Long may your big jib draw

I'm sat in Bitters, the place that has become my second home over the last few years. I've just cleaned out my office. I've handed my keys back at reception. I've said goodbye to the Alexander Murray Building. And now I have a lump in my throat. One that only a pint of my beloved British IPA can attempt to shift.

Tomorrow I will board a plane (well two, but that's less poetic) with my one way ticket back to England. My time in Newfoundland is up. I have almost completed my Master's thesis, just some tinkering over the next couple weeks and it'll be done and dusted. Submit it for review. Bish bash bosh, I'll graduate in May (hopefully!).

I still don't feel like I'm leaving. Yes, I've said goodbye to a number of friends who have already left for the Xmas holidays, but I still don't feel it. Probably something to do with the fact I haven't quite finished packing yet.

In the next hour or so I'm hopefully going to be joined by some of my nearest and dearest friends. Just some of the amazing people I've met in the last 16 months. I'm so sad to be leaving them. I love you all so much. I would have it no other way than to say goodbye over drinks at the pub. (My first tear just fell).

Newfoundland is an amazing place. I grow very attached to places, but I think that's because I've had the opportunity to live and visit some pretty special places. And Newfoundland is definitely one of them. Yes it's grey and rainy and snowy. But every time I see the view over the harbour, my worries and reservations melt away. Every time I step onto the East Coast Trail, I'm going on a wild adventure. The rocks, the trees, even the damn bogs. This is a fabulous little island.

Words can't really explain how much I'm going to miss this place and the people here (despite all the words I'm currently spending trying to explain it.) The sights I've seen. The people I've met. The memories I've made. All things that I'll treasure, forever more.

Newfoundland. It's been a time. Long may your big jib draw.

The first photo I took when I landed on this island.

The last photo I've taken before I leave this island.

Beautiful BC

It's been a while since my last post and I thought I'd get another one in before December starts. A number of very exciting things have happened in the last 6 week or so. I've presented at my first major conference (the topic of this particular post). I've contacted some scarily brainy people about potential PhD projects (hopefully the topic of the next post). And I've booked a one way ticket back to Blighty at Xmas. Big things people. Big things.

So the conference I went to was the Geological Society of America's Annual Meeting, which this year was in Vancouver. I was super excited to see another of Canada's cities, especially one I'd heard so much about. I was also really excited to go to my first big conference. As well as presenting a poster about my own work, I was fortunate enough to be awarded the History and Philosophy of Geology 2nd place Student Award, and so was allowed to give a presentation on "The Origin of Granite".

When we arrived at the convention centre, boy was I blown away. Walking through the doors we were greeted by a giant globe hanging from the ceiling. We navigated our way through the huge building to where the Student Breakfast was being held (free food!) and the view across the water was stunning. It was grey, and it was still beautiful. I've eaten breakfast in worse places.

The huge glass windows that stretch right across the shoreside of the building became my little haven when I had a break between sessions.

I spent every opportunity I could playing tourist and taking photos. 
This was one of the many boat plane tours that I saw leave from the harbour.

Standard lego-esque Orca statue.

Lots of skyscrapers.

Olympic torch from Vancouver 2010.

There were so many sessions that I wanted to attend that there were inevitable scheduling conflicts. There was just too much good science to learn about! The abstract program was a huge booklet that never left my grasp, and if people noticed me wandering around they would see my frantically flicking through its pages trying to figure out where I should go next.

As for my presentations, I think they went well. My history talk was first and despite not making a couple of points that I wanted to, I was really happy with how it went. Everybody laughed at N.L. Bowen's quote about how the transformists can't handle their liquor, and I got some really engaging questions at the end. Not bad for a geologist masquerading as a historian. My poster also went down a treat, everybody being excited about the use of the snazzy "Split Stream" technique. I even had someone who was at my history talk come and find me at my poster, as he was a colleague of the late Bruce Chappell, who featured prominently in my talk. A lovely, lovely moment.

There was also time to catch up with fellow St Andreans as there was an alumni event being held, a talk about The History of Geology at St Andrews! I was the youngest graduate that attended, and overcome with how fabulous Peter made the department sound I piped up at the end of the Q&A session to let everyone know just how proud I was/am to have studied geology at St Andrews. I almost brought a tear to my own eye.

