Photo Challenge Day 17: 3 of a Kind

Photo Challenge will be updated later :)

So Life has gotten in the way of me posting my daily photo's I have taken them and I am hoping to have them posted this weekend!

Photo Challenge Day 13 - Larger than Life

Photo Challenge Day 12 - Winter Scene

Photo Challenge Day 11 - A Bit of a Blur

Photo Challenge Day 10 - Dinner Time

Day 9- Farm Animals

Photo Challenge Day 8 - Toys

Flu :(

I have a flu or something so I wont be posting my pictures for the photo challenge until I am feeling a little better.

Photo Challenge Day 7 - Yellow

Well today was a busy day with my interview and then being stranded on the side of a random country road with no cell phone for forty-five minutes in the cold because I had stopped to take pictures and my dads car wouldn't start (we switched for the day because it was snowing and and I had a one and a half hour drive each way for my interview and he has 4 wheel drive which sadly my Jetta does not) In forty-five minutes not a single vehicle stopped and I had the hood up and everything :( . Then I finally got it started and a nice farmer on a tractor pulled up to make sure I was ok, which was super nice and I was grateful for! So needless to say I did not stop to take anymore yellow pictures on my way home because I was afraid of being stranded again. So this is what I decided to shoot. I think these shots turned out good, I love finding interesting angles.

Photo Challenge Day 6 - Action Shot

Day 6's theme is action shot. I took a bunch of the dogs chasing each other but this was my favourite. This is Sally she is  a labradoodle although I am her guardian while my sister is living in BC I am sadly not her owner, I  just a fill in.

I love how everything is blurry except for Sally's head, she is in pursuit of Marley my 2 year old boxer/lab cross, its their favourite game to play while hiking in the forest.

I have to get prepared for a job interview tomorrow (yippy!!!!) so as of right now this is what I am posting for the daily photo challenge. If I get ambitious later maybe I'll take some more :) as for now I am off to do day 3 of the 30 day shred!

Photo Challenge Day 5 UP

Today's theme UP was a lot of fun, out on a hike with the dogs I walked around looking up trying to find a great shot. The downside to this challenge was when it started snowing and my lens became covered in snow, so I decided to put the lens cap back on the camera for the day and enjoy the rest of the hike. These are the shots I was happiest with for the day. This isn't the first time I have photographed trees like this, but I just love the lines and the angle. I was hoping to get a silo after the hike but the snow prevented that from happening, but that can be a picture for another day. I hope you enjoy!

Photo Challenge Day 5 Theme

Todays theme for the photo challenge is Up, I think this will be a lot of fun and lead to some interesting shots.

Photo Challenge Day 4: Pairs

Well I left today's challenge until the last minute and didn't really come up with any great inspirational ideas or shots.  This is a theme that if I would have put the time and effort into I know could have led to some great shots.

 

This weekend I am going to spend more time on  getting some quality photo's!

30 Day Shred

So today was the day I finally decided to do level 1 of the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels. This program gave me a butt-kicking today (to the point where I though I was going to be sick, but I kept pushing), but she is good at motivating you, and it makes me want more already. I have wanted to try this DVD for sometime, but I just never did. I haven't really done workout video's before besides yoga. I am the type of person that likes to go out and be active because working out seems like a chore, whereas hiking or cycling or even running is a fun activity not just a "workout". 

It has been really cold here and I have been finding myself taking Marley to play fetch in the park beside my house rather than embarking on an actual walk or hike, so Marley has been getting a work out but I have not. I started feeling sore and stiff and my energy levels plummeted and  I knew I had to be proactive and incorporate exercise into my day (I haven't been doing yoga lately either). I also feel like its a good time to start getting in shape and ready for the summer.

In the last year I have lost over 40 pounds but I am still 20 pounds from a weight I would be happy with! There is motivation to reach that goal because I am rewarding myself with a lululemon sweater. Ideally I would like to loose 30 more pounds and tone and tighten everything!!  I am so stoked to get to my goal and buy an awesome swim suit this year, and really its not an unrealistic goal, I just have to stick with it, so maybe posting this to the world will make me stick with it!

Photo Challenge Day 4 Theme

Today's theme is Make a Pair, taking photo's in groupings of 2. They don't have to be a match but they should be somewhat related and just not 2 completely random objects thrown together. So a picture with 2 flowers in it for example or 2 hot wheels cars ect.

