One year on

Tony left us one year ago today. Doesn't seem that long ago, but in some ways it seems longer. This is an edit done today of a shot from our only photoshoot, back in 2006.

Miss ya Tony.

Mike

Corey's back yard

Corey and the Fallen Birch Tree

I first came across Corey on her old Myspace page somewhere in mid 2006. She had posted a couple of classic 'in the bathroom mirror' photos. While cool, I knew, despite having little experience with such things, I could improve on them. I hesitated at first, but when I found out she didn't live too far from me - at the time round on Kipps Lane, I asked her if she would model for me.

Stonefaced

Self portrait in sidewalk shadow on a sunny day. With trademark camo soft brimmed hat.

Mike

Red

For the Love, 2009

Sometimes bright colours can improve an otherwise nondescript building. The Board Shop. Wharncliffe Road, London, Ontario. May 2009.

Mike

Beautiful in it's horror

Photographer: Dave Martin/AP

A wave in the Gulf of Mexico breaking on Orange Beach, Alabama. Thats more than 140km from the British Petroleum oil spill. via The Guardian in the UK.  Someone said this was the oil industry's 9-11. I think it's more like the oil industry's Chernobyl. 9-11 stopped. Chernobyl is still a disaster.

Mike

It's now ten years since my dad passed away

Reflections on the way up

Today is the tenth anniversary of my father's death.  He was 76yrs and a handful of months old when he died on June 15, 2000. My brother Murray was born on Father's Day, and my dad died in the last hour of Murray's birthday a short 31 years later.

When dolls get pissed

A Scarecrow's rude gesture

Going through some older images and backing them up... I saw this.

Shot May 2009 in London, this scarecrow doll thing was straddling a low chainlink fence and posed in a way to be doing the Italian elbow: the 'gesto dell'ombrello.'  No idea who it was directed towards :)

I imagine this being done several times during the world cup by one side's fans or the other.

Mike

Turtle's Log, Stardate 10.06.10

Turtle's Log, Stardate 10.06.10

The sun was getting low in the sky, and I just happened to catch this guy on the way back while testing out the camera. The log was drifting from right to left. The reeds in the foreground were on again off again blocking the turtle on the log as it drifted. I really only had one spot to shoot from and didn't want to startle it into the water by moving around. When I finally had a clear shot, the sun was no longer on the turtle as much as the distance reeds.  Still pretty lush and sharp and green. Can't complain too much :) 


Mike

Like Galaxy's Child

Like Galaxy's Child

A big fat leopard spotted tadpole shot through a few cm of water.

Swimming slowly above a rock, it reminded me of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Galaxy's Child", in which a huge spaceborne animal latched on to the hull of the Enterprise D to siphon the starship's energy. This tadpole looks like it's a giant creature high above the surface of a dead world.

Or not. :)

Mike

Dragonfly frame four

Dragonfly sunning on rock

This is the fourth frame ever shot from my Canon 450d that was the warranty replacement for the dead 400d I mentioned before. I still can't deal with the Raw files it creates directly - Lightroom doesn't like these CR2s, so I have to use the bundled Canon Digital Photo Professional to import and convert them into Tiffs and then muck around with it in Lightroom or PS from there. Screwing with my workflow, but I am hoping it's only temporary.

The above image, if you click on it, is cropped a touch from a slight rotation. Blogger wont allow the full sized version, but of you go to my flickr there is a link on this photo's page to view it full sized.

I believe its a clubtail dragonfly of some sort shot sunning on a rock by a pond. I tried to match it briefly online but couldnt locate a dragonfly with a single yellow spot, and dark eyes like this one.

Shot nearly straight down from a foot or so. 105mm, ISO 100, f6.3, 24-105L.  As the sun lowered in the sky, this was probably one of the few remaining warm rocks still in direct sunlight.

Mike

A New Hope

That is what I did this afternoon. But let me rewind a bit.

Last week, I got word from Henry's that they had a replacement in store for my dead XTi 400D: a Canon Rebel XSi 450D. So yesterday, after watching Miss Lizzz randomly fling pieces of chopped fruit around, I headed to the Masonville Henrys store to pick it up.

It was Saturday afternoon, so it was a little busy in there, but there was AC and I didn't mind waiting to be helped out.  After drooling over Octo soft boxes for a few minutes, I let them know they called etc., and proceeded to do the paperwork for replacing the body.

Some excellent 2010 French Open photos

Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber

(AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Photos via the Denver Post of the 2010 French Open.  And no not one shot of the Williams sister with the interesting underwear choices. Really cool sports shots. I will leave that to TMZ.

Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki

(AFP PHOTO BORIS HORVAT)

Mike

Examples of bizarre and hilarious vintage adverts

Over on Katize there are other examples of these vintage advertising images. So strange to think they were common place and not looked on as weird as they appear today.

Mike

AstroPhotographer Soichi Noguchi

Image via NASA

This guy is Japanese Space Agency Astronaut Soichi  Noguchi, who goes by Astro Soichi on Twitter. He is seen here just before he left the International Space Station today onboard a Soyuz capsule - after a six month stay as part of ISS Expedition 23.