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There are those who would argue that digital has threatened the art of photography. The transition from viewfinders to LCD displays has ushered in poor technique. And by eliminating film and processing costs, we’re free to take as many snapshots as our memory card will hold. So gone are the days of careful scene composition.

But anyone mindful of these pitfalls has benefited immensely from photography’s move to digital. Photo editing software has become so accessible that any photo enthusiast, with a bit of practice, can produce quality that was once reserved only for the pros.

So it’s easy to create great photos… the challenge then becomes getting those digital files onto paper for enjoying in the physical world. And for printing photos, nothing beats printing on traditional photo paper.

For snapshots that only require 4×6 prints, it’s simple to get them printed at Wal-Mart, or Costco or your local grocery store.

But when printing enlargements, things can get a little trickier. Most places will print 8×10 or  12×18, but you’re not guaranteed accurate colour reproduction (since many “consumer” photo labs automatically correct colour), and for anything larger, you’re out of luck.

If you’ve gone through the trouble of editing your photos, getting the colours and exposure just right, odds are you want your print to match. That usually means turning to a professional photo lab. But “professional” anything usually carries a hefty price tag.

So when I was in the market for printing a 15×30 photo, I did a fair bit of research to find an affordable option. I had put a lot time and effort into editing this photo, so I definitely wanted it printed perfectly.

In my research, I found Provisia in Montreal. Their price list seems almost hard to believe, and they’ll print enlargements up to 24×100 while you wait! Or, upload your digital files via their website, and just pick up your prints the next day.

For those wanting perfect colour accuracy, they provide proofing profiles for download on their website.

Thanks to Provisia, I was able to print my 15×30 photo (as well as a handful of 11×14 photos) without breaking the bank. Both the prints and their service were amazing. Definitely worth a visit of you’re a photo enthusiast in Montreal.

(Tip: Enlargements in inexpensive frames make great one-of-a-kind gifts!)

This may not come as news to many opera fans, but I still can’t pass on discussing the Met’s Live in HD series. Starting with the 2006-2007 season, the Met has been broadcasting live opera performances in movie theatres across Canada and the US. Reception has been very favourable, and the series has grown from 6 transmission in 2006-2007 to 11 in the current 2008-2009 season.

The series usually has something for everyone, from the classic repertoire Verdi, Rossini and Puccini, to the contemporary Adams.

Tickets are more expensive than general movie tickets at about $25, but that’s still incredible value. You’d be hard-pressed to find professional opera tickets for that price anywhere, much less Met tickets.

If you’re interested, it’s best to buy tickets early. Movie theatres in many locations sell out months in advance. Even the encore performances sell out.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit Cineplex.com or Empire Theatres (Atlantic Canada).

In a previous post, I discussed my experience in 2006 with hostels in Italy, France and England. Once again, we’re planning a trip for late February, and I thought I’d share how we saved a few dollars, without compromising the experience.

The planning process (well, after deciding on Rome, and choosing a date), started with booking the flight. Expedia.ca is my favourite way of finding and booking a flight. They have all the major airlines, and allow you to easily compare prices, connections, and flight duration. I searched flights with a few of Expedia’s competitors, and none of them could match the prices. Also, Expedia includes all fees and taxes in the listed prices; many airline search tools only list the base price.

It’s also worthwhile mentioning that it’s usually best to book airline tickets early. Airlines have advanced pricing systems, and will increase prices as departure dates approach. (Because last minute travelers are usually doing so out of need, and therefore will accept the higher price, while forward planners have the luxury of shopping around, or changing departure dates.) So while there’s fun and excitement in a spontaneous vacation, you’ll save by booking your flight a few months to a year in advance.

When booking a flight with Expedia, it’s easy to book a hotel at the same time. You even save when doing so. But there are definitely better offers elsewhere.

For Rome, Expedia’s hotel selection is severely lacking. They’re either outside the city centre, or too expensive (or both). I don’t need a 4- or 5-star hotel. I want something clean and quiet, and above all, very central.

Once again, I turn to Hostelworld. For finding central accommodations, they have a great “Show on map” feature in their search. At first, I was very disappointed that Hostelworld turned up very little in the historical area of Rome. The bulk of the hostels were located near the train station, but far from the Vatican and the city centre.

But the default Hostelworld search only includes hostels and campsites. Add hotels to the search, and central Rome fills right up. That’s how we found, and settled on Domus Ester. At €30 per person per night for a double room with ensuite, it’s more expensive than most hostels, but the central location (in my opinion) is worth it. It gets great reviews, and is one of the few budget hotels in Rome that gets booked solid months in advance.

(We learned about a great Hostelworld feature when making this booking. For a couple dollars, they offer “Cancellation Protection”. If you have to cancel a reservation, they will credit your deposit to a future Hostelworld reservation. Without cancellation protection, the 10% deposit is nonrefundable.)

We get more and more excited for Rome as February approaches… I’ll post our actual experience with Domus Ester later in March.

