January 2009

It was a very last minute trip, but I just got back from two days in Seattle. Less than 24 hours after returning from my Christmas trip home to visit my family, I was departing on another mini-adventure with my friend Jordan.

It was a very casual and enjoyable trip. We left Friday night and had no real agenda for the weekend. The main objective was to visit some of Jordan’s friends from Victoria who just happened to have gone down to Seattle for New Year. Jordan and I managed to be staying in separate hotels thanks to the somewhat random nature of Hotwire, the online hotel booking service. Cheap, but you don’t know which hotel until after you pay. That aside, we were close enough that it wasn’t an issue.

Friday night we arrived fairly late, but that didn’t stop us from joining Jordan’s friends for drinks on Capitol Hill. At one point I left Jordan and his male friend’s out drinking to walk the women back to their hotel (which was the same as mine as it turned out). Saturday involved a lot of walking. I started off on my own taking some photos. Then I met up with Jordan and we walked to Pike Place Market where we met everyone else for brunch. Afterwards we made a slow climb through Seattle until we got to the REI flagship store. Massive. After that coffee, then more shopping. More walking, Starbucks, walking, shopping, then back to the hotel. After some relaxing and napping, we met up for dinner at Wild Ginger a location recommended by Jordan’s friends. It was really quite tasty. If you like a variety of Asian cuisine, then this is certainly a restaurant worth trying.

Jordan’s friend were leaving early Sunday, so we were on our own. After brunch in an Irish pub called Fadó, we decided to do Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour. I highly recommend this if you are visiting the city. Not only do they regale you with the history of the city, but they do it in a pleasantly funny manner. Then you are taken to three different parts of the old underground. It is quite fascinating. After the tour we collected our stuff and headed towards the border. We stopped at a Target along the way for a bit of cross-border shopping. Unfortunately the worst part of the trip was the insane snow/sleet/freezing rain storm we hit just after crossing back into Canada. There were cars stuck spinning their tires all over the place. There were definitely a few hairy moments, but we all made it back safely. Despite this city’s lack of preparedness and inability to drive in this weather, we didn’t see any accidents. A few stuck cars yes, but nothing more really. I’m sure that there will be, or has been some issues, but I hope that people have enough sense to stay off the roads if at all possible.

You can see my photos from the weekend on Flickr.

I have finally finished going through my photos from Christmas. Actually I haven’t, but the ones from the 21st to the 27th I have, and those are the ones which I uploaded not too long ago. Hopefully this satisfies those family members who were anxious to see them.

On another photography related matter, I have recently (as of today) assembled what I am dubbing the ultimate tripod. Instead of buying increasingly expensive tripods as I grow into my hobby more and more, I took the advice of Thom Hogan and went all out right from the start. I’ve already added them to my gear page, but the ingredients that went into this tripod are as follows:

• Induro CX-214 Carbonflex 8X tripod legs — carbon fiber for reduced weight since I tend to fly my stuff around a lot. I went with a four section leg because of size as well. It is far more stable than what I had before so I can’t comment versus the three-section. It also has a center column which can be mounted horizontally for some pretty cool setups. It also allows for some very low shots if necessary.
• Really Right Stuff BH-55 LR Ballhead — the cadillac of ball heads. This guy is expensive but fully impressive. Rated at 50 lbs, it is more than capable of handling anything I can throw at it. I also got the quick release lever clamp for it.
• Really Right Stuff B50D-L L-Plate — this is the complement to the quick release clamp, the quick release L-plate. Custom fitted to the Canon 50D, this plate allows for the camera to be mounted in landscape and portrait orientation without repositioning the ball head. Brilliant. Great for panoramas.

The only other thing that I’m debating is getting a macro rail from Really Right Stuff as well. I was very impressed not only with the incredible quality of their equipment, but the service I received as well. I had trouble putting my payment through on their website, so I called them and they acknowledged there were some issues and offered to complete my order over the phone. So I told them what I wanted and gave my card details. I asked for the slightly more expensive UPS Express shipping because it was coming from California and the more expensive shipping usually includes free brokerage (making it overall cheaper). Not a lie, I had my merchandise 24 hours later. Seriously impressive.

