Weekly Highlights – November 20th to 26th

I’ve been getting out quite a bit taking personal photos the past month or so. Since I get way behind on posting them to my personal blog, I figured I would just start doing weekly highlights, so it at least forces me to share some of my favourites. This past week I got out to Boulevard Lake, Centennial Park in the snow, Downtown Port Arthur and Vanderwees Home and Garden. If I have time, perhaps I’ll post a few weekly highlights from earlier this month too. For now, enjoy these highlights. :)

An old but a goodie - Canon EOS M

I have too many cameras. There, I said it. I’m sure there many of you out there with the same addiction as me. Actually, I’m probably not that bad compared to some. With that being said, I actually sold two of my older main cameras today. Sadly, it probably means I will use that as an excuse to buy a new secondary camera, which I do need. Regardless … owning more cameras then you need usually means some cameras collect dust. Case in point, my beloved Canon EOS M. The original one. The one and only.

This camera was the one that got me addicted to Canon. Specifically the colour science. From there, I would go on to buy the Canon 5D Classic which I also fell in love with. Then I did the unthinkable, I sold my Nikon gear (I still own my DF which I will not be getting rid of), and converted to Canon. I’m glad I did. The Canon R is my current workhorse. It is the perfect camera for me. I use it for all of my events, weddings, portraits b-roll (and some main) videos. I just love it.

So with that, there is little reason to pick up the Canon EOS M these days. It’s the same with my Ricoh GRII. Another awesomely capable camera that produces stunning images. Well, I chose to shoot my usual random photos with the M today and was once again reminded just how fun it is to use. I’m not hung up on fast autofocus or all that other fancy stuff. Hell, I’ve just recently rediscovered film, and shot and processed over 30 rolls in the past 3 months. Specifically, the Hasselblad 500, which you have to meter, manual focus and just downright take your time. So, going from that to the M feels like I’m driving a Ferrari.

My main lens for the Canon EOS M is the 22mm. Man, what a wicked lens. I’m a sucker for shallow depth of field. Combine that with the super close focusing of this lens and it’s a match made in heaven. Oh, and of course, the beautiful colours that come out of this sensor. I swear, they seem to pop even more then my 50 1.2 on the R. No joking.

Anyway, it’s been a while since I wrote a personal blog post and I thought it was time to give this camera it’s proper recognition amongst my collection. Remember you don’t need the most expensive or latest gear to create good images. You just need a good eye for composition and the motivation to get out and shoot!

Morning Walk in Fort William - Canon EOS R

Knowing that winter can hit at any moment, I have been trying to get out on photo walks a few times during the week after I drop my wife off at work. It helps wake me up and also gets my creative juices flowing, and prepares me to sit in front of a computer. Well, almost. I decided to venture down to Fort William and make my way through some of the side streets. I had no route planned or even a final destination.

I did know that I wanted to check out some of old McKellar Hospital and perhaps the old FWCI building too. I managed to make it to both. These are areas I have photographed many times before so I do challenge myself to come up with different compositions. It’s not always easy, but sometimes all you need to do is turn around or even get lower to the ground.

I even made my way down some back alleys, which I absolutely love doing. I know it sounds strange, but some of my best photos have resulted from treks down alleyways. I’m not talking seedy dangerous ones, just neighbourhood ones.

There were some keepers from the walk. Some were better than others, but I figured I would share some of them here, for anyone interested in seeing a little peice of Thunder Bay from a different perspective.

Backyard + Canon EOS R + 50mm 1.2

I decided to challenge myself this evening to see how many interesting photos I could come away with in my brother-in-laws backyard. I created a short video/slideshow with some behind the scenes which was filmed with my GoPro. I’m kind of excited to hopefully do more of these, so at the very least, it my inspire people to just get out and shoot!

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This a new kind of video for me and I'm really thinking of doing more of them. I'm sure they will eventually evolve into something else. We will see. I challenged myself to spend 30 minutes photographing the backyard, to see how many interesting photos I could come away with.

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A Walk Down Memory Lane

Admittedly I have been doing a lot of video lately, both paid and practice, so my personal photography has taken a bit of back seat. I find it a little hard to do both at the same time, unless of course it’s a paid gig. The thing with video is that it’s a completely different way of thinking, at least for me. Well, I finally got outside and walked around, with no goal other than to photograph whatever caught my eye.

