photojunkie

Neptune Drive and the 401 from my balcony.

Just over a week ago, I decided to purchase the Panorama Application for the iPhone, created by the iFone Guys. Basically, the app allows you to create panoramic images from your iPhone, using the built-in camera. It can be downloaded from the iTunes Store for $9.99 CND.

All the stitching of the images is done by the iPhone and the app itself is fairly easy to use. You have the option of creating your panorama using landscape (horizontal) or portrait (vertical) images. You also have the added option of adding more images to the left or the right of your current images. Yesterday, afternoon, I discovered that the application also does a really good job at removing portions of your active panorama if you feel you have made a mistake. The big selling feature for me was the ability to save the completed panorama in a resolution of your choice.

I must admit, I was hesitant to spend the extra money on this app, since there is another application called Pano for the fraction of the cost, however the extra functionality seems to be worth the extra cost. I already feel like I’ve gotten more than my money’s worth from the application.

Below are some of the panoramic images I’ve created so far. The new header on the blog was also created with this application.

St. Patrick Subway Station.

Jilly’s, Dangerous Dan’s and The Real Jerk. Queen St. E and Broadview.

Queen Street West at Euclid.

More images can be viewed at my flickr account.

Yesterday, I was at MaRS where I found Metronauts attending Transit Camp.

More photos can be found over at flickr.

Off to Metronauts Transit Camp in the morning at MaRS.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, there is a contest to win a iPod Touch on the Metronauts site. All you need to do is submit of Visual Essay about Transit.

Museum Station from photojunkie on Vimeo.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve passed through Museum Station and noticed that they are nearing completion of the station platform renovations.

I’ve been meaning to take pictures of the reno thus far, but I decided that rush hour (when I shot this video) wasn’t the best time to be hopping off to take pictures, especially when I already scored myself a seat.

This shot was taken during the closing circle at Toronto Transit Camp. Originally planning to stay for part of the day, Adam and his TTC staff which were present stayed for the whole day to hear out what we had to say about transit in the city. Not necessarily complain, but offer suggestions and solutions to make the system better.

I knew he was in the crowd most of the day, but it wasn’t until he got up and spoke to the crowd, where I realized who he was. Traditionally, the chair of the commission was usually someone from the older guard, with old ideas and sensibilities. So he was a pleasant surprise.

Flickr URL * http://flickr.com/photos/photojunkie/391100184/

This video of the Lower Bay subway station taken by my friend Clara is one of many hitting You Tube this weekend.

If you missed seeing it this weekend, they are supposed to be doing this for the next couple of weekends. Word on the street is that Lower Bay is going to be a part of Doors Open in May this year.

City-TV did a quick piece on Toronto Transit Camp that aired on Sunday evening. There are a couple of shots in the mix where you can see the photobloggers slideshow. Check it out.

For all you Transit aficionados in the city, Toronto Transit Camp is going to be happening this Sunday at the Gladstone Hotel. From what I understand there are still spots available (limited to 100 participants). I’ll be there and I’ll be running an ongoing slideshow of transit photos from members of the Toronto Photoblogging community. If you’d like to throw your images into the mix, drop me a line.

Flickr URL * http://www.flickr.com/photos/photojunkie/250669467/

It looks like the TTC subway system may start running 24/7 in the future. Nothing is confirmed of course, but the discussion is on the table which is promising. A report on the possibility however won’t be ready until early next year.

Personally, I think this is a fabulous idea and I know I would probably take advantage of the service more often if this was available.

Originally uploaded by photojunkie.

Over the weekend, I passed this bus shelter at Queen St West and Shaw, where I originally witnessed the installation of this Contact piece way back at the beginning of the month. To my dismay, less than 2 weeks later, I discovered that someone had peeled off the photo decal which was a part of the installation.

I know people have beefs about advertising in the TTC bus shelters, but what do people have against art?

When: Tuesday, May 2nd, doors 8pm
Where: Gladstone Hotel • 1214 Queen Street W.
Who: DJ Chris Thinn
How much: $10 includes new issue + zine

The newest issue of Spacing is just about to be released. There’s gonna be a party at the Gladstone Tuesday evening to celebrate. The theme for this issue is the transit system. The night includes music by DJ Chris Thinn, short TTC promo videos from 1950s, and a few contests to win Spacing subscriptions and subway button packages. The $10 cover gets you a copy of the new issue as well as the “Unorthodox Tips for Riding the TTC” by Sean Lerner (creator of the TTC Rider Efficiency Guide).

The issue features my photos of Mayor David Miller along with another photo of mine from my old hood, Scarborough. Come and check it out, or order yours online.

I’m fortunate enough to live right by the Yorkdale Subway station. I particularly like skylight that spans the length of the station. It’s beautiful on a sunny day. What I didn’t realize was that when the station first opened there was an installtion called the “Arc en Ciel” by Michael Hayden

158 glass tubes making a “neon rainbow” inside the transparent ceiling of the Yorkdale Subway station, with 79 colors forming this spectrum.The arrival and departure of trains interrupts the program which has 20,000 functions manipulated by micro-processing control computer.

I agree with the folks at spacing. It would be awesome if they brought this back to life. We already spent $250,000 on installing it, why not spend the extra bucks to have it operational.

For you Toronto folks, Michael Hayden is also the man behind the Art Gallery of Ontario piece, All Things Being Equal”. Unfortunately with the AGO’s current transformation, I’m not sure if that piece is still operational or if it is being incorporated to the new design.

Found via Spacing Wire archives.

So tonight I finally met Sean Lerner, the man behind The Subway Rider Efficiency Guide. He tipped me off to a special easter egg on his site. He has a special section which lists one quirky fact about each subway station. If you view the source file, some stations actually list other quirky facts. So if you wanted to brush up on your subway trivia, go straight to the source.