Overall this combined tripod allows for rock solid positioning of my camera pretty much anyway I want.

No, not a review of a Robert Ludlum book, instead, this is a quick photo of my new lens. The Sigma 10-20mm ƒ/4-5.6 EX DC USM lens is what is known as an ultra-wide angle lens. With an full-frame-equivalent range of 16-32mm, this allows for a wider perspective photo than the human eye itself can see clearly at once. What this does is allow for much more depth and richness to be added to your photo. If you compose well.

The debate that I mention in the title was actually how torn I was between this lens and the Sigma 15mm ƒ/2.8 Fisheye EX DG lens. Very similar price points (on sale at Broadway Camera) with the fisheye being a tad more. I poured over literally hundreds of images taken with both lens on Flickr and at one point I was pretty convinced I would get the Fisheye. In the end though, because of the way I shoot, I figured that the rectilinear 10-20mm was a better choice.

And of course, what was the first thing I did when I got it home? I took photos of it in my makeshift product light box. Although as fate would have it, I’ve stumbled across another set of products from Lastolite—this time more lighting stuff, and I must say, I’ve got some items in my Vistek cart at the moment. This is all part of my stocking up on all items I might want over the next year in Bermuda, since getting new gear there will be much trickier.

It has been nine months in the making, but I’m actually leaving Vancouver. I am returning to Bermuda to continue work on a project I am currently involved with. A year in Bermuda, there could be worse things that is for sure. The weather this winter in Vancouver has been nothing short of awful (for Vancouver anyway) and so warmer shores are not unwelcome. I will likely have a flight arranged by the time I get to work tomorrow. I am leaving the night of the 24th, overnighting to Toronto and then heading to Bermuda early on the 25th. That gets me there in time for my immigration medical exam on the 26th.

Much needs to be done in the next eleven days to get my affairs in order. I need to squeeze all of my belongings back into suitcases, donating and selling those items which don’t make sense to bring with me. Backing up files, organizing papers and let’s not forget saying good-bye. No one wants to leave good friends behind, but it is a grim part of reality for someone nomadic like myself. Not to say some last minute memories can’t be made.

I’m sure there will be more updates and more photos as the relocation process continues, stay tuned.

Ten months ago I arrived in this city, fresh to the west coast, my life consisting of four bags and the promise of new beginnings. Well I did begin—begin to plan to leave again. Now as I try to repack my life into four bags, I realize that I did expand into my surroundings. I am at least going to take five bags this time, and they will likely be bigger bags, most of them. Obviously the camera bag is much bigger as I have grown my gear exponentially since leaving Bermuda last. I do have bags for that to carry on. Although I continue to enjoy collecting bigger and better lenses, I must be wary not to get more than I can carry onto an airplane when I need to completely relocate myself.

But as I spend some time tonight trying to do a bit of pre-packing, I just don’t know how I managed to get all of my stuff into those bags. I know I have purchased a number of items and so I think I’m going to need to purge the old and weak articles to charity shops. It is a good exercise. I notices today that I have some old t-shirts which I don’t wear but seem to carry for sentimental reasons. I think it is time I said goodbye to those (after preserving their memory in photos).

The worst isn’t the clothes, but the host of random items I have sitting on top of my table and dresser. The dresser is particularly bad, there is actually a defined mound that is growing in the centre. My landlady is showing my apartment tomorrow at 11:30, so I have a hard deadline in terms of when I need to have this place looking presentable. It definitely isn’t there yet, but it is way better than when I got home from work. At some point tomorrow morning I will just shove everything into my storage room and shut that door. Until then I continue to pack and clean and sort. Cheers.

That’s right. My apartment is now clean, but I’m still not packed, having spent the day running errands. Tomorrow is booked up too. It is going to be a busy week. I don’t expect there will be more updates until I get to Bermuda. Well, maybe one more to say goodbye next Saturday. One week to go.

There is something about 22 January that just causes people to be born. But seriously, a quick shout out to my brother Devon who I have learned is now the proud possessor of a Learners driving permit. Happy sweet sixteen!

