I know that some of you will think that this is perhaps taking things too far, but this is a seriously geekishly cool outfit. This little girl is dressed up as Voltron and if that mean stare is the reason why they didn’t bother with the helmet, I’d say… “Smart choice!”

In this digital age that we are living in, almost everyone carries a digital camera around. Regardless of whether the camera is a technologically advanced SLR Camera or a simple point-and-shoot pocket camera, almost anyone is capable of taking decent (if not stunning) photographs.

In my opinion, even if you knew nothing about the technical aspects of photography (that’s me!) the quality of your photographs could be considerably improved, if you paid attention to a few visual points.  I am not a photographer and I don’t know much about photography. However, based on my experience ‘trying ‘, here are some points (mainly related to the aesthetics) that might help you improve the quality of your photos. This is only going to be helpful for people who basically know nothing about photography besides pointing and shooting.

1. Avoid getting your finger in the way of the photo.

2. Don’t use flash if there is sufficient light. In my opinion using flash usually (but not always) means, you lose the natural light and mood of the environment and the actual colours of the subject. Therefore it is better to take photos with no flash, in day light or well-lit environments.

3. Always pay attention to framing the subject. Before you take the photo, it is good to take a few seconds to frame the photo and look at the screen to see how you will actually see the photo, once taken. When you frame the photo pay attention to the following;
4. • Making the frame symmetric makes the photo visually pleasing
     

     Symmetry in this case definitely adds to the beauty

   • If the photo is of a group of people, having them lined up sideways facing the camera or standing and putting their heads together makes the framing better, rather than everyone standing around in their own buzz.
   • It helps if you avoid unwanted objects in the picture, especially halves and pieces of them captured on the side (of course you can always crop the photo later using a photo editing tool, on the computer to get rid of such objects)
   • 

     If this photo was taken without the elbow of the person, a bit of the plate and glass on the side, it would have looked much better.

   • It is important to focus on the actual subject rather than just pointing in that direction and shooting. As most digital cameras have a focus pointer that you will see when you look through the view finder or look on the LCD screen, take a moment to get the focus pointer on the subject.
   • When you are taking photos of people, don’t position yourself too close to them, especially if you use flash. If you do people in the photo will end up looking like white ghosts with no real colour and quite possibly their eyes will be closed.
   • If you are taking a photo of someone at a beautiful scene, do not frame the person in a way that he/she fills the camera and leaves nothing of the scenery to be captured in the photo.

5. When taking photos of people, if there is a light source behind the person, it is better to use flash (unless you want a silhouette). Otherwise you will not see much of the person’s face as it will be dark and shadowed. Therefore it is always better for the person to stand where they will get the light on their face. For eg. If someone’s photo is being taken in a room with a window open, the photo will look better if he/she stands facing the window rather than with his/her back towards the window.
   

   This photo would have come out nicer, with the subjects face visible, if he was facing the sun rather than with his back to it.

6. If you are taking photos of a moving object or person, it is better to use flash. More professional cameras have ways and means to catch movement without blur which is irrelevant at this point. Therefore, if you are taking photos of someone dancing or a moving object it is better to use flash (unless there is excellent lighting).This will help you avoid blurring.

7. Another way to avoid blurring is for you (the camera) to be still. Regardless of whether the subject is a moving object or not, if the person who is taking the photo (i.e. the camera) is moving, the photo will come out blurry. If will help if you lean against something or rest the camera on something).

8. Don’t hesitate to take more than one shot. Remember that even great photographers don’t get their perfect photos in just one shot. It is always good to take a few shots rather than click once and putting the camera away. If a shot is bad, you can delete it immediately or later on the computer. It costs absolutely nothing to take a few more shots.

These tips may sound useless and mostly like common sense to many of us. However, in my opinion even these small adjustments in the way you approach taking photos, it will make a huge difference to the quality of the images you will treasure for years to come.

Empire State of Mind by Jay Z and Alicia Keyes

[Jay-Z]
yeah
Yeah I’m out that Brooklyn.
Now I’m down in Tribeca.
Right next to DeNiro
But I’ll be hood forever
I’m the new Sinatra
And since I made it here
I can make it anywhere
(Yeah they love me everywhere)
I used to cop in Harlem
All of my Dominicanos (Hey yo)
Right there off of Broadway
Brought me back to that McDonalds
Took it to my stash spot
560 State Street
Catch me in the kitchen like Simmons whipping Pastry
Cruising down 8th street
Off-white Lexus
Driving so slow
(but BK, it’s from Texas!!)
Me I’m out that BedStuy
Home of that boy Biggie
now I live on Billboard
and I brought my boys with me
Say what up to Ta-ta
Still sipping Mai Tais
Sitting courtside
Knicks and Nets give me high-5
N**ga, I be Spiked out
I could trip a referee
…tell by my attitude that I’m MOST DEFINITELY FROM…

[Alicia Keys]
New York!!!!
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York!!!
These streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
Let’s hear it for New York, New York, New York

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Music has always a big part of my life but in the last year or so I have also started looking for more than just the music itself. Having a music collection or library has always been appealing to me. Something that I can continually refer back too in terms of what I have listened too and what is still out there for me to discover. Growing tired of CD’s and MP3’s as a format to store music, I came across the antiquated format that is Vinyl.

