I’m back in the frozen north, wishing I stole Dr. Kiki’s USB powered heated mittens while I was down in SF, because it is shockingly cold in Vancouver right now. I’ve just begun to unpack my huge bag o’loot whilst watching S4 of Lost. SPOILER: I really wasn’t expecting that crazy ending with Marty McFly and the hoverboard battle. What a shocker!

I was a busy beaver during my first Macworld. I practically interviewed half the exhibitors on the Expo floor… which amounted to about 10 in the end (ooh low blow). Let’s just say the turn out wasn’t as great as it was in past years. It seemed that a few exhibitors didn’t even bother showing up, or pulled out after the first day.

I spent many hours trying to find booths that had magically disappeared. Maybe they just got engulfed in a sea of iPhone cases. I mean 3G iPhone cases. Those people with 1st Gen iPhones weren’t feeling the same love from case developers. On a positive note, the people I did get to talk with seemed optimistic and enthusiastic about the new products they were launching this year, despite the economic “issues” we are all groaning about.

Lisa & Justine do a little MacBreaking.

Here is one of the many interviews I did for MacBreak with Speck Products about their new iPhone CandyShell cases.

As I say in the video, a huge pet peeve of mine is people that don’t protect their gear and then drop it. Even if a spectacularly shattered iPhone screen makes a cool photo for your flickr feed, it’s just so wasteful. Maybe it’s just because I waited over a year to get my iPhone, or maybe it’s because I signed a ridiculous 3-year rate agreement, or maybe it’s just because I love my gear, but the first thing I did when I bought a new iPhone was buy it protective armour. I’ll take the extra bulk for safety. I know you iPhone purists won’t budge, but if you don’t have a disposable income, protect your iPhone, cuz it’s a slippery sucker. That’s all I’m gonna say.

Photo by Scott Bourne.

Right after the keynote, I buzzed right over to the live MacBreak Weekly 122: Macworld Expo Podcast. I said during this interview that my first Macworld was bitter sweet. In retrospect, I feel like the keynote itself was the bitter sweet part. With Steve officially taking medical leave from Apple until June, all apple lovers, especially the fan boys & girls are feeling pretty bummed right now. Of course it was lame not seeing a Jobs’ keynote with John Mayer’s sweet sweet guitar licks and interfaith cakes (huh?). But, it was still exciting being there after watching it for so many years. The rest of the conference it self was bit lackluster, but I made amazing contacts and it was well worth me making the trip.

On Day 4, I headed to the Pixel Corps studios to record TWiP (This Week in Photography) Episode 64 with the entire TWiP team in studio. It was a hoot, especially when I brought up a fine Aussie tourist gift: The Kangaroo Scrotum Purse. Ahh, the things I say with 3 hours of sleep and a copious amount of cold medication. Nevertheless, it made for a pretty fun episode. I’m almost certain that Alex threw in a JarJar impression at one point, which is rare because he never ever does that. :P

I rounded off my SF experience with a trip to the TWiT cottage to visit Leo. I ate an In-and-Out burger on air, wore a gorilla pod on my head, made Ewoks noises, sounded incredibly knowledgeable talking about Plasma screens with Ryan Block, confused John C. Dvorak with my J.J. Abrams flashback trivia & was called a “Canadian hottie” by LeVar Burton. Borg. You can check out all this and more here: TWiT 177: There’s A Little Shatner In All Of Us.

I apologize for my lousy blogging lately. Macworld has been insane for me. I was on my feet from 7am – 3am, running around the expo doing Macbreak interviews, being a guest on Macbreak Weekly, recording TWiP, and looting booths for schwag (the most important thing at MW), and attending a few shindigs.

I plan on writing a detailed post on my reflections of Macworld and my top picks of the Expo in a few days. Before I give you my thoughts on the keynote, I’d like to hear yours.

Were you disappointed with this year’s Macworld keynote?

Like say the fact that they didn’t even mention Snow Leopard or release a new mini or iMac or, like announce something cool other than the ability to DRM-free your previously bought itunes music for $0.30 a pop? 30 x 14GB of music = I don’t know, you do the math.

