Zen of Tofu

This year has gone by really fast for me, and the lack of school at the end of the year is an entirely new experience. I was too young to even remember when last I was off school in November to December. Due to the strike at YorkU, there simply won’t be any more academic activities until 2009. Who knows when in January that this strike will even be over?!

I’m planning on getting out more with the camera so I can get some nice winter shots. Winter is a time that lots of photographers get discouraged because it’s so cold out, but with decent gloves, it shouldn’t be a big deal. I hope to go to the museum at the very least before this year is over. That’ll be a full day of shooting for sure. My memory card holds approximately 400 RAW images at the maximum megapixels of my 350D. Nothing to complain about. I do have a second card as well that holds only 135 RAW shots, but overall I should have enough memory for the day.

Anyone have lens recommendations for a walkaround lens in a museum? I’m going to carry my 50mm f/1.8 and my 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lenses. At least I have a wide-angle option for shooting big objects from a short distance and a large aperture option for when I want to get selective with the depth-of-field.

I should be posting more often as I am on a “working-holiday” so I’ll keep you updated on my holidays! Cheers!

written by tofu \\ tags: Photography

Hey everyone, I’ve just finally setup my little gallery of photos that I’m currently proud of shooting. I have posted them up on a separate page found here.

Check it out and leave comments about what you think!

*Note* Once you’ve clicked on one of the photos, you can use your keyboard keys to cycle through them.

written by tofu \\ tags: Photography

As the regular readers may already know, I acquired a Canon dSLR recently. I’ve been putting it to good use with the family vehicles and the backyard garden lately, and I just got a new bag and higher capacity Compact Flash card.

I’m still using my simple Canon 50mm F/1.8 II lens, and it has definitely not made me lazy on my feet for composing my shots. Several times I found myself either flat on the ground or wishing I was a few inches taller so I can peek through the viewfinder to take a shot that I thought would be interesting.

The new bag I got for my dSLR was a LowePro top-loading bag with room for a body with lens attached, a spare lens and room for charger and extra cards. These all-weather bags are great. Every photographer in the field swears by them. They keep your gear dry, fire proof, and cushioned from bumps or bangs. These bags are worth every penny and it’s even more motivation to get out in the field and fill up my new Flash Card.

I’ve been trying to use my inspiration and motivation for photography to get out in the field and take shots. The biggest problem is I’m a bit shy behind the lens still, and I’m trying to give myself no excuse to not take a shot. I need to develop the charisma to be more inclined to take shots as soon as I see the shot compose, but at the same time I need to be careful of what and who I photograph. I think it should be a photographer’s motto to delete shots that could offend the subject upon their request, and especially to offer to let the subject(s) see the shots after taking them.

I’ll be continuing to take my shots and putting this dSLR to good use. Wish me luck!

written by tofu

I’m one excited guy! After tons of research, forum browsing, and website browsing I finally decided to take the plunge to buy a digital SLR camera. Despite the prestige of Nikon SLR cameras, I decided to go for a Canon; more specifically the Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D). It’s an 8MP wonder! But of course all those megapixels won’t do me any good if I didn’t have a good lens to accompany the camera body. So along with the camera body, it also came with the “must-have” lens of every photo enthusiast, that is the 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. Not only cheap, but very effective!

I look forward to using the camera a lot, and taking advantage of its capabilities. It’s amazing how much of a difference an SLR makes when compared to a point-n-shoot, or even a full-featured camera. I may also be adding a photo gallery section to the site provided I find the time to set it up in between snapping shots, and keeping up with my studies! I’m thinking of trying templates in Flash but we’ll see just how much time I have.

written by tofu