Toronto Aquarium

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Mary Ann's nephew Bryan, wife Sandra, and kids Lauryn, Nolan and Cameron were in Toronto for a few days this week.  Mary Ann and I met them at the Toronto Aquarium on Wednesday evening.  We had not been there yet, and it was something I was interested in photographing.

Photographing at the aquarium presents many challenges.  The Aquarium is a new attraction in Toronto, and being there during summer break for school kids, meant that the crowds were heavy, even at 8:00 at night.  In addition, the lighting was very dim and uneven, not a great combination photographically.  And I understood that tripods were not allowed.  In any event, a tripod would not have helped much with the fish moving all the time.  Using a flash was a no go, to avoid the reflections off the glass.  Speaking of glass, many of the tanks were rounded, so that meant diffraction.  And the glass was at least an inch thick.  So... that meant handholding the camera, ISO in the 3200 range, shooting wide open at slow shutter speeds.  A recipe for disaster...

Having said all that, the Aquarium did have some interesting features.  Here is a shot of Bryan's family in the Dangerous Lagoon.

The Dangerous Lagoon is a series of glass tunnels that you travel through on a moving sidewalk.  The tank is the largest on the site, and filled with lots of interesting fish including many species of sharks.

Here is another shot of a shark.

There are other large tanks with rays of all sizes.  Very graceful...  This guy caught my attention, with his big smile.

There are many other interesting exhibits.  This is a tank of alewives, shot from below through a glass bottom in the tank.

One of my favourite tropical fish has always been the lionfish.  Very poisonous, except to other lionfish.

Another interesting area of the Aquarium is the jelly fish exhibit.  Here are a few of my favourite shots.

Given the incredible challenges photographing at the Aquarium, I was happy with a few of these shots.  I would love to go back on a weekday, during the school year, and try a few more.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

I Feel The Need... The Need For Speed

What is it with guys and fast cars?

We feel the need... the need for speed!

My son Jeff and I had an opportunity to drive 3 laps in an exotic car at Cayuga motor speedway.  The three cars to choose from were a Porsche 977 Turbo, a Lanborghini Gallardo, or a Ferrari F430 F1.  When we booked the date, we chose to drive the Ferrari F430 F1.  We thought this was the only car with "paddle shifters" as opposed to a gear shift and clutch.  Jeff can't drive a stick shift, so we wanted a car with paddle shifters.  It turned out that the Lanborghini also had paddle shifters, but the Ferrari seemed faster in acceleration.

For my gear-head friends, the Ferrari F430 has a 4.3 litre V8, and 490 horsepower, and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 4.4 seconds.  It was made from 2004 to 2009, and retailed for about $200,000.

We arrived early enough to check out the cars.  Here is our Ferrari.

The engine compartment is directly behind the drivers seat, but honestly, I don't recall the engine being loud while driving.

Jeff was pretty excited, maybe a little terrified...

After checking in and a brief orientation session, we were ready to go.  We drove with an instructor in the car with us.  Our instructor was Brian Stewart, a former Indy driver and champion.  Brian's philosophy was simple, you're either full on the throttle or full on the brakes, nothing in between.  After getting in the car, and looking to adjust the mirrors (as they taught us in the orientation session), Brian said don't bother, you won't look a the mirrors once.  And he was right, I don't recall looking at a mirror once.

Jeff went first, so I could get the camera set up and tested.

Jeff was showing fine form, and eventually caught up with the slower Porsche.

Brian instructed Jeff to pass the Porsche, which he did easily.  Brian later was told that passing was not allowed for safety reasons.  Oh well... it's easier to beg forgiveness, than to ask permission.  Take a look how pumped Jeff was when he was finished.

My turn... showing fine form on the take off.  Brian's only instructions were - get on the throttle as hard as you can, shift at 5,000 revs, and don't brake until I tell you.

The straight away seemed like the length of your driveway, but by the time we got there the Ferrari was in 5th gear, and time to hit the brakes, and down shift to 2nd gear.  The next turns were a chicane, and very fun to accelerate through.  Boy could this car handle.

