New camera lenses are exciting!

I had the opportunity to shoot a few pictures with the new lens of my dad's camera last weekend. Those flowers were just sitting on the table, tempting me to document their delicacy. I couldn't resist.

This new lens (a Nikon Nikkor 50mm, in case anyone is interested) does not zoom, but it absorbs more light than any of the other lenses we own. It also has a narrow field of focus, therefore blurring any objects surrounding the focal point of the picture to create a nice, softening effect.

There are billions of pictures of flowers floating around, but why not take a few more?

~ OMO

jump across Europe

So there's this guy, right? Éole Wind. OMO and I found his flickr page during class today.

Bratislava

He and his mates take pictures of themselves jumping across Europe.

leading on your... feature.

Photos by Sam Javanrouh, who I really ought to email asking if I can use his photos so much.
NB: I haven't actually transcribed my interview all the way through, so these quotes might not be exactly worded. That'll be fixed in a couple days at the latest.


One--descriptive

There's always music playing in Waterloo Records, at just the right level for listening, loud enough so you can't hear the other shoppers and quiet enough to concentrate. Four employees stand near the cash registers, chatting while their eyes casually follow the few customers milling about, working their way through the near-endless rows of CDs and LPs. The air is lightly scented with the smell of vinyl, new and old. It's a music fan's nirvana.
"I've wanted this job since I was a teenager," Matt says, scanning the store fondly. Now in his thirties, Matt is the manager of Waterloo Records.

King Street East at Ontario

Two--descriptive also 

All of Waterloo Records is divided into two parts. 
Wander through door, the logo hand-painted onto the glass. In one half of the store, rows and rows of CDs sit with their titles exposed. Pieces of blue paper flag employee picks with hand-written descriptions and recommendations. On the other, rows of LPs rest in their dust covers. Some sit in racks, some in bins. The smell of vinyl compliments the music pipped throughout the store. It's a homey sort of place, especially to the music lovers who have flocked the store since it opened in '82.

Sherbourne Queen Pedestrians Crossing

Three--direct quote

"Nirvana played here, too, over where the cash registers are. It was packed." Matt, a thirty-something-year-old music fanatic and manager of Waterloo Records, indicates a corner of the store with a wave. It's easy to see he loves his store as much as the music collection it contains. Rows upon rows of CDs and LPs sit arranged by genre, artist, employee preference and price, creating a maze of music punctuated with DVDs, hats, and kitchen utensils shaped like guitars. Music and the scent of vinyl fill the air, while music lovers are scattered across the floor. 

 

Adelaide Princess

So yeah. Comment or whatever.

'Kay thanks bye.

Literaturely yours,

IBI

have a pretty picture

from the camera of Sam Javanrouh, via his photo blog [daily dose of imagery]

you ought to follow his blog--link in the sidebar

photogenically yours,

yes I recognise that my sign-offs have been getting worse and worse as I go on,

--IBI

Clyde reviews her beautiful new baby, the Canon Rebel XS

I recently acquired a brand spankin' new camera and I thought I would review it, show you some pictures I took with it and share with you how very much I love it. If you do not enjoy lengthy rants about technology that are verging on love poem-level creepiness, you might want to not read this.

So, first of all: LIGHT. This camera is just meant to make light look amazing. I mean, look at this lovely glow. Did it look like that in real life? Uh, NO.

               

It also makes color look really, really nice.

When the camera is on it's macro setting (It has settings for practically everything...whee!) it can get very close to the subject without blurring. This is awesome because you can take macro shots without using a special lens. 

It's usually set on an automatic shutter speed to make the photos not turn out blurry, but if you put it on manual, you can control the shutter speed and take photos with interesting blurs.

The focus is easy to use, so you can focus on different subjects in your pictures and switch between background/foreground. Huzzah!

 

You can set it on everything from 18mm-55mm, so you can take fish eye shots or wide ones.

So, uh, yeah. Pretty freakin' amazing. I mean, there are things I don't like, like the fact that there are only three light settings: dark, normal, and bright. And...okay, actually that's it. I told you I have an affinity for it that should not be applied to inanimate objects! Oh well, now to go sit in my room, stroking it and growling to myself...

-Clyde