Indulging My Passion for Photography

Ottawa

2012-02-12T00:24:00.000-05:00

Here are some images of the Canadian Parliament and some other interesting architecture from my recent trip to Ottawa. I will be posting some images of the Winterlude (which was the primary reason for the trip) in a few days.

Red Velvet Cupcake

2012-01-22T17:13:00.002-05:00

After my lazy version of the Chocolate Lava cake turned out to be a flop, I was looking for another recipe that had chocolate in it. I will try the lava cake again and let you know how it turned out, but for now, here's something else.

I had Red Velvet cupcakes in mind for a while now as well, so I recently went and dug the recipe out from my archives (and yes, my archive for recipes to try is quite a large one, so stay tuned for future recipe posts).

I adapted the recipe from the original, which I almost always do (call it some kind of cheap pleasure at perpetually wanting to bend the culinary rules; mind you, I never break the law, though!). I mostly used my own measurements for flour and butter as I normally use for my regular cupcakes, simply because I like their light and fluffy texture. However, I found the Red Velvets a little bit on the heavier side, probably because of the buttermilk the recipe called for.

Please read on for my version of the recipe. Not too many images this time, as I baked in the evening, and there wasn't much time to try out different setups. I also wanted to try my hand at using artificial lighting for my food photography, and this was actually one of those exercises. I don't have very high-end lighting equipment, but what I have right now will need to be tweaked a little further, so I can get some nice results. An exercise for another occasion.

The Cupcake
Self-raising flour - 150 gms (5 oz)
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature - 1/4 cup
Granulated sugar - 150 gms (5 oz)
Buttermilk - 1/2 cup
Egg (large) - 1
Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Red food coloring - a few drops

Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting
Icing or confectioner's sugar - 1 cup
Low-fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature - 125 gms
Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature - 50 gms
Milk - 1 tbsp
Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees C. Line a muffin pan with cup cake liners and set aside.
In a small bowl mix together the first 5 ingredients and set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Add half of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk, making sure it's combined.
Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and buttermilk; combine everything together but do not over mix.
Add enough food coloring to get the desired red color for your cupcakes.
Using a spatula mix the batter thoroughly making sure nothing is left on the sides of the bowl.
Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop the batter evenly into your prepared cupcake liners and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before you frost them.
To make the frosting, simply put all the frosting ingredients into a bowl and mix well with an electric hand mixer.
Mix until well combined and the frosting has a thick-ish consistency. You can adjust the consistency by adding a tablespoon of milk at a time if it's too thick, or adding a tablespoon of sugar at a time if it's too runny.
Frost the cupcakes either with a little spatula or use a piping bag fitted with a plain large tip.
Let cool in the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes to allow them to set a little before serving (if you can resist them anyway)

Snowstorm

2012-01-14T01:24:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post on the snowstorm that's been throwing things out of gear here in Montreal and the surrounding areas over the last couple of days. I decided to work from home because I had a really hard time driving back in the snow last evening. The car skidded a number of times and once I got home, I had an even harder time trying to get the car into the parking spot. There was way too much snow and it felt like I was driving into a snow bank. I was nervous as hell, this being the first major snowstorm I've driven in, and I just didn't want to risk driving back and forth today, especially after a freezing rain warning.

I had wanted to get to the last row of trees you see in the background. The white field of snow beyond that row of trees is actually the frozen river :)

My bedroom blinds were pulled down, so I hadn't a clue what was happening outside since the morning, till I got up to go to the kitchen to grab something for lunch. Lunch was forgotten when I saw that the snow was coming down in humungous flakes. I donned my protective clothing, packed up my camera, picked up my tripod and headed out into the snow.

I was optimistic about being able to get close to the river, because I wanted a shot of the Champlain bridge across the river in the snowy haze. But no such luck! The snow was at least 6 - 8 inches deep, and there was no way I could go in there. I didn't have a lot of time, since I had to get back to my work, so I just put down my tripod any where I could and shot off a few frames.

I'm not totally satisfied with the compositions for a couple of reasons - I had to hurry back, and you cannot really do a lot when you are strapped for time. I was using my 17 - 50 mm lens, but the snow prevented me from going further back to be able to get more of the scene. So, I just mostly stayed in one place and did what I could. Additionally, the snow was getting on my lens and it just didn't feel safe. So, I packed up after about 10 shots or fewer, and headed back home. I got some curious looks from the occasional drivers who were brave enough to be on the road - I just smiled back at them, knowing what they might be thinking - what a crazy woman she must be! ;-)

The white blotches in this image is snow on my lens :)

New post on my birding blog

2012-01-07T00:56:00.002-05:00

Please check out the latest post on my birding blog here: http://shinydewdrop-birdwatching.blogspot.com/2012/01/downy-woodpecker-picoides-pubescens.html

Photo shoot from the past

2012-01-05T00:39:00.000-05:00

Last year (it sounds like some time in the distant past already) I actually did a number of photo shoots for different people and occasions, but didn't really get a chance to post any images from those shoots. However, I thought I would set that right, since this blog should ideally reflect all my exercises in photography at any point in time. And they say that it's better late than never, isn't it! So, the images are better late, because it gives me a chance to go back and see what I have really done by way of portraiture and how my skills and style have evolved.

I'd also like to mention that I now have a photography page on Facebook. It would be wonderful if you stopped by and "Like"-ed the page, since I know you stop by here often because you like me! Jokes apart, it would mean a lot if you dropped by and said "hello" on FB.

Here are some images from a few of the photo sessions:

Here's to Sweet Beginnings!

2012-01-01T03:23:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to make a quick posting to mark another year of blogging. Hope you'll stick around with me in 2012 as I go forward with my photography.

I baked these cupcakes a couple of days ago. You can find the recipe for the cupcake in an earlier post. The only thing I changed from the earlier recipe was to omit the strawberry flavouring and add pina colada flavouring instead.

Happy New Year, everyone! Wish you the best of health, peace and love!

A Cold and Misty Morning

2011-12-29T00:41:00.001-05:00

I remember the first time I had seen the mist over the river one chilly winter morning last year. I had been on my way to work and when I'd looked out of the window, I'd seen mist curling up from the water's surface. I hadn't seen anything like that before, and I remember being intrigued by it. I was on the bus, no camera handy, so all I could do was whip out my cellphone and click a couple of snaps before the road curved and the river was out of sight. I mentioned it to a colleague and he told me that he had seen it before and that it happened on a chilly and bright morning right after a mild day during the winter. It made sense that the cold air would mist up when it came in contact with the relatively warmer waters. And since that first time, I'd seen this once more after that.

Since I'm on vacation, and I thought it might be nice to do some photography at sunrise, I decided to wait for a mild day followed by a really bright and chilly one. I checked the weather, checked the cloud cover, and then checked the temperatures. Seemed perfectly what I was looking for! So, I set the alarm for 6:30 am.

I would need about 15 to 20 mins to reach the spot I had in mind, and then another 5 mins. or so to set up. I would have at least 20 mins, before the actual sunrise at 7:33 am. Except when I reached the spot, I realized that the sun had moved during its annual journey and the sunrise wouldn't be visible from that spot any longer. I was frantic. I walked down another 500m or so and found the spot where it looked like the sun might be hiding just below the horizon. Praying that was it, I set up.

The temperature was minus 19 deg C and with the windchill it was around minus 23. I was dressed quite warmly and I hadn't planned on staying out for long anyway. But the wind, especially because I was right next to the river, was bone chilling. My ears and nose started to freeze first, and then my fingertips.

And then the magic happened! The sun started to peep out just above the horizon and as it got a little bit brighter, I saw the mist curling upwards - slow, small curls to begin with, and then it suddenly seemed like the river water was boiling and steam started pouring forth. The wind blew the mist right up to the shore, and it was absolutely breathtaking!

I forgot my fingers, and my toes. I just kept my eyes on the river. And all of a sudden, a flock of ducks landed on the water. That was a once-in-a-lifetime sight that I wasn't prepared with my camera for. I had no idea that there would still be ducks in this kind of weather, but the winter had been really mild up to that point, and I have a feeling the birds, and the trees are thoroughly confused by it.

I wasn't carrying my long lens, so I took a couple of shots and zoomed in on my LCD to see what species of ducks they were. Although they were back-lighted by the sun, the shapes of their heads and bills told me they were Goldeneyes and Mergansers. It set me wondering if these ducks remained in this region all year round, but that would be difficult because when the river finally freezes over, they would find no food!

Anyway, I am planning to make another trip down to the river in the next few days to see if I can find them again. I also saw a Mallard family swimming closer to the shore than the other ducks and it would be interesting to see if they hang around during the winter as well. I do remember seeing a pair of them early this year, when there was still a lot of snow on the ground and the little lake in the forest was still frozen.

Since I'd missed the photo op of the ducks landing on water, I thought I might be able to see them leave. But no luck - I waited for over 2 hours, but they stuck around happily swimming in the golden mist! They looked beautiful like that, but I know they would look beautiful at take-off. And my half-hour outing had turned into 3.5 hrs, and I couldn't feel my toes and fingertips any more. I was scared I'd get frostbite, and therefore turned to head home. And would you believe that I had hardly left the scene, when I heard the ducks take flight? I looked out over the river again. There indeed they were, flying off into the distance, and being behind a cluster or really tall trees, it made no sense to even attempt a shot.

Well, damn the ducks, at least I had the opportunity of seeing the mist over the river that morning!

Strawberry Cupcakes

2011-12-19T23:40:00.002-05:00

Thanks to my son, now I have to bake my cupcakes and eat them too! :( Not good, considering I shouldn't be consuming any more sugar than I already do. I should have self control, you say? Well, if you knew what kind of internal battles I fight every time I look at a sugary treat, you would know I'm trying really hard.

I got the idea of strawberry cupcakes because I found strawberries at unseasonably low prices at my neighbourhood grocery store. And since I'd been promising to bake cupcakes for the past month, I thought I should just seize the opportunity and the berries and put them to good use.

I recently indulged in some baking tools and this would be the best occasion to break out my neat little cupcake liners. I love the pattern and thought they would be perfect for the pink delights.

I'm not that great at piping, but thought I'd take the opportunity to just use the pastry tips the best I can. Didn't turn out too bad in the end, did they?

Enjoy your cupcake with a glass of milk, or a cuppa tea or coffee!

Here's the super-easy recipe!

