text:
by Jakub

submit your photo

Hall of Fame
View past winners from this year

Please participate in Meta
and help us grow.

Take the 2-minute tour ×
Photography Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional, enthusiast and amateur photographers. It's 100% free, no registration required.

When I shoot environmental portraits, I usually place my subject off center. However, I've seen instances where the photographer has intentionally centered their subject. Here is an example: Personally, I would have framed it so the person is not in the middle in order to create some tension and dynamic balance. What is your opinion as to why the photographer would have centered the subject in the attached example? What are some instances when using the center of the frame is a better compositional choice?

share|improve this question
possible duplicate of When is it OK to place the subject in the middle of a picture? –  Imre Feb 8 '12 at 4:57

6 Answers 6

Whenever it makes sense to. The "rules" of composition are not rules at all, and many of them are derived (sometimes tortuously) from examining pictures that people have found pleasing for one reason or another. That there are so many "rules" to choose from is an indication that there are many, many different ways to create a picture that is either pleasing to the eye or tells the story you want to tell. It's nice to learn the various rules, but don't take any of them too seriously. (And leave the art critic vocabulary to the art critics -- they can see things that no ordinary, reasonable person can, or at least come up with a scientific-sounding explanation of why a good picture is a good picture, even if it means making up a new compositional rule.)

share|improve this answer
Fuly agree. In this case the background is pretty boring and plain, hardly an environment at all so creating a more formalised portrait with the subject in the middle works. That brush in the hand would (IMHO) just look odd with an off-centre placement. –  epo Feb 8 '12 at 10:51
Its like the pirate code - "the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules". –  rfusca Feb 10 '12 at 6:47

When you stand in front of a mirror to shave... do you stand centered in mirror or do you compose yourself by the rule of thirds?? The point of centering, at least what I am interpreting, in this image is to create the effect that he is looking in the mirror shaving. As though we, the viewers, are viewing from inside his medicine cabinet mirror. And so you decide where to place your subject based on the story you're telling... if there is no extra effect such as mirror view -- then go ahead and use rule of thirds but don't be so bound to rule of thirds (or other rules) that it blocks the creative potential that another composition could serve. Start from the rule, if you like, then ask is there another story I could tell with different placement! No matter what always consider other placement because otherwise you are not even open to the possibilities. Be open to the possibilities!

share|improve this answer

The subject is horizontally centered in that image but the focal point, the face and eyes, are still sitting on the one-third line down from the top so it still falls within the rule of thirds.

share|improve this answer
I hate to say it, but this is the perfect example of what Stan is talking about in his answer. ;) Personally I'd say the point of focus is about 60/40, or Golden Ratio...but its all rather moot...its highly unlikely the "rules" were applied at the time the photo was taken. –  jrista Feb 8 '12 at 6:00

I agree that this photo may have been more appealing, especially on a subconscious level, if it was off-center. Personally, I would have cropped out some of the extraneous things on the one side in particular. However, the final decision made by the photographer was most likely made simply because it "felt" right. We've probably all done it.

share|improve this answer

I personally agree that the photo probably would have been slightly more appealing had the photographer shifted the subject from the center. It would have balanced the photo and added a little bit of tension. Generally these are the reasons a composition like this is not framed with the subject in the center.

You can, of course, center the subject in many situations. If your subject is filling the frame, centering the subject often allows either side of them to fall on these 'balancing lines' (thirds, golden ratio). This is aesthetically pleasing.

If your subject is perhaps lying down perpendicular to the camera (on a bench or a couch, for example), having the feet on one side and the head on the other side will feel balanced.

As well, a symmetry in the surroundings of a subject may also allow for an aesthetically pleasing centering of a subject as given by the rough example.

The composition is balanced because of the overall symmetry.

enter image description here

In general, it should come down to what feels right as you're framing your shot. I often find myself "falling" into these guidelines I've talked about in this answer (and other general guides in composing) because they intrinsically feel good. I found these to be pleasing before knowing what they were called or why they are used.

share|improve this answer
I agree in general, but I'm not sure shifting the subject from the centre would be more balanced - I would say the opposite. More tension, yes. More dynamic and interesting. But not more balanced unless there is something in the other two thirds to balance the subject. Against a bland background, an off-centre subject isn't balanced in my mind. –  MikeW Feb 8 '12 at 5:39
For me, I tend to view the desirable composition of a photo like the example given to be on a see saw. If the subject is on either side, it's at rest. If the subject is in the center, it could go either direction and has the potential to feel like you're not stable. Maybe tension isn't the right word, maybe 'dynamic'. That's probably the best analogy I can think of for my own point of view. –  Nick Bedford Feb 8 '12 at 5:48
It has a lot of tension now. Is he heading into the light through the door? Or receding into the dark shadows? Both have the same visual weight so it's up to you to think about where he is going, metaphorically... –  Kendall Helmstetter Gelner Feb 11 '12 at 8:54

It's about creating an effect, right? Centering the subject and having him face the camera creates a sort of dramatic confrontation with the viewer.

In my mind, if you want the subject to confront the viewer, a centered, full-on view might be appropriate. As noted above - this does't preclude also using the rule of thirds or another composition technique as well.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
by Jakub

submit your photo

Hall of Fame
View past winners from this year

Please participate in Meta
and help us grow.

Take the 2-minute tour ×
Photography Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional, enthusiast and amateur photographers. It's 100% free, no registration required.

Are there camera out there that are capable to withstand at least some of the following type of weather conditions and are able to take good quality photos (not necessarily the most high quality photos)?

  1. Hot weather where temperature might hit at least 50 degree Celsius
  2. Underwater condition in a swimming pool (able to take good photo during day / night)
  3. Sandstorms condition
  4. Thunderstorm condition
  5. Earthquake condition
  6. Underwater condition in sea
  7. Able to withstand hard knocks
  8. Snowing condition
  9. During nuclear meltdown or post nuclear conditions
share|improve this question
Earthquake condition? What exactly are you planning here? –  mattdm Apr 27 '12 at 0:52
I am planning to get a feel of the earthquake and take photo (and video) of the condition during the earthquake and after the earthquake. –  Jack Apr 27 '12 at 1:08
Now, this would become an interesting question if we included post nuclear war conditions. –  rfusca Apr 27 '12 at 1:17
What did your friend recommend? –  Ward Apr 27 '12 at 6:33
@Jack: It seems like you are asking for the kitchen-sink camera. Ultimately, you get what your money buys, and to get everything, you need to spend a lot of money. Your essentially asking for a weather resistant camera, which certainly do exist, but they rarely sell for less than $1000 in DSLR form. There are a few water sealed point-and-shoot cameras that can be used underwater, but they are not guaranteed to work in pretty much "any" condition. They offer your average point-and-shoot quality as well, so certainly not "kitchen sink" level. –  jrista Apr 29 '12 at 16:57

3 Answers 3

up vote 9 down vote accepted

Yes, there are cameras that will work in extreme weather — at least on the more realistic side of each situation. There are many ruggedized cameras, almost any of which will cover some degree of each item on your whole list — although none will take being actually hit by lightning. A ruggedized camera can handle going to the beach (although you should be careful to get sand out of any moving parts after), but a sandstorm is a tall order and you would want additional protection, if you're really out in it. Likewise, these will handle snorkeling, but if you're diving down where there is significant pressure, you probably need additional precautions.

For nuclear disaster, assuming your own safety is either adequately dealt with or that you are past caring, no off-the-shelf camera will help. Radiation will fog film and can destroy digital sensors (and flip bits on memory cards). When photographer Igor Kostin illegally went into the Chernobyl site days after the explosion, he wore a lead suit and protected his camera gear with lead boxes — something similar would be recommended were you in a similar situation. Years later, a Chernobyl tour site notes that putting camera equipment on the ground is forbidden as it risks contamination, but doesn't offer further words of warning on protecting camera gear; presumably the tour is short enough and stays far enough away from high radiation areas as to minimize the risk.

For the more realistic scenarios, though, a camera feature search at Digital Photography Review turns up three dozen shockproof cameras, and I believe all of these results happen to be waterproof as well — which also means sealed against dust. You can narrow down the search from there.

share|improve this answer
+1 for the fast respond. The website pretty useful. –  Jack Apr 27 '12 at 1:11
+1 for actually answering the nuclear part –  rfusca Apr 27 '12 at 16:37

At extreme temperatures, don't forget to take into account the survivability of the laccessories, especially the batteries and memory cards.

  • Batteries will lose capacity at temperature extremes (and may even rupture or explode).
  • You can buy industrial-grade or extended temperature SD cards, rated to extremes like -40 to 85C, but they will be relatively expensive. One brand that I've used costs around $50USD for a 2GB SD card (a capacity that is commonly available for less than $10USD in consumer-grade versions).

You will need to think about these things if you can't open up the ports on a ruggedized camera to attach a power or data cable (so you don't need onboard batteries or memory storage) without losing the environmental protection the camera provides.

share|improve this answer

2 and 8 are not significantly different other than the depth potentially involved. Underwater enclosures are made for hundreds of feet of submersion for most popular camera's including DSLRs, but they are not necessarily cheap. For the average DSLR, it will generally run $1500 to $3500 for such an enclosure. Also, special underwater strobes are necessary at depths below about 40 to 50 feet or even 10 feet depending on water conditions.

