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.

Getting dark..


Darker...

That's it!

It's just one spectacular view after another these days. This is the world's greatest skyline, bar none. Of course I'm talking about the breathtaking view of Hong Kong from The Peak. Just simply amazing. I muscled my way to the absolute best location at the very edge. This was the roof of a structure that was pay-to-access. The people there had some serious photography gear, with pro cameras, lenses and tripods. I saw a Canon 5DM2 and some other really nice cameras. But I think I managed just fine without the tripod :)

Hong Kong Victoria Harbor

A view of the harbor from Avenue of the Stars. There was a light and music show.

This is my panoramic shot. It's giant - I'm going to figure out how to post this.

Hong Kong is a completely different beast than Singapore. HK is a bustling jam-packed nitty-gritty city whereas Singapore is a clean, modern, sterile environment. Both have their charm (and great food). I was in awe of the skyline in HK and I went to town with the D3. I shot all this without a tripod and we caught a light/music show. There was a full moon; just the perfect evening except for the weather of course, which was hot and muggy. I'll post more tomorrow but post this one under favorites.

Singapore @ Night: Skyline + Happy 4th!

I took a little boat ride along the river - typical tourist trap - but I didn't expect to see this! The ride intertwined through the business district, giving a spectacular sight of the buildings. It was lit up very nicely at night and the weather was much cooler. I just had a field day snapping away. I felt kinda bad for the rest of the people who had point-and-shoot cameras. They were the nice models but I could tell they were struggling while I snapped away at ISO 3200 and 6400. As you can see, the images are very clean - and I'm not even a very good landscape photographer. (People, just invest in a DSLR and a couple of nice lenses, you won't regret it!) The beautiful scenery made it a little too easy. I might just blow one of these up and hang it on my wall. Next up is Hong Kong, which I know has a breathtaking skyline - it is so on. It was definitely worth lugging around the equipment and I'm glad I brought my D3 instead of the much lighter and portable D70s - it's a great camera, but it can't really hang at night with max ISO 1600 coming out grainy.

Anyway, Singapore is great. The only bad is the weather. But oh well, can I really complain coming from Texas??!! Also, happy 4th of July everyone (albiet one day late). I did get to catch some fireworks but I don't think it was for the US holiday, just something they do on the weekends here. No fireworks pics this year on this blog unfortunately, but you can look in the archives at last year's.

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.

Put Your Own Captions

"What? Pictures, noooo I'm much too shy."


"You see, bees are important by pollinating ..."

"You talkin to me? Are you talkin to me???!!"

"See, in modeling school I learned that if I pull the flowers down to my head and smile I look cuter."

I'm back in the heat of Texas. I go in my apartment and look at the termostat and it's 90 degrees (f). I head out to Singapore and Hong Kong in July, then Vegas. Busy summer, but it's for both work and play. I'll try to bring my D3 but man, lugging that thing around is a pain. It's like carrying a 7 lb bag everywhere. I still need to buy a little camera to take everywhere.

Sienna + Me (+ Susy)

Sienna was all business -- until we tickled her.

These poses were all Sienna's idea

Sienna hugged my (fat) head - that's how she does it

I finally got a chance to visit Susy, Kris and Sienna yesterday before I head back to the oven. Sienna is a ball of fun and I rarely get in front of the camera but she was just too cute. When we took out the camera, she immediately went on a supermodel pose-down all over the yard. She even started directing everything and everyone, including Opus (the dog). Haha ! she is growing up way fast! I wish I were around more.

I'm going to do some international travel in July so I'll try to bring my camera.

Mochi

Fort Worth Zoo + Photoshop

Miniature lioness?


Toy mandrill baboon??

Nope, these are all real using a fake tilt-shift effect on photoshop I found out how to do on youtube.  It's just a little lens blur effect.  Anyway, these pics were taken at the Fort Worth Zoo about a month ago using my old trusty D70s.  The FW Zoo by the way is awesome.  I would say quality-wise, it's better than the San Diego wild animal park.  I know, that's a pretty bold statement but it's a very well funded and maintained zoo.  My favorite part is this aviary full of parakeets - you go in there and buy a stick with some seeds attached.  The birds just flock to you and start eating the seeds standing on the stick.  Just really awesome.

I Switched to Canon!

Behold! I've ditched the D3 for the Canon 5d Mark II. 21 Megapixels and HD video goodness.

Just kidding! This is AC's new baby sitting in my Optima hard case and Nikon gear. No, I'm keeping my D3 for it's sheer awesomeness. He brought this over when I was in SoCal so I got a chance to play with it. My first impression is that it is incredible. The picture quality is crisp and the amount of details surpasses my D3. He got a nice vertical grip with it, along with the 16-35mm L lens and the 85 1.8 (he went shopping!).  

Anyway, I haven't bought any gear yet but I did finally clean my D3 sensor and got rid of a speck of dust that was bugging me.  I'm still in the lookout for a nice small camera.  In the meantime, taking pictures with my ooold Canon Sd500 with a broken screen is a bummer.  I don't know how I can drop thousands of dollars in professional gear but am too cheap to get a cheapy point and shoot.  

Also, there is this awesome kids choir called PS22.  Check them out! 

Any

Holy Crap! An Update!

A little blue tone for ya

*blows dust off the blog* Hi again to the one or two people who check this photo blog. Here are a couple of pictures of Anisa's brother Nason and his lady friend Emmy. This was during their annual craw-fest.  My lappy was out for service (again) so I didn't have access to photoshop.  I got a new HP netbook but that thing doesn't have the horsepower to do any photo editing.  So now I'm back.  I'll post some family pictures in a few days when I get a chance to shop em.  

Update:  The last picture is new :) 

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.