Orange Crush

I was looking out my window the other day after getting home from work and noticed that the sky was an odd colour.  Seems all of that nice pollution and smog was mixing with the setting sun to give the sky a bit of an orange hue.  I'll admit, I cheated a little bit with this photograph and may have augmented the colour a little bit, but the sky really was orange-ish.  The photograph was taken at f/14, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 300mm. By adding a little more orange to the sky, it really brought out the metal pieces of the Biosphere.  It's not quite as nice an the Orange Julep on Decaire, but I like it just the same.

Only 28 More Days

Isn't that pretty. 28 days are all that is left until my photography exhibition takes place at the Greenfield Park Library.  I titled it 'Point of View' because I've always felt that just about anything can be made to look great as a photograph.  Over the last few years here, you've seen me put those words to use as I've photographed just about anything I could get my camera in front of.  This exhibition will have about 25 photographs I've taken since my last show, and will feature a wide variety of subjects.  I can't wait, and I hope to see some of you there over the course of the month, or the night of the vernissage, which takes place the evening of March 23rd.

Flash Not Needed

I often find myself looking for reasons to shoot photographs of things with flash because it is a form of photograph that still frustrates me to this day.  However, given my choice, there is still no replacing some bright rays of sunshine in order to get a really nice look.  I also prefer the natural shadows that come with shooting in the sun, the little shadows under a petal or in a background that get swallowed up with the flash.  Which is why I re-shot these Christmas flowers, which were given to My Lovely Assistant as a Christmas present and were shot using flash, one day shortly afterwards when the sun finally came out to play.  The first photograph was taken at f/6.3, 1/1000sec, ISO 400 at 60mm.  Here are a few more flash-free photographs.

f/16, 1/125sec, ISO 400 at 60mm

f/2.8, 1/4000sec, ISO 400 at 60mm

f/6.3, 1/1000sec, ISO 400 at 60mm

f/4, 1/6400sec, ISO 400 a 60mm

I really like that last shot.  While I was moving the potted Amaryllis around, I got the idea of trying to shoot a photograph from above, with the filament and anthers reaching away from the colourful petals and appear adding some colour to the darkness that fills the top of the photograph.  Just a little bit of the fun that I like to have with flowers.

Pieces Of The Puzzle

34 Days. That's all that is left until my photography exhibition at the Greenfield Park Library, which can of course be found at 225 Empire, Greenfield Park.  Contrary to my usual habits, I'm actually pretty prepared for everything.  My reputation of being Mr. Last Minute is taking a beating with this one.  This week I picked up the rest of my photographs from the fine folks at Photo Lab Yves Thomas and got the remaining frames that I needed from Boutique Lozeau.  I hope that everyone who takes the time to pass by will enjoy what they see.  I've selected some of my favourite photographs from the last year and a half and they'll all be on display.  Hope to see you there.

Snow Everywhere

Over the last few days, we've had a large quantity of snow dumped on us.  Other places have gotten more, but this is the largest quantity of snow we've gotten over the last couple of years.  In any event, in reading the social medias, I've come to realize that many of you could live without the flaky white stuff.  So, in an effort to maybe change your minds, I thought I'd post up a photograph I took earlier this winter in an attempt to show you how beautiful the snow can be.  The photograph was taken at f/13, 1/80sec, ISO 100 at 200mm.  I admit that getting some of you to like the snow may be difficult, especially those of you who have had shovels glued to your hands over the last few days, but I hope you give it a shot.

Roses Are Red

Many a poem has begun with those six little words.  Now, thanks to my little blog, I am able to provide visual proof that the first part of that rhyme is true.  All silliness aside, like most people, I'm attracted to bright colours.  There isn't much more red than a fresh rose.  This one in particular was part of a Valentine's Day gift for My Lovely Assistant.  It still hadn't fully opened and with the sun coming in the window, the reds came to life and the petals provided some deep shadows in between them.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/1250sec, ISO 400 at 60mm.  As much as the red grabs your attention, there is a little spot of green from one of the decorative pieces that are included in a bouquet in the top right corner of the photograph.  It's barely noticeable, even less at the low resolution used to display my photos, but it's one of those little things that I always try to include in my photographs.

