shootstories

It’s that in-between-season-time in Ottawa.  No snow yet.  Most of the leaves off the trees. Generally, I dislike November in this city.  The photography helps me find some brilliance.

experimenting with silhouettes

Two different feelings.  Which do you prefer?

experimenting with backlighting

I tested out the Nikon 105 f/2.8 AF Micro VR lens last weekend.  ”Micro” is Nikon’s term for its macro lenses.

I was up in the Gats early Saturday morning.  Timing was fortuitous (for early fall!) with a light sprinkling of snow.  I was impressed with the fast focusing of the AF even at 1:1.  Nice and sharp, beautiful bokeh.  The VR (vibration reduction) feature is a nice touch on a macro lens for hand held and low light – none of these being optimal conditions for macro shooting – but it performed well.  I enjoyed shooting the close up shots but was pleasantly surprised, and really liked, its performance as a portrait lens.  Certainly makes it more of a versatile lens that I expected.

Verdict:  Positive.  Another addition to the wish list.

As my sister-in-law said, you can certainly get a lot of bang for your buck on this short trail hike we took to find beavers up in the Gats.  We headed out to the Park this weekend to take in some of the emerging fall splendour, search for beavers and do a short trail run.  Only about 300m in on our first trail, we were not disappointed.  We arrived at a swampy water’s edge to encounter one busy beaver.  He seemed completely unaware (or undisturbed) as we watched him chew on a twig, neatly debarking it.  The adults enjoyed the site just as much as the children.  In addition to the beaver, I loved watching the young ‘uns run freely along the trails excited to be doing some “trail running” in preparation for the cross country season to come.

A favourite time of the year for me. Love the transition of seasons but especially the one to Fall. Brilliant colours, cooler nights making home feel cosier and of course, fall clothes!