Also born today: my friend Chris, and my coworkers Olivia and Reza. We’re not sure what Reza’s birthday is actually, but apparently today is as good a guess as any. Happy birthday guys.

Quick update: I’m not completely packed, but I’m close. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get it all down like I hoped in my suitcases. Might have to ship a box in addition to my computer. Running out of time, but I think it will work out.

72, 76, 91, 106

That is the progression of me getting better at bowling throughout the night. This was ten-pin bowling mind you, which I have never played before. Those bowling balls are quite heavy. I actually learned a lot about bowling in the past couple of days in the process of planning this last event out with my coworkers and friends. Apparently the most common type of bowling in Canada is five-pin bowling which I have never played before. As the name suggests, it uses five pins and a smaller ball. There are other slight variations on the rules but otherwise it is similar to the full ten-pin which is most popular in the US and UK. While the five-pin is the most dominant form in Canada, in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia it isn’t. In Quebec it is Duckpin bowling and in NB and NS, it is Candlepin bowling. Given that growing up, the only place that I’ve ever bowled was in either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, you can see why I’ve never played five or ten-pin.

And the rules of Candlepin are different enough that I would have been quite confused as to the rules of ten-pin but for the training I received from the Nintendo’s Wii Sports. I’ve played that bowling, in fact I was playing it the night before, which uses the ten-pin rules. So I knew that there would only be two balls per frame. What I didn’t realize, since in the Wii version I assumed this was a function of being a video game, was that after each ball, the fallen pins are cleared. This is not the case in Candlepin where fallen wood can be quite helpful in getting awkwardly arranged pins down. Apparently Candlepin is much harder, which I might agree with because I don’t think I’ve ever broken 100 in Candlepin, and the highest sanctioned score ever was 245 out of 300.

Enough about bowling though. It was a great afternoon and evening with way too much food had by me anyway. Pizza in the office—way more than we needed—and then the need to by food with our drinks at the bowling alley. Of coursed being stressed out about my move, I consumed more than might be considered wise. However, the evening was amazing. Good friends, good times. I will miss the Vancouver office so much. I feel that part of my being is in those… cubicle dividers… :). I watched it grow, and along with it, the number of great people I am happy to call friends. Jordan, Reza, Ken, and Pero, I will miss our weekend excursions and lunches. At least now you will be able to add more seafood and sushi into your rotation. Of course, I will still be in close contact electronically, but it isn’t the same. All the best.

This won’t be long, I’m on my blackberry at the airport, but I made it alright.

Not made it to Bermuda, yet, but made it through the monumental task of completely sorting out all of my stuff and somehow packing it to head back to the tiny island in the Atlantic. If I knew how difficult this was going to be, I would have been a bit more hesitant to agree to it.

I think the problem was that I didn’t have my mother to help me this time. While my friends have been helpful above and beyond the call of duty—especially Jordan—they just aren’t the same as my mom there helping out. Mom: if and when I leave Bermuda, you might find a ticket with your name on it for the week before I leave. :)

Okay, this is longer than I anticipated. Good bye Canada, this time I have no plans to return.

To everyone I didn’t email directly, I wanted to say that I made it safely to Bermuda.

It is a tiring journey since the flight is overnight from Vancouver and there is a loss of four hours. The place I am staying is quite nice, albeit older. It is also bigger than my last place both in Bermuda and in Vancouver. I’m not sure what to do with that. Despite the space, seeing as how it is a cottage, there isn’t much in terms of desk space for a computer. Since I have my beautiful iMac on its way down, that is a slight concern. The lack of good desk space however, has plagued me at home for the past couple of years. It isn’t as much of a problem given that I don’t do that much work at home, but it would be nice to have a more appropriate spot to sort out my photos. Another concern here is the dampness. Everything in my cottage is wet. I’m not sure if that is a factor of it not being inhabited for a couple of weeks or just a fact of where it is. As such I am concerned for the well-being of all of my electronics. I will be keeping my camera at the office, along with my laptop, but my iMac I will have at home. I might take the advice of a coworker and get it insured—apparently Bermuda is good for that.

Anyway, after this week, which I’m sure will be quite unusual, and I get a chance to settle in a bit, I will hopefully resume posting photos.