Photo Challenge Day 3 - Silver

Well today's challenge was more difficult than I had anticipated. I took pictures of soooooooo many things and was unhappy with almost everything. I piled up different kinds of silver chains to try and show the different chain textures but I just couldn't get the lighting or shot I was looking for.  I tried to get creative with metal utensils, faucets and keys, and nothing seemed lead to a great shot or idea to create a great shot. I had decided to take a little break and come back to it and while I was sitting at my desk I looked up found some inspiration.

The first picture is taken from the side and the light is not shining directly on the guitar. The area that I focused on  was the silver strings and pick up.

 The second photo that I took I tilted my desk lamp towards the guitar and the light really makes the   pick up shine.

I wont go into great detail about today's photo's I am battling a terrible head cold and I am ready to crawl into bed for the night. Tomorrow is a new day and a new challenge!

Photo Challenge Day 3 Theme

Today's theme was randomly selected, and the theme is Sliver! The possibilities for this theme seem endless and I am excited to start looking for inspiration for today's pictures. I think that this theme will be fun and challenging.  The pictures can be of both objects made of silver, and things with a silver colour. It is entirely up to the photographer! I hope you will join me on today's challenge and challenge yourself.

 

Photo Challenge Day 2 - Snow White

So today's challenge was Snow!! and with the amount of snow we received today  the possibilities for pictures seemed endless. For the first picture I decided to use the black and white setting on my camera. The object under all this snow is a BBQ, poor poor BBQ. I think this picture does a good job at conveying the cold and gloomy day we had.

For the Second photo I wanted to capture the snow falling and I tried various shutter speeds until I got this, where snow flakes are pretty visible. I like how the lamp post really stands out. This picture reminds me of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe!!

I have had questions from people who would like to participate in the Photo Challenge and would like to answer them now.

Participating in the Photo Challenge

1. On a day you would like to participate come to The Chronicles of the Creative Geographer and find the topic or theme of the day. (photo's must be taken on day of challenge)
2. Go out and be inspired and take some pictures. (pictures for this Challenge are to be natural and unedited, this is about finding creativity and inspiration not about photo manipulation)
3. Post your favourite pictures of the day and some info about it to YOUR blog or website and leave a comment  here under the daily challenge with the link to your post.
4. Have Fun :D

 

Photo Challenge Day 2... Snow White

I only thought it appropriate that today's theme be SNOW ! And because it is a snow day for many I thought I would post the topic a head of time in case I have anyone who wants to participate.
Go out there and capture all this white stuff, it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Lets Try This Again... Photo Challenge Day 1 take 2

Ok so due to a shot hiatus from the 365 Day Photo Challenge I have decided that I will start at day 1 again.

Day 1: Kitties

I was playing around with the manual setting in fairly low light for the first one, and  this is what I was able to capture.

I love how this shot of Brooke turned out. She is just kinda looking off into the distance, maybe day dreaming of an impending attack on the dogs. I love the soft light in this photo, and I feel like the shadows add dimension.  Taking pictures of Brooke today reminded me how much fun she is to photograph, she is quite quirky and loves the camera.

 

I was lucky to have my camera near by for this one. Brooke decided to roll around in a pink scarf, and play cute for the camera. I think this pic of her turned out really great!!

Movie Review: Easy A

 

            (4.5/5)

This was a movie I was excited to check out, and I was not disappointed!  Emma Stone stars as Olive Penderghast, a high school girl who has the attention of her teachers but not her peers, until a rumour about her loosing her virginity gets out. Then in order to keep her new "popularity" if you can call it that begins to aid fellow students with problems at a further expense to her popularity and reputation.

This comedy is smart, and witty and and features Amanda Bynes as an extreme Christian and Lisa Kudrow as a school Guidance Counsellor. This film is a modern take on Nathaniel Hawthorn's The Scarlet Letter both with strong female characters whose reputations are ruined by sex, and they must overcome their struggles and re-find themselves. This was a teen comedy that was actually funny and had me laughing out loud! Emma Stone really creates a believable and relate-able character in this film and I don't think the movie would have been the same without her.

I highly recommend this movie!!

