It’s gonna be a super productive evening. I can feel it!

I tried so hard to get a part on this show as it is filmed in Vancouver. My efforts of setting up a covert lemonade stand outside of Starbuck’s condo did not yield the results I had been hoping for. On the plus side, I made $1.45.

I did, however, turn down opportunities to be an extra and get on the uber set, only cuz it’s kind of an unspoken given in the industry that if you are seen on camera as an extra (especially if you are featured), you won’t get cast in a speaking role later on. You’ve already blown your screentime and most uber fans of the show will recognize you. They’ll say,

“Hey didn’t that girl play the third, three-headed dragon keeper in the dragon vs. fire-eating goblins S1E08? Uhh. They’ve brought her back as the tortured emo vampire lover in S3E10. So lame to recycle actors like that. I bet they thought I wouldn’t figure it out because she’s wearing that big plastic suit and the head piece with those huuuuge horns as the dragon keeper and the fact that there are two other heads. I mean you can’t even see her face. It’s subtle, but I noticed. And it pretty much annoyed me enough to stop watching the show.”

PS. No spoil sporting all you spoiling-type people. I have waiting yonks to see this season in it’s entirety on DVD. And I shall right after I finish this work. *looks around to see if anyone is watching… presses play*

PPS. Check out my best Cylon impression circa June 2006… pre dSLR, hv20s, MB, and twitter. (You can tell cuz I actually have a tan that I got from the sun and not a PS warming filter).

The Scene: I walk into my local wifi-friendly coffee shop pull out my Macbook and sit down. It takes me 30 seconds to zone into internet land and fire up transmission *ahem* the iTunes store. Another 30 seconds pass. Tap tap on my shoulder.

Guy: So are Macs really all that?

Me: Uhh… [glances at MB. notes it's uberness] Yeah. Uh.. [shrugs]

Guy: Yeah, cuz I’ve seen them around. So I guess you use them. Macs [pause] eh?

Me: Yeah. They are great for what I do. I’m a blogger, media…

Guy: I’ve heard of Blogs.

Me: [looking for large mallet-shaped object]

Guy: Are you on myspace?

Fail. I bet you don’t think it’s possible to beat the finesse and wit of this pick-up line. Well it is. Check out the Best Pick-up Line Ever.

As I’ve mentioned before, I love Strobist super DIY photo guru, David Hobby. His blog, Strobist.com is a daily inspiration for me. When I got my first digital SLR, about a year and a half ago, I spent most of my time sculking about in the alleyways of my city, photographing “hidden treasures” that I’d find. This “derelict” phase stopped abruptly in July 2007, about 10 days into the 88 day Vancouver city garbage strike.

I then moved my attention to things that smelt nicer like cupcakes, Pez, & trees. And after a few months of photographing happy shiny things, I worked up enough courage to photograph real live people who were not always happy or shiny. My main lighting techniques were:

• Natural light is your best friend;
• A big window on a sunny or partially cloudy day is your second best friend;
• Low light? Open the aperture as wide as that sucker will go. f1.4 is money;
• Cheap whiteboard makes a really nice bounce.

During this time, I experimented with using my behemoth of a flash, the 580ex. But, it was so heavy, I always regretted bringing it out to live performances, and frankly it scared people, and now I have no friends. That’s an exaggeration. I have a few friends, it’s just they seldom talk to me.

In the last six months, I’ve started to the long journey to master off-camera flash setups in order to exploring light more and create cool fashion, modeling, and artsy shoots. The trouble is that I need to make these setups for cheap as I only found $1.45 in the crooks and crannies of my sofa.

Using Strobist’s awesome DIY projects as inspiration, I am starting a new series on Mostly Lisa entitled: DIY Photography tips for the Thrifty and Unrich.

For the first shoot I wanted to do something a bit moodier than a typical modeling/acting headshot using an off-camera flash, some hard reflective surfaces (both portable and non) and a wee bit of creativity and smarts.

