Last weekend at the cottage kayaking.

I have to sacrifice a few goats now that my prayer for one last kayak of the season was granted. We had a wonderful time at D&K’s cottage!!!! While it was turbulent weather on Saturday, Sunday morning was rough waters but sunny so I dragged the kayak from its winter berth inside the shed, checked for spiders, and headed out for some pictures. My shoulders were sore but I had a ton of fun riding the waves until I entered the quieter bays and inlets. The trees were bare and the only wild life I saw were flocks of ducks and geese racing for warmer climes.

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An awesome morning in the Gats!

My friend RP surprised me with an early morning walk up in the Gatineau’s! Cool fall weather, perfect for the trail. We grabbed a quick coffee at this awesome place in Old Chelsea, called Biscotti. Right around the corner from the Chelsea Pub. The trees were more bare than we both expected but the view at the top was quite impressive! Here are a few pics including a lonely bicycle 🙂

A really great way to start the weekend!

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Rainy cottage weekend

The weather is wet and cold and I love it!

My friend RP moved into her new house this weekend so I am very happy for her… so happy that I decided to steal one of her photos that she took on a recent trip with her sister to use as my new header… i hope she doesn’t mind 🙂

I purchased the Panasonic 100-300m telephoto to get some photos of wildlife while kayaking but no luck so far this weekend. I have, however, been reading and last night I did get a chance to take some shots of a beautiful sunset! And while not the sharpest lens or the brightest lens, I think it did a pretty good job! So here are some images from last night:
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Parliament Hill at night

My friend Shawn and I decided to grab tripods and cameras and take some photos at sundown tonight. We decided to go to the Museum of Civilization and take photos of the setting sun on the Parliament buildings. Well that never happened but the full moon did come out. It was, however, a really nice couple of hours relaxing and talking about photography.

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Varia – August, 2013

I had to take the day off from work today since I pulled a hamstring at the gym this morning running interval sprints. So here I sit, ice pack and all. What it does allow, however, is to get back to posting and watching some movies. First up is Sam Pekinpah’s 1975 film The Killer Elite with James Caan and Robert Duvall. While not in the same top tier of Pekinpah’s classics, I do recall that I enjoyed this movie when I saw it years ago. More at IMDB here.

Tristan and Marion have taken possession of their new home, a few blocks away. Friday evening was a minor gathering of sorts where I met the parents of T/M’s friends in Pittsburg and Tristan’s squash partner. I had a very nice night drinking champagne and looking at some Paris pictures with Yves and Giselle. I am very envious since they both leave soon for several months in wonderful Paris where they spend lots of time. I’m hoping to have coffee with them in Paris and learn more about that wonderful city from Yves, who has already suggested picturesque spots that I didn’t even know existed! And did I mention how beautiful T/M’s new place is? A great space!

And I helped Darren move their stuff into their new place steps away from Westboro beach! i know that the kids will love being so close to the beach, being that they just moved from their house close to Kitsilano Beach on the wet coast. A really great house with fantastic character and a great backyard! Great neighbourhood and wonderful space.

So here are some links to various things that have piqued my interest over the last few days:

Metabones has introduced a speedbooster for my micro 4/3rd camera!! I have only recently been introduced to this technology but, from what I can gather, this will not only increase the size of the sensor image to close to full-frame, but it will also give me a full stop of light. My Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, for example, would become closer to an 8-9mm f2!!!!!! I do, however, still have some research to do!

Hunter S. Thompson’s daily drug itinerary is fascinating here. Essentially cocaine from the time of waking up (3 pm) until marijuana at 6.

Also from Open Culture. My favorite horror novel The Raven, read by Vincent Price, Christopher Walken, and Christopher Lee. Poe’s work will go back into my reading list as we approach October, me thinks! Here.

My birthday is coming up for anyone who wants to buy me this $82,000 complete Nikon camera and lens set. Including the $18,000 400mm!

A 375 year old Bonsai that survived Hiroshima here. A beautiful Japanese white pine. I love bonsai and this is certainly a beautiful example!

Here are some fascinating “infographics” or mental maps showing timelines of human history. Great website to explore!

And street artist Above paints what I think might the coolest graffiti of the year 🙂

That’s it for now. I’m going to hobble to the kitchen now for some lunch!

Yes. Too busy to post! :(

Vacation season is upon us. August is traditionally a time when most of my colleagues are on holidays. Since I tend to take my holidays in the fall, this is the busy season at the office since we are so short staffed!

So I tripped and fell yesterday while walking to work. Very bizarre sensation slipping and falling on the pavement in July. There were freshly painted lines on Laurier and I just wiped out, slipping, I’m assuming, from either water or the reflective dust. My iPhone case is busted, I have a hole in my pants, a bruise on my knee, scrapes on my hands from my attempt to buffer my fall, and I have lost any chances of the coveted Mountain Goat award (I made the last one up). I have submitted a claim against the City for the repair of my iPhone case and my pants, but I won’t hold my breath. Très embarrassé. 🙂

I finally got a chance to get back to hot yoga on Sunday. It is very nice to get back to a regular schedule! I’m going to get my camera out this weekend! That will be quite nice! I miss just going out and taking photos!

Here is a quick link to an article written by Martin Scorsese on film literacy. When I read the article I went onto YouTube to watch the early 20th century films that he was speaking about such as the Great Train Robbery. Aint technology grand!

Anf, finally, if you haven’t seen this interview of Azlan on Fox “News”, you really should. Azlan, a biblical scholar, essentially rebuffs all of the clumsy anti-intellectualism of this interviewer on Fox tv (hard to call it news, right?). Essentially what the interviewer says is that Azlan, a Muslim, doesn’t really have any right to study Jesus. Even though Aslan is a professor of religious studies. Crooked Timber, of course, has the best academic commentary on this issue.

Mirrorcity

Wow. A VERY impressive use of time-lapse of cityscapes and a kaleidoscope filter.

Best timelapse I have seen in quite some time here.