My Day At The Photography Show

Ironically not the best picture I've ever taken, but you get the idea..

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to be able to hit the Photographic, Video & Digital Imaging Show in Toronto.  It was held at the same convention centre that we saw Tiesto in Sept '09.  Sandy stayed home to take care of some things so the day was mine. My main reason for going was to attend two seminars on basic photography (aperture settings, shutter speeds etc.) but I was also able to look for some info for a friend.

I got there just over an hour before the first session began so I had time to walk around and get orientated. I'm not in the market for anything right now so it was nice to take a leisurely walk around without feeling like I was on a mission. Every major manufacturer was there.  Here's an example of what the booths were like:

  It was like a candy store for me so I can only imagine what it would have been like to go shopping for high-end gear. The place was packed but I didn't mind, I walked the perimeter then attended the first class.  Front row baby! The presentation was great, not too dry, and I took tons of notes. I had three hours before my next session began so I grabbed a pizza slice for lunch and continued my walk-around, talking to lots of people and asking lots of questions.

  Along the way I spoke with a girl who helps run a program in Toronto called LOVE (Leave Out Violence), which works to reduce and help eliminate violence in the lives of youth and their communities. I decided it was a good fit with this blog and got in touch with her this week.  She's allowed me to write about her organization, so I'll be telling you more about them in a post in the coming week.

  The show was pretty hands-on, a lot of equipment was on display with reps assisting the public. One of my faves was this bad boy...

  For the photographers amongst you it's the world’s first ultra-telephoto zoom lens to offer an F2.8 aperture at the 500mm focal length and F5.6 at 1000mm. It covers widely used focal lengths from 200mm to 500mm and has a large aperture of F2.8 throughout the entire zoom range.

  Not a bad deal for $38,000 huh?  I'll take three, one in each colour.

  So, collecting every bit of literature I could along the way I made my way back to my next class. It was taught by the same girl with additional information and was equally as informative.  Again I took tons of notes. When the session was finished I left the show under a pouring rainstorm. It was an amazing, amazing day. One of the best things was the cost: I had a free ticket, free parking, free teaching sessions and free literature.  Total cost for five hours, about eight bucks in food.

  I've taken a lot of photos I'm happy with but I'd in no way consider myself a photographer. I have a lot to learn, but the show sparked my interest. And one day when I feel proficient enough I'll pick up an SLR. I've fallen in love with HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging and I'm anxious to give it a try. This is a digital photo after being processed with HDR software...

Photo by Trey Ratcliff

  This is a process of taking one image or (usually) a series of images, combining them, and adjusting the contrast ratios which allows the image to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes. I don't plan to get into this exclusively, I love 'traditional' film photography as well as digital and I'm not saying that HDR is in some way more accurate or superior to standard photography.  But as an extension of digital imaging I really like the results. What do you think?  I'll probably do a post of different shots (nature, buildings, cars etc.) if for no other reason than they're eye candy to me.