First Snow

Every year, no matter what era I've reached in my life, I still get excited at seeing the first new snow of the season.  It happened again last night when the snow started to accumulate.  For some reason, it's hard not to stop and watch.

Trees along Brophy Drive near North Gower, Ontario

When I woke up, the snow was still on the ground, so I took my camera out and drove some back roads around where I live, looking for some interesting images.

NCC Forest along Moodie Drive, Ottawa

The snow stayed around all day, and so it will be a chilly night for the ghosts and goblins.

Bushes at the Lime Kiln Trail, Ottawa

Fence post on Brophy Drive

Bush beside the road on Brophy Drive

. . . Rob Williams http://www.robertwilliamsphotography.ca

How to remove a stuck filter

Earlier this year, I wanted to remove the polariod filter from my 70-200mm lens, but it was badly stuck.  Filters are hard to grip, and doubly so for polarizing filters with the rotating ring.  I tried everything I could think of, including putting a rubber band around the filter for better grip, but I could not get it off.

I tried searching the web for a solution but I didn't find any good suggestions for a polarizer other than a filter wrench, and I couldn't find them (they're available at B&H, but I didn't want to wait for the shipping).  Eventually I went to a kitchen store to see if I could find a jar lid opener that would be kind to the filter.  Most were metal, but I found one that was made from soft rubber, called "EasiTwist Jar Opener":

I liked this one because it had a wide opening at one end, and smaller openings closer to the end for different sizes of filters.  It turns out that the widest opening was perfect for a  77mm filter.  I tried it out, and it worked immediately and very easily:

Highly recommended.

. . . Rob Williams http://www.robertwilliamsphotography.ca