One Minute Writer #40

What is the last city that you visited, for the first time? What did you think of it?

I was going to write a brief summary Chicago post and then realized that One Minute Writer had started one for me already. I spent this past week in Chicago completing an Asbestos Fibre Counting course (NIOSH 582) for work. The course itself was pretty good, though I had a few problems seeing certain fibres in the beginning but eventually got the hang of it. In the end, I received 100% on the theory exam (simple theory questions and a few even easier math problems) and passed the practical (there was only pass or fail, no grade). There was only one other person who aced the theory exam, and he had to recount one of his slides during the practical, so I guess I got the top mark (If you know me at all, you know this is what I was aiming for).
As the course ran from 8am to 5pm, there wasn't much time to take in the sites of the city, but myself and Kyle, the other DST employee who went, did our best. We walked around Michigan Avenue and I went to the Sears Tower (which is now called the Willis Tower) and the Art Institute of Chicago. I took a great deal of photos, most of which were night photos taken with my new Gorillapod. I was able to finish my photography assignment with ease as the tourism board does a really good job of lighting up the buildings and art in an interesting fashion. I even got a woman's business card while I was taking photos near the Art Institute one night. I wasn't able to see everything, but I got to see some really great stuff and am pretty happy with how much tourist stuff I was able to cram into my business trip (my first I might add).
As usual, I plan on posting my images on my photography blog and a few choice ones here with a little more details about the trip. But for now, I thought Chicago was beautiful, for the most part, and would go back again if given the chance.

Fireworks

Our original plans for the Montreal trip did not include fireworks but when Yan brought up the international competition happening Saturday evenings. We walked the somewhat dodgy path down to the harbour to watch the fireworks. Due to heavy foot traffic we were a little late and were still walking to a good shooting location when they started.Dave and I set up my tripod and I got the remote hooked up. It took a few practice shots, but eventually I got the hang of it and just had to wait for the right type of fireworks to shoot up into the sky. As previously mentioned, we then spent a little while taking night shots of the architecture around Vieux Port and then walked back to the hotel and drove Yan home.
The trip that should have taken 15-20 minutes took over an hour and a half! The ride consisted of downtown Montreal on a Saturday evening - yes it was an incredibly bad idea, I know. Anyway, we eventually make it through the horrible driver and mean Quebecers cursing our Ontario, personalized plates and got Yan back to his car. The drive back wasn't nearly as long and we made it back to the hotel at about 1:00 or 1:30 in the morning, which made getting up early the next day particularly difficult.

Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal

When planning the trip to Montreal the first place to see on my list was Notre Dame Basilica. It is noted to be 'one of the crown jewels of Montreal' and was absolutely a place I had to see.
When we went to the fireworks and I took all the nights shots, I thought of going to Notre Dame Basilica to see what it was like at night. I did not, however, know where I was and didn't really want to make Dave and Yan walk around downtown so late when I had already made them wait for me while I was taking shots down at the harbour. Turns out, they have a light show most nights and it would have been pretty neat, but the night was still great and I am rather pleased with the shots I was able to get during the day on Sunday when we travelled there.
Of course going on a Sunday wasn't the greatest idea as there was obviously church in session when we went. We stepped inside and as expected, no photographs were allowed. It was beautiful though - breathtaking really.Dave and I then spent about 30 minutes taking photos of the exterior of the church as well as the fountain nearby the church. In fact, I took more photos of the fountain than of the church itself. It was a really nice fountain, and with the help of my tripod, I was able to practice my moving water shots.

Cirque du Soleil - Ovo

Though Dave and I had been planning on going to Montreal 'sometime' it was the purchase of our Cirque du Soleil tickets for Ovo that decided the actual date and made the trip a reality. The show was amazing, like I knew it would be, and I strongly recommend going if you are even the least bit able to. As previously mentioned, it is a show about insects and the world they live in. It was adorable and breathtaking to say the least. The acts were spectacular and at times, kept you on the edge of your seat. It was however, the show during which Dave and I learned that there are 'not good' seats. We sat in what turned out to be the wrong seats and were unable to see a small portion of the stage. When we moved we learned that the focus of the seating selection should not be getting as close to the stage as possible but rather to get in middle rows whenever possible. Unfortunately, there was a lighting post that blocked part of the back wall and took away from the trampoline act slightly.All the acts revolved around a different insect. One I was most looking forward to was the one dealing with ants (above image from here). They did amazing things with kiwi fruit and mini corncobs. The tossed each other around and were flawless throughout their entire performance. Their costumes were also the cutest as the rest of the female costumes were sexier than they were cute. I think this was likely my favourite act. Dave's favourite act, as I knew it would be, was the trampoline act. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, this was the act that was partially blocked, but it was still really great.I took the above photograph after watching the fireworks at le Vieux Port. The last few minutes of the fireworks all I could think of was which buildings I was going to photograph since the lighting on the really old buildings down there was fantastic and I couldn't resist them. I am really happy with not only the shot, but the fact that I finally was able to photograph the big top. Every time Dave and I have gone to Cirque shows in the past I have left my camera at home, since you are not able to use them within the big top and I never wanted to risk losing it or getting it stolen. I am also glad I took this shot as the next day when we were walking around Vieux Port, the clouds were not friendly and would have provided a massively overexposed skyline.