How we did it:
For these two shots, we had two Canon speedlights (430ex and 580ex) with Stofen Omnibounces at the same height as the subject, pointed straight up to give a “bare bulb” effect that would simultaneously blow out the background (a white wall in my living room) and light up the two 2′x3′ pieces of whiteboard in front of the photographer’s face (just out of frame) as fill.

The flashes were triggered with two cheap and untrustworthy Gadget Infinity remotes and were at 1/8 power, with the 580ex maybe less two thirds of a stop because it’s a more powerful unit. We started shooting at f1.4, but the focus was a bit soft in the above photo, so we bumped it up to f2.8 and added the second flash to create edge highlights (as you can tell by the highlights on both sides of my hair).

The Set-up:
One whiteboard was clamped to another lightstand with a couple $4 Home Depot clamps duct taped together to make a two-way clamp and the other (actually two boards taped together) was standing up on a nearby shelf (like a Christmas card). The camera was handheld just behind and in the middle of the two bounces.

Some Levels and Color Balance adjustments were made in Photoshop to enrich the blacks, push the highlights up some more, and warm up the whole image a little bit. No retouching was done on the computer-induced-big-black-bags-under-my-eyes. Not one bit.

If you have any cool off camera flashy photos that you’ve experimented with, link them in the comments!

Or if this is all waaaaay too technical for you you can just answer one question:
What camera do you use?
I’m actually really interested what camera everyone has – even if it’s not a fancy smancy one. So, talk camera nerdy to me!

Last chance to vote for your fav web 2.0 sites (audio, video, social, publishing, photography browser). It’ll be something fun to do first thing Monday morning whilst you are at work drinking your Starbucks and munching on some expensive treat you bought there. Or maybe you’re just rolling outta bed and grabbing some cereal which you take back to bed and leisurely start to check your RSS feeds. Either way it’s a great way to kill 5 mins.

After the poling closes, I’ll let you know what my picks were. Wouldn’t want to influence your decision with my bikini photo.

Mostly Lisa & the Crazy Hail Storm from Lisa Bettany on Vimeo.

It has been a miserable winter and with the last few days of snow, sleet, rain, and painful hail the size of something that can dent your head, I say whoo yeaaaah to the thought of heading down to the sun, sand, and surf of the luxurious Mayan Riviera, Mexico. And that’s what I’m gonna do in 3 weeks! My mum and I will be flying with the deluxe, state of the art airlines: Air Transat. Don’t worry I’ll bring plenty of entertainment as I’m quite positive that the in-flight musical offerings won’t keep me amused for 6 hours.

Here’s a peak at my last trip to Cancun in April 2005. It’s a little bit nutty to look back at all the footage. Seems so long ago. I had just bought my iBook G4 and my first digital point and shoot, the Canon A70, edited my photos in iPhoto and my little videos in quicktime, and didn’t even know what a blog was. Oh how things have changed.

And we can’t forget the now infamous Cancun nightclub dancing video….

I am planning to blog, video blog, and maybe even live stream (if I can swing it) from my sunny destination. Should be heaps of fun. If anyone is interested in sponsoring me hit up my Hire Me Page.

I’m sure I’ll meet loads of cool people, just like I did on my trips to England… My trip to Jamaica with Jessie Farrell and crew was a a leedle better in the friend department, but i did do my best to be as miserable as i could be. It’s cuz I’m basically emo now.

I’m pretty sure this is the proudest moment of my life, only second to tha bikini photo shoot I did on the muddy banks of a duck pond on a rainy day in mid-November, 2003.

Yes, it’s true. G4 has ranked me #5 in a list of the hottest women of the web (or on it, literally naked). I even beat Audrina Partridge from the Hills, and she’s rawkin’ all kinds of nekkid. Unfortunately, my viking hat picture was not sexy enough to beat Petra Nemcova (Yeah, seriously. They put me on a list with Petra Nemcova. I know I’m laughing sitting here in an old grey hoodie and dinosaur pajamas). Or lil chunky chips, Jennifer Ellision, or saucy Brazilian uber model Adrianna Lima.

