A bridge

This last photo looks almost like it might be a Holga with the vignetting. But this is what happens with the S3 IS if you do not zoom the lens all the way when using the teleconverter. I rather like it and I might even do more fake Holgas with this teleconverter.

Recently, I have joined Facebook and Flickr, so I have been kind busy other than my blog and my page. But, I have got a bit more done on my page. Its all fun. Some of the features on Flickr are pretty nice. Its a huge place. And to think it got started right here in Victoria. Although, I know, we have a very vibrant group of young professional computer programers and software developers here. Makes me almost wish I was younger and in to the loop. But retirement is much too sweet, in reality.

I think I might have advanced a baby step in my dilemma about my photography. Lately I have been shooting 'studies' of things. Unplanned, but it seems to need to be done. Maybe its a stage I am going through, on the way to finding out what I can do with my cameras.

So here is my study of the little bridge that goes over one end of the Esquimalt Lagoon. Its a lovely spot. We took the van and a deli sandwich out here for lunch on an overcast day.

There is more to this few hours at Esquimalt Lagoon, but this is all for now. Hope you like it.

Grass Bokeh

1/500, F/4, focal length: 72 mm, ISO - 80, with Canon S3 IS

On Friday we took a deli sandwich and the campervan and went to Esquimalt lagoon for a couple of hours. It was a grey overcast day, and yet there was lots of light reflected off the water and light colored beach. I got some okay photos, but nothing that really really grabs me. I might have reached a plateau with my photography. But I know the S3 IS is a very good little camera. I just have to work harder at something... compositions maybe? Or perhaps, once you know how to do certain things the novelty wears off, the challenge is no longer there?

S3 IS playing

Canon S3 IS with the zoom stretched to the max 12X, on a sunny October 31, 2006. I was shooting from the street down towards the harbor past Capital Iron's outdoor merchandise. These are 3 baskets sitting atop a packing crate. Shot in 'P" mode, white balance at sunny, exposure compensation at -2stops, F/4.0, and 1/1600 sec. shutter speed. This long lens is great fun. It is not as sharp as the shorter lens on my old Powershot. My disk space is filling up fast with these large pictures. I will eventually need to do some serious culling or just burn them all and delete.

I finally learned how to do a 'photocopy' with my scanner and printer. Its quite easy when you take the time to read the manual. Sigh.

We had pears for dessert today. I must go out and see if I can rescue any more of them. It froze last week, and rained torrents two days ago. I am finally over my cold and slowly getting my energy back. I have much to do in the garden and on my web page. Its time to get at it. :)

panorama

Today I tried doing a panorama with my Canon S3 IS. I just shot my kitchen area from sitting in my comfy chair in my computer/reading/light garden room. I did not use a tripod nor pay any particular attention to lighting settings or cleaning up the kitchen area for a good set up. I stitched 4 exposures together with the Stitch Assist software that came with my camera. It turned out not to bad, I think. What do you think? I had done 5 shots but the last one was too much out of line and light with the rest. That stitch assist program is pretty cool. I can move each individual shot around to line up any horizontal or vertical lines. I did not try that, but its possible. My camera manual says I can take 26 photos in its panorama mode. Man that would make one huge photo. This one is reduced from 7700 pixels wide to only 1000, as it was too wide for blogspot to load. Hope it shows up on VFXY.