Festival Complete

The 2009 Ottawa Tulip Festival is unfortunately over. Dave and I went to Commissioners Park two or three times, Majors Hill Park once and Parliament Hill once (the latter two on the last day of the festival). I ventured out to some of the more obscure sites on my own while Dave was away - I went to the flower beds along Colonel By Drive and then a few along Queen Elizabeth Drive. I also walked up to Olympic Park near Lansdowne park. So basically the only site I didn't really get to this year was Lansdowne which was home to the Pavilion this year (in the past it has been located at Majors Hill Park) but as it wouldn't have had any large flower beds to speak of, I am fine with missing it this year. I do love the Tulip Festival and feel my shots this year are some of my best. I really tried to get photos that were different from any others I had taken before but I did feel I needed to perfect some of the ones I took last year with my inferior camera. I even got to use my new Slik tripod! Can't wait until next year - hopefully then I will have my macro lens!

Newest Equipment

I went shopping yesterday at what is quickly becoming my favourite store - Henry's. I had ordered a tripod several weeks ago and was informed that it had arrived. I went looking for a quality dSLR tripod last month after getting a gift certificate to the store but couldn't find one with the right combination of features. One of the salespersons helped me out and selected this one for me (I later researched it online to ensure it was the best one considering how expensive it was). I ended up purchasing the Slik Pro 500 DX tripod (left) and am so far extremely happy with it.

I also spent a significant amount of time looking at the LowePro camera bags. I have quite a collection of these bags but have yet to find the perfect one - until yesterday.
I have a large reporter style bag from several years ago that was purchased to hold literally everything I owned at the time (and at the current time as well) but it is just too massive to use everyday.
I have an Apex 100 AW for my point and shoot camera. A good bag but not a great camera anymore so I really don't think of this one that much and at the current time can't pinpoint it's location in the house.
I later purchased the FastPack 250 which is good since it has a laptop slot as well as the ability to hold all of my digital equipment to date. It is also quite large though and I find that to safely swap lenses I have to put the bag on the ground (or other stable surface) and therefore lose precious time. It would be a very good bag for hiking or significantly log day trips where fast lens changes aren't needed as the extra pockets, etc would be good for snacks or other essentials.
I have a Terraclime 100 bag which I purchased at the most recent Henry's photo show here in Ottawa. This is an awesome bag not only for the reasons of its amazing look and great padding for the camera equipment inside, but also because the materials used are recycled and a portion of the profits goes toward polar bear international. So happy about that purchase. I use this bag when I am going to museums, etc and want a bag that really just looks like a purse, will hold my wallet, keys, phone and camera with no real accessories.
While we were looking through the bags we found the Classified AW series (size 160 to be precise). It is a great bag for what I was looking for - just the right size to hold my camera and additional lenses as well as anything else I may need when going out for a day or so (wallet, keys, etc). It is a shoulder bag and therefore has pretty easy access for switching lenses, etc but still has a great deal of protection in terms of padding. I sits close to the body and I am absolutely in love with this bag and encourage everyone to watch the product video on the LowePro website.
There are many reasons as to why I buy LowePro, one of the biggest factors is however the lifetime warranty on all of their products. If there is a tear or any of the buckles or fasteners break in some form, LowePro will replace my bag pretty much no questions asked. Another reason is all of the amazing features including but not limited to, the patented all weather cover, non-slip shoulder straps, heavy duty fabrics and fasteners and slick, modern designs. I am overall, a LowePro girl. Whenever someone tries to steer me in the direction of another company, even one with as great as name as National Geographic, I just can't do it - I need to stick with the tried and true LowePro.