Itsy-bitsy Photo Blog

Taiwan - Back Roads and Alley Ways

2011-12-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

Due to time difference, I got up very early each day in Taiwan (maybe 5 AM or so, funny, I am having the same problem after I got back to the states).. Since the damn bed is so uncomfortable (why do people like to sleep on hard beds??), I got up and walked the empty streets..

Lonely

Breakfast joint

Dogs have learns to watch out for traffic. Natural selection at its best.

Ramen place - went there last year.

For for cars.

S L O W

Near campus of National Taiwan University

Taiwan - Temples

2011-12-17T18:27:00.002-05:00

There are a lot of temples in Taiwan, a lot. The religion is a combination of Taoism and Buddhism, multi-deity.
I remember when I was little, I was afraid of going into temples, they are just scary to me. Dark, incense burning, the smell, the crowd, just too strange for me. It's better now, I am more comfortable with temples now, and it is a neat place for people watching. That aspect of it was cool.

Northern Taiwan - City of Keelung. This temple is famous for it's night market, right outside of the temple's entrance. The name of the night market is simply called "Temple's Mouth".

They are blessing the silver car on the right. I didn't realize that people of Taiwan has this custom.

Paper money, offerings for the Gods.

Prayer Wheel.

Lighting the incense, ready for a prayer for good fortune.

"Wood Fish" While monks are praying, they beat this thing with a rhythm. Makes a neat sound.

Long-Shan Temple (Dragon Mountain). In Taipei. This was a busy place. Lots of people here praying.

Offerings

Taiwan - Train Train Train

2011-12-16T20:48:00.001-05:00

Train is still a very viable transportation method in Taiwan. I love the high speed rail, but, to see Taiwan, hop on one of the slow trains available, that makes frequent stops at small stations/towns. It really neat, and makes a perfect day trip to kill some time.

Taipei Train Station - schedule.

Train station food court.

Silver Liner

Small town, small station.

Taiwan - Scooter Culture

2011-12-16T20:29:00.001-05:00

Taiwan is known for the scooters, and they are everywhere. The one thing that bothered me the most is the exhaust. I think some of them are still running on 2 stroke engines, so the fumes are quite bad, especially if you are at a stop light with bunch of them around... Other than that, I think they are very versatile. They can go every where. Maybe people do the trip that go around the entire Taiwan island in 4-5 days on their scooters, that's something I would love to try out.

Taiwan - Out Door Markets

2011-12-15T20:32:00.002-05:00

All have been lomo'fied.....

Out door markets in Taiwan - I didn't think they still existed, at least in Taiwan, I thought they have been replaced by modern in-door grocery stores. It is cool to shop around the out door market, there's an energy that you can't experience in regular grocery stores. One thing I would back off from are meat or fish stalls.. I didn't observe proper refrigeration with those stalls.. hmmmmmmmmm.

Flower stand - fresh flowers daily.

Corner Fruit stand - the store front is probably worth millions...

Taiwan - 2011: Bricks

2011-12-13T20:58:00.002-05:00

Another trip to Taiwan. I like it there so much, maybe I should just live there, :)

These pictures are taking from northern and central part of Taiwan. Taiwan being a small island nation, it's really easy to get around, if you have a car, which I don't think I have the courage to fight the local traffics, really makes it easy, but with a very good public transportation system, bus, train, or taxis, can take you any where..

Near 國立政治大學 (ChengChi University).

These are left over rail bridge road columns from the Japanese Occupation era. they broke apart due to earthquakes (twice actually), but they look very sharp with these red bricks.

An early kiln, in the city of that is famous for potteries. However, a lot of stores were selling goods from Japan and Korea. Don't know why they didn't have local stuff.

An old brick house, scary part is, I think someone still living there. I would think this would crumple down any time....

Nikon 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 D

2011-09-13T20:15:00.004-04:00

Well, here it is, the lens I used to my recent macro adventures. Like I said in my previous post, this lens is rated at "bargain", hard to believe, because it is in very good shape to me.

Here is the macro/normal switch. You can only switch to macro mode when it is >50mm. The front part of the lens (narrower band) is for focusing, while the rear portion of the lens is for zooming. The focus is very smooth, no problem for me. Although my eyesight can use some help. Larger viewfinder would help, :) Check out Fred Miranda's site, under review, to see other people's opinion. I have learned to read group opinion on this type of lens review, go with the consensus, rather than one person's opinion. If you decide to get one, have fun!

Spider Man

2011-09-11T20:32:00.002-04:00

I am on a old mid-range zoom kick recently. I don't know how I missed these affordable lenses before, but I have just discovered these useful lenses, and acquired a couple.

One is the 35-70mm f2.8, non-D version. An old professional mid range zoom, that's been replaced by 28-70, then by the 24-70mm f2.8 AFS lens. After doing my research on the web, I found a bargain rated copy at KEH for about $260, that's not bad for a pro graded lens, not bad at all. The design is old, and it is using the push-pull style zoom, but it didn't creep on me like my older 70-210mm lens. Boy, is it sharp! It has very fast focus, and with good light, I can hand hold to capture very detailed images. It also offered a 1:4 macro function, which, since always wanted a macro lens, but never made an investment into such a lens, I was sort of interested in venture into it a little more. I was thinking about buying an 85mm f1.8 for dedicated portait lens, now I don't have a need for that.

That's when I discovered the Nikon 28-105mm f3.5-f4.5 lens, it is another mid-range zoom, which I believe was a kit lens for the F100 when it was released, and it offers 1:2 macro function. At around $150 a pop on KEH for a bargain rated lens, I grabbed a copy without any hesitation. On a D80, it gives me 42mm-157mm range, which is actually very nice range for a walk about lens. I am not sure how KEH rates their lenses, but with this bargain rating, I can't find anything wrong with it. As long as glass elements are not scratched, I am happy.