3, 4 and 8 are all weather proofing concerns. The underwater enclosures from above would likely work, but are also overkill. There are also a variety of cheap (relatively) weatherproofing options available for most professional gear. Top end professional gear will even have some weatherproofing built in, though it is fairly rare to rely on the built in weatherproofing.

5 and 7 are also very similar and is really linked to build quality. The higher the build quality, the more durable the gear will be against shocks. There are also camera's like the GoPro that are designed specifically for taking physical shock abuse.

1 and 9 are the real challenging ones that pretty much require specific design since operating temperatures can't easily be avoided and radiation hardening is a very special case.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2015-22
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for May 2015
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
by Jakub

submit your photo

Hall of Fame
View past winners from this year

Please participate in Meta
and help us grow.

Take the 2-minute tour ×
Photography Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional, enthusiast and amateur photographers. It's 100% free, no registration required.

Flickr, Picasa Web, SmugMug, Zenfolio are all the wrong places to publish massive things like this. They have awful limits. I haven't been able to find a gigapixel host that is like Flickr/Picasa Web/SmugMug/Zenfolio but dedicated to massive panoramas.

This brings me to my question and purpose of thread: how can I publish my gigantic panorama? I know there are viewers out there, surely they aren't custom designed for every particular website by the webmasters of that site. Could you recommend me to software and tools for publishing massive panoramas on my own web resources? Advices, tips, and suggestions are appreciated!

share|improve this question
We've had this question before, try searching with different terms. Gigapixel does not give anything. –  Itai Aug 26 '12 at 22:13
possible duplicate of Online viewer for panorama photos? –  John Cavan Aug 27 '12 at 23:24
@JohnCavan - Thanks for finding the duplicate. I knew we had it! –  Itai Aug 28 '12 at 3:22

6 Answers 6

up vote 4 down vote accepted

My suggestion @ 90€ is have your own web host and run a copy of

share|improve this answer

Dropbox or some other file-sharing oriented service which happens to make it easy to view pictures?

share|improve this answer

I do not use this service so I can't give you a lot of details, but I know Microsoft's Photosynth web site hosts large (several gigapixels) panoramas and has a decent web based viewer for them.

What I'm not sure is if you can upload panoramas that you built with your own tools as opposite to using their ICE stitching software. Hopefully someone who has used the service can comment on that.

share|improve this answer

It's actually possible to host them on SmugMug, if you're willing to do a little bit of work to put the pieces together. A user on dgrin has written pretty thorough directions on how to do it:

share|improve this answer

I can't suggest you a software or tool. Publishing pictures on the Internet is usually very simple but you have to keep in mind that very heavy pictures are difficult to display on the Internet because of the bandwidth of visitor's connection.

The best advice that I can give you is to compress your panorama (<5MB) and, if you want, propose to download the high quality version. Regarding the storage of high quality pictures, I suggest you to have a look to web hosting providers. I think that for $10/month you can enjoy 100GB a storage and unlimited traffic. An example:, ...

share|improve this answer

you can also upload, host and annotate your images at

share|improve this answer
While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. –  AJ Henderson Apr 11 '14 at 4:24

Your Answer

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.


text:
by Jakub

submit your photo

Hall of Fame
View past winners from this year

Please participate in Meta
and help us grow.

Take the 2-minute tour ×
Photography Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional, enthusiast and amateur photographers. It's 100% free, no registration required.

I've been asked by friends to take a group photo with a canal in Amsterdam as background. While I realize that there's no 'best' location (these things are often very subjective) I was wondering if there are people on this site who have some tips with regards to location based on more objective metrics like lack of traffic/tourists at certain locations and space available to create enough distance between me and the group.

Given that I'd like to make the most of the available light, I'm looking to take the photo's between 15:00-16:00 (might be useful when thinking of traffic/tourism)

share|improve this question
I have voted to close this question as too localized. If it were recast in a more general form, such as asking about criteria for selecting locations for group photos, I suspect it would have much more value to most readers. –  whuber Dec 5 '12 at 17:42
Honestly, I found the whole place to be pretty photogenic, virtually any canal bridge will make for a good group photo. –  whatsisname Dec 5 '12 at 18:06
I don't think it's too localized. See this meta discussion. Amsterdam is a major tourist destination with over 5 million visitors annually, many of whom want to take group photos by the famous canals. By contrast, how many people are wanting to repair a 1929 Voigtlander Bessa? — a question I think no one has a quibble with. –  mattdm Dec 5 '12 at 18:32
the Voigtlander Bessa question was great, in any case :-) I agree with @mattdm, for me the criterion for too-localized is "is this question searchable by someone with reasonable keywords?" and I can see someone looking for scenic places in Amsterdam. –  Francesco Dec 5 '12 at 19:30
I'm from the Netherlands, although not from Amsterdam. Personally, I think the Herengracht is a beautiful canal. It has many bridges that cross it, so many potential places to take the shot. It's also quite a busy canal though, but you'll have to work around that some way, as Amsterdam generally is small and crowded. As for your suggested shooting time, take note that in the winter the days are very short and your available light will already be limited by 16:00. –  Ferdy Dec 11 '12 at 18:26

2 Answers 2

On of the most beautiful channels is the "Prinsengracht". There are trees around that give a nice frame, too.

There are some spots where the bridge over the channel is wider and you can get some distance between you and the group. For example here. This location should have the right direction for afternoon light.

On every spot in Amsterdam however there is a risk that some cafe or other shop might setup their chairs on free spaces. To go blindly to a place is not really recommended, specially in summer.

share|improve this answer

The three main canals that form a horseshoe around the central railway station - the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht - are all ideal. The architecture is very typical Amsterdam round there (tall, narrow houses with typically Dutch facades) and as a plus the little hump-backed bridges that cross the canals provide you with excellent locations to stage a shoot.

Here's a wonderful example from Flickr, taken on the Herengracht (the geo-tag will show you the exact location.) Just imagine your group on that bridge.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.


text:
by Jakub

submit your photo

Hall of Fame
View past winners from this year

Please participate in Meta
and help us grow.

Take the 2-minute tour ×
Photography Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional, enthusiast and amateur photographers. It's 100% free, no registration required.

I am in the market for a 50mm lens for my Canon DSLR. I've read plenty of reviews, and all of them have great things to say about both lenses. From a scientific perspective, the f/1.2 performs better wide open, which is to be expected given its price.

My question is, from a real-world perspective, from people who have actually used both lenses, is there any real reason to get the 50mm f/1.2? It costs over four times as much, which really isn't a "problem", per-se, but not an amount of money I want to spend unless I absolutely have to.

My primary use for this lens would be astrophotography and probably some portrait and close-up nature work. It will initially be used on an APS-C sensor, but I plan to upgrade to a 5D Mark III soon after it is released. When it comes to astrophotography, I intend to use such a lens wide open, or perhaps up to one stop down from wide open, as light gathering ability in pitch black is the main idea.

Based on Matt Grum's answer, I am also interested in hearing about competing fast 50mm lenses. I had not thought of third party lenses before, as I've always bought Canon, however if a third-party lens is optically just as good or better, for a better price, I'd be interested in hearing about them as well.

share|improve this question
You could check out the zeiss 50mm too. It being sharper or not seems to depend on how hip you are but one thing is for sure, the photos shot with it look different, something about the contrast. –  Shizam Oct 29 '10 at 16:41
Keep an eye on this question about third-party lens quality if you're thinking about third party lenses. –  Drew Stephens Oct 29 '10 at 18:53
@Shizam: Does the Zeiss 50mm come in a Canon mount? Got any links to good reviews? –  jrista Oct 29 '10 at 20:02
@Drew: Thanks, useful information. :) –  jrista Oct 29 '10 at 20:03
It does indeed come in a Canon mount, there are lots of off the cuff reviews of the lens but I'm having trouble finding a nice in-depth with side-by-sides. –  Shizam Oct 29 '10 at 20:12

10 Answers 10

up vote 5 down vote accepted

The 50L is definitely better than the 50/1.4; I'm just not sure if it is worth that much money. If you need fast and reliable AF, sharpness wide-open, weather-sealing (with a weather-sealed camera of course), f/1.2 and great bokeh, go for the 50L.

I was in a similar situation previously, and I opted for the Zeiss 1.4/50 ZE, primarily because I shoot more landscapes than portraits at 50mm, and at f/4, the Zeiss beats out the Canons. Even at f/2.8 the difference is there, but the Canons win at smaller apertures, while the Zeiss wins out in micro-contrast and colour rendition, at the cost of AF.

