasn't really sure where I would place myself for this show.  Last year my trip to the Old Port ended in near disaster as the location I chose ended up being a bust.  I had hoped to find a spot where I could not only get the fireworks, but also have some of the buildings of Old Montreal in the background.  It wasn't meant to be be as most of the spots I had hoped to sneak into were chained shut with large signs saying they were closed because of the fireworks display.  So, running short of options and time, I decided to plant myself next to a group of other photographers who were also there to take pictures of the show.  There must have been seven or eight of them, so I figured that they must have known what they were doing and that it was a good spot.  It did turn out pretty well, though I think a wider angled lens would have been helpful.  All of the photographs I took were at 24mm, and I still missed some of the explosions higher in the sky.  With Christmas coming, if any of you kind people would like to contribute to the Buy Eric A Wider Angle Lens Fund, it would be greatly appreciated.  I had thought about moving back a bit, but my area had already gotten pretty congested with people.  I tried to adjust by tilting the head of my tripod so I could shoot vertically, but I preferred what I was seeing on my camera screen from the shots that were taken horizontally.  Once that little bit of adjusting was taken care of, I spent most of the rest of the fifteen minute show taking photographs. My favourite of those photographs taken are now here for you all to see.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 11sec, ISO 100 at 24mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/16, 10sec, ISO 100 at 24mm and the third photograph was taken at f/16, 9 sec, ISO 100 at 24mm.  Here are a couple more shots that I took of the Telus fireworks display.

f/16, 13sec, ISO 100 at 24mm

f/16, 15sec, ISO 100 at 24mm

The Telus Fire On Ice fireworks displays are scheduled to continue for the next couple of Saturday nights.  If it fits your holiday schedules, you should try and head out there for a little fun in the fresh winter air.

Winter Wonderland

Okay, you've all been looking at my mug on the page long enough, it's time to put up some fresh content.  Over here, we just had about 30cm's of snow get dumped on the city.  That, coupled with a day off from my Day Job meant that there was only one possible thing on my schedule for today.  Sit on my couch and watch television.  Luckily, my conscience kicked in and guilted me into leaving the comforts of home to walk outside in the snow.  Ever since my Boys of Summer photograph, I've kind of had a soft spot for picnic tables.  In the back of my mind, I had planned on trying to find some picnic tables after the first snowfall to try and take some photos.  Luckily, our first snowfall was rather wet and stuck very well to the trees.  I would have liked the sky to be a little more blue, but I guess my emails about that didn't make it to Mother Nature.  It's not always easy to photograph snow as it is so bright that it can easily trick your camera.  To try and make sure that my snow is the right colour, I take test readings by pointing my camera directly down at the snow by my feet.  I then shoot in Manual Mode and play around with the shutter speed.  There was some additional work playing with Levels in Photoshop, but I think that I got the snow to look fairly white here.  The first photograph was taken at f/8, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 24mm, the second one was taken at the same settings.  In the end, I guess that getting off of the couch was a good idea.  Now hopefully next time I have such a good idea I'll remember to wear winter boots as well.  It's not the best time of the year to be walking around with wet socks.

On Display

For the second year, one of my photographs will be on display at the Saint-Lambert Library for their Holiday Art Exhibition.  Sadly, there is no vernissage this year due to some scheduling problems, but I'm still happy that my photograph is hanging on the wall of a building I would visit often when I was a kid.  That's your friendly neighbourhood photographer standing next to my work of art.  You know, I feel really odd writing those words because I don't think I've ever seen myself as an 'artist'.  In my mind, I'm just some guy who points a box at people or things, turns a couple of knobs and then pushes a button.  That's probably a mindset that I need to work on.  Psychoanalysis aside, a worker at the library was kind enough to take this photo of my photograph and I, after I snuck my little card onto the frame.  No point in having your photograph on display if people don't know who you are and where they can find more of your photos, right?  If you happen to find yourself at the library, you can find my photo on the wall just behind the new arrivals.  While looking for something new to read, take a look behind and my photograph will be right there.  Take the time to look at the others works of art that are on display as well.

Speed Reading

I tend to be forgetful.  Just ask any number of the friends whose birthdays I've managed to forget over the years.  This also applies to my photographs.  Since I've got such a huge archive of photos, and I'm adding to library all the time, I sometimes forget some of the projects that I've already started.  Over a year ago I put up a photograph similar to the one you see here of an AMC Rambler that actually proved to be more popular than I thought it would be.  So much so that I quickly followed it up one month later with a Plymouth Road Runner, and then the good idea died as I have not done one ever since.  So, I had decided to go back through my collection of old car photos and see if I could create some similar images.  As I explained way back in that original post, I took theses photos back during some Saint-Lambert old car shows.  I love photographing old cars as they have great looks and much more character than the cars of today.  However, the main draw back is that the cars are often parked really close together and there are people walking everywhere.  So, I would try and find little details. On a recent day off from the Day Job, I went back through the archives and found a couple other photographs that I had planned on playing with.  The first photograph, a Pontiac GTO shot at f/4, 1/160sec, ISO 100 at 48mm, grabbed my eye right away thanks to the bright red colour of the hood and how great the grill and letters stood out against the dark backdrop.  The second photograph,a Dodge GTS shot at f/4, 1/1000sec, ISO 100 at 24mm, grabbed my eye with its colour as well, but I also liked the little shadow below the letters and the lines of the grill that led to the headlight.  For those of you out there who liked those photographs from 2013, sorry I waited so long to put these up.  I forgot.  Sorry for the forgotten birthdays as well.

Looking For Batman

Here's another photograph I took while on a little evening photo walk with my friends Vincent & Renee-Claude back in April.  For a quick little reminder of those other photos, you can follow the following links to the first and second photographs.  While the first two photographs were taken near the rail tracks, this one was taken in good old Saint-Lambert.  I've taken lots of photographs here over the years, so I was looking a different kind of image.  I noticed Renee-Claude had been taking some photos at different angles, and I quickly took note.  I tried a couple of shots and really liked the results.  It reminded me of those old Batman television shows where the action was filmed at an angle.   This photograph was shot at f/22, 34sec, ISO 100 at 27mm.  Sadly, the Batmobile didn't make an appearance on Victoria Ave. that night, but a single car managed to pass by in order to give me that little streak of red light.  I've always been a fan of light streaks, I feel it adds an extra something to the shot.  It was a fun evening, hope we all get to do it again soon.