Sunday, February 27, 2011
The End of Reading Week
Wow... that was quite an absence!
My absence in the past few days (read: a couple of weeks!) was not due to the fact that I forgot about the blog... Nopes... Its just that I was extremely busy with midterms before the Reading Week... I hoped to write a continuation of my macro & close-up article during my time off university... Unfortunately, each time I sat to pen something down, "writer's block" would unleash its fury upon me... So tonight, I decided to put the photography article on the back-burner for a while and continue with my regular monologue... My sincerest apologies to the folks who were waiting for the second part... it will come... though I'm not exactly sure when...
Reading Week... I've got no clue why they give us this week off. The only thing I understand is that Reading Week is sort of a Spring Break for many university students, albeit without the spring part...
Reading Week... sort of a menacing name... if they intended me to read useful stuff during the week... I'm pretty sure I haven't fulfilled any such purpose... Lazing around the place doing little (or nothing at all) seemed to be the best way to unwind from the hectic weeks preceding the break...
Just before the Reading Week, I made a second attempt at making muffins... with pretty successful results! No burnt muffins, no fire alarm this time round! A bit rubbery, in my own opinion, but perfectly edible. Suggestion to WalMart: Your "Great Value Chocolate Chip Muffin Mixture" needs more sugar... Had the muffins with chocolate-mint ice-cream... absolutely delicious...
Here's a shot of the muffin for those who haven't seen it:
Now, did I do anything productive during the week itself...? Sort of... Passed my G1 Written Test for Driving... Crammed for a couple of days... could describe each and every sign on my way to the test center... Went into panic when I saw a lady thumbing through a handbook of signs and rules I had never seen before... Nevertheless... gave the test and passed with flying colors... Now what? I can drive, but only when accompanied by a person with 4 years driving experience... until I get my G2 next year... Crap... That's like a huge blow when you've been driving since the past 4 years yourself... In any case... no plans to drive any time soon, so no big problem...
Did some other photography too...
More pictures of the sunglasses and Mario can be found here and here.
Went to Toronto on Saturday... Very hazy weather... so didn't get too many good shots of the outdoors... My cousin took some good indoor shots of myself... will put them up when processed...
Something I noted about my photography... I tend to prefer fast prime lenses these days instead of the more flexible, but slower zooms... Especially since I came to Canada, and even more so, ever since I got my Sony 50mm...
Had some awesome ice-cream at ColdStone Creamery... Had Chocolate Devotion, a chocolaty affair consisting of a fudge brownie, choc chips and chocolate sauce wrapped inside thick, creamy, choc ice-cream...
Obviously, I was more interested in eating the dessert than photographing it!
Once again... slept on the GO Bus this evening while it brought me back to reality, to Waterloo, to uni life...
So... tonight marks the end of the Reading Week... it was fun while it lasted...
The job hunt for the summer co-op term is back in full force... hope to get some interview and hopefully, even score a job this time round...
Oh yeah... got a CS midterm tomorrow... Urghh, a midterm right after a vacation... and an Econ midterm next Friday, and a Stats midterm following that... and so on... until finals in mid April... To be honest, it's the first time in my life that I am wishing that February had 31 days...
From this point in February, I can already see the end of another term...
Until next time...
Good Night (or Day)...
Keep reading ...
My absence in the past few days (read: a couple of weeks!) was not due to the fact that I forgot about the blog... Nopes... Its just that I was extremely busy with midterms before the Reading Week... I hoped to write a continuation of my macro & close-up article during my time off university... Unfortunately, each time I sat to pen something down, "writer's block" would unleash its fury upon me... So tonight, I decided to put the photography article on the back-burner for a while and continue with my regular monologue... My sincerest apologies to the folks who were waiting for the second part... it will come... though I'm not exactly sure when...
Reading Week... I've got no clue why they give us this week off. The only thing I understand is that Reading Week is sort of a Spring Break for many university students, albeit without the spring part...
Reading Week... sort of a menacing name... if they intended me to read useful stuff during the week... I'm pretty sure I haven't fulfilled any such purpose... Lazing around the place doing little (or nothing at all) seemed to be the best way to unwind from the hectic weeks preceding the break...
Just before the Reading Week, I made a second attempt at making muffins... with pretty successful results! No burnt muffins, no fire alarm this time round! A bit rubbery, in my own opinion, but perfectly edible. Suggestion to WalMart: Your "Great Value Chocolate Chip Muffin Mixture" needs more sugar... Had the muffins with chocolate-mint ice-cream... absolutely delicious...
Here's a shot of the muffin for those who haven't seen it:
 |
| Chocolate Chip Muffin. © Osama Sidat |
Now, did I do anything productive during the week itself...? Sort of... Passed my G1 Written Test for Driving... Crammed for a couple of days... could describe each and every sign on my way to the test center... Went into panic when I saw a lady thumbing through a handbook of signs and rules I had never seen before... Nevertheless... gave the test and passed with flying colors... Now what? I can drive, but only when accompanied by a person with 4 years driving experience... until I get my G2 next year... Crap... That's like a huge blow when you've been driving since the past 4 years yourself... In any case... no plans to drive any time soon, so no big problem...
