16 Monday Aug 2010
Posted in C'est la vie, Stuff I Like
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Portland was attacked by a heat wave over the weekend. Luckily, both trails I hiked Saturday were easy, beautiful, and cool. I decided to combine the two because: they are short (2 miles for one, and 3.8 miles for another), rated as easy (after my long hiatus, I am easing back into hiking, and my friend doesn’t care for big elevation gain due to a knee problem), and only a few miles from each other in the same direction.
28 Monday Jun 2010
Posted in C'est la vie, Stuff I Like
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My summer hiking series is getting better and better! Saturday I checked out Mirror Lake and the mountain next to it, Tom Dick & Harry Mtn (is it because there are three peaks, or because it’s a mountain that any Tom Dick and Harry has climbed?). Mirror Lake, just like any other mountain lake, is clear and beautiful, but it was a bit breezy that day so I didn’t capture the “perfect” reflection. In addition, the sun was too bright for good color contrast. This is the best I got:
Mt. Hood reflection in Mirror Lake
11 Sunday Apr 2010
Posted in C'est la vie, Random Musings, Stuff I Like
3/26/10
Woke up at 4:30am (without the alarm), tossed and turned but just couldn’t go back to sleep. Maybe it was because my mind was subconsciously upset that this would the last “travel” day. In fact, I planned to spend only the morning in the park so that I could return to Portland on Saturday as planned.
08 Thursday Apr 2010
Posted in C'est la vie, Random Musings, Stuff I Like
Tags
Arches National Park, Hiking, Monument Valley, Photography, Random Musings, road trips, Sedona, southwest, travel
3/25
This was the first day since the beginning of the trip that I slept past 5am. I got up around 7am. I thought I was going to “take it easy” today, but oh how I underestimated myself!
08 Thursday Apr 2010
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This is an excellent book! I have read several photography books before, but this is by far the most helpful. From explaining the jargon in a way that’s easy for a non-professional to understand, to offering helpful tips based on his personal experience, the author made the book enjoyable to read and useful to learn from. This was my “crash course” before the Southwest trip — in fact, I am thinking about re-reading it, as I rushed through it in a week. Highly recommended.
07 Wednesday Apr 2010
Posted in C'est la vie, Random Musings, Stuff I Like
Tags
Cameron Trading Post, Hiking, Photography, Random Musings, road trips, Sedona, southwest, travel, Upper Antelope Canyon
3/24
Visited the Upper Antelope Canyon. I have to admit, after the Lower Antelope Canyon photographic extravaganza yesterday, today was an anticlimax of sorts.
04 Sunday Apr 2010
Posted in C'est la vie, Random Musings, Stuff I Like
Tags
Hiking, Horseshoe Bend, Lower Antelope Canyon, Photography, Random Musings, road trips, southwest, travel
3/23:
When I woke up at 5am (maybe I should just make “5am” a default and only point out the occasion when I didn’t get up at 5), I knew something was off. What’s that sound outside? I knew, or should I say, felt, what was going on, as soon as I stepped out of the building.
04 Sunday Apr 2010
Posted in C'est la vie, Random Musings, Stuff I Like
31 Wednesday Mar 2010
Posted in C'est la vie, Random Musings, Stuff I Like
Tags
Death Valley National Park, ghost town, Hiking, Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Photography, Random Musings, Rhyolite, road trips, southwest, travel
3/21/10
Left Carson City when it was still asleep (around 6am). The neon lights were blinking lazily, the sky dark and moonless, the wavy shapes of the mountains in the distance only vaguely visible. The streets were deserted. The casino in the hotel is technically open 24/7, but when I was checking out, it was nice and quiet (only a few employees around). The woman at the desk, upon hearing that I was on my way to Death Valley National Park, commented in a rather regretful tone, “Oh I have always wanted to visit that place but have never been. Really want to check out the ghost town Bodie too. But I have nobody to go with and I don’t want to go alone.” I was tempted to say “why not just go by yourself?” but didn’t. The truth is, if I had to wait for someone to travel with me, if I had to wait for something to happen instead of making it happen, I would have been waiting forever. Most people don’t realize that and keep wishing that somehow everything would work out eventually if they just waited long enough. It wouldn’t. But knowing that doesn’t make me somehow superior or give me the right to lecture her.
