Week 52: December 26th, 2010

So this picture was shot and edited on my trusty iPhone. Using the built in iPhone camera and the Photoshop Express app, I tweaked the saturation/contrast levels, and then added the vignetting. It's incredible to think that the iPhone is several times more powerful than the first computer I owned - an ancient Acorn Electron with a tape drive. Yes, tape drive. That isn't a typo.

Anyhow. I wanted to do this entire blog post from my iPhone, but couldn't figure out how to/forgot/got distracted by Angry Birds (mostly the latter) and so this is a *little* late.

I'll have my final post up by the end of the week.

From Project 52

Week 51: December 18th, 2010

Gather round children, I have a story for you.

So the week before Christmas is my birthday. I usually don't do anything - people are either out of town or doing last minute Christmas shopping, and so I always say I'll celebrate in January. The new year starts, we get busy with classes and school, and I end up forgetting about it. The most I'll do is dinner with some friends.

Well, this year a friend of mine took it upon herself to make sure we had cake on my birthday.

The day before, we all were out for dinner for a friend who had successfully passed her PhD thesis proposal (Yay MJ!). After dinner, the waiter walks over carrying a cake, and they all start singing happy birthday (they were all in on the devious plan).

I had no idea it was for me. So I did what anyone would have: I joined in singing happy birthday, thinking it was for someone else.

So I'm belting out happy birthday along with everyone, wondering whose birthday is today and why everyone is looking at me like I'm an idiot. Then the dude puts the cake down in front of me. Then the lightbulb went off.

Yeah. I'm smart like that :)

Thanks again to Mariane for the cake, and to everyone who made my birthday weekend so much fun :)

From Project 52

Week 50: December 12th, 2010

So we're closing in on the end of the year. And, as mentioned in a previous post, that means the combination of schoolwork kicking into high gear as well as Christmas approaching. Well, the Christmas season now starts November 1st (thank you Halloween, the final bastion protecting us from Christmas sales in August), but until Starbucks and Second cup start their Christmas drinks, it really isn't Christmas.

So this shot is of the Candy Cane Hot Chocolate offered by Second Cup. It's a great drink, but the people at Second Cup put a ridiculous amount of whipped cream on top.

For those interested, that drink is 490 calories, 23 g of fat, and 52 g of sugar (about 1.5 times a can of coke). But man oh man does it taste delicious (message to my obesity research peeps: don't judge me).

From Project 52

Week 49: Sunday, December 4th, 2010

So I uploaded this photo a few days ago to Picasa, thinking that I'd write the blog post later, and then I forgot about it when I got buried in work. On the plus side, my stats assignments are done! Wahay!

So this pic is of my guitar I've had since I was ... 14? I've had it for a while, but having one for a long time doesn't make you any good unfortunately. I used to play back in the day, but that fell by the wayside once I started undergrad and grad school.

From Project 52

Week 48: Sunday, November 28th, 2010

So I'm a little behind on blogging at the moment. End of semester madness this year is two presentations, 5 stats assignments and a writeup for my seminar course all due next week (and a paaaatridge in a pear tree...). As a result, I haven't had much time for photography and blogging. However, I am hoping to have this weeks' pic up by tomorrow night.

I enjoy cooking, and this week's shot is from dinner the other night - six bell peppers thrown into a stir fry.

Technical deets: ISO640, 1/30 s, f/4.5 @ 30mm

From Project 52

Week 47: Sunday, November 21st, 2010

This weeks shot was taken at the Montreal Metro. I love the Metro - reminds me a lot of the Tube in London and how awesome a system it is for moving people around. My hometown of Ottawa has had plans to build one for a while (and they did! It goes from South Keys to Bayview! Which helps ... students of Carleton U who live in South Keys?) Hopefully the new Mayor manages to get the project started. While there are many benefits of a good public transport system, I'll let more knowledgeable people than me talk about those (fellow student and friend of the blog Travis has a great post up here, while fellow Epidemiologist Megan makes a great point here). Personally, I just enjoy riding the train :)

From Project 52

Week 46: Sunday, November 14th, 2010

Alright. Last post for the night. Most of you who know me know I have a ridiculous sweet tooth. So November 1st is like Christmas for me, as that is the day when all the Halloween candy goes 60% off, and you can pick up a 50 pack of Smarties for peanuts.

