Playing with lights

I am not really a big fan of flash photography, the reason I am saying that is probably because I totally suck at it, and I am. Last night I decided to get two of my flash guns and experimented on Jin in our lounge room. The first one was placed slightly to the right about a meter behind Jin and the second one was pointed towards a wall on her left. I quite like the results :) The three shots below were taken with 3 different flash ratios. I think I am starting to like it! Time to hunt for a bunch of PocketWizards lol!

Welcoming the Little Brother

Finally, this little brother of Canon has joined our ever growing Canon family. At first glance, the G11 definitely does not look like a typical point-and-shoot (pns) camera. With metal and composite construction, it is also much heavier than most typical 5x compact cameras out there, and the built quality is excellent. There are plenty of controls on top of the camera and I think the most useful one being the ISO dial. Comparing to G10, G11 still sports the same sensor size but with reduced resolution in order to improve image noise control. As this is the very first G-series compact I have ever own, I am unable to provide you with any comparison between them but from what I read online, it certainly works in favor of G11. Jin will bring this little baby for a test drive later and hopefully able to come back with some sample images to post.

From my brief experience with it last night, the only fault that I can find with the G11 is the tiny little viewfinder at the top. The VF is too small for my liking and I find it really hard to compose images through it.

Copyright of humans

Well, this is the second day of my do-nothing week, a break from my otherwise stress ridden, life-degrading and boring work life. Well, not exactly do-nothing as such, I did go out and do some grocery shopping, mowed the lawn and cleaned up my front garden this morning before the weather got too hot. Tomorrow unfortunately need to go back to work for a few hours in the afternoon but I am really looking forward to the dinner with a few friends coming over tomorrow night.

Now where were we....oh yes, for those of you who love taking photos of people in the street, or anywhere for that matter, have you ever wonder about your rights as a photographer? Have you ever wonder your action of taking photos of people (or buildings, statues or display of arts such as the sculpture by the sea) infringes any copyrights at all?

Well, I have been asked a few times because of my itchy trigger finger and I have also been told off a few times for doing just that. Well, I have done lots of reading this afternoon and I am glad to find out it is indeed perfectly legal to photograph anyone, with or without their consent (within certain limitations of course) in Australia, under the current Australian laws. Better reading here. However, in a few countries like France, publication of unauthorized photos (including on personal blogs/websites) is strictly prohibited although candid shots in public areas are not illegal.

Photography is not (yet) a crime!

The Blind Side

I am not really a fan for drama but this movie is both intriguing and inspiring! The film is based on the earlier real life story of Michael Oher, who is a current NFL player playing for the Baltimore Ravens. Michael (The Big Mike) came from an impoverished family of 12 siblings and he was separated from her drug addicted mother since he was young. Since then, he moved from one foster family to another until he met Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) and Sean Tuohy (Tim McGraw) on one cold night. Leigh Anne realized that Michael was homeless and was shivering in the cold weather, she decided to invite him to stay at their house. Slowly, Michael became part of Tuohy's family and their children love him.

Because of Mike's huge stature and gigantic strength, he is particularly suited to play American football and soon, he captured the attention of coaches from around the states. However, to in order to receive the NCAA scholarship, he needed to achieve 2.5GPA (I have no idea what it means but probably equivalent to TEE in Australia) but his GPA was too low at the time. Hence, Leigh Anne hired a private tutor to teach him at home and soon, all the teachers at the school were trying to help him out as well.

This one of the best "feel good" movies I have ever watched and it is probably Sandra's best!

The Goose

Went down to Busselton for the long weekend and it turned out to be the perfect break just as we wanted albeit a really short one. We have passed through this tiny town numerous times in the past but we have never stopped overnight. As expected, most accommodations were fully booked for the long weekend but we were lucky to find a great motel room vacant near the beach. Unfortunately, we didn't take many photos as initially planned, partly due to the unusually hot weather I guess. This morning, we went to The Goose by the beach for some breakfast and what can I say, the photos speak for themselves! They were delicious and servings were rather generous too. I had the "Big Breakfast" and Jin had French toasts with grilled banana and bacon. MMMM :))