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 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.

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 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 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! :)

The Beginning!

So I was talking with some people on the intarwebs, and one intriguing project someone suggested was 365 photos in 365 days. Every day, you take a photograph, and at the end of the year, you have a cool little project lined up that really highlights what is important to you.

Example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gtmcknight/sets/1748359/show/

However, that seemed too ambitious. Someone suggested doing a photo a week. So I stepped it down to 52 photos in 52 weeks. Given that in a regular shoot I can take between 400-800 photos without breaking a sweat, this seemed manageable in late-2009. Ask me in December and I'll probably be annoyed at past-Atif and his hairbrained schemes.

So here is what I propose. Every Sunday during 2010, I will attempt to upload a new photo that I took at some point in the previous week. I'm hoping that this turns out to be awesome, but even if it crashes and burns spectactularly, it'll make a fun little story.