The Easter Bunny

While it is highly unlikely that this little guy will be delivering any chocolates to our house, he did spend a good portion of the Summer with us, and has likely returned this Spring.  Last Spring My Lovely Assistant found a little baby rabbit in a nest that was built near the house.  During a rather wet spell, she set up a little shelter around the nest and kept the local cat from 'playing' with the baby.  As the weeks and months passed, the rabbit got bigger, but would continue to visit us, much to the amusement of The Heir Apparent and Crown Prince.  To mine as well as he proved to always be a willing model.  He recently returned from his Winter vacation, much to the delight of everyone, so I figured to share an image at this culturally appropriate time.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 200mm.  Now, off to see if there are any chocolate eggs hiding around the house.

And The Juno Goes To...

I had some fun doing this update last year, so after scanning the list of Juno Award nominees for this year and noticing that I had photographed a few of them, so I decided to do so once again.  I said then that I felt very honoured to have had the opportunity over the last few years to photograph several great bands as they pass through town and is still true one year later.  It's also feels great to see these bands do well.  They don't need to allow me to shoot their shows, so when those that do go on to great success, I feel great for them.  So, why not take a moment to go back through the archives and celebrate a few great bands that had very good years of their own.  First up are The Beaches, who had a huge night winning the Juno for Group of the Year and the Juno for Rock Album of the Year, while also performing their hit single, 'Blame Brett', to close out the show.  They were the very first band to grant me a pass to shoot their show and I couldn't be happier for them.  The photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm.  You can see the other photographs from that show by following the link.  Here are the other nominees and winners that I got to photograph.

The James Barker Band

f/3.2, 1/50sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

Winner for Country Album of the Year

Follow the link for more photographs

Crown Lands

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

Nominated for Rock Album of the Year

Follow the link for more photographs

The Glorious Sons

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

Nominated for Rock Album of the Year

Follow the link for more photographs

Voivod

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 25600 at 24mm

 Nominated for Metal-Hard Music Album of the Year

Follow the link for more photographs

Laila Biali

f/4, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm

Nominated for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year

Follow the link for more photographs

 

The Blue Stone

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 6400 at 24mm

Nominated For Rock Album of the Year

Follow the link for more photographs
 

Congratulations to all of the Juno Awards winners and nominees.  It's fun for me to go through these award lists because it gives me a chance to look back at what fun I had shooting those shows.  The couple of songs that I get to shoot from the pit goes by real fast, so it's nice to take a moment to revisit some really fun times that I've been able to take part in thanks to my photography.  Here's to hoping for many more good shows in the future.

Saint-Patrick-De-Champlain Bridge

 

 

Call it The Luck of the Irish.  For Saint-Patrick's Day the Samuel-de-Champlain Bridge was illuminated in green to celebrate the occasion.   I figured that was good enough of a reason to have a little field trip.  I headed down to a local park next to the bridge and then walked along a bicycle path to get closer to the water.  Maybe it was just good luck, but there were no longer any barriers leading to a dock that was used during the construction of the new bridge.  This afforded me a better view of Montreal from under the bridge.  It also allowed me to knock the dust off of my tripod, which it feels like I haven't used in ages.  I also sent the photograph off to CTV Montreal, where Lori Graham was kind enough to air it during the evening newscast.  It's been two years since I've sent in a photograph to them, so it felt good to see my name up on the big screen again.  The Heir Apparent found it to be cool as well, asking why my photograph was on the television.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 15sec, ISO 100 at 63mm.  Thanks once again to Lori Graham and CTV Montreal for airing the photographer.  Another little 30seconds in my fifteen minutes of fame.

Showing My Green

It's Saint-Patrick's Day, when we're all a little bit Irish, so I felt it only appropriate to put a little bit of green up on The Old Blog.  Nothing styrofoam or synthetic though, some real old fashioned natural green.  This photograph comes from one of our pre Heir Apparent vacations when My Lovely Assistant had the habit of hauling me off on treacherous nature walks in an attempt to kill me.  Just kidding...I think.  Though it seemed like a heart attack was only a few steps away on several occasions, those walks did ultimately lead to several nice views of the places where we were.  In this case, it was on the Sentier de Fjord in the city of Tadoussac.  We went there to see the whales, but this walking path had several beautiful sites to behold as well.  Many of which was I was able to appreciate more after catching my breath.  The photograph was taken at f/6.3, 1/320sec, ISO 400 at 70mm.  Head on over to Tadoussac if you're looking for a nice vacation spot, and Happy St. Patrick's Day as well.