As the t-shirt says: I have candy.

From Project 52

Week 45: Sunday, November 7th, 2010

So this shot was up on Facebook a few weeks ago, but I figured I'd put it up here too. I was working in my office one day, and my iPhone died. But I wanted to listen to music. So I plugged it in, but then I couldn't see what I was listening to. So I fabricated an iPhone/iPod stand out of binder clips and elastic bands to support my iPhone so I can see what I'm listening to while I charge it. For those who want to replicate it, you can use this guide.

From Project 52

Week 44: Sunday, October 31st, 2010

Hi everyone,

So I've been MIA lately (a term apparently I've been using with alarming regularity - thanks SN). So tonight I'm going to try and get myself back up to speed - I've been taking pictures, just haven't had a chance to get them up here.

So the first of three posts. This one was taken from Fort Henry, overlooking the Royal Military College in Kingston, the only Military College in Canada (I believe - army dudes can correct me if I'm wrong on this one). I like the reflection of the RMC in the water here, and really liked the lighting in this shot.

Technical deets: Canon XSi, ISO 1600, 1/10s, 50mm, f/1.8

From Project 52

Week 43: Sunday, October 24th, 2010

So last week the weather was absolutely beautiful here (a stark contrast to this weekend, where is has been miserable all day today). To try and capture the fall colors, I went out to Lemoine Point, a conservation area just east of Kingston.

So this week's shot is of an Inuksuk, a stone sculpture usually built by people who live in the north of Canada and across the Arctic circle. My non-Canadian readers might recognize this as the logo from the Vancouver Olympics. For more about them, check out the Wikipedia entry here. Following the Olympics, they've really exploded in popularity, and just behind this one to the right, there are three more people had made there.

I took a ton of pictures on my hike, and you can check them all out in the Lemoine Point album on my Picasa page.

From Project 52

Week 42: Sunday, October 17th, 2010

This week's shot is from the Sleepless Goat. The Goat is a workers co-op based in Kingston that is a staple for almost all the grad students here, and provides a welcome change from Starbucks and other major coffee chains. They have a number of interesting menu items, including vegan options, and some of the most delicious desserts I've ever had (with the exception of Oh So Good in Ottawa). They also have a great selection of teas for those who don't like coffee.

Anyhow. The Goat has a great vibe to it, and a lot of funny little things that make it worth going back to. This picture is from their display of cinnamon buns on Saturday night.

Disclaimer: I am not being reimbursed from the Goat for this endorsement. But if someone were to give me a free cookie next time I'm there, that'd be cool.

From Project 52

Week 41: Monday, October 11th, 2010

So this week's post is from our family Thanksgiving dinner. Rather than have a whole turkey, we decided to go with salmon instead.

So I made BBQ'd lemon and herb salmon, together with tandoori salmon, as well as making fries and a Mexican four bean salad as sides. So I mixed European, Spanish and Indian cuisine together into one awesome meal. I'm like Martha Stewart without the jail time. Or Jamie Oliver without the accent. Or, as strong an accent.

Anyhow. The tandoori salmon won hands down as Most Delicious Meal of the evening. And here is a picture of it (taken using my iPhone).

From Project 52

Week 40: Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

So this week's post is another sunset one (previous sunset post was in Week 22). We've had some crazy weather lately, and one of the side effects is some beautiful sunsets ... when we're not being drenched with a freak torrential downpour.

This shot was taken on the way to dinner with a friend of mine. They say the best camera is the one you have with you, and this was taken with my iPhone 4 with HDR on (which basically means it takes three shots and merges them so you don't end up with really dark patches in your photos).

