Downtown in the Blistering Cold

So it's been a pretty busy and cold winter so far, which means I haven't really had a chance to go outside and do my 'photo walks'. Since I had the day off today, I really wanted to get outside, even just for a little bit, and take some photos. The only problem was, it was about -24 with the windchill. I wasn't going to let that stop me so I bundled up and dressed as warm as I can and set off. My first stop was Boulevard Lake.

The plan was to walk the trail for a short while and see what I could find. That didn't quite go as planned because the trails were anything but groomed. At one point, I was walking through 4 feet of snow. So instead of the trail, I headed straight to the dam and bridge. That part of the park was a bit less snowy, and it was easier to traverse. Too bad the wind was more fierce and it felt about 10 degrees colder. As my own snot froze to my face and I began to lose feeling in my fingers, I decided to go back to the car and warm up. Off in the distance, as I drove down to Cumberland Street, I saw a pretty cool looking cruise ship docked at one of the piers. I checked it out but sadly, there was no way to really get close as it was fenced off. 

I didn't really want to go home quite yet so my last stop was downtown. I had a feeling it would be a bit more sheltered from the wind and 'somewhat' warmer. It ended up being tolerable but still quite cold. Regardless, I came away with some pretty good shots. 

For those interested in camera stuff, I just brought my D750 and 85mm 1.8 with me. As I mentioned before, it's a surprisingly light combo (at least for me). I'm constantly amazed at the colours the Nikon D750 produces. I always do a bit of post processing in Lightroom, but honestly, I don't really do THAT much. Since getting the D750, I find I don't really use my Fuji XT-1 as often as I used to. Nothing against the Fuji, but the Nikon is just as fun to use in my opinion. 

In any case, thanks for stopping by! Until next time...

Snowy Spring Day at Boulevard Lake

It looks as though Spring is just not ready to arrive yet, seeing as how we got dumped on with snow briefly yesterday morning. As soon as I saw it snowing that much I knew I had to go somewhere to take photos before it all melted away. My location this time around was Boulevard Lake and the old LPH building. By the time I got to Boulevard the wind was basically blowing the snow horizontally which made for some pretty cool shots. So, after parking my car, grabbing me Fuji X-T1 and the 50-140mm lens, I set out to explore and see what I could find.

It was no more then 2 minutes into my walk where I wiped out hard. Little did I know that underneath that fresh coat of snow was a sheet of ice, essentially through the park. It caught me off guard and just as I was falling I was able to land on my side with my right hand outstretched saving my camera and lens. The price I paid was a pretty badly strained neck and back. But the show must go on and I shook it off and continued on my way, grumbling and moaning the rest of the walk of course.

The sad thing was that I wasn't the only one wiping out. About 2 minutes after my intimate session with the pavement, I heard some loud swearing coming from the parking lot. It seemed as though, a construction worker met the same fate as I. I didn't check, but he seemed to brush himself off and as I moved along I heard his faint swears echo in the distance.

Now, back to the photography part of my excursion. As always, I had no specific goal other then to shoot whatever caught my eye. Perhaps I should starting setting goals for myself during these walks, but until that happens, this is what you get. Randomness. 

In a way, I did have a goal, and it was to capture just how much snow was falling. I still find it amazing that all this snow was gone by 3:00pm. Once I finished walking around the Boulevard area I made my way to the LPH building, which I never really got the chance to explore before. The whole time I was taking photos, I was giving myself constant reminders not to fall. There were a few more close calls but I managed to stay upright the rest of the walk. I think the fact that my face was going numb kept me more alert then usual. One of these days, I'll actually dress appropriately for one of these walks. 

In the end, the fact that both my camera and lens were waterproof made this whole walk possible and they both performed flawlessly. I've really been digging taking the zoom lens on my walks lately as it has allowed me to get some completely different perspectives as well as shots I wouldn't have been able to get with my usual prime setup. Until next time!