Feb 04
After my trip to Jasper back in December I've decided to move there and spend a whore winter season snowboarding. This time I decided to take the train, just for the experience since I've never been on one in Canada and also mainly because you are allowed to check in 3 pieces of baggage plus 2 carry-on, which is great if you are moving somewhere. Traveling time is almost the same as a bus, Toronto to Jasper was 2 and half days, both train and a bus arrive straight at the Jasper terminal unlike a plane which can only land in Edmonton and then you have to pay another $95 on top for a one-day shuttle to Jasper. Price wise, trains are not cheap and according to statistics more dangerous than planes. I got away with $450 one way on the train, and that was a special student deal or whatever. Plane ticket one way after tax could be between $300-$500 and bus being the cheapest at about $250.


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Feb 03
After being bored on a train for 2 and half days I've decided to use my time for something productive and try out the so called "Little Planet Effect". I found two ways of doing it, there is a simple way where you take a stitched 360 panorama photograph and using Photoshop to apply polar filter to it. Check out this tutorial on how it's done.
Another way of making Little Planets is slightly more complex because it requires more accuracy when shooting your 360 panorama. This link explains more about stereographic projections and how they work, also links you to a Photoshop plugin which makes it really easy for you to do right inside Photoshop.
There is another program which I use called PTGui. I have tried the Photoshop plugin, not saying its bad but I prefer PTGui more, but that's just my personal preference. The program might seem a bit confusing in the beginning but it's definitely worth it once you get the hang of it. You can find a tutorial on how to use PTGui right on their website.
Here is my attempt:

- First one is outside of a small train station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
- Second one is inside a train station in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Another way of making Little Planets is slightly more complex because it requires more accuracy when shooting your 360 panorama. This link explains more about stereographic projections and how they work, also links you to a Photoshop plugin which makes it really easy for you to do right inside Photoshop.
There is another program which I use called PTGui. I have tried the Photoshop plugin, not saying its bad but I prefer PTGui more, but that's just my personal preference. The program might seem a bit confusing in the beginning but it's definitely worth it once you get the hang of it. You can find a tutorial on how to use PTGui right on their website.
Here is my attempt:
- First one is outside of a small train station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
- Second one is inside a train station in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Dec 23
This winter I have decided to travel to Jasper, Alberta to spend the holidays with my sister. With a low budget I've decided to save money and travel by bus. Starting in Toronto, ON traveling a total amount of 3814km in almost 3 days. Here is a map layout http://g.co/maps/7nmcg


Abandoned farming property in the norther area of Richmond Hill, Ontario. This is a big property, it consists of a house and two barns in which you can spend a whole day exploring and looking though all the old junk laying around. Unfortunately I can't find any information on this property yet, but I will update the post as I do. The reason I named this Thomas Read House is because I found an old map of Markham town and the name that was listed under the property number was Thomas Read.


Feb 13
Very popular location since the house is located in a very visible spot on a major street. With a purchase of a new lens I've decided to visit this place and shoot some photos. This has been my first urban exploration and it was interesting, after visiting it I wanted to find out more information about this house. So I came across a website called OntarioAbandonedPlaces.com and was able to get this;

Built c. 1846 this 900 sq. ft. house has been sitting vacant for some time now. Originally owned by Joseph Mortson, it's now on the city's list of heritage houses. Plans are currently unknown (to me anyways) but within the past 10 -15 years the house has been a victim to a fire and has sat vacant ever since.
