Walk to the Marina - Ricoh GRII

After my workout at the gym, I decided to enjoy some of the remaining days of summer by walking to the Marina. Since I just had my gym bag with me, I packed my Ricoh GRII in it. Little did I know, the battery inside of it was almost dead, and the extra one, was also quite low too. Regardless, I just made sure to conserve power as much as I could.

I don’t use this camera enough, because each time I do, I’m amazed (not surprised) by the pure fun and image quality it produces. Admittedly, the focal length of 28mm isn’t my favourite, but it forces me out of my comfort zone. Actually, I just invested in a used medium format camera and the first lens I got is around a 28mm equivalent in 35mm so there you go.

Overall, it was a great walk, and I just took my time and captured whatever caught me eye. I ended up at the Marina just before sunset. There was some beautiful lighting and even after the sun set, I came away with a few keepers. I’m very much looking forward to using this little powerhouse of a camera more soon.

Thunder Bay Marina in the Evening with the Fuji X100F

I have a few cameras, probably more then I really need but that is normal for a lot of photographers I think. It doesn't help that I constantly look at new cameras online and dream and contemplate. This means that certain cameras might not get used as much as others. Up until a few days ago, this was the case with my Fuji X100F. It kind of got pushed to the side for a while because of my Sony A6300 which I have been doing a lot of video with and also because I have been working full time which has eaten into my personal photography time. 

I had the original X100, then the X100S and now the X100F which is such an amazing little camera. Actually, looking back at some of my favourite photos over the years, and a lot of them have come from one of those cameras. So, over the past week I have been carrying it with me more and I soon remembered why I love this camera so much. It's fun to use. Oh, and it still has the best colours and tones, even on par with my pro Nikons. 

This evening, after I dropped my wife Anne off at her friends house, I decided to burn off those dinner calories with a walk around part of the marina and downtown. The sun was on it's way down so the lighting was perfect. As I do with most of my personal photography, I simply captured anything that caught my eye. There is no real theme to these photos, I save that for my professional work. Instead, these are simply little moments in time that I saw and captured during my random walk. 

They were all taken with the X100F and processed in Lightroom. The black and white images were edited further in Silver Effex Pro 2, which is my favourite program for converting black and white. It's hard not to just do every photo in black and white.... 

If anyone actually reads these posts, thanks for stopping by!

To the Marina and Beyond

I managed to actually get out yesterday morning and take some photos for myself. It had been a long time since I have had the chance to do so and it felt really good. My camera of choice was actually the Nikon D700. It's a camera I purchased recently as a backup and one that I owned before. It's an 'older' camera and has long since been replaced but to be honest, it is still one of my favourite cameras to date, which is why I ended up buying it again for photography.

My first destination was the Marina. I wasn't sure how much longer all the boats would be docked down there so I wanted to make sure I got some shots while they are all still there. There was hardly anyone walking around in the morning, even though it was relatively nice out. So, there weren't too many opportunities for people shots. Instead I focused more on scenes and a bit of randomness. 

I wasn't really looking anything in specific to capture, just whatever caught me eye. Perhaps I should try choosing a theme or a subject one of these days for a further challenge, but the point of this particular walk was to just get out finally and see what I could find. 

Even though the D700 isn't the lightest camera, I still find it out comfortable to hold and I'm still amazed at the colours and tones it produces, even though it's only 12 megapixels. Thanks for viewing!

Thunder Pride

Over the weekend I got the opportunity to check out the Thunder Pride parade here in Thunder Bay. This was my first time attending the parade so I didn't really know what to expect. It ended up being such a fantastic turnout. I set up right at the corner of Red River and Algoma where the parade started and was able to get some great photos of the parade making its way down the street. For a city like Thunder Bay, there were so many people in so many different costumes and it was just such an over all electric atmosphere. 

As the parade made it's way down Red River road to the Marina, Anne and I followed them down taking photos along the way. Once they arrived at the Marina we wandered around a bit capturing moments here and there as well as getting shots of some of the different people and their attired. There was some live music and eventually some opening remarks and introductions from some of the leaders within the city.

I will definitely be attending next years event as this years was so much fun. We weren't able to stay very long but I still managed to get some really good shots. It's amazing just how much support and awareness there is within Thunder Bay. 

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!

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.

Thunder Bay Marina

When I woke up a few days ago and noticed that it was really foggy I wanted to go take photos right away but it just wasn't possible. Instead, I ended up getting out about an hour later and I decided to head down to the Thunder Bay Marina. The sun was just a bit up in the sky and the ground had a fresh coat of frost and there was actually quite a bit of ice on most of the trails. On the way to the Marina I saw a few people on the side of the road due to black ice. So I began my walk around the Marina watching my step along the way.

Some days when I'm taking photos I feel more inspired and see things I might not normally see. Perhaps this is just in my head, and I'm not sure if other photographer's feel this way, but I don't think I am imagining it. Perhaps it was the brisk morning weather but it was a very fun photo walk. I spent about an hour around the Marina, taking my time, looking for different perspectives and just generally picking out things and moments that caught my eye.

All in all, this was one of my favourite sessions in a while. In my mind, I came away with a wide variety of photos. I always tend to focus on close up details but this time around I got a lot of great landscape shots as well. My camera of choice this morning was the Fuji X-T1 and the 35mm. 

To the Marina and Back

Last week Anne and I managed to go for a walk to the Marina. It was so nice out and actually still is so we definitely like to take advantage of this weather when we can because who knows when it's going to suddenly get cold. Instead of walking the main streets we decided to take some of the alleyways and side roads we don't usually walk down. It always amazes me how much there is to see when you just head off the beaten path a bit. Plus, you often get to see some backyards of houses as well which I always find kind of interesting. 

Like most walks, I decided to bring along my XT-1 with the 35mm. I just love the fact I can carry it with me using the wrist strap and I hardly notice it's there. Plus, because of the flip screen it allows me to easily get down low without getting dirty. I'm constantly amazed at just how good the colours are straight out of the camera. The photos below are still processed a bit but nothing out of the ordinary. 

Hopefully this good weather continues and we are able to keep going on these walks. When I'm driving I always see certain neighbourhoods I want to explore. 

In Search of a Cold Beer

Anne and I finally found the time to go for a good walk today. Our goal, as per usual, was to find a bar stool and a drink, preferably with some alcohol in it. Along the way, we figured we could get some exercise. We decided about halfway through the walk to make our way to the marina to grab some food and drinks at the Breakwater Taphouse. We had only be there once before and we liked it so it was time to give it another try.

Part of the problem with going to restaurants and pubs these days is the overwhelming choice of beers. Luckily, the bartender at the the Taphouse was kind of enough to give us some samples. Some were good and some were not really my cup of tea but it was great to taste test beers I wouldn't normally try. I was impressed with Anne for actually trying some of the beers as well. That's not to say she didn't make some faces along the way but it was a good effort.

After some fantastic nachos and a refreshing drink we left and quickly checked out the summer in the park. It was our first time attending one of these this year and I was amazed at the amount of people there. We probably would have stayed and watched some of the live music but we weren't really dressed for it. And so the walk continued back home with one more stop along the way. The Madhouse was our final destination for one more drink. Anne got to vent on me a little about our wedding planning, or should I say, my lack thereof. 

During the whole walk I did what I always do, and that is, picking out little moments along to capture. Some included Anne and others were my usual random and spontaneous photos.

For this walk around I brought my Fuji X-T1 paired with the 35mm 1.4.