Last summer, I spent numerous hours and took hundreds of pictures along the Soulanges canal, more precisely near the village of les Cèdres. This old abandonned waterway, in addition to its cycling path, offers golden opportunities for photography.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/45
Aperture : f/4.8
ISO: 800
Focale length : 98 mm (147 en DX)
Aperture, Photomatix HDR, Topaz Denoise 3 and Adjust.

Amazing old structures are still in place and lots of animals lives there, surprisingly it doesn’t seem to be known to amateur photographers; for all the hours I spent there, I never saw any other “image hunter”.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/500
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO: 400
Focale length: 18 mm (27 en DX)
Aperture, Photomatix HDR, Topaz Denoise 3 and Adjust.

That is all-right, I’ll keep this secret to myself, so please, don’t tell anyone

François Meehan

Sometimes when you are doing shots of animals or insects, you might wonder “who is oberving who?”.

For example, take this magnificent grasshopper, her ” friends” were avoiding me as if I was a monster (from their perspective, I probably was . None of them would let me approach within 5 feet with my equipment. This one had a totally different behavior.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/60
Aperture : f/22
ISO: 400
Focale length : 105 mm (157 en DX)
Integrated Flash with Gary Fong’s Puffer and a Nikon SB-900 flash with Warm gel et diffuser in remote mode.
Aperture, Nik’s Viveza, Topaz Denoise 3 and Adjust.

I was able to approach it within 1.5 foot, took shots for a good 10 minutes with 2 strobes. It slowly moved on its plant, allowing me to try different angles.

At a certain point, I was wondering if it was not “analyzing” me, it felt weird…

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/60
Aperture : f/22
ISO: 400
Focale length : 105 mm (157 en DX)
Aperture, Nik’s Viveza, Topaz Denoise 3 and Adjust.

For the occasion, I used the built-in flash with a diffuser (Gary Fong’s puffer) and a remote SB-900 flash in remote mode equipped with a warm gel, also with a diffuser, hand held, no tripod.

François Meehan

Sunday afternoons are often the time for me to go hunting for images. I take my bike and photo equipment on my back, and I hit to road. No precise plan in mind, photo opportunities are coming my way naturally…

Two weeks ago, on such outing, I met Éric and his superb german shepherd dog: Shooter, at Terrasse-Vaudreuil.

I could not resist, when I saw the beast, had to ask Éric permission to take pictures of his dog, while Shooter was playing in the water.

It was a short shooting session, I am really proud of the outcome.

Shooter is still a young dog. At one year and a half, he is full of energy.

As usual, don’t forget to click on the images to see them in their full sizes.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/2000
Aperture : f/4.5
ISO: 400
Focal length : 70 mm (105 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Detail.

Taking no break, Shooter chase the little piece of wood, again and again…

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/3000
Aperture : f/4.8
ISO: 400
Focal length : 112 mm (168 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Detail.

A canine race boat

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/3000
Aperture : f/4.5
ISO: 400
Focal length : 70 mm (105 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Detail.

What a good looking dog…

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/1500
Aperture : f/5.3
ISO: 400
Focal length : 195 mm (292 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Detail.

Éric could have played fetch with Shooter all afternoon long, the dog always asked for more.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/1500
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO: 400
Focal length : 300 mm (450 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 et Detail.

François Meehan

Last Saturday, while being in Montreal to attend the annual Podcamp, I went to my favorite Photo equipment store to get a Lensbaby Composer.

This lens is very particular, it allows selective focus while doing the shot. The lens can be tilted in all directions. While composing a picture, you just make sure the subject is in the “sweet spot”. It creates an artistic blur around it.

As a note, this lens is not easy to operate and requires quite a bit of testing before yielding good results. It only works in manual mode, the aperture is set by inserting a small disk on top of the lens. You must select your exposure, so it is constant trial an error.

And it is pricey: $320 before taxes. Nevertheless, it truly has an amazing artistic potential.

Here are my first tests, as usual, don’t forget to click on the pictures to see them in their larger sizes.

Ma belle Lise:

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/180
Aperture : f/2.8
ISO: 400
Focal Lenght : 50mm (Lensbaby Composer)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Nik SilverEfx .