The Cupcake

Self-rasing flour - 150 gms (5 oz)

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - a couple of pinches

Granulated sugar - 150 gms (5 oz)

Butter (room temperature) - 150 gms (5oz)

Eggs, beaten (room temperature) - 3 (medium)

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Strawberry essence - 1tsp

The Low-Fat Cream Cheese Frosting

Light cream cheese (room temperature) - 125 gms

Butter - 100 gms

Confectioner's/icing sugar - 8 0z

Strawberry essence - 1 tsp

A few strawberries and other decorations for the topping

Method

The cupcake

Preheat the oven to 350 deg C.
Line a cupcake pan with paper liners, or grease it and keep aside.
Put the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric beater for a minute or so.
Add the sugar (preferably sifted), a bit at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Add the vanilla essence and then slowly add the eggs; continue beating for another minute or so. You might find the mixture curdling a bit, but don't worry, it's normal.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in another bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Start on a low speed and gradually increase the speed till the mixture is light and fluffy again.
Fill the cupcake pans halfway to the top with the batter.
Bake for about 18 - 23 mins. You will need to check the cupcakes at the 18 min. mark so see if a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. If you see a few wet crumbs, leave them in for a couple of mins. and check again. Baking them too long can make them chewy and dense.
Once the cupcakes are done, let stand for a couple of minutes and them remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The frosting

In a bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese till fluffy.
Slowly add the sugar and strawberry essence.
Add the cream, if using.
Beat on high for 3 - 4 mins. till light and fluffy. The mixture should form firm peaks.
If the mixture looks too runny, add more sugar; if it looks too thick, add a teaspoon full of cream at a time to bring it to piping consistency.
Use a piping bag to pipe the frosting on to completely cooled cupcakes, or use a knife to slather on the frosting.
Top with fresh strawberries or other decorations.

Chef's tip: I prefer to keep it low in fat and sugar, but you are very welcome to use the full fat cream cheese and sweeten it to your taste as well. The original recipe called for 2 cups of sugar, but I used only a cup (8oz). Additionally, I omitted the cream. If you use 2 cups of sugar, you will definitely need some cold whipping cream to thin the frosting down a bit and add some fluffiness. Cream makes it lighter on the palette, but it's far from lighter on the system, if you know what I mean!

And by the way, keep a look out for my Chocolate Lava Cake recipe to come in the next couple of weeks, if not sooner. :)

Announcement: My Work Gets Published

2011-12-13T18:48:00.001-05:00

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but something or the other always got in the way. My recipe and food photography was recently published. It's the blueberry trifle recipe that I've already posted, but seeing it on another website is so much more exciting.

You can find the recipe here.

Happy Birthday, Master Cartoonist!

2011-11-29T23:07:00.000-05:00

This post is dedicated to Jon Druker, my favourite cartoonist at this point in time (Jon, if you don't keep your comics coming regularly, you might be replaced! Ok, I'm joking about that, I guess you know).

I had promised to all you cartoon-lovers that he had offered to grace my blog another time. And even though it's his birthday, and the gift should be from me to him, he decided to defy tradition and send a gift my way in the form of this post.

I asked him if he'd like to share his thoughts about his art as he looks forward to the year ahead, and he very kindly sent me his words of wisdom. There's a lot to learn from what he says here. Read on and do visit his latest comic strip here!

After running into Toni for the second time in as many days, I began to think about the value of a picture. Knowing Toni is a photo buff at heart, I often wonder how she or any other photographer sees the world. As a cartoonist of ill-repute, my eyes are often my camera as I picture my comic layout in my head like a photog would. Framing, lighting, mood, expression, texture, all the things that make up a good picture.

But I have to add storylines, dialog and consecutive character positioning to build what could be a moving set of images. But it all starts with the pictures (and not the voices) inside my head. And the pictures are often the result of ideas that stem from random discussions. Like the one my wife and I had about clothing and seamstresses that led to me laughing out loud in the car as I cobbled together the dialog and frames for a new comic.

So my advice to you if you are the creative type, take as inspiration the work of others, the words of others, and even the sounds of others, then shade them with your rose-colored glasses and go from there. You may produce great works, mediocre, and even questionable work, but at least you will have produced something, and not just consumed. You'll feel better for it. I know I do. Just look at my Stanko & Tibor comic to see over years worth of my highly unique humor.

Happy Birthday, Jon!

Blueberry Trifle with Lemony Mascarpone Topping

2011-10-26T00:13:00.001-04:00

If you are a fan of desserts, especially desserts that contain berries, you'll love this one. I have a really easy recipe for the blueberry sauce, which I use a lot in my crepes and pancakes. However, the main recipe is borrowed and adapted. Besides using my own blueberry sauce recipe and adding a larger quantity of lemon zest and essence in the topping, I mostly stayed true to the original.

Recipe for Blueberry Sauce

You will need:

Blueberries, frozen or fresh - 2 cups

Water - 1 cup + 2 tbsps

Sugar - To taste (I use about 3 heaping tbsps)

Lemon juice - 2 tbsps

Salt - a pinch

Cornstarch - 2 tbsps

Directions:

Wash the blueberries, if using fresh, and put them to boil in a saucepan with a cup of water.
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 8 - 10 mins till they are cooked.
Add sugar, salt and lemon juice and simmer for an additional minute while stirring the sauce to make sure that the sugar is distributed evenly.
Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tbsps of water and add to the simmering sauce.
Stir continuously as it starts to thicken, and slowly bring to a boil one last time.
Remove from heat and let stand covered.
You can store this in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Recipe for the Mascarpone Topping

You will need:

Mascarpone cheese - 225 gms

Heavy cream - 3/4 cup

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Lemon zest from 2 medium lemons

Lemon essence - 4 - 5 drops

Piping bag with tip (optional)

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and the lemon zest. Use your fingertips to really mix these ingredients well.
In a medium bowl, add the mascarpone, cream, sugar and lemon zest mixture and lemon essence. Beat with an electric beater until the mixture is light and fluffy and it forms moderately firm peaks.
Spoon into a piping bag with tip attached (if using), or set aside.

Assembling The Trifle

What you will need:

Pound cake - 4 thick slices, cubed

Blueberry sauce - 1 portion (recipe above)

Mascarpone topping - 1 portion (recipe above)

Trifle dishes/dessert cups - 4

Directions:

In the cups, pipe or spoon a layer of mascarpone topping.
Add a layer of cubed pound cake.
Add a layer of blueberry sauce.
Repeat the above steps.
Finally, top off with a swirl of mascarpone, or a spoonful of blueberry sauce.

The end result is super delicious! Check out the original recipe at My Baking Addiction - an absolutely amazing blog! The mascarpone cheese makes this really rich, so even a small serving goes a long way to throw any diet off its course! And, watch out - this could be addictive! :)

Bell Peppers with Spicy Pork Stuffing

2011-10-10T22:59:00.002-04:00

I had been longing to try my hand at making stuffed bell peppers, but I kept putting it off until recently (actually, not that recent, come to think of it; just didn't get the time to post this sooner). Bell peppers were on sale (thanks to the bountiful Summer), and I thought that it would be just the right time to have a go at this.

Anyone that knows me, knows I'm a big fan of spicy food, and fortunately for me, my son is too! Therefore, I knew what my stuffing would be - a spicy meat filling.

I had originally wanted to make the filling with lamb, but since luck didn't favour me that day, I didn't find ground lamb at the supermarket. I'm not very fond of ground beef or chicken, so my only other option was to settle for pork.

I made this recipe up as I went along, and you can pretty much use any kind of meat for the filling. I like to use a lot of onions, ginger and garlic, but you can always adapt the measurements to your taste.

I do plan to retry this recipe with crumbled Indian cottage cheese, called paneer, and mixed veggies sometime in the future. I will be starting to get ready for my cooking classes again, so I have a sneaking feeling it won't be anytime soon. If you try it ahead of me, please drop me a line to let me know how that came along.

Here's the recipe that serves four!

Bell Peppers Stuffed with Spicy Pork

Ingredients

Bell peppers - 4 large (any kind will do; I used orange and yellow)

Ground pork: 250 gms

Onion, sliced - 1 medium

Green peas (frozen or fresh) - 1 cup

Potato, cubed - 1 medium

Croutons - 1 cup

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Cinnamon - 1/2 stick

Cloves - 2

Green cardamom - 2

Peppercorns - 10

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - to taste (remember we're adding peppercorns)

Salt - to taste

Fresh coriander, chopped - 1/2 cup

Olive oil - 3 tbsp

Method

For the stuffing:

In a grinder, add cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom and peppercorns and grind to a fine powder.
Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat, and add the ginger and garlic paste.
Saute for a minute and then add the sliced onion.
Add the salt, and let the onions cook until they become translucent.
Make a paste of all the spice powders with a couple of tablespoons of water and add to the onions.
Let the spices cook for a few minutes, till they are nice and aromatic.
While the spices are cooking, microwave the small potato cubes in 2 cups of water, so they are half-cooked (oven settings vary, but about 2 minutes on high in a 1000w oven). Drain the potatoes and set aside.
Once the spices look nicely cooked and you see the oil starting to leave the onion, add the ground pork. Cook well, breaking up any lumps with a spatula.
Add the potatoes at this stage, cover the saucepan and let cook for about 10 mins, stirring frequently.
When the potatoes are almost cooked, add the green peas, and cook covered for an additional 5 mins.
Add the croutons and fresh coriander, and mix them in well.
The filling needs to be really dry, so if you see any moisture, cook uncovered for a few more minutes until completely dry.

For the bell peppers:

Wash the bell peppers very thoroughly under warm running water and pat dry with a paper towel.
Slice off the tops of the peppers and retain.
Pass a knife very carefully around the insides of the peppers to remove the seeds and the white pith. Be careful not to puncture the flesh on the sides or the bottom.
Wipe down the insides of the peppers with a paper towel, making sure it's completely dry.
Take a few drops of the remaining oil on your fingertips and rub the insides and outsides of the peppers.
Stuff the peppers generously with the pork filling, and put the tops back on.
Preheat oven to 350 deg.
Line a baking sheet/tray with foil sprayed or rubbed with oil.
Place the peppers on the tray and bake for about 45 mins to an hour (time could vary with different ovens). Make sure that the peppers are cooked, but not completely mushy. They won't hold their shape, otherwise.
Take the peppers out and gently brush them down with a little more oil.
Put the oven to the highest temperature setting, and put the peppers back in for another 5- 7 minutes, till the skin starts to char a little.
Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes, as they will be too hot to handle.
Carefully remove the peppers to a serving plate, and serve immediately. Remember that the peppers will be a little soft and will need really careful handling to ensure they retain their shape.

Enjoy! My son loved it, as you can tell from his plate! :)

B& W Project 52 - Week 9

2011-10-07T21:31:00.000-04:00

B& W Project 52 - Week 8

2011-10-07T21:29:00.000-04:00

Been under the weather lately, so everything is happening with a delay. Well, as the saying goes - it's better late than never. Therefore, I will have to post shots for two weeks together.

B&W Project 52 - Week 7

2011-09-21T21:06:00.000-04:00

I thought I liked this shot, till I uploaded it to Flickr. Now I don't, but I have to keep it since I don't have anything else to post for this week.

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

2011-09-18T19:50:00.000-04:00

Please check out the new post on my birding blog.

B&W Project 52 - Week 6

2011-09-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

Here's my beautiful model again! And I swear I'm not cheating - she actually sat for a second photo shoot with me this past Saturday.

