Weekend In Hamilton

Hi everybody,

This past weekend I went to Hamilton with a good friend to visit some family and friends.  It was good to spend time with them.  The pictures on this post are only a sample of all that was done.  It was a jam packed weekend.

On Saturday morning we went to the Hamilton Market.  It was indoors which was nice since it is getting very cold outside.  We parked a couple blocks down to get some free parking and walked into the city.  On our walk there we passed by a clock tower which you can see below.

Like a typical market there was a variety of different stands and people; people selling this and people selling that.

After the market we went to the Cathedral of Christ the King.  This is a Roman Catholic Church only open for mass so we weren’t allowed inside.  We also went for a walk by the small forest by the church.

We also went to the harbour on Lake Ontario.  I like the picture with the old man walking by the tug-boats.  Everything in the picture draws you eyes behind him, yet he walks forward.

Thanks again for taking a look.  I hope all is well.  Life can be so busy at times.  Don’t forget to breathe and look around once in a while.

- Larso

“As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.”

                Proverbs 27:19

Winter In Waterloo

Hey everybody,

Although winter was a bit late in the GTA it eventually did come.  And now that it’s here it’s only going to get colder and colder.  Growing up in BC I did not really experience a true transition of fall into winter like there is here in Ontario.  Although I’m not a huge fan of the cold I’m glad I could witness it.

Everybody I meet in Ontario keeps talking about how “magical” the first snow is.  I’m not sure if I’m completely won over yet.  I must admit that it’s one of a kind feeling when you are cozy and warm inside, drinking a hot beverage while listening to good music, possibly even reading, while it’s snowing outside.  It’s a hard feeling to beat...

So I finally bought a dSLR.  After much research and searching I bought a used Nikon D90 with a 50mm lens.  Besides some minor defects I’m very happy with it.  It’s fun to shoot.

These next set of pictures are from my walk to work this morning.  It takes me 20 minutes usually to walk.  I think I doubled my travel time today. J

This is the church right down the road by my house:

This is the beauty of having a 50mm lens.  You can have your desired object in focus with the entire background blurry.  This is why it is so commonly used for portrait photography.

Thanks for taking the time to take a look and possibly even reading what I write. J

-Larso

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”

                Proverbs 27:5,6

Beautiful Ontario

So as most of you may know I am from BC working in Ontario for a couple of months.  The slogan on the BC’s license plates is “Beautiful British Columbia”.  However, I am learning that Ontario can be extremely beautiful in its own way.  The season of fall here is absolutely wonderful!  There are so many rich colours that are complemented by a brisk fresh autumn air.

I grew up on a very small farm where I had to regularly take care of sheep.  Sheep tend to be quite unintelligent.  They may not know how to lead, but they make great followers.

In Owen Sound, Ontario:

“Sunrise...”

And for every sunrise there is a sunset somewhere else in the world. I call this one “be watchful...”

We think our world so big and that everything we do so important.  But when we realize the scale of what is really going on it makes us stop and think.  “Perspective...”

The Star Trek quote of this blog is a funny one:

Warf: What is it?

Guinane: Just try it...  you'll see, it's an earth drink.  Prune juice        

Warf: A Warriors drink!

S3E15

Fire-spinning

Hey everybody!

It's been a long time since my last post eh? At least 4 months or so. I was taking full time summer courses back home in BC. However, now I'm back in Ontario for another coop work term. I plan to join the photography club again to continue my hobby as a photographer.

This next set of photos were actually taken last April. I was going through some of my photos and completely forgot about them. I thought I should share them because fire-spinning is totally amazing!!!

You may recall awhile back I had a post on Light Painting and I had some pictures of a guy called Dhruva. We kept in contact and he invited me to catch some action shots of him and his friends. Thanks a lot guys!!!

These next two are closer up shots of the performers:

I really like this next shot because it gives a good feel for the atmosphere.

I recall that I used to have a Star Trek quote each post... I've gotten through the the entire series of TNG and unfortunately am not watching any Star Trek anymore.

Thankfully, my engineering training is coming in useful and I was quickly able to find a document with a bunch of quotes I logged. Great eh? :) This is a dialogue between Q and Jean-Luc Picard.

Q: I gave you something most mortals never experience. A second chance at life. And now all you can do is complain?
PICARD: I can't live out my days as that person. That man is bereft of passion and imagination. That is not who I am.
Q: Au contraire, he's the person you wanted to be. One who was less arrogant, and undisciplined as a youth. One who was less like me. The Jean-Luc Picard you wanted to be, the one who did not fight the Nausicaan, had quite a different career from the one you remember. That Picard never had a brush with death, never came face to face with his own mortality, never realized how fragile life is or how important each moment must be. So his life never came into focus. He drifted for much of his career, with no plan or agenda, going from one assignment to the next, never seizing the opportunities that presented themselves. He never lead the away team on Milika Three to save the ambassador, or take charge of the Stargazer's Bridge when its Captain was killed. And no one ever offered him a command. He learned to play it safe. And he never, ever got noticed by anyone.
PICARD: You're right, Q. You gave me the chance to change and I took the opportunity. But I admit now, it was a mistake.
Q: Are you asking me for something, Jean-Luc?
PICARD: Give me a chance to put things back the way they were before.
Q: Before you died in Sickbay. Is that what you want?
PICARD: I would rather die as the man I was than live the life I just saw.

