climate change activist and science communicator; photographer; mapmaker — advocate for a stable global climate, reduced nuclear weapon risks, and safe human-AI interaction
Generally musings of the day, usually accompanied by a photograph
My upcoming photo show involves ten images. They were selected largely on the basis of colour.
Above are the ten photos, represented only by the mean colour value of each, sorted by when they were taken.
Come see the actual images at Raw Sugar Cafe, between September 4th and the end of the month.
People in Toronto should consider seeing the excellent folk band The Gruff at the Dakota Tavern tonight (249 Ossington Avenue). Their concert in Ottawa on Wednesday was great fun.
Here are some samples:
More are here.
As regular readers will already know, next month I have a photography exhibition at Raw Sugar Cafe (692 Somerset, Ottawa). Some kind of an event corresponding to the opening of the show will be arranged, with details to be published here when known.
As a means of encouraging discussion, the following will be in effect for the time between now and the start of the show: anyone who posts a comment on any of my posts will be entered into a draw for a mounted photographic print of mine which I will select. Each comment will have an equal chance of winning, so people who post more will have better odds.
I will have the print delivered for free (though not necessarily immediately) to anyone in Ottawa, Toronto, or Montreal. Those farther afield would be required to reimburse me for the shipping.
Incidentally, if anyone wants a print of any of my photos, they are welcome to contact me. I am sure we could work something out.
My friend Evey is now blogging for the Macleans magazine ‘On Campus’ site. Her first post is on growing up slowly.
Contrary to the circulating rumours, I am actually alive and well. For the next two years, I will be participating in a development program. Last week was the hectic orientation, and I started at my first placement (of four) on Monday. Naturally, I am still waiting for the paperwork required to turn on my computer, or go to the bathroom unescorted.
Aside from reading up on tax policy, the last couple of days have given me a chance to catch up on issues of The Economist . One tidbit from the August 8th issue amused me:
“Bill Clinton held a surprise meeting in Pyongyang with North Korea’s Kim Jong Il. During the visit the reclusive North Korean dictator pardoned two jailed female American journalists, who had been sentenced to hard labour. They returned to America with the unreclusive Mr. Clinton.”
Unreclusive, indeed.
As for all matters climate change and energy related, I will get back on top of that soon, though probably not posting with the same regularity and dedication that characterized the last two years. After all, I have a photographic exhibition to roll out. Also, I am thinking about joining some sort of environmental organization, so as to keep involved with that side of things while career wanderings take me elsewhere.
My normal schedule of posts is highly likely to be disrupted in the coming weeks, and perhaps months. I have a new project that seems likely to demand a lot of time.
My hope is that it will eventually help to deal with the challenge of climate change.
My friend Neal has some great thunderstorm photos up.
It is all the more appropriate, given the deluges I managed to get caught in today.
This shot is the most dramatic.
Science fiction may be the most prescriptive fictional genre. Firstly, it forces people to consider the consequences of actions and choices across a long timespan. Secondly, it helps to reveal the core ethical values people have: it presents both our aspirations and things that inspire fear, disgust, and outrage. Finally, it makes statements about contemporary ideologies by presenting them with false hindsight.
As such, though sci-fi has a sometimes deserved reputation as an escapist genre, it can also be among the most directly ethically and politically engaged. It also serves a historically valuable purpose, by revealing how those in the past imagined the future. For instance, look at Asimov’s projection that everything would be nuclear-powered in the distant future, even small toys for children. It is no surprise that today’s sci-fi has ecology as a key focus. It would be fascinating to know how it will be read in a century.
Would anybody have use for a Nokia 6275i cell phone? As it stands, it would only work with Bell, but I could try to unlock it if that would be helpful. I have used it for the last two years, but it is in good condition (some cosmetic scratches, no functional problems). It is a good phone: relatively small, with well-designed software and a fairly intuitive physical interface.
It has a reasonable camera for a cell phone, basic web browsing capabilities, and the ability to use any MP3 as a ringtone. I would include a USB cable for free.
If nobody wants it, I will donate it to a charity.
In September, I will be displaying some of my photography at the Raw Sugar Cafe, on Somerset Street. With September 1st just six weeks away (and I will be unusually busy in the interim), I should start thinking about a theme. In total, it would be plausible to display anywhere between nine and 18 medium-to-large prints, with one horizontal level in the first case, and two in the latter. Including a few rather large prints among the moderately-sized ones would be an option, as well.
The first major consideration is choosing photos that strangers will want and appreciate. Portraits of people who I know are unlikely to fit the bill, unless perhaps they are very clearly artistic in conception. Basically, they need to be the kind of thing a stranger would be likely to want on the wall in their home or office.
A second consideration is image quality. Producing 8″ x 10″ or larger prints that are good enough to sell requires either files that came from my new digital SLR (purchased in November 2008), or shots taken under good conditions with previous point and shoot cameras. In particular, high-ISO, low-light shots may not be of acceptable quality.
One possible theme would be photos from various cities, from Paris to Ottawa to Istanbul to Vancouver. Conversely, I could probably come up with a suitable number of decent nature photos. Relatively abstract photos would be another possibility, such as close-up shots of objects and architectural details.
The exhibition will be divided between two walls: one shorter and suited to about four prints per horizontal level. The longer one would probably be best with five. As such, it would be possible to make the two walls contrast with one another: for instance, with colour prints on the longer wall and monochrome ones on the shorter wall.
Do readers have any theme suggestions? Alternatively, do they have any photos they particularly like and think would be suitable? My photo.net page includes more than 500 of my better photos, though it isn’t especially well updated with recent ones. More links are on the ‘my photos’ section of this site.
[Update: 31 August 2009] The exhibition opening party / music gig has been mentioned on the blog of the Astronaut Love Triangle.
[Update: 9:02pm] The event is also mentioned on David Scrimshaw’s blog.
[Update: 1 September 2009] Hella Stella has also drawn some attention to the event.
[Update: 10:57am] Zoom also has the story.
[Update: 11:01am] Incidentally, the photo exhibition is now fully planned. More information on the photos chosen is here. There is also a contest where you can win a mounted print for commenting.