Anyhow. Hope you like it! :)

From Project 52

Week 39: Sushi!

So I didn't actually have sushi this week. I was out and saw this little guy at a store we were at. He just seemed so happy!

From Project 52

Week 38: Sunday, September 19th, 2010

So the second post for today. I went for a walk around Kingston, and ended up having iced tea with some friends downtown. I really liked the colors in this shot - although I can't say I recommend the cranberry apple iced tea from the Tea Room.

From Project 52

Week 37: Sunday, September 19th, 2010

So a double post today. I love to cook, and potlucks give me a great chance to experiment with new dishes on unsuspecting groups of people ... I mean ... um ... create delicious dishes that I have made several times before and know how they're going to turn out! :)

I digress. So this week's shot was a Mexican bean salad I made for a potluck. The main ingredients are black beans, red kidney beans and white kidney beans, as well as bell peppers, sweetcorn and red onions. The real kicker is the dressing though - so delicious!! For those interested in recreating it, you can find the recipe here

Just fyi - I substituted Tabasco for hot pepper sauce, and regular vinegar for red wine vinegar. I also added in some garam masala for kicks.

From Project 52

Week 37: Upcoming!

So the good news is that I have a shot done for this week. The bad news is that I don't have internet at home, and my new work computer is locked down so I can't upload from here either. Hopefully I'll have internet by Friday, so there'll be two new shots up this week! (Weeks 37 and 38!)

Week 36: Sunday, September 5th, 2010

Another candle shot, similar to Weeks 31 and 10.

From Project 52

Week 35: Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

So I'm currently in between places - I'm moving to Kingston to start my PhD this September, so I'm splitting my time between Ottawa and there while I move down all my stuff.

This week's shot is pretty self-explanatory and will be familiar to anyone who has ever moved in a small car. I don't know how my parents do it, but every time I think I've filled up my car to capacity, they manage to fit in a bookshelf, or a chair, or a suitcase, or they move something and out pops an elephant wearing a top hat. It's nothing short of a miracle.

From Project 52

Week 34: Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

So this week's shot is from the Citizenship Office in Ottawa. As some of you know, this week I received my Canadian Citizenship, and I took this shot while I was waiting for the judge to arrive.

From Project 52

Week 33: Monday, August 16th, 2010

So a few updates this week. This post is rather link heavy, so you are forewarned.

New albums are up! I've now got albums from the Tulip Festival (link), the CSEB Conference (link) and the Canadian Obesity Network Student Conference (link) all up on the Picasa site (link). Check it out!

I just got back from Quebec City and the Obesity Boot Camp, so there is also an album up with pics from there! (link)

This week's shot was taken at L'Astral, a revolving restaurant located in the heart of Quebec City (link). It's an absolutely breathtaking view, and was a great opportunity for me to get some awesome panoramic shots of Quebec City. Plus, the food was amazing! However, the little pieces of butter in the Fleur de lis really stole the show. Plus, they were delicious.

From Project 52

For some panoramic shots of Quebec City, check out the pictures here and here.

Featured by Schmap!

So a little change from the usual posting to let you all know that one of my photos has been chosen by Schmap to be on their online guide of Ottawa! For those of you who don't know what Schmap is, it's like Lonely Planet, but online and free. Link to the post below:

http://www.schmap.com/ottawa/sights_parks/#p=158309&i=158309_109.jpg


Here's the shot in its full resolution glory:

Week 32: Monday, August 9th, 2010

Hi all,

So I'm returning from the Canadian Obesity Network's Obesity Boot Camp currently, and I'm writing this from the train. The past week has been an absolutely phenomenal experience and I've got to meet some pretty cool people, all passionate and interested in various aspects of the obesity epidemic. It's been a real privilege to spend time with all of them, and I hope to continue working with them in the future.

The Boot Camp was held up in Station Touristique in Duschesney, which is about 40 minutes outside of Quebec City. It's an absolutely beautiful resort and so I've got about 600 shots between both of my camera's to go through. I'm hoping to get to those this week, so keep an eye out for that update.