The macro is available from 50-105mm range only, and I am just having a ball with this lens. It is not the sharpest lens, but I am having fun with it, I think that's what a hobby is about, right? Having fun...

Places

2011-08-13T00:48:00.001-04:00

Just a few places that I gave them the monochrome treatment.

Awnings, San Fran

Fruit Stand, San Fran

Disney Gift Shop

Downtown St. Pete.

Water front benches, St. Pete.

More Sunsets

2011-07-21T22:23:00.002-04:00

Sunset at Crystal Beach, FL.
So close to where I live, and unobstructed view, makes it a place I visit often.

Stranded in Japan

2011-07-10T18:54:00.003-04:00

Due to a flight cancellation with my layover in Japan, I had a chance to spend a night and half a day in Narita. I had hoped to make a short trip to Tokyo (about an hour away by train), but I am glad I checked out the city of Narita instead. Tokyo will require days, not few hours to browse through. After I had a chance to plan my route, I took the free bus from the hotel to the city. My main goal is to visit this temple near the business district. Because it was early morning, most of the stores had not opened yet. I noticed that the street are very clean, and traffic was orderly, there's a sense of pride with how people like to keep up the cleanliness. This accidental trip was very nice, I have to plan a trip in the future to see more of Japan.

Arigato.

Banners

Temple

City Center - Narita, near city hall.

Too early for business

Graffiti?

Traditional Medicine

Alley Way.

Finally, stores start to open up. This place was selling type of sweet treat, and pickled vegetables.

This lumber probably came from Taiwan.

China - Unbelievable Landscape

2011-07-10T00:39:00.002-04:00

My first trip to China, I was fortunate to see some unbelievable places. This is located in Province of Guanxi, I visited the city of Yangshuo, but the landscape is similar to Guilin (where there's an airport for easy access). The limestone spires here are very well known, and offers very clean/fresh air because this area is not industrialized. I was in a very long car ride from Guangzhou, and went through numerous toll booth, which I thought was more like highway robbery... I don't know how average citizens can afford to take a trip like this, just on the toll booth alone. This was on the list of must see places, and I am glad I had the opportunity to visit.

SF visit

2011-07-10T00:13:00.002-04:00

Corner of Sacramento

At an Angle

Photo Op near the Twisty

Landmark

SF, one of my favorite cities to visit, such a cool place, both in temperature and vibe, :).

China Trip #3 - Hong Kong

2011-05-06T23:50:00.002-04:00

What a neat city.
Just a 2 hour bus ride, but it was so different than China. I love the high rise buildings, the emerald green water of the port was so inviting, I felt like jumping in. :)

Floating Junk.

City View

Double Decker

Another harbor view.

China Trip #2

2011-05-05T20:31:00.002-04:00

Some buildings from the Shamian Street. Colonial style.

China Trip - #1

2011-05-05T20:28:00.002-04:00

City of GuangZhou. This area is called Shamian Street. Many old embassies from 1900's are located in this area. It was a long bus ride, but worth the trip. Air quality was not the best, every day was kind of hazy, and definitely, more people smoking here than what I am used to - I sure bitch a lot, :)

Game of Mahjong - street style

Couple and the Liberation Army

Another Angle

Red Dress

Coastal Life - Crystal Beach

2011-03-09T22:24:00.002-05:00

Heading home

Twisted

Another Sunset

Wichita Sky

2011-02-24T23:25:00.002-05:00

The plains of Kansas, flat, rich farm field. But it felt like an oven in the Summer time.

Because lack of tall buildings blocking your views, standing on top of a parking garage, you can see far.

Birds and Sky

Kensington Garden stroll

2011-01-02T00:32:00.002-05:00

Table Cloth

More from Cotswolds

2010-12-15T23:08:00.002-05:00

Slate roof

House on the hill

Ivy

Cotswolds

2010-12-14T22:28:00.002-05:00

A trip to London, should include a day trip to the Cotswolds.

This is my very poor attempt in describing the Cotswolds. The money here is by raising sheep in these hills (Cotswold means sheep hills). It's made up of several small villages with some beautifully kept stone houses, with slate root, or, even older style thatched roof. Since I didn't plan on driving in England, I took a daily tour, and let the driving to the bus driver. We were lucky, the guide was also very good with talking to us, sharing his knowledge with us about this region, people, and history.

Old graveyard by the church.

Union Jack.

Stone path

As the sign would say

London in October

2010-12-14T21:24:00.002-05:00

Trip to England - didn't know what to expect, because I have heard good and bad. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. I found London is very trendy, more so than NYC I might add. The weather, well, just as advertised, dreary most of the time I was there, until the last 2 days, where the sun actually came out and greeted people. Speaking of people, I found most were warm and very helpful to tourists. I would highly recommend a trip to England when ever you get a chance. Oh, the food, it's 50/50, :)

Covent Garden Square

Street Performer

Tips appreciated

Paella Vendor - a little on the salty side.

TaiPei-Shimendin

2010-12-05T08:52:00.003-05:00

Shimen, meaning West Gate in Chinese, is a vibrant shopping/nightlife district in Taipei. It used to be a hot spot in Taipei when I was living there, but it has changed somewhat.

As I indicated, this place is known for night life, so 9 o'clock in the morning, this place is fairly dead.

I thought this was pedestrian only, until I saw a truck run by..

Multipurpose Scooter, it can be a station wagon or a pickup/delivery truck.

Signs everywhere.

it's been awhile

2010-11-28T08:13:00.001-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted anything here on this blog. A lot has happened:
sold the house in Flagstaff with a loss; moved back to Florida; downsized to a smaller place; trip to England, then another trip to Taiwan. Keeping myself busy at best.

