Kam Park

I finally bit the bullet and got myself the Nikon d750 and I couldn't be happier. The main reason why I purchased it was for wedding season which is fast approaching. That's not to say I won't be using it a lot on my photo walks which is exactly what I did for my exploration of Kam Park this past week. If you have seen any of my previous posts, you will see I have been at this location a couple times before. So my challenge this time was to see if I could capture different perspectives and scenes. I think it accomplished that and more this time around. 

Admittedly, the first few photos of this series are from the downtown area in Fort William while I was waiting for Anne during lunch. After that, I headed on over to Kam Park and spent the next hour seeing what captures my eye. Luckily for me, the weather was awesome and there were plenty of birds out as well. It allowed me to put the d750 to the test somewhat which I had paired with the good old 50mm 1.8 lens. This still ranks as one of my favourite lenses ever. I don't think there is a better value out there for $200. Paired with a full frame camera such as the 750 and you can really achieve some great bokeh and depth of field. 

The colours coming out of the d750 raw files our outstanding and the focusing is instantaneous. Almost to the point where I'm not even sure if it focused since it happened so fast. I can't wait to put it to the test this wedding season. While at Kam Park I explored both tunnels, the VIA train along with the boardwalk. I also finally go the chance to head on over to the grain elevator to the point where I was right up against the no trespassing sign. Even with the the 50mm lens, I was able to get some great landscape shots. I'll definitely have to go back in the summer to get some sunset photos where the light is a bit better. 

As usual, all the photos were processed in Lightroom using the RAW files and my usual presets. Thanks for viewing!

Fisherman's Wharf + Thunder Bay Marina

It was one of those great foggy mornings yesterday and, for me personally, that's probably my favourite type of weather to take photos in. So, I grabbed my Fuji XT-1 and my zoom lens, the 55-150mm, and drove down to Fisherman's Wharf. I figured that would be a good spot to take advantage of the gloomy weather. The problem with fog though this time of year is that it can go away pretty fast as it warms up. That is exactly what started to happen, but luckily I was still able to come away with some good shots. If anything, the overcast weather provided nice even lighting. 

Once I arrived at Fisherman's Wharf I walked straight to the dock where they have the old boats stationed. I could easily spend hours in there, even though there are only a few boats, but just tons of deals to shoot. I also made sure to get some photos of the Lake and grain elevators among other things. After a quick walk around the trail, and some slight freezing of the fingers, I warmed up in the car and headed to the Marina for a quick walk around.

As I was approaching the Marina I saw that the fog on the lake was still in full effect so I knew that I had to get some photos of the boats out on the water as well as the grain elevators off in the distance. Once I started walking around the outer trail, I also noticed some geese. The few photos I captured of them were some of my favourites that morning. All in all, it was about a 25 minute walk but I was please with some of the photos I made. It ended up being a great day for taking photos as I also made my way to Kam Park later that afternoon and then back again to the Marina with Anne in the evening. 

I'll be saving those for a different post tomorrow but for now, thanks for viewing these photos!

Snowy Spring Day at Boulevard Lake

It looks as though Spring is just not ready to arrive yet, seeing as how we got dumped on with snow briefly yesterday morning. As soon as I saw it snowing that much I knew I had to go somewhere to take photos before it all melted away. My location this time around was Boulevard Lake and the old LPH building. By the time I got to Boulevard the wind was basically blowing the snow horizontally which made for some pretty cool shots. So, after parking my car, grabbing me Fuji X-T1 and the 50-140mm lens, I set out to explore and see what I could find.

It was no more then 2 minutes into my walk where I wiped out hard. Little did I know that underneath that fresh coat of snow was a sheet of ice, essentially through the park. It caught me off guard and just as I was falling I was able to land on my side with my right hand outstretched saving my camera and lens. The price I paid was a pretty badly strained neck and back. But the show must go on and I shook it off and continued on my way, grumbling and moaning the rest of the walk of course.