Rubis, my faithful dog:

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/250
Aperture : f/2.8
ISO: 400
Focal Lenght : 50mm (Lensbaby Composer)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Nik SilverEfx .

The picture was taken trough a screen door, this explains the lines on the left side.

Sunset from the dock of Place Datura at Ile-Perrot:

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/30
Aperture : f/2.8
ISO: 1000
Focal Lenght : 50mm (Lensbaby Composer)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Nik SilverEfx .

In that picture, we clearly see the focused area on the lower right side, this has the effect of directing the eyes toward that part of the picture.

I also bought the “plastic optic” module, the Lensbaby is a modular lens and there are a couple of different effects available. This one is pretty drastic, I will use it sparingly. Jessica is the model:

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/60
Aperture : f/2.8
ISO: 1000
Focal Length : 50mm (Lensbaby Composer with “Plastic Optic”)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Detail .

To resume, I am convince that this lens will be a good addition to my arsenal, all I need to do is to practice…

François Meehan

Apparently, something not to be missed when traveling in the vicinity of Rimouski: the visit of the old Onondaga (now retired) sub from the Canadian Navy.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/60
Aperture : f/22
ISO: 400
Focal length : 66mm (99 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Detail.

All very nice, but we would have to wait for an hour before being able to get in. Hum, nice sunshine, sorry we’ll pass…

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/60
Aperture : f/22
ISO: 400
Focal length : 24mm (36 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Detail.

François Meehan

Fall is showing up its nose and I realize now how much I miss the magnificent sunsets of Ste-Luce-sur-mer.

During these few hours of days end, I found so much peace, calm and harmony.

Especially when I took this picture. The heron on the rock was not there to prey, our to find a sole-mate.

It stood there for a long period, standing still, looking at the sea, the sky and its superb colors.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/45
Aperture : f/16
ISO: 800
Focal length : 105mm (157 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Detail.

Right after I took took this image, I sat on the sand and started to observe in the direction where the bird was looking toward.

I felt a strange peace inside, time got suspended, I savored the moment.

Ahh, Ste-Luce is so far away!

François Meehan

Did a little visit to the dock of place Datura, Ile-Perrot, yesterday, to admire another beautiful sunset and chat with the people there.

On spot, a few fishermen and among them, Frédérick Baker, who caught his first lake sturgeon.

Don’t forget to click on the pictures to see them bigger.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/60
Aperture : f/3.3
ISO: 400
Focal length : 50mm (75 en DX)
Flash SB-900 in “remote” mode.
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3.

Can’t say this is a beautiful fish, mother nature didn’t really cooperate on that one.

After the pictures were taken, Frédérik released his sturgeon, it quickly went back to the depth of Lake St-Louis.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/60
Aperture : f/3.3
ISO: 400
Focal length : 50mm (75 en DX)
Flash SB-900 in “remote” mode.
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3.

A fact remain, this is a very interesting fish, “left over” of a prehistoric era.

According to the experts on site, the beast was weighing 8 pounds, age between 10 and 15.

Quote from his friends, Frédérik is no longer a “Sturgeon virgin”.

Click me to see all the pics

François Meehan

Taken on boul. Perrot, Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot.

Sewer plant:

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/125
Aperture : f/3
ISO: 200
Focal length : 105mm (157 in DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Clean, Nik SilverEfx

François Meehan

So many nice flowers to see at the “Jardin des Métis”.

I will have to do 2 or 3 articles on the subject. The place is awesome, no chemical fertilizers or pesticides, it is all “green”.

Here is a plant that we could not find the name, did a lot of researches though… If you happen to know what it is, please let me know.

I really like to see it from above, it gives the impression it wants to break out of the screen.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/90
Aperture : f/11
ISO: 640
Focal length : 105mm (157 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Clean.
Flash SB-900 with a “warm gel” in remote mode plus the D90 built-in flash with Gary Fong’s Puffer.

Here it is in a more “normal pose”.

Nikon D90
Exposure : 1/60
Aperture : f/27
ISO: 640
Focal length : 105mm (157 en DX)
Aperture, Topaz Denoise 3 and Clean.
Flash SB-900 with a “warm gel” in remote mode plus the D90 built-in flash with Gary Fong’s Puffer.

François