Silver Creek Cliff

Anne and I decided to go see Arcade Fire perform in St. Paul, Minnesota this past weekend. The concert was their best yet that I have been to, and I almost want to see them again in another city. In any case, each time we do the drive to Duluth or Minneapolis, I always want to stop along the way to take photos at various spots. The problem is that we are always pressed for time and either want to get to where we are going, or on the way home, get back before it gets dark.

Well, this time around, we had plenty of time on the way home so we decided to make at least one stop at a location I always wanted to explore. That location was Silver Creek Cliff. Anyone who has been to Duluth and back should instantly know the tunnel, and area I am talking about. Each time I have driven by in the past, I have seen the path on the side of the cliff. It was fantastic to actually finally do it. 

Another bonus was that the weather was absolutely perfect, at least in my mind. It was gloomy and grey. I guess I'm just a sucker for overcast and even lighting. I think it makes for great moody photos. I brought my Fuji XPro2 with me, paired with the original lens I bought when I first entered the Fuji system, the 35mm 1.4. I have bought and sold various Fuji lenses over the years and this one lens, I have kept throughout. There is just something about it. 

We parked the car in the lot, dressed up warm and headed off along the trail. The view even from the trail was beautiful, as you could see the wide expanse that is Lake Superior. Also, because of the weather, it had an almost painterly feeling to it. Along with some landscape shots, I got my wife Anne to pose for a few photos too. She's so photogenic that I could have easily spent an hour there photographing her. 

In the end we just did about a 10 minute walk up and down the trail. It was neat seeing the cliff up close and I always find it amazing how they were able to build right through it. 

Before we got back in to the car, I made Anne (safely) stand in the middle of the highway as I captured one final photo of the tunnel in the background. It was one of my favourites of the bunch. 

I also included a few photos at the end of the batch, one from our brief stop in Grand Marais of the lighthouse, and another of the lookout just before the border. Thanks for viewing!

Chippewa Park with Anne

This is just a quick post. Today's is Anne's birthday so I figured I would post some photos from our recent walk around Chippewa Park. It was a combination of a mini portrait session with Anne mixed in with some landscape photos. She is always such a great sport and I owe a lot of my success with my wedding and portrait business to her because she has let me practice and hone my skills over the years. Happy Birthday!

Kam Park Portraits with Anne

This past Friday, after we had some great food and a drink at ExCuria in downtown Fort William, I  decided to drag my wife Anne for a quick photoshoot in the rain over at Kam Park. It has been so long since I did this with her that I figured we could walk off some calories and get some nice photos in the process. 

I chose to go to Kam Park because I thought it would be a nice atmosphere with the boardwalk and the rain. It wasn't raining to hard but enough where it was kind of cold, so we only spent about 15 minutes walking around and taking photos. She was such a great sport and even though it was raining, we both had a great time. Of course she is a pro by now when I take photos of her since I pretty much do it every day. 

We came away with some fun photos but one of my faves was the where I got her to run down the boardwalk, making some of the seagulls fly away. All the photos were shot with my Fuji X-T1 and the 35mm 1.4. 

Honeymoon in Montreal

Anne and I decided to go to Montreal for our Honeymoon. We had been there once before, but only got to spend a couple days on our way to the East Coast. When we were trying to decide what a good destination would be for our Honeymoon, Montreal was always at the top of the list. So we went with it. We decided to just fly in, stay by the hotel and rent a car. That way we could pretty much do whatever we wanted. Seeing as how I don’t mind driving in the larger cities and Anne being an expert navigator, it was a match made in heaven.

Upon arriving at our hotel, we were amazed. It had to be one of the nicest hotels we had ever stayed at. We joked throughout the trip that we didn’t really even need to leave as it almost felt like a resort. Obviously we ended up exploring a lot of Montreal but it was always nice to come back to such a beautiful home base. 

The day we arrived we settled in, took a bit of a break, and then ended up going downtown for a bit. We found a great pub on the main stretch and quenched our thirst and hunger. Seeing as it was extremely hot and humid the whole time there, lets just say that any excuse to stop in for a drink somewhere was welcome. 

Our next day there revolved around the outlet mall just outside of Montreal. We must a couple turnoffs along the way but Anne made sure we got there. There was no way we weren’t going to make to the outlet mall that day. Once we arrived I was amazed how large it was. It was all outdoors and there were a ton of stores. One of Anne’s favourites was the Coach store. It was very cute watching her hum and haw about getting this purse she really wanted. In the end, before leaving, she ended up getting two things from there and was extremely happy. I imagine it was the equivalent of watching me in a camera store. 

