The Vulgar Deli At Petit Campus

The first musical group to take the stage this past Friday at Petit Campus was a local group called The Vulgar Deli.  They describe themselves as a mid-life crisis hardcore rock and roll band and it's hard not to like a group with a moniker like that.  They certainly have named themselves appropriately as many of their songs have less clean words than unprintable ones, but they were full of energy and played loud, fast and hard on stage.  I got there nice and early to make sure I'd have a spot right in front of the stage, and my reward was a pretty cool vantage point of the stage, though I had to dodge a few drops of beer that the singer would swig between songs along the way.   A small price to pay for my little rock and roll adventure, though I'll be sure to not wear open shoes next time.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm.  Here are several more photographs of their performance.

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

f/2.8, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 35mm

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

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 28mm

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

f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 31mm

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

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 27mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 28mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 39mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 28mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 55mm

These guys were lots of fun, and from what I gathered, they play lots of shows around Montreal, if you see them on a bill somewhere, you should go check them out.  With that in mind, don't forget to visit The Vulgar Deli on their Facebook page to find out more about them and their music.  Just follow the link.

Don Jamieson At Petit Campus

My latest photo pass saw me spend Friday evening at the Petit Campus in Montreal for a triple-header of entertainment.  On the bill was the rock and roll comedy of Don Jamieson.  I've never photographed a comedian on stage before, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  There's not much action on the stage during a comedy show, so after a few shots I decided to put the camera down and become a little invisible.  Especially when I drew a blank when asked if I remembered the half-time act at the Super Bowl last year.  In my defense, the answer was Maroon 5 and it was a very forgettable performance.  The show was very funny as Don found a way to mix and metal and comedy, including a riff on Judas Priest songs reminiscent of how I'd walk the racks at the local music store with my friend Louie.  Good times.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 35mm.  Here are a few more photographs I took of the performance.

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

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

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 3200 at 30mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

Yes, that was in fact a birthday pizza that Mr. Jamieson was presented with, which in my books is several times cooler than a birthday cake.  Smiles and laughs is what I was going for, and I think I got them.  To find out more about Don Jamieson and his comedy, don't forget to follow the link.

Lifeguard On Duty

Why so serious?  That's one of the famous lines Heath Ledger's Joker said in the Batman movie, but it applies to lots of things.  Sometimes, you just need to have a chuckle. That's what I had when this scene unfolded in front of me.  While on vacation with My Lovely Assistant in Lac Simon, we rented a cottage on the beach.  Peak season was over, so there weren't many people there.  However, there was still this one summer visitor who was hanging around. This one goose would swim around for much of the day, occasionally taking a walk on the beach looking for food, or some free hand outs from the few people still on hand.  I got a kick out of it, so I snapped away.  A lone goose walking the beach, that's not something you see every day.  The photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/160sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  Though I'm sure she must've taken off for warmer climes by now, if she's still there, the visitors in Lac Simon can swim with confidence knowing that Lucy Goosey is walking the beat.

Round The Clock At Fondation Véro Et Louis

As previously mentioned, I spend my Saturday afternoon in Longueuil at the annual fundraising event for the Fondation Véro et Louis.  An event meant to raise funds for the creation of several homes for people who have autism.  You can find out more about them by following the provided link.  I was there to photograph the musical act, Round The Clock.  They were also at the event last year, and you can revisit those photographs by following the link.  Round The Clock were there to keep the energy level high and they accomplished that by playing a variety of cover songs from rock and county artists of the 70's, 80's and 90's.  All that while also being attacked by some wasps during one of their songs.  It certainly led to some improvised dance moves.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 70mm.  Here are several more photographs of their performance.

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 115mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/7.1, 1/320sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 38mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 67mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 63mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 50mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 63mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 42mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, IS0 400 at 28mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 24mm

They were having great fun together on the stage and had several people in the crowd dancing to the tunes in between their trips into the large tent and while waiting in line to have their photo taken with some of the celebrities on hand.  To find out more about Round The Clock and their music, don't forget to follow the link.

Justin Morissette At Fondation Véro Et Louis

I ended up spending a portion of my Saturday at the annual fundraising event held by the Fondation Véro et Louis. It's a large garage sale type event with items donated by celebrities with the money going towards the creation of five special homes meant to help people with autism.  You can find out more about them by following the provided link.  I was there to shoot some photographs of the musical act as I try not to miss any opportunity I can to shoot some concerts.  In between sets however, as a bonus, Justin Morissette, took the stage to sing a few songs by popular Québec rapper, Loud.  Speaking of which, you can see some photographs that I took of Loud while he was in Saint-Lambert last month by following the link.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 100 at 200mm.  Here are some more photographs of his performance.

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

 

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

I don't have much experience shooting rap artists, but I think I'm learning it a little bit.  The hand and body movements are an important part of the presentation, so I tried to focus on photographing those.  I think they ended up pretty well.

Late Summer Sunset

It's always advisable to listen to your mother.  Recently, mine mentioned that it had been a while since she had seen one of my photographs on the television.  Since I spent most of the last two months shooting fireworks and concerts, I didn't have much time for the usual landscape shots that sometimes find their way to the television viewing audience.  With Mom's words in mind, I head out to try and grab a shot of the Jacques Cartier Bridge with the setting sun next to it.  However, I think my seasonal timing was a little off as the sun was nowhere near close enough to the structure to get the shot I had in mind.  I still chose to stick around as I had the feeling that the sunset would be a nice colour.  My intuition paid off as just before the sun disappeared, the sky turned a nice orange.  As a bonus, in one of those instances that I like to think are guided by some hidden helping hands, a plane and some birds appeared in my viewfinder to add a little something extra to the sky.  The photograph was taken at f/10, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 200mm.  Thanks once again to Lori Graham and the gang at CTV Montreal.  It's always a pleasure to see my photographs on the big screen.  Hope you liked it Mom.

Head In The Clouds

After the two most active months in the history of the old blog, it felt good to get away for a little while, sit in the sand and look at the clouds.  My Lovely Assistant and I visited Lac Simon, which is in the Outaouais region of Québec, for a couple of days.  We were walking along the beachfront of the lake when I looked to the sky.  It had been raining for much of the morning, but the sky had slowly begun to clear as we arrived.  Little bits of blue sky and streaks of the sun began to fight their way through the clouds and made for what I thought was a rather peaceful and calming sight.  The photograph was taken at f/8, 1/1600sec, ISO 400 at 24mm.  I may already be missing the fireworks and loud guitars, but there's something to be said for a little peace and quiet as well.