This past Saturday was a very busy but fun day. Along with Aboriginal Day and Beerfest, I also quickly stopped by another great cause, Stronger Together. It was a benefit in honour of Kevin Corbett and family to show support through this difficult time. Some of Thunder Bay's strongest came together to perform some extremely tough challenges. For the men, they included the stone over bar, car deadlifts and the max log press. On the women's side, there was the max log press.
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Thunder Pride
Over the weekend I got the opportunity to check out the Thunder Pride parade here in Thunder Bay. This was my first time attending the parade so I didn't really know what to expect. It ended up being such a fantastic turnout. I set up right at the corner of Red River and Algoma where the parade started and was able to get some great photos of the parade making its way down the street. For a city like Thunder Bay, there were so many people in so many different costumes and it was just such an over all electric atmosphere.
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City + Colour Concert
It was another great evening at the Auditorium with a live performance by City and Colour as well as Shakey Graves who opened up for them. This was my first time seeing both bands live and it was a real treat. The Walleye asked if I could photograph both bands and there was no way I was going to turn down this opportunity.
I knew of Shakey Graves going in but I honestly hadn't heard too much of their music other then some of their more popular songs. Let's just say that I will giving their albums a good listen now. They put on an outstanding performance. There was a ton of energy and lead singer, Alejandro Rose-Garcia, had an amazing voice. This was actually my first concert at the Auditorium that I had the opportunity to photograph in the 'Pit'. It was very cool to actually be able to get up close within a few feet of the band. It really provided some dynamic angles and more intimate photos. After their set, it was time for City and Colour to eventually take the stage.
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Hammarskjold High School Vintage Car Show
This is just a quick post that I wanted to share. Hammarskjold High School decided to host a small vintage car show today so I decided to stop by with my camera and see what kind of cars showed up. In all, there were about 10 cars along with some off-road jeeps. I'm a sucker for vintage cars so any chance I get to attend one of these shows I jump at the opportunity.
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Centennial Park + Boulevard in the Fog
Centennial Park was the location of one of my latest excursions. It was foggy again, and I had to quickly decide where to go before it went away. I figured it was time to go visit the horses once again and in the process, hopefully there would be some fog lingering around. Luckily, the horses were still out and there was a bit of fog to add to the mood. At the very least, it was my favourite kind of weather, overcast and somewhat gloomy.
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East End Walk
Last week I decided to go for a quick walk around the East End area, near May Street and eventually across the bridge. I brought my Nikon D750 and 85mm lens. As usual, I tried to explore areas I haven't in the past, so this meant walking in and out of a lot of the back alleys. It's amazing the things you can find to photograph in the alleys. Of course, I set out to look for the old and the run down, so there is plenty of that in East End. But, there is also a lot of character, which is why it's one of my favourite areas in town to take photos.
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Camping in Geraldton
Last weekend, Anne and I decided to drive up to Geraldton for a couple days to visit her Uncle Lawrence's camp just outside of Geraldton. Since her mom was already up there we figured it would be fun to stay one night and then drive back the next day. Well, it ended up being a very relaxing and fun trip. Although, the weather didn't quite cooperate, but, even though it snowed a bit both days, it made the experience all that much more unique. Plus, as a photographer, it allowed me to get some great photos.
I ended up taking a ton of photos and I even tried my hand at some time lapses. I have yet to process them but hopefully they turn out alright. That being said, it was tough to narrow it down the selection you below. We began the trip on the Friday by loading up the car and eventually getting Willow into the backseat of my car. She was definitely excited which made the fact that we ended up having to leave her behind that much worse. We decided we just wouldn't have enough room on the way back for her to squeeze into the backseat. We will be going up again this weekend so I'm sure this time around she will fit.
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Mission Marsh + Island Drive
I saw that it was going to be a nice cloudy day, possibly with some dramatic clouds, so I drove on over to the Mission Marsh. For this walk I brought along my Fuji X-T1 and 55-140 zoom lens. With this combo I was able to get some different perspectives compared to previous visits where I simply had a prime lens with me. As soon as I arrived I walked down the boardwalk along the lake and then I decided to explore along the beach a bit. I had never gone that way before and I came away with one of my favourite photos of the day. It was the one with the building tucked away behind the trees. The clouds were just perfect and I just love the overall composition.
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Terry Fox Lookout + Trow Bridge
As soon as I saw the fog yesterday morning I knew I had to go somewhere cool to capture some photos. I saw that the fog got heavier as you went further east, so I decided to head on over to the Terry Fox Lookout, seeing as how I hadn't really been there for a while. I already had my Fuji X-T1 and 16-55mm lens. So, off I went in search of some great photos.
