My Amateur Art & Photo Blog

Back In The US of A While trying to stay in vacation mode I head out for lunch a local area restaurant and it wasn't hard to find old glory flying high overhead. I would guess that there isn't another country in the world that has so many instances of its own flag waving everywhere, you certainly wouldn't see so many instances of the Canada flag in Montreal for instance. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , cropped and the flipped horizontally so that the flag is waving in the correct direction.

Hotel Night View As our last night in Montreal is upon us I snap a final view from our hotel Balcony towards the Notre Dame Basilica. With so many things to see and do in what seemed like such little time afforded to us we have yet again missed out on the chance to see the light show in the Basilica, un autre temps peut être! Here 2 separate shots taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS are combined in to a relatively shallow panoramic in post processing. I had actually taken 4 frames for this shot however due to the very dark nature of the scene it was proving to be too difficult to combine all 4 shots so the uploaded shot will have to suffice instead.

Mont Royal Panoramic Sticking with the panaromic theme, and how could I not with all the options given in the great city of Montreal? With the humidity finally leaving the city it was just the excuse I needed to convince the wife to come with me on a hike up to the top of Mont Royal . Little did I know that it was as many steps as it turned out to be, compounded more so by the walk we made from our Old Montreal hotel through the downtown area and passed the riot police rounding up McGill University protesters, I kid you not! We would also later find out that Lance Armstrong was in town and had an entourage following him up the mountain, thankfully we missed that media farce and managed to make it back down to our hotel without having a heart attack or some other medical condition ;) Here 6 separate shots taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS are combined in to a panoramic in post processing. The view of downtown Montreal is taken from the Kondiaronk Belvedere and the Chalet du Mont

Montreal Waterfront Panoramic Another sunny Montreal morning and another day of walking for what seems like miles through the various neighborhoods of this great city. Today's walk starts with a stroll around the waterfront where unfortunately these fountains did not provide much of a respite from the heat. At least it was a little less humid today. What happened to the fall like temperatures we were promised by the weather forcasters? Here 3 separate shots taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS are combined in to a panoramic in post processing. I didn't see someone's kid run in the to frame during the last shot taken and I don't have the energy to remove him in post processing ;)

Olympic Park Panoramic In a flashback to the 70s and it's love of concrete we visted the Olympic Park which is indeed an impressive architectural feat of it's day but as a tourist attraction I would probably have trouble recommending it as one of the must see things in Montreal. That being said the Olympic Tower itself did give me the opportunity after a short 2m30s ride up the funicular to take this attached panoramic photograph looking north over the Olympic Park and away from the city. Here 7 separate shots taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS are combined in to a panoramic in post processing.

18th Century Market Another great thing to love about Montreal is that no matter what time of year you visit there is always something going on. This year we missed the big Parades (if you discount the student protests!) and one day I would love to see Just For Laughs, but this week there was this 18th Century market re-enactment going on in Vieux Montreal complete with authentic vendors and goods was a very pleasant surprised. Taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS no post processing

Notre Dame At Night One of the great things of staying in a hotel in Old Montreal is the close proximity of lots of great sites to see, not to mention cafes and restaurants to eat at. I captured this shot while we walk back to our hotel after a night of Streak Frites. Remember, 'Apportez votre vin!' Taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS color enhanced in post processing.

White Mountains At the start of our vacation we take a second to take in the views of New Hampshires White Mountains as we drive up I93. Unfortunately I personally never got a chance to see the 'Man In The Mountain' before he fell, but the mountains were impressive nonetheless. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , cropped and the reflection of my camera phone removed from the sky in post processing.

Bird Bath A sparrow takes a respite from the later afternoon heat in some standing water in the road near our home. I know how he feels! Taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS in aperture priority mode and no post processing.

Davis Square Statue I pass these statues several times a week and I've always been curious as to there meaning. According to wikipedia they are statues of local residents at the time of their construction in the 80s. I thought the 'masks' that each one wears was meant to be some subtle statement about society but no they were added in the 90s to repair damage made by vandals. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , contrast adjusted in post processing.

Cloud Catcher I took this shot with something very different in mind. Passing through Boston's downtown crossing area this pattern of mirrors hangs high overhead and as you walk closer to it the light reflects and catches your eye. Or at least it did mine, pausing for a second to compose the shot and positioning myself closer to the collection of shining objects (I have no ability to 'zoom' on my camera phone) I realized the clouds behind it looked like they were about to be caught in the net. I think this was a difficult shot for my camera phone to expose correctly, we have the dark shadow of the building on the left, the building on the right in full sun and big fluffy clouds in the background. I'm sure this shot may have looked more impressive coming out of a DSLR but I think the Optimus Elite did a stand-up job. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , tone corrected in post processing.

Mall Escalator Not the most interesting shot, however as I was stood there waiting to be carried up by this mall escalator the pattern of each step caught my eye . Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , no post processing.

Uninvited Guest This little beauty made an unexpected drop by the kitchen window today and was kind enough to post for a few photographs. Wary of me getting to close this Praying Mantis followed the every move of my prime lens. Taken with the Pentax K200d, handheld with MF attached to my Sigma 70mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens , tone corrected in post processing, rotated 90 degrees clockwise and cropped for aspect.

