Walking in Sydney on a Saturday

Looking west from Five Dock across Hen and Chicken Bay you can see the prominent landmark of the Bushells Head Office Concord. The factory was used for tea production from 1958 and later instant coffee making, now I believe only coffee continues to be produced at the Concord Factory.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f8, 1/320 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f8, 1/400 sec

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Some puffy thing I found interesting while on our walk.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, 35mm f8, 1/250 sec

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Grass . . . . . . . . . .

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, 35mm f2, 1/1600 sec

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Birthday

Its my birthday, thanks to everyone for their best wishes and this beautiful card from Jacqui and Eladio. Happy birthday to my lovely daughter Jacqueline too as hers is on the same day. The events below happened in our birth years. Do you know which year and for whom they correspond?

• The Summer Olympics are held in Melbourne, Australia.
• The worlds first personal computer, the Commodore PET, is demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago USA.
• The Hungarian Revolution starts.
• Portugal's traditional naming conventions change such that children's surnames can come from either the mother or the father, not just from the father.
• Television broadcasting commences in Australia.
• Star Wars opens in cinemas.
• The hard disk drive is invented by an IBM team led by Reynold B. Johnson.
• The first Apple II computers go on sale
• Elvis Presley dies.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 450, 35mm f2, 1/60 sec

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Interesting Old Roof

Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, 82mm f16, 1/40 sec

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HDR Photography Re Post

High dynamic range photography is a technique that gets greater dynamic range of luminances between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than standard digital photography techniques. The wider dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes as seen with the human eye. See Link for more info . . .

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f22, HDR

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The Web 2.0 revolution

Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom (Authors: Matthew Fraser and Soumitra Dutta) could be subtitled everything you wanted to know about social media but didn't have the time ask. It examines how online social networking is transforming business. “throwing sheep” is a term the authors coin describing what people do on websites to get one another’s attention. For example “poking” someone online, an example of the Gen Y world of virtual social interaction.

Its seems like a useful introduction to the online reality of Web 2.0 powered social networking from the perspective of the authors who seem to have a theoretical understanding of economics, business and organisational behaviour. Social networking has exploded and blossomed into a significant cultural force. The underlying argument of this book is that the "Web 2.0 revolution represents a powerful rupture in established forms of social organisation” The authors contend that the Internet is fuelling changes in society’s social order, values and institutions. The book begins by outlining the social scientific understanding of interpersonal interactions, dividing them into three categories personal, organisational, and consumer. It also examines how social networks break down traditional, centralised, top down power structures, diffusing influence to the edges, including people from all occupations. I'm still reading (listening) to this book so here is a some paraphrasing form an online book review:

"The bulk of “Throwing Sheep” is devoted to a comprehensive account of the ways in which social networking affects everything from interpersonal communication to political activism, following the author’s thematic structure of identity (personal interactions), status (the organisational), and power (communal or civic activity). The conclusion of “Throwing Sheep” doesn’t offer much in the way of proscriptive recommendations, but rather a reprise of its key theme of social networking’s empowering promises. The authors do acknowledge some pitfalls or, as they describe it, the dark side of the Web 2.0 revolution, noting, “Never before have our identities been so exposed to danger.” Yet they trust that humanity’s inherent benevolence, integrity, and morality will prevail, and social networking’s benefits will outweigh the hazards that have already infiltrated social sites.

Key Concepts

• The Web 2.0 revolution, epitomised by social networking sites, represents what the authors call an “eruption” in established forms of social organisation, ushering in an era of increased self-awareness and self-reliance.

• For businesses, Web 2.0 social networks facilitate communication within the organisation and between company and customer.

• Within the enterprise, social networking knocks down departmental silos and corporate walls, all barriers to communication within the organisation.

• Used strategically, Web 2.0 social sites can allow business leaders greater control over their company’s brand, image, and reputation.

• Fundamentally, online social networking isn’t merely a method of communication or a by product of a changing society; it’s an instrument of change."

http://www.throwingsheep.com

Click the button to see the audiobook on iTunes or you can buy the old media version in any bookshop :-)

Pet Photography

If you own a pet and you like photography, your pet has probably been your first portrait model. Seeing as most animals like dogs or cats only live for 8 to 15 years depending on the breed, its natural to want to capture your family pet in a way you will always cherish. Trouble is pets are not that easy to get to sit still for an extended amount of time, so you need to be patient and have the camera ready for that candid shot. Here are some I've taken over the last year or so . . .

Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-f5.6 @ ISO 200, 18mm, f3.5, 1/25

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f8, 1/500 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, 35mm f2, 1/20 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f8, 1/640 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8 @ ISO 200, 105mm f4, 1/30 sec

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