Digital Photos from 2020

The Best of 2020

As I have not posted in a while, I think I shall share some of my favourite photos from last year. During lockdown, I spent quite a bit of time in our garden. From April to September, I took charge in mowing the lawn. In that time, I've discovered many new things. 

There were white wild roses growing  in our hedge. These made for some pretty pictures. A neighbourhood friend had a beehive. It's not unusual to see honeybees. These blooms really smell sweet.

We also had peonies in the garden. With the fair weather, we still had just two weeks. They just did not make the cut.

The seven sisters rose bush came with the house. It never bloomed better. We had a couple months of flowering.

We had one small rose bush. This year being so scorching hot, all the early buds had withered. It was only until late summer, did we get a full flower.

Honey Bee on Wild Roses

Wild Roses

Seven Sisters Roses

Seven Sisters Rose in Bloom

A Friendly Robin

Lots of Seven Sister Roses

Unexpected Ladybug

Best Rose in Bloom

Calendula (Marigold)

The Ideal Canon Digital Elph Feature for Aquarium Photography

On the Canon Powershot SD870 IS, this is the AF assist beam. All these years, I have not used it correctly on this model camera. My mistake had always been to aim that light away from the goldfish, when I should have aimed it directly at the fish. By doing so, both the goldfish and the background is properly lit, and I get minimal to no light bounce back from the glass.

Fish Tanks

Goldfish

Green Tiger Barbs 

Latest set up of a 10 gallon and 2 gallon aquarium.  The goldfish 5 years old. The barbs are recent additions.

First Hike

This is the first time I ever went on a nature hike. There is usually a short window of time to do this in October, anywhere in Southwestern Ontario. The best time is just as the maple trees start changing colours and before the leaves fall off completely. This year, we had a particularly warm autumn. So the change happened around the second week into October. On top of that, the day we chose to go, it had rained, making the trail somewhat slippery. Rouge Park offers many trails for any skill levels. I chose the moderate Vista Trail, for my first go. It did not disappoint. It had plenty of inclines, as well as rocks and tree roots to navigate. This is not a bad way to strength-train the lower body.

Fantail Goldfish Almost Three Years Later

If it has been a while since I posted any photos of my fantails, it is because I haven't been very successful at capturing the subject. What it must be like having a big eye staring into your world? I suppose that is what the camera lens must look like. Then I saw a professional photographer set up with Siamese fighting fish. I haven't tried using the Canon G1 macro setting from a distance. Sure enough, it worked even when zoomed in. I still have to diffuse the flash. But now they will be swimming at the front of the tank when I want to take a shot.

Making Tracks Day by Day and Jet Time

First of Many Journeys

July 11

A slow start on VIA Train #1. We eventually got underway just after 2:00 AM. I would have just four hours of sleep. I later learned that we had passed Sudbury, Ontario. At dawn, I went up the dome car for the first time, before enjoying a hot breakfast. On this voyage, the Skyline car is referred to as Dome 1. It serves as lounge car for the economy class.

View from rear window

It took 19 hours to pass through Ontario. Much of the landscape is forests and lakes. We were traveling north of the Great Lakes. There were also views of the Canadian Shield.

We had two short station breaks this day. By the second stop, my camera battery was depleted, having used it on numerous practice shots.

Hornpayne

New Betta is a Blue Dragon

My new betta is smaller than the previous ones. It eats almost anything, but I am feeding it flakes so its little mouth can accept the food. I have used a macro setting to feature the fins. It has a split in the tail, so it could not be a halfmoon variety.

2017 in Review

2017 Year end review in photographs. Beginning of the year was busy with work. That all tapered out in May. After dealing with some family health matters, I was able to enjoy more time outdoors with friends.

Building paper models again

Learning about origami

Challenging Betta Photography

Since bringing home my latest betta, I have been trying to find time to admire him. Working again makes it difficult. It feels like I have neglected it too much when I am home. Where the fishbowl sits is not well lit and winter lighting is so dull; I have trouble getting in a good shot. Until today. The fish's colour and shape are contributing factors to the challenge. He is a normal betta, with regular fins. Does that make him more aggressive? He certainly has flared his gills. He prefers to look at humans through the water surface rather than the glass.

I used the Auto settings with auto flash on this fish. The Canon Power Shot SD870 IS aquarium setting needs more light. The lens has to be right up close to the bowl, or the bounce back will horrible. The first shot used a tissue paper as a diffuser. The second shot was taken with a cut up plastic film container. I like how the light reflected off the table.

Muted Flash

Autumn

Would you be disappointed if there was so little colour change in foliage? Not when the weather is this nice. Mid October and people can still be out in short pants is practically unheard of in my time living in Scarborough.

The Other Side

It has been a busy Summer and Fall with work and outdoor activities. I have neglected my fish friends. I still enjoying using my old Canon G1 for my calico fantail. With a piece toilet tissue paper folded over two times, I manage to diffuse much of flash when she swims right up to the front like that. It's a treat also to be able to show off the flip side of this goldfish.

Highlights of 2014

View outside work

The blog has been under active in 2014. Other than starting a new full time job, most of the year I found myself out of doors rather than sitting in front of a computer. Going back to work after such a long absence, it was necessary to take up Tai Chi. It's now taking longer to focus on projects, but the weather warms up, I will move things along. Here is a photo highlight the past year.