My camera of choice was my beloved Canon EOS R. Man, what a fantastic camera. I do not understand the initial hate that camera got. Especially for my professional work, the ability to quickly switch from photos to videos has been priceless. For this walk, I paired it with my favourite Canon lens, the 50mm 1.2. I am sucker for almost always shooting wide open so you can guess what aperture I’m using 90 percent of the time. That, and it renders beautifully. I can only imagine what the RF mount version looks like. But I digress.

Up until this past spring I worked around my Mazda dealership and used to always go for walks around the area on my lunch break. Seeing as how I have been fully home-based for the past 4 months, it had been a while since I did my route. So, after dropping off my car for a check up, I went off exploring. The first stop was the garden area right beside the police station. I had driven past it various times over the last few weeks and noticed how tall all the plants were so it was the perfect opportunity to go there and see how it looks.

It would have been nice to have a macro lens but I still managed to get some nice flower photos and other interesting shots as well. The grass was wet so my feet were kind of water logged after a while but it was worth it. From there I started to make my way through Lakehead University. Instead of the paved path I took the side dirt trail that runs along the river. I brought my ND filter with me just in case and I’m super happy I did as I got a couple long exposure photos of the stream.

Since I didn’t want to carry my coffee with me when I left the house, I made my way to the Starbucks in the University and treated myself to a flat white. Super tasty. I soon got the phone call that the car was ready, so I made my way back and that was that. It felt really good to be out walking again. I truly do find it therapeutic.

Chippewa Park with the Canon EOS R

I woke up this morning, looked out the window, and saw fog. Lots and lots of fog. I then proceeded to get dressed and washed up as fast as I could and catch it before it went away. I really wish I got up earlier but what can you do. As a photographer, I don’t think I’m alone in saying that foggy weather is among the best types of days to get out and explore. So I grabbed my somewhat new Canon EOS R and 85mm 1.8 along with a little Manfrotto tripod and nifty 50 lens and set off for the day.

I have actually been meaning to do a review of the Canon R but I just haven’t had time to do so. I already have at least 5 or 6 blog posts in queue prior to today, so hopefully I can catch up on those soon. Regardless, I’ll just say that it is such an extremely fun camera to use. Not just for personal photography like you see here, but also professional work which I will be sharing in the coming weeks.

The challenge with foggy days is actually deciding where to go, and rather quickly. Fog can go away at any moment so I didn’t know how much time I had. My first destination was obviously Starbucks to get some nourishment and coffee. Then it was off to Kam Park, which will follow this post. The second stop was Chippewa Park. I was just going there to see how the lake looked and maybe walk out to the boardwalk and some of the trails. I was so happy to see that all the rides were set up, although not functioning yet. That included the merry go round which is still looking for community support to keep going.

I spent about 20 minutes just walking around the very small amusement park capturing some of the details . The Canon R and it’s lovely flipout screen are just so perfect to use. I was able to get angles that I just simply couldn’t get before. My Nikon D750 has one, but it’s a bit slow and only goes up and down. Luckily, it was still extremely foggy there so the lighting was absolutely perfect.

For the entire day I actually used the 85mm lens which is one of my all time favourites. It’s relatively compact and beautifully separates the background. Unless doing landscapes, I’m always between 1.8 and 2.2 aperture. Once I was done in the amusement park, I headed down towards the lake and along the trail that goes out to the lookout point. At the end of the path there are a bunch of rocks which I have walked out onto many times. Well, today, I slipped and fell through two rocks and banged up my shin. It all happened an instant and what amazed me was that I held my camera high up above me and only managed to slightly bang it on the rock. I was embarrassed that I fell but proud that I managed to save the camera!

As I stumbled back down the path in quite a bit of pain I continued to take photos as the pain slightly went away. If anyone was listening to me they would have laughed. In between swear words and audible grunts, I was still commenting on compositions as I photographed.

As I saw the fog dissipating, I made my way towards the cabins and managed to capture a few more photos. It was such a fun and spontaneous day and I’m glad I was able to take some photos in my favourite type of weather. Thanks for stopping by!