After CD’s first hit the market in the mid 80’s, LP’s were written off as an obsolete music format. Later on with the introduction of file sharing and online retail music stores like iTunes, the traditional music business has slowly lost the market share it once had.

But while the mass marketing of LP’s has faded, over the last few years listeners have slowly started rediscovering vinyl, and its not just the older fans who grew up with the format. Younger generations who have grown up on torrent files also see the appeal of vinyl, and here is why:

1.  The artwork that comes with vinyl records is an art form in itself. Just take a look inside the sleeve of any vinyl record. CD’s and computer files simply do not give an artist or band a platform for them represent themselves or their music visually.

2. The sound. Vinyl records use analog recording methods which produces a clear well defined sound. The music is not compressed or digitized like CD’s or MP3’s, which gives vinyl a ‘warmth’ to their sound that CD’s just can’t produce.

3. The collectable factor. The 2 points mentioned above are some of the reasons why people start to collect vinyl. You just can’t get the same tangible visceral experience with a CD or MP3 that you can get with vinyl.

The way people discover, purchase and consume music has changed quite dramatically in the last 30 years. We can now listen to music on our cell phones and fit entire music collections in our pockets with iPods. And don’t get me wrong, in terms of portability and convenience digital is still that way to go, but for a more encompassing visceral musical experience that makes use of more of our senses, my money is on vinyl.

This kid is like family to me and I’m totally impressed with his talent:

When does too far become WAY too far?

These are just blatantly ugly and I wouldn’t wear them even if they were given to me for free. Nike has totally lost their nut with this pair of Hyperdunk Aston Martin edition sneakers for Kobe Bryant. Aston Martin is synonymous with beauty, sleek design and quality.

These Hyperdunk sneakers are gaudy and look like it was made with recycled Lay’s chips packets. No guys… please!

With Jay Z proving to be quite a player, it was only a matter of time until the Sith lord jokes started!

With the latest incident of a UCT student being arrested, possibly molested too (we iwll never know), for displaying rude gestures at the presidential convoy recently in Cape Town as Jay Z and his parade of fancy German cars sped past him, the folk at Madam & Eve have released this cartoon:

Please click on the image to enlarge.

Julius Malema, the ANC Youth League big boy has proven to be quite a clown and you have to love the guy for it!

Zapiro captures him excellently in his latest work and if you have been following the local Malema news lately, you will see why Zapiro is the shizzle and makes the big money and your cartoons don’t go anywhere!

We are just under a month away from the kick off of the 2010 Formula One Race Calendar which is scheduled to start in Bahrain this year on March 14th 2010. Heres the full race calendar to help you schedule your TV time:

14 March           – 12:00 –         Bahrain           – Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix

28 March           – 06:00 –        Australia        - Australian Grand Prix

04 April             – 08:00 –         Malaysia        - Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix

18 April              - 06:00 –        China               – Chinese Grand Prix

09 May               – 12:00 –         Spain               – Gran Premio de Espana Telefonica Grand Prix

16 May               – 12:00 –         Monaco           – Grand Prix de Monaco

30 May               – 11:00 –         Turkey            - Turkish Grand Prix

12 June              - 16:00 –         Canada            - Grand Prix du Canada

27 June              - 12:00 –         Europe            - Telefonica Grand Prix of Europe

11 July                - 12:00 –         Britain             – Santander British Grand Prix

25 July               – 12:00 –         Germany        - Brober Preis Santander von Deutschland

01 August         – 12:00 –         Hungary         – Magyar Nagydij

29 August         – 12:00 –         Belgium           – Belgian Grand Prix

12 September  - 12:00 –         Italy                 – Gran Premio Santander Italiano

26 September  - 12:00 –         Singapore      - SingTel Singapore Grand Prix

10 October       – 06:00 –         Japan              - Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix

24 October       – 05:00 –         Korea              - Korean Grand Prix

07 November – 16:00 –         Brazil                - Grande Premio Petrobras de Brasil

14 November  - 13:00 –         Abu Dhabi      - Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Note: All times displayed here are UTC Standard Time. In South Africa, please add +2:00 hours.