We walked around there for a few hours, grabbed a bit to eat at the food court and did a bit more shopping after that. Then it was time to go back to our hotel. We ended up going down to Old Montreal that evening to search for a bite to eat. We got much then we bargained for. After eating we headed back to the main square and watched a really street performance. We were 2 of the first people there and Anne immediately gave the performer some change as he was setting up. He joked that he hadn’t even did anything yet but promised he would give us a good show. The funny part of the whole performance was that he didn’t really do all that much with fire, it was just a ploy to get people to come watch. By the end of it, there was a huge group of people and he put on one of the funniest and entertaining shows we have seen in a long long time. 

The next day was also full of a few surprises. We grabbed some breakfast again and another local diner and then we headed back down to Old Montreal. We wanted to make sure we saw it during the day. This time around I really had a chance to take a lot of photos. As you can see from the images below, Anne was once again my model of choice. How could anyone not want to photograph here. There was a lot of cool things to see down in Old Montreal. One of the highlights was the zip line they had going at the Pier. It was another scorching day so it was nice to walk around. Not sure what to do next we made the choice to go to the island across the water to explore. Once we got there, we decided to do a drive around first to see what there was. As we pulled into one of the parking areas, we paid the steep price of $25 for parking and then saw La Ronde in the distance. So.. instead of parking and walking around the island, we drove straight to the amusement park and spent the next 6 hours getting whipped around on rides. The first ride I took Anne on was the biggest and fasted rollercoaster at the park. She tends to get a bit nervous for the larger rides, so what better way to get those nerves out of the way then to do the scariest ride.

It was smooth sailing after that and we had a ton of fun. We ended the day with some food from the local ‘Saloon’. One of the things we found strange was that you could basically walk around with your beer in hand anywhere in the park. That’s Quebec for you I guess. We weren’t complaining. The last rides we went on, which didn’t make sense, were the water rides where we got completely soaked. In hindsight, we should have done them at the beginning but it all worked out. 

If my memory serves me correctly, once we got back to the hotel, this was the night we met some very interesting people at the bar. There was the pilot beside us that Anne befriended over the mutual love of wine. Supposedly he was flying out later the next day so his ‘consumption’ of wine was not out of the norm at all. Then there was the older couple beside us. They were so much fun and the fact that the husband would routinely get up, stand up beside us, and test out some of his comedic material was priceless. Almost as priceless as the way his wife would bury her head in her hands each time he did so. I laughed at all his jokes though and it certainly made for a memorable evening. I knew it was time to head back to our room when Anne and said pilot considered purchasing a bottle of wine. For fear of the passengers the next day and Anne potentially passing out, I grabbed her by the arm and took her back. 

After a good nights sleep we decided to head to the waterfront area just on the way to Montreal. We rented a bike and rode around the small little inlet and some of the town area. It was a really nice bike ride and I wish we could have done a bit more but we wanted to still do more that day. Plus, Anne was anxiously awaiting her call from the Lakehead Board to see if she got a full time position. Once we finished up there, we eventually decided to make our way to the water park north of Montreal. I was actually really looking forward to it. So we hopped on the highway and drove the 40 minutes it took to get there. Just after purchasing our tickets and entering the park, Anne got the ‘call’. She found out she got a full time position. Yay. That only made the rest of the day that much more relaxed and fun. Overall the water park was a lot of fun. I just wish we had more time there but it all worked out.

By the time we got back to our hotel we were wiped. But that didn’t stop us from treating ourselves to a nice dinner at the Keg. We took a cab there and back so I could have a couple drinks. The meal was fantastic and the biggest surprise of the night was me pretty much eating a whole cheesecake. Anne had a a few bites but otherwise it was all me. Very rare indeed for anyone that knows me. But if there is one weaknessI have it’s Keg cheesecake.

Our final day in Montreal was actually still pretty action packed. We checked out of the hotel and still headed to the gay district. We had accidentally ended up there briefly a previous night and it looked really cool so I wanted to head back during the day to take some photos. We walked that street and then eventually headed back to downtown Montreal. Anne attempted to do some shopping and then we eventually found a great Irish Pub for some food and drink. After that, it was time to head back. It was a bit rough with traffic heading back and I almost got side swiped by a transport on a merge but other then almost getting killed it was fun! 

We headed to the airport, dropped off the rental car and then made our way to our gate. We had time to kill so we walked the entire airport, checking to see what kind of places there were to eat. We ended up going to one of the restaurants closest to our gate. I got a $11 beer, but Anne declined to pay $13 for a small glass of wine. I can’t get over just how much they were charging for food and drinks. All the places were like that by the way. We finished off with a drink at other bar just across the way. The bartender there was just plain awesome. He told us a few stories and was super friendly. Plus, Anne was able finally have her glass of wine. 