Off the beaten path with the Ricoh GRII

What can I say about the Ricoh GR II. It’s a beast of a camera. It may sit in the shelf for periods of time here and there, but every single time I start shooting with it again it is probably the most fun I have out all my cameras. That includes the infamous Fuji X100F and my newly acquired Nikon DF.

I’m always amazed at the sharpness and tonality that comes out of this small camera. For one of my walks around work recently I decided to pack the Ricoh. To be honest, my favourite focal length is probably 35mm, so shooting at 28mm forces me to see differently, but I’m always up for the challenge.

There aren’t of people out in the area I walk on my lunch break so I settle for still life, which is actually my favourite type of photography. The macro mode of the GRII is extremely fun to use, and I use it often. Getting in close to objects is something I do a lot of.

All the photos here were processed in Lightroom. Thanks for viewing!

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!

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!

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!

Walking around with the Nikon D850

I continue to be impressed with my Nikon D810. It's like my Nikon D750 on steroids. Don't get me wrong, my 750 is still a fantastic camera, but there is just something about the files that come out of the 850, that I just can't put my finger on. One of a recent shoots I had was downtown, so after I was done it I decided to walk around downtown for about 20 minutes. These are the resulting photos. 

The lenses I used for these photos were mostly the nifty fifty and I think the one with the flag was with my 85mm. All the processing was done in Lightroom using my usual recipe but always tweaked for each and every photo. I don't just bulk edit, I like to individually process each final photo. The black and white photos are processed in Silver Efex Pro 2, which I'm so thankful still works in Lightroom. I just love that program.

Anyways, that's all I have to say. I'm not sure if anyone even looks at these posts so I'm probably just talking to myself as usual, but if there is anyone out there, enjoy!

A Long Time Coming

I say in the title it has been a long time coming because it feels like ages since I just got outside and walked around to take personal photos, not something I'm paid to do. Don't get me wrong, I love paid work and I hope it only gets busier, but everyone now and again I need to get out and shoot for myself. That is exactly what I did this evening. 

Originally, I wanted my wife Anne to join me but she just wasn't feel up for it. So because it was just me, I decided to make it into a photo walk. I grabbed my trusty X-Pro2 which I have been neglecting for quite some time. I usually use my Nikon gear for all my paid work. I had the X-Pro2 paired with the 35mm 1.4, which is probably my favourite lens out of any I own. I just love the character and tones it creates.

As with most of my photo walks, I don't really plan a route. I did want to end up at Calico for a cappuccino, so that was my destination. The good thing about this time of year is that the sun is low around 5:00pm which makes for soft(er) light. So I was able to play with some shadows that weren't too harsh. I didn't really focus on people like I have done in the past, but my favourite shot of the walk was actually of a person. Go figure. The header image of the man on his phone against the wall, was literally shot from the hip as I was walking. I didn't want to stop and compose because I liked how he was looking down.

The rest of the photos in this series were just things that caught my eye, whether it was based on colour, pattern or sometimes shadows. Everything here was processed in Lightroom and the black and white images were done through Silver Efex Pro which I really hope doesn't fade away anytime soon as a program.

Thanks for viewing!

Sunday Evening Walk

It was an overcast day and somewhat warm out, so I decided to grab my Nikon D750 and 35mm lens and venture over to Hillcrest Park. Admittedly, it's hard sometimes to find new things to photograph, especially when I tend to walk in the same areas. So, what I try to do, is go down a different back alley, or walk from a different direction. Often times, just looking behind you or walking the opposite direction can give you a completely fresh perspective. 

I always like to get in really close to my subjects and focus on the colours an the detail. The 35mm 1.8, has really good minimum focusing distance, and when you are in really close, the bokeh is actually pretty good. Along with getting in close, I'm always considering the overall composition when I shoot. I tend to have at least one focal point, even if it's not readily apparent. My extensive background in graphic design has allowed me to develop this skill. 

Thanks for viewing!

It was an overcast kind of day

It was finally and overcast and gloomy day, and I was so thankful for it. Don't get me wrong, I like sun as next as the next person, but my absolute type of weather for walking around taking photos it definitely cloudy, overcast days. I just love the lighting and the tones. 

