Fireworks United Kingdom 01 Jul 29 2009

Fireworks United Kingdom 01 Jul 29 2009, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Ahh the pre-show teaser fireworks. Three or four times prior to the 25 minute long main event the fireworks barge launches teaser fireworks to get the crowd warmed up for the fantastic light show to come.

Diane Dad Mike and a Pike Saskatchewan 1972

Diane Dad Mike and a Pike Saskatchewan 1972, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

I love this shot on numerous levels. First are the expressions on my brother Mike's 7 year old face and that of Dad holding up the good sized (aka a family meal sized) Saskatchewan pike. Second is the bell bottoms on my sister Diane in the background - ahhh the '70s. Third is the recollection of how totally delicious fresh pike were - mmmmm. I really miss that meal.

My best guess is that this picture was taken during the mid spring in 1972 in what was for certain Saskatchewan. Best fishing on the planet.

Diane and Lucky at the Colemans Cottage

Diane and Lucky at the Colemans Cottage, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here are Diane and the family companion Lucky captured in the shared contemplation of a sun sparkled lake in Ontario's cottage country.

This has been a favorite shot of mine for many many years.

1972 My First End to End Photo Northern Saskatchewan

1972 My First End to End Photo Northern Saskatchewan, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

This is one of my earliest self portraits taken during the summer of 1971 or 1972 in the mid northern area of Saskatchewan. By 12 years of age I was already enamored by photography and this photograph represented a crowning achievement for me right near the start of what became a lifelong passion. I performed the full old-school workflow for the picture including taking it, developing the B&W negatives and printing the enlargement.

I miss my old darkroom but I love my 21st century digital lightroom even more.

Bryce IR 04 June 2009 DSC_8312

Bryce IR 04 June 2009 DSC_8312, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

The hoodoos of Bryce Canyon Utah.

The legend is that the hoodoos are people who have been tricked by the cayotte god. I'll need to research that legend some more. Personally if I was tranformed into a tower of multi-color rock so that I can stare at the geological beauty that is Bryce I'd consider that a reward.

Ironic in that I spent much of the two days there with the lyrics "hoodoo? hoo doo you think you're foolin?'" stuck in my head. Maybe my floppy hat was adjusted too tight. :)

Burrard St Bridge Jul 11 2009_DSC7325

Burrard St Bridge Jul 11 2009_DSC7325, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here's the view looking north from the bay side of the Burrard Street Bridge Vancouver Canada on Saturday July 11th 2009. A mere 5 days away from the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 and its crew's mission to the moon and 2 days away from the start of the trial bike lane on the bridge.

Being a space geek more than a bike geek I was more looking forward to reliving mankind's first steps on the surface of another stellar object then a safer bike lane. Not to mention, at 36 floors the hi-rise right in front is the same height as the Saturn V rocket that took Neil, Buzz and Mike on the grandest journey in history. :P

Bryce Canyon Mossey Creek 01 Jun 2009_DSC6971

Bryce Canyon Mossey Creek 01 Jun 2009_DSC6971, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Canyon Creek

9,000 feet up is Mossey Cave Creek. Built by Bryce himself back in the 19th century. Very silky at f/25 and 1/13th of a second exposure.

Cool Dudes in Photo Moods Jun 20 2009_DSC7016

Cool Dudes in Photo Moods Jun 20 2009_DSC7016, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here's my brother Mike and I at the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah on our second day. The weather would eventually clear and the canyon would once again become spectacular.

+/- 0 Base HDR_DSC6519

+/- 0 Base HDR_DSC6519, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

This is another spectacular view of Bryce Canyon.

I really like this composition in that the trees on the canyon floor seem to hug the rock messa. A nice embrace of ashes to ashes, life to life then dust to dust.

However the photo is not quite "real". I remember this view and the darks were darker, the lights were lighter and the sand on the canyon floor was warmer.

