The Sun Sets On 2020

I usually begin this yearly post by saying how it was an exciting and eventful year spent behind my camera.  But, lets be honest, the only word that is clean that I can use to describe this year is crappy.  Granted, 2019 was going to be tough for me to follow up on, but nobody could have predicted the disaster that 2020 has turned into.  There were still a couple highlights.  I managed to photograph a few concerts before everything came to a crashing halt, including my first paid concert shoot (merci beaucoup Baby Boomers Band).  I once again got a few photographs onto CTV Montreal and into the La Presse + newspaper.  I often mention that I have enough photographs in the archives to go an entire year without taking any new ones, and I nearly ended up going that route.  All of those photos in the archives came in handy at time, but they just don't replace the thrill of shooting something fresh and new.  I miss my concerts, fireworks and special events.  Luckily, all of the bad was countered by one giant good.  Back in January My Lovely Assistant and I welcomed The Heir Apparent into our lives.  Though you haven't seen much of her here on the old blog, I assure you that she was my favourite subject this year.  You could say that this year was a roller coaster of emotion.  Luckily, I had just the photographs on hand for such an occasion.  These were taken on an early Autumn day while the La Ronde amusement park was still open.  I was hoping to capture a sunset against the city, but the sun wasn't co-operating.  Before leaving, I noticed that the roller-coaster was running and I had a clear view of the people on the ride.  A quick snap on the way up, and another snap on the way down.  The first photograph was taken at f/5.6, 1/800sec, ISO 400 at 200mm and the second photograph was taken at f/5.6 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  A good representation of what was certainly a year full of ups and downs.  Here's to hoping that 2021 has more ups as we could certainly use some.

Christmas Dessert

Some traditions have managed to remain over the course of this miserable year. Christmas itself may not have been done as usual, but My Lovely Assistant still put her talents to use and baked a marvelous dessert.  It was sad that we weren't able to share it with anyone, but it was also great that we didn't because it meant more for Your Friendly Neighbourhood Photographer.  This is always one of the more stressful photographs I take because My Lovely Assistant does such a great job making her Christmas desserts, which was a double chocolate and pear yule log for those of you wondering, that I don't want to screw up the shot.  We lit up the Christmas tree, turned off the kitchen lights and bounced some flash off of the ceiling while taking the photograph at f/5, 1.6sec, ISO 100 at 50mm.  1.6 seconds for the photograph, but it was eaten at a much faster speed.  I hope that all of you out there had just as tasty a dessert for your big day.

Jolly Saint Nick

Though it doesn't really feel like it with everything that is going on, it is Christmas time and all of the good little girls and boys are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus.  The Heir Apparent isn't yet of the age where she can share that anticipation, but seeing her leaves me feeling excited about Christmas' to come.  Since her arrival, I see things through different eyes and am reminded of things from my own childhood.  The excitement of Christmas Eve, knowing that in the morning would be so many surprises waiting for us under the tree.  That same knowledge making it almost impossible to sleep.  That promise of gifts to come is a little different this year.  It's not the gifts of the morning after that I looking forward to, but something a little more long term.  The best gift that I, and probably several of you out there, are hoping for is to be able to go back to they way things were very soon.  Like all of you, I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss my brother and I miss my Mom & Dad.  There has been some positive news over the last few days, and hopefully Jolly Saint Nick can pull off another Christmas miracle and we'll all be able to see each other safely again soon.  This photograph, taken at f/4, 2sec, ISO 100 at 50mm, kind of represents that to me.  I had seen Santa sitting in our tree and he was pointing towards all of the colourful lights and decorations around him.  Times may be tough now, but he is showing the way.  Good times will be coming, Santa will deliver once more.  I hope all of you out there have a Merry Christmas.

Stay Puffed

We're on the home stretch towards Christmas which means that it is time for my sweet tooth to be spoiled.  This years batch of tasty treats have already begun to leave the oven, but first we need to take a trip through the archives for one of my favourite snacks from years gone by.  This was the first time that My Lovely Assistant had tried to make marshmallows and she went all out  This batch was made with some raspberries which gave them a nice reddish colour.  I used a black background to make sure that the red stood out and a strategically placed toothpick helped the stack of three to stay in place.  The photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 70mm with some flash bounced off of the ceiling to help bring out the colour.  They were quite tasty and My Lovely Assistants treats are always a highlight of the season.  The only good thing about this pandemic, it means that I don't have to share with the rest of the family.  Their loss, my gain.

