Photography – Page 2 – My Second Running Life

Luck of the (Nearly) Irish

When a window of opportunity opened for us in early October, Deborah proposed and then arranged a short trip to Ireland. We had been to the Emerald Isle once before, about 20 years ago, for a driving tour of the Ring of Kerry. This time, our plan was to stay mainly in Dublin and take a short side trip to Belfast. It was an enjoyable week.

The Sights of Dublin

With hotel spaces in high demand, we grabbed a same-day reservation at the Leinster Hotel. It’s a comfortable, new boutique hotel in Merrion Square, and a great location for exploring the city on foot. That’s what we did, as Dublin is a very walkable city.

A highlight of our previous trip was a visit to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the library at the Long Room. We made sure to visit again, as the college was only a kilometre from the hotel. The library is being extensively renovated, but even with most of the books removed, it’s an impressive building. Watching a video about the project, I wondered how often these ancient books are actually touched by human hands.

This being Ireland, there was some rain to contend with. In fact, we got caught twice on the same day, and each time we were treated to Irish hospitality. Ducking into a shop for shelter, we found ourselves in a most unusual place. It was Sweny’s Pharmacy, a shop dedicated to local legend James Joyce, and his masterpiece, Ulysses. The proprietor (PJ Murphy) treated us to a Gaelic song, offered us a glass of wine, and invited us to that evening’s reading from the novel—in French! He added that he has personally read the book in at least eight languages. We noticed that the rain was letting up, so we made our excuses and moved on. I was reminded that I have yet to finish my longstanding project of getting through Ulysses for the first time, and only in English. I made a note to give it another try once I was back home.

It’s likely not the first thing visitors to Dublin would consider, but we made a trek by city bus to an important place in the history of Ireland, the Kilmainham Gaol Museum. The jail, which opened in 1796, has held thousands of common criminals, as well as political prisoners involved in the struggle for Ireland’s independence. Fourteen leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were executed by firing squad in the prison yard.

Although the day’s tours were all booked, we took our chances and scored a pair of free tickets—luck of the Irish, perhaps.

The tour was informative, and our guide was passionate about both the jail and Irish history more generally.

While we waited for our tour, we had a pleasant lunch and chat at the nearby Old Royal Oak pub.

Dublin is an amazing place for street photography, and I did my best to capture some scenes. My muse may have also been on vacation, as I seemed to struggle to find worthy photos on this trip. Well, we do what we can! Copyright for all photos is mine.

We decided not to do the popular Guinness Storehouse brewery tour, because we took the tour on our first visit to Dublin. Besides, we had just finished watching the excellent Netflix series, House of Guinness. I settled for drinking my share of the black stuff while in town—just enough to confirm that it really does taste better in its home city than anywhere else.

Other highlights of our time in Dublin were a visit to the Glasnevin Cemetery, some window shopping in Grafton Street, a visit to the impressive National Gallery, and a stroll through bucolic St. Stephen’s Green. On our last day, I fit in a short photo run through pretty Santry Park.

Overall, it was a fine stay in Ireland’s capital city. Sláinte!

North to Belfast

We took advantage of convenient train connections to make a short dash up to Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland. The city centre has a very different character to Dublin, not surprising given its historical connection to the United Kingdom. Like Dublin, getting around on foot is the best way to see the city. We stayed two blocks from City Hall, an imposing Victorian building.

We only began to appreciate the historical significance of Belfast when we took in The Titanic Experience. Part museum and part theme park, we thoroughly enjoyed the two hours it took to work our way through the exhibits. We learned about the socioeconomic impact of shipbuilding on the city: a linen industry which accounted for 75,000 jobs in the early 20th century; and shipyards that employed 15,000 men in all aspects of design and construction of the largest ocean liners that had ever been constructed.

