A Day at Carcassonne

Posted on December 22, 2017 by owencherry

While in Toulouse for work I used one of my days off to visit Carcassonne, about a 1hr train ride away. The walled city is very old, founded by the Romans, and changed hands many times before being faithfully restored in the 1800’s. I arrived early, and walked the cool and drizzly walk from the train station to the castle. In the off season, on a weekday morning, and with mediocre weather there were very few people and I had no trouble taking photos of the building alone, or waiting to position a single person perfectly in the shot.

The inner ramparts opened after lunch (although they were supposed to be open in the morning too) so after a hot cassoulet and local beer I paid the admission and got up high. The weather did eventually clear somewhat but not so much that I lost the dreary look to photos. Here are my favourites, with the D750, AF-S 85mm f/1.8G and Sigma 35m f/1.4 Art.

Trip to Arizona Part II – The Grand Canyon

Posted on August 31, 2015 by owencherry

Well, I crossed off another item on the bucket list in April with my visit to the Grand Canyon. I woke up at 5AM at the hotel in Flagstaff and hit the road before the sun rose so that I’d get to the canyon in the early morning light. I probably don’t need to say a lot about the place. It was epic and vast. I was there early enough that I was totally alone in some spots, without a person in site. That all changed a few hours later when it was teeming.

I walked down the Kaibob trail about 1200 feet and experienced a 15-20 degree (Celsius) temperature change compared to the top. The hike down was easy. The hike up was strenuous and parching.

I stayed past dark and parked myself at Lipan Point for the sunset and night sky shots. Unfortunately I ran the batteries out in the D700 but the X100s was up to the task! The night sky shot here is a panorama of X100s shots. Here are my 22 favourites spanning 7AM to 10PM. D700 and X100s, AF-S 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G and Sigma 35mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8G.

7 shot panorama with X100s

Simplifying Travel with a 35mm Lens – Part 2: Vancouver, BC

Posted on December 16, 2014 by owencherry

When getting ready for a work trip to Vancouver last week I must have re-packed my camera bag at least 5 times before settling on the Sigma 35mm f/1.4. Vancouver is a city with big views and as much as I wanted to simplify the travel kit I knew that there would be many occasion where a wide field of view would be needed. In the end I stuck with the 35 for its simplicity and beautiful optics and thankfully I had no regrets.

In the woods I shot at f/1.4 and ISO 1600. For epic landscapes I shot panoramas at tiny apertures. Again the focal length was perfect for capturing scenes just as I saw them.

All below are D700 + Sigma 35mm f/1.4. Some here are of my co-worker, Connor, trying to capture the perfect selfie. Others are of Clevelend Dam, English Bay and downtown Vancouver, Lynn Canyon, TRIUMF, and Granville Island.

Simplifying Travel with a 35mm Lens – Part 1: Toulouse, France

Posted on December 14, 2014 by owencherry

I recently travelled to Toulouse for work and naturally had a tough time deciding what lenses to bring for my time off. Wide + tele came to mind and is something I’ve done in the past with the AF-S 18-35/3.5-4.5 and AF-S 85/1.8. Or just the wide, or maybe a 50/1.4. In the end I chose the Sigma 35/1.4 as the sole lens for 6 days.

35mm has a nice, natural field of view for travel and often captures a scene similarly to how we remember it. It’s not so wide that the framing becomes difficult and not so tight that information is left out. In the cases where a wider field of view is needed it’s not a big deal to snap off a quick panorama and stitch later at home. The Sigma version has excellent sharpness and contrast, even at f/1.4, and has snappy and accurate autofocus – something equally as important as image quality i situations where you need to capture fleeting moments.

Here are a few shots from the trip with the D700. The weather was absolutely outstanding and the city had just decorated for Christmas.

Sloan – Starlight, Waterloo – November 21, 2014

Posted on November 21, 2014 by owencherry

I caught Sloan’s first of two sets tonight. I think this will be the first time I edit and blog show photos before the show is even over!

D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art, f/1.4, ISO 1250.

Deltron 3030 – Starlight, Waterloo – July 11, 2014

Posted on November 19, 2014 by owencherry

Better late than never, some photos from the Deltron 3030 show at the Starlight this past July. Shot with the D700 and Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art. I processed these by reducing the blue saturation in the Lightroom’s Camera Calibration, something that really helped with the super saturated blue lighting.

Owen and Mitzy Visit the UK Part 5: Edinburgh

Posted on August 12, 2014 by owencherry

Owen and Mitzy Visit the UK Part 4: The Highlands – From The Black Isle to Ullapool

Posted on August 8, 2014 by owencherry

Owen and Mitzy Visit the UK Part 3: Inverness, Loch Ness and Fortrose

Posted on July 31, 2014 by owencherry

After a week in England I took an 8 hour train up to Inverness in northern Scotland. Alison and Bobby Massie were wonderful hosts who took me into their home in Fortrose for my 3 day visit. Here are some photos from our day trip to Inverness, Loch Ness and the Clootie Well and my walk from Fairy Glen and along the Firth of Forth back to Fortrose.