You can also consider the Sigma, just make sure the AF is accurate.

share|improve this answer
Do you know what the cost difference between the Zeiss 50/1.4 and the Canon 50/1.4 is? –  jrista Oct 29 '10 at 21:24
Last I checked, the Canon is about 350 USD, and the Zeiss around 700 USD. The difference is smaller where I live though. –  ctham Oct 29 '10 at 23:32
Thanks. Double the cost, but the Zeiss is a full manual lens, which might be better for what I'll be using it for. In the pitch black of night, AF doesn't work, so I never use it for astrophotography. And for close-up work, I prefer to manual focus as well. The focus shift of the Zeiss is the one thing I don't like about it, and for close-up work, it might be a problem. –  jrista Oct 30 '10 at 0:35
I think it' just about perfect for astrophotography, at infinity it is a great lens. Closer up, it will be a pain in the butt, but I'm sure you can get used to the focus shift pretty quickly. Stopped down to f/2.8 it's not an issue at all in my experience. This one for eg was taken at f/2.8: –  ctham Oct 30 '10 at 0:50
Thanks for all the insight, ctham. I am thinking the choice will boil down to the Sigma 50/1.4 and the Zeiss 50/1.4 ZE. After hearing from some of you who have the TS-E lenses, I have decided to put my money into the 24mm L TS-E lens, and save more money on the 50mm. I don't think the Canon 50/1.2 will really buy me nearly as much as a tilt/shift will. I really like the idea of a manual focus lens for astrophotography, and it sounds like Zeiss lenses are better with finer details and color. –  jrista Oct 31 '10 at 18:29

Have you considered the Sigma 50/1.4? That's definitely the lens I would get if I were starting over. Neither The Sigma and Canon 50/1.2L were out when I bought the 50 f/1.4 so it was an easy decision.

Firstly it's worth stating that the 50 f/1.4 is an excellent lens by most standards. However it is soft, and defecty (lots of lateral CA in highlights, heavy vignetting) wide open. This is of course to be expected of such a large aperture,

I don't mind the vignetting as it actually improves the look of portraits however if you're doing astrophotography what's the point in a lens that's f/1.4 in the centre and f/2.0 at the edges? Having said that vignetting is not really a problem with a crop camera.

These defects of course to be expected of such a large aperture, however the Sigma is a newer design and they worked very hard to improve the performance wide open. This is evidenced in the fact it has a much larger front element (for the same max aperture), and in tests is sharper wide open and vignettes less than the Canon 50 f/1.4. See:

As for the Canon 50 f/1.2, I have never used this lens, but there are extensive reports of focus shift due to uncorrected spherical aberration (where the plane of focus retreats when stopping down between f/1.4 and f/4.0). This is a feature of the lens and some are able to live with it and some aren't. It doesn't affect the wide open performance (since the lens is focussed wide open), however if you were to use Tv for shutter speed and let the aperture wonder between f/1.2 and f/4.0 you would probably see very variable AF performance. Past f/4.0 the extra DOF masks the focus shift. Opinions are divided on the lens as a result. Personally I would need to be able to rely on a lens, especially at this price, and given the 85 f/1.2L is corrected for focus shift. I'm sure there's a good reason Canon didn't with the 50, I believe it's to do with the quality of the bokeh - lens design is a compromise. I would read the following before investing the 50f/1.2L

Finally, have you considered buying a second hand 5D? You could pick one up plus a 50 f/1.8 for much less than the Canon 50 f/1.2L, and it would gather more light than the 550D + f/1.2. You might even be able to get a 1.4 with the change. Despite the age the original 5D is still an amazing camera.

share|improve this answer
Thanks for the info. The Sigma definitely looks better than the Canon for a 1.4 aperture. Its on my list of serious consideration now. I recently asked a question focus shift on Zeiss lenses. Guess its the same problem with the Canon 50/1.2. I find that to be a fairly annoying problem, and would definitely affect close-up photography. Any idea how focus shift would be affected by extension tubes? Worse? Also, have you ever used a Zeiss 50mm manual lens? –  jrista Oct 30 '10 at 0:23
Regarding the 5D, I am actually waiting for the 5D Mark III. I've been on the brink of buying a 5D II a few times, but with the Mark III just around the corner, I could never bring myself to actually purchase it. I do believe the orig. 5D is indeed a stellar body, I've seen some amazing photos from it, but I love to blow my photos up to HUGE size with lots of image resolution counts. The 5D III will be bought regardless. I am seriously considering the Sigma 50mm now, as in comparison with the Canon 50/1.4, it seems to perform very well. Thanks for the tip! –  jrista Oct 30 '10 at 6:10
I mentioned the 5D as there are two ways to get more light, a bigger aperture (going from 1.4 to 1.2 gives you 1.4x as much light) or a bigger sensor (going from APS-C to full frame gets you 2.56x as much light). Since you're potentially willing to invest in the 1.2 I thought I'd mention there's a cheaper way to get more light. You can still get the 5D markIII when (and if) it comes out! –  Matt Grum Oct 31 '10 at 13:07
Thanks for all the insight. For a 50mm lens, I will get either the Sigma 50mm f/1.4, or maybe a Zeiss 50mm manual lens, and save the rest of my money for a TS lens. I think I'll get far more out of say the 24mm L TS-E than out of the 50mm f/1.2. I don't think half an extra stop of light or some better sharpness is really going to do that much for astrophotography. I do agree about the larger sensor of the 5D, and one of my reasons for getting a full-frame body is to finish off my astrophotography kit. Wasn't aware that it was 2.56 times as much light though...intriguing statistic. –  jrista Oct 31 '10 at 18:25
Both your answer and ctham's answer were very helpful. As you've established yourself as a solid, core member of our community, I'm going to give ctham the answer vote. Thanks again! –  jrista Oct 31 '10 at 18:33

I own both and possible focusing issues aside the decision on which one to use comes down to two things.

  • If I want to shoot in low light and I don't want to use a flash then the 50 f1.2 is the obvious choice, that extra half stop is the difference between blurred people and not.

  • If I want to have faster (not better) AF then the 50 1.4 is the obvious choice, the 50 1.4 focuses considerably faster than the 50 1.2. The 50 1.2 isn't as slow as the 85 1.2 but its slow.

'Course, the fact that the 50 1.4 is much lighter comes into consideration as well.

share|improve this answer
Thanks for the concise answer. :) The weight of the 1.4 is definitely a bonus, I didn't realize the 1.2 was twice the weight. I won't really be using flash for the bulk of the work I need this for, as I'll be imaging the night sky over 30-45 second exposures. I also won't really be using AF, as you pretty much have to set focus to infinity, and using live view fully zoomed, tweak focus until it is sharp. Not sure that 1/2 of an extra stop is really worth the extra cost of the 1.2. That boils it down to sharpness...any insight into how relatively sharp the two lenses in low light? –  jrista Oct 30 '10 at 0:30
Here I'll fall back to Ken Rockwell: "If sharpness at infinity at f/1.4 is critical to you, the 50mm f/1.2 L is far superior, and priced accordingly." –  Shizam Oct 30 '10 at 3:56
Thanks! Its always nice to know there is someone more experienced to fall back on. :D –  jrista Oct 30 '10 at 5:57
Can you moment on the contrast, color, sharpness, IQ? –  dpollitt May 11 '11 at 22:23
@Shizam That is certainly true in terms of center sharpness but the uncorrected spherical aberration that makes it a VERY nice portrait lens also makes it not extremely suitable for astrophotography where you want the same sharpness all the way to the edge of the frame. –  Michael Clark Nov 9 '13 at 18:59

I bought the 50 1.2L and my dad got the 1.4. When comparing the similar images you can tell the difference. His photos are more than acceptable.

The average shooter does not need to invest in the 1.2. I would only recommend it if you need that extra bit of light. So if you are shooting astro it may be of help to you. I shoot similar night scenes and the larger aperture helps.

Just keep in mind that the 1.2 does have some issues with focusing that have been reported many times online. My copy does have it when shooting fully open but stopped down it is fine. I have tried using it for closeup work and prefer using my 100 2.8 for that. The 50 does not give the magnification I want on the 5dMkII

share|improve this answer

The DxOMark people recently did a round-up report on 50mm primes for a variety of mounts.

Here is the Canon EF mount page, with figures and test results for four lenses. They liked the middle-priced Canon f/1.4 best, optically speaking.

share|improve this answer

Whilst these lenses aren't ones I've had much call for, if you think that having that difference in depth of field of about 20%, then go for the wider lens; Before you do, I would strongly recommend hiring them both (ideally at the same time) and using them as you plan to use them, and evaluate the results -- it'll be a lot cheaper than buying the wrong lens in the long run

share|improve this answer
What does it usually cost to rent these lenses for a couple days? –  jrista Oct 29 '10 at 15:19
You can get them from for $40/3 days (f1.2) $16/3 days (f1.4). –  Shizam Oct 29 '10 at 15:24

I've had the 50 f/1.4 for several years. It is the sharpest lens I own by a long shot, and I use it as often as I can.

Given the choice between the f/1.4 and f/1.2, I would take the f/1.4 and use the cost savings to buy an additional lens.

share|improve this answer

If build quality is important to you, then go for the f/1.2. The f/1.4 is just as sharp, but its auto focusing mechanism can break if hit from the front when it isn't fully retracted.

share|improve this answer

I haven't personally used it but I have friends who use this lens. None of them could give me any good reason to pay four times more for this lens, so I'm still using 1,4. I've read many reviews about this lens and painful fact is that 1,2 is not as sharp as we would expect it to be (for that amount of money) when used at 1,2. If you are shopaholic or just want to have "the best of the -bestest-" than you will buy this one, but in my opinion, if you reasonably consider all facts then I'm pretty sure you would choose cheaper option which is definitely not 4 times worse.

Nowadays, you don't even need to hire these lenses, you can download many samples from internet and see the image quality for both of them.