Of course, Titanic is famous for another, more tragic reason—its collision with an iceberg and sinking on its maiden voyage. The exhibits do justice to the whole story, including the discovery of the wreck in the 1980s. For me, walking the length of the ship’s outline, just outside the building, really brought home the sense of immediacy with another part of Belfast’s history.

The next day, we signed up for a coach tour of the coastal region. Over seven hours, our tour guide and driver, Steve, did a wonderful job of explaining the complicated history of Northern Ireland, while pointing out the many sights of the region.

The main attraction for us was the Giant’s Causeway, a unique geological formation and UNESCO site on Ireland’s northern coastline. The Causeway consists of thousands of hexagonal pillars of basalt, which extend out into the ocean. A folk legend says that Fionn McCool, an Irish giant, built the causeway by throwing boulders into the sea. McCool wanted to make a bridge that would reach the Scottish Isle of Staffa, where he could challenge a rival giant, Benandonner, who had made a claim for Fionn’s island (Ireland). You can read the full story and find out what happened to Fionn here.

The scientific explanation is that the causeway resulted from a volcanic explosion about 60 million years ago. As the lava cooled quickly, it cracked into the distinctive pattern of interconnected basalt columns. These two explanations can exist side-by-side, because this is Ireland, after all. However it came to be, the formation is unlike anything else we have seen.

We had no idea that the popular HBO series Game of Thrones had been such a boon to the regional economy. In fact, we were the only people on our coach who had never watched the series. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the pop culture lesson as we checked out many of the shooting locales.

The most recognizable locale is probably the Dark Hedges, a long avenue lined with ancient beech trees, which create a distinctly medieval atmosphere. We enjoyed strolling the length of the avenue as our last stop before returning to Belfast city centre.

Let me share a few pictures from our short but impactful time in Northern Ireland. We’re very glad we decided to visit.

Final Thoughts

Ireland (the whole island) is an easy place to visit, and even better, to enjoy. We’ve found the locals to be welcoming, patient and engaging. We had fond memories of our first visit, so we were keen to return. The main cities, Dublin and Belfast, have very different histories, and that is reflected in the way each city feels as you explore on foot. In a few words, Dublin feels more intimate, warm and friendly. Belfast is more serious and stately. And perhaps due to a couple of peaceful decades, there is also a strong positive vibe in the city.

Until next time, be well and BE FAST!

An Ansel Adams Inspired Photo Run

Knowing that Weaselhead Park would be in its full autumn splendour this week, I decided to do a short photo run starting in North Glenmore Park.

Here’s the Strava record of my out-and-back route through the Weaselhead Flats. It’s a beautiful place to run at any time, but especially at this time of year.

I recently had an idea for a new series, highlighting my favourite photographers. As I trudged up the hill at the far corner of Weaselhead, where the path heads into a pleasant birch forest, I realized I had my first subject: Ansel Adams. Adams is a good choice, given that he was the first photographer who came to my attention after I purchased a film camera as a teenager. I’ve admired his photographs for years. And when I saw the white trunks of the birch trees, two specific images popped into my head.

But first, let me introduce Adams.

Ansel Adams: Photography Legend

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was an American photographer and environmentalist. As a young man, he showed talent as a pianist. However, he decided to pursue his early interest in photography, even though at the time that was hardly a sure career path.

Adams is best known for dramatic black and white landscape images, many of which were shot on large glass plate negatives. He also developed innovative and disciplined approaches to capturing and printing images. He formalized the use of the Zone System, which allows the photographer to realize what they saw in the scene, based on analysis of the tonal ranges in the image.

Given the sheer number of Adams’ iconic images, it would be difficult to settle on my personal favourite. I’ve always admired his Clearing Winter Storm (1944) and Monolith, The Face of Half Dome (1927). His photograph of Denali—Mount McKinley and Wonder Lake (1944)—is brilliant. These images matter because they illustrate Adams’ deep commitment to preserving some of the great natural places in the U.S.

