The Prince Arthur in Black and White

I was tasked to go in an capture some photos of The Prince Arthur Hotel the February Issue of The Walleye. I had been in the hotel a few times before, mainly for weddings and also a couple events. Each time I was inside, I just loved the overall feel and the history that excludes from the architecture. So, when The Walleye asked me to take some architectural photos for a spread they were doing, I jump at the chance. 

Upon arrival, I walked around the building and got some pretty good shots of the exterior. I made sure to bring my wide angle lens to really capture how big it actually is. Luckily for me, the clouds were kind of cool that day and the lighting was just about perfect. 

Once I got inside, I was given a short tour of some of the rooms and also a bit of the history of the building. That is something I have never had the opportunity to do before so that was pretty cool. After the tour, I just wandered around the floors and photographed some of the beautiful details and also the mood of this historic building. 

I'm very happy with how the photos turned out and I decided to convert them all to black and white. I find with black and white, it forces you to really pay attention to the details. Plus, I think it just looks cool.

Be sure to check out this months issue of The Walleye for a more in depth article on The Prince Arthur and it's history. It's a really great write up!

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.

County Fair + Cumberland Street

Since it is my birthday today, I figured I would treat myself to a little photowalk. Since I had just met my wife Anne for lunch on Eddy Lee's, I decided to go down the street and walk around County Fair. There used to be a Canadian Tire there but it has long since shut down. Instead, they opened up a Walmart a few years ago. I always remember going to that Canadian Tire when I was younger to go get some tennis balls or other random things that kids need. It was always a trek to ride my bike all the way there. As you can tell from the photos, it is now just an abandoned building, but you can still see some of the signage. 

Well, me being a fan of run down buildings and anything old, I simply walked around the building looking for things that caught my eye. It is actually attached to the mall which I later checked out. The mall itself, is almost empty as well, with just a few random stores here and there. I'm not sure what is going to come of it but it's really strange seeing it so baron. 

Once I finished walking around at County Fair, I trekked down to the end of Cumberland Street. For those of you who aren't familiar, it is another street with a lot of motels and older buildings. Again, I just looked for random scenes, paying attention to colour and composition. 

For the County Fair photos I used the X-TI with the 16mm and for the Cumberland Street photos I used the X-T1 paired with the 35mm. Both lenses are fantastically sharp and quick to focus. I am just taking photos of stationary objects, but still, the colour rendition is superb with this camera and lenses. Each image, I used the jpg version, with the exception of some of the landscape photos where I need to bring out the sky a bit more. All processing was what I always do. I boost the contrast, selective colour here and there to make it pop and overall sharpness.

Thanks for viewing!