resistance to persistence

you can feel hip even when being healthy

in the marketing category of “best named product” i nominate this to be the winner.

flickr photo from petenema

via photojojo:
Add a note to a friend’s photo on flickr with the text “ho ho ho hat” or “ho ho ho beard” to add a santa hat or santa beard (respectively) to the photo instantly. I added a nice little santa hat to pete’s photo above. he doesn’t seem as serious with that hat on.

photo by Thomas Dworzak / Magnum for TIME

The TIME Magazine Best Photos of the Year 2006 are posted. Some great photos as usual. Spend some time looking at them and experiencing what it would be like to be that photographer, to be in that moment.

yet another photo blog awards contest…but this time i wasn’t notified. i just found out and nominations are closed. dang it. which is probably fine. i’d hate to have to remind friends about yet another contest so soon after the last one.

this image was picked as one of the features in blogTO Friday Flickr Forum. blogTO is a local Toronto blog about anything and everything happening in Toronto. The blogTO Friday Flickr Forum is a weekly dialogue for Torontonians and is based on their photographs and the stories behind them. check it out to see some questions about my photos and other photographers

photo by sam @ daily dose of imagery

sam is selling a printed photo book of a select set of his photos from [daily dose of imagery]. if you haven’t seen sam’s work, here’s some of his credentials - best art/photo blog : 2006 canadian weblog awards, photoblog of the year: photobloggies 2005,2006,… yadda, yadda. it’s a long list, but he’s a damn good photographer. check his site, buy his book.

i dress up like a hamster when i workout so nobody will recognize me

yesterday i had my hardest workout yet. my trainer gave me a glimpse into what my program will be like after the holidays. it was chest and legs day and instead of doing my normal routine of 6 exercises of max weights, low reps we did 8 exercises of max weight, low reps and alternated them without any rest between. we started bench press, ran over to leg press and back and forth. then onto decline bench, alternating with squats. incline bench vs hack squats. you get the picture. no rest, burning fat and building even more size along with strength. i was wiped. tomorrow is going to be a very sore and painful day.

i’m hoping the rest from the holidays will help. my weight gain has slowed and i’m stuck at 30 lbs gained. it’s been time for a break and it’s due. after the holidays I should have the rest and energy to drive past even further.

Today I came across an amazing site for visualization of complex systems. Graphic design along with visualization has always amazed me and this site provides so many examples. It’s a definite spot to spend lots of time browsing.

visualcomplexity.com | A visual exploration on mapping complex networks

VisualComplexity.com intends to be a unified resource space for anyone interested in the visualization of complex networks. The project’s main goal is to leverage a critical understanding of different visualization methods, across a series of disciplines, as diverse as Biology, Social Networks or the World Wide Web.

i’ve definitely seen a massive impact on traffic to my site since placing 3rd for “best photo/art blog” in the 2006 canadian blog awards. as you can see in the traffic stats from yesterday, i had almost 1000 unique visitors today. i hope it keeps increasing. now there’s a lot more pressure to keep producing great shots each day. and that gets a lot harder through the winter months. photos of snowbanks get tiring really quick.

results were posted last night for the 2006 Canadian blog awards….

i got 3rd place in the “best photo/art blog” category! i’m extremely pleased with that finish, given the competition i was up against. daily dose of imagery and photojunkie are my 2 favorite photobloggers - i check them daily - and to be considered in a competition along side them is very flattering. i know my photography has improved a lot in the past year since i got my dslr.

visits to my site are up at least 10x my regular daily visits and are sure to increase now that the results are out. i should get a lot more exposure now as well, which was my real purpose for being in the contest. i’m considering doing a small exhibition of prints in 2007 and these credentials should help things happen.any tips on how to get started with an exhibition - gallery space, promotion, etc - are mucho appreciated.

thanks to everyone who voted for me, i couldn’t have done it without your help. keep coming back to check out
photo-persistence daily.