Bryce HDR 02 Jun 2009_DSC6519_20_21_22_23_24_25

Bryce HDR 02 Jun 2009_DSC6519_20_21_22_23_24_25, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

High Dynamic Range - The Kodachrome of the digital age.

This image is a composite created on my computer by merging 7 digital images. Half were purposly under exposed, half over exposed and one, the base image (see above) `perfectly exposed`` by the camera.

By doing this my camera gets to capture a much larger exposure range than what it can in even at 12 mega pixels per image. Size is not everything. Dynamic range is what turns chicks on. :)

This is what I saw. On the left is the darker darks of the rock overhangs. On the right is sand inbetween the trees that reflects the same subtle rust color of the rock face. Where the sand comes from.

Burrard St Bridge Bike Lane July 11 2009_DSC7314

Burrard St Bridge Bike Lane July 11 2009_DSC7314, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Coming a few days early the City of Vancouver has started the summer trial of a dedicated bike lane on the iconic Burrard Street Bridge. The bridge connects the western limb of Vancouver (Kitsilano, Pt. Grey, etc.) with the downtown core.

Today's congestion (see on the left side of the image) was due to road work at the intersection of Burrard and Pacific. The most interesting moment will no doubt be this coming Monday afternoon during the 3:00 to 7:00 pm commute home.

Personally I'm a huge fan of this initiative and hope the bike lane is permanent. I've walked across the bridge many times and biked across it a few. Given that most drivers lack basic reading skills and interpret the 60 km/hr speed limit on the bridge to mean 90 km/hr both walking and biking across it are hair raising experiences. My ultimate dream, and it's a trend that is taking root in other cities, would be for the bridge to be just for biking, walking and public transit period. Two blocks east of the bridge is the ever under-utilized Granville Street Bridge.

Sirrus Deciding July 2009_DSC7243

Sirrus Deciding July 2009_DSC7243, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Decisions, decisions ... le sigh ... decisions? Hmmmmm..

The funny thing is I bet you can't guess what she decided to go for in the end.




....

....




The shoes. 30 minutes or so after I took this capture I glanced left and there was Sirrus with her head planted in my drying hiking boots.

Cats ....

are .....

so wierd.

Bryce IR 23 June 2009 DSC_8347

Bryce IR 23 June 2009 DSC_8347, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

So far this is my favorite capture from the Bryce Canyon shoot. It was taken with my trusty old Nikon D100 modified for Infra Red photography by the magical elves at LifePixel.com in Washington state. If you have an old digital camera and want to give it a second life point your browser at their web site.

I was totally impressed with the work they did on my D100. So much so that the first thing I did the day after Bryce was to ship them my Nikon D80 for conversion. I think I can combine my love of HDR and my love of IR into this totally cool and very new fusion.

Until then it's pure magic like this shot. I really like this capture in its raw version (shown). Notice that it's not really black and white. It's more a semi color tinged black and white. Sometimes a shot looks best in pure B&W. Other times though, this one in particular, looks best just as the camera shot it.

Bryce Canyon Utah Jun 2009 01_DSC6598

Bryce Canyon Utah Jun 2009 01_DSC6598, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here's a nice view of both Bryce Canyon and the Colorado plateau off to the east.

Forest Foretress Bryce Canyon Jun 2009_DSC6585

Forest Foretress Bryce Canyon Jun 2009_DSC6585, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here is Bryce Canyon's version of Stonehedge and a spot I'd love to camp overnight at. However, even at this level of zoom (150 mm) I can't see any signs of current or past camp sites. No fire pits, no tents, ... nothing. It's almost as though the fortrest ... consumed them! Mohohahaha. :)

* Insert scary music here *

Bryce IR 02 June 2009 DSC_8310

Bryce IR 02 June 2009 DSC_8310, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

One of the countless majestic messas that dot the Bryce Canyon landscape looking bold and powerful in infra red light.

