Saturday, November 29, 2008

Canoscan 4400f or 'cool cat lodge'






I needed to scan a recent Readers Digest cover for my portfolio and decided I might as well buy a cheap scanner. Got a Canoscan 4400f for $99 and it scans film too!! I've been having fun going through old b&w negatives. Check these out!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

1981?



Holy mackerel!! My early days at the Chronicle Herald. 
Could that be Trevor Berbick landing a punch? That's my co-worker Kerry Delory with the old Nikons across the mat. And that is me, above, on Birmingham St. leaning on the company Honda. We worked 10 days on and 4 off at a very low wage. On weekends we were on call 48 hrs. and had no pager let alone cell phone.  Notice the cigarette and the top of an old wet cell potato masher flash sticking out of the camera bag on the hood of the car. Wowzer! Were those the days or what?

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tell No One - go see this movie!

This is a really really good film. See here for nytimes review.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Havana & The Bank of Nova Scotia






First snow last night. Horizontal snow - yippee! Makes me think of Havana. What a town. Bet you didn't know there was a Bank of Nova Scotia in Old Havana. Last time I was there the Cubans were restoring it.

If you haven't been there I'd suggest going soon, what with Fidel on his way out and Obama in the USA, things are bound to change in Cuba. Forget the resorts. Who wants to go all that way to spend time with drunk Canadians? Instead go to Havana! Stay with my friend Orlando at www.taniamiguel.com  Its cheap, safe and centrally located in a tourist free neighborhood within walking distance to all the interesting places like Old Havana, the Melecon, the Capitol and the cigar factories.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Cool desktop software - earth desk


Here's a very cool real time desktop satellite image. Watch clouds, sun, moon and city lighting. Track a hurricane in real time. How cool is that! You can customize it to a degree too.
Here is the link: http://www.xericdesign.com/

Monday, November 17, 2008

High ISO, or Afra Point Zero



That's a toothpick in his hair.

iso 1600, canon 5D, 35mm 1.4 wide open.

In The Gambia someone will eventually say 'let's go get some afra', (grilled lamb). This gets everyones attention and the voices get louder and everyone starts talking at once. Lots of opinions as to where to get the best. We ended up driving kinda far as I recall and there were some issues as to where this place was. Down a long dark road were two afra shacks, one on each side of the road. Nothing else around. We bought food from both places. Tasty but tough. A Canadian food inspector would have a nervous breakdown if they walked into one of these places.

I love the files from the 5D and Canon's fast prime lenses. These pics were taken in very low light. I wish Canon would make a full frame point & shoot with a 35mm 1.4 lens. Why do they continue to make these crappy zoom lenses!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I need a coffee


I'm learning to make espresso. I had no idea this underworld of espresso geeks existed and here I am becoming one. It all started when my friend Edmund Fung gave me his 10 year old Gaggia espresso machine. He of course was upgrading to an HX, (heat exchanger), semi commercial unit. Pulling good espresso is truly an art, even with an $800 machine to help you out. Who knew! A good shot looks a lot like you just poured a Guinness. You can't spend too much on a grinder, probably the most important link in the chain, An acceptable medium to low end grinder will run you around $350. Save me...!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Pancho Quinto, a homage to my friend. 1933 - 2005


Master bata drummer, innovative rumbero, dock worker, teacher, Pancho has influenced thousands of musicians and positivley impacted Cuban folkloric music. I met Pancho in Halifax while he was touring with Jane Bunnett. Nova Scotia and Havana Cuba have history. We traded rum and salt cod and god knows what else a century or more ago. As people we still share something. We get along well. Even our Govt's agree to get along. Canadian tourists love Cuba and Cubans love Canadians.

My Cuban Canadian friend Alberto deCosta said to me those years ago, "when an old man invites you to his house in Cuba he means it". So I went to Havana with an address and a healthy sense of adventure. Thanks to an internet chat group I had agreed to take cymbals to a salsa/timba/jazz drummer on this trip.  I arrived and made contact with Giraaldo Piloto. the leader of Klimax who at the time I had never heard of. When Piloto came to my hotel to pick up his cymbals he asked if there was anything he could do for me while I was visiting Havana. I said hell yeah, can you give me a drive to this address? We got in his car and drove and drove and drove. My first real tour through Havana neighborhoods. I noticed when we got stuck in traffic people were yelling to us. Hey Piloto! Bla bla bla!I had no freaking idea just how famous my driver was!

Pancho lived way up on Calle 10 de Octobre in Lawton, a densely populated neighborhood of Havana. Visits to the house were always a blast. Celebratory meals were always arranged. Beans and rice, pork, shrimp, salad and sometimes lobster. These were Christmas like meals. All day cooking and hanging out. Then we'd go to a rumba. Now I have to say I had a real interest in Cuban rumba. I was learning to play the parts on my congas back home in Halifax. What I didn't know was that my tour guide in the Havana scene was one of the most famous and influencial rumberos in Cuba! Honest to god I did not know. My relationship with Pancho grew over the years with my frequent visits. Always the big meal and a rumba and a tambor de santo. For ten years I visited, often twice a year and once he had the opportunity to visit me in Halifax. By god we put a meal together hoping to come close to the dozens of feasts we had in Havana. We even played a little bata.

I last saw Pancho a few months before he died. He had already had a major stroke and he could hardly speak. It was a good but difficult visit. 

He was mischievious and full of positive energy. I will miss him always.


Monday, November 10, 2008

Letting go


I'm finally letting go of a bunch of film that's been sitting around. I've been shooting digital for 7 or 8 years now. Love it too. Spent a fortune on 8 or 9 Canon digital cameras in that time and all the computers and software etc. that goes with it. Most recently purchased Canon's flagship 1Ds mark 3. Check the price of that body at Vistek!