So onto this week's shot. The resort had an incredible chef, and, being a foodie, this meant great things for me. Three course meals for lunch and dinner, combined with some of the most exotic foods I've seen meant for a very happy Atif. This week's shot was the shrimp stir fry, served as one of our lunch meals. Yes, it came in a little boat. No, the boat was not edible (neither were the flowers, but I *might* have found that one out the hard way ...)

From Project 52

Technical details: Take with a Canon SD750, 1/160s, f/3.2, 7.1mm, ISO80

Week 31: Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Quick post today as I'm at the Canadian Obesity Network Boot Camp all week.

I took this shot at a friend's wedding, held this past Friday. I really enjoying learning about different traditions and customs at weddings, and this picture is of the unity candle - which is meant to symbolize the blessing of both families and the joining of them through the marriage of their children (one candle for each set of parents, and one for the couple).

Finally, congratulations to Marianne and Matt, and all the best to the two of them as they start their life together :)

Back in a week!!

From Marianne and Matt's Wedding!

Week 30: Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

So I spent the last weekend in Toronto, and so didn't get a chance to update my blog on time, and then spent some time working on a blog redesign that is finally live (see betaphotos.blogspot.com for the updated design).

Anyhow. Without further ado (for both people who read my blog) here is this weeks shot.

From Project 52

Week 29: Sunday, July 18th, 2010

So I managed to catch Rush, Capital Grass and the No Men and Santana at this years Bluesfest. For those who don't know, Bluesfest is an annual two week, open air concert held in Ottawa. While it is not nearly as large as Osheaga or Glastonbury, a lot of top tier musicians have played in recent years (notable ones include Kanye West, Iron Maiden and KISS).

So in order to keep the crowds happy, a number of vendors set up shop to sell food - everything from The Works, Subway to Lebanese and Italian restaurants.

I was a happy camper :)

From Project 52

Week 28: Monday, July 12th, 2010

So this week I was hoping to get some nice shots at Bluesfest.

I was going to take my camera with me, get up close to the stage, and capture Neil Peart rocking out on his ridiculously extravagant drum kit, or Santana playing a face melting guitar solo.

But today, when I left the gym, this thing rolled up against my foot when I stopped my car at a traffic light. I know it came from somewhere in my car.

I don't know what it is.

I don't know what it does.

But it looks like it might be important.

Uh oh.

From Project 52

Week 27: Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Hey all,

I had some more technical difficulties with this week's post. I decided to stretch my knowledge of Lightroom and Photoshop to create some panoramic shots, and my poor PC just couldn't handle working with 2 gig TIFF files. Well, it could, just reeeeaaaaallllyyyyy sloooooowwlyyyyy.

Anyhow. So this past week (for all my international readers ... both of you ..) was Canada Day, a day to celebrate Canada coming into existence. Part of Canada Day involves a giant party, held on Parliament Hill in our fair city of Ottawa. My favourite part of Canada Day for me is how everyone comes out and there's this great feeling of camaraderie and friendship that just seems to permeate the air. And the impromptu renditions of "O Canada" that happen at random times (with increasing frequency as the night wears on).

So with these two shots, I have tried to capture the sheer number of people present at the Canada Day celebrations (official estimates place the number at 100,000+ on the Hill, and that doesn't include the people in the downtown core past Wellington). The panorama really helped to capture that.

If you click on the photos, then on the magnifying glass, you can scroll around to see everything.

Sparks Street:

From Project 52

Parliament Hill:

From Project 52

Technical details: The first shot was made up of 15 shots stitched together, while the second was made up of 6 shots.

Week 26: Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Short update as I have a few things to take care of this evening. This shot was taken at Gerrard Street in Toronto at a paan store.

From Project 52

Week 25: Monday, June 21, 2010

In honor of the World Cup, this week's post is World Cup themed! (you'll get it if you read the blog post).