Will be posting mmore pictures from my trips.
Here are some from Taiwan:

This is an art district in Taipei, from converted old factories into an art village. The whole place has plenty of artsy fartsy feel to it.
For this trip, I used my newly acquired Panasonic LX5, along with my old trusty Pentax DL camera. The DL is there as a spare, just in case I don't like the performance of the LX5. Well, after this trip, I have decided that the LX5 is a wonderful camera that I can use for all my trips, I will no longer take the bulkier DSLRs on my vacation trips!

Down the hall..

Election time in Taiwan. Well, it is just crazy time, but similar to politics in the US. lots of name calling and the usual craziness, and no one really talks about the issues..

Dunedin Brewery - Wednesday Open Mic Night

2010-08-26T08:45:00.001-04:00

Dunedin Brewery is a popular hang out place in Dunedin, FL. Every Wednesday night is the open mic night, where bands, groups show up for 4 songs a piece. I was really impressed with the quality of the performances they put up. It's a nice place to hang out after work.
Please drink responsibly.

Schultz Fire

2010-06-20T21:25:00.001-04:00

Just the day after the Hardy Fire, this afternoon had another bad fire going on north of Mount Eldon. This one quickly got out of control, and the wind was really blowing hard today.

Just starting out

The smoke quickly climbed up.

Lots of smoke.

We could see flame from this angle, people call it crowning, where fire are on top of the forest, not just the low grassy area. 6 hours later, the smoke has not died down, and the planes from yesterday looks like are grounded today due to high wind.

I hope everyone in the region is OK.

Hardy Fire

2010-06-20T21:12:00.001-04:00

This fire was fairly close to our neighborhood. We were on alert for possible evacuation, while 2 other neighborhoods were evacuated.

The fire fighters really fought this one hard, the planes and choppers were busy all day yesterday, since it wasn't too windy. By this morning, the smoke were pretty well contained. Whew. Really apprciate all the hard work by all the fire fighters.

We didnt' get as much smoke by our house, but just down the hill, by the driving range, the smoke really filled the air.

this was a close call.

Taipei at Night

2010-05-22T16:57:00.001-04:00

Taipei City - Taipei is a very busy city, with population of around 2.6 millions people. The city gets pretty crowded during the night, with people walking, buses, fancy cars, taxis, and the countless scooters taking up the roads.

Cars every where, I don't think I'll drive in Taiwan, too scary for me.

There are several types of cars that I have not seen in the states before, lots of micro vans, that I don't think will meet the safety guideline in US, but newer models of Suzuki Swift, which looks like a rally car, are plentiful.

Eating out, at a popular branch restaurant that serves noodles.

Shopping Center - SOGO. I think it's a Japanese department store. We went there mainly for the kick ass food court, :).

Then and Now

2010-05-20T10:33:00.002-04:00

Another one from the archive - same park. it's now called 228 Memorial Park.

The building seen in the picture above is still standing. I am sure the water was green back then also.....

Then and Now

2010-05-20T10:29:00.001-04:00

Stone/Concrete bridge in the "New Park" in Taipei. Not much has changed, perhaps maybe it needs a good power wash, :)

Sans the model..

Compared to a picture from 1973.....

Then and Now

2010-05-19T23:01:00.001-04:00

This is our old house in Taiwan. Not sure when this was taken, but it had to be fairly old, since the area is still surrounded by fields. The empty fields are now all built up with high rises. and some sections of the townhomes have been torn down and built up also. Land is scarce.

New photo, the first 2 houses are still there, the second one is where we lived. It is very run down now. I am sure it's just matter of time before they are demolished. They don't look like they are being occupied.

A little bit closer...

Bitter sweet trip to Taiwan

2010-05-19T03:13:00.002-04:00

It's been 33 years since I been to Taiwan (that's when we moved to the states). It's a bittersweet trip, because I planned for this trip with my wife before we found her cancer had spread, and then her passing. I wished that she was with me on this trip in person, it would've been a complete trip for me.

My trip took me from Phoenix to LA, then LA to Incheon, Korea, then to Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan. A good full days worth of traveling. I was on Asiana airline, and the service was impeccable.

Above shot was approaching the airport in Taiwan.

Very green, still a lot of farm fields in this area.

Now we are seeing tall buildings right before landing.

Right after I settled in the apartment I rented, went out for a walk. Lots of cars, narrow streets, I don't think I can drive here..

More to come

Sarah 1958-2010

2010-03-23T17:05:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, March 17th, my wife passed away from breast cancer.

We found out her cancer has metastasized to her liver and bone back in January, before her first follow up checkup after first round of chemo/radiation; follow up chemo didn't work, and things progressed so rapidly, we barely had time to move her back to Florida for her to be with her family.

She's always very supportive of my hobbies, I'll always miss her..

More Snow

2010-03-07T15:08:00.001-05:00

Shot with Olympus E-500, in Monotone mode. Cropped out the extra sky.

More Snow Bowl

2010-02-28T01:23:00.001-05:00

Leisurely Pace - Just look that way, this was going pretty fast.

A look at the top, I think that's 11,500 ft at the top of the lift.

Reflection.

It's all about the look, right? She's easy to spot amongst the crowd.

Snow Bowl

2010-02-28T01:14:00.001-05:00

Side show Bob.

There was a competition at the slope, the outfit is definitely cool.

Balancing act.

Take a guess: Is he a skier or snow boarder with this outfit?

A few links

2010-02-09T23:25:00.003-05:00

I found a few bird photo blogs, but they are in Chinese, but please enjoy the pictures:

Home page - http://blog.yam.com/phdwhite

Amazing looking bird - http://blog.yam.com/phdwhite/article/14542451

http://blog.xuite.net/cl.hai5231/bird

I am too lazy to embed HTML code today, just copy and paste it to your URL, :)

More bird shots

2010-02-07T21:37:00.001-05:00

I think this one is Red-Shafted Flicker, but correct me if I am wrong, another possibility is Gila Woodpecker.