The next step was to decide where to take photos. My first destination was Hillcrest Park. It's usually a good starting point. After I dropped of Anne at work, I parked there and ate my breakfast sandwich and sipping on my coffee. Once I was fed, I walked around the park for about 15 minutes. Obviously, I have photographed this location many many times, so I always challenge myself to find new angles and perspectives. Even though, I got a few good shots of the view, I don't really post those any more unless it's something spectacular. 

Now that I was warmed up, and had my creative eye fully awake, I made my way down to Fishermans Wharf. Upon arriving there, I did notice a lot more spray paint and graffiti on all the boats and signs. It's always sad to see, and I'm still not sure why people feel need to vandalize like that. I know they are old boats down there, but it's still disheartening to see. In any case, I was able to come away with some really good photos of the view some of the finer details.

I also decided to walk around the general area this time, something I hadn't done in previous visits. I snuck a few shots of the grain elevators in, as well as some abandoned parking lots and of course the tunnel leading into the area. 

Before I headed home, I decided to go to the Marina to see what I could find. Well, instead of going into the actual marina, I decided to head down Marina Park Drive. I was so happy I did because, surprisingly, this was an area I hadn't yet explored. All these years, and I have never gone down that street. Let's just say, it was my favourite part of the day. If I had more time I would have spend another hour down there but I will just have to go for another walk sometime soon. 

It was just so refreshing seeing Thunder Bay an the waterfront from a different perspective. Plus, from what I could tell, most of the factories down that way are closed so it was neat seeing all that. I still wasn't sure if an angry security guard was going to berate me at some point, but it seemed as though no one really cared or was even around the entire area. 

For all the photos below I had my new Fuji X-Pro2 and 16-55mm 2.8. It allowed me to get some great wide angle shots and also in close. I still like my primes the most, but it's nice to have the zoom, and it's a great walk around lens. As for the X-Pro2, I love it. I do miss the flip screen from my old X-T1 but I've learned to adapt.

Thanks for viewing!

Kaministiquia River Heritage Park in the Fog

As I mentioned in my previous post which took place in the Mission Marsh, it was a very foggy day. This post contains photos taken in and around Kam Park. Seeing as how I ended up going to 3 different locations that day, I figured I would split the photos up, because I think I got a lot of great shots. I couldn't think of a better place to go on a foggy day then Kam Park. With the boardwalk, the tugboat and even the tunnel, it was a no brainer.

As soon as I arrived, I saw that the fog was very dense. So dense in fact, that I could barely see the bridge across the water. I ended up having to do some more intense Lightroom adjustments, but I really dig the more moody, artistic look. It's almost dreamlike. From there on out I walked down the boardwalk and I was able to get a good shot of the dock vanishing into the background and then of the tugboat and eventually the tunnels. 

I also wandered around downtown for a bit and even snuck in a couple candid people photos. One of my favourites of the day was actually a young girl riding her bike down the street with an angry bird backpack. Once I was done downtown, I made the walk back to my car at Kam Park, but I made sure to use the other tunnel. It's such a cool tunnel, I could literally spend an 1 hour there getting some photos. 

My camera choice was the Fuji X-T1 and the lens used was the 90mm 2.0. It's a surprisingly light combo and the compression from that lens is amazing. Of course, there is no zoom on it so you do have to make sure you move your feet to frame your shots. But that is my favourite way of shooting. Check back soon for the final shoot from this day which took place in Westfort.

East End in the Morning

East End was one of my latest locations for a quick photo walk. I have walked around this location numerous times but there is always something new to photograph, and I proved that by coming away with a few good shots. For this walk I brought along my Fuji X-T1 and the 16-55mm 2.8. It allowed me to get a good mix of wide angle and also some close up shots. It was foggy all day so I knew I had to get out and take photos. I never though I would say this, but it almost too foggy. With that being said, the extreme weather allowed for some pretty unique captures.

The reason I like the East End is because a lot of it is old. I just love photographing things with character and grittiness. Of course, it's not all old there but it's a good mix. From the houses to the train yard, there is a lot of variety in that area. With it being foggy, it allowed me to capture somewhat gloomy and melancholy photos. But also, being overcast with no sun, meant really good even lighting. Even if it was kind of a dark morning. 

