Chippewa Park with the Canon EOS R

I woke up this morning, looked out the window, and saw fog. Lots and lots of fog. I then proceeded to get dressed and washed up as fast as I could and catch it before it went away. I really wish I got up earlier but what can you do. As a photographer, I don’t think I’m alone in saying that foggy weather is among the best types of days to get out and explore. So I grabbed my somewhat new Canon EOS R and 85mm 1.8 along with a little Manfrotto tripod and nifty 50 lens and set off for the day.

I have actually been meaning to do a review of the Canon R but I just haven’t had time to do so. I already have at least 5 or 6 blog posts in queue prior to today, so hopefully I can catch up on those soon. Regardless, I’ll just say that it is such an extremely fun camera to use. Not just for personal photography like you see here, but also professional work which I will be sharing in the coming weeks.

The challenge with foggy days is actually deciding where to go, and rather quickly. Fog can go away at any moment so I didn’t know how much time I had. My first destination was obviously Starbucks to get some nourishment and coffee. Then it was off to Kam Park, which will follow this post. The second stop was Chippewa Park. I was just going there to see how the lake looked and maybe walk out to the boardwalk and some of the trails. I was so happy to see that all the rides were set up, although not functioning yet. That included the merry go round which is still looking for community support to keep going.

I spent about 20 minutes just walking around the very small amusement park capturing some of the details . The Canon R and it’s lovely flipout screen are just so perfect to use. I was able to get angles that I just simply couldn’t get before. My Nikon D750 has one, but it’s a bit slow and only goes up and down. Luckily, it was still extremely foggy there so the lighting was absolutely perfect.

For the entire day I actually used the 85mm lens which is one of my all time favourites. It’s relatively compact and beautifully separates the background. Unless doing landscapes, I’m always between 1.8 and 2.2 aperture. Once I was done in the amusement park, I headed down towards the lake and along the trail that goes out to the lookout point. At the end of the path there are a bunch of rocks which I have walked out onto many times. Well, today, I slipped and fell through two rocks and banged up my shin. It all happened an instant and what amazed me was that I held my camera high up above me and only managed to slightly bang it on the rock. I was embarrassed that I fell but proud that I managed to save the camera!

As I stumbled back down the path in quite a bit of pain I continued to take photos as the pain slightly went away. If anyone was listening to me they would have laughed. In between swear words and audible grunts, I was still commenting on compositions as I photographed.

As I saw the fog dissipating, I made my way towards the cabins and managed to capture a few more photos. It was such a fun and spontaneous day and I’m glad I was able to take some photos in my favourite type of weather. Thanks for stopping by!

Quick Visit to Westfort

My last photo walk of the day in the fog took place in Westfort. I knew I had to at least go to one more location before I called it a day so I headed on over to the Westfort overpass. The bridge itself is just an awesome location but it also overlooks the entire train yard which I knew might look pretty cool in the fog. I actually spent a good 30 minutes photographing on the overpass, but I decided to only show a select few, my favourites if you will.

Since the day was dwindling down, and I knew I had to pick up Anne from work shortly, I walked a couple blocks to see what I could find. I actually came away with a few interesting compositions. All in all, it was a really fun day of taking photos. If I could do this everyday I would be in heaven. 

For those interested, I used my Fuji X-T1 paired with the 90mm 2.0. Thanks for viewing. 

Kaministiquia River Heritage Park in the Fog

As I mentioned in my previous post which took place in the Mission Marsh, it was a very foggy day. This post contains photos taken in and around Kam Park. Seeing as how I ended up going to 3 different locations that day, I figured I would split the photos up, because I think I got a lot of great shots. I couldn't think of a better place to go on a foggy day then Kam Park. With the boardwalk, the tugboat and even the tunnel, it was a no brainer.

As soon as I arrived, I saw that the fog was very dense. So dense in fact, that I could barely see the bridge across the water. I ended up having to do some more intense Lightroom adjustments, but I really dig the more moody, artistic look. It's almost dreamlike. From there on out I walked down the boardwalk and I was able to get a good shot of the dock vanishing into the background and then of the tugboat and eventually the tunnels. 

I also wandered around downtown for a bit and even snuck in a couple candid people photos. One of my favourites of the day was actually a young girl riding her bike down the street with an angry bird backpack. Once I was done downtown, I made the walk back to my car at Kam Park, but I made sure to use the other tunnel. It's such a cool tunnel, I could literally spend an 1 hour there getting some photos. 

My camera choice was the Fuji X-T1 and the lens used was the 90mm 2.0. It's a surprisingly light combo and the compression from that lens is amazing. Of course, there is no zoom on it so you do have to make sure you move your feet to frame your shots. But that is my favourite way of shooting. Check back soon for the final shoot from this day which took place in Westfort.

Terry Fox Lookout + Trow Bridge

As soon as I saw the fog yesterday morning I knew I had to go somewhere cool to capture some photos. I saw that the fog got heavier as you went further east, so I decided to head on over to the Terry Fox Lookout, seeing as how I hadn't really been there for a while. I already had my Fuji X-T1 and 16-55mm lens. So, off I went in search of some great photos. 

Coming up the main road leading to the lookout I could already tell that the fog was going to make for some good shots. Even though it was already starting to dissipate, I knew still had some time. After grabbing a few quick shots of the road leading up I made my way to the lookout itself. I worked fairly quickly and just looked for different angles of the monument. I always try and capture perspectives that no one else has done, it's almost a way of challenging myself to not just settle. Of course, I know for a fact I walked away with some standard photos but I still tried to incorporate my own personal style.

Once I was done walking around the lookout, I drove back down to the base of the hill and parked the car. Normally I would have just left but I felt a bit courageous and so I got out of the car and climbed the hilltop to where the low mountain range was. There were a few Inukshuks up on the ledge so I incorporated them into some of my landscape photos. 

It was then off to Trow Bridge. I figured there might still be some fog left there but sadly I was wrong. I didn't want to waste the trip though so I still managed to capture a few good shots down by the water and bridge. I also got a couple keepers from the playground as well. All in all, I was out and about for an hour or so. It was so much fun and very calming. Thanks for viewing!