CRANK THE SHIELD 2012

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SAWEEEEEET!!!!! Crank The Shield 2012 trailer:

Crank The Shield 2009 about killed me (totally my own fault). I fell head first off a small cliff and landed on a rock, knocked myself silly, then had to call it quits after just the first stage due to a concussion. Angry Johnny himself hauled me out of there back to the van, and I must say I barely even remember it. Apparently on the trip home I was talking to EJ about a magic school bus, and I scared the hell out of Chelsea when I climbed into bed at about 4a.m. without even telling her I was coming home early. 

Crank The Shield 2010 was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Hands down, just freakin' incredible. After that they switched to an every other year format, so i've been itching for Crank The Shield 2012 ever since. Not only is it three days of some of the most awesome trails ever-it's fully catered all you can eat gourmet goodness too. On top of that, you are just riding with some awesome people, run by the best, while basking in the glory of the Canadian Shield (northern Ontario). And oh yeah...they have beer! I actually started this blog just after the 2010 CTS and my first post ever was a recap of this event: Crank The Shield 2010 post. (I returned the spent XX chainring that cost me a podium in 2010 to a friend of mine at Sram, Schweinfurt, Germany when I visited my parents. It was hilarious.)  

I'm going all out---podium or bust baby!

Lytro Light Field Camera (magic picture stick)

This is ridiculous. I think it's going to change the world of photography forever. I can't wait to get one, but I wonder if i'll miss the actual process and thrill of taking a nice photo on the spot, rather then having a magic wand to just point and click. Just so amazing.

https://www.lytro.com/camera <---check out the demo. 

It's designed with online sharing in mind, but you can export traditional 2D photos in 1080p, and their software lets you print standard photo sizes like 4x6 and 5x7 as well. However, large scale printing is not yet supported as it's only taking in 11 million light rays as of now lol.

Don't trash your DSLR just yet...I noticed while browsing through their demo photos that this is not a landscape capable camera (wide area shot like a mountain range in the distance), and that's too bad. I think though that because of the way it's images are designed to be hosted and shared online with full interactivity/focal manipulation that it's going to be pretty cool, and play right into the world of social networking.

Imagine being at a football game and just pointing it at the field, snapping an instant picture (no delay at all with the shutter), and then going back to your computer and being able to instantly bring any player you'd like into perfect focus. Like I said, it's ridiculous. I can't wait to see what kind of capabilities Light Field Cameras will have a few years from now, and if they're even on the market. I think they're going to catch on, especially in the amature market. 

Waaaaa

So...I managed to accidentally loose every photo from my posts. Luckily Google rocks and is recovering them for me...but man, what a bummer.

<------that's pretty much how I feel.