The Toronto Zoo: So furry...and delicious.

First of all let me just say that the zoo is kind of a depressing place. While there are some animals who have pretty baller cages habitats, there are some who are confined to a small space, just laying in their own poop and staring at a wall. It kind of breaks my heart and we should just eat those animals and get it over with.



Since I haven't busted out the SLR in a few months, having it make my neck sweaty over the weekend got me thinking about pictures and video and dragon boat and traveling. The reason I like to catch stuff on film is so that I can eventually torture and embarrass my kids later on in life, and also because my memory is just straight terrible.

While it would be nice if one of my pictures or videos went viral somehow, what matters is that I can share it with my family, friends and even myself to check out if they want to...but not keep them some creepy personal archive that nobody ever gets to see (some most of the time).

PICS OR IT NEVER HAPPENED



I know that I'm not the only one because no matter where you go nowadays you'll see some dude with a camera hanging from their neck or some other kid with a POS (point and shoot...hah) snapping away, taking pictures of food, scenery, friends and self pic themselves.

Hell, I do it all the time. I try to be as sly/unobtrusive as possible though, Ninja Pro style, and you can see from a lot of my photos that I hardly don't take awkward photos of people who don't want to be photographed or if I do then they don't even realize it (mwah ah aha h). The last thing I want to do is make a dude uncomfortable or cause inconvenience.

My friends have basically learned to tolerate accept it or at least wait until on out of earshot before they say anything, like real friends do.



The one thing that I try to avoid at all costs is being that guy. So yeah, I might take one or two but do my best to show some restraint and wait for the right moment...although it might now always work out that way (see alcohol as a corollary).

You know who I'm talking about - that one guy or girl who's a buzz kill with it. The worse example of it is in that one episode of Dinner Party Wars where that chick brings around her SLR to all parties (and even her's) and gets all up in your face taking pictures of food. Nation wide awkwardness.

While it's nice to capture a moment in time, don't forget that you should enjoy it as well. Although you might have a picture nothing compares to the real thing, so relax for a minute and take it all in.



A lot of it also depends on who you are with and what the circumstances are though.

A good example is at weddings where people just let the pictures fly. All weddings are like this - the professional photographer(s) come in dressed casually then during the ceremony and reception get all up in everyone's business. They're right up there at the altar, blocking everyone because they're taking pictures of the exact moment the ring goes on so it can live in some book somewhere, etc, etc, etc.

It's nice and you might actually look back at it, but damn son. Moment killer.

On the other hand you have me at the wedding reception, hopped up on red wine, where I shamelessly probably took at least 15 cell phone pics of me with just the bride/groom during the reception. So I'm awesome, not annoying.

Vacations are another beast to tackle...



Also, when making videos people don't realize how much footage you need to throw together a short clip. Say what you want but trying to make standing there, walking through crowds or jumping jacks look exciting is a tough gig.

I don't mind making videos at all but I'm over filming for them. While I might take some of the footage I'll leave it up to my teammates for the most part. If they want a video that's fine, but at least help a brother out or do something interesting. Otherwise enjoy 2 minutes of slow motion walking where people aren't even looking at the camera...



The other thing about photography is that a lot of it is about luck and chance. Just being in the right place at the right time to capture whatever is going on. But don't miss the full impact of it though by trying to see it through a crappy little lens...



I'll admit that I barely like carrying around a 5 pound SLR - it's BS. I'm a firm believer of the saying carry less shoot more, so you'll never see me with more than the lens that's on or even a lens cap when I bust the Nikon out.

Shucks, my iPhone is good enough for most situations, and it's convenient as hell.



I can guarantee you that the guy who has a backpack full of glass probably wishes it was cotton candy instead. That's not fun.

Professional camera-people carry around more than one camera with different lenses, because while you're busy taking off your lens cap or swapping it out, he's already got the shot...and you've missed it...regret forever...or something like that.



I dunno, that's just some noise from a dude who is just happy that it's Friday. Do what you like, don't shit disturb others and have fun - that's what matters.