shot of the day - 11.30.2010

was hoping to have my new toys today... UPS tried to deliver them yesterday and again today... but not at the times they said they would so no one was home.  stupid UPS... now i gotta go pick them up tomorrow. 

anyway, didn't get much inspiration today.  went for a quick shopping trip at Uptown with Rayna tonight... it's coming along nicely but seems they are bringing in a lot more high end stores.  not quite sure if they'll last.  can't wait to see what the rest of it's going to look like...

shot of the day - 11.29.2010

today, i thought i'd showcase another one of my hobbies...

shot of the day - 11.28.2010

okay... this is only the 4th day?  this is already proving to be a challenge!  it is definitely tough to find a good photo opportunity everyday!  may have to make a slight alteration to the "promise"... maybe a shot every other day?  or a shot a week?  however, as i've been explaining to people, this is to help me look at things differently... a different angle, a different detail, a different composition... well, i may cheat a little since i usually take more than one shot a day.  may have to fill up some days with some of my "favourite" shots of the week.


went to see a local production of Wizard of Oz today at the MacPherson Playhouse.. haven't been in there in a while... i've always loved the way old theatres look.  the low lighting gives it a very mysterious feel.

shot of the day - 11.27.2010

went on a walking ghost tour tonight... they say Victoria is the most haunted city in British Columbia... whether or not this is true, i dunno... but i know for a fact that many places are haunted.  luckily i have yet to personally experience many of the stories i've heard over the years but i do believe in ghosts and think i have experience some supernatural things in my life so it freaks me out but is also interesting to me.  i take it like it's a history lesson... here's a shot i took of Bastion Square while we were waiting for the tour to begin.  kinda reminds me of something from Harry Potter.  this area is said to be very haunted... and definitely has a creepy feeling to it.

in honour of Carrie's birthday, i had to include a shot of her :)

the owl apron Jen and I got her

shot of the day - 11.26.2010

went for lunch in Chinatown with my mom today... as we were walking back to the car we passed by Dragon's Alley and she goes, "is that where you guys took photo's for Carrie's wedding?"  why yes mother, you are correct... i hadn't been in there since Carrie and Lee's wedding 2 years ago so we decided to take a stroll through there.  i could probably do a lot more with it if i had more time and my tripod but was able to take a feel snaps. 

shot of the day - 11.25.2010

fulfilled my promise of the day... fingers crossed that it will continue.  took a quick wander around on my lunch break and came across the fountain in front of the legislature.  the weather is warming and the snow has stopped, for the time being... but the fountain has froze over and created quite an interesting sculpture.

new toys...

it's the american thanksgiving weekend... i keep getting all these emails about black friday shopping... found myself on the amazon.com site.  *yikes* i know... yeah, so before i knew it, i put in an order for some new additions to my Lumix LX-3.  i've been wanting to get a few of these for my Canon XSi but they aren't cheap so will settle for the cheaper option of adding to my point and shoot...

fisheye lens - can't wait for some of the silly photos that are going to come out of this thing!

.45x wide-angle converter - it's gonna double what i get now, so approx. 11mm... we'll see what i can do with this one.  it'll have a bit of a distortion on the edges giving it a little bit of a fisheye affect but not as prominent as the actual fisheye lens

filter kit - wasn't sure about this one because i'm not sure if it comes with a converter... the two lenses do so maybe it'll work out.  basically got this because i'm getting all three items in a package and it's WAY cheaper than getting the filters for the DSLR.  it has a polarizer so i can play with it and hopefully get more familiar with it before i go to spend the money for more equipment for the DSLR

here we go...

i'm a little nervous starting this blog.  not because of who might see it, because quite honestly, i don't think a lot of people will care since my photos are posted on so many locations as it is... facebook, twitter, flickr... i guess i'm nervous about the commitment level i'm putting on myself.  i really want to stick to the promise that i will take a photo a day... even if it's just some random shot of crap on the ground.  who cares, right?  i may see it as crap but someone else might see it as gold.

anyway, i've already broken a promise since i have yet to take a shot today but i'm impatient and wanted to start this thing.  so, to make up for it, i'm going to post a few of my favorite shots i've taken in the past few months.  some nicer than others, but there's something about these ones that i keep coming back to...



haven't done any photo shooting in a while.  one day my friend Tania and i decided to head up island to Cowichan Bay for a little bit of different scenery.  the shot below was taken outside a bakery (my bad, i didn't look at the name of the bakery).  they had all these old bikes nailed to the wall, sitting on the side of the building, or used as a railing of sorts (see photo below).  it was a really neat.  i've also been trying to do more black and white shots to get a different aspect.  i always forget that i have that option and am usually pleasantly surprised at the outcome when i do remember to use it.

outside a bakery in Cowichan Bay

 

headed out to Sidney last weekend with Rayna, Jen and the kids for the Santa Claus parade.  we were a little late and had trouble finding parking so by the time we parked and got out of the car the street was already filled with people.  i was hoping to get some shots of the parade... figure out the settings of my camera since i haven't used it much lately and have basically forgotten what to do outside of the automatic settings... i had to stand behind 3-4 rows of people so had to do some sneak shots through the crowd.  i kinda like the affect it had on this shot.

Sidney Santa Claus parade

this shot was taken with my LX-3.  Taye had a very long day... it was his mom's wedding day and he was up and about with the rest of us early in the morning getting ready for photos and such.  there was no rest for any of us.  he finally found a spot to lay down... he quickly fell asleep even with the music blasting and the reception still going at full tilt just 2 feet away from him.


Taye after a long wedding day