Day 227: AK-25

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/2.8, 1/60, ISO 500)

Perhaps one of the longest days all summer, would be Albert Kong's 25th birthday.  Most of which was spent tagging alongside Mr. ETCBC.

Sunday morning.  I haven't been to Sunday Service at ET since the previous summer.  Though I'm not a regular Sunday-church goer, I've found that I generally manage to walk away with something to think about in the few times that I have been to Sunday Service at ET.  Usually such a message would be delivered by Reverand Tim Tang, but as he's currently on sabbatical several other speakers have been coming in to fill in for him.  On this particular day, the speaker would be Deacon Norman Young.  He talk focused on finding the one true God.  To be honest, I never really caught on with the biblical references and what not, but at one point he did shift towards the notion of ignoring false gods and idols --> generally all of which were under the umbrella of the "God of Too Much of a Good Thing".  He listed five examples, which I believe were...:

1. The God of Ownership ("Mine, mine, mine" notion.  That we feel we are the owners of our posessions, rather than just stewarts of them for God)

2. The God of a Good Deal (Staying up into the wee hours to seek out that killer bargain...)

3. The God of Hyperconnectivity (The need to always stay connected, whether it be through email, text message, etc)

4. The God of Relationships (Admittedly, I do believe I may have glazed over the precise meaning of this)

5. The God of The Church (Overcommiting yourself to church-related tasks and events)

Now, mind you I'm probably not spot on with some of these, but I think you get the drift.  So, whilst sitting there I pondered, "Gee, you know Winston you take a lot of pictures... like a lot.  You should also be paying attention to Norm rather than only just now coming to the realization that you take a lot of pictures."  In all seriousness though, I did find that to be the case.  I also spend probably far more time than I should looking up the prices of pretty much anything I intend to buy and have a serious problem of having to check my email before I wake up, but damnit this is a photography blog so we're going to stop diverging.  Okay, one more divergance.  Here's photo of Alex's (Alan "I layout for all discs" Tang's brother) baby.

 (Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/3.2, 1/80, ISO 800)

Baby photos have powerful effects, but I digress.  Anyway, back to where I was.  So I came to the conclusion that the God of Photography probably has his hand in my pocket, which I wasn't exactly about to deny.  After all, both this summer and the last I've found that I am generally throwing myself at anyone and everyone to whom I had the slightest rapport with would require the service.  Though there were still some things I would've thrown myself in front of a bus for metaphorically in terms of photos (Ekklesia, Quick Dumpers), pretty much everything else was largely secondary.  So thats how I decided to take it for the day.  I was going to make no concentrated effort to photograph anything.  At all.  Not even if it hit me in the face.

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/4, 1/400, ISO 400)

Okay, I wanted one shot of James as he was taking warm-up pitches during a Turn 2 game... just in case.  So... yeah.  I have nothing beyond those three pictures.  Not even a picture of Albert on his 25th birthday.  Instead I had lunch with some ETers, got destroyed by some more ETers in Uno, watched Turn 2 win their first SNSP game of the night only to have the second game canceled due to lightning, and then hung out with Albert and a few others at a Pho place with a few assorted Turn 2'ers afterwards.  

That was my day.  Barely any photos at all... and I wouldn't change a thing.

Day 203: Shedding Some Light

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/8, 1/200, ISO 400, Off-Camera Flash)

Don't worry, it's still a Practice Thursday ableit with a bit of a twist, and some reflection.  More after the break.

Day 188: Onto The Roaring Twenties

I don't actually wear contacts, so it's unlikely you'll catch me in public looking like this.
(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/8, 1/160, ISO 100, Flash @ 1/4 Manual through softbox)

It's been about five years since I've really celebrated my birthday in any significant capacity.  So far, this year seems to have followed that trend.  Went out to dinner with my friend Elizabeth, which in itself was rather ad-hoc and unplanned.  She did however, purchase me a pair of shirts as a gift - the green one that I'm wearing in the photo as well as a black t-shirt.  Her rationale for the green polo was that I was "lacking colour" in my wardrobe, to which I would not contest.  All of my shirts and pants to date have been blacks, whites, beiges, shades and tones of blue, greys, and the sporadic dark green.  It does fit well though, and I dig the colour, so kudos to you Elly for that! 

It's been a pretty busy week so far, and it doesn't look like it's going to let up for at least a few days.  This wasn't quite the situation a couple months earlier, where I was basically wasting away my days doing nothing.  In some respects, I think these last ten weeks have seemingly unfolded much like the last ten years of my life.  Of course when I was ten, I didn't think much the same way as I do now, when I am twenty.  Back then, 'liking' girls was still taboo amongst school circles, computer games were my entire life, and 11 PM was considered late.  Now, I find myself waiting for the opportune moment to find 'her', photography, school, and friends are my life, and 4 AM is normal or "still enough time to finish that damned essay I've been holding off for way too long". 

To say that the past decade has been a smooth ride though would be incorrect.  Well, partially.  Right up until 16 was for the most part, smooth.  I was doing well in school (generally) and usually in good spirits, though somewhat anti-social.  17 and most of 18 were definitely the 'turbulent teen years' with lots of headbutting, low grades, and crying oneself to sleep at night; it certainly has been the lowest point in my life so far.  The tail end of 18 and 19 by contrast, was generally more of an 'up' year.  Things were certainly on the rebound.  A fresh start in school, discovery of a passion, and a niece who - by now old enough to do more than just eat and sleep - continues to amaze me every time I see her.  Looking back, with the exception of perhaps the previous year, I have no real desire to go back in time and relive my teens; I'm quite happy to leave that behind.  I'm ready to forget the past and move on forward.  My future career on the other hand, is not as obvious and at present is still a mystery.