Instinctive Courage Bryce Canyon Jun 19 2009_DSC6796

Instinctive Courage Bryce Canyon Jun 19 2009_DSC6796, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

I know it's just a tree. And yes, the tree being there is thanks to a random drop of a pine cone seed many years ago. But ... for some reason, every time I see a piece of nature dangling over an abyss like this I get this feeling of envy for both its courage as well as its view. Yes it's just a tree but ... a tree with balls and a kick ass view 24/7.

If I get the chance to come back as a tree I want to be this tree. :)

Mike Gettin The Shot Bryce Canyon Jun 19 2009_DSC6540

Mike Gettin The Shot Bryce Canyon Jun 19 2009_DSC6540, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here's my brother Mike workin' his Nikon D200 at the start of the first day of our Bryce Canyon photo shoot. I'd flown from Vancouver to Las Vegas the day before to pickup Mike who had spent the week at a Hewlett-Packard storage conference. If you zoom in on the capture you'll notice a few HP logos (cap and shirt). Ahhh ... nothing says lovin' like conference freebees.

Sigh ... my bro went to Vegas and all he got was a cool HP shirt. :)

The drive from Vegas to Bryce Canyon is a lengthy one (5 hours with traffic) but pure desert richness - at least for the first 3.5 hours or so. The route scoots through 3 US states (Nevada, Colorado and Utah) and is visually stunning for someone used to the lush mountains of British Columbia. By the time we arrived near Bryce however it was quite late and nearly pitch black. I turned to Mike and said "This sucks! I was hoping for awesome views but it's all black and dark!! Grrrr." :)

Bryce HDR 07 Jun 2009_DSC6650_1_2_3_4

Bryce HDR 07 Jun 2009_DSC6650_1_2_3_4, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

In the High Dynamic Range club this shot isin the "Lucas Arts Tone Mapped" school. So deep into HDR that you have a right to expect to see Luke Skywalker around the next corner.

This is not your ganddaddy's natural geological arch. This is today's arch.

HDR Sunset July 4 2009_DSC7215_16_17_18_19_20_21

HDR Sunset July 4 2009_DSC7215_16_17_18_19_20_21, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

I love this moment.

My eyes did not see this but my camera, linked to my computer, did. This is what I'm sure will become my favorite High Dynamic Range capture. ... At least until the next time a high pressure system roles ontop of a low pressure system over English Bay.

Sirrus In Her Lair July 4 2009 _DSC7195

_DSC7195, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Bryce Canyon Utah - HDR 01 - Rainbow Point

Bryce HDR 01 Jun 2009_DSC6512_3_4_5_6_7_8, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here is the first of many of the color shots taken while at Bryce Canyon last month.

I'll make it a point to post to this blog in a balanced way over the next few weeks. High Dynamic Range (HDR) is an incredible tool but it's like the icing on the cake. Too much icing and not enough cake can make your teeth hurt. After two hours this morning organizing my photo archive and then processing the first half a dozen of the HDR sequences I realized that the punch of HDR tends to decline as you view more and more images created with this technique. HDR is a great opening in other words but shouldn't be the whole show. I'll make sure to post photos from all three of my favorite photography food groups - Black and White (infra red), High Dynamic Range and Regular.

The results, even of the early HDR sequences, are quite stunning. My workflow for the images is Lightroom (organize the images) -> Photomatix Pro 3 (the HDR composite software) -> Nikon's Capture NX2 (final color and light balancing and dust bunny removal). While working on the HDR captures this morning I was able to flip between the views that all three applications had of the same image and I must admit - HDR does reveal what I did see in my mind's eye more than the regular captures do.

A great example (coming up in a later image) was the color of the sand between the trees on the slopes below the rust colored mesas. In the regular image the 'perfectly exposed' shot produces a light yellow, almost white cast to the sand. In the HDR image the sand matches the color of the higher level rock which is where the sand came from in the first place. HDR shows what I saw. The regular image shows what the camera saw.