There is a super awesome prize for the person who makes the best comment. So breathe in and let it all out. Please don’t make Steve cry too much. Think about his hormone imbalance. Please.

Photo by Scott Meizner’s slick Canon 5D Mark II.

It’s just after midnight, the day before Macworld keynote ‘09. I can see the glow of the Moscone Center from my hotel room. I can’t quite see the line o’fanboys, but if I crane my neck a wee bit, I can see the twinkle of their MBP and a glint in their eyes. They miss Jobs. Ahh, don’t we all.

For those of you not able to come to Macworld, I’ll be covering all of its geeky goodness with the MacBreak crew. So I want to ask you:

What Macworld inside scoop would you like hear about? If you think of person, company, or Mac-related product you’d like to learn about, fire a comment here or @lisabettany on twitter or squint your eyes, distort the Space-Time continuum, and leave me a scroll somewhere near the Moscone Center. No guarantees that I’ll get it, but good effort, none-the-less.

17-35mm lens, 35mm, f/7.1, 1/125, ISO 200

I thought I’d just share this picture of a father & daughter taking a sunset stroll on the beach at Surfer’s Paradise. Such a magical moment. The Gold Coast of Australia is stunningly beautiful and a heaven to shoot. I have taken so many shots, I don’t know what to do with them all. I guess I’ll start processing them on the 17 hour flight home to Vancouver :S

To get the shot I had to crouch down as low and as close to the shoreline as possible. I waited for the waves to pull in so I could grab their reflection in the sand. Moments after I took this shot I got drenched by a huge wave. Luckily, my gear didn’t get damaged because I have such cat-like reflexes.

Chip the Papillon. 50mm f/1.4 lens, f/4, 1/400, ISO 200.

1. Snap pets when they are sleepy and happy

With pets, there are somewhat predictable patterns of alertness and sleepiness. Like at 6am, they are usually wide awake. “Yap yap yap! Good Morning! I’m up, why aren’t you? ” Obviously, you don’t want to photograph a pet when they are rocketing around your living room or fast asleep. Try to find a time where they are fed, happy, and partially sleepy. That way they will be patient enough to sit and pose for you. Keep a few little treats in your pockets to keep that “happy-time” glimmer in their eyes or just to give you some extra snapping time.

2. Photograph pets at their eye level

Photos taken of animals from above are less personal and look very observational. If you want to show the personality of your fantastic pet, then you’ll have to shoot them at their eye-level. This often means crouching or lying down in some uncomfortable position in something wet, itchy, or hard, but it’s worth it. If you have smaller pets, you can prop them up on a pillow on a chair to make it a bit easier on your knees.

3. Find a simple, contrasting background

Use a simple background that contrasts with the colour of your pet’s fur, feathers, scales, tentacles (?) A grey cat against a grey wall will not stand out enough. Opt for a lighter colour to make your pet pop from the background.

4. Shoot in soft, even light

Indoors: Shoot in front of a big open window. Use a sheer curtain to diffuse the harsh light if it’s really sunny, or shoot a bit later in the day (about 1 hour before sunset). If you are getting a lot of shadow, use a bounce or a whiteboard to reflect light. Make sure you don’t blind your pet in the process. Meow!

Outdoors: Shoot in the shade or on a cloudy day. Make sure the light on your pet is consistent and not dappled. Harsh bits of sun mixed with shade never looks good and you can never really correct it in post. Avoid dappling! It can ruin the best of pictures.

5. Focus on the eyes

Whatever you do compositionally, make sure your focus on the eyes is tack sharp. It’s also nice if you can get the nose in focus as well. If you have sufficient light to increase your aperture, set it around f/5.6. If not, you can try using a tripod (depending on how patient your pet is), or try shooting your pet in profile.

If you have any other tips or tricks for photographing pets or any photos you’d like to share add them to the comments.

Good luck and remember to fill your pockets with tasty treats!

50mm f/1.4 lens, f/4, 1/160, ISO 200.