Even though they aren’t what he is best remembered for, Adams’ portraits are remarkable, too. His candid shot of Georgia O’Keeffe and Orville Cox (1937)—shot with a 35mm camera—may be my favourite of all his images. So, regardless of which image we look at, it’s easy to see why Adams is regarded as one of the greatest American photographers.

Aspens, Northern New Mexico (1958)

There’s a book by Adams that I’ve turned to dozens of times for inspiration. It’s called Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs. Adams takes the reader on journeys that culminate in the images in his book. He sets the scene, explains the equipment he used, and the process of creating the final print. It’s far more than a how-to manual. What I appreciate most about the book is Adams’ honesty. Many times, he admits to making errors in his camera settings or finds he’s created challenges for himself in achieving the result he wants. These are refreshing admissions by a person we may think of as being infallible.

Two images in Examples are relevant to this piece. Aspens, Northern New Mexico (1958) is a pair of complementary photographs, one vertical and the other horizontal. Adams shot them with an 8″x10” camera using a yellow filter, which would have lightened its own colour (yellow) and darkened its opposite colour (blue). He typically printed the images in very large format, up to 30″x40″. Adams describes these as “quite satisfying statements”, “cool and aloof and rather stately”. I’ll say! He also writes that they are good expressions of his philosophical approach to photography, in that he was able to express what he saw and felt in the scene.

And so, today in Weaselhead

At the risk of embarrassing myself—-we can agree that Adams is a tough act to follow—-let me turn to my own attempt to capture what I saw and felt on today’s Weaselhead photo run. It was a similar day to what Adams described for his Aspens: a crisp autumn day. The birch forest was in full fall colours. Even better, the sun was trying to make an appearance after a short rain shower. There was no wind. In other words, the prospects were good. As usual, I had my Ricoh GR III in hand—no 8″x10” cameras here.

I could see what Adams had to deal with, given all the colours of autumn: reds, yellows, purples, greens. A colour photograph would certainly have impact, but my worry was that it would end up being an incoherent riot of colour. Because digital photography gives us some huge advantages over Ansel and his glass negatives, I’m able to let my readers decide for themselves.

I’ll start with a vertical shot. I did some masking in Lightroom to bring out the trees at the front of the image and give some separation against the busy background. Using Lightroom’s simulated filters, I boosted the yellow channel to brighten the leaves. As is often the case, I prefer the black and white version.

Weaselhead Birch Forest – Vertical (Sept 30, 2025) (Copyright: Steven Kelly)

Moving on, I looked for a scene that might work in horizontal format. My idea was to have some prominent leaves in the picture, as on the left side of Adams’ image. I found a grove with a dense grouping of trees and a splash of green on the left of the frame. I don’t think this was the perfect example, but you know, I was in the middle of my run. I snapped my shot and carried on. Later, I darkened the left edge and the foreground to accentuate the trees that were in sunlight. Again, I prefer the monochrome version, but I’d like to hear from any readers who have an opinion.

Weaselhead Birch Forest – Horizontal (Sept 30, 2025) (Copyright: Steven Kelly)

Wrapping Up

My photo run was short but productive. I headed to this spot because I hadn’t been there for a while, and I wanted to see the fall colours. Once I got to the birch forest on the south side of the reservoir, Ansel Adams’ iconic images popped into my head. It encouraged me to slow my pace and look around. And what I found was well worth the effort. I may even try to get back there with a film camera and tripod—and without my running shoes!

Until next time, be well and BE FAST!

Hello Vancouver!

CALL Health and Wellness Speaker Series

I’m thrilled to announce an upcoming event with the Calgary Association of Lifelong Learners. I’ll be doing a presentation of my memoir on September 22, 2025, at the Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church. See the details below.

The Calgary Association of Lifelong Learners (CALL) is a member-led, non-profit organization. Their mandate is to facilitate lifelong learning for residents of Calgary and area. Programs and activities are wide-ranging, focusing on arts and culture, society and politics, and health and science.

