Nifty Fifty - Feb 27, 2020

I had an appointment downtown so I was gathering up all the stuff I'd need for all the things I wanted to do. Some gym clothes, runners, a book, laptop, notebook, pencil case, phone, water bottle.. When it came time to grab the camera (always take a camera) I started poking though a few lens choices. I was going to be downtown at sunrise and maybe nice light would hit the buildings so I thought of a wide angle but also maybe a zoom then I realized I wouldn't be able to carry everything with my two bags.

The other night when shooting the bridge I'd had the 50mm prime with me and it was already on the camera and is rather small so I settled on just bringing the one lens. I'm not a huge fan of the 50mm because it's too narrow for wide angle views and too wide for telephoto shots. For me it's kind of a no-mans-land.. I remember thinking maybe it'll be a fun challenge to shoot with something unfamiliar.

As we drove into downtown the light from the east was reflecting off of the buildings. Nearing the end of February the light is starting to get brighter earlier and earlier. I'm not out every morning these last few months so it felt like a sudden occurrence to have all this light. I made a few photos out the window of the van. I have a large collection of photos that include a very similar view but I find it doesn't get old for me and I'll just keep on adding to my collection. I especially like the way the light was in a gradient on the buildings.

From the bridge

Also from the bridge

I have this thing where, when I photograph the Calgary skyline, that I need to include the Calgary tower if it's visible.. so that second shot makes me feel uncomfortable in ways that I can't explain.

Red Bridge - Feb 25, 2020

With Conor taking french horn lessons three nights a week I've developed a new-found ambition of making photos while waiting for him. After dropping him off I've been driving around seeing things. It's quite dark in the evenings and the sky's been inky black and most of the stuff I look at isn't all that interesting because of the super harsh shadows. I have a suspicion that with the changes that the city has made moving towards LED based street lights that there's way less ambient light floating around and everything just feels darker.. or maybe I'm just old and my eyes are starting to go.

During my short photo stints, I usually head downtown to find something to make a photo of.. time passes quickly and oftentimes I'm rushing back to MRU, driving up Bow trail to get to 37th street. During that drive I've noticed this bridge and I've noticed how the light caresses it and I noticed that it might be an interesting subject that I wanted to shoot. Today would be my attempt to go there.. I had it all planned out in my head.

Sexy reds

Day and night. Feb 18, 2020

I had an appointment downtown in the early afternoon and rather than take the train downtown I grabbed a ride with Jen. It was a pretty lengthy time to hang out so I started by going to the gym to get some stairclimber time in. Instead of watching netflix like I usually do, I had some reading to do to prepare for the meeting. After the gym, I grabbed a coffee, made my way up to the building's cafeteria and did a bit of work before finally walking over to the appointment at around 1:30.

On the way I was distracted by this frosty tree  It was somewhat cold out so frost was forming on the branches dressing it in white.

Frosted

After the appointment I walked back towards downtown. The sky was clear with the sun lower in the sky making some nice colour. I had packed the 70-200F4 for zoom and a 24mm tilt shift for wide angle shots in my bag. I like the 24mm for building shots because I can 'shift' it instead of pointing the camera upwards and the buildings stay straight.