B&W Project 52 - Week 5

2011-09-06T23:28:00.000-04:00

New Post on My Birding Blog - Great Blue Heron

2011-09-03T00:25:00.000-04:00

Long overdue again, but I finally did it! Please check it out and do feel free to share it as well: http://shinydewdrop-birdwatching.blogspot.com/2011/09/great-blue-heron-ardea-herodias.html

B&W Project 52 - Week 4

2011-08-29T01:20:00.001-04:00

I did a photo shoot for my friend last evening, and it was one of the worst disasters I've had thus far. She got late arriving, so we were working in fast-fading light. But I had already prepared myself for it, and had my flash at hand.

However, on reaching the park where we were supposed to have the session, my flash refused to fire! I had no idea what had gone wrong with it or the triggers, and then it starting firing very unpredictably once I started using my pop-up flash to trigger it. I ran a number of tests this morning, but it's still not doing it's job as it should. Maybe it's the sync chord that needs replacement? Anyway, the entire session was a nightmare, and I didn't end up getting many nice images.

I added a selenium filter to this one in post.

The following image is technically very wrong as there's too much shadow in the face, especially around the eyes, but there's something about it, that I really like, and therefore decided to post. Please let me know if you think I'm crazy for posting this. :-S

Charming Charlevoix - Part 2

2011-08-23T00:06:00.001-04:00

Parc National des Hautes Gorges de la Riviere Malbaie

On the first day after arriving in Charlevoix, we drove up from La Malbaie and visited this breathtakingly beautiful park. We had chosen to stay at La Malabaie only because it would be in close proximity to the few places we had planned to visit; the ride to the Hautes-Gorges Park took about an hour and a half.

The drive was really lovely, and we passed through a number of fields of wildflowers and some really quaint and picture-perfect villages. Something we observed was that each village had it's own landscaping theme. I particularly remember a couple of villages where one had put puppets/effigies in their front yard that ranged from an Elvis Presley doll, to a nun in her habit sitting and swinging. Another village had small sets of the Nativity scene or little altars of worship at the front of their houses. Unfortunately, they were country roads, and too narrow for us to pull over and take pictures. Now I'm regretting not having attempted a few shots from the car itself. Maybe I'll have the opportunity of going back again, if only to take pictures of these villages.

The park is surrounded by mountains, and the River Malbaie rushes through this gorge. There are hiking trails, fishing activities, as well as canoeing and river boat cruising. I managed to only hike on one of the shortest trails, because my friend and I were too busy taking photographs! We were stopping after every two steps, and it`s a wonder we even made it to the summit. The view from there was absolutely stunning!

There was one little patch of pretty pink Sheep Laurel and I just had to photograph them.

And some very interesting cones

Canoeing seemed to be a popular activity at the park. Although I didn't experience it first-hand, I think it might be a great experience to be out there boating on the river, taking in the beautiful views.

... or participating in a group activity

It was a memorable day, and if I am ever to go back to Charlevoix, I want to visit this park again.

B&W Project 52 - Week 3

2011-08-21T01:18:00.001-04:00

Thanks, Jim, for finding me my shot for the week! :)

New Post on My Birding Blog

2011-08-13T22:29:00.000-04:00

It was long overdue! I have so many hundreds of shots of birds, and I haven't had time to post them or even process them. This new post is all about Black-Capped Chickadees!

B&W Project 5 - Week 2

2011-08-10T23:18:00.004-04:00

Recent photo shoot with a gorgeous young lady!

Stanko & Tibor: A Comic Strip Par Excellence!

2011-08-07T23:20:00.001-04:00

If you remember from my last post, I had promised to write about a really talented cartoonist I had the opportunity to interview. He is my ex-boss, but it wasn't until recently that I found out about his extraordinary talent for cartooning. I always knew of his humorous side, but discovering that he actually translates it into an art form didn't really come as a great surprise - I was almost expecting it! And for all you car lovers, please know that he is a contributing editor for The Car Connection!

Jon Druker, the creator of Stanko & Tibor, invited me over to his home to give me an idea of what he does, how he does it, and where he gets all his inspiration from. I also had the pleasure of meeting his two sweet little girls who even helped me with my reflector! Now, even my son doesn't offer to help me with it, although I did bring him with me to Jon's on this occasion. But he didn't object to losing his job as an assistant at all!

Please read on, and definitely hop over to his blog, and since Jon has very kindly offered to do a guest post for my blog, please keep your eyes open for it!

Jon, ever since I heard about your comic, I've become a great fan of it. How long have you been cartooning?

Jon: I have been cartooning since I was a kid, but only seriously since I was in my mid-20's, when I was doing my undergraduate degree at Queen's University. As for this comic strip, it's something I started when I was at university, lo those many years ago, but I stopped doing for one reason or another. I only picked it up again as a promise to myself I made before my 40th birthday to start cartooning again, and publish it on the web.

I see you cartoon about a lot of different things, including current affairs. What do you draw your inspiration from?

Jon: Inspiration comes from many places. Mostly my family, where out-competing each other for the best joke or funny line has been a tradition since well before I was born. Comedy is a central part of how I handle life, and see life. There is humor everywhere and in almost all situations, even including death. I have heard some of my favorite jokes at funerals.

As for visual inspiration, it's interesting that you, Toni, as a photographer ask. That's because I often get a picture in my mind of the story I want to cartoon. I see the images in my head and try to place them in a frame and space them out. It is the visual aspect that I find the most challenging to "construct" so to speak.

My drawing inspirations range from Hergé's Tintin to Charles Schultz's Peanuts, to Astrerix & Obelix, the X-Men comic books from the early 80's by John Byrne. But there I have also taken inspiration from many of Dali's paintings and drawings, and in particular Picasso's sketches. Carravaggio was another source of visual "food" for me. Such geat colors and structures in his work.

So, Jon, who would you say, is your audience?

Jon: My audience is anyone and everyone who wants to laugh at the world the way I do. I don't aim at anyone in particular and just hope others get a laugh -- and buy my t-shirts.

What are your other passions/interests?

Jon: Cooking, cars (I blog at TheCarConnection.com on advertising), and skiing. When I can squeeze it in I also contribute my time to a charity called Leave Out Violence. Somewhere in between I manage to work full-time and raise 2 kids with my wife. Not sure if I am taking on too much at once.

Would you ever consider offering your cartoons as a service, for example, for book covers, illustrations, etc.?

Jon: I'll happily offer my services for book covers and other illustrations, I just have to find the time to do it. :-)

Jon, thanks a lot for your time and for inviting me into your den, where you make the world a more humorous place, one comic strip at a time! :)

Another Project - B&W Project 52

2011-08-02T23:00:00.002-04:00

Week 1

I couldn't wait to post the first one! This rose was from the bouquet my friend brought me on my birthday. I had to click this before it started to wilt with the heat, but fortunately, the weather's cooled down a little bit again, so the 3 red roses are still thriving.

I am starting this project in the hopes of getting back on track with some serious photography, rather than just shooting what I can find. 52 black and whites in the next 52 weeks!

I will try to blog more regularly now, and hope to start with the food project in the next few months. I rather wait for the colder months to do that, so I'll find something to shoot while I'm indoors. I'm looking for feedback on the best practices of doing b&w photography, so please drop me a line when you stop by!

I'm also excited about two photo shoots coming up in the next couple of days - one of them is going to feature a great cartoonist from Montreal! Stay tuned!

Charming Charlevoix - Part 1

2011-07-27T01:26:00.001-04:00

I have been really falling back with updating my blog with all the latest happenings, one of them being my recent trip to the beautiful Charlevoix region of Quebec. I had been prepping for this for ages, and it finally came to fruition recently. It was a short 4-day trip, but it's a long story! But in a few quick words this is what I have to say - I fell in love with the place, and I'm definitely returning for more!

Our itinerary was something like this -

Day 0: Montreal - La Malbaie
Day 1: La Malbaie - Parc National des Hautes Gorges
Day 2: La Malbaie - Baie Sainte Catherine
Day 3: Chilling and looking around La Malbaie
Day 4: Drive back to Montreal by the scenic route

It mostly went as planned, except we went to Iles aux Coudres, and then sneaked in a drive around Baie Saint Paul, on the day we were supposed to be chilling at La Malbaie. It worked out great, because I managed to pick up a couple of gifts for my friends from the quaint boutiques selling everything from candy, to soaps & lotions, beautiful paintings, and handmade dinner & cookware. But more on those when I get there.

Let's start at the beginning.

We drove out of Montreal around 5:00 pm, planning to arrive around 10:30 pm at La Malbaie. A couple of friends were going to drive, and the rest of us were going to just enjoy the drive. Since we wanted to get to La Malbaie at a decent hour, I decided to bring some dinner so we wouldn't have to stop for too long waiting to get served at a restaurant. To do this, we decided to stop right outside Quebec City, where we found a nice and quiet little inroad that led to a pier.

However, what seemed quiet from a distance turned out quite noisy, as there was already a large group of people having their picnic dinner on the pier, and it pretty much looked like we were interrupting the private party. However, instead of wasting more time trying to find another spot, and without turning a hair, we decided to have our little picnic there as well, albeit after we'd taken in the otherwise tranquil surroundings, and the beautiful dusky sky.

After being outside the vehicle for a few minutes, we changed our minds about picnicking on the pier, and chose to stay inside the car as we got mobbed by bugs.

Twilight

The village church

The tranquil river

When we finally arrived at La Malbaie, we were greeted by Jean Luc, the owner of the bed & breakfast we were going to make our home for the next 4 nights. Jean Luc had stayed up waiting for us when we arrived around 11:00 pm and very cordially invited us into his home and showed us to our rooms.

We couldn't see a whole lot in the dark outside, but when we walked into Auberge La Chatelaine, we were completely charmed by the old Victorian style house that was well-maintained, and impeccably clean. We were even more charmed by the beautiful bedroom us girls were going to be sharing. And each of the rooms had a name - ours was called Amboise! What a sweet name for the beautifully appointed room!

Amboise

We were enthralled by the interiors, but we weren't quite prepared for what we had merely glanced at during the night, and what would take our breath away the next morning.

One of the guys (there were three of them, and us two girls, in our little entourage) let me know that he was an early bird, and we decided to get up and about fairly early in the morning. The only thing we were a little bit perturbed by was the creaking boards of the old, yet charming house. Despite being extra-careful, we pretty much managed to wake everyone else up, but no one felt inclined to leaving their beds at 5:45 am. So the two of us just took off to discover the beautiful town of La Malbaie in the early hours of dawn (I will talk about La Malbaie in the following post, so stay tuned).

La Chatelaine in the early morning light

Auberge La Chatelaine is owned and run by Jean Luc and the breakfasts are cooked each morning by his mother. We were totally wowed by the array of dishes laid out for breakfast and the warm patio where we could just sit down, relax, eat and watch the birds and the bees at work.

Yummy!

Everyone had finished while I was still taking pictures of the food!

As I stepped into the hallway outside our bedroom on that first morning, I was greeted by the cheerful colours and the many curios strewn around, and I'm sure each piece had its own story to tell, but I was too excited by the prospect of stepping outdoors to worry about the interiors.