One thing that I'm not experienced in is recording video. Maybe when recording video 1,2 is in advantage, but this is just an option to be considered.

share|improve this answer
I actually did buy the EF 50mm f/1.4 lens. I considered the 50/1.2 for a good long time, but I don't really need that wide of an aperture for what I do, and buying a 5D III, with its FF sensor, will do more for my DOF than the faster lens. –  jrista Feb 2 '11 at 8:06
I just hope you won't wait too long for 5D III :) –  ile Feb 2 '11 at 9:44
If it doesn't come out this year, I'll probably pick up a 7D for the interim. –  jrista Feb 2 '11 at 17:56
@jrista It's been a while now. DO you care to comment on your impression of using the EF 50mm f/1.4? –  Michael Clark Nov 9 '13 at 19:02

I have a zeiss 50mm 1.4 and I absolutely love it. great results wide-open for portraiture and nature photography but I've never tried it for astrophotography. A beautiful lens, far better than the canon 50mm 1.4 (which my friend has) and around the same price. you cant get a better 50mm lens unless you want to spend silly money on the zeiss 55mm 1.2

.... $0.02 ...

share|improve this answer
Could you show me where you purchased it? When I looked at it, it was around $750-$800, which was more than twice the cost of the Canon 50/1.4. If I could find it for $320, I'd buy one in a heartbeat, but I didn't have $750 at the time I bought my EF 50/1.4. –  jrista Feb 22 '11 at 19:26
contax zeiss with an adapter, not the newer ZE version. There are nearly always a couple on ebay... –  user4015 Feb 22 '11 at 20:19
you do have autofocus though. probably a fair trade-off for very slightly worse IQ. –  user4015 Feb 22 '11 at 20:22

Your Answer

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.


text:
by Jakub

submit your photo

Hall of Fame
View past winners from this year

Please participate in Meta
and help us grow.

1 reputation
bio website
location Czech Republic
age 22
visits member for 2 years, 9 months
seen Aug 26 '12 at 13:01

This user has not earned any badges


text:
PIA01564: Close-up of "Moe" - Left Eye
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Pathfinder (MPF)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Pathfinder Rover
 Instrument:  Rover Cameras
 Product Size:  383 x 280 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Addition Date:  1999-07-02
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA01564.tif (135.4 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA01564.jpg (41.58 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

A close-up view of the rock "Moe" in the "Rock Garden" at the Pathfinder landing site. Moe is a meter-size boulder that, as seen from Sojourner, has a relatively smooth yet pitted texture upon close examination. Such a texture is seen on Earth on rocks that have been abraded by wind in a process that is analogous to sand blasting. This view of Moe shows two faces on the rock, one (left side of the rock) facing north-northeast and the other (right side) facing east. These two faces are thought to have been pitted and fluted by strong, "sand"- carrying winds from the northeast.

This image and PIA01565 (right eye) make up a stereo pair.

Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998.

Image Credit:

Image Addition Date:


text:
PIA10753: Telltale Animation (Sol 8)
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Phoenix
 Spacecraft:  Phoenix Mars Lander
 Instrument:  Surface Stereo Imager (SSI)
 Product Size:  256 x 256 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA10753.tif (65.83 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA10753.jpg (6.294 kB)

Click on image above for all movie download options

Original Caption Released with Image:

This animation of the NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's telltale was made from five images taken by Phoenix's Stereo Surface Imager (SSI) just after 1:10 PM local Mars time on the eighth Martian day of the mission, or Sol 8 (June 2, 2008). The images were taken with a blue filter (450 nanometer, R6) that focuses at items on the deck rather than the workspace or horizon.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University Arizona/Texas A&M University

Image Addition Date:


text:
18 Recommend It! Sign in and Favorite

Barre Phillips

© Frank Rubolino. All Rights Reserved

If you are the rightful owner of this image and are not credited, contact us.

Uploaded: 2006-07-10   Size: 650 x 630 pixels   Views: 616

barre phillips

Post a comment

comments powered by Disqus

Image of the Day

Sponsor: ECM Records | BUY NOW

Enter it twice.
To the weekly jazz events calendar

Enter the numbers in the graphic
Enter the code in this picture

Reset password.

Log in

One moment, you will be redirected shortly.
Events On Demand!

Email Local Jazz Events

Photo Search

or search site with Google


text:
News Feed

News Archive
Looking for more information on how to do PHP the right way? Check out PHP: The Right Way

SitePoint PHP Blog:
Find and Correct Misspelled Words with Pspell
November 25, 2013 @ 11:23:55

On the SitePoint PHP blog there's a new tutorial talking about finding spelling errors in the input your user provides to your application. They use the powerful pspell functionality that can be compiled into PHP to run the checking.

Every one of us has made a spelling mistake in a Google search: "alternitive music", for example. In doing so, you may have noticed that Google was trying to help you by displaying: "Did you mean alternative music?". If your site has a search function, to indicate misspellings if no or too few results have been found is a very useful feature, especially if the bad English of a visitor can make you miss a sale. Fortunately, PHP's Pspell module allows for checking the spelling of a word and suggesting a replacement from its default dictionary (you can also create a custom dictionary).

He introduces the functionality through a simple function that takes in a string to check, sets up a new dictionary object and runs a pspell_suggest call to get spelling fix suggestions. He talks about the importance of the dictionary and, the modes you can use for checking (speed) and how to add a custom dictionary of your own.

0 comments voice your opinion now!
pspell misspelled words tutorial

Link: http://www.sitepoint.com/find-correct-misspelled-words-pspell/

blog comments powered by Disqus

Similar Posts

onPHP5.com: Clickable, Obfuscated Email Addresses

Vexxblog: How to convert/encode files to FLV using FFMPEG & PHP

Zend Developer Zone: AJAX Chat Tutorial Part 6 : Updating the User List

TechTatva.com: [How To] Setup Cherokee with PHP5 FPM

NetTuts.com: Namespacing in PHP

Community Events

Don't see your event here?
Let us know!

example library api application php7 introduction laravel series performance podcast configure conference framework symfony2 voicesoftheelephpant part2 opinion interview community release

All content copyright, 2015 PHPDeveloper.org :: info@phpdeveloper.org - Powered by the Solar PHP Framework


text:
News Feed

News Archive
feed this:

Looking for more information on how to do PHP the right way? Check out PHP: The Right Way

VG Tech:
Inheriting Configuration in Zend Framework 2 Applications
August 30, 2013 @ 12:46:47

On the VG Tech blog they show how, instead of copy and pasting configuration settings all across their Zend Framework v2 application, they used inheritance to specify just the differences.

When working on Zend Framework 2 applications you might come across situations where you need to differentiate the application configuration for the different application environments, be it development, staging, testing and/or production. This can be cache TTL's, Memcached hosts, Redis hosts, debugging levels and more. Instead of copy/pasting the complete configuration across multiple "environment"-configuration files or having switches in the code. [...] We wanted to use inheritance so that for instance the staging environment would inherit the complete production environment, with the exception of some caching configuration which we want to override in the staging configuration.

They show how to set up the default configuration files for the application and models as well as how to pull in the environment-specific values and overwrite them in the "$config" set. He also links to another post showing how to cache all of this configuration (involving a lot of files) to help with performance.

0 comments voice your opinion now!
zendframework2 application inherit configuration

Link: http://tech.vg.no/2013/08/29/inheriting-configuration-in-zend-framework-2-applications/

Jani Hartikainen's Blog:
Base classes in OOP programming languages
November 19, 2008 @ 16:10:58

Jani Hartikainen has followed up on a post from David Otten about standard classes in PHP and how they provide the base for much of what the language does.

David Otton posted a short but thought-provoking post about stdClass, which many think is the "base class" all PHP classes automatically inherit from. I have to admit that I had this misconception as well. [...] This [difference in PHP from other OOP languages] presents some room for analysis in how things are handled in dynamic and static languages, and how those differences affect things...

Jani talks about dynamic and static typing in languages and how that effects the base types things are extended from as well as some of the benefits that having a standard base class affords developers.

0 comments voice your opinion now!
base class programming language oop stdclass standard inherit

Community Events

Don't see your event here?
Let us know!

library php7 application configure symfony2 interview series community podcast framework laravel example api performance conference opinion introduction part2 release voicesoftheelephpant

All content copyright, 2015 PHPDeveloper.org :: info@phpdeveloper.org - Powered by the Solar PHP Framework


text:
Archive: 07/30/2013

Sequestration and fuel reserves

A technique for trapping the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide deep underground could at the same be used to release the last fraction of natural gas liquids from ailing reservoirs, thus offsetting some of the environmental impact ...

dateJul 30, 2013 in Earth Sciences
shares0 comments 0

Facebook toys with mobile game publishing

Facebook on Tuesday got into the business of publishing mobile games, offering developers help at going global with smartphone or tablet titles in exchange for a share of revenue.

dateJul 30, 2013 in Internet
shares0 comments 0


text:
NASA satellite improves pollution monitoring

Jul 26, 2010
Seven study watersheds are within the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin. Credit: Joseph Nigro

NASA scientists improved watershed pollution monitoring models by incorporating satellite and ground-based observations of precipitation. The NASA data replaces weather station observations, and will allow states to monitor non-point pollution and improve water quality.

The research team, led by Joseph Nigro of Science Systems and Applications, Inc., incorporated two NASA products into a computer program in BASINS (Better Assessment Science Integrating Nonpoint Sources) that calculates streamflow rates and pollution concentrations.

The current model uses meteorological data from weather stations, which can miss precipitation events and cause errors in modeling water quality. With better precipitation data, scientists will be able to obtain better estimates of the amount of pollution a body of water can carry before it is determined to be "polluted."

