Something Different

I was recently told by My Lovely Assistant that my last five updates had involved sunsets and the sky, to which I responded by saying that they were five awesome updates about sunsets and the sky.  Regardless, I understand that it's good to switch things up every once in a while.  So, here is something different.  To be more specific, it is a Boyce Motometer off the hood of what I believe was an old Model A Ford.  It was used to help the driver know if the temperature of the motor, and for the first time on a car, offered the driver information about their engine from the comfort of the driver seat.  This photograph, taken at f/4, 1/640sec, ISO 100 at 38mm, is one of those little detail shots that I like to take at old car shows.  Using a large aperture helps to blur out the background, really allowing this old piece of automobile history to stand out.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Time continues to fly by and we suddenly find ourselves near the end of November, meaning that another year is almost over.  It's around this time of the year where I begin to try and dig through the excess amount of folders that have been growing in my photography file.  It allows me to find some hidden photographs that I've taken in the past and then forgotten about.  Since we've been going large with sunsets lately, I did some searching and found this photograph that I took last year.  The sky had little bit of red still left in it, but my favourite parts were the red Radio-Canada logo on the top of their building and the airplane that is taking off for an unknown destination in the upper right-hand corner.  This photograph was taken at f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 400 at 190mm.  Who knows what I'll be pulling out of my hard drive next.

Looking At The Sky

I've had my eyes pointed up at the sky over the last couple of weeks.  Mostly due to the terrific sunsets that we've been having since November began.  This was another of the recent photographs I took of the bright red skies we have been having.  I noticed this one while walking around the park, trying to get a good view of Montreal.  I really liked the way that the trees stood out against the red clouds, so I snapped away.  Again, I underexposed the photograph, darkening the trees, but also bringing out a little more red from the sky.  The photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/100sec, ISO 100 at 85mm.  The snow finally arrived in the area the other day, and the forecast has nothing but grey skies for the immediate future, so my bright red skies may have come to an end until next Fall.  It certainly was a colourful few weeks.

Going Back For More

At the end of my update last week about having my photograph on CTV News, which you can view again by following this link, I mentioned how I wanted to return to that spot in order to capture a similar sky while photographing the Jacques Cartier Bridge.  Sadly, the sky never quite got the same again over the last week, but it did still provide some interesting colours over the skyscrapers of Montreal.  Though I try to avoid repeating photographs here on the blog, I thought that these two shots warranted bending that rule.  After all, the photographs are a little different in that the sky is different in both of these photographs, and the one that ended up being broadcast on the news.  For the first shot, which was taken at f/6.3, 1/125sec, ISO 100 at 200mm I underexposed the photograph just a little bit in order to make the colour of they sky stand out a little bit more.  This blackened the buildings, which was a plus in my mind as they were kind of dull in the foreground without any lights on.  With the second photograph, taken at f/7.1, 1/60sec, ISO 800 at 200mm, I was walking back home and went by the same spot I had been at earlier.  I thought the sky looked nice so I figured I'd snap another photograph.  I almost wasn't able to get the shot as I didn't have my tripod or monopod with me, so shooting at such a low shutter speed was a bit of a risk as despite my best efforts, I tend to get a little bit shaky when trying to grab these low-light shots  While these shots helped me deal with the disappointment of not getting a shot of the bridge, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I haven't missed my last chance for this year.

Looking For The Man In The Moon

Like most everyone else with a camera, I spent some time the last few days looking up at the most recent Super Moon.  In this instance, the Moon was the closest it has been to the Earth in 68 years, and the closest it will be until 2034.  I had been planning on waiting until Monday night to take a photograph, but I got a call from my younger brother telling me that the Moon was already pretty large.  I took a step outside and noticed he was right.  I was hoping to find a nice spot with either some kind of building or landmark to shoot the Moon against, but it was so high up in the sky that I couldn't get a nice shot of it with anything.  Thinking I'd rather have a nice shot of the surface rather than just a bright spot in the sky, I chose to zoom in on it and shoot away.  This photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/500sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  It's a good thing that I ended up going out on Sunday, because the sky on Monday was full of clouds.  There's another Super Moon scheduled for December, maybe I can find a cool location to shoot that one between now and then.

