Wednesday 27 July 2011

Hendra Virus

No one could ever accuse me of an expert on biohazard crap, but I'm thinking this shit is getting serious. If you have no idea what I'm talking about: BASICALLY, local flying foxes - large red bats - are being accused of passing on a disease that has an apparently RIDICULOUSLY high mortality rate. IF you're a horse, and catch it, and the fuzz find out, you're survival rate is ZERO. They plug ya.

Outbreaks so far have been fairly local to Brisbane. Now though, cases seem to be spreading far and wide but still localised to the animals and people that get it without having some sort of path of destruction from one area to another. This disease previously to this week was thought to be 'only' a threat to horses and people. This week, however, a dog was found with antibodies to this disease. Unfortunately for the dog it's gonna get plugged as well. I'm kinda thinking this is a mistake, of sorts. For one, apart from bats themselves, this animal is the ONLY living being that has antibodies to it. Two, I'd be feeding this dog bat shit to see what happens. This tactic is fairly ineffective if the dog is in a hole ... in the ground.

The other thing is, the geniusii at the top are dumping a cool six million into studying this disease even further. I got an idea. Just seeing as this disease is now being carried by DOGS ... you know, the things that FKN 87% - made that figure up for dramatic effect - of the population have one. The bats are getting lined up for near genocide, as well. They're gonna start with fucken smoke bombs and scaring them with choppers, which is retarded. Aint' gonna help, and apparently when bats get stressed the potential for this disease is greater ... somehow. So yeah, lets scare the crap outta them; that'll help....

That leaves one solution ... getting plugged and sharing a hole with horses and dogs.

So here we are, at the brink of a SERIOUS outbreak and they dump the loose change from the state government's smoko fund for the year on it. Dickheads.

Friday 15 July 2011

Cameras: Expensive versus inexpensive

Funny thing happened on the way ... oh wait, no it didn't.

Got a new camera a few weeks back. On the amateur scale it was creeping up there in price - 2000 - but on the global scheme of things that's cheap. I searched high and low - pretty much in the canon range only cause I already have lenses for my canon cameras. I got the 60D mostly because of the flip screen and it does shit more expensive cameras do etc etc. I like it. I like it alot.

ANYHOO...

Previous to this camera I mostly was using my phone. Yes, phone. And I'll show you why.

Click THIS.

So that's a shot using my phone and processing on an app using red highlights. I love that effect.

Click HERE for another example. And HERE. Hope that last one works.

But, all fairly reasonable photos taken with my phone. The last one has some post processing OUTSIDE of the phone just for colours but you get the idea of what phones these days are capable. The other thing about phone cameras is that they really are unobtrusive when it comes to shooting people on the street. No one is intimidated by a phone being pointed in their general direction. But a big black thing - *cough* - with a massive lens is intimidating. ALOT of pro photogs know this and use small cameras on the street.

In my mind you're quite capable of getting creative with a phone. Even check THIS one out. But, the advantage I've found in DSLR's is with stuff like THIS and THIS which would be absolute miracle shots with a phone. DSLR's also give you time exposure shots with things like storms and water AND street photo's of moving things. But on the whole, I've found my phone JUST as useful as the canon. Sometimes I even choose the phone over it for a shot.