The sad thing was that I wasn't the only one wiping out. About 2 minutes after my intimate session with the pavement, I heard some loud swearing coming from the parking lot. It seemed as though, a construction worker met the same fate as I. I didn't check, but he seemed to brush himself off and as I moved along I heard his faint swears echo in the distance.

Now, back to the photography part of my excursion. As always, I had no specific goal other then to shoot whatever caught my eye. Perhaps I should starting setting goals for myself during these walks, but until that happens, this is what you get. Randomness. 

In a way, I did have a goal, and it was to capture just how much snow was falling. I still find it amazing that all this snow was gone by 3:00pm. Once I finished walking around the Boulevard area I made my way to the LPH building, which I never really got the chance to explore before. The whole time I was taking photos, I was giving myself constant reminders not to fall. There were a few more close calls but I managed to stay upright the rest of the walk. I think the fact that my face was going numb kept me more alert then usual. One of these days, I'll actually dress appropriately for one of these walks. 

In the end, the fact that both my camera and lens were waterproof made this whole walk possible and they both performed flawlessly. I've really been digging taking the zoom lens on my walks lately as it has allowed me to get some completely different perspectives as well as shots I wouldn't have been able to get with my usual prime setup. Until next time!

Early Morning Marina Walk

So I decided to grab my X100s for a change and brave the brisk morning air down at the Marina. For anyone who reads these posts, you will know I have been using the XT1 and 35mm combo almost every time. I decided I would switch it up this time around with the X100s. It's a slightly different perspective so it forced me to frame my shots a bit differently. I also made sure to get in really close for a lot of the photos as well.

As for processing, I used the out of the camera JPG files for almost all of them. I can't remember what setting it was but it goes to show you, the files coming out of Fuji cameras are so nice to look at. I did included some colour photos as well, simply because they worked better in colour. 

I actually came away with more keepers then I thought I would but then again, I was quite picky with what I shot. Most of the photos were taken in and around the Marina as well as part of downtown. Thanks for viewing.

Things That Caught My Eye This Past Week

This past week I actually had a photo assignment for The Walleye, which required me to photograph a particular section in Downtown Port Arthur. While, I can't post those photos just yet, I did managed to capture my usual amount of random photos in between. Since narrowing down my camera collection considerably, and switching to Fujifilm, I almost always carry the X-T! around with me on photo walks. All the photos below were taken with the X-T1 in combination with the 35mm 1.4, 16-55mm 2.8 and the 50-140mm 2.8. Thanks for viewing!

Weekend in Duluth

Last weekend Anne and I decided to go for an overnight excursion to Duluth. It was a well needed getaway and it ended up being a very fun and relaxing weekend. Usually when we have gone to Duluth in the past it has been with other friend and we almost always stay at the Casino outside of town. While it's always fun, I never really get the chance to walk around downtown to take photos. This time around, since it was just Anne and I we chose to stay right downtown at the Radisson Hotel, which eventually allowed us to walk everywhere instead of driving. Of course, I was in heaven, because I finally got the chance to take lots of photos.

Before we got to Duluth we had to drive there of course. Seeing as how it was a very laid back trip, we made sure to take our time getting there and stop along the way. Every time we have driven there in the past I have always seen a few spots where I wanted to stop but we had always been in somewhat of a hurry, or with other people. 

The first spot we stopped out was one of the beach areas on the way to Grand Marais. The waves were quite big and the weather for the whole day was just fantastic. After a few photos of Anne posing for me we made our way to Grand Marais. Although I did stop one more time to get a great shot of this old abandoned cabin on the side of the road. 

Once we got to Grand Marais, we had a quick bite to eat at the local diner and walked around the city a bit more. We could have easily walked around a lot longer since it was so nice, but we still wanted to leave enough time in Duluth to explore.