If you had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up ten years ago, I would tell you that I wanted to be a Computer Engineer, and that I'd want to study at either Ryerson University (though it wouldn't be known as Ryerson University until 2002), the University of Toronto, or the University of Waterloo.  How times have changed.  I'd have to say that my parents had a significant influence on my career choice back then.  It was typical for an Asian family I suppose.  Life back then was so much simpler.  Now I find myself staring down two parallel roads where one is bound to end at some point down my career path.  On one hand an almost certainly rock-solid and steady career in the field of IT development and related business solutions, on the other a potentially lucrative but risky career in photography where I myself am the limiting factor.  To say that I haven't thought about changing lanes and concentrating on one in the last few weeks would be a lie, though to say I have made a firm decision would also be a lie.  To be honest I intend on waiting it out for a couple of years, finishing my degree before I decide what to do.  Whether or not I utilize that piece of paper is something I can't determine since it's hard to pinpoint where I will be photographically at that point because that part of my life is advancing so rapidly.  As an example,earlier this week I was asked to shoot a wedding reception for a friend.  I've practically all but said "yes, I'm in", but ask me the same question six months, or a year earlier and I would think nothing of it, immediately dismissing the notion because photography back then was just 'a hobby'.  Speaking of this hobby, ten years ago, digital photography was barely in it's infancy with early models like Nikon's D1 and D100 series and Canon's D30 and 1D cameras just emerging into the marketplace whilst the majority of shooters were still using film.  Now we have full lines of digital cameras both large and small, and film has all but fallen out of favour with the mainstream crowd.  Don't even get me started on pixels and ISOs.

As with my future with photography, my future in general is pretty hard to determine.  The past few nights I've been lying awake wondering where I'll be in ten, or even five years.  Will I be a full-fledged photographer?  Will I have a wife and child(ren)?  Will I be living in Toronto, in a condo or in a house?  Where will digital photography be?  Will I be shooting with kilos of heavy equipment at ISO who-gives-a-damn?  Will the likes of Chase Jarvis, Joe McNally, David Hobby, Zack Arias, Scott Kelby and so-on and so-on still be around in the world (I honestly hope so), lending their expertise to all who will listen?   Where will my family be?  What will my parents do once they retire?  What will Katelyn be like?  Will I have more nieces and nephews?  Will this blog even still exist?!  Those are just a sampling of random thoughts that drift by my head at break-neck speeds during these times of reflection.  The past is equally uncertain in this regard.  Have I done enough in my life?  Is there something I regret doing, or not doing?  I don't like setting long-term goals, because I feel that life often changes so much that by the time the deadline rolls around, the circumstances for which you originally set that goal have changed.  I do, however have a few that I intend to achieve within the next five to ten years.

In no particular order:

1.  Graduate from school.  I intend on getting that damn piece of paper, so that I can earn a little extra freedom in my life, and a few extra dollars in my pocket.

2.  Get my full driver's license.  My parents and brothers are probably going to be *all* over me on this.  I intend on doing it at some point in the future, but not in the immediate time.  There's just too much going on now to have to cram in driving lessons and fender benders.

3.  Advance my photography.  This is probably the riskiest of the mall.  The top two are pretty much certain to happen.  To ignore my photography, which more and more people keep complimenting by the day though, would be a serious mistake.  Maybe in ten years there won't be a full-fledged Winston Chow Photography (or perhaps Winston Chow Media?), but I'd still like to be shooting the seasonal events or odd-job gig.  

4.  Pick up vital life skills.  I've been spoiled for pretty much my entire life.  I don't do my own laundry, my ability to cook is limited to toasting and microwaving things, and I don't understand jack about financing or the bank other than the putting money in and taking it out part.

So there you have it.  Another sprinkling of my life before I turned twenty, and some of the possibilities of how it might turn out in the coming years, with a touch of 'the present' added in.  

The only way now is forward, so onwards we go!  Well, wait... let me put on my glasses first.

Day 141: Through The Years

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/5.6, 1/60, ISO 400)

Visited a friend from my old High School who is due to graduate in June.  Just a simple lunch and catch-up chat was all.  She tried to hook me up with the music department with some photography work, but that has since fallen through (there may very well be a rant post about that coming soon).  

I didn't really stick around much at school, largely because I was informed only a few hours prior that there was an apparent Commerce Times meeting for anyone interested in doing work over the summer.  That too, was a bust, considering it was only myself and the Managing Editor who showed up.  Okay, not a total bust considering we had some good one-to-one chatting time.  

When I got home I stumbled upon my old student ID cards that I had kept on my desk.  As I flipped through all four of them I realized how little my image had changed.  Minus the minor adjustments to the hair, I still look... the same on the outside.  On the inside though, well... if you've been reading you probably know a fair amount of what's gone on during those four years.  Then I thought about how much I've changed since then, and I'm amazed at how basic my life was during High School.

As an example, taking transit felt really awkward for me back then - largely due to the fact that I didn't have to use it everyday at least twice a day.  All of the downtown core seemed foreign, with only a small handful of road names becoming recognizable.  Now, mention a major street corner and I've probably got an idea of at least what's on one of those roads if not more.  I remember that if I ever wanted anything material - games, school stuff, clothing - I would have to ask my parents to go with me to the mall (I lived a very sheltered life).  Now?  Pfft, my building is practically attached to one of the largest shopping centres in the Greater Toronto Area.  If I can't find it there or within walking distance of campus, I just hop on the nearest streetcar, subway train, or bus to get to where I need to go.

I often ponder as to how things would've been different had I gone to a University elsewhere besides Toronto.  Since most of the ones I would've considered going to in Ontario were in arguably smaller cities, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have as much in terms of 'street knowledge', nor of course would I have gotten into photography had it not been for Dave and Frosh Week.  I probably would've partied more or stayed out longer, but somehow I don't there would've been much more additional gain from the sudden onset of independance.  At least, not when I compare it to going to school here in Toronto.