Did some other photography too...
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| The Canadian Toonie. © Osama Sidat |
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| Sunglasses - Playing With Colors. © Osama Sidat |
 |
| Mario. © Osama Sidat |
 |
| Snowy Fence In the Backyard. © Osama Sidat |
More pictures of the sunglasses and Mario can be found here and here.
Went to Toronto on Saturday... Very hazy weather... so didn't get too many good shots of the outdoors... My cousin took some good indoor shots of myself... will put them up when processed...
Something I noted about my photography... I tend to prefer fast prime lenses these days instead of the more flexible, but slower zooms... Especially since I came to Canada, and even more so, ever since I got my Sony 50mm...
Had some awesome ice-cream at ColdStone Creamery... Had Chocolate Devotion, a chocolaty affair consisting of a fudge brownie, choc chips and chocolate sauce wrapped inside thick, creamy, choc ice-cream...
 |
| Chocolate Devotion at ColdStone Creamery. © Osama Sidat |
Obviously, I was more interested in eating the dessert than photographing it!
Once again... slept on the GO Bus this evening while it brought me back to reality, to Waterloo, to uni life...
So... tonight marks the end of the Reading Week... it was fun while it lasted...
The job hunt for the summer co-op term is back in full force... hope to get some interview and hopefully, even score a job this time round...
Oh yeah... got a CS midterm tomorrow... Urghh, a midterm right after a vacation... and an Econ midterm next Friday, and a Stats midterm following that... and so on... until finals in mid April... To be honest, it's the first time in my life that I am wishing that February had 31 days...
From this point in February, I can already see the end of another term...
Until next time...
Good Night (or Day)...
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Close-Up & Macro Photography: An Amateur's Perspective - Part I
Ok… So I thought I’d do something different… something different from the usual stale description of routine happenings…
Macro Photography and close-up photography are probably the two most confused-between-each-other terms in the arena of photography… Before going any further, let’s set things straight…
A random search of the term “macro” (in terms of photography) brings up lots of descriptions and definitions; however, to my knowledge, it can be defined as an image produced on a film (or a sensor, in the digital era) such that the size of the image is equal, or larger, than the object being photographed. Nowadays, the word is used by camera and lens makers to denote any lens which focuses at a sufficiently close distance. Note that not every lens with the “macro” label is a true macro lens, since it is (usually) not capable of taking photos according to the definition mentioned above.
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| The Universally Known Symbol for Macro Taken from Google Images |
The idea of close-up photography is more general; photography of small objects, usually from a close distance. It can be said that macro photography is a subset of close-up photography. When you see this symbol on a camera, it reflects the ability to focus closely, perhaps 5cm or closer.
One might be inclined to say at this point, “Who cares?” I think it is better to understand the difference. Knowing the features and limitations of your equipment is one of the steps which can lead you to use your gear to its maximum potential…
The rest of this article will discuss basic techniques of close-up & macro photography. I will try my best to limit myself to the techniques I myself have used, or have witnessed firsthand. There are loads of people out there way more experienced regarding this topic than myself. Please do not hesitate to correct me, or offer suggestions or improvements…
Using a Cell Phone Camera
Yeah… that was not a typo… using a Cell Phone Camera. Okay… I know, cell phone cameras are usually crappy, the better ones cost a fortune, such a tiny lens… yada, yada, yada… All true… But, the best tool for the job is the one you have with you (To tell you the truth, I don’t use a cell phone camera anymore, but that wasn’t always the case)
Chances are, your phone camera has a “macro” mode, time to use it! Activating this mode will allow your camera to focus closer than it usually does. Careful selection of subjects, along with a bit of patience can yield pretty decent results…
The following pictures were shot by my Sony Ericsson K750i, with the "macro" mode activated… The best part about the K750i (at least in those times) was that it had a fairly accurate auto-focus feature, something not very common in the camera phones in those days, when fixed focus lenses were the norm. Photography with this phone was done at a time when when words like “aperture”, “shutter speed” and “exposure” were still foreign, even unknown, to me... the acronyms DSLR and ISO unheard of...
Here is a photo of some unidentified berry-like things in my garden… They were really tiny, smaller than a one-rupee or a ten-cent coin…
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| Berry-Like Things. Taken with SE K750i. Un-cropped, Unedited. © Osama Sidat |
The next one is a shot of a sort of flower or bud at the center of a random plant… also taken with the phone…
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| The Furry Flower. Taken with SE K750i. Un-cropped, Unedited. © Osama Sidat |
Back then, close-up usually meant plants and flowers... than I discovered that pets as interesting close-up subjects, and more challenging due to their unpredictable nature...
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| Don't Bother Me. Taken with SE K750i. Un-cropped, Unedited. © Osama Sidat |
The next was a covert act... Not easy to go right up into a kitten's face without waking him up...
