Once in a while, we gather all the kids up and take a group photo. We already have 3 of these on our wall, and I'm sure we'll be putting this up as well. They grow up so fast, don't they? Looking back, the first one we took, my son was still just a baby. I just don't know how many more of these we'll be able to take...
1 Comment
Just something I pass by on my way to work each time... finally, this time I had my camera ready to capture it.
I'm a bit shocked... This is a first event I've photographed this year. Man, how fast time flies.
On Sunday, there was a CicLAvia.org event in Studio City near Universal Studio. I missed their last event in Downtown LA, so I was determined to participate this time. It's just simple, fun-loving event where they blocked off about 6 miles of busy city streets for a day to any non-motorized transportation take over. There were lots of people on bikes, skateboards, rollerskates, and strollers. It was well organized and we had lots of fun... can't wait for the next one. Since I had to keep one hand steering, I shot mainly using the hyperfocal and zone focusing. However, with the focus tab on the 35'Cron, I found that I was able to focus with my right hand. Not real critical focus, because I had to make sure I don't fall off the bike, but with aperture at f/4 to f/8, I felt I was able to focus well enough. In an effort to take myself out of my current photography rut, I've started taking my camera to work. I leave it turned on during my commute, ready to snap at anything I see interesting. It's helping, I think. It forces me to observe more, think more, instead of just space out during the drive. I can't say the images are very interesting, but this will have to do until I find more chances to shoot more seriously.
I heard someone said "There's no way out but through", and I liked it. When you're stuck in something, whether it's a creative rut or depression or something else, sometimes there's no way to get to the other side except fighting your way through. You fight it by doing what you're suppose to do, or what you would do once you reach the other side. Just keep at it, and eventually you'll realize that it's by doing that things improve and breakthrough. Well, here's me... doing it... I made the suggestion of going hiking a bit too carelessly, and 7 other family members called my bluff. So there we were, woke up at 6am and hiked up Echo Mountain, just north of Pasadena. I wasn't too concerned about myself, since this is my third time here, but I wasn't sure if my 5 years old son could make it. Luckily, he's a good trooper and hiked up without too much complaining. It took us about 2.5 hours to hike to the ruins, the remains of a burnt down hotel, and about 1 hour to hike down. All in all, not a bad way to spend a morning!
Here are some selected shots, and you can see the full set [HERE]. The post title is for all you Game of Thrones fans... SoCal residents will have a hard time imagining the harsh winter. Both my son and my nephew received new bicycles as early Christmas presents this year, so we went out for a ride this past weekend. We rode to this long green belt under the high voltage power lines and had a fun time. Carrying the camera while riding is a bit of a chore, but I was glad that I was able to take some shots when we rested and mix two hobbies in one :)
I've been waiting since the beginning of the year for Apple to release a new Macbook Pro. What a huge difference, compared to my 3 year old MBP. The retina display makes photo editing so much better, and I had no idea how handicapped I was. Another reason to upgrade was the new Lightroom 5. LR4 was already running sluggish on the old MBP that I didn't dare to upgrade. But man, now everything is just so fast that it feels like this is how it was meant to be. I haven't had time to try out some of the new features, but I'm very happy with my old process on the new hardware and software.
I've enable a little plugin from fotomoto that will enable purchase options when you click on an image to view it in the lightbox (enlarged) mode. There are a lot of options available from little postcards to large canvas or fine art prints. Of course, I don't plan to get rich from selling my photos, but it may come in handy one day. Who knows, I might be tempted to buy one myself some day. There's also an "eCard" option that'll allow you to send an email to someone with the image attached like a greeting card.
The plugin isn't fully compatible with Weebly (where my site is hosted), so I had to tweak the CSS from fotomoto a little bit to make it show better. Sadly, it also doesn't work with the slideshow widget. However, for something that's fairly easy and free to implement, I can't really complain... in fact, I like how it's not very intrusive and not make me look like I'm pushing people to buy all Above, is a shot of my son shooting with the Rolleiflex MiniDigi camera. He has come to think that it's "his" camera... just as well, I'm glad he's taken an interest into taking pictures. We just wandered around the Sheraton Hotel while my wife went to the Farmer's market near by. I'm kind of interested to see what pictures he got :) Update: well, just finished look through the SD card from the Mini Rollei... shot by my son, except one by me.
|
AuthorDavid Young Archives
May 2023
Categories
All
|
My Journey into Leica...
A path not to be taken lightly, not without reservations, and not without dedication, but the results can be sweet, OH SO SWEET! This is a documentation of my trials and tribulations into the world of Leica Rangefinder Photography, and I hope you'll enjoy coming along with me.