Tag: cameraphone

“Kickin’ It Analog” – My verison of the Tiny Planet Photos’ effect by @infodingapps created using a silver tube

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There’s been a number of posts and tweets about the new Tiny Planet Photos app by InfoDing (note: their official site is one of the most interesting ‘coming soon’ placeholders I’ve ever seen).

I haven’t had a chance to play with the app myself but the screenshots immediately reminded me of some shots I took on my Nokia 6265i way back in May of 2007 – over a month before the first iPhone launched on June 29th, 2007! (Do you remember life before the iPhone?)

I was assisting on a location photo shoot and we had to assemble a metal table – the type you’d see at European sidewalk cafés. While  goofing-off  working dilligently, I noticed that the interior surface of the table’s centre column was highly reflective. Fascinated by my newfound discovery I immedately began snapping pix of flowers and co-workers.

Obviously, these shots are more simplistic than some of the cool effects and controls it appears you can have with Tiny Planet. However, it is interesting to consider even an effect as ‘digital’ and ‘otherworldly’ as the one provided by this app still has a corollary in the analog realm.

“Peekin’ Through” – Glimpse of a sunset in Toronto

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“Mentoring” – Starting the next generation of photographers early, FUEL Studios, Toronto

“Scarborough’s Most Famous Burger” – Johnny’s Burgers, Scarborough

Like many cities, Toronto has experienced a burger craze of late. Here’s a reminder that way before it became cool there was a place that dedicates itself heart and soul to the simple hamburger.

Going to Johnny’s Burgers can feel a little soup-Nazi-ish (don’t even think about losing your ticket) but the service is fast and the burgers are good.

“World’s Best Sandwich” – Schwartz’s Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich

Get it cut medium or fatty with coleslaw and pickles. Most people drink a cherry coke with it but I prefer coffee.

If you need more convincing check the website.

“Where Are We?” – Navigating by iPhone, Burlington Skyway

The coolest thing is that if you click the location link below that says Hamilton, Ontario it will show this photo’s location as being exactly the same as the blue dot on the iPhone screen in the photo.

Technology – ain’t it grand!

“Conflict of Interest?” – Coke machine dispensing Pepsi, Niagara Falls, NY

“At Large” – Anti-defecating-dog sign, Toronto

Is it just me, or does this sign seem bitter? Like its tried asking nicely but its had enough now and is not going to mince words anymore.

“This Latté’s Rosetta is Good to the Last Drop” – Te Aro Coffee, Toronto

So I’d hear about this new coffee shop in Leslieville and decided to check it out a while ago.

The barista at Te Aro made me this kick-ass latt?? with a rosetta so solid it damn near imprinted itself on the bottom of the mug. Now that’s craftsmanship!

Check out Te Aro online or in-person – I recommend the latter…and the latt??. (Ha! – Did you see what I did there? Did ya? Did ya?…yeah I’m lame.)

“Postmodernism-ism II” – Gallery patrons at the AGO, Toronto looking at pictures of gallery patrons looking at pictures at the Museo del Prado, Madrid taken by Thomas Struth

This one adds to the series I started with my “Referential-ness-ness” post on June 15th.

That’s right, I’m going to out-postmodern the postmodernists.

1, 2, 3…ART WAR!!!

You can view more of Thomas Struth’s work here.

“Why the Long Face?” – Decorative column at Museum Station, Toronto

“Urinal or Mind Control?”

diagram made me more than a little leery about using this…um…device.

“Three Guys in a Toboggan” – Arabic stop sign in Marrakech Morocco

“Desperate Ingenuity” – Make-shift charging station, Hotel Du Pacha, Marrakech, Morocco

There is a serious design flaw with travel power adapters. The engineers who design them don’t seem to comprehend that the things that will be plugged into them (mobile phone chargers, camera battery chargers, etc…) will have weight to them.

Add to this the fact that all the outlets in Morocco are installed at least one foot above any surface that could be used to support the weight of an adapter/charger combination, and keeping it physically plugged into the wall becomes nearly impossible.

I managed to jury-rig this ‘support’ system for our mini-powerbar with a Mr. Noodles and a can of Clamato I snagged from the KLM lounge at Pearson – both of which and made it all around Morocco and back to Canada without being consumed.

“Most Uniquely Decorated Restaurant EVER!” – Elizir, Essaouira, Morocco

Walking into Elizir is like walking into the apartment of an eccentric collector; and to a certain extent you have. Owner and chef, Abdellatif Rharbaoui has decorated (some may say cluttered) his restaurant with art and nik-naks as objects d’art on every surface and in every corner.
 
The food was incredible, with the Squid-Ink Rissotto being my personal favourite. Abdellatif also introduced my girlfriend and I to a Moroccan red wine that was absolutely fantastic. If production levels increase, the Atlas Mountains could give the Andes a run for their money as the next new world IT terroir.
 
