Anne and I decided to go see Arcade Fire perform in St. Paul, Minnesota this past weekend. The concert was their best yet that I have been to, and I almost want to see them again in another city. In any case, each time we do the drive to Duluth or Minneapolis, I always want to stop along the way to take photos at various spots. The problem is that we are always pressed for time and either want to get to where we are going, or on the way home, get back before it gets dark.
Read MoreA 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.
Read MoreTo the Marina and Beyond
I managed to actually get out yesterday morning and take some photos for myself. It had been a long time since I have had the chance to do so and it felt really good. My camera of choice was actually the Nikon D700. It's a camera I purchased recently as a backup and one that I owned before. It's an 'older' camera and has long since been replaced but to be honest, it is still one of my favourite cameras to date, which is why I ended up buying it again for photography.
Read MoreSunday 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.
Read MoreDowntown Fort William
Last week I decided to wander around good old Fort William. Each time I go there, I always find new spots and different angles. This time around I brought my Nikon D750 and 35mm 1.8. I think it's the perfect walk around lens. It allows me to get in really close but it's also perfect for capturing authentic street photography, that loos natural to the eye.
The following photos are simply a collection of things that caught me eye. Enjoy!
Read MoreLooking for Deers at Mission Marsh
I decided to make a trip down to one of my favourite places to take photos, the Mission Marsh. My ultimate goal was to try and get some photos of the deers that frequent the area. I did end up getting a couple keepers but I also had the chance to explore and capture some other great images as well.
Read MoreAlgoma Street Walk
It was one of those days that I just didn't want to sit behind my computer and stare at a screen, so I figured I would get and enjoy some of the nice weather, and take some photos in the process. This time around, I took my Nikon D750 paired with the 35mm 1.8. I always go on about the tones and colours that come out of my Fuji cameras, but the Nikon is right there as well, and if anything, the colours are just as good. For the longest time I would always just carry around the 50mm lens but I think the 35mm on the Nikon is my new favourite. It's a nice balance and it has amazing close focusing abilities. I'm able to blur out the background easily and the bokeh produced is actually quite pleasing.
Read MoreIt 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.
Read MoreCounty Fair
The weather just keeps getting a bit warmer by the day, and since I had to work most of it, I knew I had to get out for at least a short while in the evening. That's just what I did. I grabbed my X-Pro2 and 35mm 1.4 lens and took a stroll through County Park. It only ended be being about a 30 minute walk, but I came away with some decent photos.
Read MoreAfternoon Stroll with the X-Pro2
I recently traded in my Fuji X-T1 and a couple lenses I don't use any more for a Fuji X-Pro2. Even though it's been out for quite a awhile now, I was simply looking for it to come down in a price a bit possibly get a bit of deal. Luckily for me, Greg at the local camera store, is always willing to barter and I was able to pry his X-Pro2 from him. I have been using it non stop for about a week since I got it. Below are some of my thoughts on how it has performed so far.
Read MoreWeekend Fun
This weekend was very busy but it was also packed with a lot of fun. We ended up playing some cards, some dice and Anne cooked some amazing meals. We even had Willow over for the weekend, and as you can tell from the cover image, she was looking for some love (and food). Jasmine and Emma slept over, as did Anne's mom, Cathy. I would have preferred to actually win's some game of dice against her, but she was ruthless.
Read MoreCumberland Street Walk
I had the afternoon off and it was a decently warm day so I grabbed my camera and headed down to Cumberland Street. It had been a while since I had the chance to walk around this area to take photos so I figured it was as good a time as any. As I usually do, I parked the car and wandered in and out of the back alleys looking for anything the caught my me.
Read MoreA Visit With The Horses
The snow decided to come down most of the day today so I figured it was as good a time as any to get Willow some fresh air. So I packed up my Nikon D750 and the 85mm 1.8 and me and Willow headed out to Centennial Park. Since it had been snowing for a while, I had a feeling Centennial Park would have a fair amount of accumulation of snow.
Read MoreHammarskjold High School with Willow
I've been meaning to post these photos from a walk I did last week but it's just been super busy. As much as I'd love to spend time on my personal photography, they don't really pay the bills now do they. :) With that being said, I decided to take Willow for yet another walk last weekend seeing as how it was fairly warm out. When I walk Willow I always try and think of a location where I can just let her run (walk) free and I decided on Hammarskjold. They have the super big field there and plenty of snow for her to roll around in. That is exactly what she did.
Read MoreQuick Visit to Westfort
My last photo walk of the day in the fog took place in Westfort. I knew I had to at least go to one more location before I called it a day so I headed on over to the Westfort overpass. The bridge itself is just an awesome location but it also overlooks the entire train yard which I knew might look pretty cool in the fog. I actually spent a good 30 minutes photographing on the overpass, but I decided to only show a select few, my favourites if you will.
Read MoreKaministiquia 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.
Read MoreEast 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.
Read MoreMission 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.
Read More30 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.
Read MoreLast Day of the Weekend
This is going to be a short post, but I did want to take a moment to share some more photos from this past weekend. Just like in my previous post, I took our dog Willow for a walk, just as the sun was setting. So there was some really good soft lighting coming into play. As with my last session, I used my Fuji XT-1 with the 16-55mm. It proved to be the perfect lens choice for the walk. Sure, I wasn't able to get my usual shallow depth of field, but it did force me to focus a bit more on composition. With that being said, it is a fantastic lens, and when zoomed all the way to 55mm, you can really get some great seperation.
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