Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Monday, December 27, 2010

Merry Christmas for Arsenal fans


Merry Christmas for Arsenal fans, originally uploaded by PJMixer.
3-1 win over Chelsea puts them a solid 2nd in the EPL table.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Monday, December 20, 2010

Sunday, December 19, 2010

St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church

It was a very grey, dull day and I was having some difficulty finding something beautiful , let alone colourful to photograph. I was really happy to find this church I'd never noticed before. It's just off Ossington, a little North or Bloor Street. It's worth looking at the larger image to see the wonderful mosaic details. I man noticed me taking the shot and asked if I spoke Ukrainian. Unfortunately I don't speak Ukrainian but I complimented him on his beautiful church.

Exquisite colour, beautiful religious imagery - perfect for Christmastime.

Ian


Ian, originally uploaded by PJMixer.
Our friends had a casual neighbourhood Christmas party on Saturday night and I enjoyed talking with quite a few new people. I got talking with Ian late in the evening about cameras and photography. I may have been introduced to Ian at last year's party, but I don't think we talked very much, so I say it's ok to add Ian to my stranger project. Ian lives across the road from our friends and when I took my camera out, he quickly started to ask me questions about cameras.

When you get keen photographers talking about their hobby (or probably any hobbyist, the time just "flashes" by. Ian used to shoot with a Pentax SLR and is now looking to get a DSLR, so his questions were coming fast and furious on my recommendations and all things photography. He had his eye on the K-5, and from what' I've heard from past Pentax DSLR reviews, this should be a fantastic camera. But Ian may also considering Nikon, so the Nikon D90 is probably a really good buy at the moment. Nikon has released the D7000 (which would be my choice for my next camera), but it's significantly higher priced than the very good D90. But there are rumours the D90 is going to be replaced, so perhaps keen an eye on Nikon Rumours if you're in the market.

Another friend of mine was also involved in the conversation, and when we got on the subject or offboard IR controlled flash, I had him hold the flash to the left side of Ian and I took a few shots to demo the capability. I had the D80's [flash] commander setting at -1 EV for the pop-up and the remote SB-600 for this shot. I really like Ian's natural look, rather than a party pose and smile you often get in these situations.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Waiting


Waiting, originally uploaded by PJMixer.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Friday, December 10, 2010

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Imagine


Imagine, originally uploaded by PJMixer.
John Lennon was born 70 years ago.

The Beatles broke up 40 years ago.

John was killed 30 years ago today.

I can't say I'm a big Beatles or Lennon fan, but I can imagine I could be one day. Q107 has been playing his music all day and I'm still listening to it now. In a strange way, his words, music and ideas still seem very current. I feel like I know him a little better today.

I snapped this shot of a cover of John's Imagine 1971 album on vinyl at HMV at lunch today. I boosted the contrast, applied a fresco filter and took out the labels in Photoshop.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Ross Petty's annual holiday theatre production at the Elgin Theatre

Last year my family went to the Elgin to see the Ross Petty holiday show of Robin Hood. We had a fantastic time, fun for all in a holiday tradition close to a British pantomime. This year it's Beauty and the Beast and I'm sure the comedic production will be just as good - get your boos ready !

Woe is...


Woe is..., originally uploaded by PJMixer.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

How private is your junk ?


How private is your junk ?, originally uploaded by PJMixer.

As I was packing up to leave the office I noticed a pile of cardboard boxes in one of the hallways of my office. I share the office floor with a number of different companies and knew that there was some new tenants moving in - so I thought of a daily shot on the theme of "moving day". I didn't like my first few hallway shots so I got a little closer and noticed there were a few personal items mixed in with the usual assortment of computer boxes and office junk. As my professional job is IT security I thought I could use a shot to comment a little on privacy and security issues today.

