five thousand photos: 2012.01

2012/01/31

2012/01/30

2012/01/29

It only seemed right that the first photo from the Canon S100 would be of the slightly battered Panasonic TS3. The plastic bezel around the lens shows the most abuse, but the aluminum body has a few nicks in it as well.

While the S100 has much better image quality and controls, it certainly can't take a hit the way the TS3 can. I also prefer the Panasonic for its lens – not so much the quality, but the fact that it doesn't extend. That makes it much easier to take in and out of a pocket, even when the camera is on; the flat front also means that it's not obvious that the camera is on when I'm carrying it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what difference the new camera will make for the second half of this project.

2012/01/28

2500/2500

This is post number three hundred and one, which means three hundred photos posted over two hundred and ninety-nine days. While this is the half-way point in the project's run to five thousand photos uploaded to the supporting gallery, I've actually taken over six thousand pictures with my TS3.

So far I'd say that it has been a success.

Now I'm making a slight change. From this point on I won't be using the TS3 exclusively; instead most of the photos will probably be taken with the little beastie pictured here. (and naturally I have an accompanying Canon S100 review.)

The TS3 will undoubtedly make appearances again once the water thaws and the fountains start running again. But for now the days are very short and I'm looking for more creative control.

I've devised an elaborate way to identify the origin of the photos. All of my TS3 photos have been posted between noon and 1pm, so all of my S100 photos will be posted between 1pm and 2pm. That makes an easy and obvious way to distinguish between the two, but just in case, I'll also tag each photo accordingly.

2012/01/27

2495/2499

2012/01/26

2474/2486

2012/01/25

2467/2470

2012/01/24

2446/2455

Experimenting with long exposures. The only option is to use the "starry sky" mode, with a minimum shutter speed of fifteen seconds, and no other control options.

But I do like this photo, and can't be too hard on the TS3. Later in the night it toppled forward and slid face-down along a granite boulder on its way to a two-foot fall to the frozen ground. The front handgrip has some small scratches that are deep enough to show silver metal through the orange colour coat, and the lens bezel has a few new nicks, but otherwise the camera is just fine.

2012/01/23

2429/2436

Every time I look at this I hear the theme from "Jaws".

2012/01/22

2417/2425

2012/01/21

2408/2408

This is part of my bike route to work. It's an interesting spot because I need to dodge to the left to avoid turning cars, swing back to the right to cross a complicated set of streetcar tracks, and then move back to the left on some really bad pavement to avoid the cars, trucks, and taxis that are invariably parked at the curb.

One morning when traffic was light I was able to spare enough attention to look around a bit. I always assumed that this was a designated loading zone, and I was wrong. No stopping and tow-away signs are attached to every available post.

In other news, the committee that advises Toronto City Council has proposed increasing fines for illegal parking during rush hour, or blocking bike lanes at any time, to $150 from $60. However, there's also a stipulation that no additional efforts will be taken to enforce the laws that are consistently being broken.

Did I mention that this spot is almost within sight of the Toronto Police headquarters?

2012/01/20

2405/2406

These are American safety vests, not Canadian ones. Canadian vests have an "X" pattern on the back and suspender stripes only on the front; that way it's immediately obvious which direction the wearer is facing.

(And yes, the reason why I know about the standards for high-viz vests is connected to photography. I may even own one.)

2012/01/19

2395/2404

2012/01/18

2392/2393

2012/01/17

2390/2391

One section of one of my bookshelves.

The centre is my recommended reading list: Understanding Exposure, The Visual Story, Perception and Imaging. From there the route diverges; Light Science and Magic is great for technical photographers, while The Nature of Photographs and The Photograph are ideal for the more introspective and art history types.

And yes, I know I have a few screws loose.

2012/01/16

2382/2387

2012/01/15

2375/2381

2012/01/14

2359/2366

2012/01/13

2348/2348

This is one of my favourite ads right now.

First of all, these days it's rare to see a company so blatantly saying "Think for yourself! Don't buy what they want you to, buy what we want you to!" It argues against the eternal idea that consumers are more sophisticated these days, and niftily defeats its own message for anyone who's actually in their desired self-aware counter-corporate demographic.

But that's all beside the point. How is that computer staying on her legs? And if she stood up, how tall would she be?