The VAC pin is two red poppies with a gold maple leaf in the background. Since I am an avid supporter and volunteer for VAC, I decided it would be an appropriate way to hold my poppy on my shirt without all the hassle. I was immediately informed that this was defacing the poppy and that I should buy a $3 centre pin for the poppy which looks identical to the regular black centres but it’s a much sturdier metal pin (See image below).

While that’s fine by me, BUT I don’t really feel like I’m defacing the poppy with my VAC pin (Canadian flag “poppy-holder” pins also don’t bother me).  I would thinking attempting to poke the long pin through the poppy and on to your shirt so it really is secure would be more of a defacing as it is crumpled and stabbed.

So my question is, should this be considered a defacing to place an appropriate pin in the middle of the poppy?

What brought me back?

Well, I’ve had time to use my camera again, but get limited opportunity to look at the photos I’ve taken other than to stick them on the external hard-drive that holds the rest of my life. Sigh, that is what my life used to be–the computer. Always on it, never without it. It has been refreshing to get away from the computer because I now sit on one all day at work which allows me to get the essential FB visit every once in a while.

So, other than the camera, I’ve also started to make a few Christmas cards this year since I am still too cheap to buy gifts for people unless it is something truely unique and special (and budget friendly). The creativity was really hard at first, it was like I couldn’t think of any kind of way to put pieces of paper together to actually make some art. It was really quite pathetic. After getting going for a while, I started to get the hang of it again and they really look nice!

My inspiration was a flip-card that I saw at a Scrapbook store. Well hey, instead of paying 30$+ for a class I figured I could easily make that myself. It was an interesting process figuring out the dimensions for the card. I am going to go work on them a bit longer at a friends house. Since relocating, my stuff has been following me very slowly, including the hundreds of dollars worth of scrapbooking supplies I purchased with student loans (but “hey!” becase I’ve graduated and I’m working I get to pay for it all now, yay…ugh, the things I would do if I could time travel).

Anyhow, off to do some cards. I will post the template and some photos later on tonight after I’ve taken a few.

I figured I’d like to make a post about ISO since, like everyone else, I usually use the auto ISO setting on my camera when I should be really using it as a tool that is directly linked to aperture and exposure.

ISO is pretty advanced these days.

ISO 3200 anyone? What about ISO 12,800? Yes, really it does go that high! Quite the change from ISO 10 back with the first cameras. Such is technology!

What do you do with it?

People normally think it is just ISO 100…you don’t do much else with it. Really, it is another way of controlling an image with varying light or depth-of-field.

Light

Nice sunny day and outside photography with still or slow moving objects, grab ISO 100. This is because you’re free to adjust your aperture and exposure as you please and you’ll still get the light you need without ramping up ISO to allow you more options.

Exposure: 0.067 (1/15), Aperture: f/5.6, ISO: 100

Low light tunnel with lots of people walking around and you want a clear photo, grab ISO 800+. This is because you’re going to want as much light entering that lens as possible AND you want a fast shutter speed so those people do not look like blurs AND you want to use the natural light and no flash. This is great for weddings…

Photo by: Andreas Helike from flickr.

Exposure: 0.008 (1/125), Aperture: f/8, ISO: 800

Yeah speaking of weddings this was what I took at my friends wedding…sigh. You can see here that there is a blur of some of the people as they just didn’t stand still for that 3 seconds it took to take the photo sans-flash. The ISO could have helped dramatically with this photo…at least I know now.

Exposure: 2.59 sec, Aperture: f/4, ISO: 100

Depth-of-Field

Now this is neat. First take a look at this butterfly and notice the back wing is blurred. This could have all been fixed if I had had the ISO up higher, adjusted the aperture to f/11-ish and adjusted the exposure to the appropriate level so that I would have gained a depth-of-field.

Exposure: 0.004 (1/250), Aperture: f/5.6, ISO: 400

Now take a look at this photo (a bit blurred but still shows the idea I’m getting at here). Notice that the back wing is fully in focus—meaning there is a great depth-of-field because the ISO was higher, therefore allowing the photographer to apply a smaller aperture (smaller means that the number is actually larger: f/11 is smaller than f/5.6) so there is greater depth-of-field.

Photo by: Slightly Foxed from flickr.

Exposure: 0.001 (1/1000), Aperture: f/8, ISO: 800

This is not just limited to butterflies either. Having greater depth-of-field can dramatically help in any sort of image where you want more of the subject in focus. This could also mean a landscape where you want the background just as sharp as the foreground or if there are subjects close to the camera and some set back but you want them all in focus.

Be warned.

Yes, ISO is pretty awesome and you’ll more than likely get a great shot up to about ISO 3200 (maybe even higher with some of the camera technology today, just depends on your particular camera) but as you increase the ISO you’ll start to get a bit of ‘noise’ in the image—meaning it wont be as clear as it was at the lower ISO.

Most of the Canon DSLRs today have some form of High ISO speed noise reduction settings so be sure to check out your camera’s booklet. However, noise reduction only applies to JPEG formatted images not RAW and it only helps with chrominance noise (off coloured speckles) and not luminance noise (dot noise, pixilated look)

As always, go out and try it for yourself and see the difference!

However, this was the most ferocious beast that I had to kill…Scummy the shower wall monster………this is what happens when you stay at your brothers place…

I get to go on the Kenai Fjord’s Tour tomorrow I think, so expect some more photos! Hopefully of some orcas!

So far I’ve been up to:

Talkeetna

Denali National Park

(where the Princess tours reign freely. It was honestly like being in Jurassic Park)

That water from the stream was sooooo fresh and clean tasting…

This is the scenery I *had* to see on the drive up to the park…just horrible

my photography skills aren’t too bad from a truck window going 110!

I really wish I had my tripod because this would have made a stunning HDR

that’s a glacier!

another spot where an HDR image would have been amazing

However, I’m finally done with work! I’m also heading to Alaska in less than a week. I’ll be flying out early on Sunday morning to Waterloo to visit with Sarah for a couple of days. Then I fly out in the afternoon on Tuesday to Alaska! The camera is going to get a lot of use up there.

Hopefully I’ll be doing some big fish fishing and planning to go see the tallest peak in North America, Mount McKinley. I can’t wait!

Here are some of the results as I experimented with different angles and crops (ignore the fact I don’t have make up on, other than lipstick for the later shots–and ignore my mess of hair, haha). Yes, I know some of the images are soft, but I like them like that.

And here is Melody with a big pink kiss on her head after I was done with the shots. Poor dog…

Check back in the next couple of weeks! I have a few ideas planned and of course I’m heading to Waterloo, ON and Alaska!

Beachy-keen:

Gone wild:

Local beef–no really he was selling local beef…

A Model T:

Buddha in the grass:

Gong in the garden:

Terra cotta in the Tiki Hut:

Blossom:

I then grabbed the dog and the camera and went to Delaps Cove and Parkers Cove.