Capt Mondo's Photo Blog

Bought a bunch of cut sunflowers for my wife who is returning from her extended stay up north today. It also gave me the opportunity to play around a bit with my macro lens as well.

Woke up very early this morning, and while making my usual morning tea I looked out the porch door at the back and saw a very bright “star” in the low east. I figured it must be a planet, likely Venus. I confirmed this when I went to check Stellarium on my computer. So I dug out my camera tripod and the telephoto lens and thought I’d try to see if I could catch the planet in one of its phases. The picture below was the best of the bunch I shot.

The planet Venus

Stellarium also pointed out that Jupiter and the moon were prominent in the western sky, so I set up my tripod on the front porch and took some more pictures. The pic below shows Jupiter either flanked by some of its moons, or is a form of lens aberration.

Jupiter and Moons(?)

I’ll have to try and take another set of pics of Jupiter to see whether or not I get the same effect.

I don’t have much to show really, and I can’t help but think that the next stage up in telephoto lenses would be desirable for taking better, more detailed astrophotography pics. Still much to learn!

A lily cut flower in the morning sun

Another backlit flower

A male song sparrow being true to his name

Ladybug on Queen Anne’s Lace

A Black Saddlebags dragonfly.

A male cedar waxwing. Haven’t seen one of these reclusive birds in years

Close-up of a male goldfinch

A pair of male goldfinches. Both of these had flitted away a moment later

Was invited over to Dave and Charmaine’s for dinner last night, and I made a point of going to Charmaine’s well-stocked garden to take photos before the light disappeared completely.

To make a long story short, there were honeybees having a good time sucking nectar out of the many coneflowers (also known as Echinacea) so I got out the macro lens and started patiently taking pics. Those below are culled from about +130 I shot.

On this one you can see the three mini-eyes set between the two big compound eyes on either side.

This is a deliberate attempt at achieving the bokeh effect. Not sure it completely qualifies, but I really like how it turned out. Used the macro lens and deliberately focused on the flower in the bottom of the field of view, and let the rest go diffuse. I like the vague forms of the other flowers, as well as the wisps of long spindly leaves reflecting the light of the evening sun in the background.

Some shaggy-looking daisies found in Woodbine Park. Am guessing that this is a genetic variant of the usual, non-shaggy variety.

A Common Red Soldier Beetle on Queen Anne’s Lace, also seen in Woodbine Park. I saw plenty of examples of why this type of beetle is also called the “Hogweed Bonking Beetle”. 😉

This morning the sky opened up yet again, for a fourth (or is that fifth?) straight day of rain. By the early afternoon it had let up, and before heading downtown to see a movie I wanted to watch (Sam Rockwell in Moon) I decided to go see who (if anybody) was playing at the Kew Garden gazebo.

I was in luck: Shakura S’Aida was playing with her band. I managed to get close and take a lot of nice shots of the show. Here’s a selection.

Another day of rain, which let up within an hour or so of the start of Streetfest, just like it has done for the previous two days.

Spent a couple of hours wandering around, staying to enjoy the acts rather than just dashing from act to act. Stuck around for the full sets of old favorites like Dr. Draw and David Rotundo, so I only made it as far as Queen and Lee before deciding to turn back.

Dr. Draw. Significantly larger crowds this evening, so he spent most of the time on an elevated stage so the audience could see him.

Another shot of Dr. Draw in action

Dylan Wickens of Dylan Wickens & The 9s. I had never run into this group before, and Dylan Wickens put on an impassioned performance of energetic blues-fueled rock.

Another shot of Dylan Wickens, arguably my favourite picture of the day.

A shot of the crowds gathered by Queen and Kenilworth

David Rotundo striking a pose

On my way back I caught part of a second set of this band, which was still pumping out load and fast bluesy tunes with gusto. I caved and bought their latest CD, though I usually find that they never seem to capture the verve of a live performance (will see).

There was a point when another photographer who was at the very front was kneeling down taking shots. At one point David Rotundo struck a pose with his fists in the air and then held it for about 20 seconds or so, concluding by saying “I can’t hold my hands up like this all day — hurry up and take the shot!” followed by a big grin for the audience, which got a round of laughs.

Rhythm guitarist for David Rotundo. Nasty gash on his arm.

Puente del Diablo. A crummy shot, but a solid, entertaining band playing fast, Latin-flavoured music.

Crowds watching Puente del Diablo

The guitarist for the Downtown Dixieland Band. At this point I was using full external flash with a diffuser, but it was a loosing battle against the failing light, and I pretty much gave up taking pics of bands after this.

No flash needed (or was necessary) for this shot of one of the many street vendors who selling light sticks and the like.

More rain today, but again it all let up just before Streetfest was to begin. There was even more sun today, so I made a point of running the length of the Streetfest for once. Usually with the girls in tow I don’t make it much past Lee or Wineva, but with just me and my camera I had the chance to sample of the bands playing that night stretching all the way to Beech at the western-most end of Streetfest.

Here’s a selection of pics.

David Rotundo and the Rhythm Guitarist

David Rotundo’s Bassist and Lead Guitarist

Yiannis Kapoulas

Mississauga Big Band Ensemble

Downtown Dixieland Band

Trombonist for the Downtown Dixieland Band

Lead singer of Fathead

Mae Cromwell and the crowd that gathered around her and her band. I love the expression of the little girl to the left of the shot.

Mae Cromwell close-up #1

Mae Cromwell close-up #2

Lead singer of Dubmatix

Not Affiliated Big Band

The drummer for Footwork. I like the t-shirt. 😉

One of the pan flutists from the Imbayakunas, anchoring the eastern end of Streetfest at Beech Avenue.

It had rained earlier in the day and it was still threatening when I headed out for Streetfest just a few blocks from where we live. The sun was clouded over most of the time, but occasionally it peeked out enough to take some decent shots.

Sultans of String

Blackboard Blues Band

The always-animated Dr. Draw

Dr. Draw and other band members. This year they picked up a new musician who plays electric cello. Love the expressions of the female band members (bassist, keyboardist) in the background.