My presentation will be part of CALL’s Health and Wellness Speaker Series. I look forward to telling the story of my lifelong connection to the great sport of athletics and my recovery from a series of strokes in 2017. As my regular readers will know, I wrote about running, health, and recovery in Stroke of Luck: My Life in Amateur Athletics. The opportunity to meet with groups and clubs is by far the best part of this project. I’m gratified to be able to share my main messages:

The importance of an active lifestyle
Awareness of the full range of stroke symptoms
Raising funds to support the lifesaving work at the Foothills Stroke Unit

If you are interested in joining us on the 22nd, or if you’d like to find out more about CALL, please reach out to them here. I hope to see you then!

A Quick Visit to Vancouver

Our vacation planning this year has been somewhat ad hoc. That’s resulted in a series of short trips to some unexpected locations: Moose Jaw, San Diego, and Edmonton. But rather than being a problem, it’s been an opportunity. So much so that we are looking forward to doing more of the same in the months to come.

Last week, we decided to make an impromptu, short trip to Vancouver. There’s never a bad time to visit Vancouver, but our timing was especially good. We were in the city for two perfect days. While most of our trips to the city in the last few years have had us staying in Kitsilano or Yaletown—both fine locations—we opted for downtown this time.

Deb suggested that we stay at the new Azur Hotel on W Pender Street. The Azur is one of the Leading Hotels of the World, and she was curious about it. We’ve enjoyed stays at several LHW hotels—the Azur is one of only a few in North America. It was a great decision. Everything about our stay was excellent. The hotel feels quaint, and it exudes style. The staff were amazing. They treated us like royalty. The amenities were excellent, and the included breakfast was delicious.

We enjoyed walking through Gastown and along the waterfront at Canada Place. Of course, watching the Harbour Air seaplanes taking off and landing is always fun. We took the SeaBus across Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver and checked out the latest exhibits at the Polygon Gallery. We both thought the large-scale astronomical photographs by Thomas Ruff, a German photographer, part of the current Star Witnesses exhibit, were a highlight.

Food and drink? Well, you can’t go wrong with a coffee and doughnut from the 49th Parallel cafe on Thurlow, so we did that. And for dinner, we enjoyed a meal at the bar in the Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown. I had the Yellowfin Tuna, and Deb chose the Arctic Char. Both were delicious.

Some Vancouver Street Photography

Now, it wouldn’t be an outing worth talking about if there weren’t a few photos to share. With my trusty Ricoh GR III in hand, I caught the occasional street scene. Here are some examples:

When we’re in Vancouver, we always think about Fred Herzog. For those who aren’t familiar with him, Herzog was a Vancouver-based photographer, active in the 1950s and 1960s. He’s one of our favourite photographers, and a source of inspiration when I’m walking the streets of Vancouver. Herzog mainly shot with a Leica rangefinder using Kodachrome colour film, and his photographs reveal much about the character of the city during that era.

Although it isn’t fair to say Herzog was unknown during his lifetime, his work is really only getting the credit it deserves now. That’s due in large part to the efforts of the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver and the Trepanier Baer Gallery in Calgary. Here’s the cover of Fred Herzog: Modern Color. It’s a superb collection of Herzog’s photographs, published in 2017 by the Equinox Gallery. The image on the cover happens to be my favourite Herzog photograph.

This gives me an idea for a new blog series: My Favourite Photographers. I think Fred Herzog will have to be my first subject. Look for that soon!

While writing about the GR III, I’ll mention that Ricoh has just announced the GR IV (and discontinued the GR III). I’m definitely interested, although it might be said that on first glance, the specs are only marginally better than my current one. That said, my camera is now four years old, and I’ve noticed that it seems to have accumulated a lot of dust on the sensor. This problem is a known issue for the GR III. I thought I had avoided the problem until I looked closer at my shots from Vancouver. I probably shouldn’t be surprised, given how I handle (mishandle?) this camera on my photo runs. C’est la vie!