So word of advice to everyone: setting up a wireless repeater network is not nearly as easy as it sounds. Theoretically it shouldn't be a problem - two routers, one set up as your main one, while the second one rebroadcasts the signal so you get better reception anywhere in the house. Unfortunately, it isn't that easy. Why am I telling you this? I've spent the better part of this evening trying to set this up, and it really isn't worth the headache.

Anyhow. Photography! That's why you're here! This week's shot was taken from my office using my trusty Canon SD750. I used the automatic macro mode to capture the raindrops on my office window.

From Project 52

Week 24: Monday, June 14th, 2010

So I spent the last week at the Canadian Obesity Network Student Conference, held here in Ottawa. It was a great time and I really enjoyed the experience.

This shot was taken on the final day of the conference, when we all took a boat cruise down the Rideau Canal from downtown to Lago (a bar located on Dow's Lake). The place is really spiffy - there's a giant window that looks out onto Dow's Lake and it has an absolutely beautiful view through the day.

I took this shot as we approached Dow's Lake. The buildings in the background are those of Carleton University - Canada's Capital University. Not to be confused with the University of Ottawa - Canada's University. Yeah. Those are their *actual* slogans.

From Project 52

Week 23: Monday, June 7th, 2010

Warning: This post is geeky.

So I recently acquired a late-2009 white unibody Macbook. A lot of people have asked me what my thoughts are on Macs, and whether I recommend them or not. Personally, I don't find them any easier to use or any more reliable than a Windows PC. I've crashed Macs. I've crashed PCs. I've got the Blue Screen of Death. I've got the Spinning Beachball of Death. I've had to hard reboot more machines than I can count, and more than once I've wanted to go all "Office Space" on a computer (if you don't get the reference, stop reading and rent Office Space).

So my advice is simple: Buy whatever you will be using most often, and what is within your budget.

So, in my case, my desktop (which I use for photo manipulation, manuscript writing, making presentations etc) is a Windows 7 machine. My network is made up of several Windows computers. Networking between OS X and Windows is a nightmare and I do not recommend it, and so for the sake of my sanity, I stay to Windows. In addition, I sometimes bring work home with me and on the road, and I don't want to have to deal with corrupted files and formatting problems going from one OS to another. That being said, if you're writing all your papers on one machine and don't need to transfer files back and forth, go with whichever OS you prefer. Each has their own benefits and drawbacks (which is more personal preference than actual, tangible, benefits).

So what does this have to do with this week's photo? Well, I like OS X for certain things, in particular, power management and the multitouch trackpad. I can get 7-10 hours of battery life out of the Macbook using OS X, compared to 4-6 using Windows 7, which, if I'm out and about, makes my life considerably easier (since I'm not hunting for power outlets all the time). However, when I really want to work, I want to be able to use Windows to avoid corrupting files and compatibility issues, as well as use the environment I'm used to.

So I installed Boot Camp on the Macbook and now I can have the best of both worlds. When I load it up, I can pick which environment I want to use, and away I go. I also use the combination of Dropbox and Xmarks, to sync files and bookmarks respectively, across all my different machines (work, desktop and both laptop OS's). So now, when I log onto any machine, I get instant access to all my files and bookmarks in Firefox.

Best part is that the whole thing only took an evening to set up (including installing Boot Camp, Windows 7 Ultimate, Office 2007, Xmarks, Dropbox).

From Project 52

From Project 52

If anyone wants to know the specifics of how I set this up, shoot me a message.

Week 22: Sunday, May 20th, 2010

Just a quick message today as I'm swamped with things to do at the moment. I spent my weekend at the National Capital Marathon (www.ncm.ca) helping out and coordinating the volunteer medical staff. As a result, all my usual weekend activities have been pushed back to today and tomorrow.

This shot was taken from the Laurier Bridge looking over Parliament Hill just as the sun was setting on Saturday. I had just finished up with the 5 and 10km races, and on my way back to my car, I saw this and snapped it with my trusty SD750. Kinda wish I had my XSi on me, but hey - can't win 'em all.