We arrived in Duluth at around 3 I think, and immediately checked in. The Radisson, which we had never stayed at before, was almost retro which was kind of cool. The room we stayed in was nice though so we were very pleased with the hotel over all. After resting for a bit, we dressed for the nice weather and headed down Canal Park. It was very cool walking through the city and being able to capture some shots of all the structures. We don't really have that in Thunder Bay obviously. 

The waterfront trail at Canal Park was kind of snowy so we didn't go right out to the lighthouse but we still managed to cross the main bridge and then eventually take the waterfront trail back to our hotel. Not before we stopped in for a drink at Grandma's at their upstairs bar. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing a bit, followed by another drink at the hotel bar and then back downtown to the Canal Brewery for some dinner. It was a great atmosphere in there and we met a few really cool people while sitting at the bar. 

The next morning we had breakfast at the restaurant at the top of the hotel which slowly rotated allowing for a full 360 view of Duluth. If you haven't yet, definitely check it out and bring a camera. Next we go we are going to go up at night time to get some dusk shots. 

One of my favourite parts of the trip was just after breakfast once we checked out. We headed to the island across the bridge all the way to the tip. It's still winter out there but along the coast there are sand dunes. Even in the snow they looked so cool. I came away with so many great photos, of course, many of them with Anne posing for me. After making a few more stops along the way we headed home. Just as we were leaving Duluth, we noticed people surfing at the beach just on the edge of town. Of course, we parked and I took some photos of the crazy surfers, with one of them actually posing for me before going in.

The next stop on our way back home was in Two Harbours. I couldn't wait to go down to the waterfront there as I had never been and didn't really know what to expect. It was so very cool. They had huge steel barges, if that is what you call them. I couldn't get over how big the were. Then just down the road, there was a light house area with a super long walkway. In the summer we will definitely have to walk out there but it was too dangerous to do so this time of year. In a couple photos you can see just how big some of the waves were. 

After spending a bit of time there we headed back out onto the highway. Just outside of the city we decided to stop for some pie at Betty's Pies. Unfortunately, it didn't really go as planned. We waited for 30 minutes for a seat. Once we sat down, Anne was super excited to order her apple pie, only to find out they were OUT!! Seriously, what kind of pie place runs out of apple pie, the most popular pie in the world. We were not impressed and I felt so bad for Anne as she was really looking forward to it. Ah well. 

Before we got to Grand Marais, we made one final stop at one of the parks along the way. Everything there was frozen, and it was probably one of the coolest stops our road trip. I came away with some fantastic photos, not only of Anne, but of the scenery as well. There are a lot of photos in this in this post, more than usual, but I actually had to narrow it down from about 300.

Our last stop was indeed Grand Marais for some pizza at Sven and Oles. It was well worth the trek, the pizza was fantastic and we even had leftovers for Noah. The border stop going home was easy and before we knew it we were at home. I had such a great time and so did Annne. She was so patient with me taking photos and making stops along the way. She never complained about posing or taking too long either. I can't wait for our next road trip in the summer to the West Coast. 

For anyone interested, I used two cameras for this trip. The Fuji X-T1 paired with the 16-55mm lense and the 35mm 1.4. I also brought along the X100s for those times when I wanted something quick. Most of the photos below were taken with the X-T1 though. Thanks for viewing.

Downtown - Exploring the Parkade

I'm always looking for different places to photograph in often the same place, if that makes sense. For instance, I headed to downtown Port Arthur with my camera in hand and decided to try and explore somewhere completely different. As soon as I got out of the car, I turned around and noticed the parkade. Done. I had never actually been in the parkade before so I was interested to see what I could find. 

Of course, once I entered, I headed straight to the top floor. There were absolutely no cars and it was mostly snow covered. It didn't strike me as the busiest parkade, at least on the top couple floors. The view of the city from the top was ok, not the greatest though. If it were a couple floors higher I could have really gotten some great cityscape photos. With that being said, I think they are building a parkade right next to the hospital and perhaps it will eventually be higher. Time will tell! 