The last stop was Toronto. We definitely like flying through Toronto because the Porter lounge is fantastic. Unfortunately we had a very fast layover so we didn’t really get a chance to enjoy it as much as we wanted to. And then we were back in Thunder Bay. The whole way thorough we upgraded each flight so we had the front seats and it was heaven. Lots of leg room and first off the plane could not be beat. All in all it was a great trip. Spending 5 days in Montreal with my beautiful wife Anne was something I will remember the rest of my life. I can’t wait until our next trip. Plus I was able to capture some great photos along the way. Although, probably more food photos then I would normally include. But that’s what happened when you spend a lot of your time eating and drinking!

Our Wedding Day

Our wedding has come and gone and by what a whirlwind of a day it was. Thankfully everything came together perfectly and I was able to actually take a few photos during the day. I was hoping for my time to take photos but, to be honest, I chose not to as I wanted to really take in the day and enjoy it. But, when there was a lull in the action and other people were being photographed I used my trust XT-1 to sneak in a few.

When I first arrived at the ceremony, I immediately started taking some photos of the guests. There couldn't be an easier wedding in the world to do so since I no mostly everyone. If only every wedding I photographed was like that. Ah well.. 

After about 10 minutes it was my cue to join the rest of the guys and start the walk down the isle to wait for my beautiful bride. I should say that I wasn't concerned about getting photographs at any point seeing as how we had our friend Chris Borgo taking video and Anne's cousin Tony McGuire taking photos the entire day. Still, the photographer in me still feels the need to take photos. 

In any case, the ceremony came and went and I'm still not sure what happened. I remember Anne walking down the isle, repeating our vows, laughing at us messing some of them up and then saying I DO! Then we signed the book, walked back through the crowd and that was it. Soon after we hopped in the limousine and departed to take our portraits. Ah, the limo. The poor, poor limo. Upon first entering the limo we were assure that the back end of the vehicle touching the ground was simply the hydraulics. That didn't end up being the case. Every single bump we went over, we practically bottomed out. Suffice it to say I quickly put down drink after half it spilled on my suit. I did feel bad for the driver as you could see he was embarrassed. But in the end, it wasn't his fault. At least we all have yet another story from the day.

Once we got to Hillcrest Park we did all the family portraits and some of the wedding party ones as well. This is pretty much where I got most of my photos for the day. After that we finished there, we headed down to our old public school, Queen Elizabeth. The only photos we took there were the few of us that attended a long long time ago. That is one of the photos from the day that I cannot wait to see. 

We then made our way to our old high school, PACI and also the wall by Magnus Theatre. I had gotten a gorgeous picture from a previous wedding with the couple standing against the wide expansive wall. So, we asked Tony to use his creative style to capture a similar one. I actually got a really good one my iPhone 6+. 

The last stop was Sovereign Room downtown. Her friend owns it so we pretty much took over the bar side for about 15 minutes. The shot Anne really wanted were the guys passed out around her on the seats while she was doing a shot. Of course, once that was done we had to drink the shots. 

The reception was our final stop at the Polish Legion. That whole evening was a blur but so much fun. It was great seeing a lot of old friends and family. My best man Desi certainly stole the show with his speech. Let's just say that he brought me to tears as well as those around me. 

The next day we had a family get together, and it was there that I caught just a few more moments. I'm so excited to finally be married to my Anne! She looked so beautiful as she always does. 

All the photos below were taken with the X-T1 and the 16mm and 35mm. It was so fun to use and as I mentioned before in previous posts, no one is intimidated by it. I love my Nikon's, but when I want to shoot with more of a documentary style, I pull out my Fuji's. As always, they are all processed with my own style in Lightroom. I also use the jpg's for each and every one. No need for RAW in this case. Gotta love those Fuji camera's. 

More Fun With the Fuji X100s

I just wanted to take a moment to share some more randomness with the Fuji X100s. As usual, there was no specific thing I set out to take photos of, rather, I just photographed what caught my eye. Some of the photos were shot indoors and some outdoors. Regardless of whether they were done inside or outside the X100s performed great. Honestly, I just keep it on the same setting all the time, which is auto ISO. When I'm outside, the only thing I really need to do is turn on the built in ND Filter. 

In good light I really don't have any problems focusing or exposure. The X100s, locks on quick and almost always nails colour and exposure. If i'm looking to adjust the exposure I just use the compensation dial. Unless I'm shooting something professionally I just use JPG's and not RAW. There just really isn't any point since the it does such a fantastic job with the JPG's. 

As I mentioned in previous post's, I use custom presets that I have built or start with a VSCO filter and then adapt it to fit my needs. Each photo has it's own tweaks and fine tuning. That's what I love most about processing the images. Once in a while, for black and white photos, I'll use Nik Silver Effex Pro 2. Thanks for viewing!

It's almost spring!

I had the chance to get for a little bit this past weekend and enjoy the brisk spring weather. It was mid afternoon which meant bright sunny conditions. Instead of looking for low contrast and subtle photos I focused on finding nice shadows and strong bold images. 

