Colourful Leaf

Other than the more comfortable temperatures, the other reason I love Autumn is because of the great colours.  However, one of the big misconceptions is that you need to leave the city to see them.  This was a local leaf that was full of colour.  They don't last very long though as the seasonal winds meant that there were more of them on the ground than still on the branches.  The red and yellow really grab the eye, especially when resting on a nice black background.  The photograph was taken at f/9, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 70mm with a little bit of flash bounced off of the ceiling.  I had tried to flatten the leaf by placing it under some books before taking the shot, but failed to notice that one edge had begun to curve while I was taking my photos.  Lesson learned, check your corners before you throw out your subjects.  Keeping in mind that not all subjects should be thrown out, though that will be a lesson for another day.

Setting Autumn Sun

Over the recent Thanksgiving weekend, I spent some time visiting the family.  After lunch, My Lovely Assistant and I went out on a little drive through the county.  My search for colourful trees was sabotaged by some poorly placed telephone and electricity lines, though I think the people of those communities would not have appreciated my cutting them down in order to grab a photograph.  So, we ended our drive near a lake where I managed to see that the sun was setting near some tall weeds.  I walked up to them to catch some of the sunlight glowing off of them and then used a small aperture to create the star effect around the sun.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/800sec, ISO 400 at 70mm.  There are still lots of fall colours around out there, go out and enjoy them.

Amon Amarth At MTelus

All good things must come to an end and the final band to be hitting the MTelus stage on Thursday night was Amon Amarth.  The band first formed in the late 1980's, though under a different name, but changed styles back in the early 90s and have been singing about history and Viking mythology ever since.  It was through their management that I was able to get a pass to shoot photographs for the night, and for that I am very thankful.  They were touring their eleventh and most recent album, Berzerker, which was released in May of this year.  They had the sold-out crowd sing the lyrics right back at them all night and in something that I rarely see, nearly all of their merchandise that had been for sale during the evening had been sold out.  They claimed to have really enjoyed their Montreal experience, and I tend to believe them.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 35mm.  Here are several more that I took of their performance.

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 38mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 3200 at 38mm

f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 61mm

f/2.8, 1/1000sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/1000sec, ISO 3200 at 63mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 3200 at 25mm

f/2.8, 1/1000sec, ISO 3200 at 28mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/2000sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec,ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 28mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 35mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 35mm

With that, a memorable night of music and photography came to an end.  Thanks once again to Jenny Douglas and the gang at 5B Artist Management for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  It was very much appreciated.  If you'd like to see the shots of the other bands who performed (Grand Magus, At The Gates & Arch Enemy) follow the links to see what I saw.  Speaking of links, if you'd like to find out more about Amon Amarth and their music, don't forget to follow the link to their website.

Arch Enemy At MTelus

The third installment of our evening of Swedish heavy metal had a little bit of local flavour added to it.  Arch Enemy got their start in the mid 1990's as a form of Death Metal Supergroup as all of their members were originally from other already established bands.  Their local flavour comes in the form of singer Alissa White-Gluz who hails from Montreal and for whom this sold-out show, and the one to follow the next night could be hailed as a triumphant homecoming.  The crowd was definately as happy to see her as she was to be on stage.  Their most recent album was 2017's Will To Power and earlier this year they released a double album of cover versions of songs that they were inspired by and liked.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm.  Here are several more that I took of their performance.

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, IS0 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 30mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 35mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 26mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 25mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 25mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 31mm

f/2.8, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 30mm

Though their name wasn't at the top of the bill, it wouldn't be a stretch to claim that they were a co-headliner on the evening.  It was certainly a triumphant performance that I really enjoyed.  To find out more about Arch Enemy and their music, don't forget to follow the link.

At The Gates At MTelus

Our second band of the night was one of the originators of the Swedish heavy metal scene, At The Gates.  Though they formed in the early 1990's, they've taken several breaks during the following years.  Their most recent break ended in 2014 and they're touring in support of their most recent album, 2018's To Drink From The Night Itself.  They were full of energy and the crowd was lurching to and fro to every song.  Their song also featured the first crowd surfer of the night.  An additional obstacle for us photographers to keep our eyes open for.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 3200 at 27mm.  Here are several more photographs that I took during their performance.

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/1000sec, ISO 3200 at 63mm

f/2.8, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 35mm

f/2.8, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 3200 at 57mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 30mm

f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 44mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 27mm

I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but they earned some points with me for wearing the t-shirts of local legends Voivod, but based on the crowd reactions, no bonus points were really needed for those who were already there.  To find out more about At The Gates and their music, follow the link to their website.