Sorry to disappoint you with the lack of gratuitous butt and crotch shots, but that’s just not how I roll. I can, however, show you this interesting photo series I did on mid-18th Century Eastern European pigeon masks? Any takers? Nah. Didn’t think so. It didn’t get very good reviews at the 2nd Annual 18th Century Eastern European Pigeon Mask Conference so it’s probably for the best.

PS. I like that G4 didn’t ask permission for using my photos. Makes me feel like those internet copyright laws are really working.

PPS. The guy humping the table at the start? Yeah. Not so much.

PPPS. I’m only #7 on Wired Magazine’s 2007 Sexiest Geek. What gives Wired? And seriously how long is this contest gonna go on? Crown the wordy Russian lingerie model and be done with it.

Check out my interview on the lovely blog of Miss604. I talk a lot about myself in it. So basically it’s pretty awesome. If you like me. Do you?

Alright I’m off to a modeling audition. I think I’ll spend part of my time modeling and the rest of my time next to you. Let’s all go watch the Flight of the Conchord skit.

Lately, i’ve become aware that i don’t actually think for myself anymore. Why think when the internet can do it so much better?

Can’t spell something? Google it or rely on the dotted red line. (If you right click on the word, it actually tells you the correct spelling. Magic!) Don’t know the definition of the word you can’t spell? Just add “define: wordican’tspell” and Google will tell you. I can use my ultra-portable Speak and Spell when I’m on the go, but I’ve yet to find an outfit that really works with it.

Can’t do simple math? Google calculator to the rescue. A pound to grams? Sweet Google!

What ever happened to my high school arch nemesis? Oh gained a little bit of weight. Sweet revenge. Thanks Facebook. Oh, and what about that guy that sat next to me in History 101 who ate pens? Yeah, used to carry at least 3 that he would suck on and gnaw on, making this horrific slurping, crunching noise that drove me so bananas that I had to move outside the power T and into the back row, where I ironically ended up sitting next to a girl that literally smelt like bananas.

Was there ever a war over bananas? Thanks Wikipedia. (This article does not cite any references or sources. Hmm. That can’t be a good thing. Ah well, what’s wrong with learning historically inaccurate facts? Probably won’t help your Trivial Pursuit game, but how often do you play that anyway).

Who played Wicket the Ewok in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi? Thanks imdb.

This is why I cannot be disconnected from the internet ever. Or I would actually have to use my brain. My brain, that really smart people paid to think and get the best Canadian post-secondary education their money could buy in the hopes that I would become the next Chomskette, has. failed. the. universe.

I personally blame Steve Jobs. If his computers weren’t so impenetrable to internet viruses, I may still have a partially working brain. For losing the other half (the right hemisphere… especially the part where you process fractions), I blame the invention called “TV on DVD”. Just one more episode. Can’t stop.

Here is my official ColorWars Ro Sham Bo throw for Team VeryGreen.

It was a tough call, going with team verygreen. I’ll admit I was quite tempted by iJustine’s #ff1cae team if only because of her 2.0 egg making skillz. And at the last minute, Sarah Meyers pulled out a very nice color out of her hat with the Sky Blue team.

But in the end I only had one clean shirt, and this was it! Plus, I finally found a good use for my very green, previous-owner painted, bedroom walls.

PS. This is the first Photobooth photo I’ve ever taken. Seriously? I know. You’d think someone as vain as me would be all over it. Just when you think you’ve got me figured out…

PPS. You can’t make me take off my viking helmet!!! I even sleep with it on… with one eye open.

You know I wouldn’t leave you hanging with out some super special Mostly Lisa holiday cards for Easter, as I know how much you l0v3d my Valentime’s ones. So break out the mini eggs and share these cards with your loved ones or people you don’t even know.

