August 2008 Archives (7 posts)
2008 TIFF Picks
The Toronto International Film Festival starts this week. I’ll be seeing a bunch of films this year ranging from Steven Soderbergh’s epic, Che, to Darren Aronofsky’s film about an aging wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke.
I’m a sucker for Guy Ritchie films so I’m going to see RocknRolla even though it hits theatres next month. The midnight madness screening of JCVD should be an interesting one — Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself.
Here is a list of my picks and times. Click on the film to get more information from the TIFF website.
JCVD
THU 09/04/2008 11:59pm
Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself in this action comedy.
RocknRolla
FRI 09/05/2008 11:45am
Guy Ritchie’s latest gangster film.
It Might Get Loud
FRI 09/05/2008 09:15pm
A documentary film that examines the unique styles of three guitarists — The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.
Genova
SUN 09/07/2008 08:30pm
Director Michael Winterbottom’s “mood piece” set in Italy. The visuals of Genova alone will make this an interesting film for me.
Lymelife
MON 09/08/2008 09:30pm
Derick Martini’s first film as a director. Stars Alec Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton, Cynthia Nixon, Emma Roberts.
The Wrestler
TUE 09/09/2008 12:00pm
Darren Aronofsky directs Mickey Rourke as an aging wrestler. Sounds like perfect casting to me.
Me and Orson Welles
THU 09/11/2008 09:00pm
Directed by Richard Linklater. If it has anything to do with Orson Welles then I’m interested.
Che
FRI 09/12/2008 09:00am
Steve Soderbergh’s epic film about Che Guevara played by Benicio Del Toro. This screening is a whopping 4 hours and 22 minutes showing Che (Part 1) and Che (Part 2).
The Ghost
SAT 09/13/2008 10:00am
The Ghost (Domovoy) is a Russian thriller. I know nothing about its Armenian director, Karen Oganesyan, or the principal cast. This was one of those random picks.
Posted in 2008 TIFF at 10:04 AM | Comments (1)
Induro Tripods, Ballheads and Plates
Based on a positive review by Michael Reichmann at Luminous Landscapes I purchased an Induro AX214 tripod to replace my older Manfrotto 190CLB. After a week of shooting I have a few observations about tripods, ballheads and camera plates.
Induro AX214 Tripod
In hindsight, it was a mistake to get the compact model with 4 leg sections instead of 3. When you have to extend the legs for the 40th time on a 4 hour hike, you’ll wish the tripod had 3 leg sections, not 4.
When fully extended, the Induro AX214 is 65.8 inches high which puts my Canon 5D right at eye level —Â great for set up. I would have done better to get a tripod with 3 leg sections that measure the same height for faster setup. 3 leg sections are also sturdier than 4.
Induro gives you a really nice carrying case and strap. Also included is a wrench and replacement feet for different terrain. Nice touch.
A standard bubble level is built into the top plate of the tripod along with a compass. I found the compass to be a useful in terms of predicting exactly where the sun was going to rise and set. For some reason Michael Reichmann thought it was “a real bit of silliness that should be removed on the tripod’s next iteration”. And I thought I sometimes sound a bit elitist. Sheesh!
The rubber grip leg locks are easy to rotate when you need to extend the leg sections. Reviews indicate that the construction here is better than Gitzo’s tripods. Occasionally I found that the smallest leg section was difficult to lock (it just kept turning). This would result in the tripod leg collapsing while framing a photo. Very frustrating. My advice is to stay away from tripods with 4 leg sections.
The adjustable angle leg locks are a breeze to use and nicely designed. The rubber tripod feet are interchangeable with metal spike feet (included). Make sure you use the wrench that is provided and tighten the feet to the legs. I lost one in Lake Ontario. Luckily Vistek replaced it free of charge.
Induro SA12 Ballhead
I also found that the ballhead would move slightly just before it was completed locked into place.I needed something with better ergonomics and more precision which is why I upgraded almost immediately.