In the spring of 2006, my partner and I took a three week vacation to Europe after finishing our undergraduate degrees. One way we made the trip affordable was by staying in hostels.

Our trip started in Venice (well, it technically started in London, but that’s another story), then we headed to Florence, then Paris, and ended in London. Everything was well planned out, and much of the research went into accommodations. And if you do your research, you’ll be rewarded with a great place, in the right location, for the right price.

It’s hard to define or describe a hostel, because they’re all so different. They can range from bunk-beds in a dormitory room with shared bathrooms, to a private room with a private bathroom. But shared bathrooms are the norm, and you’re definitely not getting hotel style or ambiance. Some have poor reputations for cleanliness, but that can be avoided with research, and some draw party-goers while others are more quiet.

The other thing to note is that hostels are priced per person. Logical when you’re talking about a bed in a shared room, but perhaps not so obvious when you’re talking about a private room for 2 people or 3 people.

An invaluable tool in finding and booking hostels is Hostelworld. They list thousands of hostels in hundreds of countries. They’re all rated and reviewed by users, with ratings broken down by elements such as cleanliness, location and “fun”. (We generally avoided fun, since we just wanted a nice quiet stay.) Pay close attention to the cleanliness rating.

Through Hostelworld, we found our hostel in Venice and Paris, and they are both places we would recommend, and to which we would return.

Venice

In Venice, we stayed at the Locanda Poste Vecie. We loved virtually everything about this place, and would highly recommend it. Located above a fancy-looking seafood restaurant, they have a number of 3- or 4-bed shared rooms, as well as private rooms. The private rooms are only slightly more expensive (€35) than the shared rooms, so that’s what we chose.

Locanda Poste Vecie is located in the heart of Venice, right next to the Rialto Market, the Fish Market, and the Rialto Bridge. There was also a very quaint coffee bar (Bar da Luca) right outside the door of the hostel for your morning espresso. After coffee, we would grab a pastry at the market, as well as some lunch meat, bread and fruit for lunch, and get on our way. The central location meant we could easily return to our room between attractions.

Florence

In Florence, we found Soggiorno Gloria. They call themselves a guesthouse, offering single to quadruple rooms, with or without a private bath. The double room with shared bath was €50 total.

Again, location is key with Soggiorno Gloria. A very short walk from the train station, and right next door to the main market. All the other sights of Florence are also within walking distance. Just be sure to bring the address, because it’s not marked from the road, and you have to ring a doorbell to get in.

Paris

We found another Hostelworld gem in Paris. It was Perfect Hostel in the Montmartre area of Paris. We had a private room with ensuite for €29 per person. That also included a small breakfast of coffee and baguette.

Located a short walk (albeit uphill) from Sacré-Coeur, as well as two metro stations, it was the perfect place at the right price for our stay in Paris. For a private room with ensuite in Paris, we would definitely return to Perfect Hostel.

London

London is a hard city to do on a budget. We stayed at the St. Paul’s YHA, part of the Hostelling International network. At about £25 per night per person (notice I changed from € to £), it was almost twice as expensive as our other accommodations, and we only had bunks in a dormitory room. Nonetheless, a large breakfast was included, and it was in a great location, being just steps away from St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Next Steps

Check out part 2 of this post. We’re currently planning a trip to Rome, and once again, we’ve turned to Hostelworld for accommodations. See what we found.

As I sit in a comfy chair in Montreal’s fabulously lofty Grande Bibliothèque, connected to free Wi-Fi, I felt it only appropriate to write about using public libraries. Memberships are free (or rather included in your taxes), and most good libraries have excellent movie and music collections.

Having grown up in small town, I didn’t make much use of the public library. Its encyclopedias were handy for grade school projects, but beyond that, it wasn’t of much particular value. Its fiction collection was outdated, and multimedia was virtually non-existent.

So imagine my surprise when I moved to Kingston in 2006. Even though its only a small city (or large town), it shows that even moderately populated areas can have excellent public library systems. The Kingston Frontenac Public Library is a network of 17 libraries with an excellent collection of music and videos. That’s where I was first introduced and became addicted to Absolutely Fabulous, because the library had the entire series on DVD. Through countless recordings, I also learned just how fabulous Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland are.

After my short 8 months in Kingston, I moved to Montreal and immediately got a membership to their Grande Bibliothèque. Due to their huge multimedia collection (70,000 music CDs and 16,000 films on DVD and VHS), in the 18 months I’ve been using it, I’ve saved a small fortune in foregone movie rentals and CD purchases.

Saving money on movie rentals is great, but a secondary benefit is that you explore films and genres that you wouldn’t necessary if you were paying. (I’ve developed a fondness for Poirot, but Miss Marple does nothing for me.) I’ve also seen world-class opera productions by the Met, and discovered the lesser-known but also fantastic Glyndebourne Festival Opera. 

While I can’t vouch for all cities, if you live in an urban area, you should take a day to explore your public library. I think you may be pleasantly surprised.