Day 119: The Fine Line

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/8, 1/80, ISO 200)

On Thursday, I went down to pay fees for Spring/Summer classes.  Having opted to not pursue a job (largely because I don't think I have the skills to qualify for anything significant beyond flipping burger patties), I decided on taking a couple extra courses, some with my BTM buddies during the summer.  In previous years, the end of school often signified the beginning of an eight week period in which I pretty much went in my house and never exited.  I used to spend my days gaming, sleeping, and eating.  It was as if I had crossed one line to the next and became a somewhat different (behaviourally) person.

Last year was similar, in that I felt like I had two lives; with two very different groups of friends whom I saw on a regular basis.  There were the school friends, and the many faces from the softball diamonds during CCSA games.  Each group was largely distinct, and bore few similarities with one another.  I was a frustrated student in the wrong program who took comfort in finding a respectable group of people for a majority of the year, and a beginning photographer on the other meeting new people daily and trying to not end up with a softball-special to the face or gonads.  This year, the line looks like it'll be a little bit more blurred; I am going back to school after all - though I'll still be shooting softball and ultimate frisbee, much to my delight.

After I paid my fees, I went to go grab a late lunch (more Quiznos!) and settled in to what turned out to be an empty room; normally this room - labelled as the 'Notebook Room', an open classroom with tables and outlets for those with laptops - is filled packed with students studying for exams, or working on assignments.  That wasn't the case now that exams were over (as of Thursday afternoon).  While I was relieved to be done, I was somewhat saddened that the regular hustle and bustle of school was over for a few months.  Most folks would probably think I was crazy, but school brought along a sense of normality juxtaposed with the unexpected.  I liked it.  It kept me busy, and I felt like I was alive; although in the heat of the moment, I am often sleep deprived and feel like I'm dead.  

Summer school, and the outdoor sports season are coming up very soon.  With it I hope there come new opportunities and experiences.  If not well, you know what they say - the grass is always greener on the other side. 

Day 118: The Imperial

 Here's to Marketing... or Tequila?

(Nikon D90, 18-55 VR @ 20mm, f/5.6, 1/60, ISO 200, -0.7 EV TTL)

This is going to be a long post, but that's what happens when one is up for a majority of the day.  More after the break.

Day 93: Less is More

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/5.6, 1/60, ISO 400)

Bigger, isn't always better.

It dawned on me whilst I was writing code in the early-hours of Saturday morning (no pun intended).  For the first half there was just straight coding, splattering as many lines of code as was necessary to get the program to work.  Thankfully there weren't any sort of major SNAFUs or hiccups in the process, and the program now largely works as was necessary.  For the next few hours after that, I went to work trimming down code.  A line here, a line there, every line cut felt like an accomplishment.  My Computer Science teacher in High School introduced us to the concept of KISS in class (Keep It Simple, Stupid), and it's something that's stuck with me ever since. 

Not suprisingly, this concept has wormed its way into my photography as well.  I came to this realization rather late; about nine months after picking up a DSLR and right after I had shot three CCSA (Chinese Christian Softball Association) softball teams' worth of games for the season that summer in Toronto.  Several times I foudn myself burning out during post-processing; about 90 to 120 'keepers per game'.  I shot about 30 games.  Yeah.  The math ain't pretty.  

I think Scott Kelby put it best when he said something along the lines of displaying a dozen or so photos out of a batch of 100 or 200 makes you appreciate the select ones more.  In exercising greater scrutiny I come away with less, but feel I have a more desirable end result - one that I'm proud to display.  Most of the time I don't show about 75% or more of what I shoot.  A lot of the times it's because that one shot out of four was part of a four-shot burst.  Other times, there are just plain bad shots caused by the camera or the dufus behind the camera (never did like me much, har har har).  It gets to the point now that I generally don't give as much attention to online galleries or albums that are just a slew of the same photos shot over and over again.  Having already been asked to shoot for a friend's team, I look forward to the upcoming CCSA season(it's 30th!), and seeing some of the great folks I haven't seen in a few months.  In that sense, some things won't change, but I'll definitely be keeping fewer photos.  Sure, I won't have hundreds of photos capturing practically ever major and minor event during the game, but I'll definitely have a lot more fun, save a lot more time, and come away with more memories.

In concluision, shoot more (with digital, it's free anyway!), but keep less!  No one needs to see the shot where the flash didn't go off, or the one where everyone's face got smeared because the camera automatically picked a slower shutter speed.  Keep the memories, not the clutter.  After all at the end of the day it's probably that handful of shots that you're going to remember, not the other hundred.

Day 91: The Last Cut is the Deepest

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/1.8, 1/40, ISO 200)

That will be the closest picture you will ever get of me on this blog... ever!

Okay, I lie.  Does it count as April Fools even though the post was made well after 12 PM and on a different day for that matter?  Even if it was meant for April 1st?  Damnit.  Probably not.

In any case, today turned out to be my last haircut with my barber.  He's retiring and has already sold his house.  Only three people have cut my hair in my life.  My dad, my oldest brother, and the husband (whom I have only known as Mr. Szeto) of a couple who had been cutting my parents' hair for twenty years; pretty much since I was born.  I had known Mr. Szeto when I was a child - my parents used to bring me to their house when I was about 4 or 5 whenever they had their hair done.  I remember I used to stare at their fish tank and run around in the basement, which had been turned into an ad-hoc barber shop/hair salon.  He had a successful hairstyle business back in Hong Kong, and decided to continue it to some extent once he moved to Canada.  For about a decade, I never saw him again, until my brother was no longer able to cut my hair.  My dad brought me back to him.  Some things never change, minus the removal of the fish tank.  That was about five years ago, when I first started getting my hair cut with him.  My gut told me to bring my camera with me today, but I opted not to and pretty much regretted it once I heard the news.  One of those shots that got away.  Alas, in lieu of no pictures, I suppose it's story time then... about my hair.

