Sir John Carling Building Demolition

Built in the late 1960's the Sir John Carling building was reduced to rubble in less than 20 seconds today. It's not every day that you get to see a controlled building implosion, so along with hundreds of other people in Ottawa I woke up early and headed down to Dow's lake to capture the show. It was pretty interesting to see a building just disappear from the skyline that quickly. The rain started up about 10 minutes before the implosion, but thankfully I brought along my Kata Rain cover to keep my gear dry. Check it out in the video below, and I've slowed it down for you in the replay starting at the 50 second mark.



Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/6.3
Exposure: 1/125
Focal Length: 200mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 800
RODE VideoMic
Kata E-702 Rain Cover
Post processing included some video editing including slowing it down to 25% normal speed

Great Blue Heron

I've always been a bit of a birding kind of guy. I tend to notice them and point them out to my daughter or anyone nearby. It was one of the main reasons why a few years ago I bought my 2X teleconverter to make my Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens into a 140-400mm f5.6 lens. The 400mm zoom really helps fill the frame without needing to get so close that you scare them away, and although you do loose two stops of light (f2.8 becomes f5.6) I find that the depth of field at 400mm is so thin that it's best to stop down to about f8 or f10 anyway. The teleconverter does also add much more noticeable chromatic aberrations and the shots tend to come out a little softer then without it, but from a cost benefit perspective (since I already had the 70-200 f2.8 lens) getting the Canon 2X II Extender was a no brainer compared to dishing out big bucks for a dedicated 400mm lens. These two wildlife shots of a Great Blue Heron were taken with this lens combo on the Ottawa River very recently. What a lovely bird.

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure: 1/2000, 1/2500
Focal Length: 200mm with 2X TC (400mm)
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 640
Post processing included conversion from RAW, levels adjustment, and high pass filter

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Locked Up

I love these types of photos because it showcases the little things in life. The stuff you probably walk by every day but have never even noticed. Whether it's during a hired event or just on my typical photowalk I am always on the lookout for the little details around us. Not only do they have a simple beauty, but they can be a powerful reminder of how many little details in life we don't tend to see. This one was found on a more recent walk, and it's called Locked Up

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/1.6
Exposure: 1/640
Focal Length: 85mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 50
Post processing included conversion from RAW, levels adjustment, and unsharp-mask

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Cherry Blossoms

I've always loved these trees because of all the beautiful blossoms it gives every year. The problem is all the little red "cherries" that fall at the end of the year and cover the place. This was taken earlier this spring while everything was in bloom.

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/1.6
Exposure: 1/2000
Focal Length: 85mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 50
Post processing included conversion from RAW, and unsharp-mask

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Cold, Wet and Alone

It's been a while since I've posted anything new, but I do have a quick shot for today called Cold, Wet and Alone. It was taken a few weeks ago, before this nice heat wave we're having. Yes, I said nice! I'll take the heat over the cold any day! Anyway, it may have been a cold day when I took this but the lighting was so nice with all the rain clouds, and all the rain was making the grass so lush and green!

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/1.4
Exposure: 1/2500
Focal Length: 50mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 320
Post processing included conversion from RAW, rotation adjustment, levels adjustment, and contrast adjustment

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Family Photos Explained

Last week I had some time to go out with the family to take a few photos by Dows Lake with what was left of the tulips. It was late in the evening with a setting sun casting a wonderful golden light on us and the surroundings. This of course is the golden hour for photography, and the best kind of light for portraits and landscape photography. It is my preferred time of day to shoot in, but of course you need to know how to use it to your advantage and how to balance the light on your subject and the background. So I thought I would write up this post to explain how I handled the light with the two examples below.

In this first shot I wanted to get the tulips in the background to give me some colour, but I wanted them out of focus so that your eye is instantly drawn towards the subject, my daughter. Using my 85mm f/1.2 lens I could have completely opened up the aperture (f/1.2) to really blur the background (see my aperture tutorial for more info on how this works) but since I was fairly close to her I knew that if I did that very little of my daughter would be in focus as well. I therefore decided to stop down to f/3.5 since in my experience with that lens it gives me a suitable amount of depth of field, while still producing a very pleasing bokeh (blurred background). With my subject standing in open shade there was still a decent amount of light available so that I used ISO 100 to give me the cleanest photo with no grain, while still giving me fast enough shutter speeds. With aperture and ISO settings selected I metered the background to give me a correct exposure shutter speed value of 1/320th sec. To provide a bit more contrast in the subject's face I also setup an off camera flash in high-speed sync mode to the my left, which was in the same direction of the indirect sunlight. To match the colour of the setting sun and warm up the colour of the flash I covered it with a 3/4 CTO gel, and set my camera's white balance to 4600K to keep some of the warm orange tones. Other than converting the camera output from RAW to jpg, this shot is basically straight out of the camera with no added post processing.