Frozen Fireworks

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, tonight is the beginning of another of my favourite events in this plague filled year.  The annual Fire on Ice fireworks displays would have begun this evening at 8:00PM sharp, precisely at the very moment that I am writing these words.  Since public gatherings are no longer permitted, that pretty much meant that this annual event that would usually drawn hundreds of people down to the Old Port of Montreal got cancelled.  With that in mind, I dug into the archives and pulled out a shot from one of the shows that took place last year.  It was taken at f/16, 20sec, ISO 100 at 57mm from the frozen shores of the Saint-Lawrence river.  This would have been a perfect night for some fireworks.  Not that cold or windy.  Hopefully things will take a turn for the better and we can get back to our old habits next year.  Even if those habits include freezing our bits and pieces next to a frozen river on a cold December night.  If you'd like to see a few more of these shots, click on the '2019' on the right hand side of the page and then the month of December for a few more posts like this one.

Goody Gumdrops

Some holiday fun from a few years ago.  We had all gathered with My Lovely Assistant's family up North and the much anticipated evening event was the building of gingerbread houses.  The little nieces and nephews were really looking forward to building their tasty village and I'm never one to refuse to take photographs of colourful treats.  I lined up the giant gumballs on the roof of the gingerbread house, and the little bits of coloured sugar added grab your attention too.  We could all use a little fun these days, so maybe it would be a good idea to go out and build a gingerbread house of your own.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 59mm with some flash bounced off of the ceiling to put a little shine on the gumdrops.  Sadly, the building didn't have a long life as it was devoured shortly after construction came to an end.  I don't know if they offer insurance for that kind of thing.

Musical Memories

We're in the home stretch of this miserable year, so it seems like a good time to roll out another of my Musical Memories series.  I've been trying to fill the void of not having any concerts to shoot this year by going back in time to the shows that I shot last year.  This concert actually took place last September, but the date coincided with one of the actually live outdoor shows I was able to shoot this year.  So, it got bumped to December where there were no anniversaries to commemorate.  This particular show took place at the Petit Campus in Montreal and was headlined by Southern rockers Nashville Pussy, for whom the term 'sex drugs & rock 'n' roll must have been created for.  Opening for them on this night was local hardcore band, The Vulgar Deli and also the rock and roll comedy of Don Jamieson.  The first photograph was from The Vulgar Deli performance and was taken at f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 44mm.  Here are some other photographs from the show.

 

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

 f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

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

It was another in a series of great musical nights from 2019. If you'd like to go back in time, you can visit the photographs I took of The Vulgar Deli, Don Jamieson and Nashville Pussy by following the respective links.  Don't forget to visit the websites of The Vulgar Deli, Don Jamieson and Nashville Pussy to find out more about them and their comedy and music.

Heavenly Flakes

We had ourselves a little dusting of snow today, so I thought it would be a good time to go through the archives for a little snowy shot.  I then discovered that I don't have all that many snow shots to choose from. I guess that my camera doesn't go out as often in the snow as I had thought.  This shot camera from a snowy walk through the Old Port of Montreal a few years ago.  Unlike the wet flakes we got today, the snow that morning was more fluffy and you can pick out some of the flakes on the needles of the pine tree.  I didn't have the macro lens with me that day, but was able to get nice and close in order to pick those flakes out of the mass of snow.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/1000sec, ISO 100 at 54mm. Since this is only the beginning of our snowy season, I'll try and make a point to bring the camera out for our little walks with The Heir Apparent.

Little Stinger

This photograph is a little bit out of season, but it's for a good reason.  Today is my Mom's Birthday, and instead of having a nice lunch with everyone, the clan and I are at home as 'The Plague' has left us under house arrest.  I can live with being under confinement just fine on most days, but today stings.  I guess that's why I chose this photograph.  The flower came from a mixed flower pot we gave my Mom for Mother's Day a few years back, the little guy with the stinger enjoying the fresh pollen just happened to by flying by.  The photograph was taken at f/5, 1/160sec, ISO 800 at 60mm while using a Macro lens.  Hope you have a Happy Birthday, Mom.  And a Happy Birthday to anyone else out there who has missed out on a family celebration due to 'The Plague'.  Happier days are around the corner.

Lost In Her Eye

You've all heard me profess my love of photographing certain things like sunset and fireworks, but the newest item that has shot to the top of my favourite things to photograph list is The Heir Apparent and her eyes.  I adore the colour and the details that are hidden in her little eyes.  They look ever better when the sun hits them just right.  This causes some little moments of tension between the two of us as a lunch time feeding can sometimes lead to an impromptu photo shoot.  Luckily, she tends to enjoy seeing the final product so things get smoothed over between the two of us rather quickly.  The photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/125sec, ISO 400 at 70mm between spoons of cereal and apple sauce.  It's been a crummy year, so I felt that I'd give my 100th update of the year to probably the best thing that happened to me this year.