Visual Dichotomy

2006-05-28T15:02:00.000-04:00

Okay, everyone, that's a little preview of inside the buildings. I'll repost those photos with explanations and MANY MORE tomorrow or maybe even later today. If you enjoyed them, let me know, and if not, we'll be back to my regular. . .whatever. . .later. If this is the top post on the page, that means I haven't posted more yet. I recommend scrolling down to the first message posted today, and reading up. The photos are in vaguely chronological order, and it will all make more sense. As always, feedback is welcome and encouraged. Enjoy.

2006-05-28T14:59:00.001-04:00

A humongous machine.

2006-05-28T14:59:00.000-04:00

More explanation of these photos tomorrow.

2006-05-28T14:58:00.000-04:00

That is the Open Door.

2006-05-28T14:55:00.000-04:00

Now normally the doors into the actual abandoned factory buildings are all locked. But for some reason, the big gate around them was unlocked and all the way open today. I think you know what that means. Here's a little preview of what's to come. (I took over 160 photos inside that place, so I'll post the best few dozen over the next couple of days and the first EVER Visual Dichotomy VIDEO.)

2006-05-28T14:53:00.000-04:00

And of course, I have to take a photo looking up the tower. I'm glad my flash is pretty strong. Neat, hmm? You can barely see the light of day at the top. I suspect it's covered with something, or has some sort of cap on.

2006-05-28T14:52:00.001-04:00

Looking out from inside the tower.

2006-05-28T14:52:00.000-04:00

Of course, I have to go inside. It's pretty cramped.

2006-05-28T14:50:00.000-04:00

It's the base of that Valley tower. And it seems to have a door. . .

2006-05-28T14:49:00.000-04:00

Here is a panoramic view. It's 13035 x 1267 pixels, if you are wondering. Sorry for the mediocre merging.

2006-05-28T14:48:00.000-04:00

They have some pretty strange things in there, like a poster to some museum. Interesting.

2006-05-28T14:47:00.000-04:00

They are in the process of turning this into a whole park, and some chefs are going to open restaurants, and there's going to be a skating rink, and a native plant nursery, etc. It sounds great. Here is their store room.

2006-05-28T14:46:00.000-04:00

They have all sorts of cool machinery here, but the bits that are easily viewable by the public have been. . .tamed, and had safety barriers put around them. I'm not sure how this thing is dangerous, unless you fell on it, maybe.

2006-05-28T14:45:00.000-04:00

This is the Don Valley Brick Works. It used to be a brick factory, obviously. Now it's sort of a park/conservation area. I believe that there used to be a "Don" and a "Brick" and a "Works" chimney beside the "Valley" one, but they are long gone. This, by the way, is the view from Chorley Park.

2006-05-23T17:42:00.002-04:00

I love this thing.

2006-05-23T17:42:00.001-04:00

He's looking at YOU!

2006-05-23T17:42:00.000-04:00

A closer shot.

2006-05-23T17:41:00.000-04:00

I think now would be a good time to release photos of The Skeleton. This is out near Port Hope. What you see here is the beginning of a GIGANTIC driveway. The person who lives there seems rather keen that people don't go visit him. (Rumour has it that he is the local grower of a certain herbal remedy.) We see his "No Exit" sign, and also, what's that hanging over his mailbox? Why yes it is a skeleton made out of plumbing bits!

2006-05-23T17:37:00.000-04:00

This carpet is rather unnattractive. I like that you can see the tripod in the bottom right there. I'm very professional.

2006-05-23T17:35:00.000-04:00

This one is just. . .interesting.

2006-05-23T17:33:00.001-04:00

This is the best one.

2006-05-23T17:33:00.000-04:00

Victoria Day fireworks in Moore Park. 9:30 at night. This is what happens when you try to take photos of fireworks with your exposure time too long!

2006-05-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Toronto, dear.

2006-05-20T11:59:00.000-04:00

Okay, how about that game "guess what this is from a strange camera angle". It's an easy one. For spoiler, click here.

2006-05-20T11:53:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe how many people I've fooled with this, especially after showing them some transparent screen stuff. Look! A transparent iPod nano! If you realize that this is just the case, then either a) you've read back a few posts, and seen the photo of my desk with the iPod case on it or b) you are smarter than my friends. ~_~

2006-05-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

Sorrrrrrrrry. Summatives call. I'll try to get a few shots in the next few days, and then in next next Friday (not this Friday but the next one) I'm going to the Toronto islands and I should have loads of photos. I'm regretting not saving those first big photosets and dividing them up into smaller groups with more frequent posts. I might try that. We'll see. I'm new to this game, what can I say?

2006-05-13T16:00:00.000-04:00

From the inside back cover of June's Popular Science magazine. (http://www.popsci.com) How clever!

