Photo Album

2005

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	Matthew and David at the "Medieval Times" dinner show facility, with one of the horses in the background. If you have a "Medieval Times" show in your city, I suggest you go. It's a lot of fun, albeit not cheap fun.
	A mounted knight prepares for an event. It was tricky to get good pictures at the show because the lighting wasn't very good, and the flash was useless for illuminating such a distant target, so I had to turn the flash off, lengthen the exposure in order to brighten it up, and try to hold the camera as steady as possible. I ended up with a lot of blurry pictures, but I managed to balance the camera on a solid object long enough to get this shot.
	Matthew, David, and my niece Morgen at Point Pelee. Point Pelee is the southernmost tip of Canada, jutting down into the Great Lakes deeply enough to be at the same latitude as Northern California. People are allowed to play in the water along the sides of this mini-peninsula, but not off the tip itself, where cross-currents and a vicious undertoe can easily suck you away from shore to your death.
	Matthew reclining in my in-laws' hammock. My in-laws live near Point Pelee, and we made a visit there at the end of July.
	Naturally, after seeing Matthew use the hammock, David had to leap in too.
	From left to right: Rebecca, Morgen, David, Matthew, and Fuzzy at the Fort Malden Heritage event. They had a variety of historical military displays there, ranging from re-enactors of Ancient Rome right up to Vietnam-era M16-toting American soldiers.
	My niece Morgen, wearing a Roman legionaire's helmet.
	David, wearing a Roman legionaire's helmet and chain mail armour.
	Of course, Matthew would never let David get away with being the only kid in the family to wear chain-mail armour and a Roman legionaire's helmet ...
	Some classic artillery pieces on display.
	Yes, this is my general mood when I missed breakfast.
	Matthew and David posing next to an old armoured personnel carrier. Perhaps some of you military buffs know exactly what kind of APC it is.
	I may be small, but I have a huge gun.
	The Wong clan canine and juvenile artillery team, reporting for duty!
	A family get-together at my in-laws' place. From left to right: Matthew, my brother-in-law James, my niece Morgen, David, my mother-in-law Louise, and of course, Rebecca, demonstrating her Zen technique for always knowing the precise moment to close her eyes just as I take a picture.
	My nephew DJ, trying to walk Fuzzy. No, he is not a double-amputee. He just looks that way because he's trying to pull Fuzzy backwards and he figured that pulling his arms behind his own back was the correct way to do it. Of course, Fuzzy ignored his efforts.
	This is one of the "Knights of Valour" who perform at the Abingdon Renaissance Faire. This is a continuation of the Renaissance Faire which ran for 9 years in Milton, Ontario. They were forced to move when the owners of the land sold it to a real-estate developer who planned to build row upon row of subdivision housing on it. But the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario stepped up to the plate and let them use part of their beautiful property, and the Renaissance Faire lives! This knight is being equipped by his squires in preparation for a joust.
	His opponent, the yellow knight, prepares for his charge.
	The two knights clash! Of course, they use rather breakable lances so that no one actually gets hurt, but it's still a dangerous exhibition. Men have suffered serious injuries in this event; it may be put on for show but those are still real wooden lances, and they still whack you pretty hard. The armour they wear is reasonably authentic, and it has to be, for reasons of safety.
	Rebecca at a nondescript plaza in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto. Why did I snap this particular picture in this particular place? Why not?
	Rebecca reading a book in the hideaway bed that we use for a guest bedroom. Of course, she does not realize that I am using my ninja stealth techniques to sneak up on her.
	Yes, this is Fuzzy after a haircut. This is also the first picture with my new camera, a Nikon D50. I am, of course, no professional photographer. But I got sick of the limitations being placed on me by my crappy Fuji digital camera so I decided to get a DSLR. Perhaps someday, I will be worthy of this new toy. But in the meantime, at least I know that when a picture turns out like shit, it's not the fault of the equipment ;)
	This picture is for those people who think that Toronto is a concrete jungle. There are parts of it which look like concrete jungle, to be sure. But Toronto is one of the greenest major cities in the world, with a high density of parks, recreational areas, bike paths, etc. This picture is taken from the inside of a heavily wooded area inside the borders of Metro Toronto. You can see a concrete structure in the distance through the trees, but rest assured, it really isn't that difficult to find green spaces in this city.
	This is Rebecca and the boys at a local park. Nothing remarkable was happening this day; I was just playing around with my new camera.
	This picture was taken at MarineLand, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Strangely, the Canadian side of Niagara Falls is much more commercialized, with more tourist attractions than the American side. This runs contrary to expectations, since the Americans are usually known as the Great Commercializers. But historically, the American side was quite heavily industrialized, which may have interfered with efforts to build up its tourist trade. Believe it or not, at one time people did not think of Niagara Falls as a tourist attraction; it was once considered primarily as a useful source of power. At this moment, a dolphin is hurling one of the trainers up into the air. I actually shot this picture not so much because it looked cool but because I wanted to see if my new toy, er ... camera could pick up a fast-motion shot like that, particularly with the water droplets. I think the new camera acquited itself quite nicely.
	This is David in one of the underground observation areas in MarineLand where you can see the killer whales through glass. One nice thing about this camera is that I can finally take pictures in these darkened grottos and be able to see something in the resulting shot. David will be pleased.
	It's time to touch the beluga whales! Rebecca and David both copped a feel.
	If you really, really, really want to feed a bear, here's a suggestion: follow Matthew's lead and do it from an elevated position, behind steel bars.
	Yes, MarineLand has the usual cheesy carnival rides. And no, I don't know who the two people to the left are. But David and Rebecca are sitting on the right.
	This is David at the Dino Mini-Golf in Niagara Falls. We're no longer in Marineland; there is a tourist area near the Falls on the Canadian side called "Clifton Hill" which is full of corny tourist attractions like themes mini-golf parks, a Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum, wax museums, Marvel Superhero rides, and of course, the usual items such as a Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood.
	David riding one of the dinosaurs at the Dino Mini Golf, with Rebecca on the right.
	Yes, that's a real butterfly. And yes, it landed right on David's head without any special coaxing, lures, or other tricks.
	A close-up of the butterfly. This is where the extra resolution of that new camera comes in handy.
	When your battery-powered car doesn't work, get a friend to push you.
	When he gets tired, switch places.
	Little Fuzzy is 11 years old now, but he's still adorable.
	Rebecca and Fuzzy on a day trip to one of the many lakeshore beaches in Toronto. Obviously, this is the boardwalk.
	Rebecca and the boys taking a break. Well, Rebecca's taking a break; the boys are fueling up with popsicles. Mmmmmm, sugar ...
	A test of my digital makeup application skills. This is a blowup of Rebecca from the above picture. The left half is unaltered, and the right half has lipstick painted on, using Gimp's "freehand select" and "colorize" tools. I've been trying to convince her to wear lipstick; she likes to go au naturel, but I think she looks better with lipstick, even if it's digital ;)
	Rebecca and the boys again, still at the lakeshore. Here in Toronto, we tend to use the beaches more as a place to put parks than an actual swimming venue.
	Matthew, David, and the Christmas tree!
	Yes, it's Fuzzy the Christmas Dog.

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Michael and Rebecca Wong

Photo Album

2005