My Name is Kate

Appreciating the Power of Photo Books with Elephoto

I've never been much of a photographer.  Growing up I had a some low-end point and shoot camera that took Kodak 110 film.  My parents were oddly stingy with the film so I never developed any real proficiency.  I do love my digital camera (a Fujifilm SD2000HD) but because it's digital, I now have the opposite problem - too many photos.  I tend to dump them into iPhoto, pic one or two to post on Flickr or Facebook - or actually email them to family/friends.

I'm also pretty haphazard about organizing pictures people send me.

And by haphazard I mean I look at them, and then file the email in the "Received" folder. And hope that if I ever need to find it again my email's search function is up to the task.

Because of my poor photo-organization skills, I've been a little skeptical of photo books.  I tended to lump them in with my mental category of scrapbookers - something that seemed like a nice thing to do if you had kids but not a realistic goal because it was so time-consuming.

So when Elephoto, a new Canadian photo book service from TPH, offered me a free photo book for trying their service, I was a little hesitant - why would I ever make a photo book? I certainly didn't want to contribute to Emmy Lou's (our Sharpei) princess complex - so no tribute photo book to the dog. 

Since I figured I wouldn't have enough really good photos to create a book all by myself (the basic photo book has 20 pages), I thought it might be nice to do a book for a family member.  So I put out the call to a few other folks and asked them to send me their best pics.

While waiting for them to sort though their photo stash, I went ahead and started my book. Details of the experience:

• At first, the interface was a little clunky. Instead of just clicking a button to start a project, you have to click it and then choose "Next".  Ironically, getting started was the biggest interface hiccup in the process.
• After choosing a size for your book, you choose the theme.  This was a little overwhelming because there are a lot of choices up front.  What I didn't realise was that I could change the theme when I was editing the book as well as choose a single layout from a theme to include in my book.  So, I was able to mix and match layouts from the different themes. This is great because a lot of the themes (e.g. baby, wedding, sport) are graphically quite busy.  I can see having one or two of these layouts in the book, but a whole book of them might be overwhelming.  I really like that you can do this.
• You can also tweak the layout once it's in your book.  You can remove a photo slot from layouts with multiple images, add effects, resize photos, re-layer photos.  Very flexible.  Below I've put before and after shots where I started with the same layout on facing pages and then a shot of how I edited one.

Left and Right Layouts the Same

Right Layout Edited

What else ...

Pssst, buddy, want to win a Fujifilm camera? Get on the F list!

This is one of the reasons I love being a blogger.  Because cool companies give me cool technology to give away to you.

So Fujifilm Canada has created the "F list" - a fun program to get the word out about their digital cameras along with getting visitors to share stories about the Best and Worst gifts they've received and some other holiday themed activities.

Plus they're giving away some Fujifilm digital cameras!

So, there are a few ways to win ...

First, the F list Scavenger Hunt!  The F list team has hidden two Fujifilm S100fs (valued at over $700) in both Vancouver and Toronto.  One of them has been found in Toronto, but neither have been found in Vancouver!  Get on it!  I'm pretty sure I know where location #2 in Vancouver is - see pics below.   Race ya?! 

Second, the Best Gift/Worst Gift photo contests.  Have you had an awesome gift?  What about a less than awesome (some might say, craptastic) gift?  Here's your chance to share your joy or, uh, your un-joy.  You can win a Fujifilm S2000HD (valued at $300) for submitting a photo and getting your friends to vote.  There are winners each week.  Weekly contests end on Saturdays.  Get the deets at the links below.

Enter the Best Gift contest  Enter the Worst Gift contest

Third, instant win! Yeah, I know. Sneaky, eh?  Here's the secret link.  Shhh.  It's just between you and me.  The link takes you to a page where you register for the F list.  Copy the secret code on the page.  You then paste it into a box on the reg page.  It should tell you if you've won or not.  The instant win is for a Fujifilm J100.

Finally .. and you've waited long enough ... you can win a Fujifilm S2000HD from me!  All you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favourite Christmas carol.  I'll give you one entry into my draw. 

If you're really keen ... upload a video somewhere of you singing your favourite Christmas carol (just a line or two, not the whole thing; and if you're camera shy, hide behind a poinsettia).  Work the word "Fujifilm" or "digital camera" in there too.  Then come back here and post the link.  I'll give you 10 entries into my random draw.

You have to leave a comment and/or a video link by NOON PST on Dec 23rd.  I'll do a random draw sometime after that.  I'll post the winner here by Christmas eve.