The hallway outside our bedroom

Upon my return from the morning discoveries, I was greeted by the aromas of the fresh breakfast that had been served in the dining room already. All I could think of then was my growling stomach, and I couldn't wait to dig in.

There were different kinds of cheeses, quiches, frittatas, eggs, french toast, cereals, yogurt, fresh fruit salad, fresh home made bread, tea, coffee, juice - the works! The star of the show was the ham and cheese casserole and the fresh fruit pie on the first day! The menu changed every morning, and every morning was a surprise!

The table laden with a gourmet breakfast

My favourite part - the dessert!

We dug into it, and by the end of breakfast, we were too full to even move. However, we had a packed day ahead, and had to leave sooner than later.

What I loved about La Chatelaine are a number of things - extremely clean and well maintained, beautiful interiors that will transport you back to 1892 (the year of construction of this house), the excellent menu at breakfast, where you just eat your fill and get on with your day. The friendliness and warmth you are greeted with, and the ever-smiling offer of assistance with anything and everything, including booking a table at the local cafe, are things you value as a tourist. You need guidance from a local to tell you what's the best place to eat at, or the points of interest you just shouldn't miss. We found all the help we needed right at our fingertips - from Jean Luc.

Looking into the parlour

The dining area

I also found out, during the course of my stay that he loved photography, and we ended up talking a bit about my favourite topic, of course!

If anyone should want to visit Charlevoix, they should stay at La Chatelaine in La Malbaie, if only to just experience the great feeling of being at home away from home. I will give this place a 4.9 rating, and I definitely plan to go back there again. And Jean Luc mentioned that they might even think of starting a dinner service, which would be authentic Italian food! Yes, you guessed right - he's Italian, and you know what Italians are famous for - their food and hospitality! So check them out, if you have Charlevoix on your list of places to visit.

Flying Over Montreal

2011-07-18T17:10:00.001-04:00

It was a fabulous surprise when a friend sent me an email asking if I wanted to fly over Montreal with one of their friends, Thierry Zibi!

Thierry is the CEO of his aircraft manufacturing company H. A. I. M. Aviation (http://haim-aviation.com/) , and also flies for pleasure from time to time. He's designed an ultra-light aircraft that most people can fly for recreational purposes. Getting a license for flying these birds is much simpler than getting licenses for flying other types of aircrafts. Thierry's design is soon going into production, he very enthusiastically told his eager and excited audience.

Well, this time Thierry had a couple of available seats in his plane, and I jumped at the offer and went flying with a couple of other friends on a Sunday afternoon.

We were originally going to fly in the early evening, and I was really excited as I thought that I might be able to see the sun set over Montreal. However, the weather changed, and we had to fly earlier. Thierry was monitoring the weather very closely, and it was really interesting for me to see him roll down the window every so often to check the cloud cover, enroute to the Lachute airport from which we were to take off.

The sun went behind the clouds, and stayed there for most of the time. That made the flight better (read cooler and more comfortable since the cooling system in these aircrafts aren't that efficient), and I didn't have to battle the sun flaring through my camera lens. But I did have a hard time photographing the city below which looked pretty dark, with all the clouds hovering over the city.

But the flight went off beautifully - Thierry educated us on how the radio works, what route we'd be taking, and what we would need to do in order to have a pleasant flight, etc. and we were soon lifting off the ground, for my maiden flight in a light aircraft.

He was a fantastic pilot, and he let one of our friends, Midhun, co-pilot the aircraft with him. Midhun actually flew us back to the airport and that was pretty neat. He was an excellent co-pilot, despite this being his first time flying, and we all returned alive, back to the airport. :=) Jokes apart, the flight was smooth and a dream come true!

More pictures in my Flickr Photostream, if you're interested.

Natural Horsemanship @ Punkin Patch Farm

2011-06-24T15:34:00.001-04:00

Natural horsemanship is the philosophy of working with horses by appealing to their instincts and herd instincts. It involves communication techniques derived from wild horse observation in order to build a partnership that closely resembles the relationships that exist between horses. - Wikipedia

Last Sunday, my friends and I had the opportunity to visit my colleague Wolfgang and his partner Kathy's farm in Rigaud, QC. And the farm has the cutest name ever - Punkin Patch Farm. It's only an hour away from Montreal and 1 hr and 15 mins from Ottawa.

You must visit, if you are in this region, or even if you aren't, make the time to do so. Please check out their website for more information on schedules. The owners are very happy to show you around, time permitting, although it's best to call ahead and make an appointment if you don't want to be disappointed. They're extremely busy caring for their own and others' pets, so do call ahead.

If you're just looking around and not taking riding lessons, please leave a small donation towards the upkeep of the farm. All the animals are given treats for the little tricks they perform, and it would be a nice gesture if you did that.

The barn at Punkin Patch Farm

It was a gorgeous day when we visited, and I was accompanied by my son and some friends who drove with me from Montreal, and others who drove in from Ottawa. So, to start with, the company was great.

The greatest thing was however, the experience we had at the farm. Let me introduce you to Wolfgang & Kathy!

Kathy & Wolfgang in front of the barn

Kathy is the owner and the head trainer of the horses and has spent decades working with these gentle and beautiful animals. And it's not surprising that she does this with a passion - she's one of the most patient, gentle and kind persons I've met! And her passion for her beloved horses, shines in her eyes when she's with them, or merely talking about them.

She spent hours regaling us with stories about the horses she has or has had on her farm, stories about how she trains them or cares for them. My friend's kids listened to her with rapt attention and I wasn't surprised when they lovingly brushed the horses down when Kathy and Wolfgang let them do so - they'd already built a bond with Punkin, who's the star of the farm, and Toby, the shiny black horse.

Kathy brushes Punkin down before the ride

Since they believe in raising and growing everything organically, Kathy & Wolfgang don't believe in using chemicals. Therefore, to prevent mosquitoes and flies from harassing or biting the horses, she likes to have a fly mask on them (instead of using bug repellant), which are removed only when those pests are absent. We, unfortunately, didn't get to see the beautiful eyes of the horses, but I'm definitely planning to go back to visit them at a time when the fly masks can be removed - maybe when it's cooler?

Besides the horses, there were chickens and a couple of roosters, cats, and Roland, the wolf. I had mostly wanted to visit the farm for the new chicks that were born recently, and I had gone with the impression they would be running around being cute and fluffy. They were definitely cute and fluffy, but were nowhere near running around. They had to be kept warm under a heat lamp. (Us, city folks, are pretty ignorant about farm life, aren't we?! tsk tsk) As a result, I couldn't get good photos of them because the coop was only illuminated by the red light coming from the lamp.

Little chicks keeping warm

The batch of chicks that were older were milling around each other in another enclosure, but it was way too dark again for a good photo.

We were told that Roland was a cross between a wolf and a husky, because it's against the law to keep a wolf as pet. Roland had incredible eyes - one brown and the other one blue! And what a handsome guy he was! I wish I were brave enough to get behind the mesh to get a clear shot of his eyes. :(

Roland

Kathy and Wolfgang grow their own vegetables and if they have some leftovers, they are happy to sell them to you. Every summer, Wolfgang brings fresh veggies and eggs from his farm, and I have to say that I really wait for the eggs! I absolutely love eggs and they are extremely fresh, being less than a week old, and they taste and look great on your plate. I'm already looking forward to this summer's supply! :)

I have tried my best to summarize my experience, but no amount of summarizing does justice to the real experience of spending a day at their farm!

I have uploaded a lot of pictures to my Flickr stream, so please feel free to go and take a look. And I highly recommend that you go and visit the farm and help support local farmers by buying their produce. During times when we are all concerned about global warming, Nature conservation, eating organically grown food amongst other things, you can help immensely by supporting your local economy!

Berry Nice Parfait

2011-06-13T23:44:00.001-04:00

I did say I would start doing some serious food photography. So, I decided to start, without much ado. We have been having incessant rain and bad weather for the last 4 days, and it doesn't show any signs of letting up. I was going to do a team photo shoot at work, but had to cancel because of the rains. It's almost summer, but where are the summer temperatures?

So enter the summer fruits! A parfait, made with fresh berries, yogurt and granola is by far my favourite breakfast cereal or even late-night snack. I sometimes add sweetened coconut or some honey to the parfait, but for this shoot, I didn't want to mess with the honey and get my camera sticky like the last time.

I bought a ton of berries over the weekend, and therefore, you're going to possibly see some pictures of those over the next few days till they finally get consumed.

The issue I'm having with photographing food is that my kitchen is the only spot where I get a really good quality of natural light, but unfortunately the work area is so small, it's becoming a great challenge for me. And I should have chosen my furniture wisely - I have a tall bar table and chairs, which raises the height so much, that unless I'm standing on a ladder, I can't get a proper bird's eye shot of anything. And I don't even have a ladder! So, I have to stand on a chair, and then stand up on my toes to gain some extra height. I could put the food down on the floor, but I wouldn't dare do it for fear of spiders and other bugs getting into it.

I used my 90 mm lens through the entire shoot with a varying aperture of f/2.8 or f/4.0, but mostly used it at 2.8.

I have challenged myself to now take shots that I will touch up only minimally, including cropping. I will definitely have to crop my images of birds, because unless I invest in a $8000 lens of 800 - 1000 mm, I don't think I have the faintest chance of getting a shot that doesn't need chopping up.

I took all these shots from different angles, and by varying the set-up and I think I'm pleased with the outcome. I've taken a load of food pictures in the past, but they were mostly hurried and done in a specific way for my cooking classes. But it doesn't have to be that anymore.

I'm only warming up, right now. Wait till I start posting some real food shots with real recipes! ;-)

My New Birding Blog :-)

2011-06-07T23:56:00.000-04:00

I decided to set up my birding blog sooner than later. It's still a work in progress and I'm sure it will see a number of changes in the next few days, but if you would like to check it out, please feel free to do so. I plan to update it as frequently as time and opportunity permits, but that is one blog that will keep growing.

Looking Back on the Photo 365 Project and Going Forward

2011-06-05T23:28:00.000-04:00

(Image shot in Ottawa - the giant iron spider titled "Maman", a monumental sculpture by Louise Bourgeois.)

It's been a few days since I posted my last shot to the project and it's given me a little time to ruminate over this. I can't say I feel much different, because I'm still picking up my camera almost every single day. I had to consciously stop myself from doing that when I went out for a walk with my friend the other day - I wanted to see the world through my own cataract afflicted eyes, instead of at a 15x magnification through my lens. Let's just get this straight - I have poor vision (ok, the cataract was a bit of an exaggeration for now) and I realized I was using my camera as a visual crutch!

About a year and half ago, I wanted to start learning some hardcore stuff when I realized that I had too much spare time on my hands and it was too dangerous for my own good. So, what did I do? I decided to go out and buy myself my 55 - 250 mm lens and just start doing something.

Even after the purchase, I went for days without taking a shot, and then suddenly I would come home with a few hundred of them. I realized I needed to keep at this on a more regular basis. That's when I got myself reading - I read a lot! I went through Flickr images - hundreds of them in a day. I started buying books to read. And then, before I realized it, I had made myself a sacrificial lamb unto myself - I promised I would take pictures everyday, for a year! I remember that fateful day like it was yesterday. And so the journey began!

