Mercury transit of the Sun

So I got to shoot the Mercury transit event on Parliament Hill.   A few MP's showed up along with  Canada Astronaut/Politician Marc Garneau.  I don't usually photograph people, let alone Liberal members of Parliament but photography has no sides in politics.  I spent about an hour and a half on Parliament hill spending the time photographing the event and the people.  The event was put on by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (Ottawa chapter) and the federal government.  About 28 telescopes and 32 volunteers showed up for the event.

Several media outlets like the CBC, CTV News along with one or two radio stations showed up to document the event along with several photographers such as myself.  The good thing about lugging around a Canon EOS 6D and a Canon EF 70-200MM L series lens makes you look really professional.  I could get up really close to the speakers and get an unobstructed view to photograph the speakers.

After getting home from work, I uploaded all photography into Lightroom CC and finished editing fairly quickly.  I've uploaded a few of the best shots to Shutterstock, Bigstockphoto, 500px,  123RF and my website.

Hoping to have most, if not all shots accepted on the various websites.  Check back soon!

Surfing the waves to catching the night sky

I spent the whole day yesterday (4/23/2016) doing photography.  Woke up really early Saturday morning at 4:30am and didn't get to bed till past midnight after shooting the stars.  We started early at 8:30am to go see some kayakers surfing the waves at Bates Island in Ottawa.  Considering the amount of water rushing on the Ottawa river this spring, I'd say all had a good time.  It was a very chilly morning with just above zero degrees celsius feeling like a negative five celsius.  It actually felt colder with the wind.

This is how I ended my day under the starts till the full moon came out at about 10:30ish.  It was time to pack up and head home.  Got home just past midnight and it was really hard to wake up this morning.  But I'm glad I spent the whole day doing what I love and spending  time with good friends who enjoy the same things as I do.

Yes today is kind of a short blog but it's nice and sunny outside again.  So off for other adventures with the Canon EOS 6D's and the Canon L series lenses.  Have a great day everyone.  :)

The 70-200MM

I honestly love shooting with the Canon EOS 6D and the Canon EF f.28 70-200MM L IS series lens.  Since I got the Canon 70-200, my acceptance rate on Shutterstock, Fotolia and Bigstockphoto have increased exponentially.  I also think I was holding the lens all wrong and the focus was way off causing my images to be soft and completely not sharp.  But now that I hold the lens a bit differently, I'm able to focus much better and let the lens do its magic.  The Canon EF f.28 70-200MM L series lens is amazingly sharp.

I'm also glad I bought the lens when I did back in October of 2015 as the price has increased by about $700 because of the falling Canadian dollar.  The falling Canadian dollar is good for one thing for myself as Shutterstock, Fotolia, Bigstockphoto and istockphoto all pay in U.S. dollars.  This means now I get about 30% more in my payouts which is nice since I derive 100% of my photography income from micro stock agencies based in either the U.S or the U.K.

I was thinking today while at work how to increase my passive income from photography.  I have my own website of course.  I sell my photography on 500px and Redbubble.  I am not on Etsy yet since I've heard conflicting things about that site.  I have one book available on iTunes.  I have to create probably another 2-3 books and put them up on iTunes and lulu.com.  Mind you, I'm horrible at marketing myself and my photography.  I'm also a perfectionist when it comes to my photography.  It just has to be perfect for me to put it up on a site now.  So it takes a while for me to do anything.

Anyways, back to the Canon EF f2.8 70-200MM L IS series lens.  Just simply an amazing lens as far as sharpness and colour accuracy.  I previously had the Sigma f2.8 70-200MM non-OS lens which means no which was a great lens.  Just not as good as the Canon version.

What originally made me get the Sigma version of the f2.8 70-200 was the great grey owl blow out back in 2012.  At the time, it was the only 70-200 I could afford.  At the time I think the Sigma was selling for about $1000 and the Canon was about $2200 or so (rounding off in dollars).  So the Canon was out of my league.  Now due to circumstances in my life I could afford the Canon lens.  I also now have a few Canon EOS 6D bodies to put my L series lenses onto.  Yes.  I'm addicted to photography and a total Canon camera fan boy.  I wish I was getting Canon to sponsor me but that is not the case.  But, I am hoping to work with Canon soon.  I'm a Canon brand kinda photographer as I shoot video on a Canon Vixia HF R62 camcorder.

If you are interested in some of my photography and videography you can check the following links:

Shutterstock

Fotolia

Bigstock

Pond5

iStock

I also upload to alamy.com and videoblocks.com but my portfolios are small compared to the others.

Feel free to shop or contact me here via email.