Some of you have commented via e-mail or other means that my blog has been a little dry lately! Well, I have been so busy lately that I haven’t had my usual time to take photos and share them, but I figured I would at least share what I have been up to.

In mid-February, while my photos were still on display at the Barrie City Hall Rotunda, there was an evening when SNAP Barrie  came to take photos of the winners. I stopped in that evening for the photo op, later joined by mom and Walter (thanks for the support!). It was a great little bit of exposure, and I got a copy of the pics to share:

And here is a photo of all the winners that were present that evening. Thanks very much to Mark at SNAP Barrie for the photos. Check them out for cool local community stuff! :

Another interesting thing happened recently. I was approached on Flickr (a place where I also share some of my photos) by someone claiming to have seen my Maple Leaf Flag photo submitted in a photo contest – in Vancouver! I was able to track down the photo store running the contest to inquire about it:

The owner told me that he purchased the photo through iStockPhoto to put up as an example to inspire people for their own submissions. I have had the photo listed in iStockPhoto for some time now and it has given me a constant trickle of revenue over the past year or so. Glad to see it finally out in the “wild”, especially in such a patriotic context (and even more especially during the Olympics!):

Ron, the owner, was kind enough to share these photos with me.

For reference, here is the photo:

I am not sure if the display is still up, or for how long it was up – but I thank Photo Express Foto Source for including me in a very patriotic display. I hope my photo was inspirational to those that saw it.

I have also been working recently on a photography portfolio website! The site is not completely finished yet, but you can check it out by clicking here. A lot of work has gone into it so far, and it is specifically tuned to display on mobile browsers (like the iPhone and soon-to-be iPad) so I can show off my photos on the go, and maybe get a little bit more exposure and possible a few print sales. I’ll be working on this in my free time (ha!) over the next month or so to complete it.

But that’s not all! On February 25th I talked at the Barrie Photo Club and did a presentation on travel photography (from my trip to Europe) that was very well received. I also did a three-hour seminar on photography basics this past Saturday for the photo club as well.

I’ll post again when I have time to take some photos, hopefully this warm weather will inspire me to get out with my camera a little more.

I’ve had a few people complain the blog was starting to slow down, so I have removed the google maps from the Europe posts to see if that was the issue. If you were previously experiencing a slow-down and now its better, please let me know.

Also, if you still want to see much of the photos as they are geotagged, you can still find the full map here.

It has been a while since I attended a Remembrance Day ceremony, and actually this year marked the first time I attended one by choice. I felt proud of my country in that crowd today; I gave my silence and my applause at the appropriate times. Days like today make me think about how much we have here in Canada, how wonderful this country is, and how wonderful the people that live here are. Some people were crying today, others held their chin up high and still others had a look of hope in their eyes. We have come so far, and still have such a long way to go for peace. I’m confident we’ll find it someday.

I have the utmost respect for those who serve our country, both here and abroad. To these people, you have my most sincerest thanks. To those that have given their lives to protect this country and our ideals, no words could express my gratitude.

Thank you.

[edit] Added a few more photos taken at the ceremony:

So after some thought, I decided to slightly change the name of the blog from “The Universe (as seen by Don)” to “The Universe (as I see it)”. A minor change, I know. What do you think? This is just another excuse to test out my new polling plugin.

Also, I added another six banner images to the rotation. Below is my favourite, followed by the poll!

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Just thought I’d mention one of my favourite charities this time of the year.

Child’s Play was a charity started a few years ago with the goal to give video games, toys, board games etc to children in hospitals around the world (including our own Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto). You can buy game consoles, games, or give donations or anything you’d like to the charity and they get the gifts to Children in time for Christmas.

Especially this year when there is probably less money to go around for families paying huge medical bills, making a kid’s Christmas or just helping them take their minds off of the pain is a great idea. I donate $20 every year, and they raise over a million dollars in toys and cash every Christmas.

You’ll find the link of the right side of my blog until sometime in January. Here’s a letter from the site:

I thought I’d bring you up to date on what we’re doing with the funds from your grant. We bought a number of handheld video games which can be loaned to patients who are confined to their beds. In addition, we bought a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit. This is a HUGE success and we will probably buy several more. Not only are they suitable for recreation, but they serve a therapeutic purpose as well. We have discovered that spinal cord injured patients can sit on the Fit’s balance board and work on core balance by playing the games. Although we had initially thought we’d buy computer equipment, this is a much better use of the funds, and, I hope, you’ll “approve.” So, in addition to the library reaping the benefits, we are able to get the equipment out to where the patients live at our hospital – on the units and in the gyms. Thank you again for the generosity of Child’s Play. I hope that, in the future, we might be able to apply for additional funds. There are plans to convert space into a patient recreation center and would like to include additional games, equipment, etc. that would enhance their quality of life.

Best,
Amy

Amy L. Frey, MA AHIP
Manager, Health Sciences Library & Resource Center
Hospital for Special Care
New Britain, CT