Rick Sammon

I was reading a book on photography by Rick Sammon a while ago. A very good and complete book. Its called Rick Sammons complete guide to digital Photography: 107 Lessons on Making, Taking, Editing, Storing, Printing and sharing better digital images.

He's also written a lot of other books. But thats the only one that I've read so far. Once I buy a Canon Rebel XT I'll buy some photography books and stuff.

The iBook G4 is a very good price. I really do love it. Its so portable, and sleek. And Mac OS X is amazing. With all the GFX effects and stuff. I really do hate the MagSafe power connector on the MacBook though. So for that reason I may buy an iBook G4 12" when I buy my next laptop.

Anyway I've updated my profile and the links bar in the blog sidebar. I really should update the header actually. Which I'll do as soon as I find a good picture. Probably the waves at the St-Laurence rapids or something.

Later today I'll be going out to take some pictures and visit the camera store L.L. Louzeau, I'll definetely post some more shots by tommorrow!

I actually find that my fingers are too large for my laptop's keyboard. I keep on accidentally hitting other keys etc.

I've been seeing so many more iBook's out there. And I'm also meeting a lot more people who own iBooks.

I like Photo backpacks. If I were to get one I would get one with a sleeve for a laptop. Some tripod/monopod straps on the bottom. And room for 2 SLR's and 4 lenses with hoods. I like the Canon Deluxe Photo Backpack 200EG. And the crumpler photo backpacks.

I really should buy some new movies. Im thinking of buying these: Bloodrayne, Scary Movie 4, and Final Destination 3. I havn't bought any new ones at all recently.

I dug up a backup from my old computer recently. It had a couple files that I had been looking for. My desk drawer was kind of a mess with several dozen old backups. So I was busy sorting through them the other day.

Microsoft has just declared that there will be quite a few accessories that will be made for the Zune. Including higher quality headphones, docks and such like.

However If my iPod broke right now I wouldn't wait for the Zune, I would buy another iPod. I like the design better than what I had before, actually. And the price is amazingly reasonable. Only 250$!!!... But I just am more of an apple fan. :-D

Anyway. I am going to be going to the Montreal School Of Performing Arts (MSOPA) next month. There 2 levels for teens. And then for adults theres a foundation level, then 2 other levels above that. Then various classes in particular areas, like Shakespeare, or Cameras etc. I'll be going in october. The actors at the film yesterday actually go there. The guy (Costa) is involved with running it.

Mr J Harris the film extra!

Well I was just an extra in a short film yeesterday. It didn't pay me but It was good for the experience.

The film was called The Pen and The Sword. It was quite an interesting movie actually. Its set in a futuristic world where books are banned...

I was there from 5:15PM and got back at 1:00AM. O__o

I like the Saitek Eclipse keyboard. A nice price. And it has a really fun backlighting that you can actually control the brightness... And its a really looks amazing... With blue LED's.

The Logitech MX Revolution mouse is amazing. Its about 100$. I posted a link to it in the sidebar.

I also really like the Logitech MX-5000 cordless desktop. Its a bletooth set. And it also includes the mouse recharger.

Thoth sent me a picture of his laptop bag. Its a really nice bag actually.

I'll be going on an apple-picking trip soon actually. Next weekend. I'm looking forward to it.. ;-)

I like the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L lens. There was a photographer at the film yesterday who had a Canon EOS 20D and that lens.

The Canon Photo Backpack 200EG is really nice. 50$ off amazon.

Mr J Harris is now a Mac fanatic/lover/whatever!

The more and more I read reviews about Mac's the more I like them. I especially like the MacBook 13" 1.83Ghz. Its 1099$ off the apple website. And its best to get the Maximum 2GB's of RAM. Including tax its around 1200$ I'd guess. Some people would say that 13" is tiny. Indeed it is, but I've used 12" iBook G4's before and I haven't had any problem with the screen size. Theres only one problem with the MacBook: The MagSafe power connector. It really sucks. While apple thinks that it is superior because it won't yank the laptop off the table onto the floor if you accidentally yank the cord, it's really a disadvantage because it could very easily get pulled out. Although it is better than having the MacBook smashed, it really is unlikely that yoiu would ever end up pulling it off the table anyway.

The MacBook has a Core Duo as well. So it's got a ton more power than the iBook G4.

Thoth has a wired Mighty Mouse. As you can see in This Shot Its a good mouse, but when I buy my next MacBook laptop, I'll get the Bluetooth version.

Hmmmm, I just noticed that the computer that I'm using now has a dead black pixel. Not my laptop thank heavens. Because if it was my laptop I'd have to get the whole screen replaced by acer. Unless of course I decided to tolerate it.

