Bits And Pieces

Apart from my Flickr set posts, it’s been slow here at He Shoots… It’s not for a lack of trying; I’ve had a few ideas which ultimately weren’t worth posting full blog entries. However, in order to prove that the rumours of my death are greatly exaggerated, here are a few bits and pieces of what’s been happening with me.

• Before the Protest Against Protests, someone recognized me and even called me by my Internet handle. I don’t recall seeing him at a previous shoot, though he may have seen me.



• Record Store Day at Sonic Boom was the first event where Nifty (50mm lens) and Jane (35mm lens) really worked as a tag team. The resulting set would have been shortchanged if I had used only one of those lenses. Having said that, remembering to bring earplugs would have improved my overall experience. Ergo, I’ve packed one pair in my camera bag for similar situations in the future.



• At that same shoot, my regular camera battery almost ran out of juice; before it died, I replaced it with my spare battery. Without it, I would have missed shots like this one (shot with Nifty):
  
  
  Andrew Scott of Sloan



• I recently contemplated a smartphone purchase (i.e. BlackBerry or iPhone) due to my highly active Twitter account. However, this would not have been wise due to my current lack of steady income; my monthly expenses would have increased by at least $56.50. Also, buying the phone outright would have cost me at least $549.99! I could probably purchase more camera gear with that money.



• Speaking of my Twitter account, there’s a reason I haven’t been posting too many individual pictures here. I’m now likely to post them to my Yfrog account, especially if I shot them with my point-and-shoot camera. Heck, I didn’t even post the last few that I shot with Nicky, but you can find them at that same Yfrog page. You can also find older shots at my TwitPic account.

Record Store Day 2010 At Sonic Boom (April 17 2010)

Sonic Boom held its annual Record Store Day celebration; artists featured in this photo album include Buck 65, Valery Gore, Adam Green, Lullabye Arkestra, The Meligrove Band and Sloan.



See the Flickr photo album.

Keep Toronto Reading 2010: Book Exchange (April 8 2010)

Regular Toronto citizens mingled with local celebrities to swap books in an event moderated by Misha Glouberman.



Click this post's title to see all 24 photos at my Flickr site.

Protest Against Protests 2010 (April 3 2010)

Improv In Toronto staged a protest against protests in downtown Toronto.



Click this post's title to see all 27 photos at my Flickr site.

It's Paid For

Earlier this morning, I logged into my online bank account and did something I didn’t think would be done so relatively quickly. That’s right, I eliminated my camera-related debt.

When I last took stock of my camera-related purchases, the total cost was $1,285.35 including taxes. I’ve since bought a few more items which I’ve listed below. All purchases were made at Downtown Camera; prices exclude taxes.

• Nikon EN-EL9 battery: $79.99
• Lambency flash diffuser: $39.99 (discounted to $27.99)
• Manfrotto Tripod Kit – 190XBD legs + 804RC2 3-way head: $199.99
• Tripod bag: $24.99
• Sto-Fen flash diffuser: $31.99 (discounted to $28.79)
• Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX lens: $275.00
• Hoya 52mm UV filter: $19.99 (discounted to $17.99)
• SanDisk Ultra 4GB memory card: $29.99

With taxes, these purchases total $773.74. Combined with the earlier total of $1,285.35, the total amount of money I’ve spent on camera gear is a whopping $2,059.09!

Thankfully, as of this morning, it’s all paid for. I feel no need to purchase additional gear; what I have right now satisfies my current needs.

Money, Shot

I had the pleasure of photographing social media personality Crystal Gibson’s birthday party yesterday evening. It’s not easy to balance photography with eating and socializing, but it’s also not impossible. At one point, the guests started assembling for a group shot; under normal circumstances, this would be cause for excitement. However, due to my autofocus-disabled Nifty Fifty lens and an unfavourable lighting situation, my chances of shooting a good shot were slim.

Picture the situation: me, my camera gear and eleven people – including the birthday girl herself – expecting me to take the shot of my life. Since I was shooting in manual mode (as I usually do), getting the settings right was an absolute must.

After muttering what must have been the shortest prayer of my life thus far, I photographed my first attempt. The resulting shot was too dark and probably unfocused; when I let the guests know that, a few of them weren’t too pleased. Still, they were gracious enough to give me a second attempt, which was also darker than I would have liked. Fortunately, it was focused enough that TK would live to see another day; the guests also liked it.

Naturally, I still had to address the lighting situation in my outdated copy of Photoshop Elements 4.0 in order to produce this final result.



If I could do it all over again, I would have used my other lens. Then again, this little victory would not have been as sweet as it is.

Earth Hour Unplugged 2010 (March 27 2010)

Yonge-Dundas Square hosted this year's Earth Hour Unplugged event, featuring musical guests Justin Nozuka, Jarvis Church and Chantal Kreviazuk.



Click this post's title to see all 46 photos at my Flickr site.

Fun With Jane

If you’ve been following my Twitter account, you might have seen me tweeting about picking up “Jane.” Despite my well-known romantic ineptitude, it finally looked as if I was making headway on the road to losing my virginity before my death.

The key part of that last sentence is “looked as if.” If you thought I was picking up a woman and bringing her home for some extra-curricular activities, congratulations – you’ve been had.

Say hello to Jane, my new 35mm prime lens.



Jane isn’t too different from Nifty, my other prime lens. She offers the same maximum aperture (f/1.8) and other advantages which come with a fast prime lens. However, apart from the focal length, Jane brings a significant advantage to the table which Nifty lacks: she can autofocus on my D60.

Truth be told, Nicky’s inability to autofocus with Nifty has been a minor issue. I’ve enjoyed flexing my manual focusing muscles, even though this has been a challenge when photographing moving subjects. With the addition of Jane to my team, I should be able to photograph events like parades with more ease. By no means, however, does this mean that Nifty is being replaced; my plan is to use both lenses wherever possible.

As for this lens’ name, it comes from a Toronto bus route. Click that link and do the math, folks. :-)

The Artist Project Toronto 2010 (March 6 2010)

Many artists showcased their works at this art fair.



Click this post's title to see all 17 photos at my Flickr site.

France Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand is one of my favourite bands, so it follows that I'll be interested in almost anything that they're doing. Thanks to a tweet, I found out yesterday that they collaborated with French actress Marion Cotillard on a song for Dior: "The Eyes Of Mars."

It's my new favourite song for a few reasons:

• Ms. Cotillard's voice suits the song pretty well
• A few lyrical allusions to photography are made, particularly in the chorus
• Speaking of that chorus, it packs quite the punch (à la P!nk's "So What")
• It rocks

Here's the video below. Pay close attention to how Marion and Franz Ferdinand evoke Robert Palmer's videos when the choruses take centre stage.

I almost forgot...lip licking for the win!