I wanted to share the story behind this colourful photo of the mostly lovely, attack lorikeet I met at the Currumbin Sanctuary. While at the park, I took over 600 photos of fun creatures, most of them during the harsh lighting hours of 10am to 4pm. It was impossible to get a good shot of the lorikeets in this lighting. Because it was so scorching hot, most of them stayed up in the shade of the tall gum nut trees far out of the reach of my 50mm lens.

I had almost given up, when suddenly at about 5pm, the light became magical. It got all warm and soft and yummy. Everyone was leaving the park as it was closing, so I had a nice clean shot of the birds as they were happily slurping their honey water. I shot maybe 30 images of the lorikeet in different lighting conditions, (shade, direct sun, diffused light), so I felt like I had at least one good shot.

When I got home and went through all my photos, I was really disappointed with my lorikeet shots. I just didn’t see the magical shot I wanted. A couple days later I scanned the images again and found one that I felt was “decent”. I worked on it for a while in Aperture. I played a lot with the composition of the image. Check out the before shot:

This image is far too busy with the other bird in the shot and the blue metal feeder in the background. I cropped in really tight on the head, but making sure there was enough negative space around the head to create nice shapes.

I also blurred out the background even more and desaturated the green in the background slightly so it wouldn’t distract from the lorikeet. I increased the saturation and vibrancy of the feathers minorly and spent ages cleaned up all the tiny imperfections on the eye, beak and feathers.

The lessons I learnt from this experience this were:

1. If you are at a wildlife park or zoo, enjoy the experience of hanging out with cool animals during the harsh light hours and take your serious shots during magic hour. Because photos taken during magic hour are always better than ones taken in harsh light. It sucks, especially because most parks close right when the light becomes magical, so you really have to push it to stay out there until they kick you out!
2. Take several passes through your photos before discarding any “decent” shots, especially when you are going though hundreds of images after a shoot when you are tired and creatively zapped.
3. You can take a photo from good to great if you spend a good chunk of time in post. Really get critical with your images. Analyze them and ask others for criticism. Make them as perfect as possible.

And you never know, maybe your photo will end up on the front page of flickr explore!! :D

As you might have already guessed from the post title, I’m in Australia!

I’m here on the Gold Coast to take some great photos and take a wee bit of a hot and sunny vacation before MacWorld in January. I can’t wait to actually have a skin tone that contrasts with the pasty nocturnal geekazoids at the conference. I will laugh and say, “Haha! That used to be me! But now look at me… I’m all red and… patchy.” Oh yes, I will ride that cool train all the way to the station.

I hope you enjoy all the beautiful Aussie animals I met at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Gold Coast. I couldn’t believe how accessible the animals were, especially the kangaroos. It’s such an incredible experience to just sit in the grass with a pack of kangaroos and wallabies, petting them, taking pictures, and watching them lounge about. I’m hoping to go back again to spend some more time with these magnificent creatures and learn more about the sanctuary.

Can you name any of the crazy Aussie creatures in the video?

The story behind the photo.

A big congrats to Rob and Lauren, two super talented wedding, portrait, and travel photographers based out of Edmonton, AB for winning this month’s Mostly Lisa Photography Contest. These two have blown me away with their ultra creative and technically perfect shots. Go check out their galleries and blog

Special mentions go to Nate and Scott Bradley their awesome shots.

If you feel inspired, here’s the next Mostly Lisa Photography Contest: Macros!

Macro Photo Submissions:
Add your best macro photo (as in ONE image) to the Mostly Lisa Photo Competition Group on Flickr

This should be a great topic for you to do over the holidays. If you need a little help go here.

Deadline:
Thursday January 10th, 2009.

I celebrate the Vancouver launch of the newest Disney on Ice show by returning to the ice after 2 years of sedentary geeky activities and a week on the Wii Fit reaching “Yoga Master” in the weird tree pose.

If you want to catch all the glitzy, figure skating action, Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour runs from Nov. 27-30th at Pacific Colosseum.

Hey Guys!

Another awesome bunch of entries for the second Mostly Lisa Photography Contest! It was tough, but I had to pick my top 8. And here they are:

“Heather” by ldsnately.

“Lucy” by Other Angle.

