The Tron - Hamilton

Now that I have an internet connection, will be updating my blog more often... promise...

After a bit of a let down in terms of a farewell party, I started my journey with a wee sidetrip
to Hamilton for a visit with the cousins. What was supposed to be routine and uneventful turned into 3 days of adventure and doing things previously unprecedented.

Hamilton, for those who haven't been there and regard it as another dot on the north island where weather is reported, it really isnt THAT bad. Its an agricultural town. Peaceful, quiet, clean, green and chocka with cows, horses and all the other farmyard animals from your nursery rhyming days - the very essence of life in good ol' Aotearoa.

Ducky ducky ducky

After arriving in Auckland, it was a one hour drive down to Hamilton. Took a while to get reacquainted with my cousins whom I haven't seen for 6 years, but it wasn't long before we were getting along.

We got to visit the Hamilton Gardens with their Egyptian, Italian, Indian, American, Chinese and Japanese themed gardens.








And after a feed from Burger King, we got along swimmingly.

Burger Happiness

The rest of the evening was dedicated to playing a hybrid of Cricket and Baseball - Bricket... We used a hackey for the ball, our jandals as bases and a table leg for a bat. With very interesting results.

Then came dinner time when we had to play a different game. A game I like to call - 'Chase Down Duck For Dinner' or 'CDDFD'. Before I get villified for chasing down stray ducks from public ponds and such, keep in mind that Uncle Thom lives on a lifestyle block with ample of land, so he dug out a duck pond to for his wee duck farm. Which, incidentally was where we hunted for dinner.

Huey, Dewey and Louie

Unfortunately for Huey, Dewey and Louie they were due for dinner...

Duck Dinner...

Yes, they had to be killed, plucked, butchered and cooked... I wasn't quite involved, but had to hold the ducks while the others were put to the slaughter...

Yes, theres a lot of birds in The Tron. Big ones, little ones, medium sized ones, one that fly, ones that swim, ones that just walk, colourful ones, black ones, white ones.. you get the picture... A LOT of birds in Hamilton... Not the good type of bird though...





So I guess Huey, Dewey and Louie won't be missed too much...

Strong - Annabel Fay

The day is here I've been waitin' for
Now I know whats worth fightin' for
No more thinkin' if its right or wrong
I just do what Ive been dreamin' of

Cos when you're down
You will find out that you're on your own
Yes you're on your own
I'm on my way
I'm movin on and I've got to be strong
Only I can make my day

I have it all when tomorrow comes
I have my share now it's my call
I'm the first in line to have whats mine
I'll look straight ahead and won't close my eyes

I have to walk this road alone
I've got this second chance and I'll carry on
Its great to know
youre watchin over me
but I have to walk on my own
thats the only way

Irony Is...

Irony is...

Eating food on a flight you are dreading, that you prepared earlier at the job you really really despise, to somewhere you really dont want to go, with the last people on Earth you want to spend time with...

Thats basically my summer in a nutshell actually.

My chefs uniform came late... and when it did... it was a size too small... WTF!!

Games I Play

So the holidays are over for most of you. I’m here lazing around and basking in the slow start of the year before everything goes crazy and exciting as I prepare to start life with my someone special. Meanwhile, I get to toy around with some of the gifts I got for Christmas and my birthday.

Got a couple of games that I’ve yet to finish, one or two (which means more) that I’ve not even begun (gamers call that the “pile of shame”) and you’d think I’d be snuggled up in bed playing the latest in what Microsoft and Nintendo have to offer yes (-Ed: dont forget to get Gears of War for me!!!)?

No.

See I recently purchased some Wii points for my Nintendo console which allow me to download games from past generation consoles and there’s been one game which I’ve always taken an interest to (but didn’t get a chance to play cause we didn’t have money at that time.. sniff. *plays violin music*) that combines my never ending love of video games with a hobby that I’ve always been interested in, photography.

That game is Pokemon Snap!

Not the card game version...

Now, now. Come on back. Gimme a chance here, am not drunk nor high, that's Lindsay's thing (SNAP!).

Pokemon Snap! was released on the Nintendo 64 system and players take the role of a (name him yourself cause there’s no continuity anyways) budding Photog that is tasked by Professor Oak (well known Poke-expert) to take pictures of Pokemon on an island. Seems easy? Not so.