On that note, I’ll sign off. Thanks for reading. Until next time, be well and BE FAST!

Edmonton Marathon Report

In what has already been a memorable year for racing, the 2025 edition of the Servus Edmonton Marathon may have delivered the most excitement. And I haven’t even been racing!

Deborah and I decided to make a quick weekend trip to Alberta’s capital city for a couple of reasons, the main one being a chance to see Dan race in the Half Marathon. For a short time, I entertained the idea of signing up for the 5k—that was until my dodgy Achilles decided the matter for me.

It was a thrilling weekend. We enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere around race headquarters at the Edmonton Convention Centre. It was also a busy weekend, with various festivals going on around the city, in addition to the race. We had forgotten how lush and green the Edmonton river valley is.

To the action

All the distances at this year’s 34th edition of the event were popular. Across all the races, more than 8,000 runners signed up. On a perfect day, sunny but not too warm, 1,200 runners started in the main event, the Servus Marathon. The Healthcare Solutions Half Marathon was the biggest event by far, with over 3,000 runners toeing the line for the 7:45 a.m. start. By the way, the HM served as the Canadian championship race, so the field was big and the elite field was very deep. The Army 10k took place later in the morning, with a field of 1,800 runners, and the Family 5k Fun Run rounded out the day.

Dan competed in the HM with the Canadian Armed Forces CISM Elite Running Team. For those unfamiliar with CISM, it’s the Conseil International du Sport Militaire, or the International Military Sports Council. Founded in 1948, CISM is one of the largest multidisciplinary organizations in the world. CISM organizes various sporting events for the armed forces of its 142 member countries.

Canada’s armed forces are active in many sports through CISM, and each year the athletics team is one of the largest. In Edmonton, 13 CISM runners competed in the HM and 10k, and they all turned in excellent performances.

My vantage point on Jasper Avenue was ideal for photographing the action on the fast out-and-back course. The bright sunshine created both opportunities and challenges behind the lens, but I did manage to capture quite a few worthy shots. The finish in the men’s race was as close as you can get, with Rory Linkletter nipping Cam Levins at the wire, in just under 63 minutes. Lauren McNeil of Great Britain took the women’s race in 1:11:25. My Adrenaline Rush Athletics teammate, Jen MacPherson, won the F55-59 age group, in a very speedy 1:38:35, as she builds to a fall marathon. Well done, Jen!

Here’s a sample of photos from the Half Marathon:

The men’s Marathon was won by Alberta running legend, Kip Kangogo. On the women’s side, Kristen Spady was the winner. The 10k didn’t disappoint, with lots of fast times and great competition. The winners were Courtney Hufsmith in the women’s race and Yahye Mohmaed Jama for the men. Another Adrenaline Rush athlete, Gord MacPherson, ran his goal time of 54:58 while balancing his training with his other summer passion, golf!

A few more snaps from the 10k and marathon:

The CISM Team rocks!

Having Daniel and his teammates involved added a whole new dimension to our spectating. Fortunately, there was also plenty to cheer about. Our task was made easier because we could pick out the distinctive red and white singlets from a long way off. Here’s a small sample from the many impressive performances recorded by CISM racers on Sunday.

Now, I can’t move on to my final subject before mentioning one story that came out of the Half Marathon. To set the scene, Daniel (@stridesandsummits) started strong for the first third of the race, but felt he had more to prove. As it happened, he met up and teamed up with Canadian marathon record holder, Natasha Wodak. For the rest of the race, they worked together to crush their respective goals: Natasha took home the Canadian Half Marathon title (1:11:40), and Dan notched a solid PB of 1:11:35. Way to go, Daniel and Natasha!

Natasha Wodak powers to the Canadian title!

Yes, there is a personal connection!

It seems I have a connection to a lot of races, and that includes the Edmonton Marathon. Deb and I moved to Edmonton in the dark, cold days of December 1984. By the summer of 1986, I was confident enough to sign up for what was then called the Northlands Klondike Marathon. I recall it being a short-lived effort to get a marathon going in the city.