So, after walking around the top a bit I started to make my way down, making sure to check out the view on each floor. There was a light snow that day so it actually provided some interesting photos with the snowflakes. As I mentioned before, it was a very empty parkade so I took advantage of that with some of the photos. One with a woman walking and a few other shots with cars and just overall emptiness. 

It was almost time to head home, but before I did I made sure to actually walking around the downtown for a few minutes to see what I could come up with. My camera of choice was my Fuji X-T1 and the 35mm 1.4, for those of you who are interested, assuming anyone actually reads these blog posts...

Almost too cold to take photos .... almost

This winter has taken a turn and it has been very cold. That's not good when you actually want to do something outside, but I decided to defy the extreme temperature, grab my camera, and wander around aimlessly looking for things to photograph. After meeting Anne for lunch at Cronos Cafe, I dropped her off, parked the car and began my cold and brief venture in downtown Fort William. 

Instead of my usual X-T1, I decided to pull out the X-E1 paired with the 35mm. I had forgotten how capable of a camera it is. Just like with all Fuji cameras I own, the colours straight out of the camera are superb. The first 10 minutes of the walk weren't too bad but then I started feeling the cold, especially on the face. Instead of giving in I just decided to keep walking and hopefully that would warm me up a bit. It didn't. Regardless, I managed to explore for about 25 minutes. 

I didn't really have anything specific in mind, as usual I just captured what caught my eye. I finished off my walk around the train yard on Simpson Street and did some in camera double exposures. Some of them turned out pretty good. It's usually a hit and miss kind of thing but fun as hell to try. If your camera has the option, next time you are out and about and looking for something different, give it a shot. 

Thanks for viewing!

Friday Afternoon in Downtown FW

Since I have walked around downtown Fort William quite bit, I figured I would try to venture to different areas this time around. Aside from going down different streets, one of the things I sought out to do was head on over to the parkade.Once I got there, I found an entrance that actually had access and I was off to the races. 

Upon entering, I headed to the 3rd floor. I figured I would make my way up to the top eventually, but first, I had to get a feel for the parkade. I can’t remember the last time I was ever actually in there but it was pretty much what expected. I wanted to make sure there weren’t any security guards walking around as I know in the past, if they see someone walking around with a camera, it piques their interest. 

The coast was clear so I walked all around looking at the views and also any things that caught my eye in and around the parkade. There is a certain calming effect I get when walking around alone taking photos. With that being said, I do find myself either talking to myself most of the time or other animals. In this case, there were plenty of pigeons hanging around that I had one or two conversations with. I probably shouldn’t admit that I guess. 

My favourite photo from up in the parkade was the one of the church across the street. Just the way it turned out with the very faint reflection of the window in which I shot through. I also got a few discreet photos of people walking and going about their day. Of course, it’s easy to get candid photos like that when you are 4 or 5 floors up. 

The rest of the walk went by pretty fast and seeing as how I was starting to get cold I headed a bit sooner than I would have wanted to. I still came away with some good photos. As usual, I used my favourite street camera, the Fuji X-T1 and 35mm 1.4 combo. It just works so perfectly. 

It was downtown kind of morning

Instead of going to the gym as usual and hitting the treadmill, I decided to grab my trusty camera and brave the cold winter morning in downtown Port Arthur. Luckily, the weather warmed up slightly so it wasn't as bad as it has been all week. So I parked the car, bundled up and headed out into the unknown. Well, in this case, it ended up being Cumberland Street at first.

My first stop was the old Cineplex Theatre, which is just an old abandoned building for the most part. I am still amazed that they haven't torn down the signage. My camera of choice was the Fuji X-T1 and the 16-55mm lens. It's a great combo, and even though it's a bit of a bigger lens, I still don't really notice the weight. I usually shoot with my prime lens but I must admit, it's nice to have a bit of zoom. It allowed me to get some perspectives I wouldn't normally have been able to get.

