Question #3

How often do you leave home without at least one camera?

Ha, at least this one's easy. I may go shopping without it, or to a coffee bar, but otherwise I hardly ever leave without a camera. Now, I don't carry my DSLR to work or on errands but my little one is almost always at hand. However, no trip or vacation passes without taking the DSLR with me.

I wasn't asked this but I'll add it here. I find motives almost everywhere but for some reason don't like photographing humans, especially not at social events. Nature has always been my favourite subject, from landscape to macro and everything in between.

Question #2

If money were no object, what would be your dream photography equipment?

I have no idea.

No, really... I could have said Canon 1D MKIII with an array of L class lenses and home-made studio with whatever is required for an ideal lighting but, frankly, with my current photographic knowledge all that would probably be a complete waste.

So, perhaps, I should start with what I have now and consider what might be useful for me in the near future.

My current DSLR body is Canon EOS 400D also known as Digital Rebel XTi. I would like to upgrade it to Canon EOS 50D; perhaps later on to the full-frame Canon 5D.

I own three lenses at the moment which more or less cover my basic needs:
1. The universal Canon EF_S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
2. Telephoto Canon EF 70-300mm F/4.5-5-6 DO IS USM
3. Macro Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

I wouldn't mind adding a fish eye for fun effects, an extreme wide angle lens, like Canon EF-S 10-22mm, then perhaps a fixed 50 or 85mm fast lens (like, f 1.4) and an L class telephoto lens with image stabilisation. Then, a macro ring flash and another external flash (I don't have any at the moment).

You have probably noticed I'm a Canon fan. No particular reason for that except that my first digital camera was a Canon and I've been always pleased with it. Also, Canon has a wide array of quality lenses of its own brand so it's easier to build a system.

Question #1

What first sparked your interest in photography?

I think the love of photography has always been present within me but for one reason or another it never really flourished until the digital era.

My first contacts with photography reach way back to my elementary school days. On my request I was given an old Zenit camera and black-and white film but very little came out of that and I'm afraid no photos are preserved from that time. I was still a kid and there were things more important and less embarrassing (or so I thought) than running around with a camera.

The next time my interest in photography was aroused was when I already had a job and wished to record some moments from my life. I got a wide angle point-and-shoot Yashica from a friend and took some very nice photos from my trips with it. Another Yashica followed a few years later, this time with a zoom lens. However, I found having to wait for the films to be developed too tedious. And once a lab ruined two rolls of my film with what I expected to be wonderful photos from a flower exhibition without even apologising for the damage, I was so frustrated I put the camera away for a number of years without ever considering taking a photo again.

However, with the development of digital cameras my interest in photography was rekindled and at the end of 2005 I was given a Canon Powershot A620, a camera I still use and hold dear. I started taking it everywhere with me so that I might capture some special moments if they happen to occur in my presence.

Coming soon

So there's this interview thing (meme?) going on in the blogosphere. To be honest, I'm not keen on being interviewed. I'm not keen on asking other people questions either. But (and that's a big but)... I've seen some of my blog friends do the interview and liked what I read. I was tempted to say yes on a couple of occasions but resisted the temptation. However, I have somehow received my five questions which, as agreed with the interviewer, I am not obliged to answer unless I so chose.

I have always been a rule-breaker as far as online awards and memes are concerned. So, given I have not even officially entered this one, I am going to do it my way. One question, one answer per post. The questions look tame but that doesn't make them any easier to answer.

Alright, so let's go break the ice...

Bored

...with the weather misery we've been having forever and completely uninspired. Today looked slightly better than the above pic suggests but still dismally grey and bleak.

Today

This is what the most appropriate outfit for walking outside today looks like.

(i'm in the middle of an insanely busy week so please bear with me if i'm late with my visits)

Some days...

I feel buoyant

Model

I finally found a model of avian kind that didn't fly away the moment I took out my can(n)on. This seagull gracefully allowed me to walk around it at a distance of about 6-7 metres pointing my telephoto lens at it and clicking away.

Escape

I couldn't bear the dreariness of the frozen land I have to live in anymore and simply had to change the scenery so I picked up my camera, my significant other, sat in the car and drove us to the coast. Not a great distance (just about 75 miles) but a significant change. Much brighter and warmer although there was little sunshine. There was a chilly breeze when we arrived but the wind soon changed and during the short period of calm it felt pleasantly warm.

Wilderness?

Not exactly. This photo as well as the one in the previous post were taken in the park just about 10 minutes' walk from the city centre. But fresh snow covers most signs of human presence and renders the scenery an almost mystical air. However, the low clouds let little light through so the whole world appears monochrome although I haven't altered any of the photos (except for the resize). The effect may be interesting but I terribly miss some blue sky and sunshine.

After the cold came more snow

And with it all the pleasures: the chaos on the roads, slushy and slippery sidewalks because everybody strews salt over the snow rather than shovelling it, dirty pools of snowmelt at every crossing, piles of dirty snow occupying every potential parking space, irregular and overcrowded bus lines, the waterproof boots leaking and more stuff like that.

