woopsies

So I was out biking today and broke my collar bone. Point is, I can't use my right arm for now, so I'll be taking a break from this blog for a while.

Butterfly

You know, I'm always up for new things when it comes to light painting. So today I tried light painting with 2 glow sticks. It was a little difficult at first, but eventually I got the hang of it. I just thought it's kinda cool to see what glow sticks can look like over time, instead of just flying around at some party.

Mother and Son

* THIS POST IS FOR SATURDAY JUNE 12 2010

So I took this photo of my friend and his mother before our Grad Banquet. I hafta say, it was an incredible night. I mean, the speeches, the food, the people, just like the overall atmosphere, it was all spectacular. I'm almost tempted to say that I'll never have a night like that every again. I don't want to say for sure, but I have my doubts. But the point is, I had an amazing night, and I'm sure many of my fellow classmates did too.

Poppies

So I saw the front cover of the North Shore News a few days ago, and noticed that the cover photo was taken really close to my house. See, there's this one field near Inter River Park that has wild poppies growing there. I noticed them last year, but I must say that there are waaayyyy more this year lol. Anyways, that photo on the North Shore News was commemorating D-Day (June 6 1944). It's funny how these poppies happened to be in bloom around the actual date too

Sides

In life, there seem to be several sides to everything, and that makes perfect sense. I've taken a photo of this doorknob before, but only from one side. Today I thought I might try to capture both sides at the same time. Now tech-wise, I'm glad I had that little add on lens, because not only does it allow me to focus closer, it also makes the shot a bit wider. But anyways, I'm just glad I was able to get the shot. I'm hoping to get my hands on an actual wide angle lens eventualy :P

All together now...

So I got a request from the one of the staff working in the library to take a group photo of all the guys who regularly hang out in the library. It was quite a lot of fun, but once again I wish I had a wide angle lens with me. But hey, you know, it's just a good way to remember the fun times we all had there. I'm not gunna lie, I'm really going to miss Windsor. I've only got 2 more days there, and I'm just trying to make the most of them.

Mirror Mirror

So I took a few photos for some friends today. They said they needed some profile shots for applying as extras in a movie. Pretty cool concept, right? Anyways, I got some nice shots that my lovely models also liked. My original plan was to make a diptych out of some of the photos, but I'm having some technical difficulties with that, I just decided to post this picture for today. I'm hoping to be able to learn how to make diptychs soon :P

Digitization

*WARNING-THIS IS A HUGE (but interesting) POST

There's been something on my mind for the past little while, so I thought I might talk about it today. Basically, digitization is the process of converting analog into digital. For example, vinyl records into CDs, VHS to DVD, etc. But the thing to note is that digitization carries with it many implications. Technology seems to be advancing at a rate too fast for much of society to handle. Personally, I consider myself to be quite tech savvy, but I can't say the same for everyone I know. The problem is the variety of different views on digitization.

There are (and always will be) those people who refuse to accept any change from traditional values whatsoever. They are the ones who halt new technologies from being implemented more efficiently into daily life. They are the ones stuck with the mindset "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." These are the kinds of people that really annoy me. Sure, I know I'm always talking about being happy for what you have, but the importance of progress is well, really important to this thing called growth.

Next up are the people that just don't really care. They are the people that are willing to adapt to new situations but won't push for anything new themselves. They just live and work with the technologies presented before them. I guess you could call them the work force, regardless of their individual occupations. I'm just hoping that more people from the first group might think more like this.

And finally, you have the revolutionaries. These are the technological leaders of society. And I'm not just talking about the big guys like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. I'm just talking about the mindset of looking for new ways to innovate and incorporate technology into society. Now these people have high demands. Most (if not all) of these demands clash with the first group. Now I consider myself to be one of these poeple a lot of the time, and let me tell you, life gets frustrating.

I spend quite a lot of my time at Windsor in the library, not always doing work, but often just socializing with friends. About once every 2 months or so, I see a repairman come and attempt to fix one of the ancient computers being used in the library. And by ancient, I'm saying that it runs Windows 2000 Professional. In the field of computers, a computer running a 10-year-old operating system (OS) is like having a 65-year-old play in the NHL. It's not right. The most frustrating thing about this scenario is that no student in the school population should be using this OS. I can almost guarantee that no student in the school population uses this OS outside of Windsor. My question is, why should a student be exposed to new technologies everywhere except the school? I understand that things like Mathematics and physics won't change and haven't chaged in the past few decaeds, but computer certainly have.

