It’s cold here in Thunder Bay now, especially in the mornings. I’m still trying to get out first thing in the mornings for my photo walk. I do this for a couple reasons. It’s a great, fun way to get some exercise to start the day and also, I get to take photos which I absolutely love. Plus, the lighting this time of year in the morning is actually quite nice. It was a sunny morning today which isn’t always ideal, but luckily the light was still fairly soft. It also forced me to work with shadows.
Read More
Simpson Street - Canon 5D Classic
One of the streets I have been taking photos up and down for the past 10 years more than any other, would probably be Simpson Street. I never get tired of exploring the side streets and back alleys of this old part of town. Whether it’s the small details most people miss or the street scenes, I always find something interesting to capture.
Read More
Court Street - Canon 5D Classic
I was graced with yet another chilly gloomy day here in the great up north. Aside from the cold, it was perfect weather. I had my extremely non compact and heavy like a brick Canon 5D Classic with me. I’m not sure why I needed a battery grip on that thing when I’m just walking around the streets but I swear it makes it that much more comfortable to use, albeit, 5 pounds heavier. I’m a pretty strong guy with big hands so it doesn’t really bother me.
Read More
Fishermans Park - Canon 5D Classic
This morning saw me venture over to Fishermans Park to see what I could capture. It was an extremely cold morning so I didn’t want to stay out too long but I did take the time to get a few keepers. I really need to invest in some thicker gloves as it’s always my hands (and face) that get cold when holding the camera. As soon as I saw that it was yet another dark and gloomy morning, I knew the lighting would be perfect, at least for my style of photography.
Read More
All The Way To Westfort - Canon 5D Classic
I’ve been out a lot lately taking personal photos. Sometimes I’m feeling it and others I really have to work to see good photos. I have a really good photographic eye, but it doesn’t always come easy. Well, my morning walk in Westfort was one of those times I was kind of feeling it. I kept the pace going pretty steady, just stopping here and there, mainly because it was so frigging cold out. I find I work best when I keep moving though. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes for me it makes sense to stop and work a scene but I tend to only do that when I shoot people on the street.
Read More
Algoma Street - Canon 5D Classic
This is just a quick post as it was a short walk. I only had had about 20 minutes to work with so I headed down to Algoma Street. I had been down this way a couple weeks ago with my Hasselblad 500 but I wanted to get digital colour photos as well. I used the Canon 5D Classic paired with the 50mm 1.2 for this set. I even had the batter grip on it so it was the furthest thing from a discreet camera. I wasn’t really shooting people though so it didn’t matter.
Read More
Downtown Walk - Canon 5D Classic
I’ve been very lucky to be able to get out and a lot of personal photos the past month. I know the weather is going to turn soon so I’m getting in as many walks as I can. Instead of going to another part of town I stuck in the area this time around, downtown Port Arthur. I have photographed this part of Thunder Bay many times over. I admit, sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to take photos in this area but I challenged myself to do so.
Read More
To the Mission and Back - Canon 5D Classic
I ended up having to do some video work in Fort William today. Since I had a break in between sessions I decided to sneak in some personal photography. I drove over to the Mission and my first stop was Sandy Beach. Surprisingly, it is one spot that I haven’t really explored. Aside from going swimming there in the summer, I had never actually gone there with photos in mind. I’m glad I did decide to go there though. It was quite beautiful and very peaceful. As usual, I was the only person there. It was like I had the beach to myself.
Read More
James Street Swing Bridge - Canon 5D Classic
Early in the morning I was in Port Arthur at Jumbo Gardens. After that, I went home for a bit than headed out again to Westfort to check out the recently reopened James Street Swing Bridge. After a fire in 2013, it has been closed since then. Now that it’s up and functioning again, I figured I would check it out. Just as earlier in the morning, I still decided to use my Canon 5D Classic with the 50mm 1.2.
Read More
Jumbo Gardens - Canon 5D Classic
I buy too many cameras. There I said it. I guess you could say I have G.A.S. but it’s not always new stuff I buy. I enjoy buying older cameras. Case in point, my Canon 5D Classic. I adore this camera. It’s big, it’s old, it’s missing a couple port covers but it’s otherwise in amazing condition. To date, it produces the best colours and tones out of any camera I have ever owned. There is just something about the files it produces that makes me want to keep shooting. I of course pair it most of the time with my 50mm 1.2 so I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the lens. But there is just something film like about the sensor on this camera.
