A short while ago my wife and I headed up an hour or so north of Toronto to Innisfil Ontario, to Lake Simcoe. This is a popular spot in the winter for ice fishing. I don't fish, let alone ice fish but it was interesting to see and made for some interesting photos. We arrived a bit late in the day but the light was fantastic.
You can view the Flickr set here.
Interesting ideas on how to enhance and enrich reading on a tablet-style device.
Meet Nelson, Coupland, and Alice — the faces of tomorrow’s book. Watch global design and innovation consultancy IDEO’s vision for the future of the book. What new experiences might be created by linking diverse discussions, what additional value could be created by connected readers to one another, and what innovative ways we might use to tell our favorite stories and build community around books?
www.ideo.com
For a better way to view my Flickr Photostream...
I recently became the owner of a Samsung Galaxy S Android phone. The phone itself is great, Android is a cool if not geeky OS. First thing I did was check out the 5mp camera. I've read and seen photos taken with the iPhone 4 and was hoping that the Galaxy would also have a good camera. Not shockingly it was okay at best. Then I discovered an app called Vignette. This app can mimic various style such as a lomo or toy camera. So trying to mimic what is essentially crappy quality cameras turns out to be a good use for this mobile phone camera.
Since I have my phone with me all the time, I haven't thought twice about pulling it out if I think I can capture something some what interesting, and it's actually been fun trying to see what results I will get.
My phone will not replace my Canon 7D but I have received some positive feedback if not a lot of views on Flickr in regards to photos taken with my phone. Check out the slideshow below to see what kind of images can be pulled off with Vignette for Android.
A small group of photographers got together to capture a choreographed dance routine. The idea is to have the thousands of images taken put together into a video montage. Of the 1125 photos I took this is a small selection of my favorites.
This was my first time shooting a person, not my usually subject matter and it was an interesting experience. I look forward to doing it again.
Dancer: Danielle Baskerville
Choreography: D.A.Hoskins
Some random footage from the 2010 Canadian National Exhibition, a.k.a The Ex.
This is only the third or fourth time I've used the video recording function of the 7D, the second time using it at night. I must admit that it seems the 7D's video quality takes a hard hit at higher ISOs but this is still an area I need to play with and explore more.
In any case I hope to post another edit from a few months ago of footage I shot with my 7D, at night and of fast movement. Can't post yet as this footage was for a show open that has yet to air. I will say that footage was a lot more impressive then what I got from shooting at The Ex, so it more likely means that problems was with me and not the camera this time around!
Some photos from a visit to the ROM in Toronto, Canada. 7D + 10mm - 22mm = fun times.
Very creative use of high speed footage. Shot with a Phantom v640 High Speed Camera at 1920 x 1080 at 2700 fps.
What do you do when you come across and old dilapidated bus? Why take photos of course. Here's a small sample of photos taken with the Canon 7D, most with the Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM and a couple with the Canon 10-22.
I've revised my initial edit, done a bit more post work in regards to colour correction and added some music.
I recently made the jump and purchased a Canon 7D, upgrading from my first DSLR, a Sony Alpha a100. It's a very impressive camera, amazingly fast, very quiet and impressively built.
At the moment I've only got one lens, a Canon 50mm 1.4. Seeing how I use my Minlota 50mm 1.7 on my a100 about 90% of the time I figured this would be a good choice. At least until I can get a Canon 16mm - 35mm 2.8.
This is a little edit I put together of some test footage I took one day while heading home from work. Just random footage, all hand held to just learn how the camera deals with video. It's actually been pretty busy at work so I haven't had much chance to use the 7D. I'd like to record some full HD video at 24fps.
For this clip, as I mentioned the footage was recorded at 1280x720 at 60fps. I then did a rough edit in After Effects where I also did a general levels adjust and quickly stabilized a couple of shots. I then worked my way down to a 30fps QuickTime with Photo-JPEG compression at 50% at 960x540 which is the clip I've uploaded to Flickr.
I accedentaly wiped the apps off of my jailbroken iPod Touch the other day which I used as an excuse to finally update to OS 3.1.2. With that I had to update the apps I had dowloaded and decided to search the app store for any knew interesting apps.
That's when I came across the Squarespace app whoch is what I am using to create this post via my iPod Touch. Seems like a well designed app allowing me to manage my site, view usage stats as well update and create content. It's one of the few apps that makes me want an iPhone for the ability to be always connected. I could see myself posting a lot more often with this app but we'll have to wait and see if that's true.
That being said I still jailbroke my iPod Touch - can't go without the ability to tweak this thing beyond what Apple allows.
Some photos from a recent walk through Toronto's High Park. Despite the early cold snap there wasn't a drastic change in leaves colours just yet.
Attended my fourth U2 concert in Toronto last week and I must say it was a mighty fine show. It combined al the best aspects from the Elevation and Vertigo show, evolved them and added that large scale spectacle from the Pop-Mart tour to give fans a really great experience, as U2 show always does.
I brought my trusty Sony Alpha a100 DSLR with me and made do with a Minolta 28mm f/2.8, the results of which you can see below. You can see more on my Flickr page here.
I also recorded a few video clips but for now I'll share a sample of Bono and The Edge doing an acoustic version of Stuck in a Moment.
I finally got a chance to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario, which completed a redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in late 2008. I didn't have my DSLR with me when I went but managed to get a couple of interesting photos with my small Canon point and shoot. So have a look, and feel free to visit my Flickr page and leave a comment or better yet make me a contact.
A nice little piece by Imaginary Forces for Google's Chrome web browser.
Here's a little clip I made with a sequence of images I took in burst mode while out Saturday for Door Open Toronto. So who needs a 5D MkII any way...
So I recently came across two very interesting pieces of video, both essentially created to advertise new products but both interesting to watch.
First up is a demo reel from I-Movix to showcase their SprintCam V3HD that was recently announced at NAB. This broadcast native HD camera can capture ultra-slow-motion solution offering frame rates of 500 to 1,000 fps with instant replay.
Next up is a really well executed piece for Philips to show case their new lince of ultra wide screen tvs. Check out the official site for the full experience but you can get a preview from the YouTube clip below.
So can your old baseball cards do this...
From Engadget...
Topps is back with a vengeance in an attempt to woo Internet bred sophisti-tots back into collecting baseball cards. Right, Topps, the company that pre-dates Human Growth Hormone abuse and packs a nostalgic smack of dusty pink sticks of chewing gum is back in the game, this time with some help from former Disney exec Michael Eisner. Just hold the special 3D Live card in front of a webcam and watch a three-dimensional avatar spring to life -- rotate the card and the figure rotates in full perspective. The technology provided by Total Immersion also allows collectors to drop the player into simple pitching, batting and catching games using the computer keyboard. Series 1 cards will cost $2 for a 12-pack while a buck snags a fistful of five. The 3D Live series will eventually feature video.
So trying to update this site as often as I'd like is a bit more difficult with a full time job... in case my employers read this I'm not complaining about having a full time job.
I did manage to upload a few more photos to the Urban Life gallery. A small sample of my last photos taken before leaving Melbourne. I've been back in Toronto for almost 3 months and still have 1000 or so photos to still go through from my time in Australia - hopefully those photos will be up sometime before summer!
I also want to point out that Engadget Editor-in-chief, Joshua Topolsky will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Monday March 9th. Geeky tech journalist + ackward talk show host must make for good tv. Any way, here's a clip of Joshua and Jimmy having a little talk from the floor of CES back in January.
