Taronga Zoo Lion
Nov

27

Taronga Zoo

Just for Fun  Posted by / 0 comments

While Taronga Zoo might not have the most amazing collection of animals or the most stunning of enclosures, it has a view that is unmatched. Appropriately named, Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning beautiful view. Located across the harbour from the Sydney CBD, it’s a must do for locals and visitors alike. It’s just across the harbour from the Sydney CBD, easily accessed by ferry from just about anywhere on the harbour. Passengers disembarking at the ferry wharf, located on Bradleys Head Road, can enter the zoo via a gondola lift or connect with local State Transit bus services. Sydney Ferries offer a combined “ZooLink” ticket, covering ferry fares, park entry and gondola ride. Good value, for a good day out, especially if you’re visiting from overseas and want to take in a bit of Aussie wildlife without straying too far from the CBD.

Bob Turner, BBall4All Director
Sep

22

Biz Academy

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Once a year, Salesforce.com puts on a program that works with youth from under-resourced and low-income communities who want to learn about entrepreneurship. By joining the corporate world for a week at regional Salesforce.com offices and learning from employees and mentors, Biz Academy provides hands-on experience and real-world business experience. Hundreds of Salesforce employees donate their time, their experience, and even their hard earned money to help these deserving young individuals achieve the goals that they’ve set out for themselves.

In Sydney, Biz Academy 2011 partnered with BBall4All to bring a fun and active twist to the program. Working with Bob Turner (BBall4All Director, and ex. Sydney Kings player, coach, and GM) and Steve Carfino (OneHD NBL commentator and Sydney Kings legend), the program centered around how the fundamentals of sport can be incorporated into a not for profit program that encourages good health , education, and social habits. I had the fantastic opportunity to donate my time to this great cause, and capture it all from start to finish. There was even a bit of wheelchair basketball thrown into the mix to test the teams, and push them to think outside the box. Below are just a few of the photos from the week.

Jun

12

Canon 5D Mk II firmware update

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The Canon 5DmkII is a good camera. Actually, it’s pretty great. As my workhorse camera body, I’m always on the look out for firmware upgrades that add additional functionality. Last week, Canon released the latest edition of the firmware for the 5D and…nothing.

Ok, that’s not entirely true, but when all the dust settles, the ‘new functionality’ isn’t all that exciting. It fixes a few bugs and increases writing speeds to Compact Flash cards. Exciting right?

The firmware update (Version 2.0.9) incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

  1. Improves the writing/reading speeds when using UDMA 7-compatible CF cards.
  2. Fixes a phenomenon that occurs when custom function C.Fn III-2 is set to [5: IS start] to assign IS start to the AF stop button on the lens: When used with lenses that do not have an AF stop button, the IS function will not work.
  3. Corrects some mistakes in the menu screens displayed in Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai.

With the 7D on the market supporting 60fps video (and for a fraction of the cost), you’d think this is a feature that they’d push out to 5DmkII users everywhere – at least to tie us over until Canon tries to convince us to upgrade to the 5DmkIII, whenever that might be. Sure, the 7D doesn’t hold a light to the 5D in terms of still photography, the 60fps video is definitely a ‘nice to have’.

At the end of the day, it’s still an improvement on the previous firmware version. You can find instructions and the firmware upgrade here.

Oct

16

The Return of the Lion!

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With the return of the Sydney Kings to the NBL this past season, it was only fitting to have the infamous mascot return in all his glory!

To give the Lion a fitting return to the league after a two year absense, the Sydney Kings wanted to put together an intro ceremony that was fit for a King. The decision was made to create a video that showcased what the Lion was up to over the last two years, when the Sydney Kings were absent from the league. To create this, the Kings organisation asked me to develop a storyline which brings The Lion back to his former glory. The video above is the result of shooting at various locations throughout Sydney, and filmed entirely with a Canon 5D MkII.

In case you’re wondering what it looked like on game night, watch this to see how it all played out.

Lake Mead, behind the Hoover Dam
Mar

17

Hoover Dam

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25 miles south-east of Las Vegas, in the middle of the desert southwest, sits an engineering marvel. The Hoover Dam, built during the Great Depression of the 1930′s, spans the border between Nevada and Arizona and plays host to over a million visitors each year.

For those looking to get away from the smoke filled casinos of Las Vegas, a day trip to the Hoover Dam fits the bill. Peering over the arched face, down to the Colorado River below is spectacular, and will give even the most steady individuals a bad case of wobbly knees. It’s a drop of over 726 ft. Want to see the dam from a different angle? You’re in luck! Guided tours run a few times daily that allow you to peer up at the concrete monolith. Unfortunately though, much of the dam is off limits now due to security restrictions put in place after 9/11. Still, the tour is pretty extraordinary, and well worth it.