Mount McKay and Abandoned Cars

I have been spending a lot of time lately trying to hone my 'video skills' and my personal photo walks have taken a backseat. Well, this morning I decided to take my X100F into the rain, even though it's not waterproof, and see if I remembered how to take photos. ;)

I joke about taken photos, as I have been doing a lot of professional work, but I have missed just walking around aimlessly and capturing still images. My first destination was the Mount McKay lookout, at the base of Mountdale Road. I'm not sure if I a lot of people know about this spot, because there is rarely anyone there, but it is quite beautiful. As soon as I got out of my car, I saw a cute little chubby rabbit hopping around. I swear it looked like a household rabbit. I did manage to get fairly close before it hopped off into the gloomy forest. As I do with almost any cat, dog, horse or bird I see in my travels, I had a short conversation with it. Sometimes I worry that I'm a bit crazy. I can't be the only person that talks to random animals though right?

It was already raining lightly when I got to the lookout but I still managed to get, what I think, are some good shots. Remember, the X100F is a fixed 35mm lens so you really have to compose with your feet. I like to get in super close to things but also appreciate the landscape type photos. 

The next stop after that was the James Street Bridge. By then it was raining fairly hard but I just made sure to keep the camera somewhat covered. The crappy thing about the bridge, is that it has been closed to traffic for quite a while now. Even though you can still cross it, the usual pedestrian walkway is fenced off and you can only walk on a different walkway, which has fences on both sides, so no clear view of the river etc. 

The geese were out in full force and I got a wicked photos of one of them perched on the top of the bridge structure. He didn't quite know what to think of me but luckily I didn't get dive-bombed. Not wanting to go home just yet, I went for a quick drive to Mission Marsh and this little partially fenced off area with abandoned cars. It is by far one of my favourite spots in town. There is nothing special about it, but if you let me know loose in an actual junkyard, I would probably spend days taking photos in it. I love old vintage cars and broken down things. 

I called it a morning after that and decided to head home and do some actual work. The Fuji X100F is such a fun camera to use and it really forces you to move and compose. But then again, my whole Nikon professional kit, consists of primes so it's nothing new to me. 

Thanks for viewing!

Hammarskjold High School Vintage Car Show

This is just a quick post that I wanted to share. Hammarskjold High School decided to host a small vintage car show today so I decided to stop by with my camera and see what kind of cars showed up. In all, there were about 10 cars along with some off-road jeeps. I'm a sucker for vintage cars so any chance I get to attend one of these shows I jump at the opportunity. 

All the cars there were very cool and of course in pristine condition. Next time I will have to take notes on the specific cars. While photographing the cars today I focused on the details as that what is most interesting to me. Of course the car itself as a whole is as sight to see but since there wasn't really a lot of space to get full car shots, I figured why not get in close.

I can't wait to attend some of the larger future events. I'll never get used to just how many of these old cars either reside in Thunder Bay or make there way through. 

Algoma Street and Beyond

These are just a few photos taken over the course of a couple days from last week. The weather was still holding out but it was kind of chilly in the morning. I have been trying to get a few times a week in the morning to get some fresh air and some photos along the way.

Anyone who knows Thunder Bay can tell the photos that are taken around Waverly Park and downtown. But I also explored Algoma Street more towards Boulevard. I finally got a chance to walk around the old vacated parking lot off Algoma Street. Then I did a quick route along part of the path by the LPH and then back down towards Court Street. 

All photos were taken with the Fuji X-TI. 

A Quick Walk Down Kingsway

So I had a very quick break today during work yesterday so I decided to just park on Kingsway Street and quickly walk around the old motels there. I literally had about 10 minutes to spare before I had to leave so I got whatever photos struck my eye. I think, if I have time, I will go back and spend a bit more time when it's not so rushed.

The area I definitely want explore a bit more is the old mini put course. I realized you can actually walk right in. I'm sure you really aren't supposed to but seeing as how it has been close for quite some time I don't think it should be a problem. I'm thinking of maybe even bringing my own putter and ball to shoot a round. Well, I probably shouldn't do that but it's an idea.

Once again I used my X-T1 for all these photos paired with the 35mm. You really can't go wrong with that combo. The 35mm 1.4 is such a compact and light lens that you barely realize it's on the camera. Thanks for viewing!

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!

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!

4th Annual Fat Guys Auto Show 2015

On my way to a wedding I was photographing today I quickly stopped at the Annual Auto Show at Fat Guys Auto Parts. I went last year and really enjoyed myself so I wanted to at least make an appearance this year to take a few photos. I literally only had about 10 minutes so I walked around quickly and just snapped a few things that caught my eye. I could have easily spent a couple hours there but I simply didn't have the time this year. 

All photos were taken with the Fuji X-T1 paired with the 16mm 1.4. 

A Walk Around Simpson Street

So it was a relatively brisk morning the other day when I decided that instead of going home and sitting in front of a computer, I would go walk around Simpson Street and test out my new Nikon 85mm 1.8. I'm so glad I did as it was very refreshing and it has honestly been a very long time since I really just took some time and walked around to take photos. This winter has been brutal. 

For those of you who don't know, Simpson Street is a pretty rundown area of town. Honestly, that is why I like it. There is still a lot of history there and tons of old partially abandoned buildings. Don't get me wrong, there are some businesses on the street that are doing just fine, but overall, it's an area of Thunder Bay that needs a lot of work. 

I decided to bring my Nikon D610 and pair it with the 85mm 1.8. Once again, I mainly used Auto Iso and Aperture Priority. I rarely went above F8, and most of the time I was around F2.8. I would have gone lower but it was bright and sunny out and I have yet to purchase an ND filter. The only drawback I have encountered so far with the D610 is the max 1/4000 shutter speed. But, in the end, it is an easy problem to solve. 

Aside from the limitation with the shutter speed, the camera performed perfectly. White balance was almost always right on and the metering was great as well. There were no issues with focusing, but then again, I was only photographing static subjects for the most part. 

As for the lens, it's a dream to use. It's light, compact and focuses great. And of course, the bokeh is outstanding on it. So, for someone looking for a really good priced lens in this focal range, you really can't go wrong for the price. I can't wait to use it on my portrait and wedding sessions. 

Getting back to my actual walk, after I went up and down Simpson Street once, I ventured over to Kam Park. It's not always the safest area to walk around, but that is mainly at night. Seeing as how it was 10:30 in the morning, it was all good. Plus, once I got there, I was literally the only one walking around, save for a few pigeons. 

Kam Park has a really cool tugboat there which I just love to photograph. I didn't have my wide angle lens, but I managed to get a few landscape shots with what I had. Once I got to the end of the boardwalk, I got some cool shots of the bridge off in the distance. I processed these ones as black and white in Lightroom, simply because I thought they looked better that way. Plus, I find when shooting in overhead sunlight with no shade, black and white often softens the photos a bit so they aren't so contrasty. it all depends on the look one is going for though.

With fear of my meter running out, I started back to the car. By now it was at least a 20 minute walk. I managed to get some photos of some more old buildings and just random stuff as per usual. 

All the photos below were processed in Lightroom. I tend to start with a VSCO filter and then make it my own by tweaking it and just playing around with each photo. I love taking photos, but I would stay that editing them afterwards is just as fun.