After rounding the last turn and heading for the straight away, the instructions from Brian had changed - get on the throttle hard, and shift at 7,000 revs.

By the time we reached the braking point, the car was in 5th gear, but we were travelling about 190 km an hour.

The third lap was much of the same - either full on the throttle or full on the brakes.

I still don't know what it is about guys and fast cars, but I'm not complaining either...  After seeing all three cars in action, I'm glad we picked the Ferrari.  We would both love to go back and drive it again.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

One of the highlights of the trip to Edinburgh was the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.   The Tattoo is performed outside of the Edinburgh Castle, which provides a dramatic backdrop for the performance. This year was the 65th anniversary of the Tattoo.  Performances have been sold out for the last 15 years, so our tickets were ordered when they went on sale last December.

The term "Tattoo" refers to a long standing tradition where a piper would walk through town playing the pipes at the end of the evening, which would call the soldiers back to barracks.  In Dutch, the phrase "Doe den tap toe" meant "Turn off the taps" to the innkeepers.

The performers are by invitation only, and made up of bands playing pipes, drums, fiddles, as well as dancers.  Twenty eight troupes were included, comprising of over 1,100 musicians and performers from around the world.  Canada was represented by the Paris Port Dover Pipe Band.

The Pipe Major led the procession into the Esplanade.

One of the highlights was a fly by from the Royal Air Force.

The choreography was spectacular, and frequently included multiple bands and dance troupes performing together.

Te Matatini Maori Dancers from New Zealand were especially entertaining.

One of the more enjoyable performances was by the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Band, the only military marching band in the world playing steel drums.

The musical programme also included vocals provided by the Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools Choir, singing from the Castle entrance.

Much of the programme included the entire complement of musicians and dancers.

The finale was very touching.  It involved a single piper playing from the castle ramparts.  Traditionally, the lone piper signalled the day's end to the troops, and also bid farewell to the fallen soldiers.

The finale included all of the musicians and dancers playing a medley of tunes, including "Scotland the Brave".

That wraps up the blog updates from the trip.  I now face the task of reviewing the 4,500 images for further editing.  Ron and I have already talked about putting together a joint book of images.  I think two books are needed, one for the artistic side, and one for the fun side.  Mary Ann and Ricki were busy taking shots with their iPhones, so the book will be drawn from all four of us.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Around Edinburgh

Edinburgh was the final destination of our 12 day trip to Scotland.  We arrived Friday evening and have had two solid days of sightseeing.  Edinburgh has retained much of the old architecture compared to Glasgow, which I love to photograph.

The George Hotel is within walking distance of the Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile.  Our first stop on Saturday morning was Edinburgh Castle. By the time we arrived in the Castle, it was already crawling with tourists.  Not great for photography, but here is one from the Great Hall.

On our way out of the castle, Ricki and Mary Ann couldn't resist...

The Royal Mile was a terrific walk for shopping, photographing architecture and people.  Most of the architecture dates back to the 18th century, and was interesting to photograph.  Here is a shot of the clock tower on the Royal Mile.

While in Edinburgh we had tickets for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which deserves a post all of its own, so stay tuned.  As part of the festivities, there were parades through the city by pipers or drummers.  I caught this shot of the drummers parade from the street above.  I loved the sun shining through the alley onto the street.

The Royal Mile has many small streets and alleyway which provided photo opportunities.

St. Giles Cathedral is also on the Royal Mile, not far from the Castle.  The church organ was particularly interesting.

In addition to everything else going on, Edinburgh was also hosting the Fringe Festival.  While we were visiting St. Giles Cathedral, there were two performers playing the violin and singing in the Cathedral, very interesting indeed...

Holyrood Palace is at the end of the Royal Mile.  Ricki and Mary Ann wanted to tour the Palace, while Ron and I photographed the new Scottish Parliament buildings across the street.  The architecture of the Parliament buildings was very photographic, here is a shot of the debating chamber.

Mary Ann and Ricki were off to see the Royal Yacht Britannia Sunday morning, so Ron and I took the opportunity to photograph the Forth Rail Bridge, an iconic symbol around Edinburgh.

