Murphy is watching..
It’s midnight, and I’ve just come back from a wandering set of shoots throughout the Toronto area. I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, and just needed to get out and shoot some locations that I’d been thinking about.
It all started off well, I stopped by the Humber Bay park near the foot of Park Lawn and drove out to the point for a few long exposure cityscapes, matching the dawn cityscapes I’d taken last week..
The Toronto Skyline At Dawn
The shoot went alright, but as I decided to do some long exposure water shots with multiple flash light painting, I got two pops off before my flash batteries went kaput. Now I did have a spare flash with me, but there were some sketchy folks around, and I didn’t really feel like displaying more gear, or even spending THAT much longer hanging around, So I merely chose to move on to location 2 and settled for what I HAD gotten.
Reflections on Toronto
That all being done, I headed downtown as I’d had it in my mind to shoot from a top the Eaton’s Center Parking Garage.
I hadn’t been up there in years, and with all the development and the growth of Yonge-Dundas Square, I thought there might be some opportunities. Not so much…
Firstly, the parking garage is under construction, so there was a bit of snow fence jumping to be done to explore my angles.
Several of the “perches” I chose allowed me intriguing views of the street, but alas, the low light quality of the EOS Rebel is not renowned, and little was even salvageable (we’ll see what Lightroom 3 can do with this old Camera noise once its out of beta, but I’m not expecting miracles.)
Still, I wasn’t disheartened, as I’d a final plan that would have me driving back down Queen St, through the trendy areas, with a window down and my camera on a tripod shooting out a window at the action with a remote shutter release. (Note: This is probably illegal under the new hands free laws, but I hope to never find out.) Unfortunately, as I was switching lenses and futzing with my tripod to get it stable in the back of the mini van, I discovered it no longer wanted to turn on…
Swapped batteries, reseated lens, reseated CF card.. Changed lenses… *Sigh* No luck, retried a few previous things, just in case.. *sigh* A short drive home later, batteries in the charger, CF card dumped and remounted, coffee (decaf) in hand, and the camera works…
The moral of the story is, Not only should you carry your spares with you, but REMEMBER you’re carrying them and where they are.
As an aside, I realize I’ve been horribly under utilizing this website, and I do hope to correct that, For those who would like to hear more and keep up when I DO managed to update, you can also keep track of me as Darkelflx @ Twitter & Flickr
I shutter to think…
So many of you might know already, but my go to camera is none other than the ‘classic’ EOS Rebel 300d, 6.3mega pixels of goodness (as long as you stay at ISO 200 or less).
Needless to say, as one might expect, a camera that has been in use since 2003 has probably had some use.
Yes, it’s time for a replacement, you don’t need to tell me. But until money drops out of the sky, this camera is still capable of earning me money.
What concerns me is the fact that this camera is actually only expected to live less than 50,000 shutter actuations. In 7 years, that’s NOT a lot of pictures.
I’d love to hear how many shots people have had on their cameras, any shocking numbers out there? Horror stories of failure?
In the past two weeks the camera has shown signs of imminent failure, one time I was arriving at the canon service depot before the mirror dropped back down.
iPad, too soon?
Whether the critics like it or not, the iPad is coming. Despite all the people who complain about it. It will be purchased. I wish I had stock in Apple.
I own an iPod touch. I rarely miss flash… If I want multi-tasking, I’ll use an actual computer.
That being said, I question some [Photographers] out there that are singing it’s praises. “It will be fantastic for portfolio showing they say.” Yes, yes it will. If I’m going somewhere specifically to show my portfolio, then I want an iPad!
But, what if I’m going on a trip somewhere with my camera, well then I need my laptop, because my iPad isn’t a backup solution, and I need an external hard drive, because it isn’t a photo unless it exists in 3 places. And well I need my smart phone, regardless of who makes it, because who travels without a phone.
Now, since I’ve got all my apps on my phone, and I’ve got an actual computer with me, why do I need my iPad? Well for reading books of course.. Oh, but you say my iPhone and laptop can do that? true.. and Audio books are actually better for flying anyways? Some might agree with that. So really, I don’t my iPad at all on this trip. Exactly. I can save space and NOT bring it, it’s charger, it’s keyboard, it’s case, it’s adapters and stands and do-dads… Hey maybe I can even save money on luggage.. Nah.. but it’s nice to dream!
Ok, we leave it at home on those big shooting trips, no problem, what about just heading out for a coffee? Well I suppose it would be like slinging a $600 newspaper under your arm to walk down the street for some people, perhaps a new fashion for man purses? I sure don’t have a pocket to hold it. Why not just read the news on my iPod touch like I have been for the last year? Ok, I admit it, I’m still young enough to pull this off, but I definitely see the advantages of a larger screen in the future.. just not right now.. Of course in the future I’m hoping I don’t have to settle for a 4:3 aspect ration either..
Again, I’m not bashing the tech, If we had one or two, around the house, my wife and I would use them even more than we already use our iPod touches I’m sure. But we already have iPods, so why by something else? (I’m also betting it would be harder to breastfeed and use an iPad than it is with an iPod Touch, but that’s purely speculation.)
I don’t actually have a “smart” phone yet I’ve been fighting it tooth and nail, but odds are good I’ll buy an iPhone next time around because of my experience with the iPod touch. (us canadians don’t have the AT&T problem our friends down south do)
I want to like the iPad, the geek in me is clawing at it. I just can’t find any reasonable justification to buy it yet. For me, it’s a device without a reason and without a space in my already over laden luggage.
NAPP