I think there's a job waiting for it in the circus.

A woodpecker of some type. I can't find an exact name for it by comparing pictures.

Steller's Jay.

Nuthatch.

Afternoon Sun

2010-02-07T02:44:00.001-05:00

Afternoon Sun, Gray Sky and some snow on the ground. Doney Volcanic Cinders.

Took this shot from the taller of the 2 cinders.

B&Ws Winter

2010-02-07T02:00:00.001-05:00

More snow to come

Old Barn #1

Old Barn #2

Standing By

Ski break

2010-02-03T00:46:00.001-05:00

Arizona Snow Bowl - time to go is during the week days. Weekends were packed, and now it's wide open space. I like the wide space they have here.

Not crowded at all. It is a work day after all.

Wide open area, really nice. The snow was really nice, not icy at all. I think they received around 80 inches of snow in 1 week.

A view of the Kendrick Peaks.

No, I didn't ski. Just came up here to take some pictures after I got off from work.

Snow Storm - 2010

2010-01-23T22:33:00.001-05:00

While California and most of Arizona were drenched with rain, up here in Flagstaff, we recieved over 60 + inches of snow since Monday. Late Thursday night, it got up to 38 degrees, so intead of heavy snow, it turned to rain, it compacted the snow, and then made shuffling quite a chore the next day (heavy slush and ice).

taking a quick break from shuffling, sun is out, take some pictures.

The roads have not be plowed for 2 days, this 4x4, with chains, were having problem going through the road. He eventually gave up and stopped a little ways down.

We decided to trek through our neighborhood to see what it looks like. Still can't drive our car yet.

Cathedral Rock

2010-01-16T21:47:00.000-05:00

Almost half way up to Cathedral Rock, right where the harder climb starts. A better weather to climb today (around 50+) than the 95 degree temperature we endured middle of last year.

The End of an Era

2010-01-13T19:24:00.001-05:00

Texas Stadium, Irving, TX

1-8-2010

Crew is preparing the site before the big demolition. It's kind of sad, a stadium hosted so many ball games, offered so much memory, is meeting a fate like this.

What if the Roman had torn down the Coliseum?

More from Dallas

2010-01-13T18:15:00.000-05:00

BONE

Main Street

Residential and Business Building

I couldn't find my Canon SD400, so I had my bulkier Canon G2 with me. Not really a pocket camera, but image quality is still nice. Heck, 4MP is not bad at all for web posting.

Downtown Dallas - Night shots

2010-01-10T12:22:00.001-05:00

I don't know why, but last few trips I have had, seems like I am always accompanied by a cold front. This time in Dallas, record cold snap was there to greet me.

Christmas decoration.

Empty Street.

Corner of St. Paul and Main.

Red Gate

2009-12-27T20:47:00.001-05:00

Near Dade City, FL

One of the few places in Florida that has hills, and elevation is actually above 150 ft!! Lots of oak trees, and horse stables. Neat Area.

Charge Ahead

2009-12-27T18:00:00.001-05:00

I can hardly keep up with this high energy Jack Russell terrier, especially a puppy.

Nikon D80 with the 80-200mm lens.

Nikon 35mm Portrait Attempt

2009-12-27T14:18:00.001-05:00

Available Light Portrait of our friend Ivana.

Shot with Nikon D80 manual setting

f1.8

1/20 exposure

ISO 640

Follow My Lead

2009-12-16T20:14:00.001-05:00

From Flagler Beach, FL.

Small Water Fall - Oak Creek

2009-12-12T23:03:00.001-05:00

both were shot with Pentax DL, kit lens at f32, exposure time, 3 seconds.

I am always surprised by the performance of the DL camera/kit lens combo.

More from Devils Bridge

2009-12-12T16:18:00.001-05:00

Sandstone mount across from the bridge.

Sandstone steps

From the top of the bridge.

Iowa bound - part 2

2009-12-12T14:40:00.002-05:00

Made it to the hotel, Sheraton, downtown Iowa City.

Monday night, snow storm has not reached Iowa yet.

Tuesday Morning, here we go, it's here. Good thing for shuttle service to the university, I didn't have to drive in the icy condition.

Temperature didn't go above 20 during the day, and hovered around 1 degree at night. The streets are covered with ice. I stayed in the hotel as much as I can, :), especially my good winter coat was stolen during my last trip to Troy, Michigan.

Students from the university had a big snow ball fight, trying to beat the record set by University of Wisconsin at Madison. I don't know if the Hawkeyes were successful with their record breaking attempt, but they were brave to hang out in the freezing temperature, and the wind chill brought on by the high wind accompanying the snow.

Well lit alley way. Downtown Iowa City.

Iowa bound - part 1

2009-12-12T14:28:00.002-05:00

Business trip to Iowa City last week, I wasn't sure if I can even get out of Flagstaff. Good thing I had arranged for my flight to depart in Phoenix. A little trecherous on the highway, but not too many cars in the ditch yet.

At 7000 feet elevation, snowing pretty good. Already had about 6 inches of snow by our house, where's the snow plower?

Down to 4,000 ft elevation, now it's just raining, but low cloud creates another hazadous driving condition.

Made it to Phoenix! Green grass, palm tree, but temperature is mid-40s.

No delay, whew. 3 hours to go to O'Hare.

Vultee Arch

2009-12-06T22:09:00.001-05:00

Further down the same forest road (Dry Creek Rd), will take you to more trail heads, one of which will lead you to another arch. It's called Vultee arch, in memorial of 2 aviation pioneers that died in a plane crash around this area, in 1938. The trail is about 1 3/4 miles in length, fairly easy hike.

