Shooting from the inside out, Montreal's 2014 Otakuthon

Shooting events is always fun but I always prefer to blend in instead of sticking out like a sore thumb with a bunch of photo gear. Otakuthon is a convention of cosplayers mostly interested in Japanese Anime but all are welcomed and the quality of the cosplaying is absolutely outstanding. Having been around sci fi conventions since the late 80's, it wasn't a stretch for me to get into costume and character to go around and shoot this great event. being one of the participants helps a lot.

It was a fantastic opportunity to get acquainted with cosplayers. Cosplaying is a modern art form that requires its adepts to be good at sewing, prop making and acting to complete their character. I'll be back next year for sure. Apart from the photography, I had a great time with a bunch of great people.

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for watching.

Gerry  :)

Shooting from the inside out, Montreal's 2014 Zombie Walk

Excellent picture of me at the 2014 Montreal Zombie walk by the very talented Josée Massicotte.

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy mastering the basics of photography. I'm pretty good on the technical side of things and I've been busy at the more philosophical side of photography. I've also been studying older processes but that's for another post.

I've been wanting to do the Montreal Zombie Walk for a while but this year was the first time I had a chance to attend. The fact that this event is high in colour, the low number of Police personnel and the total absence of the riot squad guaranteed a high number of pro and amateur photographers to cover the event. I had to find another angle to get different shots than everybody else.

This is the reaction when being photographed by a zombie!

So I decided to join the walk as a Zombie myself. Not just slapping some make up on my face and walk around with my gear. I went all out with a full outfit, actually walked and growled like a bonafide living dead. I had a working film point and shoot around my neck and carried my Sony a230 in my hand during the walk. The DSLR was pulled up for a shot at the last minute while growling to people on the sidelines.

Being inside the parade makes for some great shots as well. Especially when you are one of the zombies! People react differently, or lack any reaction, when you are one of them. People rarely pose the same compared when confronted by a gear laden photographer(My observation anyway). As a practitioner of candid street photography, this is gold for me.

Hope you enjoyed as much as I have.

Until next time, grrrooooaaaarrrr!

Gerry :)

Montreal's St-Patrick Basilica

One of the best hidden treasures of Montreal, the St-Patrick Basilica sits on René-Lévesque boulevard in what is now the business district. Back when it was built in 1843, it overlooked the homes of its Irish parishioners in Griffin town. Now hidden between towering skyscrapers, it is a treasure waiting to be explored and admired.

Keep in mind that it is still an active place of worship. Do not walk in there and blab away as if you were at Marineland, show respect and keep it down. It is also important to know that you cannot take photographs while services are being performed. Go outside and shoot the building and its surroundings while you wait.

The Basilica was used in the movie "The Punisher" that came out in 2008.

The facade of the church.

There are 150 saints depicted throughout the church.

My favourite depiction of Joan of Arc to this day.

Each of the church's bench has a hand sculpted decoration at the corner.

Detail of the bench hand made sculpture.

The organ was built in 1895 by Casavant.

 I hope you enjoyed this little visit and that you get the chance to go explore it for yourself.

Gerry  :)

Sandra McNeil's 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO

For many of us, the 250 GTO is the Holy Grail of Ferraris. If Marylin Monroe was a car, this would be it. Only 39 were ever built and 33 are still confirmed to exist. This is one of 17 built as a right hand drive car. One recently sold for $25 million dollars.

James and Sandra McNeil bought chassis #3467GT in 1967 for $7 000.00.

Now to put things in perspective, Top Gear had a 250 GTO on an episode of their show. However, Jeremy Clarkson explained to us that the BBC couldn't afford the insurance the run it on the Top Gear track. So there it sat looking pretty and not much more.

Now a few weeks ago I show up at the Mont-Tremblant circuit for the Summit of Legends race week-end and here sits a 1962 250 GTO!   What does Sandra McNeil do with a car worth anywhere between 9 and 25 million dollars? Race the tires off of it. This car is not pretty, it shows its age but that's ok, it's a RACE car. The GTO was flying on the track and I had a hard time snapping it. The pictures are missing one key element, the roaring sound of that 12 cylinder engine. What beautiful music.

An extremely rare site, an actual racing 250 GTO.

Pictures taken with a Sony a230 and a Fuji X10.

Many thanks to the McNeils for sharing this wonderful car with us gearheads.

Gerry :)