Friday Night, April 10

Without getting into a long explanation that is extremely unimportant to this post, I was invited to someone's birthday party at a local pub a few Fridays ago, but I had prior plans.  The plans didn't last as long as I expected and I ended up meeting the birthday group later that night.



The party isn't all that important, except for the fact that it made me walk around the Market for a good 40 minutes.  (My buddy was tired, I left his place and got to the Market about 40 minutes before the party was to meet there.)  I spent my time, of course, walking around taking photos.



I hadn't done that, at night, in the Market, for a long time.  I am easily a creature of the night.  I dislike mornings and seem to wake up when the sun goes down, especially if I'm already outside.  I love walking around at night taking photos; I just don't get much opportunity to do so.  I suppose I could easily go out and do it any night I choose, which is absolutely true, it's just rare I am outside at night waiting do to something with some time to kill.



I feel that the city during the day is functional, and not much more, especially during the week.  People wake up, go to work, and come back home, occasionally going to some store or other to buy something.  It's all very sterile and orderly.  At night, especially getting closer to the weekend, the city comes alive with vibrancy and diversity.  During the day, people have to dress appropriate to their jobs, and have to act appropriately; at night people wear the clothes they want so they can act like themselves and have fun the way they like to have fun.



With my trusty Canon S100 (though I don't know how long I'll be calling a Canon camera 'trusty'), I set out to wander the Market as soon as I got there, as I knew I would be waiting for people to get where they're supposed to go.  The camera is small and discrete, but has good focusing and good low-light performance.  I've never really been disappointed by this camera.



Walking around, I generally took shots of what I wanted to take shots of.  I did miss one photo opportunity, though I'm not too disappointed I missed it.  I did walk past it (which is bad), but got my thoughts together about the shot I wanted and did a 180 to go get the shot (which, I consider, for me, a good thing).  It was somewhat chilly outside, and there was a girl in front of a club, waiting for friends, being very cold, in clothing that was more appropriate for inside the club.  By the time I got back, the shot was gone, but I was proud of myself for trying.  (Again, this come down to my goal for 2015.)



You'll see things at night that you probably won't see during the day.  For example, as I rounded a corner, I saw this guy doing one-handed push-ups on a corner.  I had to run to get a shot of the guy before he got up and collected money from the people he was performing for.  At night, people are a lot more lubricated and a lot more likely to entertain this type of performance.  Again, more life and diversity at night.



I hope I can do this many other times this year.  I guess that's up to me, but I suppose that if I have a reason to be downtown, I'll feel a bit better.  This can be another goal this year: be more active at night, which I like.

The First Day

Inevitably, in the same way that there is a last tolerable day where photography is able to be done, there comes a day where the cold temperatures break and it's again possible to walk outside and take photos without fear of your fingers falling off.

I remember a few years back (4, to be specific), I got so tired of not being able to take pictures, that I walked outside the first day it was relatively warm.  As I remember it, I walked around for about two hours, in massive amounts of rain/sleet, in massive amounts of slush (as it was just over freezing).  When I got back home, there was no piece of clothing that was dry and took a long, warm shower as soon as I could.  As much as I dislike being uncomfortable when I take photos, I really enjoyed walking around that day.  It was shooting in conditions I'd never shot in before (or, to be fair, since).

This year, the first actual nice day of shooting was April 3rd.  I walked around for some 5 hours and got a sunburn on my face.  It was a very nice day, being sunny and around 15 Celcius, and the Market was pretty busy.  It was a bit strange getting back getting in the swing of things and trying to take pictures of random people.  I've been in the Market a few times since then and I'm getting back into the groove of things.  Getting back to my Leica is a bit weird, after not really touching while the weather was freezing.

All the shots in this post today were taken on that day, and, like I said, a few were nice.  My Flickr page has a few extra ones.  I took a few shots I was happy with, but I have to get into my photography mindset.  Already this year, there are a few shots I wish I'd taken.  I am getting better at this, though.  A few times after I walked past a nice shot and wished I'd taken a shot, I've walked back to try and get what I wanted.  Unfortunately, in some instances I've missed the shots, but such is the case with such a transitory type of photography.  I will definitely try to not think about repercussions and shoot before thinking about it this year.

That is my goal for 2015.

The Last Day

If you live in the southern parts of the US, or on coasts, or any number of other places that aren't where I live, then this probably doesn't apply to you: there comes a time where the weather tells you you should stop for a little while.  Living in Ottawa (especially this winter) means there comes a time where going out to shoot some photographs becomes uncomfortable for your fingers (and possibly other parts of the anatomy, as well).  With the nice snowfalls we've had, it has been exceptionally pretty, though somehow the weather decided to stay at a relatively chilly -20 degrees Celcius during these times (and, to be honest, others), which doesn't occur too often. (Precipitation usually means a warmer climate is in effect.)

I've heard this winter has been the coldest since 1979; this has literally been the coldest in my life.  As much as I want to go outside and shoot, given how pretty it's been with the snow and sunshine, I care about my hands and my cameras.  I can get gloves for my hands, yes, but I can't warm up my camera.  Minus 20 degrees Celsius is still -20 degrees Celsius and, if possible, I'd prefer -20 degrees Celsius not pelting my camera sensor.

Since the weather went ice-age levels of crispness, I've been out shooting once and the interaction with my colleague was more fun than the actual shooting.  I did get some nice shots and I don't regret shooting, I just would prefer if it were warmer.  On the plus side, it's now March and it's already warmed up, so I'm hoping to soon go outside without chance of frostbite, all the while confusing people as to why I'm taking pictures of them.

I suppose I can always move to a place with a few more degrees over the course of the year, but that requires planning and moving and I'm too happy sharing my bed with my cat at the moment.