Enjoy.

From Project 52

Week 21.5: Monday, May 24th, 2010

WEEK 21 BONUS SHOT!! I just really liked this shot and wanted to put it up here :)

From Project 52

Technical details: Canon XSi, 18-55mm kit lens @ 18mm, f/3.5, 1/2000s, ISO 800. Black and white post processing in Lightroom.

Week 21: Monday, May 24th, 2010

This weekend's shot was taken in the lovely town of Perth, Ontario. I'm going to keep this short, as I want to be able to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having, and, given how this summer has been so far, I have no idea how long it'll last. So, without further ado, I give you Week 21:

From Project 52

Technical details: Canon XSi, 18-55mm kit lens @ 18mm, f/4.0, 1/1000s, ISO 200. Post processing in Lightroom to get the sepia tint.

Week 20: Sunday, May 16th, 2010

I love Ottawa. The city is the perfect mix of big city activity, and small city accessibility for me, which keeps things interesting and easy to get to. Throughout the year many different events are organized by the NCC, including Winterlude, Bluesfest, the Ottawa Jazz Festival and the Tulip Festival. Sure, Montreal has similar events, as does Toronto. But I'm in Ottawa, so I will say how awesome these events are here.


I just hit up the Tulip Festival, and took a lot of pictures there (full album available here). First, a bit of history for those wondering why Ottawa has a Tulip Festival.

Between 1942 and 1945, Canadians sheltered Princess Juliana and her daughters during the Nazi occupation. During that time, Princess Juliana (later Queen Juliana) gave birth to Princess Margriet at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. In order for Princess Margriet to be a Dutch national, they temporarily declared the maternity ward "international territory" so she could take on her mothers Dutch nationality. The Dutch continue to send over tulips every year (about 20 thousand annually), and the festival has grown to over 3 million tulips planted all over the Ottawa-Gatineau area, with the remainder being bought from Canadian and Dutch distributors.

It's a great event, and is on for another week. I highly recommend checking it out if you're in the Ottawa area. Again, the full album is available here.

From Project 52

Technical info: Canon XSi, 18-55mm kit lens @ 18mm, f/8.0, 1/200s, ISO 200. No post processing.

Weeks 18 and 19: May 1st and 8th, 2010

So I've been swamped the past two weeks and didn't get around to updating things on here. I went to the Canadian War Museum with some friends this past weekend. I'd never been, but I was very impressed with the sheer number of exhibits and the scope of Canadian history it covered (going back to pre-Dominion all the way to the present). A full album of my shots is available here.

One of the things I really enjoyed at the Museum were the dioramas they set up, illustrating various battles. This one was from a street fight in Quebec - the level of detail is absolutely incredible and really helps to bring the exhibits to life.

I entitle this picture: Pew pew!

From Project 52

Week 17: Sunday, April 25, 2010

There is a saying among photographers: "The best camera is the one you have with you."

Technological advancements in the last 5 years have led to smaller and smaller cameras, with cellphones coming with one (or more) camera's as standard. This can lead to some "street journalism" with bystanders filming events as they unfold; the current protests in Thailand, the tazering at the University of Florida, the shooting of an unarmed man on the BART transit system, just to name a few. At any given moment, I'll have between 1 and 3 cameras on me (my cellphone camera, my Canon SD750 and my Canon XSi).

This week's shot was taken in Little Italy using my N79 cellphone camera. The city has done a lot to the neighbourhood in recent years, and a lot of the character there is directly due to them renovating the area, without getting rid of the old buildings. So you have a great juxtaposition of old, scenic buildings with restaurants and stores that make it a great area to wander around.

From Project 52

Week 16: Sunday, April 18th, 2010

So this week's photo is a food one. I'm a little surprised it took me this long to get a food photo to be honest - anyone who knows me knows I love to cook. And the only thing I love more than cooking is eating.