Bryce IR 25 June 2009 DSC_8351

Bryce IR 25 June 2009 DSC_8351, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Day two of the Bryce Canyon shoot and Mike has finally joined the photo-collective and got himself one of those cool floppy hats.

Bryce IR 20 June 2009 DSC_8339

Bryce IR 20 June 2009 DSC_8339, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

I'm nearly done with the B&W set of captures taken at Bryce Canyon and while a daunting task I'm getting charge to dive into the color and high dynamic range sets. A bit ironic in that I've focused on the black and white views of a vista that explodes with color.

Here's a capture looking away (towards the west) from one of the numerous and excellent vantage points onto Bryce Canyon Utah. This shot nicely reveals the alpine nature of the region (the viewpoints are nearly 10,000 ft above sea level) as wells as the never ending thunderstorms (seen off in the distance) that have provide the rain that in turn has etched out the canyon.

This capture was taken a few minutes after one of those micro thunderstorms raced over this spot.

Queen Elizabeth Park IR 07 May 21 2009 raw

Queen Elizabeth Park IR 07 May 21 2009 raw, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

This afternoon I roamed around the new condo's near and about Vancouver's Yaletown area. A decent day for IR but, sigh, short on clouds. Boring skies turn IR photography into but cool high contrast black and white photography. .... Le sigh.

I love how IR treats buildings though. At least the ones in downtown Vancouver. Clear and crisp ... Very much a "the day after we landed on this new planet and built these buildings" feeling to it. Warm like the Snow Queen on the movie "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe". Perfect for B&W pushed into the infra red end of the visible light spectrum.

This photo however has nothing to do with the above. It was taken 2 months ago at Queen Elizabeth Park. I love nature in IR. It's like life gone wild.

Bryce Canyon Utah IR June 19 2009 DSC_8301

Bryce Canyon Utah IR June 19 2009 DSC_8301, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Bryce Canyon National Park is located in the south west corner of Utah. It's a tourist and photographer friendly location with numerous hotels, motels, etc. in and around the park. I'd recommend booking your hotel 4 to 6 months in advance - the place is that popular. Next trip I'll shoot for the Bryce Canyon Lodge which is located in the mid-north section of the park. From there it's a short walk to some of the most magestic views on the planet.

Bryce 02 2009 IR Rocks June 19 2009

Bryce 02 2009 IR Rocks June 19 2009, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Earlier this month (June 2009) my brother Mike and I finally fulfilled a long term dream and spent a long weekend capturing the beauty of the Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks in southern Utah.

Bryce is a nature photographer's Mecca and it was quite hilarious to see so many middle aged men in floppy hats with multiple cameras over their shoulders wearing an endless variety of photo vests. Myself included except that having discovered the wonders of 18mm to 200 mm zoom lenses I've grown beyond the need for a vest with 24+ pockets. :)

As it has turned out Infra Red treated Bryce Canyon with the respect this marvel of geology is due. My guess is that the High Dynamic Range sets I shot hold the same promise.

Mike the Photog in IR at Bryce Canyon Utah

Mike the Photog in IR at Bryce Canyon Utah, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Here's brother Mike in infra red light on the summer solstice of 2009 camera gear ready to shoot Bryce Canyon Utah.

He rocks. :)

Queen Elizabeth Park IR 04 May 21 2009

Queen Elizabeth Park IR 04 May 21 2009 DSC_8235, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

The Bloedel Conservatory bio-dome looking south. Note the presence of indiginous life forms in the bottom right corner.

Queen Elizabeth Park IR 02 May 21 2009

Queen Elizabeth Park IR 02 May 21 2009 DSC_8231, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

I loved this shot the moment I took it and loved it even more once I'd removed a few extraneous bits like a rake. Even in the tiny review screen of my camera I could tell this would be one of those top shots for the year. The two groundskeepers in the photo merged an outer worldly garden captured in Infra Red with light a human touch.