I think there's another trail that will let you go up to the arch, but we were pretty tired after hitting 2 trails.

It looks a little too symmetrical from a distance.

Looking back towards direction of the trail head. It was mid 40s and cloudy, so the sky is a little over exposed.

Birding with new lens.

2009-12-06T20:10:00.002-05:00

I just purchased an Olympus 70-300 lens for the extra reach, which is equivalent to 140 - 600mm on the Olympus bodies. Nice. So far, it's just as what other people have reported, nice, sharp lens, but hunts a great deal when light condition is less than optimal, and it's not really for action shots, unless you want to go with pre-focus, or even manual focus. I bought this lens, hoping that my wife will be more interested in photography. I hope it doesn't discourage her with the slowness with action shots.

Eastern Blue bird - I wasn't sure how well the lens will do with this shot. There's a lot of distraction around the bird. But the camera locked the focus on the bird really well. I was about 15 feet from the bird, and I didn't want to get any closer, as they are fairly skittish. Picture above was not cropped.

Canadian Geese - in flight. I wasn't sure who well this camera locks on to focus with them in flight, but it did a pretty good job with it. I did notice a red tail hawk in the distance, no, it wasn't chasing the geese, it was heading in another direction. Uncropped. I don't recall distance, maybe a hundred feet or more away.

Black headed Junco, I think the correct name is Dark Eyed Junco - I don't see much of these guys in the Summer months, only the gray headed ones, with a splash of orange on the body. I am not sure if the color changes for Winter time or not, but they are my favorite year round birds in this area. I like the way they claw around the ground looking for seeds, occassional jumps on the feeder for a quick peck at seeds. Although they should be all over U.S., I don't recall ever seeing them while I lived in Florida. Uncropped, about 25 feet away. I had to crank up the iso, so noise is a little high.

Mountain Chickadee - Usually this bird hangs on the side of our ponderosa pine, and picking out insects and stuff. This time it was on the feeder stuffing itself. It is getting colder, maybe it's not that easy to find insects any more. About 25 feet away, uncropped.

Along the trail

2009-12-05T21:00:00.001-05:00

Bark of an aligator juniper.

Bark from another type of juniper. A little like sycamore pattern.

This is from another juniper. A lot of juniper along the trail.

Pine seedling.

Lots of birds along the way, we also saw a coyote, but I wasn't fast enough to get a shot of him/her.

Devil's Bridge

2009-12-05T20:53:00.001-05:00

Devil's Bridge. This is a moderate hike, but it does take you to a pretty neat looking arch at the end. The hardest part is getting close to the trail head in your car. Many people just parked their car and walk the 2 mile distance to get to the trail head, then hike up to the arch/bridge. You need a high clearance vehicle to get on this forest road, there're a couple of places that I thought our Honda Pilot would have a problem. We did see a couple of cars made it all the way to the end of the forest road, but I wouldn't recommend it. I think they were rentals, :).

From the bottom looking up.

I only brought my 35mm f1.8 Nikon lens, so it's not a wide angle lens to shoot this arch, but this one turned out ok.

My wife being brave, I stayed clear from the middle of the bridge.

This one shows the scale of the arch. Some people posed for me.

Food Photo in Natural Light

2009-11-29T19:05:00.006-05:00

Practicing food photo, I avoided using flash this time, just utilized available light. It's a cloudy, snowy day, but there's enough light from the reflection of the snow coming through the window.

Prop - raw bokchoy, sushi dish, cutting board, granite tile, Santoku knife, few sage leaves, all sitting on our breakfast table, which is made out of recycled wine barrels.

E500 with kit lens 42mm at f5.6
First attempt - I placed the bokchoy on the granite tile, but way too much reflection, I can't control it too well. That's out.

E500 with kit lens 42mm at f5.6
Bokchoy on the sushi dish, looks better than the granite tile. But this shot's way too boring. Nothing in the background, the table top is out of focus, but its not enough interest.

E500 at 42mm at f5.6

I placed the cutting board behind the main subject, and it doesn't look too bad this way, I may crop out some of the foreground space.

E500 at 42mm at f5.6
Placed the cutting board in front, but the sushi dish is a little obscure, and knife is hidden.

D70 with 35mm at f1.8.
I like this shot a little better, but I don't know if the bokchoy should be in focus or the knife. The sushi dish is easy to see in the background, and well out of focus, just as I like it. Now I am looking at this shot, I wish I had tilt the cutting board a little, so the grain would be more of a diagonal, just to see if there's a difference.

My biggest problem was composition, placement of my props is hardware than I thought. The other issue for me was the details. This time, at least I cleaned up the table surface before I start to shoot, but that's something I typically would overlook. But I should have seen that the dish was hidden from view when I have the cutting board in front. When I was looking through the view finder, I was too busy seeing what's in focus, rather than seeing the whole picture, there was plenty of time, I should've taken my time.

here's the site that inspired me for today's exercise: Mitong. It's in Chinese, but the pictures are really nice.

Duck Perm :)

2009-11-26T15:14:00.001-05:00

there are a couple of ducks with this crazy hair-do (feather) around the small lake by our house. I wonder what causes this.

it's 45 degrees, but sunny, which is very different than the Winter season up north.

SF - China Town - Color

2009-11-26T13:50:00.002-05:00

Here we have taro root (poi), egg plant (Chinese, Japanese, take your pick), and some type of cabbage.

The Sign on the left says "Natural Color printing/development".

The vertical green sign says something about Ginseng (or man root, due to some roots are shaped like human). It is said to boost energy in a person, I just remember that I took some in tea form when I was young, and it gave me major nose bleed, maybe too much of an energy boost...

Scarf stall.

SF China Town B&W

2009-11-26T13:40:00.002-05:00

more shots from my trip to Hayward, CA.