After the conference had finished we had two days to properly play tourist, and myself and Will jumped at the opportunity. There was so much we wanted to do so we had to pick our battles. The rain was coming down hard on the first morning so after grabbing another free breakfast we headed over to Science World! I had read some reviews that had claimed it is only fun when you go with children. Well those adults clearly don't know how to have fun, because the place is fantastic. We had a blast! It's one of the interactive science museums I've ever been to. Between learning about biometrics and seeing how high we could jump (Will is very springy) to playing with polarisers in the Light exhibition, to being constantly frustrated at the Puzzle section, I honestly don't know how you wouldn't have fun.

Looking out over False Creek, with Science World looking
glorious to the right of centre.

Why aren't all walkways adorned with trilobites?

Next port of call was Granville Island Market. Literally though. We took the boat there. I had forgotten the true wonder of really fresh produce and the variety of things to eat there were a little overwhelming. I settled on some perogies and a Scotch Pie (I had to test if it was authentic, it was!). And as the trip had largely turned into a beer tour by this point, we stopped into the Granville Island Brewery. It would've been rude not to.

The sunset was too tempting so we played Hive while I set up a timelapse.

Day 2 started off with Waffles for breakfast at the reputable Nero Belgian Waffle Bar. Good job we were doing a lot of walking because boy those things were big. Stanley Park had been staring at us from across the water all week and we finally had chance to visit. I'm so glad that I got to see it in all its glorious fall colours, although I bet it's gorgeous all year round. I'll let my photos do the talking on this excursion though.

I took this photo about 100 times.

Will sees water. Will skims stones.

Mr Heron was hunting but in the 10 minutes I was watching him
for he didn't move from this position...

I took a multitude of panoramas.

The totem poles were pretty darn cool.

We put the B into BC remember?

Wait, where am I?!

The one attraction that was consistently reputed a "must see" was the Vancouver Aquarium. And yes, yes it is a must see. Going on a Friday during half term break meant the place was littered with small humans running around frantically, but our patience lasted longer than there's at any given tank so it wasn't too bad if you waited it out. There were caiman,a gazillion jellyfishes, the arse of a sloth (that's all we saw of it) and all the other things you would expect to find at an aquarium. And then we went outside. and the cuteness meter went off the charts.

There were penguins who thought they were going to get fed and then didn't.

And sea otters (who were being fed).

Multiple sea otters, thus multiplying the cute.

And a cool white sided dolphin that I attempted to snap jumping in all it's glory.

I came back from the trip having fallen in love with Vancouver. I'd been told that I would love it, but people say that about a lot of places. They were right about Vancouver though. I'd eaten so much good food, and drank some truly excellent beers, found the best pub in the world (where I won drinks for tweeting during a bingo game), seen some amazing scenery, and I'd kicked ass at a huge conference and totally geeked out about studying my science. That's pretty much what I'm about in life. If I'd been to a Canucks game or any other live sporting event during that week, I don't think I would've ever gotten on the plane to come back. Thanks Vancouver. You're awesome.

365

I start this blog post with the same disbelief I started my last one. September is almost over?! The summer is winding down, the rains are back and the undergraduates are flooding the corridors. I'm now into semester 7 of my Master's, trying to finish things up in time for Xmas, all the while TAing, working in the microprobe lab, training for a 5k obstacle race, and trying to do normal human being things (eat, sleep, drink etc.). So this seems like a perfect time to start at 365 project!

A 365 project is a photography project where you take a photo every single day for a year. I tend to take a lot of photos anyway and I'm an avid Instagram user (hopefully not an annoying one though!), but I wasn't sure whether or not I'd be able to manage actually taking a photo everyday. I try to take photos with my snazzy camera at the weekends when I'm out and about, but my weekday life involves school, the gym and Trivia. What am I going to photograph when I'm pulling a late one on a Wednesday night? I also didn't like the idea that I would have to take photos everyday. Surely that would just lead to me forcing a moment? Taking terrible photos because it's got to 10:34 at night and I haven't got that days photo! The more I read about other projects though the more I got excited about trying it.

In theory this whole thing will make me a better photographer. I'll have to take pictures that I wouldn't normally take. I typically go for landscape shots, but now I'm going to have to mix it up with macros and portraits and such. I've signed up to the 365project website, which means I'll be actively sharing my photos are learning from other photographers. And starting it now means that I'll document what is set to be an exciting year. I'm hoping to be leaving St John's around Xmas. A wedding in Serbia is my only definite plan. After that, who knows? This project will be with me the whole way (if I manage to keep it up that is).

It seems about time to show off some of my photos now, so here's my shots from my first 10 days. You can find my photos at http://365project.org/shtacyp/365.