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Chippewa Park with Anne
This is just a quick post. Today's is Anne's birthday so I figured I would post some photos from our recent walk around Chippewa Park. It was a combination of a mini portrait session with Anne mixed in with some landscape photos. She is always such a great sport and I owe a lot of my success with my wedding and portrait business to her because she has let me practice and hone my skills over the years. Happy Birthday!
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The Neebing River - East End
This post is kind of a part two, to my previous one. Last week I walked around part of the Neebing River, but more towards Friendship Gardens. This time around, I headed on over to the trail in East End that follows the river out to Lake Superior. I'm not exactly sure why, but one of my favourite areas in town to take photos is East End. I think it's because it's a good mix of nature and landscape and some great urban scenes. Plus, each time I'm there, I literally see no more then 5 people out and about. It's just so quiet and peaceful, if that makes sense.
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Along the Neebing River
Since I am going on more and more photo walks these days, it's often a challenge to choose fresh and new locations to explore. I had walked around Friendship Gardens last summer but I didn't really get the chance to explore too much of the trail that runs along the Needing River. That's what I decided to check out for my most recent walk. With me for this one was my newest addition to the family, the Nikon d750 and the only lens I currently have for it, the 50mm 1.8. Even though it's a DSLR, this combo is extremely light and I simply use a wrist strap to carry it around. That's even with the battery grip. I can't wait to put this puppy to the test for wedding season.
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Kam Park
I finally bit the bullet and got myself the Nikon d750 and I couldn't be happier. The main reason why I purchased it was for wedding season which is fast approaching. That's not to say I won't be using it a lot on my photo walks which is exactly what I did for my exploration of Kam Park this past week. If you have seen any of my previous posts, you will see I have been at this location a couple times before. So my challenge this time was to see if I could capture different perspectives and scenes. I think it accomplished that and more this time around.
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Fisherman's Wharf + Thunder Bay Marina
It was one of those great foggy mornings yesterday and, for me personally, that's probably my favourite type of weather to take photos in. So, I grabbed my Fuji XT-1 and my zoom lens, the 55-150mm, and drove down to Fisherman's Wharf. I figured that would be a good spot to take advantage of the gloomy weather. The problem with fog though this time of year is that it can go away pretty fast as it warms up. That is exactly what started to happen, but luckily I was still able to come away with some good shots. If anything, the overcast weather provided nice even lighting.
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Jumbo Gardens
I went for a very quick walk yesterday morning around the Jumbo Gardens area. I took my usual X-T1 and 23mm combo. I have done a couple portrait sessions here in the past, one taking place in the winter but I never really took the time to walk around the area aside from the trails. Since I was just capturing my usual random things, I explored the snow field with all the soccer nets. I took a mix of wide angle all the way to my standard up close and personal photos. I absolutely love focusing on the details and I think this carries through to my wedding photography. With that being said, I constantly challenge myself to take in the whole frame too.
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Snowy Spring Day at Boulevard Lake
It looks as though Spring is just not ready to arrive yet, seeing as how we got dumped on with snow briefly yesterday morning. As soon as I saw it snowing that much I knew I had to go somewhere to take photos before it all melted away. My location this time around was Boulevard Lake and the old LPH building. By the time I got to Boulevard the wind was basically blowing the snow horizontally which made for some pretty cool shots. So, after parking my car, grabbing me Fuji X-T1 and the 50-140mm lens, I set out to explore and see what I could find.
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It was a vintage kind of day.
This past weekend I joined the ladies for a bit of a vintage shopping excursion. I figured it was the perfect opportunity to bring along the trust camera, of course, and see what gems I could find. We started the morning at the Hoito for breakfast to ensure we would have a lot of energy for all the walking around we'd be doing that day. I used my Fuji X-T1 and 24mm 1.4 combo for all the photos below.
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Early Morning Marina Walk
So I decided to grab my X100s for a change and brave the brisk morning air down at the Marina. For anyone who reads these posts, you will know I have been using the XT1 and 35mm combo almost every time. I decided I would switch it up this time around with the X100s. It's a slightly different perspective so it forced me to frame my shots a bit differently. I also made sure to get in really close for a lot of the photos as well.
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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.
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Things That Caught My Eye This Past Week
This past week I actually had a photo assignment for The Walleye, which required me to photograph a particular section in Downtown Port Arthur. While, I can't post those photos just yet, I did managed to capture my usual amount of random photos in between. Since narrowing down my camera collection considerably, and switching to Fujifilm, I almost always carry the X-T! around with me on photo walks. All the photos below were taken with the X-T1 in combination with the 35mm 1.4, 16-55mm 2.8 and the 50-140mm 2.8. Thanks for viewing!
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