Sunday, September 19, 2010

Halifax: Day One in the Sun

I landed on Saturday morning at about 11:30. My friend Tim picked me up at the airport, and after a quick brunch and a stop to sort out my gear, we went out shooting. The weather was beautiful, a perfect Saturday for wandering around in the wilds of Nova Scotia.

We started in downtown Halifax, and went from there. So far no sign of hurricanes Igor or Julia.



A quiet warm up as our day started around 1 p.m. in downtown Halifax. The plan was to walk around a bit, see what was happening, and enjoy the beautiful weather.




We started in a grave yard, of course, probably one of the oldest in Canada with graves dating back to the 1700s. The light was interesting; there were enough old trees that even though there was direct sunlight, there were interesting shadows and diffused light everywhere. This design on this headstone from 1776 caught my eye.




Here was another example from the 1700s. It's amazing that so much time was spent on hand carving these stone graves.




Much to our surprise, there was a parade happening in downtown Halifax. The Shriners were raising money and the parade was part of it. There were a lot of energetic old men doing strange things in costume, on go carts and on bikes.




Some were in miniature golf carts, flashing lights and all.




Away from the parade, looking to the harbour.




Further away from the parade, and all its miniature sillyness.




Or maybe not. One of the local tugboat tours of the harbour, seen in front of the inspirational industrial cesspool that is Dartmouth.




One of the harbour islands, once a fort, now a sonar listening station.




A cruise ship docked in the harbour, hopefully for the duration of Igor and Julia.




Over the harbour bridge, into Dartmouth, destined for a beach beyond. On one side of the bride, a rope was suspended, and from the rope hung hundreds of bras. HUNDREDS. As far as raising awareness goes, this was certainly an eye catcher. Shot this from the car on the way by.




Onto the beach, the ocean, salt spray and eventually the setting sun.




The sun was providing such a strong backlight, I was getting perfect silhouettes.




The waves breacking on the beach were not towering, but not babies either. It was almost as if it would be perfect for...




Surfing. Lawrencetown Beach is a popular spot to surf, because the waves break on a point and last for a long time.




There were spectators and a competition. Unfortunately, with a 18-200mm lens I couldn't quite get out to the surfers in action. I had to get creative with that later, from a different standpoint.




This is Tim, looking photographic.




Patterns in the sand.




To get this shot, I had to wait for a surfer to turn towards me. I was high on a hill on the point, past which the surfers rode. Since most surfers faced to their right, and the point was on their left, the only time I could get a shot of their faces looking at the camera was when they made a mistake and had to break left. As such, they all looked concerned.




This boat came in close to the surfers, to catch some surf. After they realized the water was filled with people they went down the beach and did their hijinks there. They got good air; this was the best I could catch.




Sunset approached. But what I didn't realize at the time is that my lens was covered with sea spray; water and salt. As it turns out, it made for neat lens flares. Later in the evening, however, it ruined the potentially best sunset shots. I took this shot after falling part way down a cliff. Mild scrapes, I'll live. But that's one.




This is a close up of a lobster trap buoy that washed up on shore. I also like the full picture of the buoy, but this close up made me think of the kind of painting I would paint if I were able.




Some silhouettes down the beach from where I fell; it was a tough walk back up.




Sunset, minus the sun and it's horrible, horrible, depressing flare. Such a beautiful thing to see, flare aside.




AS it got darker, I was able to take some slower speed shots, like this one that added some blur to the surf.




I really, really wanted to get a shot of this point lit by the setting sun. But, it was not to be. The hill I was standing on prevented the sun from reaching it directly. The shot that could have been.




It was high tide. The lines in the water were strong; the sea and golden grass contrasted sharply.


© Jeremy Buehler and Bug Noir (www.bugnoir.com), 2010.

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