Stella has a new laptop actually. I'm not sure if I posted this news. Its an old ASUS Model. But it's got some fairly decent specs. Stella's sister gave it to her because she had gotten a new one.

The WinWizard at JCXP took some amazing whale shots. he took them off the coast of Gloucestor. They're amazing pictures. He took them with a Canon EOS 10D, and a Canon 75-300mm Telephoto Zoom lens. (Not a good lens In my opinion) He posted 9 pictures. He actually has 3 SLR's. A Canon Digital Rebel, Canon Digital Rebel XT, and a Canon EOS 10D. He also has a cheap Point and shoot camera. And on top of that he has 3 digital camcorders. So many cameras.

I've been meaning to send an email to Stella and get back in touch with her. I just haven't gotten around to it. I'll mail it off tommorrow.

I love the look of the iBook G4, and the MacBook 13". Its really pretty and sleek. Their desktops look a bit like it. Their iMacs at least. The PowerMac G5 desktop looks totally different.

Thoth has pretty much the same iPod as me, except that its the black model. Unfortunately I haven't been using mine that much because my internet has been down so I haven't downloaded that much music. I really do have to put some new songs on.

I like Koolance products. Here is the website The products on the site look amazing. But expensive. Tigerdirect doesn't have any Koolance cases or products. Actually amazon does though.

I like WaterCooling. Its expensive though. Koolance makes some really good cases with built-in watercooling. I prefer integrated cases to seperate kits...

I'll post some more pictures soon. I recently went over to the rapids and photographed some herons and birds and the river. I took 42 shots. I've started shooting in RAW. Recently I've learnt a lot more about using my camera.

Anyway bye for now! I'll post those photo's as soon as possible!

Photos are here! (More will be posted soon)

I went over to the World Press Photo Exhibit a couple days ago. Very interesting stuff. Odd thing was that a lot of the pictures were bloody and gruesome....

I really like the Sager NP 5320 notebook. A very well priced gaming notebook.

Whats new?

Well its been quite a bit of time since my last post. Anyway whats new? A fair amount... I'm not as pressed for time as I've been with my previous posts so this post'll be a bit longer and more detailed...

Today I went over to the Botanical Gardens and took an extra 68 pictures. I got payed 20$ CAD for the work. The pictures will be published in a book later this year hopefully. Will be quite useful to add it to my CV.

When I was there I saw a guy with two Canon EOS 30D's and another guy with the same model of camera all in the same place. Seems quite popular. Actually I really like the EOS 30D. I may get it as my next one however it depends on my financial situation when I get it. I also saw a guy there with an EOS 350D. All of them had telephoto lenses on their cameras.

Canon and Nikon are my favorite digital SLR manufacturers. And both of them have released new 10.2 mpx models at the same prices.

My next camera will either be: Canon 350D, Canon 30D, or a Nikon D80. If I were to get Nikon I would probably get the latest model. I dont really like the new Canon 400D due to the fact that the little LCD that displays info about the cameras current settings was removed. I could find the 30D at the same price as the 350D at a good camera store actually...

I've added my photography tutors site to the sidebar. Quite a nice site design. She designed it herself I think...

Actually there isn't much of a difference between the Rebel XT and the 30D. Besides an extra 0.2 mpx, and a bit of difference with the controls, and design, etc.

I really am attracted to the EOS 350D's design, and button layout etc.

My laptop isn't working as well as I would like it to. I think that theres a problem with the files that make up the wireless connection stuff. It's freezing quite frequently. I'll reformat soon. Maybe next month. I really like Mac a lot better. OS X is so incredibly user friendly and useful. I like the iBook G4. The MacBook is a bit too expensive at the moment. Maybe its worth it maybe its not. But I am reallya fan of the iBook G4. I currently know 5 people who own them: Thoth, My photography tutor, my friends friend Rob, and a couple others. It seems exceptionally popular amongst photographers due to the fact that its so small and light. My tutor takes hers whenever she goes out photographing. So does the guy who wrote that Wildlife photography manual.

4 GB CF cards!!! Wow! Huge amount of space. But I doubt that one would be using that much ever. Unless they're taking lots of videos. Or they're taking a huge amount of photos. CF cards are larger than others though.

I like the idea of those camera battery grips. Its quite a useful invention.

Wow. My blog has so many posts now. Maybe it'll reach 200 by the end of the year... And soon it will be october and then they'll be yet another archive.

Its quite amazing how I've kept at this blog. Its evolved and grown and been with me for a long time. It contains stuff from a lot of this year. And I'll continue it as long as possible...

