Practice

8 11 2008

Practice makes… well, better, anyway. The last few coffees: three from three.

coffee.jpg

If this whole theology thing doesn’t work out with the exams over the next two weeks, I won’t quite be putting in an application to Campos, but maybe somewhere more third-rate might take me on.





Awww… animals

18 10 2008

The Big Picture does it again. The shot to the left is a newly hatched green turtle from Indonesia (#17).

There are some amazing shots here… including the ugliest fish in the world (#11).

Whilst not quite in the same league, here’s one of mine to add to the mix, from Bangkok zoo:





It’s Windy

9 09 2008

Stunning shots of hurricanes/cyclones from space, from the Big Picture:

walkwater.jpg




Illustrated Bible (#2)

4 09 2008




Baby-faced

1 09 2008

Ultrasound at 38 weeks:





Fame

21 08 2008

My vastly-qualified grandfather has just published a book he’s co-edited. He sent me a copy today. Surprisingly it’s something I’m keen to have a look through (normally, the nitrogen cycle in agriculture doesn’t really do much for me). I’ve started on an article about the Tibetan plateau, and how it effects the atmosphere and the monsoon cycles. Interesting stuff.

Given that the articles within all concern the monsoon system of East Asia, the picture on the back cover is of a crowded street in Varanasi, India.  

Taken by my dad, of me, on a rickshaw.

Compare and contrast to the original.





Spacetime fusion

16 08 2008

Futuristic-sounding name for some amazing technology. This kind of video enhancement boggles the mind, and suggests some creepy possibilities. Having moved way past the age of where a photo of something meant proof, seamless ‘photoshopping’ of moving video looks like it’s now readily achievable.

The linked video has a bunch of technical image-manipulation terms, but is still quite watchable.

And awesome.





Paparazzi

5 08 2008

Google Maps Australia now has the nifty street-view function, which has ground-level photos of the area so you can scope out where you’re going, or check out your house, or whatever.

Late last year I saw the Google car taking pictures in my area when walking home; sure enough, I feature on the corner of Leamington Ave and Pine St, Newtown.





The mind boggles

5 08 2008

The types of competitions people around the world come up is really quite extraordinary (cf. crazy Japanese game shows, as seen on Youtube).

The following picture comes from an amazing blog you should subscribe to: the Boston Globe’s Big Picture. It’s ‘news stories in photographs’, sourced from news feeds & agencies from all over the world. The pictures are staggeringly good: thought-provoking, heart-warming, shocking, fascinating.

This last set of photos was of surfing competitions from around the world. One example:

The caption on this photo? 

“A boston terrier participates at the 3rd Annual Loews Coronado Bay Resort surf dog competition (the largest surfing competition for dogs) in Imperial Beach, south of San Diego, California, on June 28, 2008. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)”

Note that? The largest surfing competition for dogs.

As in more than one.

Wow.





Virtue?

17 06 2008

In Aristotle’s ethical thought, virtue is the golden mean between two extremes - generosity is virtuous, positioned between prodigality on one side and miserliness on the other; bravery is virtuous, positioned between the extremes of foolhardiness and cowardice.

This photo, I think, expresses perhaps more of the foolhardy side.

It was taken by Lori Mehmen in Iowa, tornado country (via Associated Press).

In the comments a number of people praise her presence of mind to capture the light, tighten the composition, hold the camera steady in low light, etc… while another remarks that true presence of mind might have been to head for the basement, pronto.





Oops.

7 06 2008

Kristy spotted the typo on the cover of the Sydney Morning Herald’s News Review section today.

Oops.

Particularly given one of the highlight policy differences is the continued presence in the Middle East.

(For one such as I, relatively unschooled in what is actually going on in US presidential-hopeful politics, the actual article itself was quite good. A helpful summary.)





Thousands of words

30 05 2008


One of my side interests is photography. I’m not that flash at it, and I tend to go through phases of getting right into things, then forgetting about it for months on end. 


But in order to put up some shots that I quite like, in a setting that makes them look as nice as possible, I’ve started a related site to this one (another benefit being that I don’t need to clog up this site with big photos). I’ve posted a few of my favourite shots from over the years - some are digital, some were scanned from shots taken with my old SLR.

It’s unlikely, but if you would like to use any of those shots in anything, ask me, and I’ll probably say yes.





Hidden image

27 10 2007

I came across this the other day. It’s a puzzle. For all you photo nerds out there, try and find the picture hidden in the following image:

hidden picture

Warning! Before reading on, try and find the hidden graphic. The rest of the post contains spoilers. Read the rest of this entry »





Another milestone reached

3 07 2007

Speedo Milestone





maelstrom + snorkelling => patience

25 06 2007

I got myself a new camera the other day, with a case that allows you to go swimming with it, to a depth of 15 metres. I thought that for snorkelling it would be really nifty to have the ability to take pictures underwater, particularly since my parents are taking the family up to Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef over Christmas.

Clovelly Maelstrom 1

I was really excited, and despite the (freezing) cold, I thought I would go down for a quick dip to try it out. After all, we have had some decent weather over the last couple of days, as opposed to the raging storms over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, Clovelly was something of a cauldron of white water. I didn’t get to use my new camera - well, not underwater, at least.

Clovelly Maelstrom 2

Unfortunate. Next time, Gadget, next time.