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!
