Canada Place

I'm behind with the posts, so I'll be putting up a few with relatively little comment. The following shots are details of the beautiful sail-like roof of Canada Place at Burrard Inlet in Vancouver.

I continue to be impressed with the quality of the Fujinon 55-200mm zoom lens. It seems very sharp and the Image Stabilization is very, very good. I'll need to post some handheld shots later on to show just how good the stabilization is—these were all taken at a distance at relatively high shutter speeds.

Sails—Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 55-200mm; f/5.0 at 1/1400 sec. ISO800.

Between the sails—Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 55-200mm; f/8.0 at 1/420 sec. ISO400.

Rigging—Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 55-200mm; f/8.0 at 1/250 sec. ISO400.

Life springs forth in monochrome

After a longer- and colder-than-usual winter in the Ottawa Valley, spring has finally been making itself felt over the last week. Although most Canadians get a little misty at the beauty of a fresh blanket of snow, this year's blanket overstayed its welcome and left us itchy for a change of season. Enough!

With the melting of a winter's-worth of snow comes the chance to see a powerful display of nature in rivers and creeks swollen many times their normal size. The creek in our yard is one such place, but I decided to wander a little farther afield to take in the impressive sights of the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers in full spate. The images that appear below were taken on two successive days on the Rideau River at Hog's Back Falls in Ottawa, Ontario and on the Ottawa River near the Deschênes Rapids in Aylmer, Quebec.

Spring is the season of new life and colour that bursts forth from wet soil. And those pictures will come. But the first pictures of spring can ably show in shades of grey the sheer power of water and land as they stretch and shake off the death of the old.

Where there is life, there is hope.

Vancouver Deco — The Marine Building

Every so often on my travels I stumble across a building whose design is so striking that I have to stop and spend time with it. Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum in NYC had that effect on me last July—I think I spent as much time photographing the exterior from every angle as I did inside looking at the art on display inside. Visually exploring such a subject becomes a way of appropriating it and coming to know it more intimately. For me, it's also an expression of appreciation and a joy.

I had a similar experience a few weeks ago in Vancouver when I happened upon The Marine Building near the city's waterfront. The beautiful structure opened in October 1930 and I'm sure its Art Deco details have been delighting tenants, visitors and passers-by ever since. And Vancouver being a film town, the office building has often served as a location for period film and TV productions.

I'll be going back someday. And when I do, I'll be looking for ways to move beyond the details and explore the interior.

At the protest with the Fujinon 55–200mm

I was in Vancouver for business a couple of weeks back with my new Fujinon 55-200mm zoom lens and was anxious to try it out. A group of protestors obliged me by blocking the street not far from my hotel, so I put the zoom on my X-E1 and spent a few enjoyable minutes with them. As you can tell from the pictures, they're concerned about oil pipelines and their impact on the environment and treaty lens. They also seem concerned with having fun, chatting and taking pictures of each other. And, yes... they're not fans of the current Prime Minister.

The zoom performed beautifully—I was really pleased with getting extra reach beyond my current set of lenses. The focus speed seemed just fine. The biggest plus, however, was the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) that gave me greater freedom with the choice of slower shutter speeds hand-held. It just works. Try it.

Late fall in the cemetery

Just a quick upload of some shots I took during a beautiful autumn afternoon in the Old Protestant Cemetery, Old Chelsea, Quebec. The entrance to the grounds isn't hidden, but it isn't obvious and showy, either. A quiet place, made for reflection.

Cliché roundup—the Brooklyn Bridge with my X-E1

I understand that more than 8 million people live in New York City. I understand that NYC is a popular destination for millions more business people and tourists each year. And I also understand that the Brooklyn Bridge has been photographed by every single one of those people, multiple times.

I don't care. 

These are the pictures I took of the Brooklyn Bridge with my Fujifilm X-E1 and I like them. 

So there. Now it's millions and millions plus one.

Temple of learning—New York City Public Library

Now that I've transferred this site over to Squarespace 6, it's time to get cracking on the blog again. I'm pleased with the way things are displaying so far and I'm looking forward to using the increased flexibility for the galleries and for the blog itself.

