Thanks to Chae, he, Tim, Adam and I headed off to Fox Studios last night for Final 11 performance of Australian Idol.

After a fairly long queue to enter, the whole process was so slick and refined that the energy never lagged. The producers were obviously very careful to never let the audience excitement drop during commercial breaks. I did make me realise how many dozens of people run around doing their job at a professional and expert level and with so many things that have to happen at once, it’s incredible it can even happen at all. Whatever you think of the show itself, it’s just one small example of how superb humans can be at collaborating and working together to achieve the same goal.

And I’ve learnt my lesson: Your chances of being on TV dramatically increase when you’re standing next to someone holding up a sign for the person who has just performed.

Thanks Chae and Happy Birthday Tim!

Shush, I’ve been busy. Amongst designing endless numbers of programmes, posters, adverts, flyers etc for the theatre group over the past week or two, on Saturday I attended Jenn & Michael’s wedding as both a guest and photographer. It was a charming day with the weather behaving well. As I sat down the next morning to cull through the 700 odd photographs, I kept thinking “Oh, I should have done this, instead!” But it’s a learning thing.

For those who care, I shot on an old 50mm f2 prime lens with manual focus for almost the entire day. It’s really my favourite lens because not only does its metal housing feel great under the fingers, but you can achieve some really beautiful photos with the small depth of field. The high aperture also means you can grab more natural (flashless) shots in low light. As the sun set around sixish, I was still able to grab decent, fast shots of the couple and their families (like the one above).

The fact that it’s manual focus means you can screw up a shot really easily, and I found I did this more and more as my eyes got tired of detecting the focus, and in low light (like during the reception), its nearly impossible for either me or the camera. I made a few stupid mistakes throughout the day. I switched lens to my 18-55mm zoom to give me more flexibility at one point but left the manual focus switch on, so the camera didn’t focus for me. Doh! Back on my 50mm lens I left the camera on Aperture Priority mode rather than full manual, and so my manual aperture changes weren’t being used. Double Doh! This was the really colossal mistake as I couldn’t work out why when I lowered the aperture I wasn’t getting a greater depth of field. Idiot!

I’ve learnt some important lessons, and at least was able to gain a few interesting photos for the newly weds and their families.

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The Internet and cool. Not really two words you’d use together a decade ago without a few slightly meaner ones surrounding them. I remember my first glance at the internet was a Netscape-built X-Files fan page. Suddenly, I realised information was free. At least for those who could afford it.

Now, the internet has become the primary source of (mis)information, entertainment and news. The trouble is, there are so many websites to pick from, who are you going to choose? If you’re in Los Angeles you might just fancy LA2DAY, complete with a hip, net-spelling name.

Once you get past the name (and the promise of “Less Tinsel. More Town.”), you’ll find a slick, almost grungy web site to browse through (even if there are a few rendering issues in Safari). Covering local dining, night life and music for LA ‘zens amongst more general entertainment, the articles are kind of earthy and honest. I particularly had to have a few moments to myself over the image in the Pizzeria Mozza review. I wish there was a similar site for my locality - I’d love to publicly shame some of the more abrupt food service I’ve had in recent times.

The great thing is that this web site actually helps you find something cool to do when (if) you turn your computer off. So I guess, LA2DAY, this little slice of the Internet will increase your cool rating in your real life. That is, if you can stop googling “scully naked pics.”

“I got a lot on my mind, and one of the things that’s on my mind is I’m looking forward to coming to one of the most beautiful cities in the world.”

“If I inconvenience people that’s not my intent.”

“I apologise to the extent that I incovenience people.”

“I hope people understand why it’s done and I just hope that it doesn’t disrupt their lives too much.”

I don’t even want to talk about the unmarked cars idling down Macquarie Street every 100 metres. Next time try to start with a president who has had at least one grammar lesson.

Thanks Tim for the photo that represents the absurd idiocy taking place in Sydney at the moment.