“Deep in Thought” by Scott Bradley.

“Margot” by DJSteen.

“The Red Turban” by Rob and Lauren.

“Sir Dylan Hollingsworth” by T Sharp.

“Brighton Photowalk” by Stephen Cotterell.

“Babe Kennedy” by Ron Davis.

& thanks to everyone who entered. I really enjoyed looking at all your photos. You rock! Keep shooting, join the Mostly Lisa flickr photo group, and watch out for next month’s competition: Macros!

I’ve added a poll plug-in so it’s super easy to vote and kinda fun!

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100mm f/2.8 Macro lens, f/6.3, 1/40, ISO 400.

Posted on TWiP.

I try to rent different lenses for my dSLR as much as possible. I find it a great way to explore photography and keep myself inspired. I rented my first macro lens this weekend, the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro with the goal of DIYing a little macro studio and shooting some cool product shots. But, I really dropped the ball and ended up not having any time to shoot anything.

Plus, I was having some “bad creative days”. I sometimes have days where I have ideas, but I can’t completely visualize the end product, so I somehow talk myself out of even trying to figure it out. This endless circle of doubt just smacks my creativity in the face and wastes so much time, like my entire weekend.

So 45 mins before I had to return the lens to Beau Photo, I kicked myself in the rear and out the door with the goal of grabbing at least one decent shot. I poked outside my apartment building for something interesting to shoot and ran into this friendly spider.

At first, the shot didn’t look great. The sky was blah grey, there was no light, the spider’s web didn’t have any raindrops, it was all very bland. But, determined as I was, I crouched in a big mud puddle and angled the frame, so the spider was sitting in colourful background, instead of the grey sky. And bam! Something decent.

The focus on the spider was a bit soft in the final image, so I sharpened it in Aperture. I aslso amped the saturation of the yellow. The rest of the colours were just that vibrant. It’s not a shot I would ever dream of taking, but there it is.

The point is, even on your worst photo days, you can catch a great shot. Keep shooting, keep exploring, and stay positive about your photography. Just start shooting anything, inspiration will strike sooner than you think.

Mostly Lisa’s Macro Tips:

1. Use Manual focus. Use Auto focus to help grabbing your focus if you are having trouble, then switch over to Manual.
2. Get low. Often the best angle is the one where you have to kneel in a pile of muddy guck. If you have sore knees, buy one of those gardening foam pads to kneel on.
3. Explore Aperture. A small DOF less than f/4 will emphasize the subject, and make it stand out more from the background. This method called selective focus, is great to use if you your background is really distracting, like the fall leaves in my spider picture above. Conversely, if you want all of your subject in focus you will need a larger DOF f/8 or higher.
4. Shoot in RAW. Always. You will get so much more detail, it will amaze you. You can thank me for your amazement later. :D

Feel inspired? Here are some more photo tips and shoot ideas:

• 5 Photography Projects for Rainy Days
• How to shoot textures outdoors
• Intro to Astrophotography: How to shoot the stars
• Photographing models

For the holidays, The Vancouver Province is rolling out a special insert called “The Holiday Survival Guide”. It’s my job to pick the Top 5 Gadget Gifts. It’s basically a dream come true. The only downside is that there are so many awesome gadgets, which five do I pick? I have scoured gadget web sites, magazines, and my own apartment to find the best gadget gifts to recommend and I’m just not feeling my current list.

This is where I need your help!

What are your favourite gadgets of 2008?

What do gadgets do you want? Anything from a camera to a games console to a gorilla pod. I don’t want all the gadgets I recommend to be really expensive so that no one can afford them. I’m sure we’d all love the new Canon 5D Mark II or a brand new MacBook Pro, but those just aren’t feasible holiday “gifts”… unless your Facebook profile states “in a relationship with Kanye West”.

50mm f/1.4 lens, 1/100, f/4, ISO 400.

Looks harmless doesn’t he? Ha! Once this rabbit-sized squirrel saw that I had an open bag of nuts in my hand, he made a beeline for me, scrambled up my legs (youch!), and dove in my pocket searching for them.

