Signs of Fall or rather "The sign of fall, I look for"

Those of us that love fall  are looking for signs of fall's complete and undeniable arrival.

You can look for the 1st red leaf, you can sniff that 1st cool breeze or  you can wait for fresh local pumpkins to appear. These are all good indicators that fall is coming, but they are not undeniable sings that fall has irrevocably arrived.

First Sign

There are many signs of fall and every lover of fall has their favourite. For me, Pumpkin beer is the one that says "no more waiting, no more watching, Fall IS here".  I haven't had one yet this year or even seen them in the LCBO (to be fair I haven't looked) but, what I did see last week tells me it won't be long now.

At my local micro brewery, Taps on Queen, Phil the brew master was creating the magical liquid that portents the best season of the year. My 1st hint was the the can of pumpkin puree near the brewing kettle, followed quickly by Phil's confirmation that 3.14 (pumpkin pie) was indeed being brewed before my eyes.

Phil Stirring furiously

In a few short weeks that wonder fall tradition will ready for enjoying during crisp sunny afternoons on the patio. After the 1st few pints of fall another tradition will begin 'custom pumpkin pints'. The creating, tasting, testing and debating of  custom mixtures of pumpkin 3.14 with Taps other brews.
Pumpkin with IPA, pumpkin with porter, pumpkin with lager, pumpkin with red cream ale, pumpkin will be mixed with every tap that can pour & most of  the regulars will have a the right combination in the right proportion to create (what they believe) is the perfect fall brew that represents all the best of autumn.

The wonderful aroma filling the air.

If you think that sounds a bit extreme, you've never been with beer lovers as the the warm autumn sun sinks behind the skyline and someone new comes up to the bar next to 4 regulars and asks the one sitting beside them "what are you drinking". It's a question that will have 4 answers and even more recommendations.

The Mega-Lapse Project

The Mega-Lapse Project

The Mega-Lapse Project, sounds impressive, but it's just what I called it to distinguish it from other time lapses I was working on.

The various pieces (time lapses, footage & hyperlapse) where shot from November 2013 to May 2014.  After preparing the individual lapses  & bringing them into one "mega" project & getting started, I soon got side tracked by more urgent projects.

So, everything sat on a hard drive & sat & was basically ignored for a long time.

Until this spring when I came across the project & opening it up. All the files where there and the time lines where all in place & all the different lapses worked fine. They just needed assembling and a bit of finishing.

"I've come this far, I can finish it off quick"  was my thought. Well, it wasn't exactly quick but,  it is done & (at least to me) it doesn't look too bad.

BTS

In the mega project I also found some BTS (Behind The Scenes) footage. Once again "waste not, want not". I put the together to go with the main project. The BTS was mostly shot in one day, One windy, snowy afternoon. First I went out with a camera wrapped in plastic and put the camera & tripod where it could 'watch' me make the trip to the track to shoot that day's part of the hyperlapse (moving timelapse). once it was set & focused & running, I trudged back to the building, got the camera & tripod I was using for the taking pictures (5 different locations) each day, all winter. With the standard tripod & camera I set out to get the days shots shooting bits of live action along the way.

More to Come

I have other unfinished projects  that range from a folder full of footage to others that where nearing completion before they put aside. I just might take a few,finish them off and post them.

New project sometime seem a bit more attracting, they're well, new and exciting. But, I've never brought a project to completion without learning something, usually a lot of somethings,

So, when I have a bit or extra time or need a break from my current projects I'll take a look at an older project & see what I can learn.

The Season has Ended

or                   

A dreamy reminder of the past vs a starker version of the present.

In actual fact it's not nearly as dramatic as it sounds. Now that I've sufficiently buried the lead, 
Pumpkin Ale is no longer available at Taps (until the Fall).

To the chagrin (I wish i could that word more often) of many regulars, their most popular seasonal brew has expired. Maybe expired is a bit dramatic, but the current supply of pumpkin has come to an end. Many consider pumpkin their 'go to' beer at taps.  I am part of a different group. We enjoy pumpkin (almost) as must as the pumpkin monobrewists (the beer version of mono theists) , but we don't drink it exclusively. We drink it occasionally or (as I prefer) in an alchemical mixture with other beers. (see: Sinister Pumpkin  )

The current incarnation of pumpkin has ended, but hopefully it clears the way for a new summer brew. No one knows what taps, phil & the beer gods have in store for the summer, but I suspect we will enjoy it.

P.S. a new batch of pumpkin traditionally appears in September or very early October, so for those dedicated to pumpkin, it's really not that long til it's return.

Sidenote: If you have noticed that the photos in today's blog look ' a bit off' it could be that I've been playing around with a new/old lens.  the photos where taken with a canon FD (read old film) lens adapted to my EOS550D. Please, don't be too harshly. It's early days with this arrangement.  The 1st image is sort of 'as is' & the second has a bit more colour & contrast added, which is more common with modern lenses.  not sure which I'd go with in the future, but it's still early days with this combo.