Been crazy busy with work and a few other things the past few weeks.  Sadly that has caused me to miss my goal of doing a Shot and a Thought weekly.  Also adding to the delay is that I am about to head back to Canada for seven weeks.

The upcoming trip leaves me in a blue funk that tends to take over just before going somewhere.  As much as I love traveling, the process of packing, arranging and flying are things I just can’t stand.  I am very much in the middle of these blahs right now.  I should be finishing my packing, calling friends back home, making plans and who knows what other type of productive activity.  Rather than doing those though, I sit in front of my computer and procrastinate.  I know I will get the stuff done, but I can’t get up the energy to take care of things and have the cloud lifted.

Even once the bags are packed, calls made and organizational details are taken care of, the worst is yet to come.  I hate airports.  I hate airplanes.  I hate changing planes.  I hate the grime that seems to cover my body after spending the better part of a day in transit.  I hate, I hate, I hate.  I should be able to focus on the great holiday that my family and I will have, but for now it is the doldrums before the event for me.

Like Joe Wash says, “I can’t complain, but sometimes I still do…”

My next post will almost certainly be of a much, much happier tone.  Once wheels are down in Vancouver, the malaise will be a thing of the past.  There is so much fun to be had and so much to look forward to.  See ya then.

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four,  Part Five & Part Six

There is nothing worse than a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept. - Ansel Adams

While I certainly am not qualified to debate photography with Saint Ansel, I actually think he could have shuffled things around a bit and come up with a more accurate assessment.   My take would be more along the lines of “There is nothing better than a fuzzy image of a brilliant concept.” Far too often, photographers worry more about sharpness than content in their images.  I most certainly am guilty of this myself.  I have long ranted about an overemphasis on sharpness when it comes to lenses, but it is even more true when it comes to actual photographs.  The sharpness of a photo is rarely directly related to the quality of that photo.

What I am talking about is not blurred photos due to bad technique, or inappropriate shutter speeds, but of photos that are at least partially blurred because of movement in the photo (and sometimes from the camera as well).

What blur does very effectively is to infuse movement into what can’t help but be a still photo.  Once you are capturing movement, you are catching something that is happening, an event, not just a static scene.

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On Saturday, I met up with David, Mark and Todd in Taichung for a photowalk.  It was a great day, lots of photo talk and some great weather.

Mark had a really good idea in that we should each make a blog post which highlights our favourite photos from the other shooters.  Here are my choices, as well as photos of the photographer in question.

First, the organizer himself, Mark.

And his photo,

This is the Luce Chapel and I really liked both Mark’s use of symmetry and his filmlike post processing in making an eye catching shot.

Next, is Todd.

And his photo,

Todd says that this was more or less a hip shot, but his composition worked out well, I think the slant and the moving scooter make for a pretty dynamic shot.  Like Mark, I like how Todd has given this a filmlike look in PP.

Finally, there is Dave.

and here is his photo,

This kid was cute and I like how Dave caught the kid looking back at his parents for encouragement.  Without his parents, no way would he get so close to the cow.

It was a great day and always good to meet up with photographer friends.  A special thanks to Mark for putting things together.  Hope we can do it again sometime soon.

This shot came to mind while I was on a bit of a photo walk in Taichung yesterday with David Reid, Mark Forman and Todd Alperovitz.  Both the photo and the thoughts are from a few years ago.

You see these paths in many of the parks here in Taipei. They are some rounded, smooth, blackish rock set into concrete. I believe the idea boils down to accupressure; when you walk on them, you stimulate certain nerves and it will cure what ails ya.

In theory, this is all very nice and good, healthy too. In practice, this amounts to a self induced torture. The stones are smooth, but they are sparse enough that they don’t support much of your foot, so when you step down, they put quite a lot of pressure on a small area. Being rocks, they are tough buggers too, nothing soft about their caress. It just hurts like bloody hell, I have never managed much more than about 10 meters before having to bail out. As an insult to my pride, I feel very awkward when walking on this little mounts of hell too. Even though they are laid out in an even height, once you get on them, balance seems to be out of the question. Hence, not only am I in pain, I embarass myself, staggering as though I have downed dozens of beers.

The oddest thing about these areas of torture is that there are actually people who seem to enjoy it. I watched this guy cover hundreds of meters, with far more grace and far less grimacing than I will ever be able to accomplish. I guess my western tootsies are just too tender.

A little over a year ago, I was lucky to come across a celebration at a temple very near my home.  Well, yesterday the blaring traditional horns and explosive fireworks let me know that something was happening again.  Following a short parade, they ended up back at the same temple. I was told they were celebrating the temple’s anniversary; I am not sure why there was year and a few weeks between the events.  I am guessing it is due to following the Lunar Calendar.

This will be a pretty photo heavy post, not really much commentary I need to add.  I will separate the shots between those taken during the performance and those taken in the preparation area backstage.

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