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/3.5
Exposure: 1/320
Focal Length: 85mm
Flash: Fired off camera
ISO: 100
Post processing included conversion from RAW

The second shot has a somewhat similar setup. I needed more depth of field since there are three people in the shot, so I stopped down to f/5.0 giving me a very sharp focus for all the girls, yet still slightly blurring the background. The sun in this shot was coming in from behind the subjects giving a very nice rim lighting, so I needed to expose for the background (shutter speed of 1/320 @ 100 ISO) and use my flash to bring the girls back from becoming silhouettes. The flash was setup on my right, and I again used a 3/4 CTO gel to match the golden sunset colour and high-speed sync. White balance was again set to 4600K to keep some of those warm tones. Other than converting the camera output from RAW to jpg, this shot is also basically straight out of the camera with no added post processing.

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/5.0
Exposure: 1/320
Focal Length: 85mm
Flash: Fired off camera
ISO: 100
Post processing included conversion from RAW

Daffodils Timelapse Video

Just a quick little timelapse photography video I did of two daffodils opening. I used my old Canon XTi that was modified to use the 400plus firmware which has a built in intervalometer. I photos at 2 minute intervals for a total of 82 shots. Play it in 1080p full HD glory and enjoy this timelapse video!



Exif Data
Camera: Canon Digital Rebel XTi
Aperture: f/10.0
Exposure: 1/50
Focal Length: 41mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 200
Post processing included batch exposure adjustments, cropped 16x9, create timelapse video @ 15fps

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Yum, Spaghetti and Meatballs! Tasted as good as it looks.

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/7.1
Exposure: 1/200
Focal Length: 84mm
Flash: Fired off camera (E-TTL)
ISO: 320
Flash Umbrella
Post processing included conversion from RAW, and unsharp-mask

Bubbles

A very interesting latticework of bubbles. View it in big to really see all the detail.

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/16.0
Exposure: 1/160
Focal Length: 50mm
Extension Tube: 20mm
Flash: Fired off camera (E-TTL)
ISO: 400
Flash Cord
Post processing included conversion from RAW, converted to black and white, levels adjustment, contrast adjustment, high pass filter, and cropped

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Five Months

It's been five months since I have posted anything on the blog, but don't worry I'm still here! Things have been fairly hectic with the new addition to the family and with work so I have not had as much time to post any recent photos. I have still been taking the time to shoot something most days, just not enough time to process or put them up here, and well.. most of the photos I have been taking are of the kids of course! I am getting back to keeping my blog updated more regularly now, however, it may not be a photo-a-day just yet. I am leaning more towards a photo or two a week and hoping to get more technical info, photo advice, product reviews, recent work, etc. on here as well. So enjoy the following shot of my little one, and stay tuned for a rundown on a recent photography purchase!

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/200
Focal Length: 200mm
Flashes: Fired off-camera with YN-622c
ISO: 400
Flash Umbrella
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped, dodge/burn, selective sharpening, selective softening

Crazy Rapids Surfer

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Crazy Rapids Surfer. The temperature outside while taking this photo was only 3°C, so I am sure that water must be crazy cold. No idea what this guy was doing way out there!

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure: 1/1600
Focal Length: 200mm with 2X TC (400mm)
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 800
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped, and levels adjustment

Inquisitive Minds

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Inquisitive Minds

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure: 1/40
Focal Length: 140mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 800
Post processing included conversion from RAW, dodge tool, selective sharpening, and unsharp-mask

Get A Handle On Things

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Get A Handle On Things

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/1.2
Exposure: 1/400
Focal Length: 85mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 400
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped, and levels adjustment

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Exit To The Sunset

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Exit To The Sunset

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/1.2
Exposure: 1/125
Focal Length: 85mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 250
Post processing included conversion from RAW, render lens flare

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Pink Flowers

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Pink Flowers

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure: 1/100
Focal Length: 200mm with 2X TC (400mm)
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 800
Post processing included conversion from RAW, and Johnna's Memories of Sunshine action

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Air Canada C-FEKI

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Air Canada C-FEKI

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure: 1/800
Focal Length: 200mm with 2X TC (400mm)
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 500
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped, levels adjustment, colour adjustment, and unsharp-mask

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Happy-Sad

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Happy-Sad. My daughter turned to me and said "I want a happy and sad picture daddy", and then she did this....

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/3.2
Exposure: 1/80
Focal Length: 85mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 800
Gold Reflector
Post processing included conversion from RAW, copy both into new image, healing tool, low opacity black and white layer, and selective sharpening

Maple Leaf Beauty

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Maple Leaf Beauty

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/7.1
Exposure: 1/160
Focal Length: 97mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 200
Post processing included conversion from RAW, levels adjustment, and texture layer with soft light

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No Tricks, Just Treats

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called No Tricks, Just Treats

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/4.0
Exposure: 1/10
Focal Length: 105mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 800
Post processing included conversion from RAW

Honda 600RR

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Honda 600RR

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure: 1/125
Focal Length: 100mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 200
Circular Polarizer
Post processing included conversion from RAW, and high pass filter

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