      S6E15 - Tapestry

New York City

This past Easter long weekend I went down to New York City with a good friend. We left Thursday after work and came back Sunday evening. We had the time of our lives. We saw so many incredible sights and met some very interesting people. It will be hard to forget this weekend.

New York has an abundance of tall buildings. I call this next set “look up”:

This is at ground zero where they are building a new trade center or also known as the Freedom Tower. It is will stand 1,776 feet high once complete in 2013. 1,776 feet was chosen as the height since the declaration of independence was signed in the year of 1776.... well that's at least what our one tour guide told us. :)

We also took a boat tour around Manhattan which stopped right in front of the Statue of Liberty. The statue was presented to America as a gift from the French and was built built by French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi. She was finished in 1884 and presented to America on July 4^th.

Traffic in NYC is a gong show. There are taxis, taxis and more taxis.

One of my favouite things about travelling is meeting interesting people. I also have a great appreciation for street performers and those that pursue what they love to do. I like to share three pictures of people doing what they love to do. It's seems rare these days that people go out and live out their dreams.

This first picture is of a shoe-shiner named Lenny. If I recall correctly he has be shinning shoes for over 40 years in downtown Manhattan. He did a mighty good job of shining my boots. This picture was taken by my buddy who I went to NYC with.

A pianist in a restaurant that we went to in Little Italy.

A trumpeter in Central Park.

So that's it for this blog. These pictures are just scraping the surface of this trip. There is no way I could share all my experiences here.

And now for the Star Trek TNG quote of this blog:

Tomaloc: I urge you captain Picard to surrender. Consider the men and women you would lead into a lost cause.

Picard: If the cause is just and honourable they are prepared to give their lives. Are you prepared to die today Tomaloc?

         The Defector – S3E10

Pray for Japan

I was walking around campus the other day and saw this simple yet powerful request.  The picture speaks for itself:

 

More High-Speed Photography

It's been awhile since I posted something on my blog. Here is some more high-speed photography. People really seem to enjoy these types of shots.

Here are a couple of exploding balloons. This never gets old. The 1^st one is a chalk-filled balloon and the 2^nd is a water balloon being sliced by a knife.

Next up is the exploding cork from bottle. We filled the base of the wine bottle with baking soda, poured a whack load of vinegar and quickly corked the bottle. It took a lot of shaking and patience to finally get this working, but it was definitely worth it in the end.

There is so much more happening in this next picture than just a popping water balloon:
     The appreciation and admiration of one friend to another.
     The dedication of an aspiring photographer to get that perfect shot from the perfect angle.
     The complexity and beauty of the water and rubber immediately after the explosion.
And to think that all this happened in just a fraction of a second....

And now for the best part... the Star Trek quote of this blog!! I've been pretty busy lately and haven’t been able to watch very much Star Trek lately. Nonetheless... here it is:

"I think when one has been angry for a very long time, one gets used to it. And it becomes comfortable like old leather. And finally, it becomes so familiar that one can't ever remember feeling any other way..."

        JLP The Wounded – S4E12

Light Painting

Hey everybody! This week at Photography Club I learned about light painting. Light painting is a style of photography where you use a long exposure and move a light source like an LED or glow-stick within the frame of the picture. By doing this you can “draw” and create amazing light patterns.

Here are some colourful stars and a heart drawn out by some members of the club using an ipod. Right before we close the shutter we fire a flash to capture the person who is drawing. This is called “Rear Curtain Sync/Flash”. This way we don't only get the pattern they drew but also drawer in the same image :)

 

This next picture is a bit eerie... two glow-sticks were used here.

Right as people seemed to be packing up and getting ready to head out a guy came named Dhruva walked in the room saying he heard that photo club was meeting and that he could do some glow poi for us!! I was totally stoked! I've known about poi but never seen it live... just on youtube :P

These next shots are awesome...

Thanks for taking a look. Please feel free to leave comments or remarks.

I almost forgot to do a Star Trek TNG quote for this blog... Here it is:

Gosheven: I really was willing to stay here and die for this.
Lt. Cmdr. Data: I know that. This is just a thing. And things can be replaced. Lives cannot.

                               S3E2

marco-photography

This past week at UW Photography club the theme was macro. I love macro-photography. Finding details in extremely small object/scenes is kind of fun. It's only when you take to the time to look at something closer you realize how much is really going on.

Here is the poem “In Flanders Fields” on the Canadian 10 dollar bill.

The next two shots are of some sea-shells with necklace holding some rings. Pretty elaborate eh?

Money seems like a common object to photograph for macro-photography. This a Taiwanese coin. I had no idea it was from Taiwan but I showed it around at the photo club and somebody there was from Taiwan and recognized it.

The other side of the Taiwanese coin.

Here is the Canadian penny. I find these everywhere on the ground.

So these last two are not marco at all but I took these on my walk home from photography club. This is in a church parking lot nearby my house. I like the lighting in the 1st and the feeling the photo gives off in the 2nd one.

I shall leave you with the 'Quote of this blog'. Taken from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Pretty much one of the best show ever. :) Here is is:

“You can handle defeat in two ways. You can lose confidence or you can learn from your mistakes.”

               - Troi          S2E21