Dragonite in flight (-Ed: you're a regular Dr Seuss..)

You’re in this capsule-vehicle thing that moves slowly (which means Britney can carry her baby in one arm safely. SNAP!) enough for you to take a picture but fast enough to let you miss a shot should you hesitate. The route is fixed but you have a 360° view of your surroundings which means that Pokemon can appear from anywhere and you have to keep a sharp lookout.

In addition to the constant moving, the Pokemon are sometimes situated far from the scope of the camera which too hinder the photo taking process. This would mean using your arsenal - which consist of food and assorted gadgets – to coax them to come closer and maybe pose for you.

No one likes the Poke-Paparazzi... or bad photographers...

At the end of the track the good prof rates the photos you’ve taken based on the size, center-ness of the subject and the posturing. After which you can proceed to the next course which has different terrain and hence different Pokemon or choose to redo the past levels in hopes of getting better pictures.

Momma always said not to pee and eat at the same spot...

The game is fun, addictive and quite ahead of its time as there were no other photog games like this. The only one close to mimicking it is the upcoming Afrika game for the Ps3 which involves taking pictures in a safari. Too bad that’s the only thing Sony can call exclusive for that game-less console right now (SNAP!).

Some things I’ve learnt about photography in the game:

1, Picture opportunities can come at any time, be sure to carry your camera wherever you go

2, Do not hesitate or you’ll miss the shot.

3, Do not panic either or it’ll turn out worse. Keep calm and a steady hand.

4, Centering is important. Though centering on something dull makes it duller (-Ed: off centre rules!!).

5, People who are hungry will pose when you give food to them. Now I know how supermodels work (SNAP!).

6, The most important thing is... practice makes perfect.

Cropped off Moltres' wing for the sixth time round...

Say It Isn't So

Yes yes, the rumours are true - Allan started out mainstream, shooting with a Canon!!

Wot a SELL OUT!!

In fact, my very first digital camera is a Canon Powershot G7 and the very first DSLR I shot extensively was a Canon 400D. It's true, I started out mainstream and boring and crusty and safe and conservative. Photography isn't supposed to be any of those. It's supposed to be exciting and sexy. Which to be honest, shooting with a Canon did not make me feel... I did, on the other hand, feel boring, crusty, conventional and as if I was trailing a well trodden path... much like sheep do... or lemmings... before they plunge to their deaths.

I'll be focusing on the Canon 400D, which I had the opportunity to shoot with during the silly season. It's seen here with a Canon EFS 17-85mm lens. Yes, the ugly bastard below...

U-G-L-Y

Before I go even further to rubbish this Japanese brand of camera toted around by one too many nooblet tourists shooting in 'auto' mode, I must say - it's a good camera.

Image quality wise, yes very good. A bit too sharp for my taste. Too much in camera processing. There are other people who do post processing you know... Colours are a bit... for a lack of a word - plasticky. Not so nice if you like punchy reds and warm colours. But I guess its aimed at nooblets... who shoot it straight out of the box. Which I guess is fine if you're coming from point and shoot, nooblet territory.



The evaluative metering does tend to underexpose a wee bit. Its a bit unpredictable at times. The same photo exposes differently even tho its shot continuously. Very very surprising and very very weird.

Shutter lag, startup is very quick. It's continuous servo is quoted at being around 3 frames per second, which is fine for capturing wee tykes who cant keep still.



Viewfinder nice and bright, LCD is good too. Although I found myself cropping off the left more than I expected. Which wasnt so cool. (Btw the pic up top is meant to be off centre... my nephews arms were included in the viewfinder, but in the final product it was chopped off!!! WTF!!)



My only gripe is it's size... which can only be described as midgety. And with the unproportional 17-85mm EFS, it just seemed ungainly most of the time. And it just doesnt have very svelte curvy lines. Just looks big and black and not alot of fun. The lack of 2 scroll wheels makes changing settings very difficult in M mode. Up till now I couldnt even find the aperture switch scroll button!! And when I asked my brother in law he didnt have a clue either, but replied that he ONLY had it for a year. Dude, if you dont know what your camera can do within a year... you might as well let someone else make better use of it... or just not get a DSLR and cheapen the art that is photography...

Conclusion?

I'd rather perform a self lobotamy than shoot a Canon DSLR again... enough said...