Pretty much until I got into High School and even for a bit after that, my haircuts were the simple 'just cut it thin'.  It took about 15 years for me to make the switch to "leave a little bit of the front out".  Other than that, my hair has pretty much been the same.  Coincidentally, I imagine around the same time that I made the decision to actually do something with my hair - spend about 30 seconds with it after showering with the blow dryer blowing my hair straight up.  Yeah.  Whilst everyone else was gelling, perming, dyeing pink, and doing all sorts of other crazy shit with their hair, it took me several years to decide to blow-dry it up.  Despite all this my hairstyle has as become somewhat of a recognizable trademark (I think).

My friend Betty once remarked how the height of my hair is an indicator of my mood, with the higher it being reflecting the more content that I was.  I guess to some extent that could be true, though I would probably be first in line to suggest not relying on it as a scientific means of measurement.  Generally I like to compare the growth of my hair to that of a growing plant.  Soon after it's cut, it shoots straight up for about a week or two, at which point it splits and "opens" up, such that it can no longer stand up on its own and takes the form of a curvy 'm' instead.  Then it's off to the barber again!  The cycle occurs about every 4 - 6 weeks, although in this case, it'll be a new barber.

I'll miss Mr. Szeto.  I never really got to know him well due to a language barrier (side note: I am totally not fluent in Cantonese or Mandarin), but in spite of this he always had my hair looking the way I wanted it.  He was definitely a cut above the rest.

Day 76: The Click

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/8, 1/25, ISO 400, Flash @ -1.0 TTL)

What a day - one that I am glad is over.  At the very least, I can sleep in on Thursday since I've been busy all week, so much so that I slept through dinner and didn't wake up from my nap until around 9 PM.

My presentation for my communications class (CMN124) went a bit longer than I had expected.  A lot longer.  It was supposed to be a maximum seven minutes.  I went for about 11:17.  Whoops.  Still, when it came time general feedback and commentary on notable presentations, I was somewhat surprised that my presentation in spite of it's length was positive and well-received.  Even though I probably just ended up taking a hefty penalty for going over, I imagine the grade will still come out better, perhaps moreso than if I had not gone over; regardless, I remain optimistic about this presentation. 

Our class was to choose a topic related to Science, Technology, or Information Technology.  Immediately from the get-go I knew I'd do photography.  It was a science afterall and with the advent of digital, a technology as well.  I knew I was going to be talking to group with no photography background, so I tried to keep it as basic as possible, explaining only what I needed to and in not as much detail as I myself would've liked if I were on the receiving end.  Of course, I'm a stickler for details.  This was also the first time that I can recall where I was extremely comfortable with what I was talking about and I wanted to reflect that in my PowerPoint, which I largely ignored save for the use of visual aids.  I just spoke from my head with what I knew and threw in some corny humour every now and then to spice it up.  When I saw my friend Walid give me a five minute gesture I was somewhat in "oh shit" mode because I was barely halfway through my presentation; alas, I tried to keep as cool as possible without rushing through the presentation.

About the only thing that I really regret was not being able to do a live demonstration, which would have been a perfrect conclusion and a means to get the audience further involved.  I probably would've cut down the hefty technology portion that I somewhat shotgunned in last minute too, which probably would've saved me on time.  When I sat down I was a little disappointed that I had gone so far over but was glad that I was able to share my passion with everyone else.

Today was certainly another example of why photography holds such a special place in my life.  When the professor commented on my presentation, she noted that even though it was long, that everything flowed well and that I had spoken with confidence - much to my relief.  I had never done a presentation as well as I had today.  I also saw Parvinder earlier today, who much to my delight was very happy with his photo from yesterday.  At that point in the day I was tired (went to bed at 5 AM, woke up at 6:30) and in somewhat of a 'grrr' mood, but that all didn't really matter, since it was so uplifting to hear how happy he was; "I never look good in photos" he told me.  Clearly that changed.  I didn't get paid for yesterday's Toastmasters shoot, but being told things like this often makes that totally irrelevant.  To make others happy and to be able to capture the moment is what drives my photography.

I live for the click.

"You go out on Friday night
I'll stay in but thats all right
Cause I have found a click to call my own
In crowd out crowd I don't care
Your crowd my crowd we can share
Cause I have found a click to call my own"

Good Charlotte, The Click

Day 61: If-Then-Else

 

 Good ol' Big Java 3rd Edition.

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/1.8, 1/200, ISO 200)

Wow.  I seriously thought the level of work would pick up over these last few days.  Alas, that wasn't really the case.  Wrote a programming midterm today in class - probably the most underwhelming programming test I have ever written in my life.  It was for the most part a snap and took relatively little effort to complete.  This would be good and all, except for the fact that this was a test on programming.  The test was entirely multiple choice, which certianly trumps last year's midterm that was partially fill in the blanks.  Hell, at least you still wrote code for the latter!

In some sort of twisted might-not-make-sense way I did enjoy the occasional sitting in a group trying to figure out a Discrete Math lab or a Java lab.  Maybe it was the fact that it had the right mix of productivity, jackassery, and Bollywood movies (the last one courtesy one Shaun Maharaj).  There were definitely some things that I missed from that year.  Granted, given the options at the end of the semester last year, I imagine that if I had stayed then I'd probably be drowning in work that I hardly gave a damn about were I not pushed by my friends to at least finish strong.  Alas, here I am in IT Management, anything but a stones throw from main campus.

Of course, I'm sure all this complaining and reminiscing about doing hard work will come back to bite me in the ass.  Alas, last week's postponed Statistics midterm is coming up tomorrow.  Karma will probably strike back, I've already reached my quota for saying things I'll probably regret in this post. 

if (goodKarma)
   No worries;
else
   Knock on wood and pray for salvation;

Some habits die hard.

Day 59: Olympics, Eh?

