Busy boardwalk

5 07 2009

Busy boardwalk, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 4, 2009
I guess for the US it was Independence Day (I did watch that movie in the evening so I’m almost patriotic). It was a nice Saturday.
I dropped the dog off at his daycare and went to the park. This one is by Lakeshore across from the Exhibition. Don’t know what it’s called. The day was very sunny. I saw a few clouds but they were always in the distance. The wind was blowing pretty good and I even got chilly in the shadows.
I wanted to take some photos of the flag for an online photo group (experimenting with shutter speed). I tried different lenses but I just don’t know what angle to shoot at! It was very frustrating. I only saved two photos that are somewhat decent. I also had an idea to take some silhouette photos. I never do them because I rarely pay attention to technique. But this time I was in the mood! I’m not sure why but I was relaxed and clear-minded. I actually planned out this shot (the one on the top)!! I found a person on the bench. I found the bench between two trees. I looked for a more interesting background than just water. I adjusted my exposure for the background with the intention to darken the blacks in the foreground even more in post-processing. It worked! I got exactly what I wanted and I did it deliberately! I used my knowledge of the camera and exposure to get this shot. It is not ideal, of course. Noon is not the best time to take pictures, so the background is a bit washed out. But the contrast is perfect. I’m happy with this one. I had a good time in the park just sitting and reading. My camera and half a dozen lenses were not burdensome. And a few of my pictures came out very well.
It was an awesome day!
Oh! and I met a guy who misplaced his drumming band. He stopped close to where I was sitting and just stood there until I looked at him. He told me he was looking for his drumming group (or band) and it took him a couple of minutes to decide what to do. I had to volunteer a few ideas of what might have happened. It was an odd moment. In the end he did find his group. I guess they were just late (like I suggested).





A day of birds

5 07 2009

Peeking, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 3, 2009
This was Friday. I went to the Butterfly Habitat again looking for those butterflies. It was windy and cloudy so no butterflies. I caught a couple of birds. Nothing interesting.
Oh well…