The study revealed that both NASA products dramatically improved water quality model performance over the default weather stations. Both systems improved model performance but neither one was consistently better than the other. The NASA data systems were better able to capture the effects of water flow during storm periods that occur frequently in the summer months. This is due to the seamless coverage of the datasets as opposed to a single that cannot represent all precipitation events in a given watershed.

The two data products that were selected for this study are the NASA-modified North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) 1/8th degree precipitation and the Stage IV 4-kilometer dataset developed by the NOAA River Forecast Center Multisensor Precipitation Estimator. The results from the study were reported in the July-August 2010 issue of the , published by the America Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

The researchers selected seven watersheds within the drainage basin to test the NASA-modified products. They were selected based on their dispersed locations within the drainage basin, an absence of reservoirs or diversions, and the presence of water quality data. Each watershed was also selected based on whether it represented a specific topographic and land cover/land use, so that the study could be conducted within a range of elevations and land cover types to understand how these variations affect the results.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that over 20,000 water bodies within the United States do not meet water quality standards. The models that this research aims to improve are designed to assessing pollution and to guide the decision making process for improving water quality. The 1972 Clean Water Act requires states to monitor the total daily load a body of water can carry before it is considered polluted.

Although states may also monitor with in-stream measuring and sampling, some states lack the resources to assess and protect water bodies with monitoring data alone. Models are a practical solution by taking into account the response of streams to storm runoff and .

Explore further: Assessing the impacts of small-scale mining in eastern Indonesia

More information: View the abstract at

Related Stories

Bacterial persistence in streams

Aug 05, 2008

A research team from the University of Tennessee (UT) has completed a study on an East Tennessee river to determine the connection between watershed hydrology and fecal bacteria statistical time series analysis. Shesh Koirala ...

Water Quality Model Passes Another Test

Feb 25, 2010

( -- A test of the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model on a small watershed with poor water quality in Maryland showed that the model accurately estimated pollutant levels over the long ...

Pointing a finger at the source of fecal bacteria

May 23, 2007

Excessive levels of fecal bacteria were to blame for almost 60 percent of Nebraska streams deemed impaired by federal and state environmental laws in 2004. In order to develop effective pollution-control strategies, ...

Recommended for you

Time for climate action in southern Africa

13 hours ago

We know without a doubt that Africa's climate is changing. We need political intervention if African countries are to mitigate the effects of this problem. African governments need to create policies and pass laws that will ...

User comments : 0

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.


text:
Regular exercise reduces large number of health risks including dementia and some cancers

Nov 15, 2010

People who take regular exercise could reduce their risk of developing around two dozen physical and mental health conditions - including some cancers and dementia - and slow down how quickly their body deteriorates as they age.

An extensive research review, published in the December issue of IJCP, the , says that apart from not smoking, being physically active is the most powerful lifestyle choice any individual can make to improve their health.

Physiotherapist and lecturer Leslie Alford from the University of East Anglia reviewed 40 papers covering the latest international research published between 2006 and 2010.

"The literature reviewed shows that how long people live and how healthy they are depends on a complex mix of factors, including their lifestyle, where they live and even luck" says Mr Alford. "Individuals have an element of control over some of these factors, including obesity, diet, smoking and physical activity.

"Although the focus of my study was on men's health, the messages on physical activity are relevant to both sexes and all age groups."

Health benefits identified by the review include:

  • Regular moderate to intense physical activity is associated with decreased risk of and ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke.
  • A growing body of evidence suggests that increasing physical activity can also reduce the risk of certain types of cancers, osteoporosis, , depression, obesity and .
  • Evidence of the beneficial effects of physical activity in the primary prevention and management of cancer is growing and there is an association between higher levels of physical activity and lower cancer death rates.
  • Research has found that walking or cycling for at least an half-an-hour a day is associated with a reduction in cancer and that when this is increased to an hour cancer incidence falls by 16 per cent.
  • Evidence is mixed when it comes to specific cancers. Research has shown a strong relationship between increased physical activity and reduced colon cancer in both sexes. And men who are more active at work - not just sitting at a desk - have lower rates of prostate cancer.
  • Other cancer studies show that physical activity after diagnosis can aid recovery and improve outcomes.
  • Studies have also shown that men who are physically active are less likely to experience erection problems.
  • There is growing evidence that physical activity could decrease the risk of dementia in the elderly.
Recommendations identified by the review include:
  • Healthy adults aged between 18 and 65 should aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week, such as 30 minutes of brisk walking, five days a week. And people who undertake more vigorous intensity exercise, such as jogging, should aim for 20 minutes three days a week.
  • Healthy adults should aim for two strength-training sessions a week that work with the body's major muscle groups.
  • Older people can benefit from exercise that helps to maintain their balance and flexibility.
  • People who are physically active should continue to exercise even when they become middle aged or elderly and those who aren't should increase their .
  • Not smoking and following a healthy diet is also important.
"Ideally, to gain maximum health benefits people should exercise, not smoke, eat a healthy diet and have a body mass index of less than 25" says Mr Alford. "The more of these healthy traits an individual has, the less likely they are to develop a range of chronic disorders. Even if people can't give up smoking and maintain a healthy weight, they can still gain health benefits from increasing the amount of they take.

"Physical inactivity results in widespread pathophysiological changes to our bodies. It appears that our bodies have evolved to function optimally on a certain level of physically activity that many of us simply do not achieve in our modern, sedentary lifestyles.

"What is clear from the research is that men and women of all ages should be encouraged to be more physically active for the sake of their long-term health."

Explore further: Focus on the Broccoli Benefits rather than the Hamburger Harms

More information: What men should know about the impact of physical activity on their health. Alford L. IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice. 64.13, pp 1731-1734. (December 2010). DOI:10.1111/j.1742-1241.2010.02478.x

The paper, which appears in a special issue on Men's Health, can be accessed free at:

A further five papers on men's health and an editorial can be accessed free at:

Related Stories

People who exercise lower their risk of colon cancer

Feb 12, 2009

An ambitious new study has added considerable weight to the claim that exercise can lower the risk for colon cancer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Harvard University combined and ...

Recommended for you

Link between alcohol outlets and assaults

15 hours ago

A study exploring the established link between off-premise alcohol outlets and the rate of assaults and injuries in Australia has found that large bottleshops and liquor chains contribute most substantially ...

User comments : 1

Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank

Display comments: newest first

not rated yet Nov 16, 2010
Whether you exercise depends upon the brain associating exertion with pleasure--something that is largely learnt during adolescence when the brain reward circuits are maturing. Unfortunately, only a few adolescent get positive exercise experiences because due to inherited differences in body or rate of maturity few of them can succeed against other adolescents of their age at athletic and other sport competitions. We need urgently to relook at school sport and its refusal to adopt body classes and Sinclair cooefficients that control out the contribution of inherited body differences to sporting success. Until sport is reorganized so that winning only links to what a person puts and not inherited "talent", exercise is only going to be enjoyed and done by a few.

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.


text:
Kodak patent deemed invalid in fight with Apple-RIM

May 22, 2012

A US judge on Monday said a Kodak patent allegedly infringed upon by Apple and Blackberry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) was not valid, dealing another blow to the struggling photography pioneer.

The preliminary ruling by International Trade Commission Judge Thomas Pender holds that neither Apple nor RIM infringed on Kodak's intellectual property by using the technology in some of their gadgets.

"This is the second of two ITC Judges with technical backgrounds who have found Kodak's patent invalid," RIM said in a release.

Kodak planned to appeal the ruling to the full commission, with a decision expected in September.

The patent was the subject of a complaint Kodak filed with the ITC in early 2010 that focused on the technology allowing users to preview pictures on before snapping digital photos.

Century-old photography pioneer , which brought handheld cameras to the masses, filed for bankruptcy in January, succumbing to a 15-year digital assault by younger rivals.

The company hoped that would give it time to reorganize its businesses -- and possibly sell off its valuable -- to avoid being shut down entirely.

The Rochester, New York-based company, started in 1892, led the way in popularizing the cameras, film, slide projectors and home videos that preserved the memories of generations of Americans and others around the world.

Explore further: Love not war wins for small businesses and large companies

Related Stories

Kodak wins round in patent dispute with Apple

May 13, 2011

(AP) -- Shares of Eastman Kodak Co. shot higher Friday after a judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission rejected Apple Inc.'s digital-camera patent claims against the photography pioneer.

Kodak patent ruling delayed amid cash worries

Dec 20, 2011

A U.S. arbiter for trade disputes is delaying a ruling on Eastman Kodak Co.'s high-stakes patent-infringement claim against smartphone makers Apple Inc. and Research in Motion Ltd.

US rules partially against Kodak in Apple dispute

Jul 01, 2011

The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a mixed verdict Thursday in Eastman Kodak Co.'s high-stakes patent-infringement dispute with the makers of the iPhone and BlackBerry phones. The ruling disappointed ...

Recommended for you

Snapchat has IPO plan, CEO says

22 hours ago

The chief of vanishing-image service Snapchat on Tuesday said the company has a plan for going public with an offering of stock but did not reveal when it might happen.

