Model Shoot Today at Gatineau Park, QC

Today is the last day of the long Civic weekend. Since I take every Friday off, this is an extra long weekend for me. We hosted a party on Saturday and went out for Sound & Light show on Sunday and now it is the last day. That reminds me a line from a movie called "Kate & Leopold", played by Meg Ryan. She said "Sunday is polluted". It was absolutely right...

Cloudy today, warm and humid, not good for most of the outdoor activities, we decided to take a walk in Gatineau Park, QC, one of our favorite places in Ottawa valley. And cloudy is good for portrait, I packed the 70-200 VR with me.I didn't bother bringing my silver reflector as no one would hold it for me.

Bo didn't want to climb, so we went to Mackenzie King Estate. There were several young couples in the estate, like us, taking our time and strolling around the tea/coffee house, garden and ruins, quite relaxing... We stopped at the ruins, it was a great place for portrait because of its architectural details. Many photographers choose this place for wedding shoot out as well. Again, Bo was the model, the only model available to me and the only one that I can afford (or do I ? :-)

I have used the very same model many times before, such as the following occasions.

Or even as the foreground for my landscape photos... Note: Bo might still think she was the subject :-)

Thanks for reading. The end.

Mosaika, Ottawa's Sound & Light Show

There is a tradition on Ottawa's Parliament Hill every year from June to October. It's called Sound and Light show. The first time I watched the show was about 4-5 years ago when Bo and I accompanied our parents visiting Ottawa. 2 days ago, I overheard they redid the show and it was brand new content, called Mosaika. "Mosaika is the story of Canada – our story. A powerful narrative set against the spectacular backdrop of Parliament Hill, Mosaika takes the audience on an unforgettable journey of sound and light, as we explore Canada’s physical, historical and cultural landscapes." Why not, enjoying a cool evening with a free show!

I don't have much gear like pros do, but I have 4 essential lenses that can cover most of the situation, 16-35(landscape), 24-70(party), 70-200(landscape, portrait and street) and 85(portrait). I picked 16-35 and 70-200 for the event knowing I would be sitting relatively close to the center block building and there would be chances for street shots. I also brought the Manfrotto 190CX3 tripod for long exposures.
 

1. People came early to enjoying downtown Ottawa, especially the entertainment on Spark street, filled with music and performance.

A young couple were checking out the sunset shots they just did.
 

The Tin Man version of Elvis Presley.

2. People are gathering together for the show to start at 9:30pm.

3. It turned out it was a spectacular show/program. I enjoyed quite much and it was fun for most people (not little kids though).

The end of the show.

Thanks for reading.  For more pictures, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/haofeng/.

The End.