Fashions from LL Bean - $245
Cost to book a quick getaway trip over the Internet via a shady travel agent named Zolton - $67
Winding up in a bio-dome on the third planet orbiting the star Rigel 7 - priceless.

Bloedel Conservatory Infra Red May 21 2009

Bloedel Conservatory IR 02 May 21 2009 DSC_8228, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

The Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver is one of those hidden gems frequented mostly by tourists. This is quite a shame since the park is a photographer's dream during the spring, summer and fall.

Smack dab in the center of the park is the Bloedel Conservatory. A gigantic geodesic dome used to house an incredible collection of plants as well as numerous wedding receptions.

Here's the conservatory on a sunny May afternoon looking very much like an alien flying saucer caught in the ever mysterious glow of Infra Red light.

HDR - The Shape of Things To Come

Happy Valentine 2008 Dusty Dusted, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

I've become addicted to High Dynamic Range photography. This fascination comes from both the current day results (see above) and because what I create today will be orders of magnitude more awesome 5 years from now.

These days each HDR image I create is a composite of between 7 and 9 regular digital captures bracketed between 0.7 and 1.0 stops. [I use aperture priority to retain the depth of field and have the camera vary the exposure speed.] While this does represent a 50 MByte or higher storage hit to my photo archive for each image I'm like 'yeah, whatever' to the expense. The cost of mass storage continues to drop and I'm quite certain that within 5 years my 1,500 Gigabyte (that's 1.5 terabytes) of storage devoted to my photos and their backups will be contained both within the Internet 'cloud' as well as on a collection of 500 GB solid state flash cards about the size of a credit card.

Here's the deal - the software used to generate HDR images and the hardware (displays, printers and inks) used to present the images has hit critical mass and will be exponentially better, cheaper and faster by 2014. In keeping all of my source images I'm doing what photographers have done for over a century - archive the source material (the negatives or, in HDRs case, the multiple exposures) ready for the next evolution in darkroom chemicals and papers or artificially intelligent HDR compositing.

I can't wait to see what this image is going to look like 5 years from now when I revisit its "digital negatives". Hopefully the second glance and first blush of eroticism in the image will still be there only with something else. What that something else is remains to be, quite literally, seen.

Beach Avenue Spring IR May09 2009

Beach Avenue Spring IR May09 2009, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Beach Avenue Vancouver from the Burrard Bridge overpass looking toward English Bay and Vancouver's West End.

Taken with a Nikon D100 DSLR modified to be sensitive to the infra red end of the near-visible light spectrum.

Cypress Falls HDR Jun 05 2009

Cypress Falls HDR Jun 05 2009 DSC6294_295_296_297_298_299_300, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

I've finally discovered the Blogging feature on Flickr so, after over 2 years of no posts I'm back! :)

I'm still into using photography, whether it's still or video, to show time in unique ways. The photo above was taken last Friday up at Cypress Falls Park in West Vancouver. It's a fantastic location if you are looking for perfect slow exposure shots of water running over smooth rocks.

Sunday's Sunset ~|~ 8:43 PM PDT

Saturday's Sunset ~|~ 8:41 PM PDT

As expected the arrival of a bit of transitional weather and high cirrus cloud produced a classic English Bay spring sunset. Rich with reds and oranges accenting the high jet contrails of the Alaska to California jet traffic.

There was also a rather interesting dueling cruise ship moment with two leaving Vancouver for Alaska crossing paths, at a very safe distance no doubt, with one returning to port. With the regular compliment of cargo ships waiting for the Monday rush just hanging out it made for an interesting view. Gigantic lumbering iron ruling what few waves there were.

Ahh, Alaska.

I haven't been there yet but it's very much on the list of "Top Ten Things To Do Very Soon". Well into the top ten actually but not quite up there with seeing the volcano's of Hawaii.

Ahh motion that becomes art.

For the past few weeks I've been watching the hi-def version of the BBC TV series Planet Earth. The series has been, pun sort of intended, an eye opener both from the quality of the visuals as well as the numerous moments of "Wha?!? I've never seen that!".

