The Pool Deck at Sunset
Well I don’t know about you but Toronto was hit with one of the worst snowstorms it’s seen in years this past Friday. I know that our neighbours to the east, both here in Canada and in the U.S. were hit just as bad and in some cases worst. I hope everyone stayed safe and snug indoors.
Of course when the cold and snow hits my thoughts often meander over to warmer destinations and as I’m still working through my images from our recent cruise I couldn’t help but think that I would really rather be on the pool deck of the Navigator of the Seas then shovelling my drive way.
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Cathedral View
This image was taken on the same morning as my Jackson Square post which you can see here. That’s St. Louis Cathedral on the left.
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Back to the Diner
I hope everyone had a great weekend. I decided to give myself a break from posting this weekend and just relax with family and friends. Sometimes its nice to be away from the computer and give yourself permission to not stress about posting.
Here’s another view of the Lake Effect Diner that we visited the last time we were in Buffalo.
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A Cool Place To Eat
A couple of months ago I headed down to Buffalo with my family and thanks to Guy Fieri (of Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives) we tried the Lake Effect Diner. This diner is circa 1952 and was originally located in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It was saved from demolition and moved to Buffalo in 2001 where it was renovated and equipped with a state of the art kitchen. I love old diners and the best part of all of this…(Guy was right) the food was excellent.
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Towards the Water
I hope everyone had a great weekend. I was in Montreal over the weekend for a family function and I did manage to grab some shots while I was there but I’ll share those with you a little later in the week.
In the mean time here’s an image from my jaunt to Muskoka a couple of weeks ago. This was taken while exploring the town of Huntsville.
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Back to the Niagara Apothecary & Topaz DeNoise
I was going to post another fall foliage image today but realized that I’d forgotten to publish this post and wanted to get it out before the discount on Topaz DeNoise expired. (let me get to that in a minute).
Last month I posted an image from the Niagara Apothecary (you can see the original post here.) and I finally got around to processing some more images from that trip. Sorry but I’m a little bit backlogged. When I shot these I didn’t have my tripod with me so I pushed the ISO to 1000 and while my Canon 7D does a good job of handling noise when I merged my brackets in Photomatix it magnified the amount of noise as is usually the case.
This is image was 3 brackets merged in Photomatix which I then brought in to Photoshop where I adjusted levels and applied a touch of contrast. Click on the images to enlarge and really see the difference.
without Topaz DeNoise
With Topaz DeNoise
The following images were also run through Topaz DeNoise. Topaz Labs is having a special 30% off savings on Topaz DeNoise until October 12, 2012 (which is why I wanted to let you know about it) Just enter coupon code “NoiseFree” at checkout.
This last image was processed in much the same way but I really wasn’t pleased with the way Photomatix handled the exterior so I masked in the exterior from one of the original brackets and then applied DeNoise.
You can visit my gallery to purchase prints of any of these images.
Niagara Apothecary
The Niagara Apothecary is located in the heart of Niagara on the Lake, in the same building its occupied for nearly a century and a half. The apothecary went through 6 owners/pharmacists during its existence which spanned from 1818/1820 to 1964, when it closed due to the ill-health of its last owner. In 1869 the apothecary opened its doors in its present location on Queen Street. It is the only remaining original building of that time left in town.
The building was painstakingly restored by the Ontario Heritage Foundation and turned into a museum in 1971. If you ever find yourself in Niagara on the Lake take a step back in time and visit this gem.
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Geddy’s Down-Under
Located at the foot of Main St. in Bar Harbor is Geddy’s Down-Under. Geddy’s is a restaurant, bar and awesome spot filled with cool stuff…trust me…the sign says so 
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The Skipper
As a follow-up to yesterday’s post on The Margaret Todd here’s a shot of our very relaxed skipper at the helm (is that what it’s called or have I been watching too much Star Trek?) of the Margaret Todd.
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Stewman’s Lobster Pound – A View from Underneath
While in Bar Harbor we had dinner one night at Stewman’s Lobster Pound right on the water. While the food was delicious, the surrounding landscape (or seascape) is what kept pulling my attention. After the meal I excused myself, dragged my friend with me, and proceeded to explore. I found myself taking a ramp down to a platform on the water where picnic tables were set up. This also placed me at the bottom of the pier.
