A lounge leopard
… not a real leopard but this one behind the behind the bar at the Calcutta Cricket Club on 17th Avenue in Calgary is stunning. I hope to see one in the wild – perhaps with my friends in India – sooner than later.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
A view from under the flyover
On my path towards the water for sunrise a couple of weeks ago, I passed under the 4th Avenue Flyover Bridge. Curtis Van Charles Sorensen’s mural of the leaping foxes is a street art favorite of mine. I liked how the curve of the bridge allowed me to connect it to the Calgary Tower.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
A night in the old port of Montréal
Following the enjoyment of watching the fiery, hazy spell cast by la Joute fountain in front of the Palais des congrès, I continued on to the old port. This area is the historical heart of Montréal and one I had not spent time exploring before. Restaurants and cafes were winding down for the night as I walked past and people were making their way home. That left the cobblestone streets, lined with some of the oldest buildings in Canada, to me and the occasional group of merrymakers and travelers. I played with some long exposures, stepping into a few of those frames, and some motion blurs (images of the Ferris wheel on the waterfront from that night can be seen here). I ended up getting pretty tired towards the early morning so that impacted the photographing a bit but I’m glad I had time to have a look around. I’m excited to get back there again in a couple of weeks. Hopefully with more time and during daylight too!
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
La Joute – a fountain of water, fog and fire
Recently I was in Montréal and my first destination was the Palais des congrès. A stroll down Avenue Viger led me to this convention centre and the beautiful façade of colorful glass windows that drew me there. I crossed the street to frame the windows behind the fountain in the park there. La Joute is the name of the sculpture fountain and it breathes fire! I didn’t know that when I arrived though. Standing at the edge of the fountain’s pool, I overheard a boy ask his brother when the fire would start so I decided to wait and see what would come next.
A few minutes later, a thick haze started to roll over the water and soon covered the pool and rose up towards the bronze sculptures of animal and human figures. The presentation was impressive and had a gentle flow as it moved from water into fog.
A few people had gathered and were enthralled, as I was, when the first flickers of flame began to appear around the central statue. These flames connected into a complete ring of fire and rose a foot or two off of the water.
The backdrop of the Palais made for a lovely atmosphere and a great scene to photograph throughout the sequence.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Night into day at the Peace Bridge
Calgary’s Peace Bridge has become one of the city’s landmarks and is an important pedestrian connector into the downtown core. Last weekend I went to Eau Claire a couple of hours before sunrise, walked over to the bridge and then photographed from dark night to bright morning. The lines of the structure are beautiful and I really enjoyed working with them, as well as the color and lighting, while I was photographing.
The construction crane south of the bridge was working and it played a nice supporting role as an interesting element in a couple of the images as well.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Flashback Friday – today I’m reminded of winter’s chill
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Fernsehturm de Berlín in der Nacht
The Berlin TV Tower rises up from Alexanderplatz in the heart of Berlin and is arguably the most prominent landmark in the city. To get an elevated view, I went to the Park Inn’s panorama terrace which is on the 40th floor and faces the tower. The netting wasn’t great for photographs but I enjoyed the challenge of trying to work with it.
The views of Berlin from that height were fantastic. I got there before the sun had set so it was nice to be able to see many of the cathedrals, museums and other sites I had spent the week visiting. The image below is looking to the west and the orderly yet somehow still chaotic mosaic of the city.
Just before midnight I went to the top of the tower itself. The windows at night had reflections to wrestle along with a bit of distortion in the glass so the photographs from Berlin’s highest perch were quite limited. Still great to take in the whole city wearing her night lights. The night market in the centre of Alexanderplatz under the tower nearly empty but provided some colorful lights to frame against the railing shadows I leaned against.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Crowchild in motion
Canon 5DIII with a 24mm f/1.4 lens: 13 seconds on f/11 at ISO 100
Vehicle lights trace lines along Crowchild Trail on a winter’s night in Calgary.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Calgary commutes: driving out of downtown
Fuji X100s + 23mm lens: 1 second at f/11 on ISO 200
The Plus 15 walkways which are ~5 metres above Calgary’s street level connect the majority of buildings downtown. This allows people to avoid going outside during cold winter days and provides a great vantage point for watching the bright, orderly retreat of workers from their offices to their homes.
Fuji X100s + 23mm lens: 1/4 of a second at f/5.6 on ISO 3200
I played around with longer exposures (wishing I had a way to counter the slight bounce in the skybridge due to my fellow Plus 15 pedestrians) and had a moment to appreciate a benefit of the early sunsets that come with the winter months and daylight savings time.
Fuji X100s + 23mm lens: 4 seconds at f/11 on ISO 200
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Calgary’s cityscape at dawn
The sky to the east was beautiful this morning. I had a chance to photograph from a good elevation which let me see the horizon towards the east and the downtown cityscape in the other direction. I loved the explosion of color in the clouds preceding the sunrise and those added nice reflections in some of the glass facades of Calgary’s prominent buildings.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Calgary Cityscapes: Downward Spiral
I enjoy finding patterns in the environment whether that is downtown or out in the wilds. I had noticed the spiraling exit ramp at the parkade under the Calgary Tower a few times and finally took a couple of minutes to frame a picture of what I was seeing.
Sharing this post is welcomed - but please do not use individual images without permission from Christopher Martin in advance.
Calgary Cityscapes: Street Scenes Downtown
I’m often downtown in the morning before dawn and occasionally in the evening after the sun sets. I’m always intrigued with the mingling of buildings, vehicles, street lights and deep blue sky as graphic elements during these walks to and from work. Occasionally, I notice when they align and present me with an interesting scene. Here are a few of the photographs I have made from these moments.
Christopher Martin Photography 