The first thing I learned about photography was that it's not easy! It's not easy to take a picture and then like it after 24 hrs. There are only a few images that I still like to go back to and think they're pretty darn good!

The first thing I learned about the 365 project was it was the most difficult thing to find an interesting subject everyday. As much as I love the outdoors and Nature, living in a country with frigid temperatures and snow on the ground for more than five months in a year, you had to start thinking outside the box. And that's when I started thinking of tea strainers, cheese graters, food, aluminum foil, and what have you!

The second thing I learned about both photography and the project was that you needed patience - a lot of patience! Mind you, since it was my first DSLR, I had to learn the camera settings, the basics of photography and then how to marry all that together before tripping the shutter. Now when I look back on the first several images, I balk at them! Utterly horrifying!

I guess the most important lesson I learned was that it was okay to cut yourself some slack. I'm the kind of person who never takes a project that I know I can't handle. However, when I started this project, I didn't take into account the facts that I had a very stressful job, a home, a kid and my not-so-great health to contend with, all on my own. I thought it would be a breeze - but it soon changed tack and became more like a tornado, trying to suck me into its vortex. I was terrified I'd give up! Fortunately, I had a host of friends and fellow-bloggers standing on the sidelines to cheer me on towards the finish line.

The biggest surprise by far was how I easily got bogged down with too many different things, and a lot of times I was too drained to even lift my camera, leave alone think of doing the shot of the day. I have to admit that this took a lot longer than it should have, but I didn't want to give up and a lot of you gave me the good counsel that it was okay to slow it down a bit.

Besides that, one of my Flickr contacts, Shotslot, opened my eyes to the fact that no matter how down you are, you need to forge ahead with your commitment. He's an amazing photographer and blogger, and he never once wavered in his commitment to his 365 project despite suffering a heart attack - he took shots every single day even while he was in hospital. My friend Jim sent me links to where I could look for ideas for my project.

When you look around and find these sources of inspiration, how can you give up? Maybe give in a bit, but you can never give up! I've tried to always remain positive, within the project, and even in my personal life, and my blogger as well as real life friends kept me on track.

Would I do this again? I don't think so! It became an all-consuming thing for me where I would sometimes neglect health and home to get the shot of the day. That's over! Now I don't feel guilty anymore for vegging out on the couch and staring at the TV screen. I was probably smoking some very cheap weed when I thought I could take pictures everyday. But the good thing that came of it is - I know I've learned it all on my own, through trial and error, one baby step at a step. And these lessons one never forgets!

Going forward, I plan to start a few projects - one of which I've already set up - a couple of friends and I are planning to collaborate on it. I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to share that at this moment, but I do definitely have a long wishlist of other projects, the most important ones being food photography, and portraiture. Another project I have is to set up a page on my birding experiences.

So, stay tuned! I will be starting them in the next couple of weeks or so. Since summer's here, I'm trying to enjoy the outdoors as much as I can, despite allergies, viral infections, asthma and what have you! I have promised myself to not let anything come in my way of enjoying the warm season that's always so short here in Canada.

Last, but not least, thank you once again for being around and it's now time to move on!

(Taken in Ottawa - this image was shot from the hip)

Day 365 - And Here the Journey Ends to Begin Again!

2011-05-26T23:17:00.000-04:00

I want to take this opportunity to thank you, all my blog readers, for being there, giving me your feedback and cheering me on even though my energy and motivation were in the pits from time to time. I know that I haven't given my best over the last month or more - I've been battling health issues, and other things, but I really appreciated each visit and each comment you made on my posts. For all that - THANK YOU! I hope I have been able to give some of you some insight into my photography along the way and I hope to be able to share many more in the future as I change gears.

I would also like to thank a few of my friends (and you know who you are) for keeping me on track - some of them coaxed and cajoled me into doing portraits, some of them downloaded my photos and saved them to their computer desktop at work to give me the exposure, some of them visited my blog and commented on my Facebook page, and yet some others religiously visited my Flickr posts and left me encouragement and kind words. I think I had a whole battalion of friends and well-wishers following my footsteps, making sure I didn't fail. My hats off to you!

This is my last post for this project and what a project it has been! I still can't believe it's over - well, how can I, considering I've been doing this for so long now? I am certain that I will feel the loss sometime soon, but I definitely feel that the wrap-up was long overdue. Seriously, it was. It took me over a year from missing days due to illnesses and other personal issues. But I think all's well that ends well.

It has been a great journey for me, and as I mentioned in my last post, I will put together some thoughts and write it all up - soon! As soon as I've had some time to recover and enjoy my freedom from the all-pervading stress of having to get a shot for the day.

I had been brainstorming with my friend Rajiv (who has modelled for me in the past) and with my son (he comes up with really great ideas and therefore, I sometimes turn to him for inspiration) about what the last post should be to commemorate the event. My son's idea was to use fireworks (sparklers, in this case) to mark the celebrations. Rajiv suggested using tealights to write 365 with (I was thinking candles, but thought it might be too clumsy) or to take a picture of something that was indicative of how monumental this task of taking a shot a day was.

I loved all three ideas, but unfortunately, I didn't find a monumental subject I could shoot today, nor did I find tealights at my local superstore. Fortunately, I found sparklers! Therefore, sparklers it had to be! I had planned to do both the sparklers and the tealights but I guess availability of one took over the non-availability of the other!

I want to end this by saying I really loved and hated this project! Let me leave you all with that thought, so I can come back and explain it better. I'm a little bit overcome with mixed emotions right now.

Day 364 - On the Eve of ...

2011-05-25T22:14:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow's going to be the last shot for my 365 project and if you ask me how I feel about it, I will say "Phew! Relieved!"

However, today isn't going to be the day I want to talk about this - I'll definitely do a retrospective soon. But besides that, I'll also decide on a new challenge for myself. I have a few ideas, and I want to throw them out to you and do a quick poll; and I hope you can help.

This is another quick post - probably the last one for this project. I'm definitely going to take my time over it tomorrow.

Day 363 - Alien Lobster

2011-05-25T01:01:00.000-04:00

I was having a little fun with egg shells, my iPod and the macro lens. Unfortunately, my iPod ran out of battery after about 4 shots and I had to give up playing with it. But what came out of it pretty much looked like an alien lobster claw to me.

The shot is SOOC. My computer is giving a helluva lot of trouble, and I couldn't really use Lightroom. In fact, in Lightroom, all my photos somehow got flipped horizontally, as a result of which Flickr started to update my photostream with the new flipped pictures. Now there is a royal mess everywhere! Need to clean it up ASAP! :( I hate having computer trouble!

Day 362 - Little Darlings

2011-05-23T23:25:00.000-04:00

We had a beautiful day with part clouds and part sun. I seized the opportunity to go check if we have ducklings yet, and sure enough there was a small brood of them scooting around in the water. They were adorable!

I took over 500 shots today of flowers, birds and this duck family, but I'm feeling really lazy to process them all. Therefore, I processed two of my fave shots from the day.

I loved the splash of colours in this, and I got only one chance to photograph these benches - just as I was going to change my position and shoot another one, and elderly couple came over and occupied the benches. Disappointed! :(

And here are three of the six little fluff-balls!

Day 361 - Studying a Dahlia

2011-05-22T18:42:00.000-04:00

Quick post

Day 360 - Ottawa Tulip Festival

2011-05-22T18:40:00.000-04:00

I went to see the tulip festival with a few friends, and was greatly disappointed - didn't get to see as many tulips as I've normally seen in the past. Admittedly, we didn't end up going to the park where I normally go - Dow's Lake, but the festival locations in downtown should definitely have had a lot more.

I think I probably took about a dozen shots of the tulips in all. The flowers were mostly all dried up and in pretty bad shape. I had to look hard to find a few nice ones to photograph. I have only processed one for now, but I'll definitely post a few more on Flickr later.

Day 359 - Photoshop Experiment

2011-05-20T23:11:00.000-04:00

Playing around in Photoshop Elements 8 and trying out some textures.

Day 358 - Edge of Light

2011-05-19T21:28:00.000-04:00

These shots were taken of my dahlias on the balcony. I noticed how the last rays of the sun illuminated the petals and dived for my camera.

Day 357 - Dull, Dreary, Damp!!

2011-05-19T21:25:00.000-04:00

That's what the weather has been like here. I was supposed to present some tips and tricks on how to do flower photography to my photo club at work. I had a ton of ideas, but not enough time to make the sample images I would have liked. It was a last minute decision to do the presentation, because after looking at the forecast, it didn't seem like we would be able to go outdoors to shoot.

I needed a few images to demonstrate what effect the choice of aperture has on DoF and went out after work to do that. The sky was dark grey, light was failing, and I didn't have the opportunity to venture far. Therefore, the plans went down the drain as I saw that the light was way below par. But I took a few shots for myself anyway - needed the shot of the day, after all!

Day 356 - Curious George

2011-05-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

I wouldn't have had a shot for the day if my son hadn't stuck his neck out! Well, literally!

I had been exhausted and lying on the couch playing with the AF settings on my camera because I've recently started having a weird problem where the AF acts moody. Suddenly, my son comes over to me and tries to tell me something and this brilliant idea flashes through my head!

I had to pretend I was taking pictures, because my son always has a habit of sticking his head or some other body part into my frame. And sure enough, in less than a minute his head moved into my line of sight! The light was poor, so I immediately popped up the flash and fired a couple of shots! :=D Since the light was bad and obviously a shadow appeared on the ceiling, I decided to turn it into B&W. This really is a snapshot, but what it taught me was waiting for the moment - kinda journalistic!

Hehe.. I'm just kidding! I have to make the shot seem like I was doing some serious photography, isn't it?

Day 355 - Filling the Cup of Life (Hot Chocolate)!

2011-05-16T23:56:00.003-04:00

This shot is SOOC except for a minor crop.

Day 354 - Why Did the Grackle Cross the Puddle?

2011-05-16T23:55:00.000-04:00

... To get to the other side so he could be the early bird to get the juiciest worm!

Ok.. I took it a bit too far! We have been having the wettest Spring in a decade, I think! I can't remember being rained on so much!

Shots from the balcony - no way I'm venturing out into those puddles with my fabric-covered sneakers. They're already caked in mud, and so grey, you can't tell they were ever white! I need a pair of hiking boots or rain boots, soon!

Day 353 - Foggedaboutit!

2011-05-15T00:53:00.001-04:00

I was supposed to make a day trip to Ottawa with a friend to see the annual tulip festival. But the Rain God had other plans as he unleashed the crappiest weather known to man - in this case, two women, all eager to see the tulips!

Anyway, we obviously cancelled, but went out driving around the city looking for a macro lens for my friend and then I saw the fog-enveloped downtown skyline and knew I had to somehow get a shot. It was pouring buckets, and we couldn't find any parking at the right places, so we drove up to the Plateau and found the fog so thick, you couldn't see the city down below, like is usual on a clear day or night.