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Weekly Photo Challenge – Inside
When I’m inside, sometimes the view demands that I look out. This photograph was taken in Bar Harbor, Maine inside Stewman’s Lobster Pound on the waterfront.
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Light in the City
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend and that all you Dad’s had a wonderful Father’s Day.
Back to Port Credit today…the original lighthouse, that sat a the mouth of the Credit River in Port Credit, Mississauga was in service from 1882 to 1918. In 1936 the lighthouse was destroyed by fire. In 1991 a replica of the lighthouse was built by the Lions Club of Credit Valley. The structure itself sits atop a sewage pumping station and house a tourist bureau in its base.
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Enter At Your Own Risk
Project 52 Entry #48
This past weekend the weather in Toronto was beautiful. On Sunday, my husband and I decided to enjoy the sunshine and go for a walk. Of course the camera came with. We headed to Unionville which is a small village in Markham, Ontario. Main Street is pretty much what you would expect of a small village…small quaint shops, restaurants, ice cream parlours. We veered off Main St. and walked up one of the side streets taking in all the pretty homes. As we were making our way up the street I spotted a house whose side windows were all boarded up. I thought to myself…hmmm, it would be great if I could get in there. Well I obviously didn’t just think it I must have said it out loud because my husband then said “look the back door is open.” (Yes you could see through the front window to the back of this tiny house.) Much to my husband’s dismay, off I went to the back yard, through tall grass trying to avoid the wooden planks with the nails sticking out of them and the cinder blocks that were strewn all over the side of the house.
I cranked up my ISO and fired off a number of brackets. It was a tiny house so not to much to explore. I probably would have spent a bit more time in there and I was tempted to go upstairs but then I heard creaking coming from the second level so I high tailed it out of there. I’m only brave up to a certain point.
South Street Seaport- The View from Pier 17
The South Street Seaport, which is located on Lower Manhattan’s waterfront, has been designated a historical district. This was the original site of the port of New York, one of the busiest in America in the 19th Century. (Think Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York) This area contains some of the oldest architecture in New York which has now been restored and houses restaurants, clubs and stores. As we were walking around Pier 17 I headed to the upper level where the views of the Brooklyn Bridge were unobstructed. I strolled about and pretty much had the whole place to myself. I can image how packed this area would be in the summer. While I had my pick of empty chairs it was still a little chilly to be reclining outdoors.
A Different Perspective on The Roman Forum
I hope everyone had a good weekend. I quick post this morning as I just got back late last night from a few days away in New York City and Long Island. I hope to have some NYC images up a little later in the week but for this morning a visit back to Rome.
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Follow the Path
I’ve been sitting on this image since the summer. This was taken Amalfi, Italy as I was walking around, exploring the town. I came across this walkway which led to a small hotel and was enthralled by the curving pathway and the arches. I shot 3 exposures which I tonemapped in Photomatix. I then tried processing it different ways but I just wasn’t happy with the final outcome.
Last week I heard that OnOne Perfect Photo Suite was on sale. I had been meaning to try this software for sometime but just never seemed to have the time. This weekend I downloaded the trial version and I was blown away by it. Once I finished my editing in Photo Suite I brought the image back into Photoshop and used Topaz Star Effects to give the lights just a touch of pop.
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Horsing Around in Old Montreal
Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. With all the snow and wintery conditions in Europe this past weekend I’m a little hesitant to tell you that it was very Spring like in Toronto yesterday. So much so that I headed down to the Lakeshore yesterday for some sunset shots. I’m working on processing them and will share a little later in the week.
In the mean time I was going back through my archives and I was surprised that I hadn’t posted this shot. I shot this last August while strolling through Old Montreal.
Old Montreal, which is located along the St. Lawrence River is the oldest area in the City of Montreal, dating back to New France in the mid-1600s. In 1964 it was declared a historic district by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec.
Today its cobblestoned streets are lined with galleries and restaurants and in the summer it comes alive with street performers. If you didn’t know any better you’d think you were walking through a small town in Europe.