For that acerbic consumer electronics employee who thinks he is the shizznizz, yet cannot tell a firewire cable from a usb one, and will inevitably lead you down every aisle in the whole darn store. Tag. You’re it.

For your emo brother or sister. Just turn up the volume. That’s it. Disappear in the sad sad melodies and the shadows that embrace you.

For someone who is Lost. In a flash forward or a flash back. We’ll never know. Good. Bad? Dead. Alive? It’s all good JJ, we trust you to not pull any Rambaldi zombie shenanigans again.

For the geek in all of us. Eat another egg. It’s ok. No one is looking. Mmm. Melts on your tongue. Have another. What’s the harm? They’re only mini. Plus, you’re only a part-time model.

Live streaming technology just got a whole lot cooler with Qik and Kevin Rose’s N95. Qik, in alpha, allows people to live stream from their phone and allows viewer to live chat.

Just moments ago, viewers got to take a ride with Kevin and Team verygreen’s Gary Vee where they talked about underrated social nets (pownce & vimeo were mentioned), sexy geeks (don’t forget about #9 AKA this girl right here), and received a quick call from Dr Tiki. Buffering and pixelated video aside, it was pretty awesome.

What are live video streaming services are you watching/using?

According to John Mayer’s covert, Japanimated blog, even Superstars are not safe from the spinning wheel of death. Just be glad you didn’t get this message or this one. Fail.

I call this the Mac Attack in reverse. All the coolness and uberness that is your Mac, spinning into a horrific rainbow pinwheel of paused reality. Admit it, it’s a wee bit hypnotic like the iTunes visualizer. (Aside: I can totally predict the visualizer pattern even before it shifts. Zing).

So as a both a Mac user and a Mayer fan, I thought I’d communicate to JM through the blogosphere:

View John Mayer’s Original Mactastic Message.

PS. We’ve all been having problems with Leopard. Some of us have even been bold enough to say it suxx bollocks. But to be honest, the latest update has fixed the majority of the suxxage. Might I suggest a software update?
PPS. How much did you pay for “Rainbows”?
PPPS. I like your face.

Like every crazy trend on twitter, Colorwars2008 started out as an inside joke. An inside joke I was not privy too. Is is because I’m Canadian?

My Story:
I wake up around *tea time and find a crazy **color thing happening on twitter. All the cool kids had added a “Team Color” to their twitter avatars. Naturally, I am confused and like many Non-Silicon Valley outsiders, I just didn’t quite get the joke. After searching googly & twitter, I was even further down the rabbit hole with who started it (Team Very Green’s Gary Vaynerchuk or Team Blue’s @zefrank) and why and just simply “Wha- happened?”

I’m not sure anyone really has a clue why they are doing it and for what greater purpose.

Choosing a Colour:
I’m partial to the Gold Team’s current avatar graphic and the fact that a number of Gold followers are Pro Viking horns (finally, I fit in!). Team Blue doesn’t even have an avatar. Lame. Team #FF1CAE has got iJustine’s l0v3, but Veronica is supporting Team Very Green.

Joining a twitter color team:
Just follow your team of preference on twitter and hizzah you are part of 2008 Colorwars. There are maaaaany teams, but here is a list of the main ones.

• Orange Team
• Team Very Green
• Gold Team
• Red Team
• Yellow Team
• Plaid Team
• Rainbow Team

Twitter ColorWars begins tomorrow! What team are you? Convince me to join your team, I dare you!!

*Don’t judge me for my nocturnal habit, I was designing a sweet web site into the wee hours…. Ok fine, I was procrastinating the designing of a sweet web site whilst watching movies… sue me.

**Colour > Color. No one respects the Queen’s English anymore.

Quick! Mac Attack! Alert the Airport Extreme and launch the iPod fighter jets!

I’ll admit it. I once owned a PC. It was a dark period in my computing past, complete with a CD drive that wouldn’t work and a system infected with the Trojan horse virus… Seriously? I thought that was a myth? It’s not. And this big meanie, circa 1999, has got it. Bad.

