Having purchased Canon’s venerable 70-200 2.8 IS II lens about a month ago, I’d been seeking something to shoot that would really put it to the test. Yesterday on a last second whim my girlfriend and I decided to hop in the car and make the drive to the Metro Toronto Zoo. I was fearful that the 70-200 wouldn’t have the reach I really wanted on my 5D MK II but its the longest lens I have and so I thought I’d give it a shot. Its a fantastic performer, and I’d love to give it a whirl on a 1D MK IV. Maybe I’ll get the MK V when it comes out. For now, here are the best of the images I managed to grab yesterday, I hope you like them.

So last year myself, my girlfriend and some other friends helped out as cast members in Science Media Lab’s preparation for the Hamilton 24 Hour Film Festival. I’d been waiting a while to see the end results put online, and finally its surfaced! I hope you enjoy!

So last night I was thrown out of my house by my GF who was using my place to host a Fantasia party, a magical gathering where women put things in each others Vagina’s and then later decide if they were effective enough to purchase. This worked out okay mind you, because I had work things to take care of that didn’t involve sitting at home. I also decided to toss my camera in my trunk while I was out and about, which turned out to be a good decision.

As you’ve witnessed here before, I’m a fan of foggy weather. I also happened to be suitably motivated enough to pull my camera out while driving around, and I’m pretty pleased with the results. For you Tech Types who always asked questions about camera settings, all were shot on a Canon 5D MK II with a 28-70L lens. The Tree and Beach Photos were shot at 800 ISO. The Graveyard shot was an HDR combination of 5 exposures. The train tracks, 6400 ISO. All photos were taken hand-held.

Thanks for looking:

Bacon and Eggs at Cora:

Fucking random flashes of clarity. Click. You finally get the punchline of the best joke never told.

Never told because every other single fucking person in the universe already knows the joke. Has known it for as long as they can remember.

.

The absurdity. The great tragedy and the brilliant simple comedy that is your life.

You get the joke, and you smile a small smile… Like the villain who is finally about to die in 3 seconds, and knows it.

3 seconds. Enough time to grin. Come to peace with fate. Accept one’s foolishness and look towards the next step with a steady gaze.

But maybe people who are clever and honest can figure out their own joke way before shit deteriorates to anywhere near that level.

Or sometimes things just click into perspective. For a little while at least.

-Psychs

overXXXposed.com

“Got a sec?”

This was at the end of my friend’s work Christmas party. I knew nobody else, and I think my gregarious behaviour unsettled a number of fine professional pickle processing people.

I walked up as this dashing young power couple were having their picture taken, about to leave. I asked “Do you mind having your photo quickly taken with me? Sorry for bothering you, I just need to have a solid alibi for this portion of the night.”

Something occurred to me the other day when I was tweeting about the Starbucks coffee grind I had picked up at the grocery store. I hadn’t made coffee at home in a long while, but as part of my new initiative to regain control of my body, I’ve decided that anything that I consume, as often as possible, should come from my own hands. So instead of going out for coffee, I’ll brew it myself. And because I can experiment with new grinds, beans, what have you, I have a greater confidence in the final product. When taking my first sip of Starbucks Africa Kitamu the other day, it occurred to me how similar coffee is to beer and liquor, and how our perspective on these things changes as we get older.

When I was younger you could throw me in a bar, hand me a Coors light, or a vodka orange juice and off I went. Everything was good and the goal was to get drunk. Same thing with coffee, although I didn’t start drinking it until my early to mid twenties, and it wasn’t often that I ended up sauced. Grab the large cup, toss in an abundance of cream and sugar, and away I went, happy, warm and alert. Now things are very, very different.

First let me state that Coors light is a good, accessible and highly consumable product. As are other beers like Keith’s or MGD. However I encourage many of you to expand your horizons and start experimenting with beers from the many high quality Micro Breweries around the world, and more specifically locally. I am fond of many of the Sam Adam’s products (thanks Gordie) and recently I tried a fantastic German beer at one of my girlfriend’s family members house. The name escapes me, but the lesson in how to drink this beer as well as the robust flavor was a memorable experience. I’ll get back to you with a name, if I can.

Sam Adams beer brand and Highland Park 30

The same holds true of coffee. If you need to put a ton of sugar/cream/milk into your coffee to make it drinkable, its because you’re drinking crappy coffee. Buy a better bean, grind up your own blend, do what you must. Just stop ruining the flavor with additives that aren’t good for you anyways.

I guess you could say that life slows down as we get older, but I choose to look at things differently. I think we learn to relax and appreciate what is around us. I’m 31 now, and if I had to give a piece of advice to the young bucks out there reading this, it would be to slow down from time to time and enjoy the moment. Soak in the flavor of coffee, scotch and life.

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