My best viewing moment so far has been the story of the male Emperor penguins in Antarctica keeping their single egg warm for 4 months of no food and perpetual darkness. This bit of instinctive heroism is also at the heart of the fairly decent animated movie Happy Feet. After having seen the real event on Planet Earth I'm now quit impressed at how the creators of the animated film were able to stay as close to reality as they did yet still entertain. A highly recommended viewing experience with the recommendation that you watch Happy Feet after you watch Planet Earth.

Here's my little slice of Planet Earth - an English Bay seagull in motion in hi def no less. :)

Friday's Sunset ~|~ 8:40 PM PDT

The thin cirrus clouds last evening added a really nice impressionistic feel to the post-sunset twilight. While the rich reds and deep oranges make for some dramatic views there was something almost feminine about yesterday's sunset. Soft and delicate with just the right blush of pink

It was also a great day for a trip to Cypress Falls Park in West Vancouver. This is one of my favorite photo locations that's in close range to my apartment and includes numerous water falls sprinkled along Cypress Creek as it slices down the mountain. The park is a thick second growth stand of 100 year old fir trees that includes numerous trails and bridges that snake back and forth around the creek. The smells of the trees in spring and the sound of the rushing water is quite inspirational.

It's not a venue to rush through however. Yesterday, as I hurried through my mental itinerary that included each one of my five favorite water falls I wound up 110 digital shots richer but in a way poorer for the lack of compositional artistry. Start to finish it was a 2 hour hike with half that ascending the 200 meters to the highest falls and the other half rushing through the process of snapping pictures.

Next time (which will be soon) I'll target just one of the falls and spend the entire trip finding the perfect angle and the perfect shot. I'll also hit the park at high noon rather than 2:30 in the afternoon. The light was either too bright or too dark and, as testament to how hurried I felt, I completely forgot that I'd brought along several neutral density Corkin glass filters that would have helped with the demands of such challenging lighting.

Thursday's Sunset ~|~ 8:39 PM PDT

Wednesday's Sunset ~|~ 8:37 PDT

Today was a gorgeous day for this little slice of paradise known as British Columbia. Very much a 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' sort of day. Not too hot. Not too cold. Mmmmm, just right.

Last night's sunset was one thick with much gold but short on drama. I roamed along the Seawall looking for the perfect sunset shot for an hour between 7:40 pm and 8:40 pm but the lack of cloud felt like being a painter without half his palette of colors.

Tonight's sunset, 3 hours before it happens as of this post, is looking to be same. The wonderful high pressure weather system that is covering most of BC is delivering fantastic and nearly summer like days but the result is sunsets devoid of punch.

On the upside though, given that the days are going to be predictably perfect for a week ahead and that the winter snow melt is cresting as I type this I'm heading to Cypress Falls Park in West Van to gather some dreamy milky water waterfall shots tomorrow. This is a fantastic photo location that is my personal favorite in Vancouver. It is quite literally the backyard for some of the lucky residents of the western part of West Vancouver. This tucked away city park on the slope of Cypress Mountain includes 100 year old pines and fantastic micro and major water falls that is, in my opinion, the best of Vancouver's photographic and hiking jewels.

I'm quite looking forward to tomorrow's shoot.

Tuesday's Sunset ~|~ 8:36 PM PDT

Yesterday was quite blustery with Environment Canada's Weather Office issuing wind warnings for the western edge of Vancouver Island for most of the day. The remnants of the island winds made it across the Straight of Georgia and created small white caps on English Bay.

This photo was taken several minutes after sunset and if you look very hard or expand the image by clicking on it you'll see a thin misty edge right at the horizon. This mist being the result of the chop created by the mild wind storm.

