A few quick photo shoots in Halifax and surrounds – Nova Scotia, Canada.

I recently undertook an express visit with my wife to visit friends who were staying in Halifax for a period. I only managed to get out and photograph on a few occasions but was enamored of the area. Magnificent vistas, abundant maritime history, so ripe with scenery and scenes; I would have thoroughly enjoyed more time exploring and photographing. Nevertheless, here is a sampling of images from the very few times I was able to go walkabout. I hope you enjoy!

This is the first image I captured  – I love the posture, gait, and apparent enthusiasm of the youngster; the dog’s tail; and the fact that the father had a bright red sweater on (excellent for ‘pop’ of people out in nature).

Halifax 2AM-000802
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f4.5 for 1/800 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

A chicane of sorts …

Halifax 2AM-000834
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f5.6 for 1/2000 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Although we witnessed some glorious fall color, it was the same old situation of “you should have seen it last week!”
the next two images include a birch tree – the bark and patterning thereof fascinated me.

Halifax 2AM-000851
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f8 for 1/800 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Halifax 2AM-000860
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f8 for 1/400 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Definitely much color still available around the area, even if the leaves had fallen.

Halifax 2AM-000887
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f4.5 for 1/1600 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Early in our visit our hosts took me out for a brief but wonderful excursion to Herring Cove. Although very overcast and gloomy, the light was lovely for scenes that didn’t include much, if any, sky. After this mini-hike it was time for lunch so we stopped in at “Now We’re Cookin’!” where I had the superb gastronomic pleasure of a dozen perfectly fried and ultra-delicious “Digby Clams.”

Here are a series of images from the Herring Cove Provincial Park Reserve from that visit:

I call this image “The Admiral” – hopefully you can deduce why  I captured one of our hosts overlooking a temporarily tranquil Atlantic Ocean – it was a fleeting opportunity to get the shot, so I did not have time to adjust the camera settings, hence the very slow shutter speed for a hand held shot. Thankfully I managed to be stable enough for a sharp image.

“The Admiral” – Herring Cove 2AM-000977
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/13 second at ISO 400.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Early into the gorgeous walk I found this scene and liked the various elements so much – hence this image to capture it

Herring Cove 2AM-000976
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/13 second at ISO 400.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Loved these rosehip berries!

Herring Cove 2AM-000982
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f4 for 1/100 second at ISO 400.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Herring Cove 2AM-001009
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/15 second at ISO 1000.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Same general scene, different interpretation. My photographic mentor drummed into me to shoot and shoot and shoot a scene from numerous angles/interpretations, with a strict caveat that each composition/interpretation must be appealing to me, not just shooting a bunch and ‘hoping’ one of them will be ‘good’.

Herring Cove 2AM-001011
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/15 second at ISO 1000.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

A portion of the walking trail.

Herring Cove 2AM-001027
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/20 second at ISO 1000.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

More of the meandering walking trail and a very typical scene of this splendid coast.

Herring Cove 2AM-001025
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/30 second at ISO 1000.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

’twas a very blustery gloomy day and the smart one here (that would be me  ) decides to take a multi-hour exploratory walk around the Halifax waterfront to take in some of the history of this place. When I say it was blustery, it was really blowing! There is a bit of a tale from my home country that goes something like this: “Tie a brick onto a long piece of line and hang it so that it is free to swing. If the brick/string is vertical, there isn’t enough wind to go sailing; If the brick/string are horizontal, then perhaps there is a little too much wind for a sail; Anywhere in between = just right for a sail.” Well, the brick would have been darn near horizontal whilst I wandered around that particular day
This block and blue line appealed to me as they hung and swung, suspended above the dark cold water. Hope you enjoy it too.

“Block and Blue” – Halifax 2AM-000914
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f8 for 1/160 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

I find the marine flora and fauna of cold water habitats fascinating, and Nova Scotia in early winter did not disappoint me.This image, and the mussel image following it, were taken on a bucking and rolling floating dock that was doing its non-level best to ensure that either I fell in the cold cold water, or dropped the camera into said water, or fail to get a sharp image of the subjects that were interesting me. I am very thankful that the 5D Mark III handles high ISO noise so bloody well!

