St. Jacobs Market

St Jacobs market is located in Waterloo, Ontario. Hundreds of food and craft vendors bring you Ontario's farm-fresh produce, meat, cheese, baking and more.  In addition, there is an outlet mall in the market.

Toronto near Kensington Market and Ontario Art Gallery

Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Toronto.

Camera Phone Pictures of North York, Toronto

Camera phone comes in handy for snapshot, though the image quality is so so. These pictures were taken with an 3 MP LG P500 camera.

Toronto Photo Walk Donlands and Danforth

Some images recorded during the walking event of Toronto Photo Walk Donlands and Danforth.  36 photowalkers were there today. The weather was great not cold and not hot. Most of the photo walkers used Canon and Nikon, only three Micro 4/3 camera (Olympus OM-D, EPM1 and Panasonic Lumix G3).

Photo walkers are gathering together for the walk at 10:00 am

Toronto Photo Walk Downtown Sculptures January 26

On January 26, Toronto Photo Walks organized a walk (Downtown Sculptures) in Toronto downtown.  I used a 2007 vintage Olympus E-510 to visualize the scene of the walk.  It was very cold and hard to walk.  It was a bit of challenge for me,  who had just recovered from the painful "tennis elbow" and back pain, to walk under this hazard condition. Finally, I chickened out of the walk because my wife's snow boot leaked badly. I know I did not posted these images in time, better late than never.

Blossom flower and warm weather in Toronto

The flowers start to bloom and temperatures start to warm up in Toronto. 

Niagara Fall and Fallsview Casino

Went to Niagara Fall to enjoy the warm sunny day last Tuesdays. May is always a good month to visit Niagara Fall.  The weather is not that hot under the shade. Niagara is packed with attractions to draw enjoyable and happy feeling from your thought.  Dale Carnegie said "If we think happy thoughts, we will be happy".

Fallsview Casino Shuttle Bus

Fallsview Casino

Toronto Photo Walk on South Bloor West Village on May 4

Toronto Photo Walks organized a walk around South Bloor West Village area on May 4, 2013. There were about 20 participants and I am one of them.  During the walk, I use my camera to visualize the walk on the following images:

Donation to Navy League

Thanks for the donation

Toronto High Park Cherry Blossom

Weather was suddenly warm last Friday (May 3).   Cherry trees are in full blossom at Toronto High Park.

March 17 Toronto Urban Photo Walk - Graffiti Alley

On March 17,  Toronto Photo Walks took a walk down Grafitti Alley.  Grafitti Alley is located near Queen Street and Dundas of Toronto, which runs south of Queen Street from Spadina Avenue to Portland Avenue. It is a good place for taking photography. I used an Olympus E-510 to document the colorful view of the street.

Tips for taking good pictures with a digital camera

Tips for Taking Good Pictures

1. Move closer to the subject

Subject is the main focus and interest of a good picture, hence move closer to the subject.  If your camera has zoom function, use the optical zoom to get a close up shot.  Mover closer will result in less clutter in the image without drawing the eye away from the main subject of your photo.

Example: Move closer to the subject (flower)

2. Golden rule of third composition

Place the main subject on one of the four lines or four intersections (i.e the green dot). See picture above under the topics "Move closer to the subject"

Golden Rule of Third

3. Use camera "fill in flash" function under bright sun

Use the function of "fill in flash" to fill the harsh shadows under the sun. Almost every digital camera has this function.

Fill in with flash under bright sun to eliminate shadows on the flower.

4. Try vertical picture (Portrait)

Vertical picture of certain subject (e.g.building or portrait) sometimes look better.

5. Turn on the camera built in stabilization function or use a tripod under low light environment

Under low light, picture may appear not in focus due to lower setting of shutter speed.  If your camera has image stabilization device turn it on, otherwise use higher ISO or a tripod or use the flash (if possible).

6. Keep the background of the subject simple

Complex background diverts the focus interest of the picture. e.g. This picture has complex background.

7. Get a brand name camera not necessary expensive one

Nowadays, brand name point and shoot camera does not cost too much.  One can get a brand name for under $100 dollars.  Do not buy those no name camera. Even a brand name camera phone can take quite okay pictures for 4R size picture. Read camera review in the web and Google search.