22 Sunday Jun 2008
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Round Ireland with a Fridge
/ Tony Hawks
Absolutely the best/funniest/most outrageous travelog I have ever read! It’s like David Sedaris meets Seinfeld meets Lonely Planet. Tony Hawks is absurdly hilarious (I love love love his deadpan British humor) and yet he can also catch you with touching tenderness and philosophical rumination at the most unexpected times. It’s just brilliant.
“I began to wonder whether my ‘fridge journey” could be considered an allegory for life… Each day I was faced with a number of choices, some were easy and others were harder. The same was true of life. I had learned not to worry; to make my choice and allow things to happen… There weren’t wrong or right paths to choose, just different ones, and where they led was governed by the attitude adopted towards them. It seemed to me that was true of life also… So what else? Well, I couldn’t manage alone. We may not expect it, but there may come a time in all of our lives when we have to hitch, either physically or figuratively… You NEED someone else’s kindness to take you to safety. What I was beginning to discover was that signing up to this Trust was as liberating as it was fun… Given this ‘purposelessness”, the only justification for my exploits was that I ensured they were fun.”
Master composition guide for digital photographers / Ernst Wildi.
Pretty useful. I already know intuitively many of the things discussed, but it’s nice to see them confirmed:
“Successful images are often the result of an interesting arrangement of colors, lines, and shapes rather than specific subjects.
To create a more powerful image, remember “less is more.” Most photographic images are visually stronger with fewer elements (often limited to one main subject). In a scene with numerous semi-important elements, try to pare the composition down by picking on element and build around it. Closer is often better. Including less also reduces the likelihood of including distracting elements.
Horizontal lines are restful, conveying a sense of peace and calm.
Vertical & diagonal lines are more active and tend to convey a feeling of motion. Diagonal lines that go from the lower-left to the upper-right corner of the image are more powerful, leading the eyes to the main subject.
Curved lines add beauty to an otherwise ordinary photo.
Placing a strong horizontal or a dominate vertical line in the center of the image seldom works, as it splits the image into two. A center-line composition can work when you also have a dominate vertical subject (e.g., a group of trees that dot the horizon, or perfect reflection of mountain in the lake). Preferably, the lines should fall on the dots following the Rules of Thirds, giving emphasis to the other 2/3 to whatever element (sky or water) that is more interesting.
When a person or animal that you want to photograph is looking to the left orright, leave more space in the direction of the subject’s gaze, or in the case of still life of a vase with flowers if the flowers in the vase bend to one side.
Avoid central subject placement with subjects that seem to be moving; give the subject more space in the direction of movement.
An uneven number of elements is always better than an even number.
What attracts attention: one-of-a-kind type in the image:
– that looks different from the rest;
– a bright area or a dark area against a white background;
– has a different color;
– has a different shape;
– of a different size;
– subject or line that goes in a different direction;
– the one sharp item or the one blurred;
– a subject that doesn’t seem to blend seamlessly into the scene;
– in videos and motion pictures, anything that moves.
Such elements make ideal main subjects, or be used to guide a viewer’s eye to the main subject. On the other hand, try to eliminate such one-of-a-kind elements if they have no connection to the main subject, and do not include them into the composition.
Try to compose outdoor scenes so they don’t include large white sky areas. Even if the sky is blue, it might come out too bright/white (overexposed) in the picture. A white sky is esp. objectionable when it’s at the border, distracting viewers. Watch for any border-cutting/crossing elements that come into the picture from the outside such as tree branch, a pipe, a rope, an arm, or a leg.