Look Ma, I'm On TV...Again

There was a super sunset the other day, the entire sky turning bright red.  I grabbed my camera and headed out the door to a spot that I knew would give me a good view of the skyscrapers of downtown Montreal.  After loading my shots onto my computer, I felt that one might be nice enough to get my name on the television once again.  I sent it off to CTV News and voila, I'm now three-for-three in getting my photographs on the nightly newscast.  Though it was still light out, it was also dark enough for the building lights to be turned on.  I had tried taking a similar photograph a few days before, but the buildings were dark.  It left me feeling like a large black spot was in the photograph, rather than a silhouette, so I was happy to see the little squares of light.  Another little touch that I'm not sure you can see at this low resolution, is that a flock of geese are flying through the scene, at the very top of the photograph in the clouds.  I didn't actually know they were there while I was taking the photograph, they were a happy surprise that I found later.  The photograph was taken at f/4.5, 1/125sec, ISO 640 at 182mm. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for one more sunset like this as I'd like to take a similar photograph, but of the Jacques Cartier Bridge.  We'll see if Mother Nature approves.

In Flanders Field

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.

This photograph is of the war memorial cenotaph in Saint-Lambert.  A place I have visited for several Remembrance Day ceremonies over the years.  This year, the celebration was held on a grey Sunday afternoon, though I continue to believe that the day should be a national holiday in order to properly remember and pay respect.  Maybe one day.  In the meantime, this photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 50mm

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.

Halestorm At The Metropolis

Maybe this is why I don't work well on a deadline.  Add some tasty cookies and a little bit of football together and the end result is photographs I took of a concert a week and a half ago ending up on the blog...a week and a half later.  It's not like this is the first time something like this has happened.  My 'Photography' file on the computer continues to grow at a pace faster than I get stuff onto the site, and that's not likely to change.  Getting back to the topic at hand, these photographs are of the band Halestorm, who were here recently at the Metropolis.  They were headlining a show that saw the bands Dorothy (see photographs here) and Lita Ford (see photographs here) open for them.  The band were touring in support of their album 'Into The Wild Life' which was released back in April 2015.  It was their second visit to Montreal over the last two years, and the first time I saw them since they appeared at Heavy Montreal back in 2013.  They've really gotten a boost in popularity since the release of 'Into The Wild Life' with lead singer Lzzy Hale (no, that's not a typo) claiming her place as one of the most powerful voice in rock and roll.  Those with astute eyes may have noticed that the second photograph in this set comes from the set of Lita Ford photographs.  I included it here because it's Hale who was singing at the time the shot was taken, and those shots of the two of them together on stage were probably my favourite that I took on the night.  Though the lighting was much better once Halestorm hit the stage, I ran into another problem.  Overly excited fans.  I suppose that I should't hold it against them, but as I mentioned before, shooting photographs in between outstretched arms and swaying bodies isn't always that easy.  It does, however, make the end result that much sweeter when you do manage to get home with a terrific shot.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/800sec, ISO 3200 at 50 mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm and the third photograph was taken at f/4.5, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took during their set.

f/4.5, 1/400sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/100sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/160sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/320sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/80sec ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/100sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/1000sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/160sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/125sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4, 1/400sec, ISO 1000 at 50mm

f/4, 1/800sec ISO 1000 at 50mm

I always try and make an effort to get as many members in the band as possible, which is not always popular since I need to pick and spot and then end up stuck there for the entire show.  I tried really hard to get drummer Arejay Hale into several shots as he was just full of energy.  Was happy to catch him with his sticks in the air a couple of times.  And so ends that trifecta of concert shots.  As usual, a little bit of photography and some rock'n'roll make for a great time.