This was my third attempt at the distance. My previous efforts had been less than successful, based on how dissatisfied I was with my performances. Things did turn out a little better for me on this warm July day. I finished 19th out of 139 finishers, running for the Edmonton Roadrunners—check out the vintage singlet. My time of 3:01:27 was tantalizingly close to the magical 3-hour barrier. Looking back, I figure the heavy New Balance 990s I wore must have cost me about 5 minutes—not exactly supershoes!

So there you have it. Another eventful day at the races. For those of you who ran, congratulations! For anyone thinking about it, the Edmonton races are now a solid fixture on the Alberta race calendar. See you there in 2026?

Until next time, be well, and BE FAST!

In Praise of Japanese SLR Cameras

This is a totally useless piece.

Useless, that is, if you carry a camera around with you at all times, one that is instantly available in your cell phone. Or if the link between your camera and your social media accounts is as short and quick as pressing a button.

Some of us have a broader definition of a camera, or think of photographs for something more than their transient value.

My collection from the heyday of Japanese single-lens reflex (SLR) film cameras is a small treasure. It’s unbelievable these cameras work so well after 40 or 50 years. They are flawless machines. Sure, there are foam seals I should replace. And some of the batteries are getting hard to find. But overall, they’re doing better than I am after all that time!

Canon AT-1

The Canon AT-1 invokes many fond memories for me. I bought mine in 1978 with savings from my first job. My aunt Connie worked at the Sears store in the Centre Mall in Hamilton, and she made the purchase so I could benefit from her employee discount. I remember paying $265. It’s odd to think that Sears used to have a photography department… but I digress.

When I bought the AT-1, I didn’t know anything about cameras or photography. I learned the basics of shooting film—metering exposure AND focusing in a completely manual camera. (The AT-1 was never as popular as the automatic variant, the AE-1, but I was on a budget.) Once you’re used to it, manual metering is simple. It’s a bit like target practice: move the exposure needle by changing aperture and/or shutter speed until it lines up with another needle indicating the measured light. Like learning to drive a car with a manual transmission, this is a good skill to have!

Manual focusing brought its own challenges, especially if you were keen on shooting sports, as I was. Sure, I missed plenty of shots, but I also felt the thrill of getting many more.

The AT-1 feels solid, and its viewfinder is big and bright. Canon FD lenses mount to the camera with a secure metal ring. Because it was my first camera, I’m biased towards its controls, which are accessible and well laid out. I will admit, it now feels slightly bulky compared to the other cameras in this review.

For years after I bought the camera, I pored through photography books and magazines. When I could afford it, I added lenses to the f1.8/50mm that came standard with the camera. For a short time, when we lived in Edmonton, I even set up a darkroom in my basement. I give this humble camera a lot of credit for instilling in me a lifelong interest in photography.

Olympus OM-2

I ended up with a parallel camera kit to my own after my father-in-law Kurt’s passing. Where I was invested in Canon, he was an Olympus guy. His outfit was built around the Olympus OM-2, a highly regarded automatic camera manufactured between 1975 and 1988. I also inherited several lenses.

Kurt and I shared our experiences; mine with Canon and his with Olympus. He used the OM-2 a lot. He was a stickler for getting composition and lighting just so. Naturally, I think of him every time I pick up the camera.

The first and most impressive feature about the OM-2 is its small size. It’s light but doesn’t feel cheap. The OM cameras were designed by Yoshihisa Maitani, something of a legend in photographic circles. The OM-2 is noticeably smaller than the AT-1. I can see there were some compromises to make the camera and lenses so compact. For example, the aperture has only full steps rather than half steps. While I like the way the camera feels in my hands, I do find the controls slightly cramped.

