December 30, 2007

Who is this guy? What's this blog about? And why are squirrels so funny?

You're probably thinking, "who is this guy?" Well, let me tell you a bit about myself. My name is Michael Zahora. I'm a photographer, inventor, businessman, handyman and an all round good guy :o)


My parents gave me my first camera when I was about 7 or 8. It was a brand spankin' new Polariod Camera (similar to a Square Shooter 2). Little did they know that I would almost put them in the poor house because of all the film packs they needed to buy. My dad gave me my first SLR when I was 10, his old Praktica, and I've been shooting with an SLR ever since (30+ years). I went to college for photography and started assisting and then shooting in the late 80's. I quickly became known for my ability to come up with solutions and ideas for technical issues. Multiple pop lighting triggers and difficult set creation to name a few. I stopped shooting professionally for a number of years in the 90's to go back to college for Sales/Marketing and then I followed that career path. I ended up working for a plastics company for 5 years and I learned everything I could about plastics. In 1999 I bought my first digital camera, an Olympus 2020. It had a PC sync connection! My love for photography got rekindled and I started shooting professionally again a few years later.

Perfect Picture Card v2.0 Test2003 - My break out year! I developed the Perfect Picture Card for white balancing images. I also came up with a couple of other products too. Later that year I decided to move from Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Whistler, BC to shoot and be a ski bum. The best thing I ever did. The Perfect Picture Card evolved into a much simpler grey card in 2005. That is the card that I am currently producing.

Enough about me!

What's this blog going to be about? Simply put... Solutions, Ideas and Sharing. I want to share my ideas, solutions and experience with you. In return I want your input, suggestions, ideas and thoughts. This site is not going to be rocket science, it's going to be down to earth, simple and hopefully with a bit a humor thrown in for good measure. It's not going to be just about building and making gear, but helpful tips and tricks that everyone can use. I don't know everything and that's where you guys/gals come in.

So, enjoy the blog.

Oh yah! The funny squirrel thing. If you've never gone to a park full of hungry squirrels and secretly taped peanuts to yours friends jacket, then you haven't seen funny! This is meant as a joke - no squirrels were harmed in the making of this post and I suggest you never do that to your friends or the squirrels.