Danger! Keep Out!

We went exploring around Bay Bulls and found a slightly run down lighthouse. 
This was a peek up into the eerie stairwell.

Marking

My first lot of marking to do for this semester's lab class. Red pen at the ready, although I subsequently realised that it had ran out of ink. Quite difficult to deal with the shadows created from the fluorescent lights all over my office.

Red Lizard
I'm cat sitting at a friends house so it gives me the opportunity to find new subjects. This charming lizard adorns the walls along the stairs. To continue the red theme I appear to have started this project with I shot it in Colour Accent mode, highlighting the red/orange colour.

Leaf
The back garden can feel like a rainforest after it's been raining, as the water continues to drip off the leaves. I probably should've searched a bit more for some better lighting, and I accidently shot it at a really high ISO, but I still like the droplets.

A Bug's Life
Exploring the garden before going to school this morning I found this little guy hanging out on the hammock. It's a tough life.

Moody Sky
Didn't have my camera on me at the time so this was taken on my home.
Panorama of the sky catching the red tinge as the sun was going down, with the ominous clouds closing in.

Stairs
I liked the decoration on the stairs and tried to play with focus.

Supper

Some Scottish oatcakes I bought from the farmers market with 

some smoked cheese and cheddar. Yum.

Seaweed

Got several shots of the waves crashing behind this bit of seaweed on the beach. 

This was my favourite as it captured the swell of the waves and the translucent sea.

Post-It

Have I gone overboard with my sticky notes?

I may decide to periodically post my photos on here if I feel I need to blog about them, but I think I'll keep them off Facebook and keep them on the 365 website. If you have any comments, hints or tips, please let me know! Until next time.

Playing with time

How is it August?! When did that happen? Well I guess it happened right after June and July flew by. This summer has gone extraordinarily quickly. And I have a theory as to why it has gone so quickly. I think it has something to do with my new found love. Time lapse photography.

I own a Canon Powershot SX40HS. And it is fantastic. I bought it last summer from a friend and it has been the perfect tool for learning photography. It is a "bridge" camera so it has all the automatic features of a point & shoot but lots of manual features of an DSLR. Through experimentation, online guides (Digital Photography School) and a little help from a lady on YouTube (FatDragon100_SX40 tutorials) I have learnt my way around the camera and have shared (I think) increasingly better photographs with you guys over this last year.

One of the best tips I learnt from FatDragon100 was about CHDK. This is a nifty bit of software called the Canon Developer Hack Kit, which you can load onto your camera and it allows you to override a lot of the settings of your Canon camera to give you more control and more DSLR like settings. I haven't had chance to thoroughly explore all the new possibilities that CHDK has given me, but I have paid particular attention to one of the features. The intervalometer script.

The intervalometer script basically tells your camera to take a photo every x number of seconds. So you find something moving slowly across your frame. Set down your camera in a stable place. Press shoot. Wait for a long period of time. Then you can compile them into a timelapse video. Simple right?! Not necessarily no. As I have found out. Choosing your subject, your shooting interval, dealing with changes in lighting conditions all play an unsurprisingly important role in making a good timelapse. 

And then there is the actual compilation of the photos. I started off using Windows Movie Maker (groan...), which is possibly the most irritating bit of software I've ever used. Turns out it can't really cope with a sequence of 300 photos, appearing at <0.5 seconds a frame. Nor does it really like a simple video made somewhere else with a title and credits added to it. Gahh! My newest method of photo compilation involves a freeware called Panolapse (http://www.panolapse360.com/). Not only will this software put together photos for a timelapse video, it will also help with deflickering (smoothing out any abrupt changes in exposure) and you can add motion to the video, panning and zooming to really make your video come alive with movement.

And in order to make a top notch video, there should always be music. This is something I've only really fully appreciated  recently. No one wants to watch a silent series of photos. Not wanting to breach copyright laws I usually find music from Free Music Archive (http://freemusicarchive.org/), which has all sorts of weird and wonderful beats of all shapes and sizes. Put it together in Movie Maker (when it wants to work) and voilà, you have successfully condensed minutes worth of real life action into a few mere seconds. This is why I think my summer has gone quickly.

Much like how I only seem to use Twitter to give my opinions on sports, YouTube has become my medium for showing the world my timelapse projects. So here is my timeline of timelapses!

A little movie from a fieldtrip to Central Newfoundland.

My first timelapses start at 5:30.

Sunrise timelapse on Canada Day. Changing light conditions at 

sunrise and sunset can be combatted by shooting in Av mode.

