Tasty Skulls

It's that time of the year when all of the little spooks will be hitting the streets, looking to fill their bag with all kind of tasty treats.  Some of those treats might be some little candy skulls, much like the ones here that found their way in front of my camera.  It has been a while since we've had some snacks here on the old blog, so this seemed like a good time to bring a little bit of sugar back to the masses.  I spread the candies out on a plate and used the sunshine coming in from the window as a light source.  I also used a couple of different apertures and views to create a couple of photos of a bunch of colourful skulls looking back at me.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 400 at 60mm and here is the second.

f/6.3, 1/100sec, ISO 400 at 48mm

Have fun out there tomorrow night filling up your treat bags.  If you happen to find yourselves with more Smarties than you know what to do with, feel free to send some my way.

Sunday Showdown

For lack of a better term, I think that it is time for a fresh update to get the taste of the last one out of our collective mouths. As previously mentioned, this past Sunday I took in part of a football game between the local Champlain Cavaliers and the visiting Shawinigan Electriks who represent their respective schools in the RSEQ.  Though the field is only a few minutes away from me, this is the first time I've been able to catch a game this year.  I still wasn't able to watch the whole thing as other affairs came up, but I managed to make the most of the little time I did have.  That should be rather evident by looking at the large amount of photographs in this update.  Who knows how many I would have come home with had I been there for the whole thing.  When shooting the action, I try and follow where the ball is.  For me, a football photograph isn't complete unless you can see at least some of the ball in there somewhere.  Otherwise, it's just a bunch of people piling on top of each other, though as with most things, there are always exceptions.  The first photograph was taken at f/7.1, ISO 400, 1/400sec at 125mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/6.3, 1/160sec, ISO 100 at 200mm and the third photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  Here are several more photographs of game action.

f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 130mm

f/7.1, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 182mm

f/7.1, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/7.1, 1/400sec ISO 400 at 200mm

f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/7.1, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/7.1, 1/2000sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/7.1, 1/2000sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/7.1, 1/2000sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/7.1, 1/2000sec, ISO 400 at 170mm

f/7.1, 1/2000sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

Shortly after that kick the teams went in for Halftime and I made my way home.  It's always fun to be able to mix two of the things that I like.  In this case, football and photography.  The Cavaliers ended up winning big and are currently fourth in their division.  That means that there is the chance of them hosting a play-off game.  Should that happen, maybe I'll be able to drag my camera out to catch a full game before the year ends.

An Upsetting Play

I suppose that a warning to those of you with weak stomachs might be appropriate, but if you're reading these words than the odds are pretty good that you've already seen this photograph so I just hope that you aren't seeing it during meal time.  Sometimes you end up getting more in a photograph that you intended, such is the case here.  I thought I was photographing a simple football play, but ended up with something a little more.  I caught this unfortunate moment for #7 of the Shawinigan Élektriks while going through the photographs that I took of a game between them and the Champlain Cavaliers.  I'll have more photographs from the game up here soon, but felt that this one, taken at f/7.1, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 200mm, deserved to have an update all its own.  How did I come to that decision, I guess you could say that I listened to my gut....  Sorry about that, hope you all enjoy your meals.

Not Ready To Be Friends

Halloween is rapidly approaching, which is kind of appropriate since this update features something that looks like it came fresh out of an Alice Cooper nightmare.  Through some quick research, I discovered that this creepy little thing is called a Black & Yellow Argiope spider and is considered to be a 'friendly' spider.  Good to know because this is a clear case of appearances being deceiving.  When My Lovely Assistant and I accidentally came upon this thing during a walk in the Boucherville islands, being friendly was not the first thing that came to mind.  After convincing myself that this thing wasn't going to jump off its web and eat me, I got much more closer than I was comfortable being and shot this photograph at f/9, 1/125sec, ISO 400 at 68mm.  I didn't wait to find out if it is really true that the spider is more afraid of me than I was of it.  That is one mystery that will remain unanswered for the immediate future.

Room For One More

As promised a little while ago, apple picking season is upon us.  This past Sunday, My Lovely Assistant and I visited our favourite orchard in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Les Vergers Petit et Fils.  It was an overcast morning, and we were pretty much the only ones there.  It was kind of a private apple picking session.  After filling up our bag to the point of nearly losing some of our profit, as the orchard attendant mentioned as an apple fell from our bag and rolled around the parking lot, we took some time for a little artistic fun.  My Lovely Assistant thought it would be cool to place one of our apples on the rung of one of the ladders, and I found another ladder in the background.  I took the photograph at f/5, 1/125sec, ISO 400 at 70mm.   I like putting objects in the background of my photographs, and this blurred out ladder and apple tree seemed like perfect supporting act for the situation.

You Promised Me Peanuts

Contrary to what my furry little friend on the left may want you to believe, I at no time promised to reward him with a snack if he posed for a photograph.  Past visits to see my parents have usually yielded photographs of various flowers or landscapes, but lately I've also been coming home with some shots of the local critter community. This time being this little chipmunk who made his way up out of the flower bed next door as we were gathered outside.  A quick trip inside to grab my gear and I was soon kneeling on the driveway to get a nice shot of this little guy.  The photograph was taken at f/4.5, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  The little guy then scurried off, maybe upset that he didn't get a modeling fee.  I just hope that his quest for a snack doesn't turn him into a snack for the cat that lives next door.

Colours Starting To Change

Though many would be quick to disagree based on the unseasonably warm temperatures we have been experiencing of late, Autumn is, in fact, here.  Which means that the leaves will soon be changing colours, a process which you can see in the photograph to the left, that has begun.  This is a view that I caught while watching the Dragonboat competition a few short weeks ago, and then shot with my camera at f/9, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 300mm.  I really liked the sight of the metal superstructure of the Jacques Cartier Bridge peeking over the trees of Île Notre-Dame.  All of that without a cloud to be seen in the sky.  A little mix of nature and modern construction all in one.

Looking For A Snack

On of my favourite autumn activities is to go apple picking with My Lovely Assistant.  It's usually a great couple of hours outside.  We fill our bag with apples, some of which are eaten on the spot.  Others make their way home with us where they are transformed into tasty creations.  Some of them, such as this apple here, end up as models before my camera.  This was the brightest red apple we found last year, so I found a relatively flat tree branch, a nice green background, put the sun at my back and snapped away.  This photograph was taken at f/4.5, 1/640sec, ISO 100 at 40mm.  As for the apple, I'm not sure what happened to it, but I'm sure that it met a delicious fate.

Rockpocalypse Now!

Though we've had some unusually warm temperatures of late, I can confirm that we have indeed arrived in the month of October, or Rocktober as the local DJ's would call it.  So, what better way to begin Rocktober than with this photograph I took at a concert back in April by the group Citizen Zero.  I found myself near the back of the room for this show, but still managed to grab this pretty cool shot.  I noticed during one of their songs that after the chorus the stage lights would point out into the crowd, who would then respond my raising their hands up, giving the two-finger salute to rock made popular by the late, great, Ronnie James Dio.  After witnessing this a few times, this shot, which was taken at f4, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm, was my final choice as it had the most arms raised in the air.  With the bright lights pointed right at me, it almost looks like we're about to experience the end of the world, and everyone is welcoming it.