The next stop along the way was the Shoreline Motel. For some reason, I'm always drawn to this building, for photos that is. It's not really my cup of tea as an establishment, but to each their own. I think I'm just a sucker for slightly run down and old buildings. 

Seeing as how I was right across the street from the Marina, I crossed the street and walked around the west end. There were some interesting cloud formations hovering around the Sleeping Giant so I waited a bit for the sun to be right and snapped a couple photos. I really need to start bring my tripod with me more often but I think I got a good enough shot hand held.

I was starting to get a bit colder, especially once the sun went away so I took the overpass back downtown and finished up by exploring some other streets and back alleys, before heading back to my car. The last shot of my walk was my favourite. I noticed that a whole bunch of pigeons were perched on the building so I gently approached, and because I had my zoom, I was able to stand a bit back and get a good shot. 

Thanks for viewing!

Simpson Street with X100s

I have been neglecting my X100s as of late so I decided to go for a short walk this afternoon after meeting my wife for lunch. Because it was close by, I ended up around Simpson Street which is one of my favourite areas to go to. Mainly because everything there is a bit old and worn in a bit more. It was a bit chilly so I only spent about 30 minutes walking up and down Simpson Street. But, I did end up coming away with, what I think, are some good shots. 

The thing I do love about the X100s is that it is just so easy to use and compact. Because it is a fixed focal length, you don't really have to worry about zooming. The only zooming you can essentially do is with your feet. I usually just leave it on auto everything and manually adjust the aperture when needed. 

All the of the photos were shot using RAW in camera and then processed minimally through Lightroom, using a combination of VSCO and my own tweaks. Thanks for viewing!

Cumberland Street

Here are a few photos taken during the afternoon last week. This is pretty much all around Cumberland Street on the main stretch and off the beaten path a bit. Instead of my usual XT-1 combo I brought along my Nikon D610 and 85mm. It may be a bit heavier but it's still a fun duo to use when walking around. Thanks for viewing!

The Back Roads of Westfort

Even though it was a bit of a chilly day, I decided to go for another quick walk after lunch. Whereas in the morning I was in Port Arthur, the afternoon brought me to the depths of Westfort. It had been a while since I took photos on the overpass so I decided to head there. After spending a short amount of time getting some photos in and around the overpass I walked all the way across and explored some of the road on the other side of the tracks. 

As far as I can remember I had never been back there so it was quite interesting. I immediately tried to get down to the river to get a photo of the big ship but it was sadly all closed off. Even an area where you could normally go down the water was also locked down. My plan for next time is to bring my long zoom lens and find an angle somehow. Hopefully the ship is still there. 

Regardless, I headed to the James Street Swing Bridge. Even though it's closed off to traffic, you can still walk across. I was able to get some decent angles from the bridge but I did have to shoot through the fence. Actually, one of my favourite photos of the day was of the old mill in the background, which was shot through the fence. It almost looks like smoke is on the outer edges of the fence but it's part of the fence which is blurred. I just like how it ended up looking, almost vintage, by accident.

Once I was done on the bridge I made my way back to Gore Street which would eventually take me to my car. Before I got there though, I managed to get a few more cool looking photos. Along the way, I was warned by a friendly neighbour that there had been a black bear roaming around the day before. So, I think I will take a break from Westfort for a bit. 

In case you are wondering, I took all these photos with the Fuji X-T1 and the 35mm 1.4. I shot in both JPG and RAW. Lately I have been using the RAW images mainly because they are more forgiving with the the highlights, especially with the bright winter skies. 

Braving the Cold Weather

I recently had to get my car serviced so I bundled up for the cold weather and brought my Fuji X-T1 along. It ended up being about an hour and half wait so I set out to explore the area and find some good photo opportunities. Since I grew up in this area for the better part of my life I knew it pretty well. But, my challenge was to explore a little deeper into areas I don't usually go. 