User comments : 0

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.


text:
Aug 12, 2012
This is a model structure illustrating the bonding of bipyridine to the rough gold surface through direct nitrogen-gold chemical bonding and indirect van der Waals bonding. Credit: Columbia Engineering

A team of researchers at Columbia Engineering, led by Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics Associate Professor Latha Venkataraman and in collaboration with Mark Hybertsen from the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, has succeeded in performing the first quantitative characterization of van der Waals interactions at metal/organic interfaces at the single-molecule level.

In a study published online August 12 in the Advance Online Publication on 's website , the team has shown the existence of two distinct binding regimes in gold-molecule-gold single-molecule junctions, using molecules containing at their extremities that are attracted to gold surfaces. While one binding mechanism is characterized by between the specific nitrogen and , the other is dominated by interactions between the molecule and the .

"A detailed understanding of van der Waals interactions is a key step towards design of organic electronic devices," says Sriharsha Aradhya, the study's lead author and a Ph.D. candidate working with Venkataraman. "Apart from the fundamental importance of these measurements, we are also excited about its applications. Understanding the effects of van der Waals interactions is tremendously important for creating and optimizing devices with organic building-blocks".

"Many proposals for future photovoltaic and flexible are based on organic molecules because they are cost-effective," Venkataraman adds, "and scientists need to have a deeper understanding of these van der Waals interactions. Our work opens up the possibility of measuring and characterizing the strength of interaction between a variety of molecules and metallic surfaces a single-molecule at a time."

The forces of attraction between atoms and molecules come in different varieties and strengths, Aradhya explains. One of the most ubiquitous forms of attraction in nature is the van der Waals force. In contrast to specific interactions arising from bonding between atoms, van der Waals interactions represent non-specific interactions with subtler underpinnings. While originally intended to explain the apparent continuity between gaseous and liquid phases of matter, these forces have come to be recognized as an important aspect in answering such diverse questions as how does water boil inside a pressure cooker? How are geckos able to climb walls vertically? Or how can you control the organization of molecules for an organic LED smartphone display screen?

As devices like the latter become increasingly common, there has been a good deal of renewed interest in van der Waals interactions, known to lie at the heart of the structure and functionality in such devices. These interactions between and are central to a diverse range of phenomena such as catalysis of reactions, molecular electronic architectures, and molecular self-assembly in nature and engineered material. However, van der Waals interactions remain challenging to characterize directly at the fundamental, single-molecule level both in experiments and in theoretical calculations.

For this Columbia Engineering study, the researchers used their custom-built conducting atomic force microscope to make simultaneous measurements of force and conductance in single-molecule junctions. They combined their measurements with theoretical calculations and simulations, carried out in collaboration with Hybertsen at Brookhaven, in order to provide a unique quantitative measurement of the relative importance of specific and non-specific interactions at the single-molecule level, in a regime where both are comparable.

"In simple terms, conductance of the junction acts as a fingerprint of the structure," explains Aradhya. "At the same time, the measured force – especially the force needed to rupture the junction – can be used to deduce its mechanical properties."

While similar studies have been reported by a few research groups around the world, such precise studies have typically required the measurements to be carried out at very low temperatures and in high vacuum. Venkataraman's and Aradhya's experimental setup was optimized for very high sensitivities even at room temperature and ambient conditions. This allowed the team to perform thousands of individual single-molecule measurements, resulting in statistically robust results. The researchers then performed extensive density functional theory calculations to help them understand the mechanisms underlying their measurements.

"Taken together, this unique combination of our state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical efforts has resulted in this major progress in quantifying van der Waals interactions," Venkataraman says.

Future research, she adds, will include trying to control the interplay of van der Waals non-specific interactions with chemical modifications, in order to "achieve interesting functionality at the single-molecule level, which is an active area of research in our lab."

"We're very excited about this," she says, "as our efforts towards developing a reliable way to simultaneously measure force and conductance are yielding exciting new opportunities to relate structure, mechanics, and electronics at the single-molecule level."

As Hybertsen notes, "The development and validation of efficient theoretical models for the van der Waals interaction is still in its nascent stage. We expect that our work will also have an impact on this theoretical effort underway among many research groups around the globe to develop accurate treatment of ."

The experiments were conceived by Aradhya and Venkataraman. The experimental tools and large dataset analysis techniques necessary for this study were developed by Aradhya, along with Michael Frei, a recent graduate of Venkataraman's lab. The modeling of the interactions and the calculations were conceived and executed by Hybertsen at Brookhaven.

Explore further: Visualizing anisotropic carrier transport in organic semiconductor materials

Related Stories

Organic Molecules Stay on Top

Nov 19, 2007

The van der Waals force, a weak attractive force, is solely responsible for binding certain organic molecules to metallic surfaces. In a model for organic devices, it is this force alone that binds an organic film to a metallic ...

Miniature Gas Tank

Jan 28, 2005

Porous networks of organic Van der Waals crystals can selectively store methane and carbon dioxide Washing powders are generally known to consist partially of inorganic zeolites. These aluminosilicates form porous structure ...

Physicists take new look at the atom

Jan 17, 2011

( -- University of Arizona physicists have discovered a new way to measure how single atoms interact with a surface. Their findings help develop nanotechnology and test new theories about the internal ...

Metals take a walk

Jul 12, 2005

Scientists in the Organic Chemistry Department of the Weizmann Institute of Science have caught a glimpse of platinum-based complexes 'walking' a path to their destinations Do metal complexes casually stroll around certain ...

Recommended for you

What's fair?: New theory on income inequality

6 hours ago

The increasing inequality in income and wealth in recent years, together with excessive pay packages of CEOs in the U.S. and abroad, is of growing concern, especially to policy makers. Income inequality was ...

Scientists one step closer to mimicking gamma-ray bursts

12 hours ago

Using ever more energetic lasers, Lawrence Livermore researchers have produced a record high number of electron-positron pairs, opening exciting opportunities to study extreme astrophysical processes, such ...

Physicists solve quantum tunneling mystery

14 hours ago

An international team of scientists studying ultrafast physics have solved a mystery of quantum mechanics, and found that quantum tunneling is an instantaneous process.

How spacetime is built by quantum entanglement

14 hours ago

A collaboration of physicists and a mathematician has made a significant step toward unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics by explaining how spacetime emerges from quantum entanglement in a more ...

Experiment confirms quantum theory weirdness

14 hours ago

The bizarre nature of reality as laid out by quantum theory has survived another test, with scientists performing a famous experiment and proving that reality does not exist until it is measured.

User comments : 0

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.


text:
Image: Quintet of moons

Nov 05, 2013
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

( —Five moons pose for the international Cassini spacecraft to create this beautiful portrait with Saturn's rings.

This view, from 29 July 2011, looks toward the northern, sunlit side of the rings from just above the ringplane.

At the far right, and obscuring Saturn itself, is the planet's second largest moon Rhea, which spans 1528 km. Rhea is closest to Cassini in this composition, at a distance of 1.1 million kilometres. Its heavily cratered surface bears witness to a violent history, with many craters overlapping or erasing the traces of older impact events.

The nearly 400 km-wide Mimas lies just beyond, and seemingly levitates just above Saturn's innermost rings. The outline of the moon's large, distinguishing crater Herschel is partially covered by Rhea, but can just be made out along with numerous smaller craters.

Brightly reflective Enceladus appears above the centre of the image and lies beyond the rings, at a distance of 1.8 million kilometres from Cassini. Although not visible in this image, icy Enceladus is covered with a network of frozen ridges and troughs, with plumes of ice particles jetting from fissures in its southern hemisphere.

To the lower left, tiny Pandora, just 81 km across, appears skewered by Saturn's outer rings – in fact, it orbits between the planet's A and F rings.

Last but not least, the irregularly shaped Janus lies at the far left of the image, several shadowy surface markings corresponding to large .

The Cassini–Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA and ASI, the Italian space agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington DC, USA.

Explore further: Two Southwest Research Institute instruments selected for NASA Europa mission

Related Stories

Cassini presents Saturn moon quintet

Sep 19, 2011

( -- With the artistry of a magazine cover shoot, NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured this portrait of five of Saturn's moons poised along the planet's rings.

Image: Two moons passing in the night

Aug 01, 2013

( —The Saturn moons Mimas and Pandora remind us of how different they are when they appear together, as in this image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Pandora's small size means that it lacks ...

Saturn's B-ring: Taking a closer look

Sep 11, 2012

(—Clumpy particles in Saturn's B-ring provide stark contrast to the delicately ordered ringlets seen in the rest of this view presented by the Cassini spacecraft.

Image: Bright are Saturn's moons

Jul 06, 2011

The Cassini spacecraft observed three of Saturn's moons set against the darkened night side of the planet in this image from April 2011.

Cassini completes Rhea flyby

Jan 14, 2011

( -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft has successfully completed its closest flyby of Saturn's moon Rhea, returning raw images of the icy moon's surface.

Recommended for you

Image: Europa's Jupiter-facing hemisphere

18 hours ago

This 12-frame mosaic provides the highest resolution view ever obtained of the side of Jupiter's moon Europa that faces the giant planet. It was obtained on Nov. 25, 1999 by the camera onboard the Galileo ...

SpaceX cleared for US military launches

19 hours ago

The US Air Force has certified private company SpaceX to launch military satellites, opening the doors to a lucrative market previously held solely by a Lockheed and Boeing joint venture.