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| Peaceful Slumber. Taken with SE K750i. Un-cropped, Unedited. © Osama Sidat |
Looking through my old K750i photos, I am actually amazed at the amount of detail coming from a tiny 2MP sensor...
Make no mistake; these are simply close-up images, not true macros. The K750 did not match the quality and flexibility(in terms of control) provided by even the simplest of point & shoots. The point is, it can be done, with decent results.
Nowadays, most quality camera phones advertise quality cameras... as long as they have a sort of focus lock, you can easily achieve something equal or better than the picture seen above… Try it with your phone!
Note: After switching phones a couple of times, I realized my K750i was still better in terms of image quality, especially compared to the Nokia E51 and the Blackberry Curve 8520, both of which have pathetic cameras. The Nokia XpressMusic 5630 (probably old now) has decent quality; played a bit with one. Can't say much about others, feel free to share your experiences...
My "carry piece" has since been "upgraded" to a Panasonic Lumix FX-150, however, I sometimes miss the ease of carry and use of the cellphone as a image-making tool, since one rarely leaves home without it... even to take out the garbage, or check the mailbox...
Hope you like the photos!
Next Time: Close-up Shooting using Point & Shoots
Once again, please do not hesitate to leave any comments, corrections or suggestions that you may feel are worthy of sharing...
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For my latest photos, visit Flickr
Sunday, February 6, 2011
A Lazy Sunday
Well... found time today... Hardly surprising, given how the day went...
Watched "127 Hours" last night... Amazing movie... based on a true event... plus the filming was absolutely awesome...
Woke up at my usual Sunday time, around 11... made an omelette, which was almost completely cooked... I guess I did not wait enough for the oil to heat up...
Spent the day lazing about with the Algebra notes in front of me... I believe I am sufficiently prepared for tomorrow's midterm...
Evaded an Ebay disaster... never before have I been so glad that I "lost"...
Had dinner... prawn curry with boiled rice...
Spent the entire time after dinner looking at old photos... refreshed old memories of the days at DK, at PAF... basically, an overview of life in the seemingly distant past...
Edited a few photos of my beloved kitties... see them here...
Overall a good day... Am gearing up for the long day ahead...
Until the next post...
Good Night, Good Day...
Keep reading ...
Watched "127 Hours" last night... Amazing movie... based on a true event... plus the filming was absolutely awesome...
Woke up at my usual Sunday time, around 11... made an omelette, which was almost completely cooked... I guess I did not wait enough for the oil to heat up...
Spent the day lazing about with the Algebra notes in front of me... I believe I am sufficiently prepared for tomorrow's midterm...
Evaded an Ebay disaster... never before have I been so glad that I "lost"...
Had dinner... prawn curry with boiled rice...
Spent the entire time after dinner looking at old photos... refreshed old memories of the days at DK, at PAF... basically, an overview of life in the seemingly distant past...
Edited a few photos of my beloved kitties... see them here...
Overall a good day... Am gearing up for the long day ahead...
Until the next post...
Good Night, Good Day...
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Week 5. Year 2011.
No, I did not forget about this blog...
Nor was I abducted by aliens...
I was only buried under all the workload the University can throw at at us in one week...
Week started off as usual... the same old Algebra, Calc & Stats... the same assignments...
Job apps in this week dropped down to 7... at the rate they are going, I only hope that the postings that will appear on 26th February are of some worth...
Thursday evening had in store for us the Stats midterm... which did not go as smoothly as it should have been... Luckily, everyone was of the same opinion about the paper... so not much should go wrong there...
After the midterm, had Larry Smith's class... poor guy was sick, but despite that, he presented an excellent lecture for more than 2 hours, before claiming his respiratory function as about to fail... The lecture was awesome, and more interesting than usual, since it discussed economics before, during and immediately after the World Wars...
Have a crazy CS assignment this week... done 3 questions out of 5... the rest... adjourned till Monday...
Speaking of Monday, Algebra midterm... all about vectors and matrices...
A random photo I took last week:
Until the next post, then... (whenever that may be...)
Good Night (or Day)...
Keep reading ...
Nor was I abducted by aliens...
I was only buried under all the workload the University can throw at at us in one week...
Week started off as usual... the same old Algebra, Calc & Stats... the same assignments...
Job apps in this week dropped down to 7... at the rate they are going, I only hope that the postings that will appear on 26th February are of some worth...
Thursday evening had in store for us the Stats midterm... which did not go as smoothly as it should have been... Luckily, everyone was of the same opinion about the paper... so not much should go wrong there...
After the midterm, had Larry Smith's class... poor guy was sick, but despite that, he presented an excellent lecture for more than 2 hours, before claiming his respiratory function as about to fail... The lecture was awesome, and more interesting than usual, since it discussed economics before, during and immediately after the World Wars...
Have a crazy CS assignment this week... done 3 questions out of 5... the rest... adjourned till Monday...
Speaking of Monday, Algebra midterm... all about vectors and matrices...
A random photo I took last week:
Until the next post, then... (whenever that may be...)
Good Night (or Day)...
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