I was hellbent on taking a few shots, but my heart was filled with trepidation as my lenses weren't weather-sealed, which meant I could potentially ruin them in the rain. But I still decided to take a chance, and my friend very sweetly held the umbrella over the camera while I fired off a few quick ones.

When we got back into her car, we were soaked, and so were our cameras. I was happiest with the tree shot, which looked good in colour as well, but there wasn't much colour to begin with, so I turned it into b&w.

Lesson of the day: Remember to carry a towel or a rag to wipe down your camera if you expose it to moisture! And in the process, improve your memory, so you can remember your lesson! :(

Day 352 - Utterly Exhausted

2011-05-15T00:41:00.001-04:00

I am frequently overpowered by these waves of exhaustion where I feel totally out of it all. This was one of those instances where I didn't know or couldn't care what the subject for the day would be, so I picked up the first thing I could find - chocolatines.

Day 351- Pouring Honey

2011-05-15T00:38:00.001-04:00

Tried to get a shot of honey pouring over my breakfast, but couldn't quite the effect I was after. I ended up trying the shot about five or six times, thereby, sweetening my cereal a bit too much. I had to decide to stop at this shot! And I also got quite a bit of honey on to my camera and the dining table in the process. :( A right sticky situation!

P.S. Had a bit of a Photoshop challenge when I tried to remove a drop of honey that fell on the edge of the bowl behind the stream of honey. Cloning is très difficile!

Day 350 - YESSSS!

2011-05-11T22:53:00.000-04:00

15 more posts to go and I'm done my 365 project! Wow, I can't believe I'm almost there. I'm just forging ahead despite the eye infection that's been giving me grief for the past 3 days now.

I willed myself to step out on the balcony and take a couple of shots. Since my eyes are really sensitive to light right now, I've been wearing my sunglasses all the time and that obviously threw the exposure off a little bit. I shot with the aid of the histogram, but didn't like the exposure later, so I just changed it to B&W. I can't sit in front of the computer for too long since it's hurting my eyes quite a bit, therefore, did the fastest ever post-processing I've ever done before. I'm throwing nothing away!

Day 349 - Pet

2011-05-11T21:49:00.000-04:00

Again, not mine. Someone else's kitty posing for me because she realized that I couldn't go far with my state of health, and I needed to get the shot! Thanks, kitty!

Day 348 - Mallards

2011-05-09T22:50:00.000-04:00

Down by the riverside for a quick photo session.

Day 347 - Osprey

2011-05-08T19:45:00.000-04:00

I was supposed to have made a trip to a friend's farm along with some other friends, but didn't end up going because of my poor health. I'm feeling far from okay, but I just couldn't bring myself to be stuck within the four walls on such a gorgeous day as today, considering we're getting a lot of rain this Spring.

I spent a little while in the forest at the back and tracked down an Osprey couple on lunch patrol. I also got a few shots of a Tree Swallow and a Myrtle Warbler, but the Ospreys were the stars of the day!

I got a few really clean shots as they came up right overhead, but the ones that would have been the best ones, I didn't have much luck with as they were too far even for my long lens.

If you'd like to see more of these Ospreys, do check out my Flickr photos.

Day 346 - Pink Mums

2011-05-08T19:35:00.000-04:00

Now that I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel (read as the completion of my 365 project), even wild horses can't keep me away from the shot of the day! I want to get this over with now, and I'm almost there!

I took about five shots, and I decided to try different processing on these two.

Day 345 - Easy Sausage Skillet

2011-05-08T19:31:00.000-04:00

I was forced to cook dinner because I didn't want to order another take-out. I remember being as sick as a dog - running a temperature and my sore throat was even more sore from the probing of the doctor and the nurse to see what was troubling it. But when you have another mouth to feed, you have to do just that - feed that other mouth.

Sausage stir-fried in olive oil with onions, mushrooms, red pepper, celery, salt and ground pepper. I served this over a bed of steamed rice. Although I didn't have much of an appetite, since I had practically eaten nothing all day, I found it really delicious!

Day 344 - Fast Food Take-Out

2011-05-08T19:25:00.000-04:00

Too sick to cook, too sick to think of the shot of the day. This was one of 4 shots of the Pad Thai dinner I bought on my way back from work.

I usually love the Pad Thai from this fast food joint, but everything tasted like chalk that day. Dinner gone to waste!

Day 343 - Cepacol

2011-05-04T22:17:00.000-04:00

Allergy season seems to have gotten to me pretty bad this year. I had somehow escaped being afflicted last Spring, and was only slightly affected. But this time the allergies are so bad, my throat is severely inflamed and sore and feels like someone has thrust a ping pong ball down it. I'm staying alive with Cepacol right now... no voice and I feel really miserable! :(

Day 342 - The First Dandelion

2011-05-04T00:05:00.003-04:00

... of this season of course!

Day 341 - Election Night

2011-05-04T00:04:00.002-04:00

It was election day here in Canada, and what better subject could I find other than my TV remote?

This shot has received minimal processing by way of adjusting the white balance.

Day 340 - Ottawa Orchid

2011-05-04T00:02:00.002-04:00

Straight from my friend's kitchen!

Day 339 - Visiting Friends in Ottawa

2011-05-04T00:01:00.002-04:00

Another catch-up post. I've been under the weather with early allergy symptoms that were pretty bad, and I, therefore, didn't take the time or make the effort to post.

This adorable kid is my friend's neighbour, and the kid's dad requested me to take a few photos of him with his pets since they have none in their family album - I was very happy to oblige! What a lovely and well-mannered boy he was and it was really nice to meet his family, including his dog Tutu and his hamster, whose name I just can't remember!

I only had my 100 - 400 mm lens and about 5 minutes in which to take the pictures.

Day 338 - Candy Dropping

2011-05-03T23:54:00.000-04:00

Playing with the on-camera flash on ETTL, I decided to try to freeze the motion of falling Easter Egg candies I got as a freebie at the grocery store!

Handheld shots because I didn't feel like setting up the tripod. I was in a hurry to get back to watching TV as it was running programs on Kate and William's wedding. I'm quite a fan of the British Royals, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! I've always loved fairy tales, and even at this age, when I should be all grown up, I still believe in them! :)

Day 337 - Extremely Windy

2011-04-29T23:18:00.000-04:00

This mallard was getting swept around by the extremely high winds causing the waters to be really turbulent and the river looked more like an ocean with all the waves!

Day 336 - Wildflowers and a Cat

2011-04-28T00:09:00.000-04:00

Quick post for today after missing yesterday. :-(

Day 335 - Not So Fresh Strawberries

2011-04-25T23:09:00.000-04:00

Quick post

Day 334 - Bok Choy Flowers

2011-04-25T23:07:00.000-04:00

Tiny yellow flowers that grew out of my bok choy!

Day 333 - American Goldfinch

2011-04-25T23:05:00.002-04:00

The birds were really too far for my lens, and these shots were all I got on a really gusty day when the branches and birds kept blowing and bouncing around.

Day 332 - The Story of the Red-Shouldered Hawk

2011-04-23T14:31:00.000-04:00

I did some serious birding yesterday - I went deep into the woods, sank my feet into swamps, got scratched by thorns and underbrush, but I managed to get some shots of the Red-Shouldered Hawk couple that is nesting out there.

I had already got a couple of really nice shots of the Northern Flicker and a Thrush earlier during the day, but I still wanted to go out and see what other birds have migrated to these parts. I didn't think I would get into birding so seriously when I started taking the first bird shots last Spring, but here I am a year later, doing something exciting and educating.

I found the nest quite by chance. I kept hearing the calls of this hawk, which initially I wasn't aware of being a hawk's call at all! And as I've become quite adept at following bird calls and then tracking them down, I soon spotted this hawk on a really high branch of a tree deep in the woods. I took a few first shots of the beautiful bird right from where I stood - this is a habit, even if they don't turn out that well and I ultimately discard, because I need these images to identify them, in case I'm meeting them for the first time.

So, I took the few first shots, and then tried to find a way of getting closer to it. It meant I would have to walk through the swampy spots, and then walk through the thick brambly bushes to get there, all the while keeping my eye on the subject since I didn't want it flying off to where I wouldn't be able to track it again.

Finally, I came much closer and could now just point my camera right overhead to get a few shots - and that's when I discovered that there was a nest right there, and there was the second hawk that was sitting on the eggs! What a find! And all this was possible, because there are still no leaves on the trees, but I'm seeing the buds and my heart sinks at the thought that when the little ones are ready to come out, I might not be able to sight the nest again! :(

I spent close to 2.5 hours watching the movements of both the hawks (and being watched in turn by them) and noticed a couple of crows trying to bother them. The partner that was standing watch wasn't always near the nest, so the nesting partner would call out and the guardian did the due diligence and chased the crows away from time to time.

I didn't get good shots of the chase through the branches, but got a couple good enough to record the behaviour. What was funny was that at times, the crow ended up chasing the hawk around! And what was even more amazing was that there were smaller birds and squirrels flitting around the hawks without an ounce of fear for their lives! However, there was a little pond just a few feet away, and when I trained my lens on the surface on the little floating bits, I observed they were bird carcasses. I immediately knew what they indicated!

And while waiting around to see what happens next, I caught one of the hawks finishing off his meal! Uggh.. that was a little creepy, watching the hawk tear away at its food, but I guess I have to stop feeling squeamish at these things - this is Mother Nature in her truest character!

I met three other birders while I kept up my vigil, and had a chance to chat with them to learn that they were serious hobbyists as well. I actually pointed out the hawks to a couple of them who stood around and took a few pictures. The third one had me look through his telescopic spotting device that made the hawk seem like it was right in front of me, when in reality it was at least a hundred feet away! And I just looked it up on the Internet, and that device retails at $2400! Not much more expensive than my 100 - 400 mm lens, but oh what a difference!

I have posted a few more shots on Flickr, so please feel free to check them out if you are interested in seeing more.

Day 331 - I Deleted My Best Pictures!

2011-04-23T13:48:00.000-04:00

Well, there's no harm in saying that because who's to know if they were my best? ;-)

But jokes apart, I had some really nice "moments" from the day when I photographed a squirrel way up high on a tree branch, standing up on its hind legs and holding a branch with its two front paws nibbling at it. It could pass off as if he was playing the flute! He looked really cute, and I'm kicking myself for inadvertently deleting the shots!

I also deleted some nice shots of the first bluebells I saw by the riverside, and also a few nice shots of the chickadees that I always find so difficult to expose properly. Well, I was at least lucky that I had my second camera with the 18 - 55 mm on it, so I still had a few pictures on that card, that I didn't delete and that I can post now.

I also have a tree silhouette that I forgot to upload to Flickr to link here. I'll have to come back to this post when I've uploaded that.

