San Francisco

Fisherman's Wharf

The resizing program didn't do a good job with this one

I'm back in California this week - first a little visit to the bay area for a little break, now I'm back home in SoCal. Also, I went to watch Avatar in 3D - the 3D part was awesome...the movie itself was pretty good but way over hyped. I think my favorite movie I watched in 2009 was District 9. I'll catch Up in the Air soon. Can you believe the first decade of the 2000s is almost over??!! Insane! Coming soon, Sienna and a big surprise! I also uploaded a few more Gabey baby pics below.

Hong Kong Avenue of the Stars

I went to the Avenue of the Stars to check out the skyline of Hong Kong Island. The skyline of course was the star, but there are lots of things there. Basically it's the Hollywood walk of fame for HK film stars, like Bruce Lee. There were a lot of stars but among them are Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. I finally found the Bruce Lee statue and also went to the Museum there, which featured Louis Vuitton stuff from his bags to architecture. Surprisingly it was really cool.

More Singapore

Along the river - I recommend taking the boat at night.

Hindu temple at night

Hanging outside of a Buddhist temple

Some nice colors at an outdoor market in Chinatown

One of my favorite shots from one of the temples - just a very cool angle

Inside of the temple

Our conference is over so now it's mostly vacation mode. Singapore loves their cameras. There are a TON of camera stores and Canon/Nikon advertisements on the buses. Lots of people walking around with their DSLRs and fat lenses, including yours truly - although I try to be really descrete by sticking it back in my bag quickly. The good thing is I don't look out of place with my camera. Earlier this evening I shot some awesome night shots that I can't wait to process and post. Speaking of processing, notice I haven't posted any black and whites? That's because this place is so colorful and vibrant (some may argue sterile) but it's great for scenic pictures. My only complaint is the weather, but other than that it's a very charming place. Some more pictures soon that are way better than these.

Singapore @ Night

A view from the hotel pool deck. Lights reflecting off the river.

Chinatown



My baby (the D3) and I are in Singapore this week. Here are a few night shots. I will have much more later.

Boston

The famous Harvard Law School.

Really awesome architecture at MIT - it was like toon town or something.

Cool reflection

This picture sums up Boston:  A modern city with a lot of history

We went to see the USS Constitution and another ship next to it that was more modern.

Cool reflections 

I took a little trip to Boston for work last weekend and took my busted up SD500 with me.  I'm in desperate need of a little camera these days.  I'll probably get either another Canon or a Casio.  Anyway, I really enjoyed the city, which has a little bit of everything - history, good food, public transportation (something CA & TX needs badly), great bars etc.  I'd love to go back and experience more East-coast charm.  Also, I've been neglecting my blog lately but I am in CA this weekon Spring break which means I'll take a little time to shoot some stuff with my big camera.  

Slow Period ... Old Photos

I haven't updated this blog in a while and well...I haven't been taking any pictures lately. So, the next best thing is to dig up some old ones and fix them up. Here are a couple of pictures of me (top) and AC (bottom) taking pictures during our trip to Lake Tahoe last year. Seeing these pictures makes me miss the fresh air and relaxation.

Let's see...what else is new in my photo world. I bought a new flash bounce card which I haven't tried out yet. I am looking to buy at 70-200 lens - I was so impressed at Lynn's wedding and if I have the money, a new camera. I know it's not the camera that produces the nice pictures but the person taking it but I've outgrown my little camera. I'm looking for something with better low-light capabilities and faster/more reliable focusing. If you are reading this blog and have a DSLR camera, chances are your camera is > than mine...but that's ok :) What I will buy first is a little point and shoot camera. I'm deciding between the soon to be released Canon SD1100 or the Nikon S600. Personally I hate using the little cameras because they're so slow. What to do???

If I don't take any more interesting pictures soon I'm going to post a 'What Gear do I Use' post.

Tahoe Day 3: Johnny Vegas Reno

The perfect cup for drinking milk.


Leave it up to AC to find the only Pho place in Reno AND recommend eating there.


Here's me standing next to Siena...Casino that is.


Reno has Little-Man Syndrome.


I thought this place would be lucky due to the name.


This was my only luck - I won a radioactive homer on the claw machine.


Look AC, infinity!!




Giant Poker Chips

We spent our last day at Reno, the red-headed bastard stepchild of Las Vegas. The city was small and the casinos were also small. If you're used to Indian reservation gambling or B.O. smelling local places around Southern California like Commerce Casino or Bicycle Club, then this place is great, but if you've been to Vegas, this place is craptacular. Regardless, AC (who won $40!) and I did manage to get some gambling in and some buffet action. Tomorrow, we head back to reliable high-speed Internet and smog. Nature, you were great but I have to leave...it's better if we just stay friends and just see each other once in a while. We're just too different...I'm from the city...you're just too country for me. You'll find someone else who will understand you. I'll call you sometime but don't come looking for me.

Tahoe Day 2

Can you spot me?





Moss


That's supposed to be me fishing in the distance.

Upon closer inspection, I was just eating sunflower seeds for about an hour after being discouraged by the fish.

Me in action. Great photos by AC (White border)

We spent the day today on another hike since the bikes weren't available :( But this time we sucked it up and made it to the top - well there's a lot more to go but to us that was the top. We saw this cool stream of icy water. We went fishing again ... Fish 2, Us 0.

Well, we're pretty natured-out so tomorrow we're going to Reno tomorrow for some gambling and buffet action.

Tahoe Day 1

Fish 1, Me 0






Moss growing on a rock.

On the agenda today was hiking and fishing. While the view was breathtaking, so was the hike: we were winded pretty quickly (well AC a little more than me). There were a lot of trees - I'll post these pics tomorrow hopefully. I'm not very good at these scenic shots and I actually got bored of taking pictures for a while.

Next was fishing, which we ended up with zero. My highlight was when a fish tried to snatch my bait while I was reeling it in a couple feet away from me. It caught me by surprise but that was it, the next few hours I kept casting and re-casting ...then I ended up just sitting on the dock eating sunflower seeds for the last hour. Overall it's pretty relaxing.

...except I thought I saw a ghost or some weird thing last night. Maybe I was hallucinating. There was this figure in a white shirt that walked around my bed and ended up at the foot of my bed just staring at me. Or at least I thought it was. When my eyes finally focused it was the mirror and a monitor but I thought I felt someone and heard footsteps and saw someone walk around with a white shirt on. It wasn't AC...creepy.