From my experience, the OM-2 is close to perfect. It has a bright viewfinder and some novel features. It can be operated in Aperture Priority mode or manual mode. Did I mention I like shooting in manual mode? (I admit it’s great to have the option of setting the aperture and letting the camera do the hard work.)

My only quibble with the OM-2 layout is that the shutter speed dial is next to the lens barrel, rather than on top of the body. I find that illogical. Or maybe it’s just different than the setup on the AT-1 (or most other SLRs).

The OM-2 is very accurate when metering a shot. I mainly shoot B&W film with it, and I am always impressed by how well the lenses render urban scenes and street shots.

The Olympus name has mostly disappeared—it was absorbed into the “OM System” brand five years ago. Let’s call it a casualty of the cellphone camera trend. Even so, the OM-2 has earned a special place in my collection. I hope it keeps working as long as I do.

Minolta X-700

The Minolta X-700 is another small miracle. This particular one belongs to Deb. She got it from her parents as a Christmas gift. She used it for a few years, then it was relegated to a closet. Dan dusted it off for a school photography course when we lived in England. I remember buying him a 28mm lens to go with the original 50mm lens.

The X-700 was the pinnacle of Minolta’s manual focus SLR line, and it was very popular. It was manufactured between 1981 and 1999, which is a long production run. The features of the X-700 are impressive. In addition to manual mode, it has Aperture Priority mode and a Program mode that integrates with Minolta MD lenses. It’s got a compact shape and it’s very light. The LEDs in the viewfinder are genius (with one downside).

In my research for this piece, I learned that Minolta used plastic for some components of the camera. That goes some way to explaining its weight, and also why the camera feels less substantial than the other two in this piece. It’s also noisy when the shutter is activated. It’s worth remembering that by the mid-1980s, the SLR market was crowded, if not saturated, and autofocus cameras were starting to hit the market. No doubt that would have detracted Minolta’s attention away from their manual focus line.

To this day, the X-700 remains a great camera. I like the feel of it in my hand, and that isn’t a coincidence. Size-wise, it fits in between the Canon and the Olympus.

My main beef comes when using the X-700 in manual mode, where the user gets shutter speed information in the viewfinder. Why is that a problem? Well, the same LEDs I mentioned force the user to look away from the subject to see and adjust the shutter speed. It’s fine for landscapes or other static subjects, and fortunately, one can always switch into Aperture Priority mode and fire away.

By the numbers

For what it’s worth, I did a few measurements… here are the bare facts:

	Canon AT-1	Olympus OM-2	Minolta X-700
Weight, grams (w/28mm lens)	780	715	690
Size, cm (W x D x H)	14.5 x 10.0 x 9.0	13.7 x 8.3 x 8.3	14.0 x 9.5 x 9.0

Wrapping up

So, the obvious question… which of these cameras/systems do I like the best? That’s a tough question. If I had to choose one, it would be the OM-2. I’m a fan of small and light cameras, and this one definitely delivers. That said, I like each of the cameras for different reasons. You can tell I have emotional, physical and intellectual attachments to these marvelous machines. That’s why I make it a point to include all of them in my rotation. For me, there’s no better feeling than loading a manual SLR with a favourite film (or a new one) and heading out for a photo walk. As long as they keep working—and they are so well made, there’s no reason to expect them not to do so for a while yet—I’ll happily reach for one.

Until next time, be well and BE FAST!

Moose Jaw Delivers!

Are there certain places you’ve heard about your whole life? Places you’ve wondered what it might be like to visit? Over the weekend, we made a visit to one such mysterious and notable place: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. This is a place that everyone seems to have heard about. After all, it’s a name you remember.

For Deborah and me, there have been tenuous connections to Moose Jaw over the years: family, friends, work colleagues who hail from there. More recently, and more directly, our son Daniel has been stationed in Moose Jaw as an RCAF pilot trainee.

As for initial impressions, Moose Jaw seems to have the whole range covered. You see, the city’s former motto was The Friendly City, but that has been changed to Canada’s Most Notorious City. Hmmm. This was clearly another reason to visit. So we did. And we are very glad we did!

