A Handsome Fella...

I took some quick shots of my Canon 40D today. Nothing too fancy, just a bit of light from behind and a bit from the side. I needed these shots because I am going to be selling my trusty 40D, which has served me faithfully for nearly four years.

I picked up the 40D in late 2008. It was my second DSLR. My first was a Canon Rebel XTi. The 40D was my first prosumer camera and it was an amazing beast. It was built like a tank, it was pretty speedy (at the time), focus was great and best of all it took fantastic pictures.

Me and my 40D made a lot of pictures together until my 5D Mark II came along about a year and a half later. Once I got the 5D, the 40D was relegated to backup and saw little to no action. Occasionally, I would take it along to events so I could shoot with two different lenses without swapping but those events were rare. Regardless of its infrequent use, the 40D never let me down - not once, not ever.

Sadly, for the 40D anyhow, there is a new kid on the block, the 5D Mark III, so the 40D's time as backup is over. My 5D Mark II will take over the backup role now. I really am sad to sell the 40D it really was a great camera and a really handsome fella too.



Keep shooting.

GlobalFest Finale

The 2012 Edition of Calgary's GlobalFest wrapped up on Sunday night with perfect weather and record setting crowds. I worked all six nights as part of the volunteer photography team and I had an absolutely blast doing it. It was a wonderful experience and I welcome the opportunity to jump in and help again next year.

GlobalFest obviously has great fireworks but I think for me it was the people that made it such a special event. From the amazing volunteers to the hard working performers that showed up night after night and poured the heart and soul in to everything they did. I met and chatted with a number of wonderful attendees too. It really is just such a well done, fantastic people event. So much colour and culture! So much to see and do and honestly they could not have asked for better weather. It was awesome.

It would be quite hard to pick just one people photo from six days worth of shooting but this shot of the belly dancers is certainly one of my favourites from the event. I loved their costumes, the colours and the detail but most of all I really appreciated how much fun these ladies were having performing. The music and their attitudes were infectious.



And, GlobalFest has fireworks. They were amazing and some of the best I have ever seen. Again, it would be challenging to pick just one favourite but I really did like this one particular shot that I took on the second night during the Mexican display. I love it because of the context of the crowd and surrounding water and buildings. I love how everything is illuminated from this amazing burst of light.



It was such an incredible event and wonderful experience that I am already looking forward to doing it all over again next year.

Keep shooting.

GlobalFest 2012, part II...

Monday was China's turn for fireworks and I was back on duty as part of the volunteer photography team at GlobalFest. The event runs every second night for six nights so there are lots of opportunities for great fireworks pictures. And, since there are six nights to shoot fireworks I am pushing myself to find a new spot each night.

Besides choosing a new location, I also decided to use a different lens. I almost always shoot fireworks with my 17-40mm lens but for Monday night I decided to try my 70-200mm. I had an idea and I wanted to see if it would work.

The challenge (and beauty) of the GlobalFest fireworks is that every night features a different country and you never really know what you're going to get. The Chinese put on a BIG show and I actually switched lenses a couple of times during the show to try and better capture the display. Despite the on-the-fly lens switching, I still managed to grab a picture or two I was happy with.



Keep shooting.

GlobalFest 2012

This year I volunteered for Calgary's GlobalFest as a photographer for the first time. I am on a team of 10 shooters and Thursday was my first night of shooting.

The entire event is held at Elliston Park in the City's southeast. It is a great venue and never having attended before, I was quite surprised to see that many people.

For me, the best part was the fireworks. Each night features a different country's fireworks show coordinated to music. The first night was the Philippines and they put on a wonderful show! Stampede fireworks are great but after seeing the first night of GlobalFest fireworks, the Stampede light show seems more quantity over quality.



When the fireworks show ended, I quickly gathered my gear and began the trek back to my car. The area was thick with smoke and it lender an eerie look to the surroundings. I came across a group of school buses waiting to shuttle attendees to parking and my imagination took off. I plunked down my tripod, quickly composed my shot got in a few pressed of the shutter before the scene changed.

Turns out I got one of my favourite shots of the night.



Keep shooting.

A Baby's Bum...

Seriously, is there anything cuter than a baby's bum?



I don't think so.

Keep shooting.