There is a retirement home near by so I decided to walk in behind there. I noticed a large field with footprints that eventually led to the apartment complex closer to my house. So off I went, later realizing that I wasn't supposed to trespass there. When has that ever stopped a photographer right? I ended up getting some great shots here with the tall grass and old run down fence. 

I then made my way to the off leash dog trail which I have been down many times before. As I got near the end though, I decided to take a shortcut through which I had never done before. I immediately saw an old abandoned shack. I stayed on the outside of it to take a few photos. I had no intent on going inside. I then finished off my walk by the police station where there is a garden area. The plants have long since died but there was still some great colours there. 

It was then time to go back to the car dealership to my car. I later ventured to Westfort yet again to take some more photos but I will save that for another post.

Trip to Duluth

My birthday was in September but since my wife's cousin Cora and her husband Jay couldn't make it then, they decided to buy some some tickets to an MMA event in Duluth. So, this past weekend we made a weekend trip out of it. As always we stayed at Black Bear Casino which is about 10 minutes outside of Duluth. This is where the fights took place. Any time we get to go to Duluth I look forward to it very much. It means I get to take photos of a completely different city. As nice as Thunder Bay is, it's always nice to get out of here for a while and explore somewhere else. 

I knew at some point during the trip I had to go downtown to take some photos. The last few times we visited Duluth we didn't really get a chance to do so. This time around we made it happen on the Sunday. So, with my trusty Fuji X-T1 in hand and my 16mm lens attached, we set off for a brisk walk around the waterfront. It was on the Sunday before we were leaving so we only walked around for 45 minutes or so but it was enough time to get some good shots. In reality, I could easily spend 4 hours downtown exploring but we didn't exactly have the time to do so. 

It was amazing to finally walk the boardwalk out to the lighthouse. Surprisingly, we hand't done this before. It's so beautiful there with a lot of different things to photograph. From the view of the ships out on the water, to the view back towards the city, there is no shortage of interesting perspectives. With the X-T1 it's the perfect camera to just hold in one hand and pick out things that catch my eye. I'm not saying these shots couldn't have been taken with my big DSLR but it's a lot more fun with the X-T1. Plus, having the tillable screen on the back, I was able to get down low for a few shots that would have been much harder to get on my Nikon cameras. At least the ones I own currently. 

Of course, as usual, Anne was a great sport as I made sure to take plenty of photos of her. I didn't include them all here but she's always so fun to photograph. It's gotten to the point where I just say stop, and stand in a certain spot and she does it without even thinking. Mixed in with the photos of downtown are random photos from the rest of the weekend. I just love getting in close and picking out the finer details of objects that would otherwise be pretty boring. 

Thanks for viewing!

Boulevard Lake

I'm just getting around to posting this from last week but better late then never. Even since a week ago it seems like winter is closer then ever but I did manage to find some colour last week. Most of the leaves are gone now so I'm glad I got out when I did. It was also a very foggy day as well, so that helped create a nice mood to some of the photos, especially the ones by the river. 

The first few photos in this series are actually around Grandview Arena. Before meeting Anne for lunch, I walked around there for about 20 minutes. There is a really nice trail there and I came away with some great shots. After lunch, I then headed down to Boulevard Lake. I started by the park off Arundel Street and walked under the bridge along the water for a bit. Not being the sharpest tool in the shed I was wearing my dressier shoes the whole time so they ended up getting soaked by the end of it. Ah well. 

I eventually headed back to the car and then drove down to the main area by the mini put course. I spent some time around the run down tennis court which I used to play tennis at back in the day. There were some great reflections due to the puddles on the court. I ended the walk by the playground. For the whole shoot I used my D610 combined with the 85mm 1.8. Such a great light combo and the colours that come from that lens are outstanding, especially for a lens that really isn't that expensive. Now I'm just waiting for the weather to get a bit better before I head out again this week...

