My Camera and Me!

I just downloaded an evaluation copy of Adobe Photoshop CS4 just so I can learn how to use it more since we have one at work (I own Photoshop Elements 6, but the features in that version is quite limited). In my attempt to take an image for processing, I accidentally came up with this exposure:

The lights in our bedroom was turned on and all I did was cover the flash with my free hand. That resulted in the background turning totally black! How about that!

Summer Grass.

Hooray! After years of waiting, our condominium management finally was able to lay grass onto our used-to-be-bare lawn:

I spent the morning watching the sprinkler system go on and when it was done I went down on my knees and took this photo. I wished I took one while the sprinkler was on but hey, I can get another chance some other time!

Salt & Pepper Shakers

I wish I had the talent to take a photo of ordinary objects and turn it into something spectacular but no matter how I try I still fall a bit short.

The best that I could do yesterday while my wife and I were hanging out at my sister-in-law’s place was a snapshot of these two tabletop shakers that they have on their dining table:

I better go out and shoot some more if I want to be more good at this!

Another Career Outside Animation.

I am experiencing a slow down with regards to getting work in animation. I think the whole industry in general was affected by the recent downturn in the economy. It was not later than a year ago that I get to work on two productions simultaneously. Now, most of the response that I get from all my job inquiry emails are courtesy letters informing me that they are not currently hiring at the moment.

I have a feeling that it would be very hard for me to grab another animation gig anytime soon, especially as a freelancer. There are no major animation studios here in Calgary; most of my previous contract work I got from Vancouver and recently as far as New Brunswick. Most of these studios at this time could only hire in-house artists, which leaves me out of the equation. What makes it even harder is that there is a tax credit program that only applies for local talents only, which effectively singles me out more and makes my chances even slimmer. The only way I might get a chance at being hired again is if I relocate to Vancouver or Toronto or wherever there is a studio that has an ongoing production right now.

Relocation for me at present is not feasible. No matter how I think about going about on doing it, the more I find it impractical for me, financial and emotional-wise.

I eventually bit the bullet and started job hunting outside my field of expertise. It was not easy to do as my qualifications are from a specialized field so getting companies to take a look at my resume takes a lot of re-wording of my qualifications and skills. I would spend days job hunting online and would send countless cover letters and emails to various companies, some of which are even long shots. It gets really frustrating as the days go by and I could not even score one single interview.

But as luck would have it, I was eventually able to land one, and it was not a surprise to me that it involved a bit about photography. After my interview, the company decided to give me a chance and I am now undergoing training in a field totally out of my league. It’s completely out of my comfort zone as this new job requires constant interaction with people, completely opposite from my previous experience working here alone in my home studio. Although I am completely terrified of it at the start, I am starting to feel more excited about the prospect of advancing in this new field. The work is part-time at the moment; should another animation gig land on my lap anytime soon, I would still be able to work on both simultaneously with no problems.

I intend to commit to this new job. I find it would be a great companion to my animation career. It will be more stable and not cyclical, unlike in animation where we get off and on seasons, just like what we have right now.

I still love animation, but I have to do something to fill in the hours now that there is no work around at the moment.

Missing My Guitar

Haven’t played with my guitar for a long time…

Digging Through The Archives

I found myself digging through my photo archives for something that could be worth posting today.

I chanced upon this one, something I remembered taking last Christmas:

Have a nice day!

Early Summer Blooms

Yup, I have to admit, this space has turned into an almost full-blown photography blog!

I can’t help it. I like taking photos, especially when I am in a good mood. It helps me with my creativity, which I find I am lacking lately.

Had some fun taking photos during a brief walk around the neighborhood with my wife. I admitted in some earlier posts that I prefer the Winters here in Calgary, but after that very long one we just had, I am starting to realize the folly of my preference. The burst of colors that are starting to appear this Spring and early Summer has me thinking, “what the hell was I thinking”!

So allow me to share with you some that I tried to capture. Here’s one from Elliston Park, just a short walk from our place:

Some blooms from a Crabapple tree from my sister-in-law’s backyard:

Another one, this time with four buds shooting out from one bloom:

And something I chanced upon at their backyard:

Have a nice day!

Welcoming Summer!

Summer is slowly showing its colors. What a sight, especially after that very long Winter we just had this past Season!

How Hard Can It Be To Do Macro Photography?

I have been quite fascinated with macro photography lately and have been trying my hand at it. What I mean by “macro” is the ability to take a picture of a subject at very close ranges, you know, like shots of insects and flowers and water droplets. Having no dedicated macro lens of my own, the most I can do is shoot subjects at the closest that my lens would allow and do some cropping later in Photoshop. Even then I find it not that easy and the experience made me respect the skills of macro photographers even more.

Here is a recent attempt I did. This was taken out front where weeds are growing in earnest. There was no breeze this morning so it was easy to take pictures:

This one was taken a month ago at a restaurant here in Calgary. They are obviously fake, but I still like how they came out:

Victoria Day Long Weekend Vacation

We had a long weekend from May 16 to May 18 and decided to go and spend it at Fairmont, B.C., roughly a five hour drive from Calgary. It was a great trip as I had a chance to finally take a long overdue break and vacation with my wife.

There was so much scenery on our way to Fairmont. Our first stop at Lake Louise in Banff always offered some fantastic view, no matter what the season is. Here is Lake Louise in the middle of May:

There was so much to see just looking out the window of our moving vehicle:

We stayed at a villa in Fairmont, B.C. Right beside it was the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort which has a trail that afforded me a capture of this bridge:

There was a hot spring mineral water fall in the resort:

No matter what the weather was, the view was always spectacular to my eyes:

The highlight of our trip was the chance to see some wildlife! We found this beastie grazing at the side of the highway. We had to pull over to the shoulder so I can take a photo:

Out of the several shots that I took, this was the only decent one that came out as my hands were shaking in excitement! Now I understand why photos of UFOs or Bigfoot were so blurry.

Another wildlife that we were able to chance upon. There was a wild Elk in the same spot where I took this photo. We were driving so fast that we almost missed it but when we turned around to take another look, the Elk was gone. Luckily, this little cutie stayed behind:

What a great trip it was! My wife and I were well rested and really enjoyed our short get away. I am not one who likes to travel around, but this experience sure changed my mind about it!