Then, upon finding the cornucopia of nuts (we are talking like, elite trail mix, the good stuff), he pouched 10 of them and scurried off to hide them. His hiding system consisted of digging a small hole, dropping the nut in, and covering it with a fallen leaf. Fortunately for me, he did eventually sit still for a few shots, as he figured out his next move. Sneaky Sneakerson!

Ol’ Nutters, as I called him, actually broke the skin on my fingers with his vicious claws, so if I start to froth at the mouth, secure me in some kind of secret underground lab with bullet proof glass. It could be for the sake of human kind. Beware.

Have you been attacked by a furry creature in the pursuit of a great photo? Do share!

Revenge is bitter sweet for Bond. In the latest 007 flick Quantum of Solace, Bond is heartbroken and haggard, as he tirelessly pursues the evil villain who killed his recent lover, Vesper Lynd. 

Instead of dealing with these complex emotions in therapy, Bond blows off some steam by chasing down evil villains in cars, boats, planes, motorbikes, and on foot, all the while maintaining an unflappable charm that makes the ladies swoon. But this time Bond isn’t interested in romance. Well, maybe a quickie just for good measure, but love is not in the cards this time out. Even the smoldering Russian-Bolivian temptress, Camille, might have a tricky time peeling Bond out of those skintight, dirty, bloodstained white slacks. Poor fashion choice Bond. If you know you’re going to get in a bloody battle, wear something darker, a deep mahogany perhaps.

Alas, Bond has less time for such sartorial considerations in this dark and gritty installment to the series. Not even a sixth martini at the bar is able to dispel the dark clouds gathered over our favourite super-spy, and that’s saying something. The Big Bad, a mysterious organization known as Quantum, is causing major problems for MI6, and at the heart of it is Dominic Greene, an evil rich guy posing as a philanthropic environmentalist. Let’s just say that Dr. Greene is the type of guy who might take his social responsibility to an extreme – actively recycling paper, plastics, and people parts on a daily basis.

Like Bond’s various nemeses throughout the history of the franchise, Greene takes his plot cues from the top headlines of today. This time, the global threat of peak oil takes centre stage over previous Bondian concerns such as Communist-controlled nuclear missiles, terrorist plots, the dealing of weapons/diamonds/drugs, or weapons that shoot diamonds with drugs in them. Okay, maybe they haven’t made a movie about that last one (yet), but this time the villain is an evil tree-hugger that is green-thumbing his nose at all things good and true with a plot that would leave the whole world at his mercy.

Any outing with 007 is sure to provide thrills, and this film doesn’t waste any time in packing a major punch of adrenalin. The action is fast, furious, and fantastic. Anything a person could drive and blow up was driven and then blown up at some point by our hero. Vroom, vroom, kaboom.

This is definitely the best movie I have seen all year. For my tastes it had a perfect balance of 90% action and 10% showing-off of sleek, fancy gadgets. Also, Daniel Craig is stunning in this movie and his unique physicality, brutish and elegant in turns, makes him the best Bond yet.

What do you think? Who is your favourite Bond?

PS. I still don’t know why they didn’t cast me as evil Bond Girl Irina Secsibuti. What a mystery. I mean they even had a Canadian Bond Girl in Quantum of Solace. I bet her nun-chuck skills are rubbish.

50mm, f/4, 1/80, ISO 200.

Lurking around every corner is texture. You may not notice them upon first glance, but if you take a closer peek in the crooks and crannies of your neighbourhood, you will find a whole world of excellent textures to capture: Mossy rocks, rotting wooden fences, rusty hinges, chipped paint on window sills, and corrugated metal doors. It’s out there just waiting for you to shoot! And unlike people and animals, mossy rocks sit still for hours with little to no complaints.

You’ll want to shoot in the early morning or during magic hour (one hour before sunset) to get the best light for showing texture. Great light will help define the surface texture and bring out all the little details. Get up really close with a macro lens and magnify the subtle flaws of the texture. Or conversely, look for patterns in the flow in the texture on a larger scale. Think of the patterns created by hundreds of roof shingles, or miles of rippled sand.

