Some things never change (much)

Fujifilm X100s, f/5.6, iso 800, HDR

This holidays I finally visited my hometown after almost 2 years. And it feels like I were off for only few days. Same buildings, same people, same birds, same events (people are waiting for "just married" to emerge from city hall). Only the christmas tree is new/different.
And however boring Zielona Góra may be long term, still it was nice to wander the streets of my childhood. See also Nostalgic Zielona Góra 2013.

People make Glasgow

Nikon D5100, 36mm, 1/50s @ f/5.0, iso 120

Famous Schwartz's smoked meat

Fujifilm X100s, f/5.6, iso 800, HDR

There is a place on Saint-Laurent Boulevard where there is almost always a line of people waiting. Nobody can quite explain, why they lining up to this particular charcuterie, as there are two others equally good nearby.
But Schwartz's is listed in every possible guidebook about Montreal as a "place to visit". The smoked meat sandwiches are indeed pretty good. And the staff is so proud of working there for years, that you can almost feel like they're saving the world.
I thought it would be funny to capture the line on the picture. The HDR developed pretty well (and yes, I was too lazy to remove artifacts created by people in motion), but I went a step further and tried  to make it look like it could happen 100 years ago in a similar sunny winter morning.

Amazing graffiti on Mile-End in Montreal

Fujifilm X100s, 1/125s @ f/5.6, iso 640

Fujifilm X100s, f/5.6, HDR

I see this graffiti on my way to work almost everyday and it always amazes me. It is black & white, yet so rich.
The first picture is the original shot of three - in black & white, just slightly enhanced in LR5. The second picture is a HDR version, post-processed further with Silver Efex.

Autumn - for as long as possible!

iPhone, Camera+, auto (+1EV)

I am still uncomfortable taking pictures with iPhone (I feel that Android phones give you more control over photos), especially in cloudy, wet days like this. But maybe it was just an effect of the long jog...
Anyway, the autumn feel could be partly restored thanks to Lightroom and Nik Color Efex Pro. I am only worried the next picture I'll take will be with lots of snow in it.

Sunrise of the eclipsed sun over Montreal

Fujifilm X100s, f/16, iso 200, HDR

This is the day of a solar eclipse and the bottom part of the sun is covered by the moon, but you can't see it on this photo. It was a rare hybrid solar eclipse which happens once in 150 years or so. Montreal got only partial eclipse though - it began before the sunrise and when the Sun finally showed up, the moon was covering only a small slice. And it was over in 15 minutes.

Autumn morning by Nature's brush

Fujifilm X100s, 1/680s @ f/5.6, iso 400

Fujifilm X100s, 1/400s @ f/5.6, iso 200

Hallelujah!

Fujifilm X100s, 1/150s @ f/16, iso 800

And back to Mont-Tremblant... Just when it stopped to be all sunny, it started to be interesting. This shot was taken from the top of the peak and shows a trail down, which - in winter conditions - is designated as one of the most difficult there. In the background - Lac Tremblant.

Silhouette(s)...

Fujifilm X100s, 1/800s @ f/11, iso 800

Code: RED

Fujifilm X100s, 1/125s @ f/11, iso 1000

Full moon over Plateau

Fujifilm X100s, 1/10s @ f/2.8, iso 3200

It is not the best photo quality-wise, because lots of noise reduction was needed. No tripod, so it had to be high ISO, and even with that I somehow ended up with 1/10s shutter.
Why is this photo not blurred? The secret - I think - lies in 3 or 4 pints of guinness I drank before going on a stroll.

Halloween is near

Fujifilm X100s, 1/640s @ f/2.8, iso 200

What does it even mean: Arrêt?

Fujifilm X100s, 1/350s @ f/11, iso 800

Nothing gives the feel of bilingual environment better than this stop sign in Ottawa. With Parliament building in the background...

RGB

Fujifilm X100s, 1/240s @ f/11, iso 400

Live color picker found in Ottawa. Now, where's my brush?

Dreamy vs. edgy

 Fujifilm X100s, 1/125s @ f/11, iso 250 - clarity -100

Fujifilm X100s, 1/125s @ f/11, iso 250 - clarity +50

It's been a long time since I last posted, but I just wasn't in the mood and I didn't want to push it. But then, the fall came and all the colors simply beg to be photographed...
The shot above was literally the last take of the long Thanksgiving weekend - with the sun almost too low to be any good. And I liked this picture so much I tried two different variants of it. While the sharp version looks better on the screen to me, the dreamy soft one is more in line with the spirit of that day.

Uro woman with reed boats

Nikon D5100, 35mm, 1/4000s @ f/2.8, iso 100

Just. Look. At. The. Colors.

Follow that boat!

Nikon D5100, 35mm, 1/200s @ f/6.3, iso 100

This time it's the nature, not people, that is the main subject of the picture. 

Even though the vignetting draws an eye to the small motorboat in the centre, if you follow its path you'll reach hills of Taquile Island on the horizon. And you may be surprised that the bright white cloud on the horizon is indeed Cordillera Real, part of Bolivian Andes with peaks above 6,000 m.

And the girl who played

Nikon D5100, 35mm, 1/2000s @ f/2.0, iso 100

Unlike the photo of the wet-eyed girl from the previous post I did not have any reservations about this picture. In fact, I totally adore it. Check out more faces in my album called "People of Titicaca".