User comments : 0

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.


text:
Intelligent training with a fitness shirt and an E-bike

Nov 04, 2013

Fabric manufacturers are experiencing a revolution: If clothing previously offered protection against the cold, rain, and snow, the trend now is toward intelligent, proactive, high-tech textiles like self-cleaning jackets, gloves that recognize toxins, and ski anoraks with integrated navigational devices to make life easier for those wearing them. Most clever clothing is only at the prototype stage. It is by no means off-the-rack yet. Soon the FitnessSHIRT from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen, Germany, will be ready for the mass market. It continuously measures physiological signals such as breathing, pulse, and changes in heart rate – metrics of adaptability and stress load. The intelligent sports shirt is expected to be available sometime in the next year, as an investor is already onboard.

Conductive textile electrodes integrated into the shirt's material capture the wearer's cardio activity. In addition, an elastic band around the upper body senses the motion of the chest during breathing. A removable electronic unit attached with snaps digitizes the raw data and calculates additional parameters like or breath rate with the help of algorithms. The data are transmitted via radio link to a smartphone or optionally to a PC, where they are evaluated further and can be stored. These parameters form the basis for judging vital functions like stress, performance, exertion, or relaxation.

"The FitnessSHIRT can be employed a number of ways.  It offers completely new options for the pursuit of sports, leisure activities, and wellness, as well as options for the medical branch," says Christian Hofmann, an engineer at IIS. For example, it could act as a training partner to provide seniors or rehabilitation patients with feedback on their vital signs during exercises or bicycling, and protect them from overexertion. Athletes will also benefit: for one thing, the SHIRT is more comfortable to wear than a chest strap. For another, the integrated sensors deliver more detailed information. Besides pulse and respiration, accelerometers sense the movement of the user and carry out an analysis. "If the pulse rate is high, for example, while the breath rate and the exercise activity is low, it could be a sign of possible heart problems," according to Hofmann.

The developers of the MENTORbike are also persuaded by the high degree of comfort when worn and the possibilities for performance diagnostics. MENTORbike is a new type of training device consisting of a pedelec, a smartphone, and an intelligent user service site on the Internet. The project partners, led by BitifEye Digital Test Solutions, want to use the pedelec in combination with the FitnessSHIRT from IIS in future. The will have a wireless connection via smartphone to the pedelec and the user service site on the internet, where the data can be viewed, analyzed, and documented. The mounted on the bicycle handlebars collects the vital parameters it receives like pulse and breath rate as well as the physical data, for instance the energy expended and the speed, analyzes them, and cuts in the electric motor as needed.

"If the pulse rate exceeds a maximum value of 150, for example, the rider is supported by the motor taking some of the load. If the pulse rate falls below a value of 80 beats per minute, the is throttled back and the pedal loading increased again. The motor output adapts automatically to the fitness of the cyclist," explains Markus Gratzfeld, an engineer with BitifEye. In this way, users are assured of an optimal level of training at all times, with neither over- nor under-exertion. Rehabilitation patients, especially persons with cardiovascular disease, could monitor their performance limits better, exercise more confidently, and increase their range of movement.

Researchers from IIS will demonstrate how the MENTORbike will work in conjunction with the FitnessSHIRT live at the Medica 2013 Trade Fair in Düsseldorf in the Fraunhofer Joint Booth (Halle 10, Booth F05), 20-23 November. Scientists want to make differential analysis of cardiac function possible with their FitnessSHIRT in the future and also monitor the heart for arrhythmia. Experts are presently developing the suitable algorithms. A medical-quality ECG might then be captured by the clever clothing for purposes of cardiac analysis. Physicians would be able to use the SHIRT for long-term ECGs.

Explore further: Research team explores a novel way to fabricate preforms for composites

Related Stories

GoalRef goal-line technology advances to final

Mar 09, 2012

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) announced on Saturday, March 3, 2012, that it had shortlisted two goal-line technologies and approved them for a final round of testing. One of the remaining ...

CeBIT 2011: Electronic Fitness Trainer

Feb 08, 2011

Only people who get a lot of exercise and eat a healthy diet stay fit even in old age. This is easier said than done. Researchers have developed a Fitness Assistant that not only motivates but also demonstrates ...

Keep moving and have fun

Oct 30, 2012

Physical activity is extremely important– this applies equally to both young and old. People who exercise regularly are healthier, are rarely overweight and increase their power of concentration. Staying ...

Physio for the home

Jan 14, 2013

Accidents or operations are often followed by long periods of rehabilitation treatment. In future, a new technology will allow patients to do physiotherapy exercises at home, while still making sure that ...

Recommended for you

Turning traditional textiles smart

14 hours ago

Mexican researcher Paulino Vacas Jacques invented a "motherboard" able to turn textiles smart. This technology could be included in bed sheets to measure the hours slept by a person.

User comments : 0

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.


text:
News tagged with beach

New report finds Scottish shingle thriving

A geographical survey by the Universities of Southampton and Cambridge for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has found there are more vegetated shingle beaches in Scotland than previously thought – and the ...

dateSep 03, 2014 in Ecology
shares0 comments 0

Great white shark choked by sea lion

A great white shark that washed up on an Australian beach this week had a sea lion stuck in its throat which likely caused its death, fisheries officials said Thursday.

dateJul 17, 2014 in Ecology
shares0 comments 0

Border collies chase away beach contamination

Border Collies are effective at reducing gull congregation on recreational beaches, resulting in lower E. coli abundance in the sand. Researchers from Central Michigan University reported the findings at the ...

dateMay 19, 2014 in Environment
shares0 comments 1

Bald reef gets seaweed transplant

( —Marine ecologists in Sydney have successfully restored a once thriving seaweed species, which vanished along a stretch of the city's coastline during the 1970s and 80s when there were high levels ...

dateJan 14, 2014 in Environment
shares0 comments 0

Google Maps Camera-toting teams map US beaches

Gregg Matthews fancies himself a lumbering Star Wars character of sorts as he treks along a popular Florida beach. He wears stout hiking sandals on the squishy sand and uses ski poles for balance as he shoulders a 40-pound ...

dateAug 15, 2013 in Other
shares0 comments 0


text:
News tagged with drug design

Designer bacteria may lead to better vaccines

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a menu of 61 new strains of genetically engineered bacteria that may improve the efficacy of vaccines for diseases such as flu, pertussis, cholera ...

dateJan 15, 2013 in Biotechnology
shares0 comments 5

How do you make a greasy protein?

Every cell is encapsulated and protected by a thin membrane made of greasy molecules called lipids. Assemblies of equally greasy protein molecules span the membrane, forming passageways that control the flow ...

dateJan 07, 2015 in Cell & Microbiology
shares16 comments 0

Nanotech drug smugglers

Tiny capsules of carbon are invisible to the chemical gatekeeper that flushes potentially harmful substances out of our bodies' cells, according to research published in the International Journal of Computational Biology an ...

dateNov 12, 2013 in Bio & Medicine
shares0 comments 0

The limits of phenomenology

What's wrong with the science of science? Do the methods we use to explore new innovations in psychology, drug testing and engineering design really work? A new paper has troubling answers: Big Data isn't ...

dateAug 22, 2013 in Computer Sciences
shares0 comments 1


text:
News tagged with news consumers

Comcast has no say as Hulu considers sale

As speculation continues to swirl around Hulu, one of its corporate owners is forced to sit on the sidelines having no role in the fate of the popular online video site even though the outcome could greatly affect its own ...

dateJun 27, 2011 in Telecom
shares0 comments 0

FCC exploring role in TV programming disputes

(AP) -- Federal regulators will explore whether they can do more to protect consumers from losing their television signals because of disputes over the fees that subscription-video providers pay broadcasters for their programming.

dateDec 08, 2010 in Telecom
shares0 comments 3
  • 1 2


text:
News tagged with suicide rates

Related topics:

2008 crisis spurred rise in suicides in Europe

The financial crisis that began to hit Europe in mid-2008 reversed a steady, years-long fall in suicides among people of working age, according to a letter published on Friday by The Lancet.

dateJul 08, 2011 in Health
shares0 comments 0


text:
News tagged with treating depression

Related topics:

Log on to beat the Black Dog (w/Video)

In a discovery that could lead to new treatment approaches for depression, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have shown that internet-based therapy programs are as effective as face-to-face therapies ...

dateJun 10, 2009 in Psychology & Psychiatry
shares0 comments 1


text:
Skip to Main Content
Printer Friendly Home > Press > Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Deep Disappointment Follows Senate’s Rejection of UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities

Cambridge, Mass. - 12/04/2012

PHR is deeply disappointed at today’s Senate vote not to adopt the UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities.

“The US Senate has missed a historic opportunity to join 126 other nations where the human rights and basic freedoms of all people with disabilities have been affirmed,” said Hans Hogrefe, chief policy officer at PHR. “By its vote today, the Senate has shown itself willing to retreat from the forefront of protecting such rights, shown by its passage in 1990 of the ground-breaking Americans with Disabilities Act.”

The UN convention text was closely modeled on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which codified equality under the law and equal access to public accommodations. If the US had become a state party to the Convention, US law would not have changed. Rather, the US would have extended its model for protecting the rights of people with disabilities by fully joining the global conversation on disability rights.

