Astrakan.ca

Scuba Diving

2012-01-31T08:07:00.000-05:00

Location: St. Lucia ~ Camera: Canon SD700 IS with a WP-DC5 waterproof case

I love this picture. The pose is great, and I also really like that there's some movement going on - too often people in my scuba photos tend to look like they're completely still.

Location: St. Lucia ~ Camera: Canon SD700 IS with a WP-DC5 waterproof case

This picture is a perfect example of why I much prefer shallow dives to deep dives. Plenty of light, and colours are still plenty visible.

These photos are both from my recent trip to St. Lucia. You can view more scuba photos (at the time of writing, all from that same trip) in my Underwater album.

Dreamy Eye

2011-12-25T17:47:00.000-05:00

Location: London, Ontario ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 with a 10x Vivitar macro adapter

My three month old neice's left eye, shot on Christmas morning in front of her grandfather's large window overlooking the backyard. I quite like the dreamy look, it almost looks like some kind of Photoshop filter, but it's straight from the camera.

Advertising at Night

2011-12-19T19:49:00.001-05:00

Location: Yonge & Roslin, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6

For the past month or so this sign have been catching my eye every night on my way home from work. I don't know why, maybe the contrast of the brightly lit white against the dark sky. I finally got around to taking its picture, and I quite like it in a mundane "Daily Views" sort of way.

Open Hydrant

2011-11-27T08:45:00.001-05:00

Location: Senlac & Bevdale, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6
This hydrant has been open like this for a few days now. I'm waiting for some birds to move in.

Winter is Coming (and where's Waldo?)

2011-11-26T23:58:00.000-05:00

Location: My Front Lawn, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 55-250mm f4-5.6
A squirrel was eating some maple keys from the tree in my front yard, and as I was taking his picture I discovered this composition in my viewfinder. I like the warmth of the sun on the tree trunk juxtapositioned with the droopy, wintery maple keys.

Location: My Front Lawn, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 55-250mm f4-5.6
I got several photos where the squirrel is framed much better, but the extreme busyness of this picture, coupled with the "Where's Waldo" aspect, makes this one my favourite.

Fire Hydrant at Night

2011-11-16T07:50:00.001-05:00

Location: Finch & Grantbrook, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6
I love the look of fire hydrants. They always add a bit of character to whatever photo they're in, and sometimes they can be the saving grace of what might otherwise be a pretty boring shot. My favourite part of this picture is how a car that's just out of frame is illuminating the hydrant.

Mallard

2011-11-15T06:40:00.001-05:00

Location: G Ross Lord Park, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6
I was riding my bike through a park when I noticed this lone mallard swimming in what looks like a natural pond. What attracted me to take his picture was the drab colour scheme with a couple of splashes of green and yellow. I also like the water droplets on his head.

The Moon

2011-11-13T11:58:00.001-05:00

Location: My Porch, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 55-250mm f4-5.6
I honestly don't know how I feel about either of these two shots of the moon. There's no question that both pictures have a lot of room for improvement, but there's also something about them that appeals to me. I can't quite put my finger on it, and I'm suspecting it's just the human fascination with the moon, coupled with the enjoyable time I had taking these photos, that's colouring my feelings about them.

Whatever the reason, I like them enough to share them with you.

Camouflage

2011-11-03T09:11:00.001-04:00

Location: Rosedale Subway Station, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6
I was reading my book when this woman walked into my periphery. I glanced over and noticed how her shoes matched the platform quite well. I especially like how the tip of her shoe almost blends into the floor.

Sculpture

2011-10-29T13:39:00.003-04:00

Location: My Kitchen, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 with Vivitar 4x macro adapter
I bought this small sculpture at the 2001 or 2002 One of a Kind crafts show in Toronto and it's been sitting on a shelf in every place I've lived in since then. Unfortunately I can't remember who made it, and the signature is a little hard to decipher and I haven't had much luck using Google, so I can't give any kind of credit or link to the person who made it.Should you know who it is, I'd appreciate a heads up.