The BG E3 battery grip is specifically designed for the 350D, as due to its significantly smaller size it needed a new one. Other grips aren't compatible with the 350D. It can hold 6 AA-size batteries. I'll probably buy it when I buy my next camera....

The EOS 350D includes ZoomBrowser EX 5.1, and Canon Digital Photo Professional 1.6 software.

I like DPreview. Its a really good camera review website. As well as having a forum, and news articles. I only learnt about it last month. When I had went over to the camera store Dumoulin and was examining some cameras.

I went bowling with some friends yesterday. I was doing pretty well. Well, compared to previous times. I don't go bowling that often, so I'm not that great. I like it. Its a fun thing to do. There were about 8 other people there. It was sort of a little bowling party...

Stella has posted a bunch of new photos. Check out her blog to see them. Quite nice shots actually...

I'll try to post my business card on the blog. But to tell the truth its not all that likely. I don't have the file on my computer and I don't really want to photocopy it. I might take a picture of it and post it though...

Right now I'm just saving up money for the Canon 350D and Canon i9900 printer. After that I'll buy lenses, battery grip, Canon Speedlight flash, and remote control for the camera...

The Canon 350D box includes:

Canon EOS 350D Camera Body
Canon EF-S 18 - 55 mm F3.5 - F5.6 II lens
Canon Neck Strap
Canon Digital Photo Professional & ZoomBrowser EX software CD's.
Eyecup (is attached to camera
NB-2LH Lithium-Ion battery pack
CB-2LT Battery charger
USB Cable
Video Cable

I like the fact that they include the battery charger.

When I buy the Canon 350D, I'll buy the Canon 580EX flash afterward. The flash is available at a street price of about 450$. Its really an amazing flash. Heres a review: Clicky Here

The Canon i9900 Photo Printer is about 500$. A really good printer... Theres a review in the sidebar as you may know. A really sleek design as well. A nice thing about it is the ports that it features. It has firewire, USB1, and USB2 high-speed. The printer is also pict-bridge compatible. It also has a special 8-ink system...

I'll be seeing my photography tutor on monday and thursday next week. I'll be bringing along the photos that I took today on a CD.

Good news!

Well heres the good news:

1.): I got my new business card done. Its really nice. Only 7.00$ CAD plus tax.

2.) I've gotten a tutor teaching me digital photography and photoshop each week

3.) I've downloaded Adobe Lightroom. Im beta testing it now...

I'm really pleased about the new card. Its a really nice design. Hopefully it'll help make my blog more popular!

The shooter at Dawson college was identified. He owned 3 guns. Legal guns actually. An automatic rifle, glock pistol, and 12-guage shotgun...

I'll get payed on sunday, as I'll be done taking those photo's...

A shooting in downtown montreal!

Just today a guy suddenly opened fire with an automatic weapon in front of the Dawson College. Quite a few people were killed or injured.

The guy who did it was killed by the police...

There are about 10,000 people who go to dawson in total. 3,000 of whom were there that day...

Its uncertain if there were several. Several people think that there were more than one...

Actually I know several people who go to Dawson college. One of them was there when it was happening...

Trip... ;D

Well I just went downtown to take photo's. As well as visit a bookstore and get bagels...

I found a book about using the Canon Rebel XT. It was pretty nice. But 30$ CAD for a soft-cover book??!! I could get all of the information that I get in that book on the internet...

I also found this book: Amazon.co.uk: The Essential Wildlife Photography Manual: Successful Digital and Film Techniques for Creative Photography: Books: Chris Weston

A very nice book. Hard cover. I might buy it at some point...

That guys backpack in that book is amazing! And he has 3 extremelly high-end cameras in his backpack whenever he goes out! As well as 5 lenses. Cleaning equipment, and his laptop. All crammed into that backpack. Probably all the stuff in that bag cost like 25000$ in total.

Heres an amazing lense: Sigma 800mm f/5.6 super telephoto

7200$ USD!!! Incredibly overpriced... :o

I like the iBook G4 12". A good laptop to easily carry around with you wherever you go. And thats what that guy in that book does!

I'll post those pictures that I took today in a few days. Im going to take a lot more tommorrow, so I'll upload them after....

I prefer to have a laptop. I need the portability. My next one will either be a Mac or a Toshiba P105. The iBook will be more useful for portability as its far smaller and lighter. I find that its great for photographers who want to use it while they're on the field...

I'm getting more and more interested in photography. It requires creativity, as well as being coupled with electronics. I really find it an interesting subject.

I'm sure looking forward to getting my Canon Rebel XT later this year or early next year... It really is a nice camera. I would prefer it in black actually.

Anyway I'll post again soon!

