Red Cedar

New toy….

Posted on December 28, 2006 by Megan

I did in fact buy a camera yesterday after work – after reading numerous review sites, and talking for an hour with the sales rep at Dunn and Rundle, I ended up with the Olympus Evolt 500 which is the camera I was looking at back in the fall. It feels good in my hand, does all the right things, and came with two good quality lenses and a good price. When you get right down to it, within a certain range of technology, most products are very similar and you just basically learn to use which features you end up with. Things I liked about the Evolt, besides the fact that it feels right in my hand, included the dust-removal technology on the sensor, the fact that the Olympus cameras are for some technical reason better for infrared photography, and has a good sized screen on it for settings and reviewing shots. The viewfinder is easy to look through, and every site I looked at, including the user-review sites, all highly-recommended this camera as well-priced and good for new SLR users (that’s me!)

It doesn’t have the same range of lens options as the Canon models, however, I find it pretty unlikely I’m going to need anything beyond the standard 20 lenses that are available for this camera (like really, I need macro lenses and some filters and that’s about it). Perhaps also a drawback is that secondhand-lenses for the camera won’t be so readily available because Olympus isn’t as widely used as Canon or Nikon. The photo quality is excellent though, and the two lenses it comes with are a plenty-good starting place. I would like to get more memory and more battery power because my intention is to use this for outdoor and travel photography mostly which means far away from a computer/recharging station. I did purchase a mid-range tripod and some lens protecting filters, and this will make a sizable hole in my savings account… but oh well, at least I didn’t buy it on credit!

So I’m going to Lynn Valley this Saturday to do a short hike (I think just the 4 km to the old mill site and back) and take pictures to see what I can make this baby do (I’ve got 7 days to return it and I want to see if it is right for me before then). Anyone want to join in? Let me know.

New gear.

Posted on December 27, 2006 by Megan

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I’m serious considering purchasing a new digital camera this week (digital slr – finally moving up!) – have my eye on the Olympus Evolt – which does everything I want it to, and feels really good in my hand when I pick it up (the Nikon D series is nice, but I have small hands, they feel too big in mine). I was looking at these in early fall and of course they have come down in price after xmas, making them a pretty good deal (there is an Evolt package with two lenses that comes in at $900 plus tax).

Does anyone out there have any objections to the Olympus cameras? Just wondering if some of you camera experts have an opinion on this….. Or any other suggestions. Thanks!

The holiday post

Posted on December 25, 2006 by Megan

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It’s been a somewhat sleepy christmas for me – owing mostly to the fact that once I went off the penicillin I was prescribed two weeks ago, the strep throat started coming back! Went to the clinic on xmas-eve day and got another prescription (the doc there told me that strep these days is pretty much entirely resistant to penicillin and he prescribed me a synthetic of some sort). Upshot is, new drugs are working but making me woozy-tired as a result.

I’m at the folks on the island and heading back tomorrow to the city – but so far everything here has been relatively calm and there haven’t been any big fights (huzzah!) My parents gave me two nights at a resort on Pender Island which will be a nice winter-escape if I can find the time for it. Oh – and my brother gave me two good kitchen knives. Can’t complain about either of those gifts (or the handknitted slippers made by my sister-in-law’s granny)….

And I’ve got to see the Victoria crew as well, reminding me that it’s really been way too long since I’ve been over just to be social. Last night was the first time I’ve seen Masha, Rye and Miranda in over a year… which is just too long when I’m really that close – but then again, it’s only in the last two years I’ve been spending more social time in Victoria… hopefully a phase-in period to living here again in the future. It’s still a plan, though somewhat detoured from while I figure out the next two years which promise to be eventful in many ways.

I hope that all of you out there are having a good xmas, solstice, etc. and once I’m not narcoleptically tired I will post a proper reflection of sorts. Cheers to all on this day that I am glad is passing quickly (I’m always so glad when Christmas is finally over and we can get on with the new year….)

Elasmobranches of the Pacific

Posted on December 21, 2006 by Megan

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So – some of you will remember an odd posting I made about Basking Sharks that included this drawing an old-codger friend of my Dad’s made to demonstrate the way in which the sharks were killed by Fisheries and Oceans back in the day.

Comox Post Picture

(Yes, it really did happen this way – a blade attached to the prow of the Comox Post would literally slice the sharks in half as they basked near the surface).

I’m not sure about the coincidence of this, but there has just been a book on the subject published – “Basking Sharks: The Slaughter of BC’s Gentle Giants” which I read this morning over breakfast. The book is brief (about 100 pages), and even though I have worked at DFO for many years, I have to confess there is an awful lot about elasmobranches (sharks, skates and rays) in our waters I had no idea about. In particular, the Basking Shark, once numerous along the BC coast is one of the three largest shark species in the world (second only to the Whale Shark, and larger than the Great White) coming in at up to 40 feet long and several tons in weight. Their livers alone can weigh up to 1000 pounds and produce 4-7 barrels of oil! And it is suspected that the many Cadborosaurus sightings over the years may in fact have been sightings of this shark species, which often “bask” at the surface of the water while feeding. Even more amazing is that these massive animals are believed to subsist as filter-feeders mainly off plankton.

I bet that even if you grew up in BC, as I did, learning about the great marine resources of the province – you never heard a peep about this amazing giant living right here in our waters. Only surprising until you realize that the reason we don’t talk about them is because in the 40s and 50s a series of government and industry eradication programs (not to mention commercial and sport fisheries that targeted these sharks) brought them to the brink of extinction. Generally considered a “pest” because they tangled with fish nets on commercial gillnetters and trawlers – or an “amusement” for those into thrill-killing – the basking shark is almost non-existent in BC today. Apparently there have been recent moves to have them listed as an endangered species in Canada – and their case will be reviewed by COSIEWIC in May 2007…..

In the meantime – I’ve discovered a new marine fascination – which is the world of elasmobranches. Years of working on files to do with marine mammals, salmon and rockfish…. I think it’s time I learn more about the elusive sharks and skates of BC before we just come to accept that they are gone for good.