Fire Hydrant

2011-10-28T23:39:00.003-04:00

Location: Holcolm Road, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6
I've always had a thing for fire hydrants. I don't know what the appeal is, maybe something about their shape or how they look kind of out of place wherever they are... or maybe it has to do with how when I was growing up, the only place I ever saw them was in the movies.

Whatever the reason, I dig 'em. So much so that one day I hope to make a coffee table book with photos of fire hydrants.

Anyway, I took the above photo on my way to work one crisp morning earlier this week. I like the beam of sunlight that cuts it in half, and the playground equipment in the background.

Coffee Beans

2011-10-19T23:09:00.001-04:00

Location: My Kitchen, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6
I recently bought a set of Vivitar macro adapters for my camera. They basically function just like a filter, in that you attach it to the front of a proper lens. It's a poor-man's version of a macro lens but I have to say I've so far been pretty pleased with what I can do, especially considering the $20 I paid for the set.

At this point I've only used the 10x adapter but I'm looking forward to testing the other adapters too, and when I do I'll make sure to upload the photos to my macro set on Flickr.

Stunned Cardinal

2011-10-15T14:00:00.003-04:00

Location: Finch & Senlac, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 55-250mm f4-5.6
There was a massive thud against our living room window earlier today, and when my wife looked out she saw this little girl sitting on the ground below. At first she was on her side, panting heavily, but after a short while she regained her senses enough to sit up and have a look around. She remained sitting like that for a good half hour or so, giving me plenty of time to get a few shots. I didn't want to get too close and distress her even more, so I was glad to have a 55-250mm zoom lens handy.

Subway Tunnel

2011-10-15T01:20:00.000-04:00

Location: Between Eglinton and Lawrence stations, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-55mm f4-5.6
Here's another shot taken underground, through the front window of a moving subway train to be exact. I was on my way home tonight and decided to experiment with different shutter speeds and aperture settings. The results were quite varied, but this one I think turned out kind of interesting.

I think it's best viewed in a larger size, so I linked the image to a the bigger version on Flickr.

My Town

2011-10-13T15:39:00.001-04:00

Location: Centre Island, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon XSi ~ Lens: Canon 55-250mm f4-5.6
I bought a Canon T2i recently, because I wanted to start taking more pictures, and part of my plan was to pretty much always have it with me whenever I leave the house. So far, so good on that plan, and I'm hoping it will yield some decent shots of Toronto and surroundings. If it does, this blog will see some or all of those shots.

For starters, I'm opening with the Toronto skyline shot above. I took it this summer using my wife's XSi. Admittedly, everyone and their dog takes these kinds of skyline shots but I can't help but like 'em. Call it a guilty pleasure. :)

Next up, a doorway that is to a large degree responsible for me taking the DSLR plunge.

A tiny bit of backstory: Normally I work from home, but for the past month and a half I've had a client that wants me to work from his office, and so I've been doing a lot of subway riding.

A week or so into this new routine I noticed this doorway on the other side of the subway tracks, and something about the composition and colours (or lack thereof) and its overall look made it very appealing to me, and day after day I kept reminding myself that "tomorrow, I should try to remember to bring a camera."

Slowly but surely this thought turned into: "Why don't I always have a camera with me?" Which then morphed into: "I should get myself a fancy new DSLR and always tote that sucker around town for when I find other doorways just like this one!" Which then turned into reality.

Anywho, the photo turned out alright, but I feel it lost some of its appeal when it got transferred from reality and my brain onto the CMOS sensor of the T2i. Perhaps it's just a symptom of me having a lot to learn as a photographer, which I am the first to admit, but for now I'm relatively happy with it.

Location: Sheppard Subway Station, Toronto ~ Camera: Canon T2i ~ Lens: Canon 18-55mm f4-5.6
More to come later.