Kam River Park - Last Days of Summer

I’ve been trying to get out more and more first thing in the morning when the sun is low. The one thing about Fall that is great for photography is that the days are shorter, which means you don’t have to get up as early to get potentially good light. When living in a place like Thunder Bay, it’s easy to get bored of taking photos because it is a smaller city and there are only so many things to photograph. That has never stopped me from going to the same location many, many times over.

The time of day, the camera you use, the way you walk a scene; all can change the way you shoot a place you have been to before. Honestly, this was probably my 20th time taking photos at Kam River Park. I just had my Canon EOS R and 50mm 1.2. One camera and one lens. When doing personal photography, that’s all I ever bring, 90 percent of the time. I do try to switch up lenses every now and again. But, 50mm has always been my favourite focal length.

It was an over cast day down at Kam Park which is my favourite type of weather. As always, I didn’t really have a goal in mind. I just walked around and captured things that looked interesting to me. I worked different angles and looked for interesting light, even though it was cloudy. There were a ton of seagulls out that day and I tried to get some photos of them in flight. I think I ended up getting a couple keepers.

I’m sure I’ll be back again before winter hits us, and even then, it’s a totally different look and feel in winter as well. Happy shooting!

Centennial Park + Boulevard in the Fog

Centennial Park was the location of one of my latest excursions. It was foggy again, and I had to quickly decide where to go before it went away. I figured it was time to go visit the horses once again and in the process, hopefully there would be some fog lingering around. Luckily, the horses were still out and there was a bit of fog to add to the mood. At the very least, it was my favourite kind of weather, overcast and somewhat gloomy.

Once I arrived at the park, I made my way directly to the playground which was completely empty. I just got in really close and captured some of the finer details that most people wouldn't even be looking at. I was simply using my Nikon D750 and the 50mm 1.8. I mentioned this before, but it's such a great walk around combo, very well balanced. The colours that come from the Nikon are just fantastic and always so perfectly balanced. Of course, I do my usual magic in Lightroom but it really doesn't take that much. After all, it's about the composition too which I always push myself to evolve at. 

After talking to the horses for a short while and walking around the stables, I made my way to the train tracks and Muskeg Express. In the past I have always just walked past it but this time around I decided to get in a little bit closer. I think I came away with some pretty cool photos. I did the same for the tractor down the trail too. By the time I was done, the fog was all but gone at Centennial, but I figured I might as well do a drive by Boulevard, where the dam is. It was actually still a bit gloomy down there too so I went for a short walk to see what I can come away with. 

One of my favourite parts of Boulevard is the bridge and the view looking on. With the fog in the background outlining the grain elevators I captured a couple good shots. As with Centennial, I got in close on a couple occasions to focus on the finer details. Building up a bit of an appetite I figured I would stop at Tim's on the way back. While wolfing down my breakfast sandwich at the table, I noticed the construction worker through the window and because I pretty much always have my camera with me, I got a good fleeting photo. He was only there for a about 10 seconds. 

And of course, once I got home, the last photo which was the perfect conclusion to the morning was lazy Willow passed out on the driveway. She does have hard life after all. 

The Neebing River - East End

This post is kind of a part two, to my previous one. Last week I walked around part of the Neebing River, but more towards Friendship Gardens. This time around, I headed on over to the trail in East End that follows the river out to Lake Superior. I'm not exactly sure why, but one of my favourite areas in town to take photos is East End. I think it's because it's a good mix of nature and landscape and some great urban scenes. Plus, each time I'm there, I literally see no more then 5 people out and about. It's just so quiet and peaceful, if that makes sense. 

So this walk was a mix of some great landscape photos, which I am trying to take more and more of, and of course my usual random photos of anything else that catches my eye. After walking part of the trail, I spent most of my time in the various baseball parks in the area, as well as one of the playgrounds. I'm trying more and more to take a step back and get photos that take in the whole scene, but I also made sure, as I always do, to get in nice and close and play with depth of field, focusing on the details.

It was a nice overcast day so I couldn't have asked for better weather. It gave all the images a nice even tone and I didn't have to really worry about shadows. Although, there are plenty of times when I set out to find shadows and see what I can do with them. For this walk, I used my Nikon d750 and the 50mm 1.8. I absolutely love the bokeh and depth of field it produces. Of  course, I had to throw in a couple photos of the kitties from when I got home. You can never have too many cat photos after all. Thanks for viewing!