The other limiting factor in the above scenario is money. Computers aren't exactly cheap, I get that. But shouldn't technology be incorporated into the annual budget in this day and age? This is a case where people from the first group of people are in command of the school board and budget. These people grew up in a different time, when computers were in their infancy compared to computers of today. Back then, computers were just a supplement to eduacation. Eg. a graphing calculator makes solving problems easier (don't even get me started on the "standardized" TI-83 and TI-84). With the technology available today, it is an absolute waste to continue using technology the way it has been used in preview generations.

It's just amazing that people don't understand these kinds of concepts. I'll be honest, I have never opened a physical encyclopedia in my life. I had a mini one as a child, but that's it. When I require information, I turn to the internet. There is a colossal amount of information readily available for free online. With that said, the value of information has dropped significantly. This is all the more reason as to why eduction systems need to change and accept these new changes.

Now I also understand that not all is good when it comes to new technologies and the internet. Too much change in too little time can create a counterproductive cultural "shock," if you will. You know in those sci-fi shows, where everyone drives a hovercar? Yeah, that future ain't happening anytime soon. The greater the transition, the longer it will take to fully manifest itself. This is why it's up to my generation to change the way the world thinks. This is why we have to start changing the world for the generations to come.

Graduation woot!

So I went to my graduation ceremony tonight, and it was quite incredible. At first, I was quite nervous about getting on stage, but once I got there, it all felt so right. The lights, the performances, the speeches, just everything. It's the 6th of June, and I finally feel like I'm graduating, not just some kid in grade 12. I'd just like to end off here with an excerpt from my Grad write up

The world is the canvas upon which we shall chronicle our captivating creations

-Kinta Maeda

Cravings

I've got a few bad habbits, and one of them is eating late at night. I thought I might try to capture the way I start to see thing as the night progresses. See, the kitchen and fridge door mean less and less comparred to the food inside the fridge. I really should stop, but I just love snacking far too much :P

More tests

So I thought I might try out some more tests with that new add on lens. The photo here is of my corkboard, but from a different perspective. Now the one thing I'm noticing about my new set up with a lens on top of a lens is that the centre of the photo seems to be in focus more than the edges. It's kinda cool to just look at these kinds of things and compare

Optics

So I found a little something today, and I'm finding it to be quite handy. It's this add on lens, presumably for a camcorder, but it seems to fit exacltly on the end of my camera lens. Anyways, the lens said telephoto, and when I held it up to my face, I did in fact notice some magnification. However, when it's surned around, it makes everything super wide, almost like a fisheye lens. Point is, when the lens was attached to my current lens, it made it possible to focus on things closer than usual. Pretty handy, right?

Anyways, I still don't know what I'm going to do about my future, but for the time being, I'm happy. I found a new "toy" to play with, I've got grad coming up in a few days, and then school's essentially over.

Now what?

With respect to last night's post, I couldn't bring myself to write anything, so I posted the lyrics to the song Sleep. The thing is, I had my interview with Langara College today, so I was really stressed out last night. And now, well I don't know anymore. The interview wasn't all that great. They basically said that I was just 1/150 applicants trying to get into the professional photo-imaging program there. Then I was told that there are only 28 spots per year. Grrreeaaat. So at this point, I'm better off assuming that I didn't get into Langara, so I now have to figure out what to do with my life. I might come back and apply to Langara in x many years, who knows. For the time being, ugh, I don't even know. I was going to say something like practice music for the next concert, but there aren't any more concerts. I've finished editing all my photos and videos, and school work just seems hopeless. FML

Lyrics

The evening hangs beneath the moon
A silver thread on darkened dune
With closing eyes and resting head
I know that sleep is coming soon
Upon my pillow, safe in bed
A thousand pictures fill my head
I cannot sleep my minds a flight
And yet my limbs seem made of lead
If there are noises in the night
A frighting shadow, flickering light
Then I surrender unto sleep
Where clouds of dreams give second sight
What dreams may come both dark and deep
Of flying wings and soaring leap
As I surrender unto sleep
As I surrender unto sleep

-Eric Whitacre