Utilising that Av mode during a lovely sunset.

I've discovered that skies are much more interesting with a couple of

 clouds that will spread out the colours across the sky and add texture.

Capturing said moving clouds whilst 

kicking back in the park and reading a book.

Planning is key. This impromptu bonfire meant I missed most of the 

epic sunset that night whilst we drove out to the beach. 

Fun night all the same though!

I dropped a tonne of frames on this one as I 

had to pause and delete files off my memory card...

Also, I need to get a tripod. YouTube managed to remove 

most of the shakiness, but the original showed that 

my rock wasn't actually that stable.

The changing weather is the most obvious thing to do a timelapse of, 

but I could hardly resist the opportunity to capture the incoming thunderstorm.

 I think this is my best one to date :)

I get super excited when I come up with an idea for a timelapse and I love the process of creating the final video. Whether I watch someone else's video and want to recreate their shots, or I hear some music on Songza that would be perfect for sequential photographs, I now find myself constantly dreaming up new projects. I guess this means that I have officially been bitten by the photography bug.

Keep rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin'

If you go down to a Newfoundland beach in June or July you'll probably see more people by the shoreline than at any other time of the year. It's summer yes, but few of them will be taking a dip in the sea (I can assure you the water is still cold!). When you approach the water you'll notice people with nets and buckets, flocks of circling seagulls and if you're lucky, the waves will bring flapping fish onto the beach with every splash of the tide. This is the phenomenon of rolling capelin.

It's been something on my Newfoundland bucket list since I heard about it, and as I didn't manage to see it last year, I was super determined to see it this year. Capelin are small pelagic forage fish that live in the Arctic and sub-Arctic water of the Atlantic. They spend most of their time offshore but every year they come inland to spawn. This is what the rolling is all about. If you go at the right time of day you will sea schools of fish coming onto the beaches to lay their eggs. This makes them easy pickings for humans and birds alike.

A male capelin simply picked up off the beach.

We heard through various social media sources that the capelin had started appearing, so with equal determination a couple of us rushed out to the beach. Our first capelin hunting trip to Middle Cove however proved unsucessful. There were some fish coming in, but they certainly weren't rolling. The trip had was fruitful however; it allowed me to practice my photography 
(See http://northerngeologist.blogspot.ca/2014/06/photography-exercise-textures-of-water.html)

The next time we went out we tried to time it to coincide with low tide, the most logical time for the capelin to be rolling surely? We turned up with great anticipation and sure enough...they weren't rolling. 

A line of dead capelin on the beach from previous rolls.

We hung around for a bit, as it would be a waste to just turn back. We could see some capelin in the water and there were plenty of people out in the water with a variety of different nets and methods of fishing.

Standard nets.

A two person fabric approach.

The more inventive milk crate method.

The milk crate was one of the more novel approaches and we kindly laughed at the idea. All the while I was holding an empty 2kg peanut butter jar to keep my stash in. Then all of a sudden Milk Crate Man caught a bunch of capelin! They weren't quite rolling but they were hanging out very near to the shoreline. It then emerged that we had a milk crate in the back of the car, and minutes later I was in the water fishing! As one of two people in shorts and certainly the most enthusiastic I waded into the icy waters. 

The trick to surviving the temperature was to stay in for
more than 5 minutes until your legs went numb.
Then you could stay in for as long as you wanted.

It worked!!

After working out the timing of the waves and how not to scare the fish away I managed to successfully catch some capelin. A lot of them too. The holes in the crate were just the right size to stop them escaping, although some did manage to get their heads stuck,that unfortunately and more often than not led to a gruesome end.

After deciding that we had a good enough haul and that my body temperature had decreased sufficiently we headed to Ches's for some chips and then home to cook our capelin and watch the World Cup. They're similar to whitebait in the UK, that is you can just fry them up and eat them whole. The skeleton is very thin and the guts do not need to be removed. You can eat the head and tail too, but my preference was to just lop them off.

So, here's my simple steps on how to cook capelin:

These are all male capelin, as they have larger anal fins.

1) Simply chop the head and tail off each capelin. You can often cut one of the smaller fins off with the head too. The other fins you can leave on or off, it's up to you. The guts can stay in but again, it's up to you if you want to simply pull them out.

Decapitated capelin, with a full capelin for comparison.

2) Wash the capelin in a little water to clean them up a bit.

3) In a bowl coat the capelin in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. Fresh parsley can also be added to make them more scrumptious.

