If you aren't Happy
Which Dwarf Are You?

There was a gathering of tall ships in Toronto Canada / Independence Day weekend, and while I found some interesting shots of rigging and hardware, I especially liked this rope hanging off the stern of the German ship, so swimmers could climb back aboard. The ship was steady, being tied to the dock, hardly any motion at all, so the movement of the water expressed itself relative to the monkey's fist knot at the bottom of the gently swaying rope. This one is scaled down; click on the picture to go to my photo website gallery of animations and see it full size.

Toronto's Gay Pride parade, last Sunday, July 4th. How do they arrange a HOT day, year after year? Do they have special arrangements with the man upstairs? or is it the hot guy downstairs? Either way, it was a day for super-soakers, especially the humunguous one on the fire enging bringing up the rear.

The Ray Flash is a piece of plastic that fits onto a on-camera-flash to provide the effect of a ring flash. Ring flashes are essential for certain macro photography, common, for example, in medical photography. When you're in close, an ordinary on-camera flash is shadowed by the lens itself, so only a portion of the subject is illuminated. As well, the ring flash is soft, because the light comes from a large area, compared to the relative point-source of an ordinary flash. Not as soft as a softbox or umbrella, but better than on-camera flash. So it combines the full-on lighting of on-camera flash, without the harsh shadows, and retains some texture thanks to the softer light source. Click on the photos for a large version. The trunk of my car, including the white Ray Flash box and the brown shipping box. ISO 400, 1/200 @ F/8.0, 24mm on EF 24-70, Canon 5D mark II. Those military families are trying to invade my bookshelf. Notice how the soldiers are essentially shadowless, yet the d...

When cars were new, a hundred years ago, each had different arrangements for the controls. There were hand throttles, foot throttles - originality was more important than consistency. Those were the days when a European automobile executive foresaw a market for a million automobiles, since that was his estimate of the number of peasants intelligent enough to be trained as a chauffeur! The consistent user interface observed in all cars is a prerequisite to their omnipresence. Imagine getting into a rented or borrowed car and needing to figure out where the controls are. In the late eighties I remember being unable to use a friend's car, unaware you have to push a button to turn the key. But muscle memory is even more important. Driving on British highways is not a problem, you stay in your lane with all the other people. But when you're going down a narrow country lane with hedges either side, and a lorry comes around a corner up ahead, my Canadian instincts take me the wrong wa...

We had our company holiday party recently, where I work. I set up a photo booth, to get some practice in doing studio type portraits. Lesson one: I should have taken my own backdrop, instead of using the net and painted background of the indoor driving range. I thought it would go darker and more out of focus, but not quite enough. I do like the portraits, all the same.

Got my new Canon 5D Mark II camera, and took some pictures at a party in a dark restaurant. ISO 6400, F/4.0, at a mix of 1/10s, 1/20s, & 1/30s, handheld, 105mm except the wide shot, 24mm. Lenses with Image Stabilization are a good thing. The real reason people hold birthday parties: Never leave out the party organier:

The moon is pretty big and pretty bright tonight, and I'm supposed to practice focusing my new telescope. ISO 100, 1/100s, and the telescope naturally provides f/8. On the canon XTi, the 500mm lens acts like an 800mm. The camera shoots 3888x2592. This image is 1778x1778. Ignoring the wasted sky outside the central square, cropping doubled the apparent size of the moon. Clearly, I'm not finished practicing, that focus needs to be sharper. Still, an interesting addition to the collection, especially considering the price. Of course you have to count that against the time you spend doing multiple takes, trying to get the focus right. Let's rate that at just $20/hr ... it adds up.