Exploring Gore Street

I decided to head on over to Westfort the other day and walk down Gore Street. Aside from living on in this area a long long time ago I don't really get the chance to explore it too often. So I set out with my Fuji X-T1 and my 16mm lens this time to capture some photos. Of course, most people know that The Wayland is on this street so I made sure to get some photos of that place. 

Aside from the Wayland I simply looked for things that stood out. These might not be things the the everyday person sees but that's the beauty of photography, I get to choose what strikes me as interesting. As I mentioned above, I hadn't really explored this area so I was surprised to find a road called Mountdale which leads right down to the water. It offered a fantastic view of Mount McKay. I'm sure anyone who lives in the area knows about this spot, but it goes to show you, even in a small city like Thunder Bay, there are still little gems to be found.

It was quite an overcast and foggy day so the photos I captured of Mount McKay aren't the most colourful, but they did have a certain mood to them which I kind of liked. All in all, it was a fun 30 minute walk through my old stomping ground. I'll definitely have to go back soon before winter sets in to see what else I can find.

Golf Links Road

After I got my car washed in the morning yesterday I figured I would finally visit the large empty field off Golf Links Road. I pass by it almost everyday and each time I keep saying to my myself that I should take some photos there. Well, yesterday was the day. It was quite gloomy and pretty overcast which I really didn't mind. It actually suited the overall mood of the photos. 

The main things that catch my eye with this area are the trees in the background as well as a gnarly old tree with a for sale sign on it. I would have loved to have gone all the way in to where the trees in the background are buy I wasn't sure if there was some old guy in the centre of the field sitting on a lawn chair waiting for trespassers with his shotgun. So I decided to stay by the trail on the road. 

With that being said, I think I came away with some interesting photos. I simply used my X-T1 with the fixed lens 35mm. So I couldn't really zoom or anything but it goes to show you, as long as you have feet to move with, you can frame any shot. I also took a few minutes to walk to the stream just of Central Avenue, which are where the last few photos came from. The last photo was of a toy bulldozer which caught my eye in someones yard. I ran up, quickly grabbed a photo and then I was on my way. 

Downtown Fort William

Last Friday I decided to meet my wife Anne for Dinner after work. So, as usual, I brought my camera with me and showed up a bit early so I could walk around beforehand. She works at McKellar School which is in Fort William, right downtown. I didn't stray to far from the area and kept right around the school. I walked down some alleyways, as well as the streets. Eventually I met up with her but before we headed to ExCuria for an after work drink, I came into the school with her. As you can see, I snapped a few quick photos inside as well. And that was it. Although I would later drag her over to Kam Park for a quick photoshoot in the rain. You can find the post soon on my professional blog.

All photos were taken on my Fuji X-T1 paired with the 35mm 1.4. 

Downtown Fort William

Last week I had to take Noah to the dentist so I decided to bring along my D610 and 50mm 1.8. After snapping a quick photo of my feet, just cause, I headed outside to walk around aimlessly. I tend to explore Simpson Street quite often so it's always a challenge to find different perspectives, and things to photograph. I'm always amazed that I am able to do so. Sometimes it's just a matter of looking behind as your walking or simply taking a slightly different route. 

Another thing that often dictates what kind of photos I capture of the same area is lighting. Sometimes all it takes is a bright sunny day or on the opposite end, a cloudy day. In this case, it was bright and sunny which meant harsh shadows. It also meant that the colours would generally be a bit more vibrant then that of a cloud day. 

When I walk around I tend to resort to my X-T1 but I actually don't mind the weight of the Nikon and 50mm. It's obviously heavier but not excessively so. The main difference is that I actually have to look through the viewfinder on the Nikon, which I have absolutely no problem doing.

I came away with a few good shots and a nice collection overall. All photos were processed in Lightroom with my usual adjustments and tweaks.