2006-05-13T15:57:00.000-04:00

More transparency fun! See-through iPod. Not photoshopped, I swear!

2006-05-13T15:55:00.000-04:00

That's what a little bit of my desk looks like. Contents: iPod nano, watch, chocolate wrappers, laptop, base of my lamp, tape, auction card, camera wire, iPod case, eraser, battery and pen. Oh, and parachute man. I love those things. I found it!

2006-05-11T21:11:00.000-04:00

And a plain transparent screen without the hand reaching in.

2006-05-11T21:10:00.000-04:00

A bit of a closeup, with really bad lighting.

2006-05-11T21:09:00.000-04:00

I found this idea at www.hollowscreen.com and these are three of the best that I did. Pretty cool, I think. (I'm not very creative.)

2006-05-10T18:05:00.000-04:00

I don't think this needs a caption.

2006-05-10T17:59:00.000-04:00

This is looking down a nice street here in Toronto. I do not advocate standing in the middle of the road to take photos. Don't worry, I only took this one, and it was as I was walking, and I looked both ways carefully. Calm down.

2006-05-10T17:54:00.000-04:00

As is evident, it's a mechanical pencil. I found it. If this is yours, e-mail me. :-P

2006-05-09T21:13:00.000-04:00

I think this represents the great beauty of the modern world and the great beauty of the ancient world or Earth or something. Not sure. I'm sure it symbolizes something though.

2006-05-09T21:12:00.000-04:00

It's a radiator, obviously.

2006-05-07T14:55:00.000-04:00

No idea why, but I really like that tree.

2006-05-07T14:54:00.001-04:00

There's that tree without the accompanying lamp-post.

2006-05-07T14:54:00.000-04:00

Looking out from Rosedale subway station. I think I like this because of the contrast between nature (the tree) and humankind (the lamp-post). Or something. I'm not sure.

2006-05-07T14:51:00.000-04:00

I only include this because I like how it looks as though I am on stilts.

2006-05-07T14:50:00.000-04:00

Walking from the Rogers Centre to Union Station.

2006-05-07T11:10:00.000-04:00

The most stereotypical photo of Toronto: looking up the CN Tower. I like the lighting though, so I included it.

2006-05-07T11:04:00.000-04:00

I am really disappointed that I didn't get a better photo of these. There was a little restaurant, with these cool pods with two tables to a pod. It was very cool, but I was being jostled along by the crowd, so that's the only photo I have of them. Sorry.

2006-05-07T11:03:00.000-04:00

I quickly got frustrated with the lousy design of the stats board. Bleck. Maybe if there was less advertising and less cartoon, you'd be able to write in more rather than having to use so many abbreviations! And don't get me started on the childish font. Who is baseball marketed to, preschoolers?

2006-05-07T11:01:00.000-04:00

Proof I really was in Club VIP. It's the front of the menu, obviously. The text under the big arrow is "When ready to order, please wave this menu to attract the attention of your server." It seems sort of primitive. Shouldn't each seat have a special little buzzer, which alerts the nearest server that "seat 4/112 is ready to order!"?

2006-05-07T10:56:00.000-04:00

Of course, we can't have the patrons getting too rowdy. If you can't read it, it says "We I.D. under 30. Please Drink Responsibly -- A maximum two (2) Alcoholic Beverages per person will be served at one time. In-Seat Service is available 1 hour prior to the start of the game until the second out at the bottom of the 8th inning. The sale of alcohol stops at the second out at te bottom of the 8th inning." Personally, if I was drunk, I would not understand that. I like their use of capital letters. Maybe the author was drunk.

2006-05-07T10:53:00.000-04:00

This should give you an idea of what life in the VIP area is like. Look at the prices! Who drinks rum at a ball game And none of this "hot dog boy" nonsense. If you want something, wave your menu around until someone (semi-formal attire!) comes and takes your order on their spiffy little order taking gadget. It prints a receipt, you pay, and they run off and bring you your food.

2006-05-07T10:49:00.000-04:00

I think, actually, this is our first new feature: Bad Photography. Photography From The Dark Side. Why We're Not Professionals. Seriously, I took maybe 20 photos of a pitcher (I think that's Kelvim Escobar, but I'm not sure) and none of them turned out well. So ta-da. A little montage of Bad Sports Photography.

2006-05-07T10:38:00.000-04:00

Is it ballet or is it interpretive dance? Answer: he's pitching. If you're wondering, the game I saw was Toronto Blue Jays against L.A. Angels of Anaheim. Jays lost 3-0.

2006-05-07T10:36:00.000-04:00

This is from a series of photos I would call "Why Visual Dichotomy Is Not A Sports Photoblog".Look, there is even someone's head in the bottom left.