Read More
Trow Bridge in the Morning - Canon EOS R
I have been making it a habit to go for photo walks right after I drop off my wife Anne at work in the morning. This time of year is perfect to do that because the sun is just coming up around 8:30am and it’s not too cold, yet. Plus, it feels so great to just get outside and explore. I find photography so relaxing, and it takes my mind off all the other stresses in life. Plus, it often helps me procrastinate even more, once I get home, because I want to immediately develop my photos. Well, maybe that’s actually a bad thing, but I digress.
Read More
Backyard - Canon EOS M
For an old camera, the Canon EOS M blows me away each time I use it. Paired with the amazing 22mm lens, they are some of the most beautiful files out of any camera I own. I would say they even beat out photos coming out of my EOS R or 1DX II.
Read More
University and Tree Farm - Sony A6300
Luckily, winter hasn’t quite hit us yet here in Thunder Bay. Surprisingly, there are still colours around too, especially in the trees. As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, I have been using my Sony A6300 a bit more these days for my walk around stuff. I once again walked around the University, seeing as how I just live down the street from it, and it didn’t require me to drive anywhere. As always, I had no preplanned routes or idea of what I wanted to shoot. I just knew that I wanted to capture whatever caught my eye.
Read More
Afternoon With My Wife - Sony A6300
I picked up my wife from school but she wasn’t quite ready. I of course had my camera with me, in this case it was the Sony A6300. I had the 35mm 1.8 on it, which is a great lens. Admittedly, I hadn’t used the Sony for quite some time. You see, it was my main video camera for over 1.5 years. It is what got me started on my journey into videography which I am still learning to this day. I have since upgraded to the Canon system which I adore. Sitting there on my shelf, it would just stare at me each day, so recently I decided to dust it off and start using it again when I can.
Read More
Graham Lake Camping Trip
When my wife told me we would be camping in the middle of nowhere, in the winter, my first thought was that I hope I don’t die. I was scared. I’m not really a camping type of guy. We have done the trow bridge thing a bunch of times but at least I’m a 10 minute drive from home in that case. Graham Lake Road was where this camping trip happened. It ended up being about 1.5 hours outside of Thunder Bay. It’s actually just off the highway, and then a 40 minute drive up a dirt road.
Read More
Fort William - Canon 5D Classic
It was a somewhat sunny day but I tried to not let that stop me. I’m a cloudy weather type of shooter but I don’t mind photographing with sun once in a while. I think I’m starting to enjoy it more and more actually. My camera of choice again for this walk was the Canon 5D Classic. But wait .. I actually took the 50mm off and replaced it with the 35mm f2. Next to 50mm, 35mm is my second favourite focal length to use. It’s not a super shallow depth of field lens but it still produces great photos.
Read More
After The Gym Cardio - Ricoh GRII
I enjoy going to the gym but even for someone like me, I do find it hard sometimes to stay an extra 30 minutes and do cardio. So, I packed my little Ricoh GRII in my gym bag and went for a walk outside afterwards instead. By the time I finished my workout it was around 8:00pm. Seeing as how the sun sets at around 9:30pm I knew I had a bit of time to get some golden hour photos. My plan was to walk to the Marina and then get my son to pick me up with the car. That way I could just focus on taking photos and not worrying about leaving enough time to walk back.
Read More
Gardens + Trails - Canon EOS R
With Fall quickly coming, I wanted to get out and enjoy some of the nice weather. After I dropped off my wife at school, I figured it would be a good time to get out. I didn’t really feel like going back home and sitting in front of a computer, trying to do work. The area I chose to explore is one I’m very familiar with and close by to where I live, in and around the University.
Read More
Trip to Toronto - Canon 5D Classic
I lived in Toronto for about 8 years of my life. This was back in the 2000’s when it was somewhat more affordable. Sadly, I didn’t really take photos back then. I went to school for Graphic Design and that’s what I did there, I worked at a variety of ad firms. It wasn’t until I moved back to Thunder Bay around 2006. I just think back to all the stuff I could have been photographing but didn’t. The good news is, that I have been taking photos not stop for the past 7-8 years. So you could say I have been making up for lost time.
Read More
Evening Walk with the Ricoh GRII
Just before I left the house for my walk I almost took my Nikon D750 with me but I decided on my trusty Ricoh GRII instead. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get my usual shallow depth of field shots that I capture with the Nikon primes, but the Ricoh forced me to shoot in a completely different way. Plus, it’s extremely small and fun to use.
Read More