Induro DM01 Ballhead
Unfortunately there are two things wrong with it:
- The Positive Locking Quick Release System becomes loose over time (sometimes a matter of minutes while hiking)
- The quick release plate that comes with the ballhead completely sucks
Slippery Camera Plates
I’m going to continue using my Induro tripod and resist the urge to switch to an expensive Gitzo tripod. I think that the Induro ballheads could be better if they had a better camera plate that didn’t come loose so easily.
Really Right Stuff
Posted in Photography at 11:33 PM | Comments (1)
No more steak for Satchmo
Our dog Satchmo is a cockapoo and he loves steak. Last night I fed him a few pieces of steak which he loves. It’s now Sunday afternoon and every 5 minutes he drops silent but deadly cockapoo stink bomb that makes my eyes water.
No more steak for this doggy.
Posted in Observations at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)
2008 Northern Ontario Photos
I posted 14 new photos on Bombippy Photos from my northern Ontario trip. I’ll be posting more in the coming week as well as a review of my Induro tripod and head.
Posted in Photography at 2:34 PM | Comments (6)
Photography in Northern Ontario
I camped at the southern end of the park in Agawa Bay. The Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 17) takes you to the north end of the park in less than an hour but in between are an endless choice of trails, lakes, waterfalls, valleys and rugged coastline to photograph.
Every trail and location I visited was more impressive than the last. Each of these locations was never more than 10-20 minutes apart which is astonishing when you consider that you can drive for hours across Ontario without the landscape changing very much. The close proximity of trails, coves, and scenic lookouts is perfect for the photographer that wants to shoot multiple locations in a morning or evening.
If it was raining at the north end of the park I was able to travel south for 30 minutes where I had perfect conditions for an 8 km hike. Some of the coves had strong mist and fog in the mornings but if you travelled north 10 minutes you had warm morning light. Incredible.
Killarney Provincial Park was equally as impressive but much of the park is only accessible by canoe. I hiked the Chikanishing Trail and the Tar Vat Trail out of Killarney and plan to return to explore some of the trails in the park.
Recollet Falls on the French River was a short 3 km hike and a great way to start my trip. At the end of my trip on my way back to Toronto I stopped in at Killbear Provincial Park (just north of Parry Sound). This park was a huge disappointment because of the number of visitors, the litter, the graffiti on the rocks, the barking dogs and the underage kids drinking on the rocks. It was if somebody took the Beaches neighbourhood in Toronto and dropped it in Georgian Bay — not what I expected.
I have about 700 photos to go through and will start posting them on Bombippy Photos when I get a chance but for now I have have a backlog of JAK Media work to get through
Posted in Photography and Travel at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)
Killarney and Beyond
I was planning to take a photography trip down to the Bay of Fundy and Prince Edward Island but changed my mind. One week isn’t nearly long enough to explore this part of the country.
I was in a Chapters bookstore when I came across three books that completely changed my mind:
- Georgian Bay: A Photographer’s Wonderland
- Paddling And Hiking The Georgian Bay Coast
- Wilderness Ontario
I didn’t buy them from the store. I went home and ordered them online at chapters.indigo.ca for 34% off and had them delivered to my door. Amazon.ca didn’t have any of these books in stock and seems to be hopeless at having anything in stock these days.
I’ve been poring over these books of the Georgian Bay coast and northern Ontario. My goal is to shoot some coastal landscapes for a week. Why go all the way to the east coast when I can visit the old stomping grounds of the Group of Seven?
I plan to visit Recollet Falls on the French River, Killarney Provincial Park and Lake Superior Provincial Park. I’ll camp along the way and scout locations during the day for morning and evening shoots.
It won’t be much of a holiday. Getting up at 5 AM and going to bed well after sunset doesn’t leave a lot of room for sleep but it beats working on websites. I’m looking forward to dusting off the Canon 5D and creating some landscape photos for a change.
Posted in Photography and Travel at 10:45 PM | Comments (1)
Cigars and Coffee
The “lovely” made it back safely from Managua in Nicaragua and that means two things: I just had my best cup of coffee ever with a fabulous cigar from Joya De Esteli.
The coffee is a full bodied, smooth roast from Café Las Flores and it tastes incredible! An instant favourite. The cigar is incredibly fresh and smells amazing. It feels like Christmas morning for this web designer.
Posted in Food and Observations at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)