So, why is it here? Well, my mum who has been storing this beast in the basement for the last 9 years, was about to junk it and not wanting the Paps to find any indecent snaps, my im records from high school (ack!) or my crappy early teenage poetry, i wanted to make sure to wipe HD crystal clean…. before smashing at least part of it. Wiiii smashing a PC. Oh come on, you’ve never wanted to smash a PC?? Never ever???

And how to my Macs think about this new “guest” in their zone? Nothing pleasant. In fact, they are planning a full fledged stealth attack at day break tomorrow to catch the PC Meanie off-guard and hopefully take out his power source and memory.

If I’m able to get up early enough, I may capture the mac attack on video. I can feel your excitement building. I can feeeeeeel it!

It is not possible to be more bored than I am right now. Bored. I really shouldn’t post this. Ahhh, whatever, your readers are bored too. Bored at work. Staring at work they should be doing, but instead they come to your blog hoping to see bikini pictures. But instead they get this sucky post. Ha!

I could do one of those padding posts that even the best bloggers do when they run out of interesting things to say. Think of it as a look beneath the silky smoothness of the blogosphere. It’s time to ‘fess up your mid-week hump posts, such as:

Shameless product plug!!!
A post about all the mundane things I use like fancy, bubbly soaps, shampoos, and expensive cheeses. I’ll accompany this with the first photo I find on the Google image search to make the post seem longer and more interesting. Oh, and I better mention Starbucks. Yeah, Starbucks is so awesome. I like drink there everyday. I know some cool peeps at Starbucks.

Random Photo of Me Looking Super Hot
Hey you guys! I just came across this photo of me from my trip to Hawaii this summer on the beach in my underwear. OMG. Isn’t it super random that I would search my entire library of a billion photos and just happen upon the best picture of me ever? So random.

Here’s a list of stuff.
Stuff I like. Stuff I hate. Stuff that’s cool. Here it is in a list format.

• CSS
• Frogs
• Turnips
• French Fries

Maybe I’ll hyperlink something to one of things in the list to make it seem funny. Instead of just a list, it will be a funny list. Hizzah!

Mememememe

1. Who’s the last person you kissed? Uh.. myself in the mirror. Does that count?
2. Pizza, french toast, or grilled tomatoes? Can I choose “a turkey sandwich”? It’s not on the list. Oh. Ok. I’ll go with the french toast, but I’d put turkey on it to make it more like a turkey sandwich.
3. Recycle batteries or Dump them in a duck pond? Ohh, tough one. Are the ducks real? Yes Hmm. I guess I’ll go with the ducks then. That wasn’t the question. Oh.

Now tag three people with this marvelous memememe. Umm… yeah.. I don’t actually know three people. Can I send it to my cat? He knows how to use the internet. His mouse technique could use some work though.

I just saw this movie.
It was good. It was bad. I liked that part with Brad Pitt in it. Yeah, that part was awesome. [I'll say something witty here. And reference pop culture. Everyone likes pop culture]. And then I’ll put a link to the trailer. Yeah. Sweet.

Rant Post.
Erg! I’m angry about something and whether you like it or not, I’m gonna rant about it and then pretend to not apologize in the last sentence. Nope. I won’t say, “Uhh, sorry to rant about this, but I’m so tired and I’ve got mono and my iPod just, like, stopped working.”

Here’s a question.
An easy and direct question like “Do frogs have teeth?” or “What is your favourite smell?” or “What makes you happy?” I’ll tell you what makes me happy. Comments. It’s what makes this cold, dark existence worth living.

Did you know that you can control the in & out point of a song in iTunes?

Well you can. You can start a song 18 seconds in and skip a super lame intro. Here’s how.

Pretty useful tip, don’t you think?

If you already knew this then I crown you King Smarty Pants. We all bow in your honour.

Digg or this post if you find it useful. Click on the share button below and digg away!