If the texture is part of a larger scene like the rippled sand, try shooting a wider frame like the shot below. The contrast of the different textures makes the photo dynamic. Framing contrasting textures together, i.e., blades of grass breaking through a heavy concrete wall, can also provide an extra thematic layer to your photos. You know, struggle against oppressors and the environment and sustainability and serious stuff like that.

Even if you don’t see the covert symbolism, somebody smart will. When they tell you, just nod, smugly smile and say, “Mmm. Yes, that was exactly what I was trying to capture. Not many people catch that.” Even if it’s not true, it’s a double win. You seem like a deep artist for actually creating something with meaning, and they feel like an intellectual “art critique” for having their thematic analysis affirmed.

50mm, f/2.8, 1/80, ISO 100.

PS. Don’t be afraid of trying different angles, especially low ones, using different lenses, and experimenting with composition.

Share your best textured picts or stories in the comments.

Doesn’t it?!

Let’s celebrate, be good to each other & finally give America a big hug! Obama!!!!

I believe.

I am 29 today! Uh. One more year til death. But, age ain’t nothin’ but a number though right? Grr. Time to pound back this life-size chocolate-chocolate cupcake at midnight whilst playing Wii tennis, Harry Potter vs. Severus Snape. After that I’m popping up so much popcorn and watching my favourite Buffy episode. Then I’ll probably cry a little, eat more cake, then watch something awesome like a Bourne movie or Alien or Transformers.

Either way, birthday celebrating and tomfoolery is required. Now if I can only sneak those cupcakes past Captain Foushad, I might get some more sugary treats tomorrow.

Happy Hip-hop-hippopotamus Birthday comments are much appreciated <3!

Posted on TWiP.

Fall is slowly fading away. The days are short, wet & cold, and the sky is one shade of monotonous grey. I don’t know about you, but I feel like completely hibernating.

Here are 5 photography projects to keep you inspired during the cold, soggy, rainy days:

1. Put your rubber boots on and grab some dewy macros.

50mm. f/1.4, 1/320, ISO 200.

Now is the perfect time to get raindrop covered plant life shots for your portfolio. The light is nice and soft on cloudy days, so you’ll get even light on your subject. Don’t be afraid of getting up close and trying multiple angles. Keep shooting until you find the best angle that makes those raindrops sparkle.

You’ll want to shoot with your Aperture wide open, so you can keep your ISO low and get loads of delicious bokeh. Bring your tripod along just in case you need some steadying. And wear some rubber boots, because you’ll probably be crouching in a huge puddle o’ mud the entire time!

2. Wait for that perfect moody winter sunset.

18mm, f/5.6, 1/15, ISO 400.

Even on cloudy days the sun can make a brief apperance. And when it does, it’s usually spectacular. If you see the sun start to peak through the clouds during magic hour (1 hour before sunset), bundle up and head out to great landscape location. Winter skies are rich with colour. Add some thick clouds and you’ve got a great shot. There is nothing more magical than sun rays beaming through a dark and moody sky.

3. Get creative with strobes.

Get that flash off your camera and grab some gels and get creative. Set up a little studio in a corner of your place and shoot some stills with character. Check out Strobist for the 411 on off-camera flashes and cheap DIY projects to keep you inspired and busy on a gloomy day.

4. Set-up some stills on your window sills.

50mm, f/1.8, 1/80, ISO 400.

If you don’t have flashes or triggers, no fear! Make use of the lovely diffused light coming through your living room windows and snap a still shot of your tea time snacks, little toys, your little sister, sea monkeys, or whatever strikes your fancy. You probably want to set up a bounce or white board opposite the window to get some light on the subject.

5. Find hidden gems in your old photos.

50mm, f/2, 1/125, ISO 200.

Get a big cuppa tea and look though your old photos. As you go, mark or star the photos you think have promise. After you’ve gone through once, go back and pull your top ranked photos into a photo editor (LR, PS, Aperture) and really work on them. A little cropping, sharpening, saturating, some layers and masks and voila! Great shot. You never know what amazing shots are hiding in your archives.

If all else fails, just hunker down in your bed with a stack of DVDs and call it a day.