Winner Update: Well, exploiting your children (and a little extra effort) goes a long way.  DaniGirl's name was pulled out of the jar last night.  Congrats to her!  And many thanks to all of you for playing and to Fujifilm Canada for the prize.  I learned about a number of new holiday songs.  I hope you did too.  In fact, I even made a playlist (many thanks to @digitaljoy who told be about awesome Grooveshark!)  It's below.  It, amazingly, has every song that was mentioned.  I am particularly delighted by the Italian Christmas Donkey song.

Disclaimers: Eligibility - if you read my blog, you're eligible.  If you live outside of Canada and happen to win, we'll figure out how to get you the prize.  By entering you agree to the following: My decision is final.  If my childhood friend Binky happens to win the draw, you can't complain.  You agree that neither I nor Fujifilm are responsible if your comment doesn't get posted or if your video disappears or for any other computer glitch associated with this contest.  You also acknowledge that if you win, you will not receive the camera in time for the holidays so you won't plan on giving it to someone.  Also, if you do win, you agree that I can post your name  here.  And finally, you agree that if you DON'T win and you decide to FREAK OUT about it, Santa WILL put you on the Naughty List.  Permanently.

So, that's it! Try 'em all to win!  But mainly mine b/c I think it will be AWESOME to see a bunch of videos from my friends singing their favourite Christmas carol!!

By the way, aside from all this camera-y goodness, there's actually a bunch of great content over on the F list site.  They have a gift finder (and no, it doesn't recommend JUST Fujifilm cameras).  They also have an F list expert blog where they share cool gift ideas and other gift-related tidbits.  They profile some very cool stores in Toronto and Vancouver as well as the weekly best and worst gift winners.  Plus, they are pretty witty over at the F list.  I leave you with these gems from the post, The Costly Crime of Bad Gifting:

• 8 in 10 people receive gifts that they don't want
• 17% of those people return their gifts just because they don't like them
• the top 2 groups of bad gift givers are parents and spouses
• 38% of bad gift recipients hide their bad gifts
• 31% of surveyed people admitted to re-gifting
• 65% of gifts men give women are returned, never used, or stored in some obscure random location never to be seen again.
• 60% of re-gifters are women
• European research suggests that we give the worst presents to the people we love the most mistakenly believing our tastes are theirs.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Disclosure (for folks who think that product bloggers have hidden agendas): I am not being paid to post about this.  I happen to know the folks who are working with Fujifilm on this promo and they said "Hey, want to give away a camera on your blog?" and I said "Yes.  Yes I do!"

Saturday at Riverdale Farm ... tulips, tulips and more tulips!

Welcome CBC Listeners!

After Andy's much appreciated shout-out this morning on Metro Morning, I thought I should make this entry easier for you to find.  It was originally posted on my "Dramaturge at Home" blog, but now you can find it here.  Enjoy!

Original Post

I listen to CBC in the morning when getting ready for work.  Specifically, Metro Morning with Andy Barrie and company.  On Friday, Andy mentioned Riverdale Farm as a great place to go in the city.  He also mentioned that near there is a slope where the City of Toronto workers take all the tulip bulbs they have dug up from city gardens that don't match the colour scheme and re-plant them here.

In addition to thinking, "Wow, that's a lot of work.  Who cares if the tulips match?" I also thought "Boy, I'd like to see that!" So we looked up Riverdale Farm on Saturday (turns out they were also having their "Rites of Spring Celebration" complete with sheep shearing and wool-carding & weaving demos -- so that appealed to Rose's current knitting obsession) and hopped on the Carlton streetcar.

Saturday was beautiful.  And the tulips were out in full bloom.  I took lots of pictures.  I've put up a Riverdale Farm set on Flickr. The light was perfect.  Some examples:

Thanks, Andy, for a great tip!

Bonus link: Friends of Riverdale Farm.  An organization that wants to enhance the Riverdale Farm Experience.  They run the Farmer's Market on the farm.  They try to keep this website up to date, but it isn't 100% successful.  They should switch to a blog.  Easier to update; could push out a feed, incorporate photos.  FRF - if you want some help starting a blog, contact me.

Tags: toronto, riverdale farm, tulips, andy barrie

The Subtext of Stock Photography

I was recently sourcing an image from GettyOne for an article on home heating tips.  This article contains info about increasing the efficiency of your furnace, making your home better insulated and lowering your thermostat -- all good advice if you're trying to lower your energy bill.  I've been searching for specific images (e.g. a furnace, a thermostat), but the visual style requirements of the site require that people be included in the image.