Where's Waldo II

While walking on Île Sainte-Hélène the other day on my way back from the Classique Montrèalaise, I made sure to stop by some trees.  I did this because on my way to watching the hockey action, I had noticed that this particular tree was full of cardinals.  I even made a point of leaving the hockey a little early so that there would still be some sunshine left up in the sky.  Sadly, the tree was empty upon my return, but I did find a feathered friend watching me from some brush nearby.  The way he stood out with his red coat caught my eye, and I thought it looked nice against the brown in the rest of the shot.  This photograph was taken at f/4, 1/500sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  For those of you who might not remember why this post is title "Where's Waldo II", feel free to go back in time and see if you can find another hidden friend.

Colours Of Mount Sutton

Over here in my neck of the woods, the weather for the next few days includes generous amounts of snow, rain, wind and freezing rain.  A big old winter cocktail.  This doesn't really inspire many people, so I thought it might be a good idea to see if I could find a little something to take you all away to a happier place.  This photograph, taken at f/8, 1/100sec, ISO 400 at 42mm, comes from a series of photographs I took while at Mt. Sutton with My Lovely Assistant this fall.  This photograph was taken as we walked down the hill and I tried my hardest to take a few photographs so that there would be some nice mementos if by chance I were to fall down the hill.  It was a kind of grey day, but the colours in the trees really came out.  It's nice to see considering how everything is due to stay grey and wet for a couple more days.

Ready For The Super Bowl

It's Super Bowl time once again.  At this time last year, I put together a bunch of photographs that I had taken of the local Champlain Cavaliers in action.  This year, the weather was a little against me, so I only was able to watch one game.  So, of that batch, I kept a few of them aside, knowing that they would make for a topical update come Super Bowl Time.  If you'd like to read a little more about that day, you can visit the original post by following this link.  In the meantime, the photograph at the top of the page was taken at f/5, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  Here are a few more action photographs.

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

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

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

f/4, 1/1250sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

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

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

f/4, 1/1250sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

When last we spoke, the Cavaliers had won this game and were taking their undefeated season to the Championship game, which they sadly lost.  They had a great season, though, as did the NFL's Falcons and Patriots.  No matter who you may be cheering for, let us hope for a good game.

Classique Montréalaise

As previously mentioned, I spent Sunday afternoon down at the Olympic Basin where there was a huge outdoor hockey tournament taking place.  Called the Classique Montréalaise, it brought teams of players from all over the greater Montreal area to compete in this event, which is part of the large 375th anniversary celebrations taking place this year in Montréal.  It was kind of a grey day, but I was expecting there to be more people on hand.  Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the location, but those who weren't there missed lots of fun action.  I've shot photographs at hockey games before, but I usually try to just focus on the goaltender and wait for the action to arrive in the crease.  That plan was quickly thrown for a loop when I arrived on the site and noticed that there were no goaltenders to be found.  Instead, in order to score a goal, the teams needed to shoot the puck into these very small mini nets that were placed at each end of the rink.  From my years of watching hockey, I knew that the game photographers are usually either up in the stands, or up against the glass in the corner of the rink.  Since there were no stands to watch from, I tried to place myself in the corners.  Luckily, several games were being played because it wasn't until the third one that I watched where my hands were finally catching up to the skaters.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/640sec, ISO 100 at 70mm and the second photograph was taken at f/4, 1/640sec, ISO 100 at 46mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took while watching the games.

f/5.6, 1/1000sec, ISO 400 at 48mm

f/5.6, 1/3200sec, ISO 800 at 70mm

f/5.6, 1/3200sec, ISO 800 at 70mm

f/5.6, 1/1000sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/5.6, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 59mm

As I said above, I think lots of people missed out on an amusing afternoon of hockey.  In addition to the games, there were appearances from former players from the Montreal Canadiens, there was music under a tent and various other performers walking around the area.  Lots of fun for everyone.