Having made the decision to start a blog, the big question was, what should be the subject matter I wanted to explore and share? Being, what you would call “a generalist”, this was a tough call.
Having found my passion for photography re-ignited after joining Google+ and being keen to learn new skills in taking and post-processing photographs, photography seemed to be a good starting point.
My photography to-date has been sporadic in both quality (from bad, to hmmm, it might look good as an 8×10 print) and quantity (my camera would gather dust for months, then bam, I would piss my girlfriend off by stopping every 2 feet to shoot something (or worse, somebody who probably didn’t want their picture taken).
My photo subjects in the past have been pretty general, from taking pics of family and friends at parties, to abstract, landscape and product photos. I needed to find a specific theme.
Suddenly a light bulb moment came to me. I will set out to document in images all the interesting places in and around Montreal – should keep me busy for a while and also provide subject matter at times when I am at a loss of what to go and shoot.
Another big question – how often to post? I think for now I’m going to attempt at least 1 post per week, but if the bug bites me hard, I may try to put eye to viewfinder and finger to keyboard more often.
Off the top of my head (well, actually from checking Trip Advisor and Tourism Montreal websites), here are some of the places and events I plan covering in future posts – Suggestions welcome 😉
Places to shoot around Montreal
| Olympic Stadium | Old Port | Notre Dame Basilica |
| Place d’Armes | Place des Arts | Botanical Gardens |
| Mount Royal | Griffin Town | Ile Saint Helens |
| Square Saint Louis | The Main | Place Jacques Cartier |
| Mont Royal Cemetary | Victoria Square | St Josephs Oratory |
| Lafontaine Park | Little Italy | Atwater Market |
| Jean Talon Market | Place Ville Marie | Underground City |
| Ste Catherine Street | The Julip | Grain Sylos |
| Parc Maisonneuve | Gay Village | Lachine Canal |
| Champlaine Bridge | Jacques Cartier Bridge | China Town |
| Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel | Rue St Paul | Biosphere |
| St Louis Square | City Hall | Della Difesa |
| Palais Des Congres | Montreal World Trade Center | Habitat 67 |
| McGill University | University De Montreal | UQAM |
Events and Activities
| International Jazz Festival | Francofolies | Just For Laughs |
| Blues Festival | Igloofest | International Fireworks |
| Ice Hockey | Ice Skating | Piknic Electronic |
| Tobogganing | Surfing | Sunday Tam Tams |
I mentioned earlier that I am hoping to develop my photography skills beyond their current state, so I also plan to share my development path in learning new techniques both in shooting and post processing, namely: HDR, time-lapse, light painting (I have a long bucket list).
Until next time. Thanks for stopping by.
– Martin
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2 Comments
I love this! Love your concept and love the city 🙂 Your list is great and seems like it will keep you pretty busy — just in case you feel like adding anything how about some of Montreal’s staple restaurants? Schwartz’s, or St-Viateur bagels maybe? Not sure how photographable some of these other places are but the Redpath museum, or Biodome, or Musée des Beux Arts? And definitely go to a Habs game, whether you’re taking pictures or not!
Thank you 🙂 The restaurants like Schwart’s and Wilensky’s are definitely planned. Museums are sometimes a little anti to photographer’s – but I always try to get a few shots when I visit 😉 I hate to admit to the fact, but although I’ve been in Montreal 13 years, I’ve only been to 2 Habs games – me thinks it will be time for another visit next season !!
Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to provide more suggestions.