3 Observations from the Canon 7D launch

This evening I attended a launch event for the new Canon 7D camera hosted by The Camera Store and Canon. The event was held at Webster Gallery. It was a great venue, great event, great people. Here’s what I learned from the event.

1 - Cameras are awesome

The new 7D is a fantastic Camera. If other technology evolved as fast as camera’s, we’d probably be in flying cars by now. A couple of my favorite features:

• Live-view with histogram: I live and die by the histogram. It would be nice to see one before I shoot the wrong exposure.

• +/- 3.0 EV Exposure compensation: I usually push my exposure beyond the +2.0 on my camera. This might be useful.

There are a lot more features that I probably wouldn't use right now.

2 - Photographers are awesome

There were presentations by a couple of guys who got to try out the camera for 2 weeks. It’s amazing how much there is to learn from other photographers. What’s even more amazing is how readily they share their knowledge.

The first, a landscape photographer, shared tips, tricks and a few breathtaking photos from his ‘field tests’ with the camera. The second, who puts himself in the photojournalist camp, had equally amazing photos – including a few that made the front page of the national news.

3 - Photographers are not artists

I like art, and I like art galleries. I don’t frequent them often as I usually get ‘the look’. The look I got when I walked into the Ferrari showroom in Toronto carrying my shopping from the flea market. The Canon event was a great opportunity to browse around a gallery without being qualified as a potential customer.

What I found interesting was there were no more than 5 other attendees who took more than a cursory glance at the work that surrounded them. The majority of attendees were more interested in the frames-per-second burst in a Canon 30D vs. the 40D or whether it was worth getting aperture for the Mac. It was like poets standing around in a library talking about which pen or word processor to use. Maybe photographers ARE artists, but we sure are a different kind of artist. Or maybe others had better intentions of buying this camera than I did.

the best at what you do

I've started reading strobist recently. A little late in the game but hey, I had to learn how to expose an image first before diving into the lighting craziness.

Anyway, I watched the Chase Jarvis video yesterday. What a lifestyle. Loved the underlying theme of becoming the best at what you do. So that's my message for today folks, whatever's filling your calender these days, make sure you're becoming 1 of the top 10% of what you're working on. Makes you feel alive.

movie time

i'm off to see the new Bourne movie tonight; did a mini-marathon of the first 2 recently to jog my memory.

i think my favorite thing about these movies, even more than the car chases, is seeing all those European locations in one movie. i wish i had a job that afforded me that much travel.

speaking of travel, there's some exciting trips planned for the next few weeks. i'll keep you posted...

'soundtrack to your life' meme

Came up with some good ones. Here’s how it works:

1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every scene, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new scene, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool

01. Opening Credits: Walk Away - Epidemic

02. Waking Up: Satisfaction - Ten City

03. First Day at School: Breathe - Nickelback

04. Falling in Love: Slave Song - Sade (nice one)

05. Fight Song: When you touch me - Brandy (umm, talk about not making war)

06. Breaking Up: Mwari Waive Pano - Max Vidima

07. Prom: [didn't go]

08. Life’s Okay: Mash - J. Dilla (works i guess)

09. Mental Breakdown: Gobstopper - J. Dilla (hey, it's not my fault ipods have a crappy randomizer)

10. Driving: Find Your Way (Back in my life) - Kem

11. Flashback: Take You High - Glenn Lewis

12. Getting Back Together: Don't Speak - No Doubt

13. Wedding: [not yet]

14. Birth of a Child: [not yet]

15. Death Scene: [not yet]

16. Funeral Song: [not yet]

17. End Credits: [not yet]

things I learned in the year 2006

• it's all about people (not companies, information, products, results, brands ...)
• success is temporary
• failure is temporary
• we need less than we think
• we have control of less than we think
• if it's worth a shot, take the shot
• give people a chance, you (they) will be surprised
  
• walk slow. they (it) can wait
• people can (must) change
• life is hard
• life is short
• life is good
  

hsn reloaded

it's been a tough few days. complex problems to solve, complex relationships to maintain, to be honest, i wasn't sure how i was gonna get through it all. however, a well placed break from daily routine, a well timed visit from a special friend, some good reading/music and i'm ready go at it again. as a not so famous commercial put it - "challenged with the insurmountable, we will continue to scale even greater heights".

Adam Smith

"Through the whole of his life he pursues the idea of a certain artificial and elegant repose which he may never arrive at, for which he sacrifices a real tranquillity that is at all times in his power, and which, if in the extremity of old age he should at last attain to it, he will find to be in no respect preferable to that humble security and contentment which he had abandoned for it.

It is then, in the last dregs of life, his body wasted with toil and disease, his mind galled and ruffled by the memory of a thousand injuries and disappointments which he imagines he has met with from the injustice of his enemies, or from the perfidy and ingratitude of his friends, that he begins at last to find that wealth and greatness are mere trinkets of frivolous utility, no more adapted for procuring ease of body or tranquillity of mind, than the tweezer-cases of the lover of toys. " - quoted in Adam Smith, Behavioural Economist by Ashraf et al (2004) from the Theory of Moral Sentiments