2006-05-07T10:34:00.000-04:00

The Jumbotron! Also, you can see that the Jays haven't won. . .anything very important since 1993. There was one guy who saw himself on the Jumbotron and went totally berserk, slapping himself, jumping up and down, screaming, etc. Too bad I didn't get a shot of him.

2006-05-07T10:29:00.000-04:00

Here you can see the famed Roof That Opens. Sadly, despite the beautiful weather, they didn't open it.

2006-05-07T10:23:00.000-04:00

Welcome back. Today we have some photos from inside the Rogers Centre. We recently got tickets for the VIP section, so here's the view from in front of the pitcher. This is a photomerge of the crowd, if you couldn't tell.

Questions You Might Have in the Future

2006-05-07T10:14:00.000-04:00

It's like Frequently Asked Questions, before someone Frequently Asks them!

1. Q: Why "Visual Dichotomy"?
A: It's just something I'd heard somewhere. For the keeners, "dichotomy" is something with contradictory qualities. If you do not know what "visual" is you really shouldn't be looking at a photoblog. Really. Also, the blog name was free, as was the gmail!

2. Q: What stuff do you use?
A: Canon PowerShot A430. It's blue. I recommend it highly.

3. Q: Where do you take your photos?
A: All over the place. If you want to know about one specific image, e-mail me.

4. Q: Do you edit your photos?
A: Well I rotate them if they need to be rotated, and maybe do some cropping. But that's all.

5. Q: How much does it cost you to DO all this stuff?
A: After the camera, it's free. Hosting, this blog, uploading, etc. All free!

6. Q: Craaaazy! I want in! Tell me how to do everything in ridiculous detail!
A: Any klutz can do it. Trust me. Personally, I use Hello. It's available for FREE at www.hello.com. If you really need help, e-mail me.

7. Q: Can I use your photo for my (a) website (b) school assignment (c) movie (d) book (e) stock photo website (f) personal enjoyment?
A: Well, if you scroll down (allllll the way down!) you'll see my Creative Commons license. Basically, it means you can't make money off my photos, or things that use my photos, without getting permission from me first. And if you do use my photos for ANYTHING I'd really love to hear about it. Really. So please do e-mail me (it's not mandatory, but it's encouraged). But here are the answers: probably, almost definitely, probably not, maybe, almost definitely not, definitely. In more depth:

a) Yes if you are not going to be making money off it. But please do let me know!
b) Yes unless you are selling your school project :-P But do e-mail me a photo when it's done, if you don't mind.
c) No unless the movie will be distributed for free, or you pay me a bunch of money. If you'd like to do that, e-mail me!
d) For some reason I'm more okay with it being on a book. Of course, you'd still have to pay me a bundle of money.
e) If I wanted my photos on a stock photo site, I'd put them there. Try e-mailing me.
f) Uh. . .hell yeah! If you do enjoy them, though, e-mail me!

I hope you can see what I'm getting at. Basically, you can use them for free if you don't make money off them or something you use them in. If you do want to do that, pay me. In any case, e-mail me. Got it?

8. Q: I have a different question, and I CANNOT FIND YOUR E-MAIL ANYWHERE PLEASE HELP ME I REALLY NEED IT RIGHT NOW!
A: It's visual.dichotomy [at] gmail dot com. Durr.

2006-05-06T17:51:00.000-04:00

From the fourth floor of MaRS.

2006-05-06T13:02:00.002-04:00

Pretty coloured wires, yes?

2006-05-06T13:02:00.001-04:00

This machine constructs DNA. Really. I swear.

2006-05-06T13:02:00.000-04:00

It'll eat your hand and then eat the floor!

2006-05-06T13:01:00.000-04:00

A lab in MaRS. Sorry for the blur; I was behind the group and needed to catch up. The lab benches are on wheels, so they can be pushed around and reorganized as new lab equipment is purchased. Electricity and internet access comes from those black sock things in the ceiling. You unplug them before you move the benches, obviously.

2006-05-06T12:59:00.000-04:00

Princess Margaret Hospital, I think.

2006-05-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

Part of the MaRS buildings.

2006-05-06T12:32:00.000-04:00

This is the sign in front of the new MaRS facility here in Toronto, Canada.

Greetings and Salutations

2006-05-06T12:31:00.000-04:00

Hello and welcome to Visual Dichotomy: Soon to Have a Snappy Subheader!

Here at VD, we (in the royal sense; there's only one of us) strive to bring you the best photos. Keep in mind that we're relatively new to photography, and completely new to photoblogging, so. . .that's our excuse.

We're not sure what our system will be. It is possible that we will have daily posts of one photo a day, or perhaps weekly posts with seven, or maybe as many photos as we feel like whenever we want. Anyway, the set that is coming up is from a recent visit to the MaRS facility in Toronto.