Halloween on Church Street

One of the few things I love about living in the big city (being from the wilderness of northwestern Ontario originally) is the diversity.
And craziness.
I joined my local photography club last night to check out Halloween on Church Street.



It was so warped and freaky, that only a fisheye lens could capture it properly.
The costumes were amazing and everyone was so friendly.
I think I've found myself a new annual event.



I've included some pictures on my flickr to tide you over until I have a chance to update my site.

If I could love an inanimate object...

Tested my new F2.8L macro lens.
It has image stability.
The test shots looked fantastic.
Even at F2.8, when there is only a sliver of in focus area, I was able, hand-held, to place the focus right where I wanted it.



And the IS stopped me from blurring the image and from moving the focus point as I shook to take the shot.



Even with a 36mm extension tube, hand-held at F2.8, I was able to maintain the focus right where I wanted.



I am officially in love.
Mini - Darth Vader and Mini - Cylon never looked so good.

Gearhead

So I picked up another lens.



Can you guess which kind?

Images are Up

Ah, a weekend to relax, breath...
...and update the galleries.
The images from my West Africa trip are up.
And I've expanded and updated the rest of my galleries.
Check them out.

Back from West Africa

So, this is a raptor typical of West Africa.



This is what the rear wing of a Piper airplane looks like after such a raptor collides into it during take-off.



And this is what the rear of the fuselage looks like after such a collision (note the crinkled metal on the left side where the tail and fuselage are riveted together).



The impact scared the heck out of me.
Didn't stop the pilot though.
He continued our ascent and flew for over an hour (and up to at least 7000 feet) to our destination.
Even though the plane was warbling the whole way.
Anyway, I have made it back onto Canadian soil and should be posting some images from the trip shortly.
And we all know when I say shortly I mean, well, within the next 3 months.