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.
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.
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Exploring McKenzie Street
I'm just getting to this post as it's been a busy week with photography I actually get paid for. Last week I managed to get out for a bit and walk around, in the rain. But hey, the weather isn't always going to cooperate so you just have to go with the flow. This time around I ended up around the McKenzie Street area. As I always do, I just walked around aimlessly with no direction looking for photo opportunities.
I'm just getting to this post as it's been a busy week with photography I actually get paid for. Last week I managed to get out for a bit and walk around, in the rain. But hey, the weather isn't always going to cooperate so you just have to go with the flow. This time around I ended up around the McKenzie Street area. As I always do, I just walked around aimlessly with no direction looking for photo opportunities.
If something catches my eye, whether it is colour, composition or even something that just looks out of place, I take a photo. It may not always be a keeper but you'd be surprised how often a photo you didn't really think would turn out, ends up being one of your favourites. Of course, sometimes you take a photos and you just know right away that it's going to be definite keeper.
During this walk, my favourite by far, was the one of the 3 suit jackets hanging on the outside window. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to take a photo. The fact that they were perfectly aligned and contrasting in colour and style made for the perfect photo op.
The camera of choice this time around as my trusted X-T1 paired with the 35mm. The X-T1 is waterproof but the 35mm isn't. So, even though it was just a slight drizzle, I was still careful to always shield it from the rain as much as I could. After using my full frame Nikons a lot lately, it was a nice break to pull out the X-T1.
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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.
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!
It's almost spring!
I had the chance to get for a little bit this past weekend and enjoy the brisk spring weather. It was mid afternoon which meant bright sunny conditions. Instead of looking for low contrast and subtle photos I focused on finding nice shadows and strong bold images.
My combo of choice this time around was my D610 and 85mm 1.8. The 85mm might be my new favourite lens. I love how light it is and the colours it produces are just amazing. Plus, for me, it's a great focal length, at least when walking around.
I had the chance to get for a little bit this past weekend and enjoy the brisk spring weather. It was mid afternoon which meant bright sunny conditions. Instead of looking for low contrast and subtle photos I focused on finding nice shadows and strong bold images.
My combo of choice this time around was my D610 and 85mm 1.8. The 85mm might be my new favourite lens. I love how light it is and the colours it produces are just amazing. Plus, for me, it's a great focal length, at least when walking around.
The ultimate destination for this walk was to meet up with my Fiance Anne at our friend Raven's house. It was to be our first bon fire of the year. It was still a pretty chilly day but sitting on the deck in the backyard with the fire blazing and the sun beating down was really nice. It reminded us how much we are looking forward to camping this year.
It was a pretty relaxing afternoon and evening but that didn't mean I put the camera way. While hanging out on the deck I decided to practice and explore the continuous focusing abilities on the D610. I have always known how to use them but I really wanted hone my skills. What better way to do so then to follow and track to hyper dogs, Daisy and Jack. The camera locked on very well and almost always held focus. I was often using a very large aperture as well. Suffice it to say I was very impressed.
In the end I had to leave the fire around 10:00pm. I'm just not as tough as the girls, I was freezing by then. With that being said, I can't wait for warmer evenings around the fire. I will of course have my camera by my side the entire summer capturing every moment.
Downtown Port Arthur with the Fuji X100s
It was another chilly day out yesterday but I figured I would walk around still and get some fresh air. This time around I brought my Fuji X100s. It's a such a fantastic little camera. It's a different experience shooting with the Fuji then it is with my slightly larger D610 full frame camera. The main difference I find between the two, is the use of EVF. In direct sunlight I did find myself using the OVF but most of the time I just held the camera up and looked at the screen. If the exposure was good, I took the photos. If it wasn't perfect, I simply changed the exposure compensation dial. I just find it a bit faster in certain ways.
It was another chilly day out yesterday but I figured I would walk around still and get some fresh air. This time around I brought my Fuji X100s. It's a such a fantastic little camera. It's a different experience shooting with the Fuji then it is with my slightly larger D610 full frame camera. The main difference I find between the two, is the use of EVF. In direct sunlight I did find myself using the OVF but most of the time I just held the camera up and looked at the screen. If the exposure was good, I took the photos. If it wasn't perfect, I simply changed the exposure compensation dial. I just find it a bit faster in certain ways.
As with Simpson Street in Fort William, Cumberland street and Downtown in Port Arthur has it's share of some run down buildings. But there is also a lot of great character as well. Each part of town has it's good and bad.
My settings for the X100s were simple. Auto ISO, Neutral Density filter applied, the Pro Negative Standard jpg setting and I was off to the races. Even with the jpg's in Lightroom, I really didn't have any problems with the Dynamic Range, especially seeing as how the afternoon was bright sunlight. I was able to pull back the highlights in almost any photo that needed it. I'm always impressed how well the X100s performs in this regard. As usual, I used a combination of VSCO filters combined with my own tweaking.
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.
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.