Today's photo was taken at Mongolian Village in Bells Corners (link). It's a great little place very few people actually go to, for reasons that are beyond me. You go there, pick the veggies, meats and sauces you want, and they stir fry it for you there and then.

In short, food is great.

From Project 52

Week 15: Sunday April 11th, 2010

So Spring is here in full force. I've been enjoying the weather (aside from the three days of rain we got this week), grilling absolutely anything that can be grilled, and getting out and about to take some new shots. The new pictures are up at this album over on the Picasa site (click). I'll be adding pictures to that album, so keep checking it out.

This week's shot was for the Gizmodo Shooting Challenge (link). Same as how Week 10's shot was themed "Candlelight" this week the theme is "Spring's First Breath." For those wondering, the star of this shot was the same tree featured way back in Week 4.



Technical info: Canon XSi, ISO 160, 1/4000s, f/3.5, 31mm

From Project 52

Week 14: Monday April 5th, 2010

So we have had some absolutely beautiful weather this past week, and that, combined with a 4 day weekend, has resulted in the current delay in blog updates.

So I was downtown this past Saturday to see Capital Grass and the No Men perform (link here - listen to Golden Rules Bent - absolutely phenomenal tune!) and took some shots of them, as well as some more around downtown. In all my years on this Earth, I have never in my life heard the electric mandolin. Now I have. And its close cousin, the electric banjo.

One particular problem I faced was when you have a very bright foreground and dark background (or vice versa). As a result, you either end up with very washed out focal objects, or very dark backgrounds, neither of which are what you want. However, occasionally you can end up with some stunning shots.

From Project 52

Technical info: Canon XSi with 50 mm @ f/2.6, 1/100s, ISO 200. White balancing and creative filters applied in Adobe LightRoom.

Week 13: Monday 29th March, 2010

So this week's entry is a little late. A friend of mine is helping organize the Art for Aids fundraiser at Queen's, so I spent part of the weekend combing through my pictures for ones to donate to them. The final album is available here, and a link to the Art for Aids fundraiser is available here. For those in the Queen's/Kingston area, I highly recommend checking it out.

So a little background to this week's shot. One thing I used to do voraciously when I was a wee young whippersnapper was read. Reading for pleasure was replaced with "Sibley's Field Guide to Birds," "Ecology and Field Biology," "Animal Behaviour and Neuroethology," and my personal favourite, "Fundamentals of Biostatistics" which was a riveting and compelling story of the little p-value that could.

Anyhow. I've started to read more lately, but, like my taste in music, my taste in books is all over the place. So I laughed when I saw this on my bookshelf.



From left-right: Something Permanent (Walker Evans, Cynthia Rylant), Many Are Called (Walker Evans), The Defector (Daniel Silva), Lincoln Revisited (Harold Holzer), The Inferno of Dante (translation by Robert Pinsky), Stones into Schools (Greg Mortenson), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith), Moby Dick (Herman Melville). Between the 14th century Italian poety, 1930's photography, life lessons from the 16th U.S. President and the simple fact that "a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains," sometimes I wonder how I ended up with this eclectic collection of books.

Week 12: Sunday March 21st, 2010

This week's picture has no changes to it from the original picture - no changes in Lightroom, Picasa, Photoshop, nothing. I usually underexpose my pictures slightly (you know that little EV setting on your camera? I set than to about -2/3). Two reasons for this: 1) it is easier to increase exposure in post-processing than decrease it, and 2) it means the photos can be quicker (as it needs less time to let the light in). When I'm doing indoor/night shots, it is the difference between a crisp shot, and one that looks like it was taken through the bottom of a dirty glass.

Anyhow. Here is this week's shot:


As always, I welcome your comments :)

Week 11: Sunday, March 14th, 2010

So St Patrick's day is coming up, and the Irish Society of the National Capital Region (link) had a St Patty's day parade to celebrate. Lots of people were there, including Falun Dafa/Falun Gong, the Knights of Columbus, and, my personal favourite, Vaders Fist, the 501st Legion Canadian Garrison (link). Grown people dressing up as Tuskan Raiders, Stormtroopers and even Snowtroopers complete with random green paraphernalia. Good times all around - full album is available online here.