 

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/5, 1/50, ISO 640)

Yes, I took another picture of my laptop screen.  I stayed in all day so I didn't really have the opportunity to go take pictures of celebrating downtown fans that clogged Yonge street.  So, unlike the majority of my posts this will probably be a little more text-heavy.  

The Olympics are over.  In some ways, I am a bit sad.  I love this country.  I love it even more having watched the games, and the spontaneous singing of our anthem at both sporting events and on the streets of Vancouver from my house really caught on with me.  The daily crowds of red and white, cheers of  "Go Canada Go", and other broad spectacles of patriotism that swept through this country was a nice uplifting change to the daily news barrage of crime, poverty, and tragedy.  Granted, the beginning 'Games didn't quite hit the ground running; it just hit the ground.

The technical glitches during the Opening Cermonies and the death of the Georgan luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was really not the way to start off a worldwide event.  Nor was Canada's slow start, although Alex Bilodeau wasn't kidding when he said that there was more to come, and came it did.  Canada literally exploded with gold medals in the last week, finishing it with a climactic overtime win in Men's Hockey.  The closing ceremonies were thankfully free of technical glitches, but I personally did not really enjoy the musical performances; most of which were from bands that I thought were long past their prime and didn't really embody the Canadian identity.  

Perhaps my one major gripe was the immense flak that the opening and closing cermonies caught from many of my peers.  Bad music and technical glitch aisde, I don't think there was really much to be griefing over.  If anything, I enjoyed the fact that we opted to NOT take "OMG FIREWORKS EVERYWHERE AND SEIZURE-INDUCING LASER FLASHING LIGHT SHOW PEW PEW PEW LOUD MUSIC PEW PEW PEW PEW".  I thought the projections that they put on were a nice and refreshing touch, along with the largely Canadian theme that went with many of the performances.  I personally dug the displays of Canadian culture that pretty much permeated much of the ceremonies.  Some might disagree or think that it was boring, but I think it was important to show the world who we are as Canadians, or poke fun at what they think we are and that doing so doesn't have to involve pyrotechnics or massive amounts of bass.  Besides, what other country is going to have tap-dancers on fire, make folk music sound really awesome, or have Michael J. Fox talk about poutine and back bacon? 

I will conclude with some thoughts in six words (in no particular order):

Team Canada: Slow start, great finish, gold hoarding
Alex Bilodeau: First Canadian gold medalist, fortune teller
Curling: Holy shit, what an awesome sport
Joannie Rochette: Perseverence in the face of tragedy
Sidney Crosby: Saves nation from rioting hockey fans
Short Track Speed Skating: Dominated by Asians - Chinese, Koreans, Ohno
Jon Montgomery: Win gold, win pitcher of beer
Charles Hamelin: Mesmerizing beard, skates sideways to gold
Own The Podium: Not quite, owned gold as alternative
Opening Ceremonies: Erectile disfunction, flaming tapdancers, cool lights
Closing Ceremonies: Sorry about the bad music world
Canada Men's Hockey: Cutting it close, don't you think?
Canada Women's Hockey: Drink, smoke, celebrate; You deserved it
John Furlong: Elementary students can speak better French
Norwegian Curling Team: Silver for Curling, Gold for pants
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir: Incredible performance, my mind is blown
Yu-Na Kim: Awesome skate, damn you Brian Orser
Petra Majdič: Breaks ribs, punctures lung, wins bronze
Cypress Mountain: Many spills, but not enough snow
Two-Man Luge: Man on Man? No thank you
Japadog: Long lines, I want one now
I Believe: Overplayed, but made for decent montages
Sven Kramer: Fucked over by coach on lane change
Olympic Mittens: Appears on Oprah, consumers rabidly purchase

Day 49 Supplemental: Chance Encounter

 

For the record, I laughed too. +1 Maturity.

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/3.2, 1/20, ISO 3200)

Okay, so technically more than just BattleTech happened today, but I figured it wouldn't be appropriate to cram it into a lengthy post about BattleTech since I knew it was going to be lengthy and this bit would end up getting lost somewhere amidst all that text.

So, on my way to Dave's I ran into my friend Elizabeth whom I had not seen in almost a year, despite the fact that our houses and universities happen to both be a few blocks apart.  Okay, suburban "blocks" are like rediculous and don't count.  My bad.  It seemed as though our schedules just never really lined up, until today.

As we caught up on the subway-train ride, I had learned much to my dismay that her beloved cat Charley had passed on.  My entire life I had never known what it was like to have a pet.  My mom didn't really like having them around and being neigh-high I wasn't exactly able to convince her - although I'm pretty sure I tried once or twice as a kid for us to get a dog.  Charley was probably one of the first of people's pets that I had ever met in my life.  Like most cats that I've come across he was pretty lazy, although he was probably the largest of them all.  I like to think Charley liked me, because he had a thing for snuggling up to my leg the few times I was over at the Yoshiki's.  Either that, or he smelled fresh meat and was just waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Sadly, we'll never know.  I hadn't seen him since I had picked up photography, and was disappointed that I will never get a chance to photograph him.  It's reasons like these that I am so passionate to photography.  It's not just a means of earning income or being another excuse for two 'photogs' to jock around "who's is bigger".  It's about capturing the moment, so that five minutes, five years, or five decades down the road you can still look at it and say "Remember when...".  Of course Elly has a bunch of photos, so I'm sure she won't mind that I swiped a photo off of her Facebook account.  Here's to Charley, beloved pet and feline.

 

A tribute to Charley.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Yoshiki

After Dave's I met up with Elly and her boyfriend Brandon who - like the majority of non-Asian males that I seem to come across nowadays - looks like he could snap me in two.  I kid of course; more so on implication that non-Asian males have any sort of desire to snap me in two than their ability to, but I digress.