Spring Color Spectrum

Based on the leafiness of the trees along the Vancouver Seawall I would estimate that the blossoming phase of spring 2007 is 80% complete. A few of the more reluctant trees are just now budding but the vast majority are either finished sprouting their fresh virginal green or are nearly so.

We've even had our first grass mowing.

The weather for the next week or more looks to be glorious with warm sunshine and little cloud or rain. I think I'll gamble and start the 7 Day Sunset-Photo-O-Rama this afternoon. Last evening's sunset was quite pleasant and the weather today promises an even better display this evening.

Golden Wake

Super Weather

On May 15th the Eastern Pacific Hurricane season begins. Two weeks after that, on June 1st, the Atlantic season kicks into gear.

I don't know about you but one of the big things I took away from 9/11 was that ignorance was not bliss. No matter how deep I'd bury my head in the ground the reality of living in the 21st century and it's immediacy of information transmittal made the excuse of stupidity totally ineffective.

When Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed New Orleans two years ago the images and the feeling of living the 9/11 ignorance-is-not-bliss feeling again shook me to the core. ... Again ... Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice ... well ... shame on me again.

After 9/11 I learned much about Islam. I learned much that was good and much that I still consider bad. After Katrina I learned much about hurricanes and now each year, from the middle of May till early November I subscribe to the Eastern Pacific and Atlantic e-mail advisories from the National Hurricane Center, a subset of the wealth of weather information sharply presented by NOAA - the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

Hurricanes begin their life at the equator over Africa and head east across the Atlantic. Thanks to these two sites you can watch hurricanes pop into existence and then, like last year thankfully, head north into the middle of the Atlantic and spiral into obscurity. Or ....

If you consider yourself a weather geek and prefer having your head above the sand rather than in it these two sites and the e-mail newsletters are a great way to get real information weeks before CNN even considers it a news worthly footnote. A word of caution though - if a big one is in progress expect 5 to 10 e-mails a day.

This picture, while anything but a hurricane, I just love as a weather nut. It was taken last Thursday, May the 3rd of English Bay Vancouver looking north just after 6:00 PM. It's a slice of pacific weather in action as cool, moist air from northern British Columbia and Alaska rolled on top of the warm Californian winds that we'd been basking in for several days. Needless to say there was much rain to follow. The good news though was that I didn't have to punch anyone for saying how good a day it was if I was a duck. :)

Have You Hugged Your Cats Today?

Here's Owen and Alfie lounging on the couch circa October 1997. Two wonderful cats that during 13 wonderful years together disproved two of the more common cat stereotypes. First, contrary to popular belief male cats make wonderful feline companions. Second, while more expensive than regular domestic cats purebreds, in particular Bombay's like these two, are anything but maladjusted. Purebred dogs on the other hand .... shudder.

Lost Lagoon Part One

I've begun the multi-year project of scanning my 20 years of 35mm photographs into the digital domain. I talked to Dad this morning and went even one step further. During this coming summer I'll snag his collection of slides that date back to the 60s and push the family digital photo archive back years before Apollo 11 landed on the moon.

It should make for an interesting project.

Shown here is step one - day one of the mother of all scanning projects. This is the first of many photos from a magic roll of Kodak Infra Red Hi Res (25 ASA) film exposed at Lost Lagoon and along the Seawall one sunny afternoon during August of 1997. Nearly 10 years ago. The images were scanned at maximum resolution (21 mega-pixels) using a Nikon CoolScan V ED 4000 DPI scanner.

I've just started learning the numerous things you can do with this rather awesome device and found that using several of the digital enhancements the scanner is capable of, in particular the GEM grain reduction tool, has produced some pretty spectacular scans.

One major thing that I've learned is that to scan a 35mm image correctly you should plan on spending a good amount of time with the image. 10 to 30 minutes per image is often necessary to perform the adjustments needed to create a perfect scan. As such the idea of blindly scanning each and every 35mm photo I've taken since 1980 has quickly faded from my plan. I'll focus on the 4 and 5 out 5 photos first and worry about the rest later.