Check it out at http://www.elizir.com/  

“Coolest Lamp EVER!” – Elizir Restaurant, Essaouira, Morocco

“Chillin’ On The Flip-Side” – Roof-top patio overlooking the Atlantic at the Madada Mogador Hotel, Essaouira, Morocco

After an 8 hours drive across the Moroccan desert – through
road-construction dust-storms in a car without air conditioning, my girlfriend and I finally arrived in Essaouira (ESSA-we’re-ah) to the cooling breeze of the Atlantic. We were welcomed by the friendly staff of the Madada Mogador with a pot of mint tea and a seat on their rooftop patio.

“Different Alphabet; Same Warning” – Seat-back on a Royal Air Maroc flight, Casablanca, Morocco

“Group Distraction” – Movie-time on a KLM transatlantic flight to Amsterdam

In my opinion, the introduction of the in-seat TV screen is the greatest thing to happen to flying since escape hatches.

Finally, we are in control of what we want to watch.

However, the sight of a hundred or so people tightly packed next to each other wearing headphones and intenty staring at their own personal screen definitely diminishes any sense of flying as a shared experience.

Flying used to be an adventure. Now it’s an inconvenience. Security measures in our post-9/11 world have a lot to do with that, but a general malaise towards the engineering marvel that is scheduled mass passenger flight already exsisted before our ‘war-on-terror’ reality.

Heaven help us if the entertainment system were to go down. We may have to read, or introduce ourselves to our elbow neighbour, or stare out the window at a sight that human eyes had never seen a scant century ago.

“Curiosity” – graffiti, Toronto

“Really?!?!?” – Dock In A Box, dock retailer, Barrie, Ontario

“The Coolest Hand-Dryer EVER!” – The Dyson AirBlade

This is by far the coolest hand dryer I have ever used. You stick your hand into it to start it, and once you do a super powerful thin ‘blade’ of air cuts across the opening to dry your hands extremely quickly and efficiently.

 

“Warning Sign Fail” – CO2 Alert sticker on a walk-in refrigerator

Perhaps others will not see the humour I see in this warning sticker, but I think it’s hilarious.

I feel this is an area where a written warming may be more effective. Call me crazy, but I think a sign that says “DON’T STAY IN HERE TOO LONG WITH THE DOOR CLOSED OR YOU WILL DIE!” would do more to instill fear of CO??? exposure than a rag-doll stick-figure taking a nap inside a triangle.

“Crazy Carpet” – Carpet at the OLG Slots at Georgian Downs Racetrack, Barrie

“Whoa!!!” – Fun with motion a.k.a. lamp vortex

“Office View” – Charter fishing boat on Lake Ontario

Here’s another Daily Mobile first, the first post with an image taken on a Blackberry.

While between phones last year (see previous post) I was in a photoshoot on a charter fishing boat out of Port Credit on Lake Ontario. My friend Jessica graciously lent me her beloved BB so I could take this shot of my office view to share with my girlfriend.

 

“Going Down” – Toronto skyline at dusk as seen from the Frank Gehry staircase at the Art Gallery of Ontario

This image is the first iPhone photo I have ever posted to The Daily Mobile. Up to this point all the images on this blog (older,
non-Posterous posts can be viewed at http://twitpic.com/photos/TheDailyMobile ) were taken with a Nokia 6265i.

I think Nokia makes great handsets. My 6265i was a great handset – until it died. But, it got fixed and it was still a great handset. Then it died again; this time for good.

Apparently this was a common problem with the model, which was somewhat of an unwanted step-child for Nokia.

Nokia had long ago decided that GSM was the way of the future and CDMA would eventually die out. To that end, they essentially stopped making CDMA handsets. However, the size of the CDMA market in North America – particularly in Canada where number portability was not yet a reality, caused them to keep getting pulled back in. Albeit, with only half of their R&D ass in tow. Hence the 6265i: a handset with all the awesome
features of a regular Nokia product but with none of the stability or support.

It was my sheer love of the Nokia interface and features that made me revive the damn thing once and desperately attempt to do so a second time. Ultimately, it was not to be.

With my (finally) portable number, and the bright lights of the
smartphone world beckoning, I decided to take the plunge and get an iPhone.

Many months had passed between my Nokia dying and getting my iPhone, yet interestingly enough the dates almost perfectly coincided with two separate visits to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).

So it is that The Daily Mobile climbed Frank Gehry’s stairs with Nokia and descends them with Apple.

This will not be the last time an image from my 6265i will be posted here but for the most part from now on The Daily Mobile has joined the ranks of the iPhonographer army.

 

“Art Un-Appreciation” – Young boy at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

“Between Landmarks” – A couple gazes at the CN Tower from the AGO, Toronto

I’ve got one word for you: synergy

“Addition” – Art Gallery of Ontario staircase, Toronto

I am a big fan of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) rennovation. I was lucky enough to be a photoshoot before this staircase was officially opened and i was amazed at how it seem to keep going up forever!

“What’s the Return Policy on This Item?” – Shopping cart kid at the Zellers checkout, Gerrard Square, Toronto