Having all this free time makes me yearn to travel and apparently WestJet is currently having a photo contest. As a sponsor of the Toronto International Film Festival, they are giving away two prizes. A grand prize of two round-trip tickets to anywhere WestJet flies and a early bird prize of a trip to the Toronto International Film Festival.
Now if you win, you have to bring me!
On a Related Note: They are also giving away a Nintendo DS.
Earlier this week, Canon Canada announced the released of the Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR. After a full year of rumours, the 40D is looking to be quite a welcome upgrade to the popular mid-range series.
Some of the spotlights to the upgrade include.
A newly enhanced, 10.1-megapixel CMOS imaging sensor with the proprietary and super-efficient DIGIC III image processor. A brighter, three-inch LCD screen. A magnesium alloy exterior that’s more rugged with upgraded dust and weather resistant construction. Use of larger microlenses over each pixel to reduce noise and expand sensitivity up to ISO 3200. New sRAW mode where the number of pixels is reduced to one-fourth that of a standard RAW image and the file size is cut in half. The EOS integrated cleaning system which was first introduced in the Rebel XTi. A Live View mode, permitting the framing and capturing of subjects using the camera’s LCD screen instead of the viewfinder.
Scheduled for an early September delivery, the Canon EOS 40D will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated selling price of $1,399.99 or $1,649.00 as a kit paired with Canon’s EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens. Let me say that in the past, I haven’t really been quick to jump on the upgrade bandwagon, but this new model is packed with a ton of new features at an amazingly low price that it really has me considering the upgrade.
In related news, Canon also announced the release of the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, 6 new point and shoot cameras (adding to the G, Digital ELPH, A-Series and introducing the exciting new SX series, which specializes in Zoom) and 11 new printers, all-in-ones and scanners. Included are a new “MX” line of environmentally-friendly printers for the office. Those Canon folks have been crazy busy.
If my facebook profile was a rainbow colour wheel, it would look like this. That’s one hell of a network of people. The spokes around the outside are the names of my facebook friends listed alphabetically. The lines within the circle reprsent how my friends are connected with each other.
Maybe you’ve heard of BarCamp, or DemoCamp, or CaseCamp or any other of the various Camps that have been sprouting all over the 2.0 landscape, especially here in Toronto. The idea behind these unconferences was to set up events that promoted participation from the community that the camp surrounded. Well I’ve finally thrown my hat into the ring and started my own. Photography, of course is the camp de jour for moi.
Last fall, I purchased the domain, photocamp.org with every intention to get it up and running just after the new year. Well it didn’t quite work out that way. After much discussion over the last 6 months, I was finally pushed encouraged to put the wheels in motion and actually organize the first event.
So I’m pleased to announce that we will having the first PhotoCamp Toronto event next Thursday, August 16th, 2007. The folks over at Whippersnapper are letting us take over their space for the evening and I’ve rounded up some great people to speak at the event.
Istoica :: Chris and Jess are two students who moonlight as portrait photographers.
Russell Brohier is a the Director of the Artists’ Network and a fine art photographer. This session will be dedicated to some suggested steps to becoming a professional fine art photographer and personal experience on that road.
Digital Railroad :: A New York based business that provides an application that helps photographers manage, market and sell their photos online.
Inconduit :: Adam Krawesky makes photographs in the streets of Toronto.
The idea behind PhotoCamp is to hopefully provide an event that will inspire, share and learn, between professionals and amateurs alike.
So far we are just short of a crowd of 50 at the event. If you are thinking of coming, it’s best to RSVP earlier than later, as we may have to put a cap at the number of people who can attend.
We’re pretty booked up for presenters first the first edition of PhotoCamp, but we are always looking for folks to particpate at future events. Check out the Rules of PhotoCamp for more details.
And if you are interested in starting your own PhotoCamp in your city. Let us know, we’d be more than thrilled to have you in the family.
Apparently, Jay went to see the movies, Bratz with his daughter who is staying with us for the week. And surprizingly, it wasn’t as cheesy as one would assume it to be. I was luckily spared the experience. However, what did catch my eye was the Bratz dolls at the end of one of the toy aisles. The impressive thing isn’t the doll of course. It’s the cool working plastic camera that comes with the doll. Who said film was dead! I was very tempted, but at a $40 price tag, I was numbed by the sticker shock.
In other toy camera related news, the Spiderman digital camera which I blogged about back in May is now on sale for half the price at Wal-mart, or so I have been told. Unfortunately, the location I checked out was totally sold out. Oshawa, is reportedly overstocked.
Maybe you’ve noticed, maybe you haven’t but I’ve started posting pictures daily again. I started doing so at Eidetikos.com, which I started quite a number of months ago. I originally started posting anonymously, but since the redesign here on photojunkie, I’ve brought it into the fold.
The name came from the word eidetic meaning 1. of, pertaining to, or constituting visual imagery vividly experienced and readily reproducible with great accuracy and in great detail. Eidetikos being it’s greek orgins.
I hope to post a variety of shots on the site, including stuff from deep in my archive of images. For those of you that are into feeds, the right url would be feed://www.eidetikos.com/feed/. Check it out, lemme know what ya think.
Seven years ago, I discovered blogger.com and started a journey which eventually moved and changed and morphed into the site you see here today. Over eight and a half years ago I started at the office that I currently work in now. I rarely talk about work and on a couple of occasions, people had the notion that I was a full-time freelance photographer, which is not the case. It’s simply amazing how time flies, how doors open and close in your life.
Three weeks ago, I handed in my resignation letter for my current job. It’s been something I have been thinking about for over a year now. And I’ve finally come to a point where I am fairly comfortable doing it. I would have done this in the spring, but there was a project here at work, which I wanted to see through before leaving the company, which in turn is why updates have been so infrequent on the site. Now the project is coming to a close and so is my time here, which is odd and exciting . Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally scared at the propect of being unemployed, but I’m totally excited at the various possibilities that lay ahead of me. When I tell someone that I’m leaving my job, usually the first question is about what I’ll be doing next. When I tell people that I don’t know the answer to that, I usally get blank stares, which equates to their surprise at my choice to leave without having something firm waiting for me at the other end of the tunnel. Other people ask if I am gonna do photography full time, and my answer to that is usually an immediate no. Sure it probably makes the most sense, but at the same time, I don’t wanna kill that passion by making it work.
So the great beyond lies ahead, I must admit, I do have a job lead that I’m working on, but I’m also excited at the prospect of having the time to work on some personal projects.
My last day as a working joe is Friday, August 17th. The following day, I turn 33 and start at the beginning of the rest of my life.
Hopefully now I’ll have time to start posting again.
Mid-Thirtysomething, Queer, Blogger, Content Creator, Photographer, Karaoke junkie, Torontonian, Volleyball noob, Culture Documentarian, All around nice guy.
Available for events and headshots.
