Arriving in Montreal

Digital original

An unexpected e-mail in early February from a friend in Montreal, with an interesting an generous offer of a French immersion offer for the youngest member of the family, led to a flurry of planning, some quick budget adjustments, and finally, the confirmation of a road trip to Montreal for most of a week in early March. I'd been contemplating a Montreal visit for some time, hoping to have the opportunity to show my work to galleries in the city and work with some of the models I've photographed in the past who live in the city. Combined with the family-orientated reason for the trip, this gave more than enough motivation for making the trip happen, and on a rather snowy day in early March, Joy and I set off from Moncton for the long drive to Montreal.

Digital original

The first full day of our stay in Montreal was spent downtown, making a visit to a gallery (which sadly was postponed until Saturday) and doing some street photography. While I was in the gallery, Joy had roamed down St. Catherine's Street photographing, so when I came out, I met up with her, and did the same, initially focusing on broad streetscapes with a wide angle lens. It was only when we came across a large university building with classical columns that I shifted from large images to details, moving out of the bitter wind (did I mention how COLD Montreal was? Bone-chilling!) and making a series of images of the columns. This trip was my first chance to work with the ultra-wide angle Nikon 12-24mm lens, and I was very pleased with its performance, both in terms of the angle of view, and the sharpness, which was very important with a subject as detailed and rich as these pillars.

Digital original