St Paul's Cemetery What a difference a day makes. The weather is almost 20 degrees coolor and a hell of lot wetter today and it may well mark the end of the summer heatwave in the Boston area. A can't think of a scene more fitting for marking endings than a cemetry and the dark, misty weather seems to accentuate the colors of the leaves on the trees in this scene. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , tone adjusted in post processing.

Mystic River Valley Panorama If you have been paying really close attention to the images I post on here you may note that this scene is very similar to one i posted back in June . However I wanted to capture an example of a scene more suited to a photo stitch than the one I attempted in Boston earlier this week. Still without the use of a tripod here but at least there was no fast moving traffic in the frame and the ripples on the water weren't moving fast enough to be too much of a problem either. I may have to take my kayak out on the Mystic River this weekend if the summer humidity gives me a break! Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , 3 shots combined in post processing to form this panoramic, edges of the frame cleaned up and then the entire frame was tone adjusted for the harsh summer sun which had blown some of the highlights.

Soft Focus Today I wanted to something a little more creative with soft focus and background light. This is a shot taken of a household plant, taken to close for my P&S Cam to lock its focus and I adjusted the camera to trying to capture this ghostly scene. Not exactly my greatest work but it has given me some ideas to try when I have more spare time. Taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS in aperture priority mode and tone corrected in post processing.

After The Rain I knew that once the rain cleared today that there would a chance to capture something interesting if I head out and explore South Boston. This office building had a glass awning that had captured the rain. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , cropped for square and tone adjusted in post processing, it looked a little too bright straight out of the camera when in real life the sky was still gloomy.

Boston Financial District Panoramic The first rule of trying to do a photo stitch panoramic is to use a tripod, the second rule is to photograph a scene of static, or very slowly moving objects. Well today I broke both of those rules trying to capture this scene from my camera phone with the fast moving traffic of Atlantic Avenue in the foreground. Note the magic disappearing truck in the left hand side of the frame but not the right. The sun was shining so brightly that I didn't have ability to check the shot until getting it home and by then it was too late to do much about it. I fear post processing the backend of the truck out entirely may be asking too much of my skills, and time, with the tools I have available. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , 3 shots combined in post processing to form this panoramic, color corrected slightly to enhance the brick buildings in the frame.

Soldiers & Sailors Plaque This plaque on the Soldiers & Sailors Monument in the Boston Common is the focus for today. With the humidity low and the sun high the weather was perfect earlier today in Boston and my eye was drawn to this plaque in honor of the brave Soldiers & Sailors who fought for the union during the US Civil War. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , contrast adjusted in post processing.

Tangled Web Before heading out for the day I just had to post this shot of a spider making himself at home on our fence. The overcast skies might not make for the best summer day but they sure did make this spiders colors pop allowing me to easily manually focus my macro lens on this little guy. Doesn't he look like a creature from outer space that has come to feed on our brains? Taken with the Pentax K200d, handheld with MF attached to my Sigma 70mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens , tone corrected in post processing and cropped for aspect.

Night Rider Yet again very nearly forget to take a photograph for today's post and had to resort to snapping this shot while driving home on I93 from friends cook out. Despite the fact the photograph is both blurred and noisy it reflects how my head feels now after an evening of eating, drinking and smoking cigars. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , contrast adjusted in post processing.

Rain Rain Go Away As the torrential rain passed through the area this evening there was a little oppurtinity to get out and about with my camera so today's photo as a homage to the rains as they splash against our living room windows. Taken with the Pentax K200d, handheld with MF mounted to my Sigma 70mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens , tone corrected in post processing and cropped for aspect.

Bird On A Wire Can you see him a top this telegraph pole not far from Davis Sq? Hint he's not on the wire, but bird on a pole didn't have quite the same ring to it. Taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS cropped for aspect and converted to B&W in post processing.

Don't Bug Me This monster was waiting for me on the window screen of our bedroom. He didn't seem to like the zoom lens on my Camera but that didn't stop from catching this shot. Taken with the Pentax K200d, handheld with MF mounted to my Sigma 70mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens , no post processing other than for cropping.

Longfellow Bridge Panoramic It may not have been the best choice to go for an 8 mile walk in the high height of the late afternoon Boston sun, but it did give me the chance to capture this panoramic. 5 shots were taken with my camera phone from the walkway across the bridge facing Boston. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , and stitched together in post processing.

Route To The Top It can sometimes feel like a long uphill struggle, many flights of stairs to climb to get to the top but we will persevere! I like the irregular framing of this shot although it is very similar to another I posted earlier this year. Note to self I must try to be more creative. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , no post processing.

Deserted Mall With the mid summer weather hitting the Boston area this weekend this local area mall was pretty much deserted as is to be expected everyone must be at the beach. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , no post processing.

Traffic Problems The problem with getting out of the city for the day is that eventually you need to come back, and that it seems is what everyone else in the Boston area was thinking today as I was stuck on I93 earlier today. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , no post processing.

Paving Stones If there's nothing of interest catching your eye, look down. Today's shot is of paving stones in Harvard Square. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , tone adjusted in post processing.

Deserted Broadway Station This shot was taken just before rush hour in Boston today believe it or not. I had just missed the northbound train and was able to capture the platform deserted in this shot. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , no post processing.

I have accidently deleted description, bummer.

Stained Glass I had hoped to go on a photo walk this evening and capture something interesting but the Boston weather was having none of that. So today's shot comes courtesy of one of the stain glass windows we have in our foyer. Taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS in aperture priority mode, set to f3.1. Cropped and background blur accentuated in post processing.