I actually was able to venture down to Westfort later in the day so be sure to check back soon for photos from that short walk as well. Thanks for viewing!

Mission Marsh

It had been quite a while since I had the chance to walk around Mission Marsh, but I decided to do so this past week. The cold weather started easing up a bit and there was an early frost in the morning so everything had a bit of a freeze to it. The sun was a bit higher then I would have liked but I had to work with what I had. For those who don't know Mission Marsh too well, there is one area specifically that usually has a lot of deer wandering around. On the way to the Marsh I already saw about 3-4 deer, but I knew I would be heading back that way on the way out. 

So my first stop was the actual Marsh. Of course, when you first arrive in the parking lot, it's almost impossible not to notice the view of the Sleeping Giant. Luckily for me, the mix of shadows and slightly cold frosty weather made for some pretty cool images. I then made my way down the boardwalk, which you technically aren't supposed to enter but it just meant it wasn't plowed. The viewfinders were taking down but I actually got a couple good detail photos of the frost on them. 

As I came around the trail I heard a whole lot of chirping from the squirrels. I spotted one in a bare tree so I proceeded to sneak some shots of him. Well, to put it lightly, he was not impressed. He kept running up and down the tree, looking for a way out. Finally, as I got a little to close for comfort, he literally jumped from the top of the tree, which was at least 30 feet in the air onto the snow below. He then climbed back up another tree and chirped at me some more.

I decided to then drive back to see if there were any deer on the road in the area I mentioned earlier. I parked on one of the side streets and immediately saw about 10 of them scattered in the forest and a few on the road. I didn't really have a true zoom lens but I did bring my Fuji XT-1 and 16-55mm (24-70), so it had to do. I managed to get a couple 'close up' photos of the deer(s). 

There was also a couple old vehicles half buried in the snow which actually made for two of my favourite photos of the walk. Before I left I decided to head down the other side road and that's when I saw where the rest of the deer were in the backyard of the one house on the street. As I stood there taking photos of them, they stood completely still and just stared right back at me. They were probably wondering if had food. I will have to go back soon with a slightly longer lens and see what I can get. As always, thanks for stopping by!

30 Minute Photo Walk

Earlier in the week I was able to able to walk around on my short lunch break during work. Knowing I was going to have a break, I made sure to bring my Fuji XT-1 and 35mm 1.4. It's a super small, yet powerful combo. So, I wolfed down my lunch so I had more time to actually spend outside taking photos. I decided to just stay in the area and walk the back alley and streets like I usually do. For some reason, I always find more interesting things in the back lanes.

So with my camera in hand I set out to see what I could find. Most of the time when I am just wandering around aimlessly, I look for colours or contrast first. Then I sort out the composition. As anyone who reads these blogs (assuming there are a few of you out there) ... I absolutely love focusing on the details and isolating certain objects. It's not all about just shallow depth of field though, as just like my wedding photography, I'm always on the lookout for moments too. A lot of the times, at least with my style of 'street photography', I am simply taking photos of still objects but once in a while I stumble across moments. Case in point, I noticed a very tired and lazy dog on the steps on one of the houses I was passing by. As I stopped, raised my camera, he looked up for a split second, and then rested his had back down. 

There you have it. With a little motivation and a camera in hand, even your phone, anyone can take photos as long as you are willing to get out and walk around a bit. If you have trouble finding inspiration, pick a theme. Choose a colour to photograph, use a certain focal length or simply just try to capture 1 really good image. Happy shooting!

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...

A Bit of Randomness

So it seems as though I have gotten way behind on posting my personal stuff. Not just because wedding season is in full swing and it's the busiest time of year, but also life has just been busy. It doesn't help when your house floods for the 2nd time in 2 years as well. In any case, here are some of my favourite photos from the past 3-4 months. 

As always, they are mostly random objects or moments that caught my eye. Whether it be colour, composition or just something interesting. Most of them were taken with either the Fuji X-T1 or the Nikon D750 combined with one of my prime lenses. 

For those of you who look at this part of my website, thanks for stopping by.