Day 330 - For Want of Energy and Subject

2011-04-20T23:50:00.000-04:00

I had been meaning to take a few nice shots of the Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras, but it just didn't happen. Although these aren't the kind of shots I wanted to put up at all, I didn't want to miss the shot of the day. I will definitely revisit this subject again - sooner or later. But I'm not going to give up in the last leg of the 365 project - I'll post snapshots if I have to! :-(

As I've mentioned in one of my previous posts, the camera and lens together weigh close to 2.3 kgs! But I'm slowly getting used to the weight and although tiring, I shot at 1/60s yesterday, and I was still able to keep a steady hand!

Day 329 - More Birds in the Bush

2011-04-20T00:21:00.001-04:00

This White-breasted Nuthatch was pulling something out of the tree trunk and it looked like a snail or some kind of worm. Ugghh!

My first time seeing Dark-Eyed Juncos - there were a few flocking around.

My second time seeing a Northern Flicker, but first time in my neck of the woods. The first time I ever saw them was when I was visiting my friend in Fremont, CA last Christmas.

Day 328 - Sugar-Crusted Pannettone

2011-04-20T00:14:00.001-04:00

I think I am addicted to this! I love pannetone, and when it's sugar-crusted.. I can't stop eating it!

Day 327 - Balcony Birding

2011-04-17T22:46:00.000-04:00

I just decided to stay on my balcony and photograph some birds through the windy and mostly miserable day. The wind's still howling outside my window, even as I write.

And the squirrel takes the cake! It looked so cute holding this piece of bread like this - almost as if it was offering me some! :=D

Day 326 - Rain, rain go away!

2011-04-17T22:40:00.001-04:00

I am sure you think I'm a complainer, because I've been complaining incessantly about how out of energy I feel these days. Ergo, my slow posting rate to this blog.

Yesterday, amidst a flurry of activities, and bad weather, I managed to take a couple of shots from my balcony, just so I wouldn't fall behind on my shots.

In this shot of the Grackle, you can actually see the raindrops on it's feathers.

Day 325 - First Flowers

2011-04-16T00:09:00.000-04:00

I saw the first flowers, purple crocuses, on the forest floor by the river. I had almost passed them by because they were so tiny, but things seldom get overlooked these days. I only had my Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras with me, and therefore, I was a little bit constrained with trying to get the perspective right. In the end, it's just recording the detail that was more important for me.

It had been extremely chilly and windy, and I hardly saw many birds. It seemed like they were all hiding from the cold and the wind somewhere, because a lot of the birds have just migrated, and they are probably as surprised as we are at the lack of milder Spring temperatures.

The waters were extremely choppy and I had fun watching this Mallard couple bobbing up and down on the waves. They kept getting pushed up on the crests of the waves and then dipping into the troughs. They looked really cute!

And a few others from the evening:

Day 324 - Dusting off ...

2011-04-13T22:37:00.002-04:00

... my long-forgotten book of poetry, I found a sheet with a short poem I had written years ago. I can't remember when exactly, but I know it was definitely when I lived in Ottawa. I do remember buying that notepad from my favourite dollar store close to where I lived back then.

And coincidentally, the poem was written in Spring. As always, my poems are childish, and silly, but I thought I'd share it anyway. ;-)

Winter's gone; welcome Spring!
How cheerful looks everything.
In the trees the birds do sing
While shrubs are busy flowering.
All the world looks glad and bright
In the mellow dawning light.

So, I decided to find another one of my favourite Spring poems - this time by Shakespeare. :)

Day 323 - Colourful Chaos

2011-04-13T00:27:00.003-04:00

After two days of intensive training at work, and then hours of fighting to revive my home computer, I was exhausted. I had a different subject in mind than what I'm posting here.

I was on the phone with my friend Swati, when I saw these gorgeous colours in the sky. I knew I wouldn't get a good shot because I had no time to change into outdoor clothes and then leave home to find a proper location for a shot. Therefore, I had almost resigned myself to not taking the shot, but gave in to Swati's urging to go capture the sunset. And so I did!

I lost time when I tried to change the lens on my camera and the beautiful light was slipping really fast, as is usually the case for sunsets or sunrises. So, I just dropped the idea of putting the camera on the tripod and had to use a faster shutter speed. This led me to add a stop of light in post-processing. I haven't touched the image otherwise.

The striations in the sky were much more pronounced when I looked at the sky initially. I missed the opportunity to capture that. Furthermore, it took me a while to try to make some sense out of the chaos of barren trees silhouetted against the fiery sky, and the ceiling of the balcony that I wanted to frame the shot with.

Day 322 - Party Favour

2011-04-12T01:16:00.001-04:00

This was from yesterday's baby shower. Thought I'd use it as my subject for the day.

Day 321 - Baby Shower and Henna Designs

2011-04-12T01:14:00.002-04:00

I attended a baby shower for a friend's sister who's soon going to be a proud mom of twin baby girls. I wasn't the official photographer but I had offered to bring my camera when my friend told me that she didn't have any photographer lined up for the party. I soon turned into the official photographer, and tried to capture the moments as well as the events.

The momma-to-be is a beautiful young lady and in keeping with her Moroccan traditions, she served wonderfully aromatic teas, delicate-looking and delicious cookies, and a variety of juices. Normally, she should have been the guest of honour, but she ended up being a wonderful hostess. Her first-born, also a girl, was looking all pretty in a while dress, but unfortunately she was really shy of the camera.

The highlight of the evening was the henna party that my friend had organized where she had a local henna artist, Shaista, from Hennarinah (http://hennarinah.com/) come and apply henna (also known as mehendi) designs on her sister's hands as well as the guests' hands, if they so fancied. The henna artist happened to be a young Indian girl, who I got a chance to practise my Hindi with. Very vivacious, she explained to us how she uses all-organic materials to make the henna paste which she then applies to the hands.

I have had henna applied to my hands before, but I have to say that she took it to an entirely new level. The henna paste, which usually has a very distinctive smell of ... well, the leaves that it's derived from, was perfumed with most probably cardamom and cloves. It smelled wonderful as she applied it, and it felt tingly and fresh on the hands as the paste dried. She then sprinkled beautiful glitter all over the design, and sprayed a mix of lemon juice and sugar to seal the paste in. This helps develop the rich and dark brown colour that's characteristic of the henna.

I too got a small design done on the back of my hand, and left the paste on overnight. I applied a bit of olive oil over it in the morning, and let it sit for a while before scraping the dried design off. The colours gradually developed over the course of the day and while I was initially disappointed that the design on my hand looked much lighter than on another friend's hand, I noticed that the colours have developed even further.

If you're in the Montreal area and are keen on getting a temporary tattoo, look up Hennarinah (http://hennarinah.com/) and I can promise you that you won't be disappointed. She's a fantastic artist and the designs speak volumes.

However, here's a little trivia about the deep, dark colour of henna - there's a saying in India that the colour of your henna is directly proportional to how much your mother-in-law loves you! ;-) So, if you are your MIL's pet, by all means, go get a henna design and show it off! :=D

Day 320 - My Bad!

2011-04-10T02:09:00.001-04:00

I will post my latest findings on the new lens in a day or two. Right now, I'll let the images speak and I would love to hear what you think of them.

Most of the images have been touched up a little bit - cropping, and some very basic enhancements.

Day 319 - The Canon EF 100 - 400L IS USM Lens

2011-04-08T22:20:00.002-04:00

So, I finally got myself the lens I was looking to get for my birding. And what's my verdict?

Well, I am not that happy with what I got. I think I had really high expectations, especially since it's an L series lens. But (and there's a big BUT in it), I tried the lens in poor light. The little park in front had very little light, and I had to not only pump up the ISO, I had to slow down the shutter as well.

The rule for shutter speed is dictated by the focal length of the lens, if you want to obtain a really sharp image. For instance, when I was shooting racked out at 400 mm, my shutter speed should have been at least 1/400s, so I wouldn't have camera shake. However, I was shooting at 1/90s. Although there is no visible camera shake, the images are soft. And this is a monster of a lens, and weighs nearly 1.4 kgs! The combined weight of my camera and lens is about 2.2 kgs. And I was shooting handheld. Whose fault is it that I wasn't satisfied with the quality of images?

And the ISO being at 1600 didn't help any!

Therefore, before I judge my new Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras, I should probably try it out under better lighting conditions.

This image was the only one that was passable enough to post. No, this isn't my pet. This adorable doggy was sitting on my neighbour's balcony all by himself looking out longingly at the other doggies in the park. I hope he gets to go out at times.

And I need to acknowledge how good the autofocus is on my Canon EOS 7D. It was a challenge shooting through the numerous tree branches and the railing bars on the balcony. I am slowly trying to wrap my head around the AF functions on the camera. They are so numerous, that I would probably need a week of dedicated practise to master them.

I think I really need to try the lens in better light, and give it a chance at justifying the price I paid, which is incidentally a lot cheaper than the posted price on Amazon. The camera store I go to gave me a decent deal on it.

Day 318 - Chickadees and Great Blue Heron

2011-04-07T23:25:00.004-04:00

My shots have been pretty unsatisfactory of late. I think my bird photography skills have become pretty rusty over the winter months. :( But right now, my main motivation to keep clicking is to just get the 365 challenge over and done with, although I haven't strictly adhered to it. However, I can say this much - I have tried my best, given the set of circumstances. I am slowly getting to the grand finale, and I can't wait!

Day 317 - No More Droplets

2011-04-06T21:31:00.000-04:00

Terrible day for autofocus and light! Didn't get a single picture that I came even close to liking. :(

Day 316 - More Droplets

2011-04-06T00:44:00.000-04:00

Day 315 -Droplets on Rose

2011-04-06T00:42:00.000-04:00

Quick post

Day 314 - Textured Rose

2011-04-04T01:07:00.000-04:00

My first attempt at adding a texture failed pretty miserably! :-( I need to revisit this technique soon. Maybe even tomorrow. Please don't complain if you see me posting the same flower photos tomorrow as well.

Further, since I was in a hurry to do the shot of the day in fast fading daylight, I didn't take the time to do a CWB on this. I want to try doing that, and also taking the time to get the colour of the rose right. I'd never seen such a dark burgundy colour rose before, that's almost bordering on brown. I couldn't come close to reproducing the colour in camera or in post. Need to retry!

Day 313 - His Holiness, the Northern Cardinal

2011-04-04T00:58:00.001-04:00

And where would you expect to see such elevated spirits? Of course, at great elevations - on top of the tallest trees, where even a 250 mm lens would have trouble beholding them!

Day 312 - Adding a Bit of Colour

2011-04-02T00:44:00.002-04:00

After a couple of days of being quite unwell and skipping the shot of the day, I decided to try something really quick and easy - a subject isolated on a white background. I had tried this a few days ago, and because I had been lazy, I had completely omitted the background flash. i wanted to try this again this evening because I didn't really have anything else thought out.

I used two flashes on either side of the subject - the flash to the left of camera was bounced off the ceiling at a 60 deg angle, powered down to 1/4 and zoomed out to the widest at 24 mm to enable the light to wrap around the subject.

The one to the right was pointed directly at the background and I pushed down the head as much as it would go, so the cereal outside the bowl would get some of the bounced light as well.

