Park Pictures

Last Friday, Ryan and I left work before the sun set and sauntered (well, you can't really saunter properly when it's that cold... it just sounds more dignified) around Victoria Park, taking a few snaps. I got a little more mileage out of my macro lens, which, in case you didn't know, can most certainly be used as a 'regular' lens. With a maximum aperture of 2.8f, it's quite fast, so ideal for the low light situation we were in. It also has VR for when I was too cold to stop shaking.


I love the entanglement of branches; it reminds me of veins and arteries, or perhaps the nervous system.


This shot is of the oft-photographed park benches. You can see the mist hovering above the river.


A leaf in the snow.

The following shots are some closeups of icicles, with the sun as a backdrop. I wasn't so much utilizing the macro capabilities, as I was experimenting with aperture and focus.


This first one is just a plain closeup. If you look at the full image, you'll notice it's not quite in focus; but considering the lack of tripod and the frigid temperature, I think it's good enough.


I'm filing this one under 'abstract'. I think it looks hand-drawn, and it has a wispy/misty feeling thanks to the out-of-focus branches.


This one is a pretty poor composition, but I really like the colour of the sun. It also looks like that icicle was just pasted on top, or shot against a blue-screen with the sun added later.

And here's a knowledge nugget to file away somewhere: Queen Victoria became the de facto first Queen of Canada. The Dominion of Canada was created in 1867, during the reign of Queen Victoria, making her Canada's first sovereign.

Something I've learned during my week of candy abstinence

I'm never giving up anything again, especially chocolate and candy. I just had a Snickers, and it was delicious. Please continue to support our fine confectionery manufacturers, so they may continue to delight our taste buds as they have ever since they wrapped the first banana in that clever yellow package.

Snowshoe stories

Ryan, Joy, Caroline, Carolyn, and I went on a hike yesterday in St. Jacobs. It was absolutely frigid, and unfortunately Carolyn and I forgot the snowpants we wanted to wear at home, so we were doubly cold. But we braved the elements and walked around for about 1.5 hours, taking pictures as we went. I wasn't impressed with my macro shots (you can't really do close-ups when you're shivering), but here are a select few "normal" ones.


The first steps.


Ryan and Joy conquer the wilderness with their brand new snowshoes.



[Note: photos were adjusted for white-balance and exposure]

The luckiest guy on Earth

Yup, that's me. Because my wonderful fiancée surprised me with a Valentine's Day/(late) engagement/(early) anniversary/(early) birthday present. What could possibly be so amazing that it has to be split across four different occasions?


This, my friends, is the 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor. Or, in short, it's a macro lens for my camera. Well George, you ask, just what can you do with a macro lens? Well, let me show you.


This is a photograph of a 2005 Canadian penny (side note: I got my camera in 2005, and my first picture was of a pile of change. Coincidence? I think not.) This shot was taken with my super-fantastic 18-200mm lens (Oh, I love it so. It was a godsend in Europe.), at 200mm, and at the minimum focus distance.


Here is a photograph with the camera at the same spot, taken with the macro lens.


And here is a photograph with the macro lens at nearly the minimum focus distance.

Pretty nice eh?


Here is a closeup of a flower (from a bouquet that Carolyn bought for me). You can see the pollen!


Here is another flower. It's about 1cm in diameter in actuality.

I can't wait to test this puppy out in natural light. More photos to follow.
[Note: all photos were adjusted for white balance and exposure]

PS Thanks Carolyn! I love you!

Candy Strike!

Effective immediately, I am swearing off all candy, chocolates, and junk food in general for one week. I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but the giant bag of Valentine's Day candies I got at work, and the fact that it is almost empty today, have prompted such a swift and, some may say, harsh action. Please keep me in your thoughts in these troubling times.

News Flash: Mom fixes computer!

IT nerds fear for job security!

Yes, it's true, my mom actually opened up her computer, fiddled with wires and plugs and other stuff, and actually made it work again! She did it all by herself, and I wasn't even on the phone with her at the time. So a big round of applause for Momma V. :)

I need to post more

I'm worried that this might mean a sacrifice of quality over quantity.

However, considering the low standards in place, I don't think anyone will notice.

Incidently, is this post in the running for 'worst post ever'? The list may get longer...

In the middle of the street

Our house!

As of 6pm on May 4th anyway. (And pending inspection, financing, etc.) I guess this means that we're finally grown up.

More details to follow once it's "rubber-stamp" official.