President Obama has already signed the convention, but adoption by the Senate was required for full ratification. Opponents included champions of home schooling and parental rights, who erroneously feared government intrusion in their affairs, and abortion opponents concerned that ratification of the convention might complicate any attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“While today's result is deeply disappointing, the fight for US ratification will continue,” Hogrefe said. “Political leaders in both parties and the enormous strength of the disability rights community, which gave us the world's gold standard in disability rights, the ADA, will ensure that the US will ultimately bring its strength to the protection of international disability rights.”

The Senate needed 67 votes to ratify the treaty, and failed by a vote of 61-38.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to stop mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.

PHR News


text:
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Physics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for active researchers, academics and students of physics. It's 100% free, no registration required.

I want to make a home experiment where I roughly explain the phenomenon of water remaining in a straw if you close one end of the straw.

So I'm thinking that the weight of the water is pulling it down, but the pressure underneath the straw is keeping it up. If there was no finger on the top, the pressure would also be pushing it down so it would fall.

Would this be a valid way to show this?

Mass of water: volume*density: $\pi r^2*H*1000$

Weight of water: $\pi r^2*H*1000*9.8$

Pressure*area = force

force= $101325*\pi r^2$ (weight of water)

And I somehow want to combine this with the upward force of pressure in the room.

Am I on the right track?

share|improve this question
You need to take into account viscosity as well. –  Jiminion Mar 3 at 3:31

3 Answers 3

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Yes, what you have formulated is fine. The pressure acting on the water from the bottom of the straw will be equal to the weight of the water times the cross section area. So $101325\pi r^2$ is the force acting from below also. That is precisely why there is an equilibrium and the water is not falling.

share|improve this answer
That is because the cross section area increases, which is inversely proportional to pressure. So basically, the pressure from below is no longer strong enough to hold the pressure from the weight of the water. –  Parth Vader Mar 31 '14 at 13:01
Ahm, this is wrong. The pressure from the top is not $0$, why would it be? Indeed for a short straw the pressure from top will be almost equal to the pressure from bottom, only slightly less to counter the weight of the water. (Of course, you can argue with relative pressures alone, simply gauging the pressure on top to $0$, but then please make that explicit.) –  leftaroundabout Mar 31 '14 at 13:08
The pressure from the water is constant with an increase in diameter, it stays at $H*1000*9.8$and the pressure from the air stays at $101325$ in this example. The water does not fall out when the diameter increases because the air cannot support the water. It falls out because the adhesion of water to the straw allows it to creep downwards along the sides, and a wider diameter lets it get to a point where bubbles can then propagate through the water in the straw. Once this starts happening, the pressure above equalizes with that below and the water falls –  Jim the Enchanter Mar 31 '14 at 13:21
additionally, with larger diameter, you can have more fluctuations over the air-water surface, if water ripples and starts to clump somewhere, that increases the pressure in one spot while decreasing it somewhere else. This is a positive feedback system, the result being that the water can pool to the center (or somewhere else) and the air sidles around it to the top of the straw... Water falls –  Jim the Enchanter Mar 31 '14 at 13:27
@Parth: Forces are not equal at top and bottom, you have the weight of the water column as a difference. I maintain that your explanation is misleading. –  Joce Apr 2 '14 at 9:44

This is not altogether correct. In particular, it does not matter what the pressure of the room is (unless you reach extreme values), because actually what is holding the water column is not some "high" value of the pressure at the bottom of it, it is the fact that the pressure at the top of the water column (at the water-finger interface, or in the air pocket between water and finger) is lower than the atmospheric pressure. It is exactly the room pressure minus $\rho g h$, where $\rho$ is the density of water, $g$ gravitational constant and $h$ the height of the column.

This is true whatever the radius of the straw. However, you need two more ingredients to keep the system stable :

First, the air pocket should remain incompressible : this is true for small enough water columns, but there'll be some height $h$ above which it will expand under the weight of water. And even if there is no air, if you get to pressures lower than 0 at the top, the phenomenon of cavitation will nucleate a bubble of void that will expand.

Second, if the straw is too wide, the bottom surface will grow unstable and water will flow e.g. on one side, allowing bubbles to rise on the other. What actually maintains the stability there is a force called surface tension. You can lower it by adding a surfactant (dish washing soap e.g.) to the water, you'll see that the biggest straw possible is then smaller!

share|improve this answer

Weight of water is too more to get hold from bottom just by h$\rho$g pressure but actually when you put thumb you cutoff above pressure and then the pressure at bottom then dominates and hold water in straw.You can find the force now using formula above and it will be right to say that the force just due to pressure on bottom surface is $1.01325*10^5*\pi r^2$

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.


text:
Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Taska Permata Kota Masai : Jadikan PENGAJARAN

Video ini dikatakan berlaku Taska Permata KOta Masai sekitar December 2011 dari facebook profile Ila Chandurie (https://www.facebook.com/ilaChandurie)

Pesanannya :
~Minta kerjasama saudara/saudari untuk sebarkan rakaman ini supaya :
1) Rakaman ini sampai ketangan ibu bapa,saudara atau sesiapa yang mengenali kanak2 di dalam rakaman ini
2)Rakaman ini dapat disahkan kebenaran atau kepalsuannya (utk mengelakkan sabotaj)
3) Keluarga kanak2 ini dapat mengambil tindakan yang sewajarnya bagi membela nasib2 kanak2 ini (jika didapati benar)
~Terima kasih kepada keperihatinan semua.Hanya ALLAH yang mampu membalasnya.

Bagi mereka yang tak dapat view video  - screen capture yang menghayat hati. Eeeeeee GERAM dan sangat KEJAM!!

Dari senarai taska berdaftar di JKM Johor ada satu taska yang seakan-akan nama sama. Adakah ini taskanya???

TASKA Permata Dua
No. 2, Jalan Pulasan 30, Taman Kota Masai, 81700 Pasir Gudang

Pesanan seorang kawan : sekadar berkongsi...saye selalu ingat pesan ibu saye..bace "BISMILLAHI TAWAKKALTU 'ALLA-LLAH...WA LA HAU LA WALA QUWWATA ILLA BILLAHIL 'ALIYYIL AZIM.." setiap kali hntr anak ke pengasuh / taska..mudahan allah sentiasa menjaga mereka..ini jek la cara utk kite bertawakkal

Monday, February 20, 2012

There are 38 surviving plays written by William Shakespeare.

The gate of the sci-fi TV series Stargate SG-1 can stay open a maximum of 38 minutes.

In Taiwan and some places in southern Chinese mainland, "3, 8", but not "38", is slang for stupid/idiot,especially women - WHAT???

There might have been more than 38 times I have prayed for a miracle to happen...

Mimi's eczema at her worst

sleeves Mimi berdarah - she garuk sampai nearly ke daging

Tapi Allah SWT biasanya turunkan dugaan sebagai penghapus dosa atau sebagai persediaan menaikkan darjat kita. So I rasa...another year older is really not special UNTIL I rasa bersyukur kerana masih dapat melihat ini

dan kerana dugaan itu saya mampu berada di tahap ini

Sunday, February 19, 2012

The important things in life that goes unnoticed

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
(photo credit: Chris Lee)

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

By: Josh Nonnenmocher

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Buku Anti Gay bukan Anti Islam

Terpanggil untuk memberi sedikit penerangan tentang gambar kontroversi di atas.

Yes. This book is sold to the general public.

But no, this book does not advocate atau mengalakkan orang menjadi gay.

This is an ANTI-GAY book. Di tulis oleh Richard A Cohen
Richard A. Cohen (born 1952) is an author and one of America's best known conversion therapists.[1][2][3] Cohen gives lectures and runs seminars and workshops on his ideas about the causes of homosexuality and how he and others have offered conversion treatment to homosexuals. Cohen claims to have converted himself and many others from homosexuality to heterosexuality; such individuals are sometimes referred to as "ex-gay". [wikipedia]
read more here :

full book here :

Although I rasa the book has good intentions (cuba menyelesaikan permasalahan sejagat ini supaya anak-anak tidak menjadi gay) tapi cara beliau ini memang tidak masuk akal sama sekali.

Apapun - sebagai ibubapa perlu berhati2 ketika kita membeli buku ye - kalau kita tak beli, tak adalah buku ini kat rumah ye dak? hehehe

But to say : Buku ni dikumpul bersama2 dgn buku yg cuba utk sesatkan akidah islam termasuk cita pasal jesus yg diceritakan sbg sejarah nabi isa dan bukannya sejarah jesus.

hurmm...bukan ke sebagai umat islam kita kena perangi gejala ni? huhuhu pening dah saya

About Me

Farah Rahim is the co founder of the REAL FOOD movement in Malaysia under the local support group called "HOMEMADE - Air Tangan Ibu" as well as an advocate of managing asthma, allergies and eczema naturally via NaturalAAE. She's the official Malaysia's ambasador of Jamie's Food Revolution. When not an activist she's a Stay at Home Mom to 3 girls who loves nothing but good ol' homecooked meals.


text:
San Fernando Valley synth-acid freak SFV Acid just released his debut LP last year, The Dwell, and now he's back at it again with a new LP, Amber's Songs, out April 25 via UNO. "Cheddar Mercedes" sounds sharp and delicious as a song title, and as a song it carries a softer edge than some of SFV Acid's harder material, with some zesty twinkling synths thrown in there.

SFV Acid: "Cheddar Mercedes" (via SoundCloud)

  • Related
  • Latest
  • Trending