I didn't really play around too much with different compositions, as I'm still pretty low on energy, but I did want to keep going on with the 365, so I can just get this over with.

I think the image was a tad overexposed at the sides of the bowl where I've lost a little bit of detail. Oh well!

Day 311 - The Goose Migration

2011-03-29T23:45:00.001-04:00

The geese are back.. by the hundreds! I heard them cackling when the howling wind decided to bring down its volume a couple of notches.

What I love to see is the formations they get into, and the way they keep that formation over huge distances - not a bird out of place. It's like they are all tied together by some invisible rope. This reminds me of when little kids go on outings from daycare and they all have to hold a rope so they stay in line and together.

Amazing birds! Who taught them this?

Each of these pictures is of a different flock, but look at the amazing flight path!

These shots shouldn't really be posted, but since I was completely uninspired this evening, and the weather didn't help with the high winds and freezing temperatures, I didn't have any other option but to do some PJ type of shots.

Day 310 - It's Only Birds ...

2011-03-29T23:21:00.001-04:00

... And birds are all I have, to take your heart away

Sorry for the bad pun, but I've had the original song "It's only words.. " going round and round in my head these past couple of days. I somehow had to get that out of the system.

The first shot is SOOC - this sparrow dropped out of the blue and I was probably more surprised than he was. Had I been prepared, I wouldn't have cut the tail off the poor soul. I barely got a shot of him landing on the balcony, which I had to discard as it was totally out of focus, and then I got this one, before he took off. :(

This is a Common Grackle I found perched really high up. I had to crop quite a bit to be able to get any detail out of this shot.

And the red-winged blackbirds are back too, and what a racket they make!

Day 309 - Dessert-ed

2011-03-29T23:11:00.000-04:00

I had a lot of leftover dessert from the evening I had guests for dinner. They were just begging to be photographed, so I obliged of course!

Day 308 - Did You Observe Earth Hour?

2011-03-26T22:47:00.000-04:00

I did! I turned off the lights promptly at 8:30 pm and everything besides my refrigerator and stove were unplugged (and that's only because the plugs are way at the back and I couldn't get to them even after a couple of tries).

I lit a lot of candles, turned up the music on my iPod and picked up my camera. Then, all I did was practise hand-holding my camera on a slow shutter. I challenged myself to go as slow as I could and I hit 0.7s without any visible camera shake. I was really elated, but unfortunately, the composition turned out pretty poor. I deleted the shot, finally.

The following shot was taken at 0.3s and the ones after at 1/4s.

Day 307 - Guests for Dinner

2011-03-26T20:00:00.000-04:00

My friend's lovely daughter laughs at a funny comment from mom.

Day 306 - Ravioli for Dinner

2011-03-26T19:57:00.000-04:00

Meat Ravioli with Tomato Sauce.

Follow the lazy man's recipe for this delicious dish:

What you will need

Will to go to the grocery store
Canned tomato sauce (flavour of your choice)
Fresh meat-filled ravioli (find these in the fresh foods section)
Parmesan
Parsley
Crushed chilli flakes

Directions

Cook the ravioli as per the package directions.
Heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan.
Plate the ravioli and slop some tomato sauce over it.
Garnish with parsley/sage, parmesan and chilli flakes.

Can it get any easier than that?

Day 305 - When All Else Fails ...

2011-03-26T19:49:00.000-04:00

... capture a pigeon scavenging on the balcony! (Shot through the balcony door)

Day 304 - Mini Waterfall

2011-03-26T19:45:00.000-04:00

I missed posting over the last so many days because of different reasons, mainly my being under the weather. I did take a photo here and there, but just didn't have the energy to post. I have decided to finally catch up, and hope I can start posting regularly again.

I have missed blog and Flickr hopping, and hope to catch up on those as well. So, if you haven't seen me around on your blog, watch out - here I come!

Day 303 - Back to Winter!

2011-03-22T00:36:00.000-04:00

Another huge dump of snow, just as I was beginning to rejoice that it was all over!

I took this shot just as the street lights came on and I noticed how beautiful the snow looked in it. So, leaving my hot cuppa tea behind (I had been chilled standing out on the balcony shooting for at least an hour before that), I ran to get my tripod and coat and headed out again. I got about 5 or 6 shots, because I couldn't stay out too long with my lens getting drenched in the snow. At least now I don't have to worry about the camera body - it's weather sealed! Yay! The following shot is SOOC!

The next couple of shots were taken from my balcony as I mentioned above. I was looking for lines and contrast, and found a few I liked. This is a similar composition I had done in the past, but I still wanted to try this out with the new cam. The first one is on a slower shutter (1/30s), while the second was on a fast shutter to freeze the falling snow so it could show up as dots instead of lines (1/180s).

The next two shots were from my kitchen window, through bug-splattered double glass (sorry, but I had to explain how dirty my window is), and I loved the almost monochromatic scene in front of my eyes.

Day 302 - Sunday Morning Birds

2011-03-21T01:59:00.001-04:00

Quick post today, but not without mentioning that the nuthatch images have very minimal post-processing, besides cropping (my 250 mm lens just isn't enough to help me fill my frame with these tiny birds), and a wee bit of sharpening.

However, the Chickadee shot was a different story - I shot the image through a double-glass window, and I had to clean up the image quite a bit in post.

Day 301 - Butterflies Go Free!

2011-03-20T02:52:00.000-04:00

At the butterfly exhibition -

Day 300 - Book Review

2011-03-20T02:33:00.000-04:00

I recently purchased three books on photography, and I thought it might be nice to share my thoughts on them as I progress. For now, I have only managed to complete one - Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera

All three books are by Peterson, and although I normally won't buy multiple books from the same author before trying one out, I'm actually glad I did and it wasn't a mistake.

Bryan Peterson's style of writing is very lucid, and although not as entertaining as Scott Kelby's, he does a pretty good job of explaining his point.

Whatever I have ever learned of photography, was by reading, or by doing. I used to read a lot of books, and online publications, and I have then practised what I learned from them. When I ordered these books, I was a little bit skeptical about whether they would be worth my money or time. I haven't had a lot of time to devote to reading lately, but I love collecting books anyway. Therefore, I thought it might be a nice idea to add a few more volumes to my night table (since I don't really have a bookshelf/library). But, the book reads really well and these are some of the topics Peterson discusses in this edition:

What is exposure? Is it only light, or does it also refer to the image that is a result of exposing the film or sensor to light?
The best type of light for photography
How exposure is relative to shutter speed and ISO
Low light photography
How depth of field affects exposure
Metering and white balance
Filters and techniques used to achieve a good exposure

These are just a few topics that he discusses in this 176-page book.

He covers a lot of ground and some units even have little exercises at the end that you could follow to reinforce what he explains in the preceding pages. I thought it was a great idea! If you're the kind that likes to read and then put your learning into practise, you will love these little mini exercises. And what better way to really apply the theory, than by testing it?

And of course, there are lots and lots of pictures. Some before-and-after type of shots to elucidate his points are really helpful in seeing what he's talking about.

But the best part of the book is the examples he chooses to explain his theories! I loved those! He picks on real-life examples and that makes it so easy to understand the concepts. For example, he likens the area of focus of an aperture in a camera to that of an empty bucket into which a one-gallon can of paint is poured.

As you pour the paint into the empty bucket, some of the paint splatters up the sides of the bucket causing a spill. However, if the paint is poured through a funnel with a tiny opening, the paint doesn't spill and there is no splatter. Similarly, when the aperture is wide open with a small area of focus, the light comes in and renders the small area of focus really sharp, whereas the rest of the light entering the camera is like the splatter that results in the blurred, out-of-focus areas. And when the aperture is really narrow (like the narrow opening of a funnel), the light enters the camera in a cleaner and more controlled fashion and creates a larger depth of field, i.e. a sharper image with a larger area of focus.

Peterson scatters these types of examples throughout the book, and that makes for a great read and really aids comprehension of topics that otherwise take newbies ages to grasp. And I was no exception either. But, even for people like myself, who have been doing photography for a while and understands the basics, it's really nice to get a refresher and discover some really neat tips and tricks that he includes in every unit.

All in all, a great book for beginners, as well and intermediate photographers. Please look out for two more book reviews in the near future.

Just an additional note - I recently signed up to be an Amazon Associate, so if you decide to purchase this book, I'd really appreciate if you used the embedded link at the beginning of this post to do so. And do drop me a line to let me know you did, or if you have any questions.

Day 299 - Opening Ceremony

2011-03-18T00:21:00.002-04:00

No.. I'm not referring to any big Sporting or Cultural Event! I'm referring to something that's way more exciting!

I finally bought my new camera!! I finally got the Canon EOS 7D (body only) and I'm really ecstatic about it!

The opening ceremony, thus, refers to my opening the box to reveal my most prized possession! :=D
I know I'm a day late in sharing this with you, but some of you have already heard about it, and the rest haven't. So here's what I found in the box -

Canon EOS 7D

And after I'd taken my first look at the camera, I decided to do what I mainly bought this camera for - check how high the ISO could go before it started creating digital noise. There are plenty of other reasons as well, but to cut long story short, this camera had too many good features that I couldn't pass up. And why the decision to not get a full-frame camera? It's because I want to keep doing bird photography and the cropped sensor will help me get greater zoom power, since I can't afford the $8,000 pieces of glass!

Since I didn't have much ambient natural light due to the rainy and gloomy weather, I jacked up the ISO to 5000. Show me the noise! I was really surprised to see how little there was - visible only when you blow it up over 100%. That is indeed one of the best features! My ISO goes up to 6400, expandable upto 12800! Sweet! :) I haven't tested the highest settings yet, but I will do so soon.

This shot of my "Old Faithful" taken with the Canon EOS 7D is SOOC -

I'm going to keep my XSi for those times when I go out to shoot Nature. I can use my 18 - 55 on this one for landscapes, while I keep my 55 - 250 primed for wildlife action (read mostly birds, since there isn't much other kind of wildlife close to where I live. But I like to pretend I live in Costa Rica or Galapagos where I'll see some exotic species of the animal planet.)

I next tried the pop-up flash and was pretty impressed with that as well! Doesn't look like the typical "deer in the headlight" kinda image at all! :=P

This shot is also SOOC, taken with the pop-up flash -

I have only just started exploring the camera and it feels very different from the last one. The controls that I was so used to manipulating with my right hand, have now mysteriously changed sides, and the camera feels heavier as well. I think I will need to do some regular working out of my biceps to handle my new toy and especially prepare for when I buy my new long lens. :)

Day 298 - Photography Disaster

2011-03-17T23:30:00.001-04:00

I was attending a business conference and took some photos there as well. Needless to say, it turned out to be a nightmare trying to photograph the event in poor lighting. I returned with quite a few really grainy shots as I had to shoot on ISO 800, wide open, and a shutter speed of not more than 1/30s in most cases. If this isn't a recipe for disaster, then what is? I was seriously out of my mind when I thought I could give this a shot.

I sneaked in these photos because I wanted to take a few shots that I could post here, rather than only taking shots of people that I didn't want to publish.