At least the arctic cold has eased off a bit.

Hide and seek

That's what the sun has been playing with us... hiding behind thick layer of low clouds for most of the time. This picture is from a few days ago, though, when it managed to break through shortly before setting. If nothing else, at least the colours look warm.

The cold continues...

...and the low clouds linger over the valleys, keeping the frigid air below. We are well into the third week of constant sub-freezing temperatures. This winter with its weather patterns is immensely tedious and there seems no end to it.

The flat is still cold although slightly less so (the offices were ok, though). But we have bought an electric heater to make the living at least bearable. Now I'm thinking: should I send the bill to our energy provider, or even the Russians, perchance? If it weren't for the bastards, we wouldn't have to spend on the purchase plus the electricity it will use...

I'm so sick of this cold I could scream!

Baby it's cold outside (inside, too)

The photo may look bright but I can assure you it was mighty cold when I took it.

We've been having sub-freezing temperatures ever since Christmas Eve (if my memory serves me well). Anyhow, we're literally frezing and have been for more than two weeks on end with the temperatures dropping as low as -12 C (my converter says that's about 10F) in the capital,and much lower in some more remote areas. Unofficially a temperature of about -46C (nearly -51F) was measured in one spot known for extreme cold, which is said to be an all-time low ever measured in Slovenia (okay, there were probably temperatures as low or even lower before but nobody cared to measure them).

Now, my dislike of all things cold is no secret. I don't like cold and don't stand it well. So I was unpleasantly surprised when the temperature in my flat, which is centrally heated, dropped to below 17C (62F) a few days ago and the situation hasn't improved since. Since the dispute between Russia and Ukraine the pipelines have been closed down and much of Europe has been experiencing shortages in the gas supply. Allegedly, an agreement has been reached but the gas hasn't started to pour in yet (or so we are told). In spite of the authorities saying households wouldn't be affected by the shortage, the central heating provider has apparently reduced the heating in what is proving to be the coldest beginning of year in the last 20 years if not longer.

So, i'm feeling uncomfortable and my nose is beginning to run and there's nothing I can do but rant about it. I HATE cold!

Watch a birdie!

I initially intended to post one of these photos somewhere else but changed my mind. One reason is, I couldn't decide which photo I liked better: the colour or the black and white. So here are both.

There is one other thing, though. I made a rather essential mistake but that was the only way I could shoot this photo in the first place. It is taken in misty weather without any direct light in a city park during my lunch break so there was no way I could have had my fancy camera with me. So, with my compact Canon, I flashed the birdie which somewhat kills the colours of the bird feeder and the background although it enhances the structure of the blackbird's feathers and adds a sparkle in its eye. I tend never to flash at the wildlife, though, but this shot was an exception, and besides, I think the birds were quite used to the light and noise after the New Year's celebrations.

So we have snow...

Not much, it's true, but it's been cold enough here it doesn't melt away. Moreover, the pond has frozen over and the critters of the avian kind have gone, leaving behind only footprints in the forming ice.

Fire in the sky

Well, the longest night is over, and at times our neighbourhood resembled front lines of a fierce battle. But it was pretty, too... not so easy to capture on camera, though. Anyway, I'm posting a few attempts below.

So we have passed that same point again...

Tonight most of the world will have celebrated the end of something and the beginning of something else in a bout of excess.

But what exactly does end or begin at midnight on New Year's Eve? Not very much, I don't think. In the northern hemisphere the sun set a few seconds later than the day before and will rise a few seconds earlier than the previous morning. So what! Everything looks the same, feels the same: the winter sky (grey and dreary for the most part), the cold, the snow (provided there is any); even the headache and that annoying pain in the joints... and yet, everything is in a constant state of flux. The Earth never pauses on its way around the Sun, it simply passes the same point (more or less) in the trajectory.

And yet, humans have resolved to put and end to one cycle, which they call a year - or whatever its equivalent is in any of the existing languages - so they can start another one with a different number beside it with high hopes for something new, different, better... and resolutions, most of which are bound to fail for one reason or another. And even the moment at which one year should end and another begin is not defined unanimously. The Eastern Orthodox Christians adhere to the Julian calendar, and for them the New Year begins on January 14. The Chinese (Lunar) New Year begins any time between January 21 and February 21. Other peoples celebrate their versions of New Year in March or April, or in fact any time during one turn of the Earth around the Sun.

So, I have to admit, all this leaves me somewhat perplexed. Why is it I have to celebrate and be merry tonight of all the nights? Eat and drink to excess? Wish a happy this, that and the other to all and sundry? Why should tonight's toasts and wishes have a special meaning?

I wish the people I care about well all the time, whether or not I say it out loud (or in writing). And yet, I feel the need to wish these special people (and some a little less special) good health and happiness and prosperity during the next Earth's turn on this very evening.

Happy new year everyone!