The girl who cried

Nikon D5100, 35mm, 1/60s @ f/22, iso 100

I was not sure if I even like this picture. I guess nobody likes seeing kids suffering. But I think it was some kind of childhood sickness or temporary allergy and it is long gone now (hard to believe but there was a doctor in one of those huts).
Anyway, living on a floating island on a lake (even if it is one of the most famous lakes in the world), without electricity, is harsh. It was good to be back to civilization after 2 days' trip.

Mother of all sunrises

Fujifilm X100s, HDR 8/15/30s @ f/16, iso 200

I got up at 3:30am to arrive at the bridge before the sunrise. And it was totally worth it! It's the same bridge as in this post, but with different light. Wait, there's more! See here for all four pictures taken in the very same morning.

Calm down and sunset

Fujifilm X100s, HDR 4.3/8.5/17s @ f/16, iso 200

I was tired of manually merging AE-bracketed shots in PS Elements 11. So I'm trying Nik Software plugins right now. The picture above is the first victim. Merged from 3 long-exposure JPEG pictures (ND filters FTW!), pre-processed for sharpness and detail in LR5, then loaded up to Nik HDR Efex Pro 2. I think, I've found a tool to process my HDR images of the Confederation Bridge now (coming up soon). 

You had me at halo

Fujifilm X100s, 1/50s @ f/16, iso 200

I did not expect this effect, but I loved it at the first sight. I took four good pictures that evening, three of them developed worse than I expected. This one was the opposite.

Serious job for serious people

Nikon 5100, 35mm, 1/200s @ f/1.8, iso 100

One of the best pictures from Lime, Peru. The days were cloudy, the light kind of mean. But those guys were just magnetic standing there, watching the street...

And they are actually quite helpful. When we ventured to a sketchy district (thanks GoogleMaps!), it was one of them who turned us around and escorted to the bus stop we were looking for. No camera nor cash lost.

Nova Scotia misty as the Old Scotland

Fujifilm X100s, 1.5s @ f/5.6, iso 100

I love how minimalistic is this picture. After all those colourful sunny days, there has to be one cool, rainy and wet. But far from ugly. I got soaked taking it, and only later I thought it might have been even better with f/16.

Where Canadian lakes meet Atlantic

Fujifilm X100s, 3.1s @ f/16, iso 100

I love playing with filters (real screw-in filters, not the effects in X100s' menu). The shot above was taken with UV + polarizer + ND4 + built-in ND. That made otherwise rough surface calm enough to get this beautiful reflection.

Bridging Canada

Fujifilm X100s, 1/13s @ f/16, iso 100

The bridge between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick in Canada. It's almost 13km long and a marvel to behold. I didn't cross it yet - it is a task for the next weekend :)

Not having a tripod I had to limit my urge to step down exposure time - all the shots with ND filter on weren't that good. The one above is with polarizer filter on and color/sharpness enhancing settings. Shot directly to JPEG and punched even more in LR5.

Wild thing (not really)

Fujifilm X100s, 1/90s @ f/16, iso 200

I'm playing with my Fuji since a week and I took the opportunity to test-drive it during my traveling weekend. This the first picture I'm quite fond of.

When the lake is as big as a sea...

Samsung Galaxy S2, auto, iso 100, +2EV

And Oswego, NY again. What a beautiful day it was. With the low-hanging clouds the sunset had to be as amazing.

Waiting for the sunset

Samsung Galaxy S2, auto +2EV

This was a wonderful evening in Oswego, NY. Not having my main camera with me it was a challenge to get the near-sunset shots right. I ended up up using +2EV compensation and lots of adjustments in the Lightroom. Even though much information was lost (jpeg), I very much like the final result. Especially the fishing guy's silhouette on the left.

Firemen on-call

Nikon 5100, 35mm, 1/5s @ f/1.8, iso 100

Good guys firemen... On a quiet, hot summer night. Sitting there, watching people pass by. Hopefully it will be all they have to do this night.

Once upon a time...

Nikon 5100, 35mm, 1/180s @ f/11, iso 100

Dat hat!

Nikon 5100, 50mm, 1/750s @ f/1.4, iso 100

From the same session as the one in previous post, but more menacing and - apparently - more liked by G+ users.

Self-exploration

Nikon 5100, 50mm, 1/500s @ f/1.4, iso 100

The shallowest DOF my gear can produce. My beard is not too thick, so focusing on hair and leaving the face slightly out of focus gives a nice effect.

Boots with (tired) soul

Samsung Galaxy S2, auto

This guy

Nikon 5100, 200mm, 1/800s @ f/5.3, iso 100

This one has a backstory. After I took the picture with tele lens the guy walked towards me and asked if the photo was good. I told him I doubt it, but thanked him anyway. Yet, after returning home and sorting through hundreds of shots I think this one is one of the best, especially as low-key B&W.

In passing

Nikon 5100, 50mm, 1/1600s @ f/4.5, iso 100

Portico ceiling of Église Saint-Enfant-Jésus du Mile End

The same picture, two different post-processing paths. 

Nikon 5100, 50mm, 1/400s @ f/1.4, iso 100

The winter is... staying

Nikon 5100, 18mm, 1/1600s @ f/3.5, iso 200

Snow falling on the St-Michael Church

Nikon 5100, 55mm, 1/2000s @ f/5.6, iso 400