Technical info: I used the stock lens for this shot, as I was outdoors and so the fixed length of the faster f/1.8 became a bit of a liability. Canon XSi at ISO400, 1/400s, 43mm, and f/16.

Week 10: Sunday March 7th, 2010

This weeks shot was done as part of a contest at Gizmodo (link here). They do biweekly shooting challenges, and this week's was to do a shot with only a single candle for illumination. They've had some amazing shots up in the past, and it's always great to see what kinds of things people come up with.

Technical information: This was shot using a Canon XSi with the Canon 50 mm f/1.8 II lens at ISO 1600, f/14, 6.0 s exposure. I didn't use a tripod, since I don't own one, so I propped the camera on a book while I set up the picture (full manual focus, f-stop and exposure length), set a 2 second delay, hit the shutter and then let it do its thing. Special thanks to my sister for letting me borrow her jewelry for the shot. No post processing for this one beyond the conversion from CR2 to JPEG.

Week 9: Saturday, February 27th, 2010

So this week's post is a day earlier than usual. This is a direct consequence of tomorrow being the Gold medal game for Men's Ice Hockey, and I'm going to be parked on my couch, watching the epic battle unfold. And by epic battle, I mean Canada whupping the USA worse than they did in 1812.

So here is this week's photo. I tried to go for the "antique photo" look, inspired by 1920s-era photographers who used relatively primitive equipment (compared to what we have at our disposal now). Let me know what you think. :)

Week 8: Sunday, February 21st, 2010

So I'm starting to get into the swing of Project 52 now. I've got a few photos under my belt I really like (Weeks 6 and 1 in particular) and a few that I've just done as a laugh (Week 3). So far, so good.

I spent my Saturday afternoon taking pictures of my friend Unice's newborn baby boy Brayden (album available here). I've done some pictures of kids before with Mothercraft Ottawa, but one of the biggest challenges I had in this shoot was trying to capture everything he did - babies move incredibly fast, so unless you're constantly ready, you'll completely miss the moment.

Now, to completely go against everything I just said, I'm going to give you this week's picture. Brayden was passed out on top of his baby pillow, and I took this picture. Be prepared to go "awwwww" :)



Finally, I'd like to give special thanks to Unice and Nick for letting me put this photo up, and for agreeing to do this shoot.

Week 7: Sunday, February 14th, 2010

So last week I promised that I would be trying my hand at some sports photography. I volunteered to take pictures for the annual "Shave for a Cure" event organized by University of Ottawa medical students to raise money for the Childhood Cancer Foundation this past Friday (www.shaveforacure.ca). Held at Lansdown Park, I got to take some pictures for them, as well as take some shots of the Ottawa 67s.

For this picture, I used the 55-200mm USM Canon telephoto lens (link) I'm not completely sold on it, but it was a great deal, so I'm hesitant to return it. If anyone has any thoughts on either the 75-300mm Canon or an alternative telephoto, let me know.



This shot was taken from the front row of the 200 level, using the 55-200mm USM Canon lens at 200mm, f/5.6, ISO 640 at 1/250s. The other pictures I took are available online at my Picasa page.

Week 6: Sunday, February 7, 2010

Every year the City of Ottawa holds the annual Winterlude festival, an event that celebrates the Canadian winter. Each year they hold various events, including: ice carving, fireworks, themed events and stuff like that. A full list of events is available at their website (Official link here)

This was one of my favourite pictures from the night. However, I did take more pictures, and a complete album is available online at my Picasa album (link: http://picasaweb.google.com/betaphotography/WinterludeFireworks#)

Technical information: Canon XSi with a 50 mm f/1.8 prime lens, taken at 1/15s, ISO 800. Photo taken outside the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec.



Next week I'll be trying my hand at sports photography. Stay tuned! :)