We went to a restaraunt/bar called Gabby's on Bloor St. West.  Yes.  I just named a very long street.  I apologize but do understand that was University of Toronto territory or very near it - somewhere I seldom tread (Ryerson FTW!).  You're welcome to Google it if you're curious.  I had a Pulled Pork Sliders that I neglected to photograph because I was hungry.  On top of that I didn't feel like conforming to what is fast becoming a regular practice amongst some of my peers (at least from what I can tell) with regards to photographing (from a technical perspective, rather dully... is that a word even?) their food.  I would like to note though that it was pretty awesome for my second pulled pork experience.  Of course, anything can top Boston Pizza pulled pork, which is more like pork paste with BBQ flavour.  On the way back we snapped the headlining photo before departing at the nearby subway station.

I got back just in time to watch Canada barely edge out a win against the Swiss in Men's Hockey.  Hooray for us also winning Gold in Women's 1000m Long Track Speed Skating.  Sandwhich in (Winston make pun) some BattleTech, and I think it's fair to say that today was a pretty good day.

Day 49: Once More Into the Cockpit

 

A Blackjack, piloted by one of my lesser-experienced pilots lives to fight another day.

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/4, 1/40, ISO 1000)

Well, at least in miniature form.  Spent the afternoon at my buddy Dave Leaver (who was briefly mentioned a few weeks back when his younger brother Greg was featured on Day 32) and some others in a familiar situation: overlooking a hex grid with mech minis, plenty of dice, paper, and pencils.  The game was Classic BattleTech.  For the unfamiliar, Classic BattleTech (hereon referred to as BattleTech or BT) is a pen and paper combat-strategy game involving the militaries of futuristic 31st century nations as they duke it out over a myriad of planets both near and far to good ol' Terra.  Now isn't that a mouthful?

My forces lined up.  In focus is a Hunchback, a mech known for moving slowly, and carrying a big "stick".

 (Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/2, 1/80, ISO 1000)

Of course, the game is deeper than that.  Sure, you can play pick-up games of straight up mech-on-mech action.  That alone is plenty of fun, but what I love most about this game is just how far in-depth you can take your game.  Beyond mechs, you have tanks, infantry, massive naval ships in both space and on surface.  Hell, you can even drop a nuclear weapon on your battlefield.  It doesn't stop off the mapsheet either.  Once the smoke has cleared the technicians, medics, and support staff go to work - you could go so far as to install a beer cooler into your mech's cockpit.  There even exists an entire RPG game in this universe for those more into roleplaying than lasers, autocannons, and good ol' fashioned Rock-em' Sock-em robots.

The opponents lined up on their end.

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/2.8, 1/100, ISO 1000)

BattleTech kicked off over twenty-five years ago and excluding a bit of a mid-life crisis involving copyright issues it has picked up, significantly so in recent years thanks to Catalyst Games.  While not as extensive, my own history with BattleTech has been somewhat long and colourful.  I started off never even knowing about BattleTech.  A fluke birthday present from a childhood friend was what got the ball rolling.  My first Mech' game was Earthsiege 2.  I loved it so much, that one day my brother took notice and asked me if I had ever checked out the Mechcommander or Mechwarrior series: I had not.  A couple weeks with the demos of both Mechcommander 2 and Mechwarrior 4 later, I had the purchased the mech-compilation packs containing Mechwarrior 4: Vengence, Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight, and Mechcommander 2.  Several months after the final incarnation of the Mechwarrior 4 series of video games landed in my lap - Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries. 

Getting down n' dirty!

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/4, 1/60, ISO 1000)

It was December of that year (I think it was 2003?) that I then came across NetBattleTech (NBT), an online league comprising of (at the time) hundreds of players largely from North America and Europe playing out their own variation of the BattleTech universe via Mechwarrior 4.  Prior to that I had generally kept away from gamer groups (commonly referred to as "Clans" in Internet jargon), albeit largely due to my age.  I was on top of the world when I easily made it into one of the teams that I tried out for.  It began a long three yearish stint where I played for three teams.  For those in the "BattleTech-know-how" that would be a small Mercenary group (called the 58th Northland Berzerkers), the Capellan Confederation, and the Draconis Combine (the last of whom I also played Battlefield 2 with after Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries fell out of favour for most of us).  Most of my gaming companions have since scattered, with only a few of us managing to keep in touch.  That said, I will never forget the height of my gaming days.  It's something that I still somewhat yearn for, although I have doubts that I will come in contact with such a close-knit group of online individuals ever again - to get on weekday nights on Teamspeak, get organized, discuss plans of action, and then execute them in-game, with various but often memorable results.  It was far from the usual anarchy that one would find in your typical online gaming experience where you're more likely to die in the first five seconds than anything. 

Mr. Hunchback after the fight; he's been beat up pretty bad, but far from mangled.

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/4, 1/125, ISO 1000) 

Of course, along the way I also came to know BattleTech through Mechwarrior.  It was bound to happen, considering the latter is based on the former.  I started off not knowing very much playing the online version (referred to as MegaMek) and eventually transitioned my way into the local Toronto scene about three or four years back.   I had a bit of a falling out with it though around mid-way through my last semester of High School, and haven't really picked it up again until today.  Thankfully I didn't get royally screwed over by my luck (BattleTech involves a lot of dice rolling to compliment the strategy portion) today; I came through my game relatively unscathed.  Win or lose though, it was great getting reacquainted with an old favourite.  I imagine this will be the first of several more BattleTech-related posts throughout the year.  Thanks to Dave for having me over for some mech-crunching action!

Day 45: Seeing Red

(Nikon D90, 18-55 VR @ 44mm, f/5.3, 1/25, ISO 2000)

The good kind of red.  It was Chinese New Year!  Oh, it was Valentine's Day too, but as you may have guessed, I'm single.  So back to CNY!  It's the year of the Tiger this year and like always the day's events revolved around food and family - two of the greatest things in the world.  Going to keep the text concise today, and let the pictures do the talking.