Hopped on the BART, and spent a few hours in San Francisco.

This is a bakery, a line formed for fresh, just out of the oven goodies.

It says: New Hong Kong Restaurant

Can't remember the name of this street, but it was lined with whole sale meat and vegetable markets. This guy was having a lively conversation with a shopper across the street.

Lower Antelope Canyon

2009-11-21T15:55:00.002-05:00

Just now find some time to upload additional pictures from the Page visit.

We've been to the Upper Antelope Canyon before, that's the trip where you have to go with a guided tour, and the guide will take you there on a 4x4 across the dry, sandy creek bed to your destination. The visit was an hour, but the main issue was the crowd. This time, we decided to visit the Lower Antelope Canyon. The cost is $26 per person, and if you bring a tripd that is longer than 1.5 feet, you can get a photographer's pass, and you can stay for around 4 hours. If you don't have a tripod, a guide will take you through the canyon, and you can only visit for an hour and then you are out. I don't know why, but the place is not well marked. I sort of remember how to get to it from the Upper Antelope Canyon visit, it was luck that I found the place. I am sure someone in town can give you good direction.

Here's the entrance to the Lower Antelope Canyon. I just had my camera and tripod, no bags or anything, which I am glad I didn't have that on my back. It is fairly narrow, but manageable.

While we were there, there is a group of photographers who signed up for a photo work shop. The instructor came from Sedona area, but I didn't ask for his name. This lady here was shooting a Canon 5D and a big, wide L series lens, various people have fancy gears, expensive carbon tripod, etc. What recession, right? :)

Unlike the Upper Antelope section, there are some fairly narrow spots in this canyon. It wasn't too windy this time, so we were not showered with sand like the last time. I don't think I got any sand/dust on the sensor, but the camera was covered with sand from the first trip.

Mystery House

2009-11-21T15:35:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of rumors who actually owns this house. Some said Johnny Depp, Nicholas Cage, but the most common one is the doctor who invented Lasik surgical procedure - the only thing is, no one can agree on who that is, :).

Shot from Chapel on the Rock, with Cathedral Rock in the back ground.

Lake Powell

2009-11-14T15:31:00.001-05:00

Lake Powell from the visitor's parking lot

Waiting for next season - down stream from the dam, these rafts sit idle and waiting for tourists for next year. This is a really nice trip. 4 hours long, it will drop you off at Lee's Ferry.

A view of the Glenn Canyon Dam from the bridge.

More From the Regatta

2009-11-14T15:26:00.001-05:00

Musical Note

Lift Off.

Backlit shot

Near Collision

Balloon Regatta Page, AZ

2009-11-07T22:58:00.001-05:00

Cool hardware

Inside view

Time to pack up

Balloon and Moon

2009-11-07T22:51:00.001-05:00

Page, AZ
2009 Balloon Regatta

Gorgeous weather, light wind, warmer than last year, :)

Short time out from my computers...

2009-11-04T01:15:00.001-05:00

Been busy playing with 2 new computers, 3 new operating systems, dual booting the PC with Windows 7, Linux, plus the Snow Leopard on the new iMac.

I skipped the entire Vista experience, and jumped from XP to Windows 7 directly. It's different, but familiar enough that it's not too difficult. Going from XP, I had to do a fresh install. The installation didn't take too long, it's copying the large quantity of files that take the longest amount of time. It crashed once, but that's when I was running a benchmark software (Sandra), and that was the only time. No problem with drivers, but the machine is fairly new.

Second Partition on the same PC, I installed Ubuntu 9.04 workstation, also 64-bit. I am very impressed by the maturity of this distribution (I am sure it's the same for other distros).

I have to say that the installation process might be the most intimidating, but only because I have to deal with dual booting the system; if I am installing only Ubuntu on a dedicated PC, then I have to say the installation process is a lot simpler. You have to partition the drive with the partition utility that comes with Ubuntu first, then Install Window 7, then install Ubuntu. If I have to reinstall, I'll have to read up on it again, it's not something I'd like to commit to memory. The workflow of Gnome desktop is very similar to Windows (much more so than OS X). Many utilities and productivity software are included, which I can get up and run with it right away. Nice.

Without my prompting, it even recognized my network printer, which was cool. It didn't have the right driver from the install, but it wasn't hard to download the right driver from Brother's web site. Installing updates is also an easy process, it works just like Windows, only difference is that it installed 300+ updates, not a process for dial up connection, :).

I didn't plan on purchasing the Mac this past weekend, but when my wife said go for it, heck yeah, ;). The hardware is pure elegance, and super quite, I really enjoy the silent operation.

I haven't been a big fan of all in one systems, but after messing with my new PC a week earlier, with cables everywhere, I decided to go for the iMac. I was thinking of the 21.5 inch model, but she insisted on the 27 inch model, hell yeah! And they always say that size doesn't matter, :). I could operate the system with 1 cord (power), with the use of blue tooth keyboard and mouse, and wireless network. In real world scenario, I have to add cable to attach my external drive, cables for my card reader, and iPod, still a cleaner work space though. Oh, speaking of the mouse, the new Magic Mouse is really cool, but it is a little too "flat" for me; I am used to mouse that I can wrap my hand around it, using the magic mouse a few hours, I find my wrist started to hurt; also, the buttons, I still like a mouse with 2 physical left and right buttons.

Very different world this OS X is. Have to learn a new work flow, I think that's my first challenge.

Next, a few surprised when I was transferring my photos to the Mac. Using existing external drive, I can read files from a drive formatted in NTFS, but can't write to it; I decided to format a second external drive to native Mac OS, so I can use it for my back ups. As for photo software, for now, I will use Picasa 3, which works really well, and available in all 3 OSs. Eventually, my goal is to switch all my personal work to Mac, not sure how long it will take, but it's too much work to try to maintain different platforms.

