Passing Time in Victoriaville

Anne and I had to take Noah to his dentist appointment last week so instead of waiting for him at the office we decided to head on over to Victoriaville Mall. Of course, along the way, I captured anything that caught my eye. I always look for textures or just different angles that you normally wouldn't really see. If anyone watches me walk, I'm constantly looking up and down and even behind me. 

For this walk I just had my trusty X-T1 and the 35mm 1.4. It's such a light combo and very convenient to carry around. Using this camera for 'street photography' if you could call it that, is so much fun. Plus, it's very unobtrusive. Not that I'm snapping photos of people too much, it doesn't draw attention to myself when I do. 

All in all, we had about 45 minutes to kill. It was enough time to check out a new coffee shop by the mall, the mall itself of course, and I still had to drag Anne down at least one back alley. The photos below were processed from the RAW file in Lightroom and I used my usual presets and adjustments. These particular images have more of a vintage tone to them. Thanks for viewing!

Downtown Fort William

Last Friday I decided to meet my wife Anne for Dinner after work. So, as usual, I brought my camera with me and showed up a bit early so I could walk around beforehand. She works at McKellar School which is in Fort William, right downtown. I didn't stray to far from the area and kept right around the school. I walked down some alleyways, as well as the streets. Eventually I met up with her but before we headed to ExCuria for an after work drink, I came into the school with her. As you can see, I snapped a few quick photos inside as well. And that was it. Although I would later drag her over to Kam Park for a quick photoshoot in the rain. You can find the post soon on my professional blog.

All photos were taken on my Fuji X-T1 paired with the 35mm 1.4. 

Downtown Fort William

Last week I had to take Noah to the dentist so I decided to bring along my D610 and 50mm 1.8. After snapping a quick photo of my feet, just cause, I headed outside to walk around aimlessly. I tend to explore Simpson Street quite often so it's always a challenge to find different perspectives, and things to photograph. I'm always amazed that I am able to do so. Sometimes it's just a matter of looking behind as your walking or simply taking a slightly different route. 

Another thing that often dictates what kind of photos I capture of the same area is lighting. Sometimes all it takes is a bright sunny day or on the opposite end, a cloudy day. In this case, it was bright and sunny which meant harsh shadows. It also meant that the colours would generally be a bit more vibrant then that of a cloud day. 

When I walk around I tend to resort to my X-T1 but I actually don't mind the weight of the Nikon and 50mm. It's obviously heavier but not excessively so. The main difference is that I actually have to look through the viewfinder on the Nikon, which I have absolutely no problem doing.

I came away with a few good shots and a nice collection overall. All photos were processed in Lightroom with my usual adjustments and tweaks. 

Exploring Victoriaville

It has been a while since I've had the chance to walk (wander) around myself and take some photos. Well, after meeting my beautiful wife for lunch in Victoriaville, I decided to venture into the abyss that is called Victoriaville. Now technically, Victoriaville is the mall, so in reality, I walked around the area. Anne can attest to this, but instead of walking on the main streets, I always try and find the off beaten paths. Well, lucky for her, she wasn't forced to follow me on my excursion and I pretty much ventured down every back alley I could find. 

Now, those of you not familiar with this area of town, it can be a bit rough around the edges. But, as I have said before, I love looking for old, run down, or even vintage things to photograph. That's not to say all the photos are of dilapidated walls, I did mix in some other random things, but for the most part, I wanted to capture the overall feel of the area. At least, according to me. 

This time around, I brought my wonderful Fuji XT-1, paired with the 35mm 1.4. It is one of the oldest lenses for the Fuji system, but it has become one of my favourites. It's just so sharp, and paired with the XT-1, the colours are amazing. Most importantly, it's extremely fun to shoot with. Plus, not being the safest neighbourhood to walk in, especially the back alleys, it's a little bit more discreet. Although, I do constantly get compliments on how pretty it is. That is, when people aren't complimenting my wife. In regards to that, I've lost track how many times I have been standing beside Anne and someone simply came up to us and gave her a compliment as I stand in the shadows. Just once, I want one. Some day. But I digress. 

So I didn't really have any set destination in hand, I just gave myself about an hour to walk around. I did try and got to areas I haven't ventured before and it definitely paid off. Most of the photos below you simply could not see from the main path. Whenever I walk around like this, looking for things to photograph, I always remind myself to look up and constantly behind as well. Not just for photos opportunities, but also for someone looking to attack me. I kid, it's not that dangerous. 

One of the things I really dig about the XT-1 is the tilt screen. Honestly, it allows me to get certain photos that I just wouldn't even attempt with my big DLSR's. Sometimes, you just shouldn't lie on the ground. All the photos below were shot as jpg's and using the chrome filter on the XT-1. As usual, I used my standard preset that I love but tweaked each photo, enhancing colours here, desaturating there. I also added a bit of sharpness using Nik Effects. For those of you who don't own the package, I highly encourage you to at least try the trial. I constantly use the RAW Pre Sharpener, Silver Effex Pro and Viveza. Thanks for reading, and remember, there are opportunities for great photos no matter where you live, you just have to know where to look!