PS: My business card should be ready by tommorrow. Unfortunately the guy whos making it is really busy so hasn't had too much time to work on it...

Mount-Royal Moon Photo's...

Toshiba P105 is a really nice notebook!

I've just been reading a review on the Toshiba P105 notebook. Its a really good laptop. It's priced at 1999$ which is a really excellent price considering what you get. I'm gonna get it as my next notebook...

I went over to the Mall today and found that the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT is 888$ including the zoom lense. Theres a 100$ instant rebate on it at a store that I like.

I also saw a really nice aluminum tripod for 100$. I'm gonna buy it soon actually... :-D

Also I saw the Bose SoundDock Digital Music System for iPod. It was 400$ at best buy. I'm going to buy that some day probably.

I am going to buy my portable DVD player soon. Then later on afterwards, purchase the Canon EOS Rebel XT.

The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT is really a tiny camera. Actually it might make me a bit uncorfortable to be using it with a large telephoto lense and flash.... But the controls are really nice and simple. I actually prefer the readout LCD on the camera, I feel that canon shouldn't have removed it in the 400D.

I saw that one of the computers in one of the stores that I was in (the one with the 888$ Rebel XT) had an acer desktop that was running Vista. I am not running Vista on my laptop at the moment but will probably do it soon though. Its just that my graphics card is quite low-end (SIS 64mb) So I wouldn't be able to run it very well...

Anyway Best Buy had the Toshiba P100-J something. It had a Core Duo T2300 @ 1.66GHz, 512 MB RAM, a GeForce Go 7300 GS 128mb video card, 17" 1440*900 LCD, and a 100GB HDD. It was about 1300$.

Also I saw a tablet PC over there. I haven't seen too many, primarily because I haven't been paying any attention because I'm not too interested in tablets. It was quite nice and light. Actually someone had stolen the pen so I wasn't able to use it....

I liked the Bose SoundDock system. Its fairly expensive though. I'll probably buy it later this year or earlier next year....

Heres some of the things on my wish-list:

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Aluminum Tripod
Bose SoundDock Digital Music System for iPod
Portable DVD Player

I'll get the tripod at the same time as the camera. I'll need it. ;-D

There were also quite a few other cameras at the store. Including the Canon 30D which is about 2100$. Personally I prefer the buttons for scrolling rather than the wheel. Its just a rather strange design. The 30D was huge compared to the 350D

The EOS 40D should be out soon. I wonder if it will be the same price as the previous cameras...

I'm gonna buy new Portable DVD Player soon + I'm getting payed to take some pictures for someone!

I just visited The Source. I found a very nice portable DVD Player there for 130$. It has a 7" screen, and includes a Bag and remote. It is made by Centrios, and is very well priced with the ability to play pretty much all CD and DVD formats. I'm going to buy it as soon as I get the money...

I'm going to take 30 or so photo's for someone and I'm gonna get payed 1$ a photo. The photos will be for their book and I will get mentioned in the book...

I am getting a new business card done for myself. It will say "Jacob Harris" and right below "photographer" and around the card there will eb a link to my blog, my email, and phone number. As well as a bit of a black streak across the top.

Links

Windows Live Messenger 8.1 in beta testing. Testers accepted into the Beta can download it via connect.

Find out about it HERE

Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 CPP released.

Find out about it HERE

Epson has now released 3 new PictureMate printers. (click here for the press release) The prints that these new models produce can resist fading for up to 96 years in a glass frame and about 200 years in a photo album.

The Photography Kids Shrine News Report: Canon EOS 400D released...

Sorry for taking so long to post this but here it is: The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT (350D) , Canons Sub 1000$ Digital SLR has just been updated! The new version, dubbed the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi (400D) has all the things the the 350D does but features a 10.2 mpx CMOS Sensor, automatic dust removal and the readout LCD has been removed to provide more space for a larger preview LCD! Also the camera is still priced at 899$.

To see a full review and list of changes in the new version. Visit:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/canonEOS400D/

Picks of Pix from FinePix camera

post from an internet cafe....

Right now Im using an 8.2 mbps internet connection... Why? Because Im in a new internet cafe.

The computer Im on right now has World of Warcraft, Warcraft 3: FT and Counter-Strike. I really like this cafe. 1 hour for only 3$ CAD!!!

I have a new JCXP sig. I love it!!!

I have been having fun with my camera...

It has been quite a while since I last blogged.... I've really missed it actually...

I went to the Botanical gardens and used my camera a lot. Actually I have now bought the 512 MB card for the camera. I can now take a lot more pictures....

The Nikon D2Xs is so much money.... 4500$

I saw someone at the botanical gardens with the D2Xs