Provocations

G20: Toronto Police terms for a "public inquiry".

Citizens want justice and those accountable are taking small steps back as slowly as they can. It seems that the wronged demonstrators won't let them get away with it. The police reason for arrests was protection of the public yet they acknowledge there was not a single recorded incidence of violence against the public. Virtually all of it was police assault on civilians, most of whom were doing nothing illegal.

"On Tuesday, the civilian oversight board for the Toronto police force agreed to the parameters for the public inquiry. Victims of the police actions aren't enthused about any of the official paths ahead of them, and are finding their own forms of accountability."

More on the G20 at:

1. Inside a G20 cell: Video image shows conditions in detention centre
2. Evidence of police legal goofs and extreme behaviour continues to mount.
3. G20: British Columbia Library Association letter to Harper and McGuinty
4. VIDEO: Who gave the G20 Commander his Commands?
5. "THE POLICE NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE"
6. "It was dehumanizing ... completely"
7. CBC News - British Columbia - G20 police actions prompt call for inquiry
8. Toronto police stand by and watch rampage
9. Real News journalist attacked at G20

Summer Solstice 2008

For Earth Day 2008

EARTH DAY: APRIL 22, 2008

A very simple, cheap camera tripod alternative

A digital camera has drawn me back into photography, a hobby I pretty much abandoned over 30 years ago. For about 18 months I've been enjoying using an entry-level Pentax, a brand which allows me to use my classic, original Pentax 1.4 50mm Takumar lens. While there are savings by not using film and the processing associated with it, the digital world is so full of continually improving technology that it's easy to get caught up in acquisition. Fortunately I am so impressed with my Pentax K100D, that I'm savouring every new feature I master and, in the process, have come up with some images I am really pleased with and proud of.

In the midst of this upward spiral of digital photography technology, there are a few simple, low cost ideas emerging. Here's one of them. Perhaps it will be part of a simplifying trend. Ladies and gentlemen, the Gorillapod:

This is the model recommended for my camera. There are many variations. Take a look.

For Earth Day 2007

As the birds come north . . .

. . . celebrating the day, the birds and the air we breathe.

Photo: April 21. Birds over central British Columbia.  Photo Jeffrey Newman.

More British Columbia birds

Gregory Colbert: Animal Copyright Foundation

Beyond Ashes and Snow - the exhibition, Gregory Colbert and more, a beautiful presentation - and an important initiative:

UPDATE: The Animal Copyright Foundation is no more but Gregory Colbert's work continues and grows.

In exploring the shared language and poetic sensibilities of all animals, I am working towards rediscovering the common ground that once existed when people saw themselves as part of nature and not outside of it. The destiny of whales cannot be separated from the destiny of man, and the destiny of man cannot be separated from the destiny of all of nature. I am exploring new narratives that help build a bridge across the artificial boundaries we have established between ourselves and other species. - Gregory Colbert

See also: African Elephant - news, poetry, photos, books and stories

Wildlife Pictures of the Year Awards

Always something to stir the imagination in good wildlife photographs.

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year award
BBC report with pictures

Digital manipulation of news photographs

I've been getting a bit more serious with my photography. These days, that means going digital. With the advent of digital SLR cameras, photography becomes way more versatile.

With this change has come increased digital editing and the thorny issue of distinguishing between cleaning up, enhancing, improving or manipulating an image. Any judgment of this depends on the purpose - and if deception is involved. Recently the Charlotte Observer sacked a photographer (Patrick Schneider) for digitally enhancing the background (sun in the sky) of a picture he took.

Because I also create photographs intended to convey what I actually saw, my emerging rule of thumb is: any changes should not take the image away from what the eye saw. Because, generally speaking, the camera takes a static image, the photo has a single exposure that has to suffice for the whole image. However, I can sit at my desk and look out the window and it appears to my constantly adjusting eyes that the darker room around me and the brighter scene outside are both clearly visible. In a photo, not so. If I want to reproduce what the eye sees, I will digitally lighten the interior so that it shows up in my picture. Apparently this is what the press photographer did for his picture and he got fired for it. If I had altered the picture at right so you could see the back of my chair as more than a silhouette, the Charlotte Observer would have found it unacceptable (as a news picture).

While I want my news "unmanipulated", I find the photographer's argument a strong one: recreate what the eye saw. The problem is, not knowing what his eye saw, where do you draw the line? Perhaps the solution will come pretty soon, as cameras increasingly learn to compensate for lighting differences like this. It will probably be more acceptable if the digital "manipulation" happens in the camera.

White (Albino?) moose in British Columbia

Sent to me by a friend: a relatively rare sighting of white moose. The pictures were taken earlier this year in central British Columbia. I haven't been able to confirm the location or date of these pictures. Some Ontario hunters are working to have all white moose "removed from the hunting roster." If you know of any others working on this, add the information in the Comments section below.

British Columbia Wildlife

What Snopes has to say about the albino moose