To keep it on-topic, I have to upload a couple of pictures while learning on the Mac.....

A view from the Little Colorado River Gorge. Near Cameron, AZ.

East Rim look out spots - People love to stand on top , near the edge, why is that?

First Snow

2009-10-29T18:25:00.001-04:00

From 10-28-09. Which is the first time since we moved here that it snowed in October. They predicted a good snow season this year, I guess it's a prelude of things to come.

Flying home from Detroit, I can't tell if we were over New Mexico or Colorado, but there was a lot of snow fall over this moutain range. I wish my GPS would work in the plane so I can tell where I am while flying, :)

Fall Colors

2009-10-18T21:07:00.002-04:00

I thought I had missed the colors on the peaks this year, but luckily, most of the aspens are still in full golden display when we went up to the peaks today. A lot of people were busy taking picture, a nice day for being outdoors.

Race for the Cure - Phoenix

2009-10-14T22:50:00.001-04:00

Last Sunday (10/11/09) we participated in the Susan G Komen's Race for the cure event. Only a 3 mile walk, it was a really nice day, and a huge amount of people there. We did the race when we lived in Tampa area, when they have it in downtown St. Pete. We never realize that we'd participate as a cancer survivor. It's been quite a year, from when we find the lump after Christmas 08, til now, there was a lot of ups and downs. We can sort of breathe a sigh of relief, but from talking with other survivors, the fight continues on.

I haven't talked about our experience much on this blog, but here's a very quick summary, I believe the first item is the most important.

As I have mentioned, we found the lump end of December last year, the kicker is, and something I am still very mad about, is that she had a mammogram in November, plus office examination, so the both missed it! It's one thing that the lump was small, but her lump was 3 cm! And based on the comment from the specialist at Mayo, it takes about 3 years to grow into that size. So it's not like in a month, this thing multiplied in size. We ended up detected ourselves. I am very disappointed with the office visit and the mammogram result.
I am not saying don't go to your doctors, and have annual mammogram, but please, do not only rely on that, you should mark your calendar, and perform a monthly self examination for added security. We could've easily let this thing grow another year, if we didn't catch it ourselves! After we found out my wife had breast cancer, we checked online, and found many similar stories, I'd have never thought that mammogram is not a catch all procedure before.

Don't be afraid to do your research, but be prepared to get overhelmed with the info you can find. We both have medical background, but it was still very difficult to track and understand all the info. It doesn't help that BC is not a simple, one type of cancer, there are different types, and treatment can be different based on type of BC.

Don't be afraid to seek out second or third opinion! It's your life, and it's your body, don't be shy about it. We were very naive from the get go. After we found the lump, we had a consult with radiologist for another procedure, that's when they determine it's a tumor, but needed a biopsy to determine if it's malignant or benign. We talked to a local surgeon, and for some reason, he said "don't worry, I am very positive it's not cancer, it's fibroadenoma, which are non cancerous, and said that he will just remove it, instead of doing fine needle aspiration biopsy as recommended by the radiologist. Which of course, turned out to be totally wrong. When we asked him why he thought it was not cancer, he mumbled a bit, then said this is the second time he had this. We were both shocked by his response, I am sure anyone who made one mistake like that, should learn kept his mouth shut, and let pathologist determine what type of tumor it is. When we told the surgeon finally selected about our experience, her response was: If he thought it was fibroadenoma, there'd be no reason to remove it in the first place, since fibroadenoma is non-cancerous, so the proper step should've been the apiration of tissue, examine by pathology, and then make final determination of next step.

If you do seek out second or third opinions, dont' be surprised to see/hear that the opinions can be very different from one physician to the next, and don't be surprised that physicians will not tell you what you should do (I think this is due to malpractice law suits), they will lay out the options, you have to make a final decision. Also, there will be a lot of medical terminology thrown around, if you don't understand something, ask what they mean.

Seek out help with support group. When we first found out of her cancer, we were literally like zombies. We got the pathology report, and that's it! We didn't get any guidance of what to do next. We weren't sure who's we need to see on what to do next - is it the radiologist, surgeon, OB doctor? Luckily, someone from the surgeon's office told us we should contact the cancer center, we did, and we see a nurse at the cancer center, and she was able to give us a ton of information, what to do next. Because she's a BC survivor herself, she was able to tell us her own experience, and we found it to be very helpful. We were really impressed with the support and help we received from the support group, they were all wonderful people, and we were so fortunate to have met them. With all the information/research we did, it was really nice to get a face time with someone who can explain/interpret to us what we read.

We feel fortunate that Mayo Clinic has locations in Phoenix. It's a 2 hour+ drive from Flagstaff, but it was the comfort level that we needed after our initial experience, and it's a good thing that our MAYO takes our insurance. We never felt rushed during our visits with the doctors there, which is another issue I've had before with doctor's visits in the past. We spent well over an hour during our first consults, which was really helpful for us, and also sealed the deal to go with MAYO for her treatment.

I was fortunate that my company let me shift my hours around so I can work extra hours 4 days week, so I don't have to take extra time off for the commute we had to make for the multiple procedures my wife had to endure.

I'd also like to thank American Cancer Society, they were able to arrange free hotel stays, when we had to stay overnight, to receive the white cell booster shot the next day during chemo.

BTW, this white cell booster shot, it's called Neulasta, it is $9500 a shot! She had to have 4 shots during her chemo, we're lucky to have good coverage, but I sincerely wish that everyone can have access to good/affordable health insurance. Things have to change in our health care and insurance industry to make it affordable for all people. Getting sick should not bankrupt you.

finish line is near!