The pictures in this entry were all taken with my Fujifilm X-E1 while in New York City for a week in July. It was great to get a block of time where I could concentrate on photography, so I tried to make good use of it. The X-E2 has just been released, but I think it'll be a little while before I can justify stepping up to a new body when I bought this one just a year ago. Still, the improved speed and image quality of the new X-Trans CMOS II sensor does sound pretty tempting. On the other hand, the "Lens Modulation Optimizer" sounds like something Marvin the Martian might use as a weapon.

But back to the pictures. The Main Branch of the New York Public Library (also known as the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building) was built on top of a former reservoir in Manhattan between 1897 and 1911. Every corner of the building speaks of a high regard for literacy and written culture as foundations of the world we know.

Public libraries are having to reinvent themselves and many are scrambling for funding to avoid becoming "book museums" in the face of the digital revolution. For the last several centuries, though, they were centres of entertainment, socializing, self-improvement and democratic education of citizens. Today we have instant access to a staggering range of "content" day and night on portable devices and I like the new access. I'm just not always sure that we are better people or better citizens for it.

Guggenheim in monochrome

Guggenheim 3 -- Fujifilm XE-1 - 14mm - f/11 - 1/350 sec - ISO 200The term is overused, but the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum truly is an iconic piece of architecture and instantly recognizable. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, it is as much a work of art as any of the pieces displayed within its walls.

I've admired the building on previous trips to New York City but this is the first time I've had the opportunity to visit the gallery. Unfortunately, the current installation by artist James Turrell means that the famous interior spiral ramp is completely covered by projection screens. Great for lovers of Turrell's work with light; not so great for anyone who wants to experience the unique design of the gallery.

I may have spent as long photographing the building as I did visiting the exhibits inside. The curves and lines cry out for abstract treatment and it gave me the opportunity to try out the black and white mode of the Fujifilm X-E1, using the simulated red filter to darken skies.

I wasn't disappointed. The resulting JPEGs, while not completely straight-out-of-the-camera (I did make some contrast adjustments), showed a pleasing tonal range and held highlights well. I'm becoming increasingly confident that the JPEGs the X-E1 produces stand up with little or no post-processing.

I think I'll be doing a lot more black and white work with this camera.

Geggenheim 6 -- Fujifilm X-E1 - 14mm - f/11 - 1/220 sec - ISO 200Guggenheim 12 -- Fujifilm X-E1 - 18-55mm @ 55mm - f/8 - 1/1800 sec - ISO 200Guggenheim 4 -- Fujifilm X-E1 - 14mm - f/11 - 1/240 sec - ISO 200Guggenheim 2 -- Fujifilm X-E1 - 18-55mm @ 55mm - f/8 - 1/320 sec - ISO 200

Rockefeller Center (with the Fujinon 14mm)

Radio City (Tony Bennett) -- Fuji X-E1 - 14mm - f/2.8 - 1/60 sec - ISO 800I recently had the chance to spend a week in New York City on my own. It's rare that I take a trip without the family, so I decided to make the most of it and drew up a list of places I wanted to visit and photograph. Photography is always a part of any travelling we do, but it's freeing when you have only yourself to plHalal food -- Fuji X-E1 - 14mm - f/2.8 - 1/60 sec - ISO 800ease.

Just before taking the trip I decided to give my Fuji X-E1 a present: a new lens. I wavered back and forth between the Fujinon 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 and the 14mm f/2.8 before finally settling on the wide angle. The optical stabilization of the longer lens sounded interesting, but the wider lens has received rave reviews and better suits the kind of shooting I like to do.

These shots were all taken around the Rockefeller Center complex and the 14mm did not disappoint. It is a fantastic lens.Bags and shoes -- Fuji X-E1 - 14mm - f/2.8 - 1/220 sec - ISO 800

Anthropologie -- Fuji X-E1 - 14mm - f/2.8 - 1/85 sec - ISO 800