I blurred out the name on the Rogers bill in the photo and didn't go diving in, but wondered what data was on the CD-ROM. As I share the same office and janitorial staff it made me wonder a little about my disposal habits. Although my desk may look otherwise, I don't receive or print of lot of hardcopy documents in my job, and what client files I keep for historical purposes are locked in a cabinet. But investing in a shredder for some sensitive documents that I want to throw out would be a good addition to my security practices. At home, I shred bills and things I feel are of a personal nature. But what about that disc ? I don't back up to CD-ROM any longer and rarely have customer data or information on CD-ROM, but when I do I either keep the media safe or destroy it. Seeing that CD-ROM reminded me a little of the WikiLeaks news hitting the worldwide press this week.

It was past normal working hours and there were only a few people still in their offices. But as luck would have it, as I took this shot, a gentleman appeared in the hallway. I was a little embarrassed and felt like I'd been caught snooping red-handed. Then I learnt that it was his stuff ! Now that was a little more embarrassing. But I quickly introduced myself and explained what I was doing - curious as I was and interested in privacy and security. As he was new to the office, he actually asked me whether disposing of his stuff this way was safe. He told me he was a lawyer and I asked if there was any confidential client information in the mix. He said no and then bent the CD-ROM in half.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Sunday morning evidence of Saturday night boys

There were a number of cars on the block that had leaf bags on their roofs and hoods. I thought some relatively harmless fun was worth a photo.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Daily emergencies - sky delivery


Daily emergencies - sky delivery, originally uploaded by PJMixer.

Helicopters like this one pass by my office window on a daily basis and land on the roofs of nearby hospitals. I've taken a few shots from my office, but there's always reflections in the windows. While I was out for lunch I heard one coming and grabbed this shot of one passing overhead. I knew the shutter speed would stop the rotors, but didn't have time to adjust - in fact there is a some blur left on the rotors that gives it a bit of a ghostly feel.
Since I finished my 365inCamera project, I feel a little more relaxed and spontaneous. Not having to worry about fine tuning the shot in camera feels like it's creating more freedom for my photography.
The monotone sky worked well to isolate the helicopter and detach it from the world. I improved the lighting and sharpness in Photoshop from the RAW image.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Friday, November 19, 2010

Yonge morning man


Yonge morning man, originally uploaded by PJMixer.
was up early to drop our car off at the local garage and noticed the sun shining on the North York towers on the walk back home. I waited for some traffic to clear at the traffic lights where I stood in the middle of the street. My street is just at the first traffic light in the shot. After the shot I walked up the right (East) side of Yonge street and bumped into a neighourhood friend. I just realized his car is actually in the shot - the beautiful Audi S5 turning onto the side street on the East side - he was making his Starbucks morning run. I thought about cropping out the close cars on the left, but I like the wider shot and it looks like the lady driver is looking at the crossing man in her side mirror.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Marketing the classic 80s


Marketing the classic 80s, originally uploaded by PJMixer.
BOOM 97.3FM bus shelter advertising

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Monday, November 15, 2010

Pigeon-pecked


Pigeon-pecked, originally uploaded by PJMixer.
I thought these feathers friends were hilarious. It looked like the one on the right was female and the one on the left male, but that's only because the way she was going after him ! She wouldn't leave the poor guy alone - don't know if it was aggressive mating or she was giving him a good telling off. He kept trying to avoid her, pacing back and forth and almost fell backwards a few times as she continued to chase and peck he neck ! I could imagine the voices of a an old married couple - "I told you a thousand times, don't got out partying with those idiot friend of yours", "ok, darling, it won't happen again".

Friday, November 12, 2010

Dale, Rehana and Trisha


Dale, Rehana and Trisha, originally uploaded by PJMixer.
At lunchtime, I noticed a large group of people gathered at Yonge Dundas Square. Upon closer inspection, I noticed many of them were in costume from the Harry Potter movies. It was a fan appreciation event with the release of the latest movie next week, they had a few photographers on the roof top getting a shot of all the fans. There were some modest refreshments for the fans, but it looked like the majority of them, including Dale, Rehanna and Trisha, were just happy to be spending a little time with fellow fans.

In addition to my daily photo, Dale, Rehanna and Trisha are #81 in my 100 strangers project.