Victorian Sunset

As mentioned in the last update, I spent five days going to a spot trying to get a nice sunset photograph.  It is said that patience is a virtue and here is the proof.  On the seventh day I finally got my sunset.  Those of you familiar with the geography would know that I was near the train tracks leading to the Victoria Bridge, my favourite of the bridges that lead to Montreal.  After five cloudy days, the sun was nice and bright this past Monday, so I headed out to the tracks.  When the sun was at the right spot, it reflected on the tracks creating some nice leading lines to the structure of the bridge.  I was hoping that the bridge would have been raised for the photograph, but after a week of waiting, I was just happy to have my sunset and orange sky.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/500sec, ISO 400 at 160mm.  A little serious note to end things, please be sure to be careful when photographing near train tracks.  I took a few more shots while I was there, so maybe we'll see a couple more here in the future.

Powdered Sunset

Things don't always end up going as planned.  Regular visitors may have noticed it has been a little while since the last update.  I had found a cool spot for a nice sunset photograph, but then we went and had five days of clouds.  Then on the sixth day, when the sun finally did come out, I ended up getting stuck at a train crossing and missed the sunset.  Since I had sunsets on my head, and I have recently been missing the relative ease I had with sunsets at our old location, I went and dug one out of the archives.  I took this photograph from the staircases that lead to the bicycle path of the Jacques Cartier Bridge.  A simple little walk down the street that I really miss.  I like these powdery autumn sunsets.  The clouds are less puffy, but do a much better job of showing off the light of the setting sun.  The photograph was taken at f/6.3, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 70mm.  Hopefully Mother Nature will be more accommodating this week, though it is currently snowing which will make my site a little less accessible.  Oh well, Spring is only a few months away.

Curved Colour

We've had a series of rather grey days here in the neighbourhood, so I thought that some of you out there on the internets might like a little dose of colour.  Back when the leaves began to fall, I was keeping my eyes peeled for a bright red leaf with a bit of a curve to it.  While out for a walk with The Heir Apparent, this one caught my eye.  It was exactly what I was looking for.  After bringing it home, I took one of my frames off of the wall and placed the leaf on the black backboard behind it.  I then bounced some flash off the wall in order to get the red to really stand out and also to get the tips looking nice and crisp and makes the veins more visible.  The photograph was taken at f/6.3, 1/160sec, ISO 100 at 60mm.  That little peak hole under the curve of the leaf is the effect I was looking for and I liked the shadows created by the flash.  A fun little home project.

Late Arrivals

One thing that I have noticed during my many walks with The Heir Apparent is that there is an abundance of pigeons that have claimed the area around the highway overpass as their own.  Many of them congregate around the light pole just before the overpass where they watch all of the cars, and baby strollers, that pass by.  While out on one of our walks, I had my camera with me and decided to hang around a little bit as there were lots of comings and goings happening.  I waited for the pole to be almost full and shot as the final arrivals came in looking for a spot.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/200sec, ISO 400 at 70mm, and yes, we do end up walking just a little bit faster when it happens that we need to pass underneath that light pole.  The roof on the stroller goes up too, no need for any surprises from above.

Champlain Bridge Sunset

The one thing I miss the most since we moved our head office one year ago is photographing sunsets next to the bridges of Montreal.  I was fortunate enough to live within walking distance of two of those bridges and longtime fans of the page will know that they have featured prominently in my photographs.  However, one bridge, or two in this case, that has so far escaped being featured here is the old Champlain Bridge and its new replacement, the Samuel de Champlain Bridge.  Knowing this, My Lovely Assistant decided that with the warm November weather we were experiencing, it was the perfect time to visit the new bridge.  The Samuel de Champlain Bridge has an awesome walking path that features a great view of downtown Montreal.  I had hoped to take my sunset photograph from up there, but it was terribly smoggy over the city and the view was not very nice at all.  Also, it was at that time that The Heir Apparent decided she didn't really want to be up on the bridge any longer so we made a u-turn about half-way across and made our way back.  The Heir Apparent must have been clued in to something, as once we got back on land, the sky over both bridges cleared out and the sun began to set.  It could be seen peeking through one of the concrete piers of the old bridge.  My only dilemma was that I couldn't decide which cropped version of the photograph I liked more, so they both get posted.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/125sec, ISO 100 at 50mm.  I didn't end up getting the skyline shot I was hoping for, but the bridge is fairly new and should be around for a few more years.  Or at least I and many tax payers certainly hope so.

Don't Forget Your Poppy

Remembrance Day, as with everything, is a little bit different this year.  There will be no big celebrations in any cities and missing from your local grocery or retail stores are the Veterans who would sit at a table to sell their Poppies and be more than happy to share a story or two with people who were willing to listen.  Remembrance Day has always been one of my favourite days.  From the ceremonies in High School, to attending the big outdoor events in Montreal and also to having some of those chats with the Veterans who would be stationed at my Day Job.  Over the year, those Veterans began to be replaced by other volunteers, but their sacrifices will never be forgotten.  To celebrate this year, I brought a couple of forgotten poppies out from the archives.  I photographed these from my Mom's garden all the way back in 2013, but wasn't happy with the way I had edited them.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 400 at 60mm and the second photograph was taken at f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 400 at 60mm.  Both were taken using a Macro lens for a little bit of added magnification.  Getting back to what I said at the beginning of this update, you probably noticed that the poppies are missing from the stores you visit this year.  If you would like to get a poppy and make a donation to support the cause, you can visit the Royal Canadian Legion website where you can find out how to buy a poppy over the internet.  It is a very worthwhile cause to support as we should never fail to remember the sacrifices made by those who made it possible to enjoy the freedom that we have today.

Fall Reflection

I must admit that as this year continues to move forward, I find myself suffering from a little bit of late in the year 'blahs'.  I'm not finding the usual inspiration for photographs at the moment and find myself digging through the archives far more than taking new shots.  In one respect, it is a good thing since I believe I may have said at one time that I probably had enough photographs for a years worth of updates.  I just didn't really think that I'd have that claim put to the test.  This photograph, taken at  f/7.1, 1/125sec, ISO 100 at 41mm, was taken during a Fall walk last year.  They say that the end of the year is a time for reflection, though that usually takes place closer to the end of the year.  I guess I just decided to start that a little bit earlier than usual.

Musical Memories

It's time for another trip back to a happier, musical time where concerts happened and I had the chance to photograph them.  It was one year ago that I found myself at the MTelus in Montreal for a triple bill featuring Sharp/Shock, Skinny Lister and headlined by The Interrupters.  This ended up being my final concert of 2019 but I had nothing but high hopes for the coming year as I had already lined up several contacts for 2020, until what everyone knows happened, ended up happening.  The show itself was terrific.  The venue was sold out for The Interrupters, who brought everyone together to listen to their unity music as singer Aimee Interrupter spent more time interacting with the fans in the audience than any other performer I have had the good fortune to photograph.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 63mm.  Here are a few more from the show.

 

f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 57mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 55mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

If you'd like to see the other photographs that I took that light, just follow the links.  The photographs of Sharp/Shock can be found at this link.  The photographs of Skinny Lister can be found at this link and the photographs of The Interrupters can be found at this link.  Don't forget to also click on the group name links to find out more about them and their music. What a great memory, what a great show.  I really enjoyed being able to photograph those concerts and hopefully when this thing gets straightened out I'll be able to jump right back into the pit.