After over a month my “free” MOO cards finally arrived. Not only am I disappointed at the delivery speed (well, it’s from UK so it’s FAR, and it’s free so obviously I was not top priority), I am also surprised the images aren’t as crisp as I expected. Hmmm… guess I won’t be “moo-ing” in the future.
Between Last Night and Us arrived from Canada a while ago. It’s pretty good, but I like When the Flood Comes much much better. Still, I don’t regret buying the former even though I eventually deleted over half of the songs from my iTunes Library.
Bought Coldplay’s Viva La Vida from Amazon and have given it a few listens. I like it a lot. It sounds more like X&Y than the first two albums, but more “rock” (for lack of a better word), more textured, and sonically richer than X&Y. In order of preference: A Rush of Blood to the Head > Parachutes > Viva La Vida > X&Y. There is really not a “bad” album by Coldplay. VLV is different, and change is good.
03 Tuesday Jun 2008
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Finally finished Mary Roach’s new book Bonk. If I was a bit disappointed by Spook, this book has completely restored my faith in her amazing and thus far unmatched talent in writing the most entertaining AND informative books on various (cringe-worthy) science-meets-social-studies subjects. She is one of the (if not THE) funniest nonfiction writers alive, and underneath the overflowing humor and numerous puns, this book is thoroughly researched, well organized, and cogent. It’s almost as good as Stiff, and I say “almost” just because most of the stuff in Stiff was completely new to me, while quite a bit of Bonk has been circulating in the popular media for ages. However, I read every single line and footnote in both books, and that’s how captivating they are.
Other books I have read recently:
Digital Photography Outdoors
Summary: only skimmed it. A somewhat technical and concise handbook for “professional photographers” (or wannabes). It even includes “work flow checklist” such as how to do packing, etc. (after all, it’s a “field guide”). If I ever have an SLR I might re-read this book. The examples are cool.
Some pearls of wisdom that apply:
– Use the Rule of Thirds (when pattern is the point, break the Rule)
– A human element contributes scale and adds interest to travel photography
– Get high or drop low to detect patterns or create a perspetive
– When hand holding a GND, make sure there is no gap between it and the lens.
Photography and the Art of Seeing:
Summary: reads more like a Yoga/Zen book. Too much preachy text. Didn’t have the patience to read carefully.
26 Monday May 2008
Posted in Stuff I Like
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By: Jim Miotke
A big part of it only applies to digital SLR so it’s kind of an overkill for my P&S camera. However, it’s still interesting to learn the basics, such as light selection and composition. The text is fun to read and easy to understand (although a bit on the “simplistic” side), but unfortunately the pictures are not so convincing. I expected amazing photos in this book, but to be perfectly honest, at least half of the “good examples” are rather mediocre. I have seen way better pictures from amateurs on Flickr. Ah well…
L.C.D.: Light, Composition, Digital exposure.
Use the RAW format for post-shooting processing (if you have the software and time) ** not supported by mine
Low light (at daw, at dusk, during twilight, at night, within dark forests, and in overcast conditions) is the best. However, it’s best to use a tripod and a remote shutter release (?) under such conditions.
Bright overcast conditions = nice soft light. Shade helps with color saturation.
Frontlight: avoid hard, direct frontlight.
Backlight: good for special effects but bad if causes “flare” (solution: shade the lense)
Sidelight: great for brining out the texture of subjects
Reflected light: from dewdrops, etc.
Best time of day to take good photographs: sunrise (before 10am) or sunset. However, shoot now and edit later.
White balance: don’t use the AWB for landscape shots as it neutralizes (aka: removing colors from) the light. Best setting: daylight (or cloudy/shade/custom)
Composition:
Simplicity: just pick one, be selective, zero in on the one thing that originally attracted you and focus on it.
Orientation: the vertical format looks more dynamic.
