I know that I often mention that I love the colours of autumn, and that there are usually a variety of them that show up here on the old blog. However, this year my autumn got sidetracked by a few concerts. As result, the colours of the season took kind of a back seat. That doesn't mean that photographs weren't taken. Also, since we just got our first dusting of the white stuff, it might be time to post this one before I start having fun in the snow. This collection of leaves were found just a few short steps from the head office. I managed to get out and photograph them before the weather changed and the wind blew them all away. The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/640sec, ISO 100 at 70mm. I'll try and get some more Fall colours up soon, though there is always room for them in the archives should anything interesting happen to come up.
Sunday, 28 November 2021
Seeing Red
Sunday, 21 November 2021
The Damn Truth At Théâtre Corona
There are some place that we just miss more than others. The one place that I have missed the most since the arrival of 'The Plague' was the Théâtre Corona in Montreal. My last visit was February 20, 2020 and I have missed it's cozy atmosphere ever since. It was a double homecoming of sorts this past Thursday. I was making my return to the Corona, and our headliner, The Damn Truth, were making their return to Montreal. The band has really taken off over the last few years. Their most recent album, Now Or Nowhere, was released earlier this year and saw them work with industry heavyweight Bob Rock. They had to finished recording the album on their own due to travel restrictions brought about due to 'The Plague', but the hard work resulted in one of my favourite albums of the year, and obviously I was not alone in thinking
that as both of their shows at Théâtre Corona, as well as several other shows during their current tour, have been sold out. I managed to get a pass to the first of their two Montreal shows and you could see how happy they, and the crowd, were happy to be there. The music began and for the next hour and a half everything in the real world was forgotten as we were all on a commune with these self-described rock and roll hippies. What a great place to be. The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm. Here are several more photographs that I took of their performance.
Po Lazarus At Théâtre Corona
The opening act for our return to the Théâtre Corona was Po Lazarus, a self described passion rock band from here in Montreal. That title does seem to fit them well as you could feel the passion oozing out of lead singer Joshua Carey as he walked along the stage and belted out their songs. The groups beginnings lead back to their time at Concordia University and I read a story about them once taking the shuttle bus between the Loyola and downtown campuses in order to play at Reggie's the University student bar. That's a tale I can appreciate as I ended up taking that shuttle ride a few times during my days at Concordia as well. Their set was rather short, but they were still on stage long enough to leave a positive mark in the minds of all who were in attendance. They were promoting their most recent EP, Despair, Too, which has some strong Canadiana to it as it was recorded at The Tragically Hip's Bathouse Studio. A little of that Hip magic must have rubbed off on them because they sounded great. The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 6400 at 33mm. Here are several more photographs that I took during their set.
Monday, 15 November 2021
Venerable Leaf
Spring is commonly known as the season or rebirth, so I guess that would make Fall the opposite. I don't really feel comfortable calling it the season of death, so how about we call it the venerable season. The season that has been around the block a few times, has seen and experienced many things. It is beginning to show the ravages of time, but still looking pretty sharp at the same time. That's what I was thinking about when I saw this leaf. In the right light, it kind of resemble the skin of an older person. Looking a little worn and leathery, but also still vibrant and eye-catching. The photograph was taken at f/8, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 70mm. There aren't that many venerable leaves left out there, but that's the fun thing about nature, a fresh batch of them will be back next year.
Wednesday, 10 November 2021
We Remember
On November 11th we take a moment to remember those who came before us and made the biggest of sacrifices so that we could live in freedom. I always loved Remembrance Day back when I was in school because we would be visited by some of the veterans who served in either the Korean or Second World War. Sadly, all of those fine folks are likely no longer with us, but I remember them, as well as the veterans who would sit at a table at 'The Day Job' and sell Poppies. I also try and take a moment to think about all of the other nameless and faceless souls who were packed up and sent to far off places, many of whom never to return. This year, along with my Poppy I also picked up this nice little pin so I thought that I'd take out my Macro lens to photograph a small item for a large cause. The photograph was taken at f/4.5, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 60mm with some flash bounced off of the ceiling to make it really pop. Always remember, never forget. To find out all kind of interesting things about Remembrance Day, follow the link to the Veterans Affairs Canada website.
Sunday, 7 November 2021
Anti-Flag at MTelus
There was an energy buzzing around the MTelus on Friday night as Pittsbugh punk rock legends Anti-Flag had finally arrived. This show was originally schedued to take place in March of last year but it became one of the first victims of The Plague. As the band hit the stage, you could feel the 20 months of anticipation build up through the crowd. As the lights went down and once the first notes of Hate Conquers All began to play, the crowd, which had remained seated during the first two bands, erupted in a wave of humanity that crashed towards the protective barrier. It sent everything, including Your Friendly Neighbourhood Photographer, crashing in its wake. Luckily I'm a large enough guy to withstand the waves, though getting brushed around did cost me a nice jump shot which is rather disappointing. They were promoting their most recent album, 20/20 Vision which was release in late 2019, but their setlist had a selection of songs that span the last 25 years. The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm. Here are several more photographs from the show.
Bad Cop Bad Cop At MTelus
One of the things that I like the most about photographing concerts is having the chance to discover bands that I never knew before and then having them rock me out of my seat. Such was the case with Los Angeles based foursome Bad Cop Bad Cop, who were second on the bill at the MTelus on Friday night. Both guitarists, Jennie Cotterill and Stacey Dee, as well as basist Linh Li share vocal duties in the band which makes for a nice mix of voices during the show. They're also great musicians as well, which makes me all the more disappointed that I had never heard of them until now. They certainly left their mark with me though as I left the building with their two most recent albums (Warriors from 2017 and The Ride from last year) for my collection and a T-Shirt for The Heir Apparent to wear when she gets older. The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 6400 at 50mm. Here are several more photographs taken during their set.