My combo of choice this time around was my D610 and 85mm 1.8. The 85mm might be my new favourite lens. I love how light it is and the colours it produces are just amazing. Plus, for me, it's a great focal length, at least when walking around. 

The ultimate destination for this walk was to meet up with my Fiance Anne at our friend Raven's house. It was to be our first bon fire of the year. It was still a pretty chilly day but sitting on the deck in the backyard with the fire blazing and the sun beating down was really nice. It reminded us how much we are looking forward to camping this year.

It was a pretty relaxing afternoon and evening but that didn't mean I put the camera way. While hanging out on the deck I decided to practice and explore the continuous focusing abilities on the D610. I have always known how to use them but I really wanted hone my skills. What better way to do so then to follow and track to hyper dogs, Daisy and Jack. The camera locked on very well and almost always held focus. I was often using a very large aperture as well. Suffice it to say I was very impressed. 

In the end I had to leave the fire around 10:00pm. I'm just not as tough as the girls, I was freezing by then. With that being said, I can't wait for warmer evenings around the fire. I will of course have my camera by my side the entire summer capturing every moment.

A Visit From Felix

Our friend Jen stopped by today with her 15 month old son, Felix. Last time we saw him he wasn't really walking much but now he pretty much runs everywhere. After a quick snack, and what seemed to be about a litre of orange juice, he was off to the races. There was a lot to see in our apartment. I soon learned that his favourite toys were remotes, fragile light shades and our flat screen TV. 

If you haven't already noticed I love taking photos of kids. If and when we eventually have on of our own, I will most likely be documenting every single day. For now, Felix filled the void for his brief visit this afternoon. I pulled out my trusty D610 and 50mm 1.8. I almost went for my flash but I wanted to see how it performed with the higher iso and natural light. There isn't much light in our downstairs basement apartment but there was enough to get some great photos. 

Anyone who has ever tried taking photos of kids should know that they just don't sit still. Felix was no exception. There were moments where he 'cried', but they didn't last long. He would soon be off to find the next object to grab and run away with. 

Because it was a nice day out, we decided to let him run around outside for a bit. This is where some of my favourite photos happened. Our former cat, Nessie, decided to hang out with us outside. She had no problem rubbing up to Felix, a brave cat indeed. 

Then, just like that, the visit was over. Jen forced him to kiss us both on the cheek and with a big smile and a turn of the head from embarrassment, he was done. Off to the next adventure. It's amazing how much energy a little boy can bring to an otherwise calm day. Thanks for the visit.

Trip to Kakabeka

With some slightly better weather finally here me and my Fiancé Anne, managed to drive to Kakabeka. As we have done before during visits there, we grabbed a bit to eat at the Metropolitan Moose. It's a wonderful Cafe that has some really good food. My camera of choice today was a Nikon D610 and my Nikon 50mm 1.8. It's a relatively light combo and paired with my Black Rapid strap, it's very easy to carry around. 

Before heading out on our trip I set it to Auto ISO and kept it on Aperture Priority mode. Every once in a while I would use Manual but it was really needed. All the photos in this post were also taken with natural light, no flash. A lot of the indoor shots were actually right around the 6400 ISO mark and they came out really good. I did use a bit of noise reduction in Lightroom but I actually don't mind the noise produced by the D610. I don't know if I would go any higher then 6400 ISO, but I'm sure it's manageable. 

Before leaving the cafe, I got a couple quick photos of some of the vintage objects around the property, including a bicycle and car. I could probably spend a good 2 hours there but we didn't exactly have the time. Plus, Anne is very patient when I take photos, but that would be drawing the line.

It was then off to Kakabeka Falls. As usual, Anne was my personal model. I'm always taking photos of her. Not only is it good practice, as I am always trying new things, but it's also fun as she is the prettiest girl I know! Plus, she's a good sport. 

All the outdoor shots were shot at low apertures. That's just my preference, especially for portraits. Even with a relatively cheap lens like the 50mm 1.8, you can get some fantastic photos with it. That's probably why I use it a lot during my wedding and portrait sessions. That, and it's very light.

I was amazed that the Falls were still frozen. I managed to get a couple shots so you can get a general idea of what it looks like. I do wish I brought my wide angle lens, perhaps next time. 

Anybody looking to learn more about photography reading this post, the best advice I can give you is that you really don't need much to take good photos. Even though I am using a full frame camera, you can get similar photos on any one of the lower end models, in any camera system.

Of course, all the photos below have been processed to my style in Lightroom. I tend to lean towards a bluer tone and a lot of times I actually add a bit of noise to give my photos a bit more character. That's just a personal preference though. Stay tuned for my future post which will show how I edit photos in Lightroom. I might even start testing out the waters on offering some free and paid presets. 

Any comments or questions are always welcome. Enjoy!