Fantail

Here is the most recent photo of my goldfish - a fantail, that I would like to submit to my portfolio. It is my favourite goldfish shot to date. I had to use a flash as this type of fish would not stay put. Using the a piece of tissue folded over 3 times gave the optimal effect. On top of that, the image was framed perfectly with the old Canon G1. As a specimen, it is somewhat less than ideal. The short tail fin is almost completely joined in the middle, and there seem to be a deformed anal fin. All of which contributed to her swimming unevenly. I hope to celebrate the 3 month mark with an updated shot from a Canon ELPH for comparison. The scales are much more pronounced now.

Fan Expo 2013 One Man Can Make a Difference

The one man that made a difference this year was David Hasselhoff. Who else could tell a joke and then lapse into song in the first 2 minutes, of making an entrance? His appearance at Fan Expo coincided with his career comeback. A movie? A documentary? A music tour? Getting his autograph earlier made my day.
With the expanded venue, I really appreciated a respite before going at it again on Sunday. The line up to buy tickets was nothing compared to the amount of people. Going on a Saturday was unthinkable.

Two showroom floors meant more to see. There was one ape who was in complete character no matter who he encounter. Looking in peoples bags in exchange for a photo op. While I was browsing at prices in the autograph area, I noticed these puppets. Apparently, I just ran into Ruffus The Dog.

Among the celebrities I saw speak were Richard Dean Anderson, David Hasselhoff, Karl Urban, and Carrie Fisher. The theatre was the only time I could find sit down for almost an hour. I was otherwise constantly on the move. To my delight, Karl Urban did talk about being on Xena: The Warrior Princess. You might remember he played a memorable Cupid and Caesar on that series. Carrie Fisher reminisced about the original 'Star Wars' and her work as an author.

For those who know me well, I found a great reason to buy T-shirts. Dragon's Lair and Space Ace were 2 games I did conversion work on, early in my career. It was nice to be able to add them to my collection of memorabilia.

To be able to have a photo with a very hardworking celebrity at Fan Expo. Many people do not know that Erin Gray, as owner of Heroes for Hire, is the person behind the celebrity appearances at these events everywhere. I have been fortunate to meet this very gracious lady on more than one occasion.

Bettas, Two Years Later

Passing another milestone, to me,  is something to be proud of. Because it was never that easy to keep fish, not even when they were free. Now, I don't count the days before they die, just the years since I bought one. Hopefully, it will be for a while yet, unless I get a new aquarium.

Reflections

It's that moment when you realize you didn't have to use a diffuser to take these photos. I have been taking advantage of the acrylic surface and the six-sided nature of the aquarium. The light bounces off this material differently than on glass tanks. The flash usually reflects on the front of the surface. That's why I have to aim it on the trim or some other object directly in line of sight. In these, digital zoom, as shown in the upper right, and the two lower ones, keeps the flash point out of range. I always rhought it was the water surface that was absorbing the reflected light. Now I see that the back of the aquarium has a lot of bounce back too.

Trying to Make It Grow

Trying to Make It Grow, a photo by cin_kong on Flickr.

At the risk of smelling like algae, I got elbow deep in fish water to arrange the new live plants I bought. I've had nothing but anubias (the low lying things anchored on the rocks.) With the amount of excrement these four goldfish output, I am hoping the plants will do well. The algae already do. It's takes forever to remove even with a snail and a plecostomus. If it works out, it's bye-bye plastic plants for this aquarium.

Fan Expo 2012: The Year X-Files Made Contact

UPDATE: There is a slideshow of all the photos at the bottom of this post.

If you were me and saw the program schedule, you would wish there were 2 of you. Fan Expo has gotten that big. Despite having a fill-to-capacity meeting hall spill onto an already crowded venue, I like to commend the volunteers for their tireless corralling duties. It could have been a lot worst if they did not keep people moving. When I was not sitting at a Q&A, I was in the dealers room. There were some pleasant surprises along the way. I believe I may have broken a record for the shortest wait time in acquiring autographs in under 3 hours.

The only show panel I attended was for the Canadian time travel series Continuum. American audiences are going to have to wait until January 2013 to see this show. News of the summer show's renewal was announced in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

And then there is my personal favourite celebrity Q&A, which always brings me back for more year after year. I was really excited to first learn about Gillian Anderson's appearance this year. It is really a rare event. She has admitted to this being her second convention.

I was really anticipating Gillian Anderson

For those celebrities who I cannot possibly see or meet, I can always catch sight of them signing autographs. This year, I literally ran into a couple on the dealers room floor. The creator of Captain Canuck, Richard Comely, was signing stuff for free. It was a treat to have him explain to me the origin story of Canada's own fictional superhero.

Got to show Gillian Anderson drawings I did when I was younger.

It is a convention for everything under the sky after all. I try to have my camera ready to catch the moments of spontaneity.

Do you see Batman on the ground?

The Art of Frankenweenie Exhibit

Slideshow: Fan Expo 2012

Kate Mulgrew

Kate Mulgrew, a photo by cin_kong on Flickr.

Pic of the weekend. She loves the fandom and she loves Canada. It was when she told the production to leave her hair alone, she owned the part of Captain Janeway.