The Rule of Thirds: imagine a tic-tac-toe grid and put focus points on where the lines intersect (** except for: perfect symmetry, e.g., reflections, macro, wildlife)
Exposure:
Aperture: the adjustable opening through which light passes into your camera. Aperture size affects the depth of field (aka, how much of your picture is in focus from front to back) and is represented by f-stop numbers (e.g., f/32)
The LARGER the f-stop number = the SMALLER the opening = the LARGER the depth of field
Shutter speed: to create the silky waterfall effect, use lower shutter speed.
ISO: the sensitivity of the camera sensor to light, the higher the more sensitive (e.g., taking pictures in darker areas without using a tripod or of moving subjects). The disadvantage: “noise”
Filters:
– graduated/split neutral-density (ND) filter: make colors look more accurate; use the square or rectangular variety (line up the point of gradation with our horizon); get at least a .6 (2X – a dark half that blocks out 2 stops of light) or a .9 (3X); use soft-edge ones when the horizon isn’t well-defined or linear.
– polarizer: reduces glare (e.g., in water) and increases color saturation; you have to be at the right angle to the direction of the sunlight (your subject should be sidelit to get the best effect); move around and if the subject gets darker, it’s working.
Add the human element to show a sense of scale.
Macro: fill the frame, find the opposite colors,
22 Thursday May 2008
Posted in Stuff I Like
Tags
adventure, books, Jon Krakauer, Movies, Music, Photography, san francisco, travel
5/9-5/12: had a fabulous trip to SF.
Ordered the free MOO cards that came with the new Flickr account. They’ll be perfect as bookmarks.
Ordered Between Last Night and Us from TrueNorthRecords. It’s so hard to find a reasonably priced copy here in the US (thanks, Canada!).
Enjoying my 2GB iPod Shuffle.
Watched a bunch of good movies these days, after a string of bad ones for the past couple of months.
This has become one of my favorites of all times. Even though I thought Sean Penn was overrated, I have to admit he did a superb job directing this one. Interwoven with three main threads (his past, his journey, his life in Alaska), the story flows smoothly like a river with intricate wave patterns, leaving your utterly transfixed & mesmerized, in laughers and tears, without ever realizing that almost three hours had passed since the first time you laid your eyes on, and instantly started to care about, this young man burdened by shadows from his past, his idealism, his thirst for adventure and self-discovery, and his desire to be free from human relationships only to experience the kindness of strangers and discover that “happiness only real when shared.” The story seems to resonate with a lot of people, whether they are adventurers or homebodies. I guess, it’s because it evokes a sense of romanticism from the deepest recesses of our souls, an often-buried but still instinctual urge to explore, experience, and express, away from modern comfort, limitations and desires, just one (wo)man, one Nature, one life. The performance from the whole cast is impeccable. The cinematography is sparkling and breathtaking, with well-placed details and angles that look classic without being corny. The soundtrack is a work of art in and of itself, and is the perfect companion to the movie.
Favorite quotes:
Some people feel like they don’t deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.
If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed.
The core of man’s spirit comes from new experiences.
When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.
Happiness only real when shared.
And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.
Atonement: It made me cry; the movie itself is beautiful and hypnotizing. However, to me it falls under the “somewhat forgetable” category.
P.S. I Love You: The story is so over-the-top tragically romantic it’s hard to relate to. Plus, I just don’t see how anyone can truly love Hilary Swank (or her character) that deeply. Seriously…
I Am Legend: 28 Days later meets I, Robot (okay, that’s a stretch) and I had very low expectations. However, it’s actually really good. Will Smith is a great actor, even in action films.
Not so good movies: Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (better than the 2nd one – at least I didn’t fall asleep), No Country for Old Men (I watched the first 20 minutes and gave up.)
Finally finished the book The Sex Lives of Cannibals. There is no sex whatsoever (it is mentioned briefly, matter-of-factly). However, it’s a hoot! I couldn’t stop laughing, esp. during the first two thirds of the book. The story slowed down too much towards the end and lost steam and I lost my patience. I wonder how true the description of the country and its culture is though, or if it’s grossly exaggerated to achieve the comical effect. I also wonder how the Islanders feel about being portrayed that way.