Along the Neebing River

Since I am going on more and more photo walks these days, it's often a challenge to choose fresh and new locations to explore. I had walked around Friendship Gardens last summer but I didn't really get the chance to explore too much of the trail that runs along the Needing River. That's what I decided to check out for my most recent walk. With me for this one was my newest addition to the family, the Nikon d750 and the only lens I currently have for it, the 50mm 1.8. Even though it's a DSLR, this combo is extremely light and I simply use a wrist strap to carry it around. That's even with the battery grip. I can't wait to put this puppy to the test for wedding season. 

Back to the walk... I started off where all the new construction is by the retirement home. I basically weaved in and out of the trail and side roads eventually ending up at the Delaney baseball fields. I did venture into Friendship Gardens for a short while but made sure to check out some areas I hadn't yet explored. As usual, I just shot whatever caught my eye. As you can tell, for most of my photos, I have the lens aperture wide open to blur out any background. For one of the cheapest prime lenses you can by, the 50mm 1.8 on the 750, produces superb results. All the processing was done in Lightroom in my usual style. Thanks for reading!

The Back Roads of Westfort

Even though it was a bit of a chilly day, I decided to go for another quick walk after lunch. Whereas in the morning I was in Port Arthur, the afternoon brought me to the depths of Westfort. It had been a while since I took photos on the overpass so I decided to head there. After spending a short amount of time getting some photos in and around the overpass I walked all the way across and explored some of the road on the other side of the tracks. 

As far as I can remember I had never been back there so it was quite interesting. I immediately tried to get down to the river to get a photo of the big ship but it was sadly all closed off. Even an area where you could normally go down the water was also locked down. My plan for next time is to bring my long zoom lens and find an angle somehow. Hopefully the ship is still there. 

Regardless, I headed to the James Street Swing Bridge. Even though it's closed off to traffic, you can still walk across. I was able to get some decent angles from the bridge but I did have to shoot through the fence. Actually, one of my favourite photos of the day was of the old mill in the background, which was shot through the fence. It almost looks like smoke is on the outer edges of the fence but it's part of the fence which is blurred. I just like how it ended up looking, almost vintage, by accident.

Once I was done on the bridge I made my way back to Gore Street which would eventually take me to my car. Before I got there though, I managed to get a few more cool looking photos. Along the way, I was warned by a friendly neighbour that there had been a black bear roaming around the day before. So, I think I will take a break from Westfort for a bit. 

In case you are wondering, I took all these photos with the Fuji X-T1 and the 35mm 1.4. I shot in both JPG and RAW. Lately I have been using the RAW images mainly because they are more forgiving with the the highlights, especially with the bright winter skies. 

Boulevard Lake

I'm just getting around to posting this from last week but better late then never. Even since a week ago it seems like winter is closer then ever but I did manage to find some colour last week. Most of the leaves are gone now so I'm glad I got out when I did. It was also a very foggy day as well, so that helped create a nice mood to some of the photos, especially the ones by the river. 

The first few photos in this series are actually around Grandview Arena. Before meeting Anne for lunch, I walked around there for about 20 minutes. There is a really nice trail there and I came away with some great shots. After lunch, I then headed down to Boulevard Lake. I started by the park off Arundel Street and walked under the bridge along the water for a bit. Not being the sharpest tool in the shed I was wearing my dressier shoes the whole time so they ended up getting soaked by the end of it. Ah well. 

I eventually headed back to the car and then drove down to the main area by the mini put course. I spent some time around the run down tennis court which I used to play tennis at back in the day. There were some great reflections due to the puddles on the court. I ended the walk by the playground. For the whole shoot I used my D610 combined with the 85mm 1.8. Such a great light combo and the colours that come from that lens are outstanding, especially for a lens that really isn't that expensive. Now I'm just waiting for the weather to get a bit better before I head out again this week...

Current River

I managed to get for a bit the other day in the Current River area. It was in the dead of afternoon with the sun beating down, so not the best lighting conditions. When it's bright and sunny like that, I tend to look more for harsh shadows and contrast. The one thing I realized about Current River is that there are endless back alleys. I'll definitely have to go back and explore a bit more when I have more time. 

Once again I used my X-T1 with the 35mm 1.4. I just love the colour that comes from that lens. I rarely have to do much post processing. I usually just apply my usual subtle preset and then bump up the contrast and selective colour.

Thanks for viewing!