 

(Nikon D90, 18-55 VR @ 20mm, f/3.8, 1/30, ISO 2000)

While for me it was like any other Chinese New Year, I imagine it was an entirely different experience for my niece Katelyn.  Compared to last year she is now walking and talking, but like last year she remains the focus of everyone in the room; aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents, and even photographers! 

(Nikon D90, 18-55 VR @ 18mm, f/5, 1/30, ISO 2000)

Pushed the ISO performance on the sensor really hard today, which is why a lot of the pictures look fairly grainy since I often underexposed a little to keep my shutter speed as high as possible (Katelyn likes to move around a lot).  All in all I'm pretty happy.  Probably wouldn't have gotten this with my D60.

 

(Nikon D90, 18-55 VR @ 29mm, f/5, 1/25, ISO 2000)

All in all, good stuff, and to top it all off, Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau won gold in the Men's Moguls event tonight to end Canada's dry spell of no golds on home soil.  Hell yeah!  Talk about icing on the cake.

Day 44: Trouble in the PM(all)

 

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/11, 1/250, ISO 200)

 

Winston make pun.  Headlining + 1.

Walking home from work, I noticed four squad cars racing past me, sirens blaring.  It appeared as though they had been heading towards good ol' Pacific Mall.  I decided to tap into my non-existant photojournalism skills and tried to grab as close a shot as would be possible with a 35mm (52mm equivalent) lens without getting dirty looks or being harassed by the police.  

Apparently though there must've been an altercation because there was a young male and female handcuffed on the curb near the parking spaces.  My mom was probably right; there was probably a fight (as in someone got assaulted) for a parking space.  Am I surprised?  No.  That parking lot is always full - often overcrowded - on weekends, let alone the weekend of Chinese New Year, which also falls on Valentine's Day this year.

My mom told me that my horoscope indicated that I'd be in a leadership position at work and that I should avoid quiet, secluded places in April/August.  The former has yet to happen; I'm leaving my current job on top of that.  As for the latter?  Well, I don't think hiding out in parts of campus studying counts or staring at the warm glow of my computer in my room.  

So much for an exciting year...

Day 40: One Reflection, Hold the Cream

 

(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/1.8, 1/25, ISO 400)

Lazy day today.  Woke up with too little sleep - so much so that I slept on the bus, subway, and in class.  After having a very unproductive session of class I headed over to the Ryerson's main-campus cafeteria (otherwise known as "The Hub") to snoop around the summer job fair.  Being summer student jobs most of them were either pretty generic (property maintenance, camps, fundraisers), but I managed to get a couple resumes out (whether it was promptly recycled, used as emergency tissue/toilet paper, or actually sent on through remains a mystery).  So much for shotgunning it like I had planned; granted I got around more than I did in previous job fairs.

Then of course, highlight of the day.  Coffee shop.  

Day 32: Greg-arious

(Nikon D60, 35mm DX, f/1.8 1/100, ISO 400)

Happy February!  It's been one month since this blog kicked off!  Woot!

History seminar ended rather abruptly today, since the TA did not show up after 30 minutes.  So off I went to my old building - Ryerson's George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre - in some vain search to try and find my Comp Sci friends (on their day off) to help kill tme before meeting up for a group assignment later in the day.  Luckily, I managed to locate a few of them in the old hangout: ENG206.  For those of you in the dark, ENG206 is one of several computer labs on the second floor of the building.  It is the only computer lab that is always 'open'; classes are seldom held in there.

(Nikon D60, 35mm DX, f/1.8, 1/25, ISO 400)

So yeah.  Anyhow, I managed to find some of my buddies on their day off.  Meet Greg.  He is of course, a computer scientist.  I had met Greg a couple years back at a Classic BattleTech event.  Greg's brother Dave runs events every so often in the Toronto area.  We had become acquaintenances , but I never thought I'd see him again.  That is, until Frosh Week during my first year at Ryerson.  For pretty much most of the week I struggled to figure out who this guy was that looked SO familiar.  Eventually we figured it out at Pub Night.  We'd cross paths several times in that year, most of which in-between lectures or during our Liberal Arts course in second semester.

My leaving Comp Sci means that I don't see Greg too often, so snagging a couple shots of him in his prime in ENG206 was nice.

After all, the alternative would probably be the dozenth picture of my desk or something on it. 
'Nother early start tomorrow.  More to come.
 

Day 31: Southpaw

(Nikon D60, 35mm DX, f/1.8, 1/40, ISO 800)

It's another Katelyn pic!  Wooo!  She's definitely becoming a lot more aware of her surroundings.  Over the last two weeks she can - when asked - point and identify who say, daddy or mommy is.  When asked if she wants to go outside her first reaction is to nod and point to her ski pants.  

Caught a picture of her scribbling in the living room today.  Lo' and behold!  She may very well be left handed!  Just like her uncles!  EXCELLENT.  Lets hope it sticks that way.  Aside from my brother I'm the only other left handed member of my family - extended or otherwise.  With him in Vancouver, it's just me to hold down Fort Southpaw.  It has spread amongst my friends too, who occasionally rib me for being of the not-right group.  Mind you, this is all in good fun.  No one actually 'refuses' to sit next to my left, but nonetheless this is a good opportunity to speak out.  POWER TO THE LEFTIES!  We're different and damn proud of it! ...or at least I am.  

What's wierd about my dexterity though is that I'm not a pure lefty.  I eat and write left-handed, but for almost everything else use my right hand.  When I played sports, everything with the exception of serving in Volleyball was right-handed.  Batting, glove, frisbee throwing.  

Of course with photography, everything is pretty much right-hand oriented.  For what it's worth however, I do shoot left-eyed.

Weekly grind starts tomorrow.  Hell yeah.

Day 29: The Human Factor

(Nikon D60,  35mm DX, f/4, 1/100, ISO 200, Flash @ TTL-BL)

What a day.  I was somewhat expecting good things from the OBC Competition host at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson today, given the swift series responses that I received from the competition's co-chair Marius Sobrepena.  