Halifax 2AM-000931
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f8 for 1/40 second at ISO 3200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Halifax 2AM-000937
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f8 for 1/30 second at ISO 5000.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Some scenes need capturing, despite the quality (or lack thereof) of available light; I thought this public art installation the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk to be such a scene. This public art installation is a collaboration between Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg. One of the lampposts (at rear in this image) is peeing in the ocean. The other two are on their way home after drinking too much – the closest has stumbled and fallen, the other is bending over to check if all is okay with the fallen one.

“Drunken Street Lights” – Halifax 2AM-000946
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f8 for 1/30 second at ISO 5000.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Boardwalk boards (and nails)

Halifax 2AM-000958
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f4 for 1/100 second at ISO 500.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Whilst she isn’t particularly old, this yacht is reminiscent of a time apparently long gone, when vessels actually had lovely lines! Plus, what’s not to like about bowsprits, jib-booms, bowlines, and vertically seamed sails with stitched lines along the leech?

Halifax 2AM-000968
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f16 for 1/125 second at ISO 500.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

A new day, and, well, there were some trees still shedding their colorful leaves, and a stunningly sky, so why not?

Halifax 2AM-001342
Canon 7D with Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. f8 for 1/3200 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Halifax 2AM-001400
Canon 7D with Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. f8 for 1/2500 second at ISO 800.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Dusk was rapidly descending on a bloody chilly day when I happened upon this lovely little yawl at rest on its mooring in a secluded and tranquil inlet.

Halifax 2AM-001083
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/10 second at ISO 200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Sometimes “hard to figure out at first” is intriguing – to me at least

Halifax 2AM-001084
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/10 second at ISO 200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

A revisit to Herring Cove because the light was “cleaner.”

Herring Cove 2AM-001036
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/15 second at ISO 200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

A little ‘overflow’ creek from Powers Pond to the Atlantic Ocean (via Herring Cove).

Herring Cove 2AM-001043
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/10 second at ISO 200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

To me these next two images typify coastal fishing hamlets.

Herring Cove 2AM-001038
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/20 second at ISO 200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

To my eye, when strolling around town, this image was very appealing. Initial concerns about it being “too busy” rapidly dissipated – likely due to the location of the colored elements, the reflections, and the leading line of the dock. Perhaps I am mistaken?

Herring Cove 2AM-001108
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f16 for 1/250 second at ISO 200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Speaking of reflections… here are two more from the walking trail at Herring Cove Provincial Park Reserve.

Herring Cove 2AM-001115
Canon 7D with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. f16 for 1/60 second at ISO 200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

A stunning blue sky, granite, and grass.

Herring Cove 2AM-001062
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/25 second at ISO 200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

My final image from Herring Cove showing one side of the entrance to Herring Cove; the great blue yonder is the fabled ornery Atlantic.

Herring Cove 2AM-001066
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/30 second at ISO 200.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

On the coldest day of the winter thus far (it having snowed the first snow of the season the previous night), we ventured on a quick trip down to Peggy’s Cove – a gorgeous sunset, some ice in the rocky depressions of the granite headland, and it was blowing stink, and we were right on the edge of the Atlantic. Not blowing quite strong enough for there to be whitecaps in the toilet, but darn near!
The following images were all captured within roughly one hour, and again, I present 4 images with the lighthouse in it, each sufficiently appealing to me.

There were some strange light behavior happenings last evening during dusk at Peggy’s Cove – one with my lens glare (this image), the other some neat atmospherics (the next image).

Peggy’s Cove 2AM-001471
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f16 for 1/200 second at ISO 500.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

The three of us who were there together all were mesmerized by the vertical shaft of light – normally I expect to see crepuscular rays, but this instance had only the vertical element. As it was developing I was scampering around trying to find any element for foreground interest. “Beam me up” or  perhaps a “batman-like beam.”

Peggy’s Cove 2AM-001488
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1.6 seconds at ISO 100.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Peggy’s Cove 2AM-001474
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/25 second at ISO 400.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Peggy’s Cove 2AM-001485
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f22 for 1/8 second at ISO 400.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.

And to wrap up this visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia – Canada, here is a light-painting of the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove – the primary purpose of the quick evening trip to Peggy’s Cove. I hope you enjoy this light-painting image – is was certainly the most difficult to make: my wife and our host said I looked a bit like a mountain goat running around over the rocks and boulders in the dark whilst painting the scene with my trusty Q-beam II Million power flashlight.

A light-painting – Peggy’s Cove 2AM-001515
Canon 5D Mark III with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens. f5.6 for 30 seconds at ISO 400.
© Andrew McInnes/2AM Photography. All Rights Reserved.