Feeling Colourful

There were a couple of birthdays at the Head Office back in the month of January.  My Lovely Assistant had her birthday first and got some flowers as a gift.  I guess that it might have piqued her interest because The Heir Apparent had a birthday of her own a few weeks later and when we asked what she wanted, she said she wanted to get some flowers as well.  She got this little multi-coloured rose as the centerpiece of a little bouquet.  I, of course, had an ulterior motive to get the flowers.  I enjoy photographing them and thus couldn't resist snapping a few photographs.  I got The Heir Apparent involved in the activity as well.  I would show her my shots on the back of my camera while also letting her suggest a few positions for the flowers as well, though my camera is still a bit heavy for her hands.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm.  The Heir Apparent liked the way that the colours of the petals overlapped each other and the textures of the petals as well.  I tend to agree.

Cory Marks At Théâtre Beanfield

It probably plays like a broken record by now, but my favourite part of photographing concerts is getting to see some acts that I don't know.  I don't live under a rock so I knew the name Cory Marks, but mostly due to the duet he had performed with one of rock music's great current voices, Lzzy Hale of Halestorm.  The song was 'Out In The Rain' which was on his second album, Who I Am, which was released in 2020.   So, when I heard that Cory Marks was going to be performing at the Théâtre Beanfield as part of the Liquored Up Tour with Aaron Pritchett and Matt Lang, I was very much looking forward to the show.  There's more than a little bit of Rock'n'Roll in his Country and the crowd was really in to his performance.  To be perfectly honest, so was I.  Not only was he great with the crowd, but he was very generous with Your Friendly Neighbouhood Photographer as well.  Several times he would stop above where I was in the pit to give a great pose, or hang around just long enough to make sure I got the shot.  That is always very appreciated.  Cory Marks' website describes his music as being a mix of arena rock and roots country.  Kind of a Country soul, with that devilish little Rock and Roll hanging over his shoulder poised and ready to strike.  It's certainly a mix that works very well for him, and a mix that audiences all over have been enjoying.  There hasn't been any new albums since 'Who I Am', but there have been a few EP's and singles, the most recent of which, 'A Different Kind Of Year', was just released in January.  A new album is on the way, but there is certainly lots out there to dig in to while we wait.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 45mm.  Here are several more photographs of Cory Marks' performance.

f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 41mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 4000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 4000 at 33mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 41mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 4000 at 28mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 4000 at 55mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 4000 at 27mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 59mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 4000 at 61mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 4000 at 42mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 25mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 42mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 4000 at 35mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f.3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

If you'd like to find out more about Cory Marks and his music, you can do so by following the link to his website.  If you'd like to see the photographs of Aaron Pritchett and Matt Lang, who shared the Liquored Up stage with him, you can do so by following the respective links.  Sharing the stage with two other Country greats must be a daunting task, but Cory Marks not only stood out, but was probably the artist that I enjoyed the most.  The Liquored Up Tour has sadly come to an end, but with a new album due out soon, that probably means another tour will be in the works as well.  Don't dare miss it when Cory Marks hits a town near you.

Matt Lang At Théâtre Beanfield

The Liquored Up Tour hit the MTelus in Montreal last week featuring three of Canada's biggest Country music stars.  One of them is a performer that you've already seen featured here a few times in the past., Matt Lang.  In fact, it was a Matt Lang show in Greenfield Park on Canada Day back in 2018 that kind of led me further down this concert photography path.  Matt Lang was the headline performer on that night and I had so much fun shooting his performance from the crowd that I began to think that maybe there might be a way for me to get into that magical area known as the photo pit.  Five months later, I was 'officially' shooting my first concert and now six years later, I've shot close to 200 concerts since that day.  But, enough about me.  Since that day six years ago, a lot has changed for me, but for Matt Lang as well.  He has released three full length albums, the most recent of which, Moonlight Sessions, a covers album of some of his favourite Country music songs, was released last June.  Matt Lang's status as the Country King of Québec is not only not in doubt, but is also more than earned.  A Matt Lang performance is a guaranteed good time as I have yet to witness a bad show.  While he wasn't up on the stage with his usual band, that didn't stop the good times from once again rolling.  A fourth album, All Night Longer, is set to be released in May and the title track from the album was met with great enthusiasm from the home-crowd faithful.  They certainly can't wait for the new album to arrive, and who can blame them.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 4000 at 59mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 4000 at 38mm.  Here are several more photographs of Matt Lang on stage.

f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 4000 at 44mm

f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 4000 at 38mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 4000 at 27mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 4000 at 53mm

f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 4000 at 63mm

f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 4000 at 67mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 4000 at 57mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 57mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 4000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 4000 at 47mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 4000 at 61mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 4000 at 55mm

f/3.2, 1/2000sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 4000 at 31mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 4000 at 30mm

f/3.2, 1/2000sec, ISO 4000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 4000 at 38mm

If you'd like to find out more about Matt Lang and his music, you can do so by following the link to his website.  If you'd like to see the photographs I took of Aaron Pritchett and Cory Marks who were also part of the epic show, you can do so by following the links.  We've mentioned how Québec has become the go-to destination for Country music.  With Matt Lang leading the charge, the genre will surely only continue to grow by following his path.