First, that name

This city of 33,000—the fourth largest in Saskatchewan—is located at the confluence of the Moose Jaw River and Thunder Creek, about an hour west of Regina.

The name Moose Jaw is said to come from a phrase in the Cree language, which translates to “warm place by the river”. This phrase likely refers to the sheltered valley where the city is located. Alternatively, the name may have come from the resemblance of the river’s shape to a moose’s jawbone. Whatever the origin, the name is anything but ordinary.

Moose Jaw was a historically important location for the economic development of western Canada, as it was a key railroad hub for the Canadian Pacific Railway. With its wide downtown streets and early 20th-century architecture, it gives the impression of a city that enjoyed some influence.

What we liked

In short, almost everything!

We stayed in the stately Grant Hall Hotel, right on Main Street. In no time, we discovered lovely Crescent Park, a few steps from the hotel. We crossed the street to the bustling Himawari Sushi restaurant, where we enjoyed an excellent dinner. It was delicious, maybe more so because it was so unexpected.

After dinner, we walked a few blocks down Main Street in persistent rain. We noticed the many architectural gems—City Hall, the Capitol Theatre, the CPR train station. This is a city with a rich history. We retired to the hotel and crossed our fingers for a break in the weather, as we had a busy schedule for the next day.

We lucked out in the weather department, although Saturday morning brought a smoky sky due to nearby wildfires. Fortunately, it wasn’t bad enough to put a crimp in our plans. We met with Dan and got a tour of the 15 Wing Air Base. That meant a chance to take in some aviation action up close. We walked through the CT-156 Harvard II hangar and watched a few planes taking off and doing maneuvers. We also peeked in at the simulators and the training rooms. Very cool!

One of the highlights of our visit was an aerobatic display by Canada’s Snowbirds, the famous flight team of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Officially, they’re known as the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, and Moose Jaw is their home base. We enjoyed 20 minutes of thrilling formation flying from the perfect viewing location that Dan had scouted out for us. It was breathtaking!

There was more—more great meals, more sightseeing, more history. We did touristy things, like the Tunnels of Moose Jaw Chicago Connection guided tour. (The city’s possible connection to the gangster Al Capone is where its “notorious” reputation comes from, by the way.) The tour was good fun.

We did artsy things, like the impressive Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery. Then, as the sun was setting, we found a couple of beautiful locations for photos, like these taken under the Thunderbird Viaduct (also known as the 4th Avenue Bridge).

Even a Photo Run!

I came prepared for a short photo run while I was in town. So, with the prospect of a warm day ahead, I got up early and jogged some of the downtown streets. What I found was more pleasant surprises.

I ran by the historic 1932 Natatorium in Crescent Park—today we would call it a pool. I found some murals in the downtown area. And I checked out the imposing Parrish & Heimbecker grain elevator, adjacent to the rail line just off High Street. All before breakfast!

Here are a few more photos, taken in and around downtown Moose Jaw. There was no shortage of photo opportunities!

Wrapping up

We couldn’t help but feel that we should have visited Moose Jaw years before. As we grudgingly headed west for home, it was with a feeling that we had found a real treasure on the prairies. We would welcome the chance for another visit, if we should be so lucky.

Before we left town, we had to visit Mac the Moose, the city’s mascot. Even here, we found a story. You see, in 2019, Mac lost his title of “world’s tallest moose” to Storelgen, a steel moose sculpture in Stor-Elvdal, Norway. Not to be outdone, the citizens of Moose Jaw rallied and constructed a new set of antlers for Mac, to ensure he could once again proudly guard the eastern entrance to the city. (To be fair, Mac’s initial pair was pretty wimpy. And to avoid an international incident, I will keep my comments about the relative merits of each sculpture to myself…) But I will say, congratulations to Mac and the whole city!

Until next time, be well and BE FAST!