The day started as any Friday would.  9:00 AM HST802 class in Kerr Hall East.  That's where the commonalities ended.  First my prof was 'late' - he arrived within Ryerson time (classes started at ten minutes after the hour), but wasn't his usual punctual self.  To compensate he opened up with one of his (in my opinion) pretty decent World War 2 jokes.  This man is just so awesome.

After that class came the Job Finding Club.  It's basically a workshop to help students find work (I know, you're probably all "no duh asshole").  Why am I taking such a workshop?  Well you see, I don't have as much work experience as I would like.  Thus, any methods to help find work, find what I want to do, and find it fast is appreciated.  Ideally I'd like to stand out as much as possible from my competition, because jobs have been scarce as of late.  I'll let the picture below explain why, in case you've been living under a rock for the last year...

(Nikon D60, 18-55 VR @ 22mm, f/5.6, 1/50, ISO 200, Flash @ TTL + 0.3EV)

DING!  Point for the OBC group that wrote that on the board!  Anyhow, it was a pretty decent session at the workshop which will hopefully lead to a job or some contacts.  Finished a little late at 11:15 but regardless, OFF TO OBC!  ... ... after freezing half to death outside in this recent cold-spell.

I hit the seventh floor pretty much running.  Marius was RIGHT there with media 'ID' in hand.  +1 TRSM lanyard too.  Me like.  After some introductions and checking in my coat/bag it was off to the 'chillout' room where I was treated to leftovers (pictured at the top of this post; yes, those were the leftovers) of breakfast.  Hell yeah!  Snapped a few photos before heading down for some lunch.

Technically this has not been the first time I have been compensated for my photography.  I had a couple meals paid for on my behalf over the summer, but this was big!  Gosh.  It wasn't knock my socks off food, but it was pretty damn good for free food.  Sorry I didn't grab a photo of that... I was too busy eating.  The next few hours after that were pretty much characterized photographing guest speakers who spoke to teams that weren't presenting to the judges.  Despite my lack of sleep the night before I still managed to learn an interesting thing or two from the industry professionals, albeit from an HR perspective.

After presentations by the finalists came the social event which largely consisted of walking around, scarfing food fast so I could still operate my camera with two hands, and popping off shots of people mingling.  The night concluded with a few shots of the Buzz Hargrove and the Human Resources Students Association team (below; I think one person was missing).

(Nikon D60, 18-55 VR @ 18mm, f/3.5, 1/60, ISO 800, Flash @ TTL)

To reiterate, a really great day.  One that reminded me why I picked up photography and continue to pursue it.  I don't do this for the sole purpose of one day earning money from it.  I do it out of passion and the ability to help preserve memories.  If I am asked to take photographs for someone, I try to do the best I can possibly do in the shortest timeframe possible.  It's not a favour that I feel like I'm doing for someone, but rather an overwhelming sense of obligation to deliver because they've entrusted this duty to me.

I shoot out of passion, love, and dedication.

I shoot to create a memory others can enjoy.
I shoot because people say thank you.

Day 22: Kickoff

(Nikon D60, 18-55 VR @ 24mm, f/4.5, 1/60, ISO 400)

In following yesterday's trend, what could've been a mundane day turned out to be pretty damn interesting.  It kicked off with History, which is a surefire way to start the day.  The following two hours were then spent handing out issues of the Commerce Times, which wasn't too bad overall. 

Afterwards, I proceeded to go grab some Greek food.  It was satisfactory, and only barely.  The salad was meh and the biggest dissappointment were the potatoes.  Now, I don't have many Greek friends, but the few times I've had the opportunity to enjoy home-cooked Greek potatoes were simply awesome (props to my friend Kosta's mom for that).  I never looked at Caucasian-prepared potatoes the same way ever again.  The souvlaki seemed pretty decent, but I don't have an awesomely sophisticated enough palette to be able to discern bad souvlaki from good; they all taste the same to me, albeit they all taste good.

Whilst consuming what was fast becoming sustanance rather than food, I checked my email to find that all systems were go for covering the first JDC Central event, that was happening in the Ted Rogers School of Management.  Hell yeah!  Something Commerce Timesy that didn't involve handing out papers!  I got home as fast as the TTC would permit and slapped together every lens in my arsenal (all *three* of them), popped the flash in my bad and got back to the area as fast as I could.  The opening ceremonies were to begin at 5:00 PM.  I arried at 4:40 PM.  All systems go?

No.  Not quite.  The writer I was working with wasn't answering his phone at the moment and I was frantically wandering the halls of TRS wondering how I'd get out of this little SNAFU.  Luck would have it that I'd run into some of the organizers and after a very brief explanation (which essentially was "I'm the photographer working with the writer) I had a press pass tossed to me and directed to Yonge-Dundas Square where the event was kicking off.  If only life were always that easy.

The rest of the night went pretty well, although like many events it ran on Asian Standard Time (also known as late starts).  I grabbed the shot above of the huge ads plastered on Toronto Life Square whilst I was waiting.  Lots of energy, fun, and perhaps a little too much bass for me, although I suppose I deserved it for walking in front of the speakers on like a dozen separate incidents.  Ironically, I spent most of the night shooting with my kit lens, the Nikkor AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5 - 5.6G VR.  Sadly, I do not have a wider lens, but I was thankful that it did work out well.  My Sigma 70-200 worked out pretty decent too once I decided to 'steal' a vacant chair and use it as a stepping stool (Asians are generally pretty short, did you know that?!). 

Unfortunately I probably won't be posting any photos from the event until the next issue comes out, if any of them are to be used.  Alas, I opted for the shotgun effect for my photos, and ended up with a couple hundred to sort through.  Woohoo.

Work again tomorrow, as well as JDC coverage on Sunday.