After trying a variety of specific search terms, I decided to let Getty's "concept search" try to come up with a recommended photo.  As a search, this got reworded as: "Home Interior (Building Structure)" and "Heat (Concepts)"

Browsing through the five pages of results, I saw a number of fireplaces, a couple of thermostats and several shots of a woman with a cold hugging a hot-water bottle.  None of them really surprising (or what I was looking for).  But interspersed though all of these were these pictures of this very happy, congenial, gay couple.  Sitting on the couch with their dog, sitting on the porch, drinking coffee in the kitchen.

I was a bit surprised to see these nice men turn up in my search.  After a bit of digging it turns out that they are filed under "Heat" as a concept.

Seriously?

Maybe two scantily clothed men making out in front of the fireplace.  But two gay stockbrokers with their chihuahua?  Hardly.

Again .. the politics of language and imagery.  As I ranted about in a previous post about language, why is it that "gay" in all of its forms implies a licentiousness or luridness.

On the gay-positive side of things, the above image comes from a collection that Getty carries called Queerstock which is a collection of gay and lesbian stock photography.  They have other great images like this one.  How cute are these gals??

spacing.ca : Capturing Toronto the Good

One of the things I love about living in the "Big Smoke" (aside from all of its colourful nicknames) is that every day can be a new discovery, if you choose to get out there and look.  Same with the Toronto and cyberspace.  Today I discovered spacing.ca, an independent magazine covering Toronto's Urban Landscape.  But its way more than a print magazine.

Spacing has a great blog called SpacingWire full of interesting things that are going on around the city.  I like its tone better than Torontoist, a little more genuine and crunchy-granola (in a good way).

There is also SpacingPhotos, a photoblog with contributions from some of Toronto's great photobloggers.  This month's theme is "Water".

But my favourite thing about spacing is their Subway Button collection.  It is definitely going on my solstice wish list! The photo below is from flickr-ite striatic.

Phenomenal Talent: William Mokrynski

One of my favourite Toronto artists is William Mokrynski.  He is an amazing photographer who experiments with wide-angle shots.  Below is sample of William's work -- a picture of the Antwerp train station.  I love the simplicity of the curves that he captures in this shot.

He has posted a couple of incredible collections of his photos on his site: NASA, a visit to the Kennedy Space Center and Photo Essay of the CNE Midway.  I unfortunately missed Mokrynski's recent exhibits at the Toronto Outdoor Art Show and the Festival Montréal en Arts, and am eagerly awaiting his next show!

Hot Docs redux, pickles on the side ...

A few weeks ago, when standing in line to see Gymnast at HotDocs in Toronto, I was given a pickle by some folks who were promoting the upcoming (at the time) Jewish Film Festival. "They're Kosher!" one young woman assured me.

The pickles were housed end-up in a large rectangular stainless steel container. I must say, on that sunny afternoon, they were quite picturesque. But I didn't take a picture. Mainly because I didn't bring my camera with me (and I still haven't shelled out for a phone camera).

However, a gentleman a few back from me in the line DID have his camera. "Before I take one, let me take a picture. I document everything."

"I document everything." If that isn't the mating-call of a fellow Flickrite, I don't know what is. I turned to ask him if he used Flickr, but I was momentarily distracted by a gaggle of young women tumbling down the sidewalk (I'm in line to see "Gymnast", remember?)

By the time I could see past the cartwheels, the moment passed.

I remembered this incident today and checked on Flickr for pickle pix. Specifically, pickle pix in Toronto.

No such tags found.

I did, however, come across this great photo from VivenChan. These ducks are at a hamburger joint where they give you a great pickle with your burger. These ducks have eaten everywhere, burgers, dim sum, sushi ... hilarious!

GNE, Flickr Acquisition and Chicklets

So, two things I found today via Elise's "Learning MT" blog.

First, a quiz: Which Social Networking Software are You? (a question I often ask myself, my girlfriend and others). I have discovered that I am GNE: Game Neverending, the brain child of Ludicorp that is now indefinitely on hold.

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about Yahoo! acquiring Ludicorp and the much beloved Flickr. I'm sad that one of the great Canadian success stories will be heading south, but am very happy for Ludicorp. Tough.

The second thing I discovered today was Adam Kalsey's handy-dandy Button Maker (or Chicklet maker, as the pres of Feedburner told me when we were chatting at TED2005 -- those buttons are called "Chicklets"). I've been envious of these Chicklets for quite some time and am THRILLED that I now have a MNIK Chicklet. Ta-daa ...

Cool, eh?

Photo: Pink sneaker yellow leaf

Found this on flickr today. From a photographer in Newfoundland. Love the colours and the composition!!

Pink sneaker yellow leaf Originally uploaded by Kent Barrett.