Ready For Some Football

Mother Nature has been keeping me away from the football field this season as there has been rain in the forecast for the most recent games by the local Champlain Cavaliers.  In my absence, they've managed to put together an undefeated season and had already won their first play-off game.  The match on Saturday, against the Rimouski Pionniers, was for a spot in the RSEQ Championship Game.  I was a little torn about going because I have this terrible record when it comes to the success of the teams I end up photographing and I didn't want to be responsible for ending the Cavaliers perfect season.  That thought quickly left me as I reminded myself that I didn't actually know anybody on the team.  I figured my lack of a personal connection would be enough to keep my curse at bay, but I was getting a little bit nervous when the first half of the game ended with the Pionniers leading 6-1.  The home team came to life in the second half, scoring two quick touchdowns before putting the game out of reach with another in the fourth quarter and a quick defensive touchdown off of an interception moments after that.  The final score was Champlain 29 - Rimouski 12.  As for the photographs, I managed to put myself in the end zone that had a nice background of tree so that there would be a little bit of colour in some of the photographs.  I also found that my zooming and focusing was a little bit behind the speed of the game as I had two nice touchdown throws end essentially right beside me and the receiver ended up being out of focus in all of my photographs.  I also failed to follow the most important rule of sport photography, that being that if you're watching the action in the viewfinder, the odds are not very good that you'll be capturing the action on your camera.  I did manage to capture some of the action while I wasn't just watching.  The first photograph was taken at f/5, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/5, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 115mm and the third photograph was taken at f/5, 1/500sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  Here are a few more photographs taken during the game.

f/5, 1/500sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/5, 1/800sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/5, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/5, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/5, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/5, 1/500sec, ISO 400 at 142mm

f4, 1/800sec, ISO 400 at 102mm

f/4, 1/800sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/4, 1/1600sec, ISO 800 at 182mm

f/4, 1/1250sec, ISO 400 at 168mm

f/4, 1/1250sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/4, 1/800sec, ISO 400 at 90mm

Quite a lot of photographs, but it was the only game I was going to see this year, so my camera got a good workout.  Best of the luck to the Cavaliers who will be playing for the championship next weekend against Jonquiere.

Lita Ford At The Metropolis

After a brief delay for some tasty treats, it's back to the Metropolis we go.  When last we spoke, we were looking at photographs of Dorothy, who were first to step on the stage.  The second act was rock and roll veteran, Lita Ford.  Ford got her start with The Runaways in the late 1970's and has been regarded as a guitar hero ever since.  After a couple of lean years, Ford has been having a kind of career renaissance over the last few years, and this was her third visit to the city since 2012.  The lighting was a little better than during Dorothy's set, though still not quite bright enough for me to get some good shutter speeds. The one point where the lights were turned up happened when Lzzy Hale of the group Halestorm, who were the headliners and would play later that night, joined Lita Ford and her band on stage to play two of her best known songs, Cherry Bomb and Close My Eyes Forever.  Each lady even brought out their own double neck guitars to the roaring approval of the crowd.  That was a pretty cool moment.  The rock queen from the not so distant past sharing the stage with the hot new contender for the crown.  Lita even mentioned during their two songs together that she was 'passing the baton'.  Though she only played eight songs, it was like a trip back down memory lane.  I was still at my spot near the front of the stage for these shots, though the crowd was beginning to get a little more active so I found myself having to try shooting around the waving arms of the other concert-goers.  It's a little frustrating at first, but after a while you learn to time the movements of the person in front of you and shoot around them.  A fun little on the spot challenge.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.5, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  Here are several more photographs that I took during her set.

f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/30sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4.5, 1/80sec ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

I know that this was kind of seen as a 'passing of the torch' moment, but from what I saw, Lita Ford still has lots left in her tank.  I felt kind of bad about most of the shots for this update being shots where she shared the stage, but they were the best of the bunch and also the shots where Lita appeared to be having the most fun.  Some nice mementos of a great show, and there's still one more set to go.