You know you’re in Toronto when....

The ubiquitous feature of the Toronto skyline is the CN tower, and the one people always try to get in photos. Without seeing “Toronto” in this sign, you know that this circus is in Toronto, even if ‘international’ was purposely thrown in there for a little extra confusion.   The other shot from Queens Quay also shows how the CN tower still dominates two very tall condo buildings.

I took these shots with the NEX and the Voigtlander 25mm f4.  In truth I am starting to find this lens annoying on the NEX – 0.7m minimum focus distance is too far away and at around 38mm equivalent it is also not wide enough.  Also for Leica film cameras, the lack of a rangefinder helicoids coupling in annoying.  Today I just purchased a Voigtlander 21mm f4 M mount with a viewfinder so I am anxious to try it out!

Back yard opportunity

One thing I have noticed is that there’s a good photo opportunity in almost everyone’s garden.  A few weeks ago we went to my brother in law’s place for a family BBQ and I took along the NEX and the 35mm f1.4 Voigtlander.  As per usual, I got bored quickly, so I snapped a few shots of the garden.  I particularly like this one.

House Selling

Last year my brother in Law was selling his house; and after being on the market for a while, no realistic offer had been given.  So he decided to spice things up by putting some of my pictures up around the house.  I gave him a CD of a whole collection of photos, and he chose the below shots from the Edward Gardens and had them framed.

Initially I was not sure they would have been my first picks, but when I saw them, I was amazed how well they worked; and they looked great in the frames.  The house sold only a few days later.  Not sure whether it was the exact reason, but if it helped, that makes me happy.

No camera, no pics

It pays to always take your camera with you.  So many times I haven’t and just wished I had.  Last year I took my camera with me on a business trip to Ottawa; borrowed a bike from the hotel I was staying at and went for a ride.   From the Minto hotel I rode over the Portage bridge to Victoria Island which is in the middle of the Ottawa river and took this great shot of these Black Eyed Susans.  No camera, no pics; so I am glad I brought it.

New Deck chairs, old camera

This shot was taken on my Leica IIc on a camp in Muskoka.  I love the way it turned out, but I really wish I got rid of that stick first.  The white deck chairs contrast really well with the rest of the scene.

It was kind of funny, I went away on a camp with about 20 other men.  Everyone else brought their point and shoot digital cameras, and a few had D-SLRs.  I had a 1948 Leica.  That certainly raised a few eyebrows, and that made me smile!

The D1X problem

About 2 years ago I purchased a D1X camera set for, which at the time, I thought was a great deal.  Unfortunately after I bought it, I started finding problems.  The biggest one was a huge crack in the plastic body work around the pentaprism which I had inexplicably missed on inspection.   The great deal wasn’t so great.   So I decided to use it for a bit before selling it.

Compared to the D2X I had at the time, and even my previous similar vintage D100, the D1X is very clunky to use.  Sure it is built like the proverbial tank, but it handles poorly.  Buttons are located in strange places, reviewing files is tricky and generally doesn’t feel user friendly.  However, it was still capable of very good photos, just that it was no fun getting there.

These photos are of flowers in our backyard and were taken with the Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro fitted