4) Heat up oil in a pan and throw the capelin in. The oil should be hot enough to make the flour crackle and crisp up.

Sizzling away.

5) Cook evenly on both sides until golden brown.

6) Simply serve straight out the pan, with a drizzle of lemon juice! If you don't want to eat the skeleton you can easily get the whole thing out by cutting the fish open in the middle, it should fall right out. Or you can just eat the whole thing!

I was brave and tried one with head and tail.
I prefer them without...

A couple weeks later I had another capelin experience, although this one wasn't planned. We went out on a sea kayaking tour out of Bay Bulls (a thoroughly enjoyable tour from The Outfitters, highly recommend it!). As we went exploring in one of the caves, we saw some dark masses moving around in the water. Upon closer inspection we discovered it was a school of capelin trying not to be eaten in the sheltered cave. Our instructors rued not bringing out a net with them, but at least thanks to an underwater camera we could take away something.

Great shot T!

Despite not seeing the capelin roll I am satisfied that I at least caught some, by whatever unconventional means. I have a stash in the freezer, ready for any time that I fancy stinking out the kitchen. And who knows, while they're still around I might actually get to see them roll. If I do, I will certainly sing Limp Bizkit.

True North strong and free

July 1st marks Canada Day, the national holiday of Canada. It's a statutory holiday (apart from the staff at Tim Horton's) meaning I don't feel guilty taking the day off. This year is Canada's 147th birthday i.e. when Canada ceased to be a British colony (well, when New Brunswick & Nova Scotia joined Ontario and Quebec) and the Dominion of Canada was brought into existence. Newfoundland didn't actually join the Confederation until 1949, but that's by the by. It's still the day when Canada was born.

Being the most easterly province Newfoundland has the honour of being the first place in the country to ring in Canada Day, something the island takes great pride in. Every year there is a sunrise ceremony and this year I decided to attend. This meant waking up at 4am (I've been going to bed at this time the last couple weeks...) and hiking up to Signal Hill. This was a particular risk this year, as the last couple days have seen fog clinging to the coast and ruining the view for intrepid hikers. Nonetheless, armed with a Monster energy drink, I raced across town and up the hill.

I managed to get there just on time as the sun appeared over the horizon. I quickly pulled out my camera and set up for a time lapse of the sunrise, and it was beautiful.

The sun peeking out as I arrived.

Delightful reflections on the water.

Cabot Tower bathed in a red glow.

I had to adjust settings a couple times as I was taking my time lapse, which meant that it didn't show a smooth transition, so I will go back and take another at some point when I can take more time. I'm going a bit time lapse crazy since I learnt how to do it, so hopefully practice makes perfect.

A great crowd had developed by the time 6am rolled round, and our spirits were kept up in the cold by the Sun Parlour Pipes & Drums who were visiting from Ontario. Nothing like bagpipes first thing in the morning to wake you up. The ceremony was led by Parks Canada and various representatives and dignitaries were present, all of whom continually assured us that the sun and clear skies we were experiencing were very much out of the ordinary for Canada Day. I must be a lucky mascot.

As well as July 1st being Canada Day, in Newfoundland & Labrador it is also Memorial Day, the commemoration day for WWI. It is held on this day specifically to recall the losses of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the first day of the Battle of the Somme. 780 men went bravely forward at Beaumont-Hamel. Only 68 were available for roll call the following day.

Piping away with icebergs floating in the background.

Representative of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Bugler from the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

One of the WWI reenactors that works at Signal Hill.

Newfoundland flag.

A maple leaf adorns the top of the pipers banner.

Whilst upon Signal Hill I saw one of my friends from school, who asked me "What are you doing up here?" As a Brit it did seem odd that I would put in the effort to celebrate another country's holiday. I'm a tourist and a patriot to whatever country I reside in. This was a way of thanking Canada for letting me into this beautiful country. While my stay may only be temporary there is something about this place that will make me claim to be partly Canadian for the rest of my days. And no, that's not just so I have someone else to cheer on in sports :P 

The rest of day was a typical Canada Day affair. A group of friends, hanging outside (we were by a lake), having a BBQ, having some beers and generally having a good time. Despite my factor 60 sunscreen I managed to go a little more rouge, adding to my English Rose look, but it was totally worth it. A lovely day of fun in the sun. Happy birthday Canada.

I've made a little video of my timelapse attempt to the soundtrack of O Canada as played by the pipe band. My little personal thankyou to Canada. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/kEVzGin1Gx4