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The Saddler & Harness Maker
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. As I eluded to last week I would be posting some images from my visit to Black Creek Pioneer Village. The village is a recreation of what life looked like in 19th Century Ontario. The site includes 35 restored heritage buildings including a Blacksmith shop, General Store and Schoolhouse.
We start our visit today with the shop of the Saddler & Harness Maker. (You can click on the images to see a larger version)
This was such a terrific building to photograph. The sun was shining on this day and casting some awesome shadows on the building itself. I positioned myself a few different ways until I got the shadow of the tree the way I wanted it with the branches almost hugging the building. I really wanted the focus to be on the shadows and felt this worked best in B&W which I processed with Topaz B&W Effects.
The next 2 images are from the interior of the building. All I could think of when I was in there was that this would make a great Ralph Lauren ad.
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like……
Project 52 Entry #29
This is the lobby of the Fairmount Royal York hotel in downtown Toronto. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in here but outdoors there’s not a snowflake to be seen. Actually its one of the mildest December I can remember. Hopefully we’ll get some of the white stuff before the holidays. Have a great day everyone
The Spirit of Hockey
I hope everyone had a great weekend. Today will be a quick post as we just got back last night from Montreal where my son had a hockey tournament. They played amazingly well and made it to the championship game on Sunday but (in a heartbreaking defeat) lost in overtime. I hope to have some Montreal shots for you later in the week but I thought this would be a fitting image for today.
This sculpture, titled “At The Crease” is located at the entrance of The Spirit of Hockey store in Brookfield Place in Toronto.
Union Station
Project 52 – Entry #27
Union Station, an inner-city rail station and major commuter hub in Toronto sits in the heart of the downtown core. The building itself opened to the public in 1927 and is currently undergoing a major renovation and redesign.. The design of the planned renovations can be found on their website and it looks…well…interesting. Lots of glass and escalators. I really hope they keep the original pillars and brick. This is the main concourse which they haven’t touched yet. I was able to fire off a few brackets before the tripod police came over and gave me a slap on the wrists.
As usual you can click on the image to see a large view.
Window to the Mediterranean
In 2010 my family and I spent 3 weeks touring Israel. We toured from the Golan Heights in the north to Eilat in the south and everywhere in between. I didn’t have this blog at the time so I thought I would share with you some pictures from this beautiful country.
We were in the old city of Jaffa in Tel Aviv, whose narrow streets are filled with galleries, restaurants and little gifts shops, when we entered this building which we thought led to a gallery. This small space was empty and under renovation. This beautiful window was facing out to the Mediterranean sea with this bicycle leaning against it outside on the balcony. There was a painter inside who allowed me to come and I took advantage and grabbed a few brackets.
Sheva
Project 52 – Entry #18
I’m taking you back today to the Jewish Ghetto in Rome. This little bar/restaurant was just a perfect scene from, the weathered building, the cobblestone sidewalk, the chalkboard menu and of course the Vespa parked outside. If this shot looks familiar it should. I posted it on this blog while I was still in Italy. You can see it here. I was on the go and only had my iPad with me and I used the Snapseed app to process it. I think Snapseed is a terrific app and I use it quite a bit but I shot 3 brackets of this image so that I could ensure that I’d capture the whole dynamic range of the scene. It was early afternoon, the sun was shining but because of where the restaurant was situated on the street it was a bit on the shady side.
I processed the 3 brackets with Photomatix and then brought it into Photoshop and adjusted levels and sharpened it slightly. I then selectively masked the cobblestone side and used Topaz Adjust to bring out a bit of detail. What I’m very happy about with this version is the detail that it brought out especially the bar area inside the restaurant and the reflection in the glass door and window.
Trattoria Della Stampa
While walking along a small street in Rome I came across this lovely little restaurent. It was still too early for dinner and we had to continue to our intended destination but I had to stop and capture this perfect little scene. Okay here’s where you come in…which one do you prefer…the color version better or the desaturated version. The second image was processed using Topaz Adjust & Topaz B&W Effects.
You can click on the image to enlarge it.