Sadly, we are headed to the airport first thing tomorrow morning.  I have saved an amazing part of our stay in Edinburgh for last.  Saturday evening we attended the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which was incredible.  I have not had a chance to work through those photos yet.  I'm saving those for the plane trip back to Toronto.  Stay tuned for the next post...

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

A trip to Mecca

What trip to Scotland would be complete without a trip to Mecca.  St. Andrews is the centre of the Universe for all golfers, so we had to work that in to our trip.  St. Andrews is less than 2 hours from Edinburgh, so it was a perfect spot to lay over for the night.

We stayed at the Fairmont St. Andrews, a first class resort, highly recommended.

We arrived just in time for a dinner at the resort.

The net morning Ron and I had a tee time booked at Balcomie Links, a 15 minute drive south along the coast.  Balcomie Links is the 7th oldest course in the world.  It was founded in 1786, and the current layout was updated by Old Tom Morris in 1895.  Old Tom Morris also updated the Old Course at St. Andrews a few years earlier.  The 14th hole is a particularly difficult par 3.

Unfortunately for me, the green slopes from the front to the back, so my shot funnelled back into a pot bunker behind the green.  I'm too embarrassed to tell how many strokes it took to get out...

Here is a shot of Ron's fine form off the tee at the par 4 15th.

And here is my bunker shot at the par 4 17th.  No trouble getting out of this one, after the many practice strokes on the 14th!

After our round, we met Mary Ann and Ricki in St. Andrews for lunch at the Old Course.  After lunch we walked out to the Swilkin Bridge for photos.  It is a tradition there, that the players will wait until the photos are finished before playing through.  A wedding party was waiting their turn after our group stopped for photos.  Here is one of Ron on the bridge.  I'm sure he has one of me.

Along the way, we had to stop for those iconic photos...

And finally, the 18th green and the clubhouse behind.

After lunch and the photos we were off to Edinburgh for the final leg of the trip. :(

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark

Headed toward Edinburgh

Heading back to Edinburgh covers quite a bit of distance, so we spent one night in Dingwall, near Inverness.  We stayed in Tulloch Castle, a medieval castle and the home of the Davidson clan.

The castle has been converted into a hotel, but retains much of the ambiance of the medieval castle it once was.

Here is a shot of Mary Ann and Ricki standing on the grand staircase. 

The castle is said to be haunted, by a few ghosts.  Here is a portrait of the Davidson family.

Elizabeth Davidson is the pretty girl on the left of the portrait.  She caught her father and the maid in a compromising position, and while running away, tripped and fell to her death.  It is said that she haunts the castle, and is particularly mean to the men.  Note that the painting has been altered to erase the portrait of her father.

In terms of paranormal activity, hotel room 15 is one of the most active.  As luck would have it, this room was assigned to Ron and Ricki.

Graham, the night manager, gave us a tour of the castle and explained much of the folklore about the ghosts in the castle.

Ron and I each had an unusual experience that night.  When Ron sat down to download his pictures for the day, the QXD card in his camera was already ejected from its slot.  When I downloaded my shots for the day, I could not explain this one.  My camera is set to fire only when a subject is in focus...

Apparently Elizabeth likes electronic equipment.

Graham also brought out the Davidson family sword which had been handed down from generation to generation.  It was larger and heavier than expected.  Kudos to the knights who could swing the sword while on horseback.

After a night in Tulloch Castle, we were off to St. Andrews.  Stay tuned for those highlights, up next...

If you are reading this blog for the first time, don't forget to review the archives at the right side for earlier entries. And feel free to add a comment, as well as share this blog with your friends. If you have not already done so, please enter your email address in the "Follow my Blog by Email" box on the right hand side. It will be much easier for me to stay in touch with you. If you don't see a signup box on the right side, then click on the blog heading and that should take you to a webpage with better graphics. You should then see the signup box on the right side.  If you have trouble signing up, send me an email at mark.girard@rogers.com.

Thanks for reading...

Mark