 

Wind Energy & NIMBYism

“It’s my hope that today’s oil prices will usher in a new era for wind power and wind energy producers. I think this is already starting to happen. Wind energy now produces enough electricity in Canada to meet the needs of 560,000 homes, the size of a small city. It is no longer the work of backyard inventors and garage tinkerers.”

-       David Suzuki (CBC, 2009)

 

OK so everyone wants to be green, but realistically its just a fad for many and that is proven by the fact that everyone will say they are green but no one wants to take the initiative or responsibility and push green projects forward. Everyone saw the devastating impact the extraction of oil can have, during the BP spill  in the Gulf last year, and who can forget the images of ducks being trapped and dying in a tailing pond in Alberta's dirty Oil Sands. And yet there are still people who are fighting green energy initiatives, and I feel like enough is enough if you don't have a better solution and are just fighting a project because you are uneducated or unemployed, and are just one of those people who needs to bitch about something, WTH this is ridiculous get a grip people, the world does not revolve around you and your selfish actions are having negative impacts on those who are trying to embrace green energy.   

The Liberal government of Ontario has stated that “Only safety and environmental concerns will be legitimate objections to bio fuel plants, solar panel fields and wind turbines under a green energy act”  (Ferguson and Frenec, 2009). So why are the shenanigans continuing, why is just being opposed based on personal feeling still dictating the construction of these projects.

Ontario has a 550 Meter setback of wind turbines from dwellings, which is further back than any US State regulations,  and 12 European countries. This means that farmers and people with land who wish to have wind turbines installed cannot have them installed closer to their dwellings. It is important to differentiate those who have genuine health concerns with those who just don’t want them in their communities, or the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) phenomenon. Even when a project is proposed in a remote area or offshore if the area is perceived by the public as beautiful, there is a higher likelihood that the public will oppose it (Graham et al. 2009). Many farmers have embraced the thought of compensation from the Wind Energy companies to locate turbines on their properties because many farmers are facing hard times and installing turbines could mean keeping their farm and way of life.

NIMBYism should not be a factor determining the construction of green energy projects. I Hope wind concerns Ontario is finally silenced.. I'm sorry but the processes of extracting and refining and delivering fossil fuels, and the effects of burning fossil fuels far out ways any negative PROVEN attributes related to wind turbines.

They have been in place in Europe since the 1970s and if we keep trying to spend all our time proving they are bad we will never use them to their full potential. This is a topic I am interested and passionate about and was the focus of my senior thesis. Allowing NIMBYism and Wind Concerns Ontario to alter decisions and twist facts and present studies that are not accredited is disappointing and a waste of tax payers dollars. 

Mr McGuinty what happened to "NIMBYism will not stand" and will not be a problem affecting these green energy projects. Allowing a group like this to feed fear into communities and alter government decisions makes me ashamed to be an Ontarian.

"Ontario's Green Energy Act could propel the province past California as the most innovative North American leader in the renewable energy field."
-- Denis Hayes, former director, NREL and founder of Earth Day. 

Under the new Green Energy Act there is a requirement that at least 25 per cent of the goods and labour for Ontario wind projects and 50 per cent for solar projects come from Ontario. The liberal government promises that the Green Energy Act will create over 50,000 “green collar” jobs and generate billions of dollars of economic growth in communities across Ontario within three years (GEA, 2009). Wind farms do more than co-exist peacefully with agricultural uses of land; they help preserve something that is vital to us. They provide alternative income sources for farmers; wind farms help farmers make it through the ups and downs of farming. Wind energy helps to preserve the rural way of life in Ontario giving farmers, ranchers and their children the option of staying on the farm (IESO, 2009). Does wind concerns Ontario take that into consideration, that these projects are helping people keep their farms?

 

Do people think that when they are all anti fossil fuels and are then against the green energy proposals that the energy that they consume and burn and waste is just made out of thin air? In Ontario if you turn on you lights, a portion of the energy you consume comes the extraction and production of coal in Pennsylvania. If you are interested in learning more about this check out the film Garbage the Revolution Starts at Home, a Andrew Nisker film http://www.garbagerevolution.com/ 

The time of using I didn't know shouldn't be now, it is time to get educated and stand up for green energy and the sustainability of our planet for future generations. These are the lives our our children and grandchildren that we are adversely affecting. Please take the time to become aware of the green energy projects in your area and my challenge to everyone is get involved and become educated on this subject. This is your future.

It is 2011 it's time to stand behind green energy!