Dance Festival - Toronto

2009-10-03T14:53:00.001-04:00

One thing about cities that have to endure long, cold Winters, is that people really come to life in Spring and Summer time. People really get out and enjoy this time of year. I remember my trips in downtown Milwaukee in the Summer, and there were noon time concerts daily in the city park, where people bring their lunch outdoors, and just having a good time. Living in Florida for 10 years, you sort of taking year round greenery for granted.

Same here, this is an Cultural event, by means of dance festival from different countries at Yonge and Dundas Street Square, right across from Eaton Center, a big indoor shopping center, I wonder why, :).

Shots taken May 07.

SkyLine of Toronto

2009-10-03T14:43:00.001-04:00

These were taken back in March of 07. Bitter cold the whole week. But this is another city that's great for walk about. Funny all the nice cities that's good for walk around have really bad parking, :).
Shot from my hotel room window at Delta Chelsea.

SF - Near China Town

2009-10-03T02:11:00.002-04:00

The Famed SF China Town entrance.

And on the opposite side of the entrance, people taking pictures.

I think it's time to invest in a point and shoot with image stablization.

Another view.

SF Street Scene

2009-10-03T02:04:00.001-04:00

4 day business trip at Hayward, CA. Being so close to San Francisco, I decided to hop on BART for a quick visit. Like NYC, this is a nice walk around town, should've brought more comfortable shoes, :)

Rigth outside the Montgomery BART station.

Something got their attention.

I am looking at this photo, I now wish I had paid more attention and snapped the photo when people were in front of the white part of the building, instead of the darker windows. I have to visualize better, and anticipate the shot, I am marking that down...

Big trash bins, in a big alley way.

Central Park - 04

2009-09-25T00:21:00.001-04:00

Shot around May, people are really enjoying the park.

Wedding Photo - why do I always have a trash can in my picture?

The only thing I am thinking is - OK, what kind of camera bag is she using?

Street Photos

2009-09-25T00:14:00.001-04:00

I have been checking out a lot of street photo blogs, I think it's more interesting than landscape. Thinking back a bit (back to 04), I remember my trip to NYC had a mixture of pictures, a few of them were OK for post.

Shrek 2

Street Performer

Waiting for a cab

Plants

2009-09-24T01:11:00.001-04:00

Tilted Symmetry

Fern, Aspen, and Pine

Aspen Leaves

2009-09-24T01:07:00.001-04:00

Fashionable Leopard Print

Traditional Gold

Building and Palo Verde

2009-09-22T14:22:00.001-04:00

Scottsdale Health Care, Near Shea Blvd.

Weed, Fence, and Paper boxes

2009-09-22T14:19:00.001-04:00

N/T.

Painted Desert

2009-09-20T01:37:00.001-04:00

Painted Desert Over Look, North of Winslow, off of State Road 87. About 13 miles north of La Posada.

Waiting for Lift Off

2009-09-20T01:35:00.001-04:00

Shot 2008, Page, AZ Hot Air Balloon Regatta. People waiting on a hill top for the big lift off.

It was a really cool event, if possible, I'll try to make it there again. It's usually first weekend of November.

Government Prairie

2009-09-13T22:56:00.001-04:00

I was hoping to see greener pasture, but due to little moisture in the area, the grass in the prairie is a little on the dry side. But the view is still spectactular. The forest road can get a little bumpy at times, definitely get a high clearance SUV or truck if you want to get here, not for passenger cars.

I guess we are close to hunting season. We didn't see anyone except for some hunters scoping out the area for games.

Sedona Red Rocks

2009-09-13T01:54:00.001-04:00

2 days after the flash flood that created a mess down in Sedona, another storm threatens.

The crew really did a very good clean up job at Tlaquepague.

Hiking Around Snow Bowl

2009-09-06T21:50:00.001-04:00

Side trail.

Young aspens

The day started off with clear sky, by noon time, the cloud loomed over the peaks, there were actually patches of ice/snow on top of the mountain. There were quite a bit of people up there, taking the lift to go up to the peaks. Been there, don't want to do it again since dangling high up on a ski lift is just not for me, :)

3 of a kind

2009-08-29T22:48:00.001-04:00

Pink Calla - In sepia

Triplet

Blue, Gold and Green

Storm Cloud

2009-08-28T00:59:00.001-04:00

Shot from Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, 7th floor, facing north.

I was certain we will get a deluge, but no, it just scattered before it reached us. But looking at it hovering over the mountain range, it's very a very dramatic view.

It's been awhile

2009-08-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

It has been a busy year so far, so I haven't set foot in Grand Canyon for some time now. With new visitor this week, we took a short trip to GC, not at the same time with President Obama, can you imagine the crowd/traffic/backup?

Luckily, it wasn't too hot, nice cool breeze, but our visitors (from Florida) were having major issue with low humidity, have to deal with the usual dry skin, and occassional nose bleed (no, not because of the altitude).

We went to the East Rim, and didn't venture any further than Moran Point. I was surprised at the amount of people at the park on a Wednesday. Seems like majority of the visitors were from other countries.

Taylor Fire near Sedona

2009-08-21T23:49:00.001-04:00

I took these shots on Monday the 17th. The Fire started on the 16th. The location is about 20 miles Southwest of Flagstaff, near Sedona at a canyon called Sycamore Canyon. Due to wind direction, we were tons of smoke, and even ashes raining down.

Shot of Mt. Eldon shrouded in smoke.

Near Enterprise Rd and Rt 66. We can clearly see the smoke.

As of Tuesday, the estimate was 3000 acres and still burning. On Wednesday and Thursday, we didn't see as much smoke. Luckily, no injuries and property damage.

We haven't had much of moisture with our Monsoon season so far, fire danger is really high at this time. It really ticks me off when people are still throwing their cigarette butts out of their car window....

Sunset Crater

2009-08-21T23:33:00.001-04:00

From the East side of the crater. Another super clear day, but I'd trade it for some nice rain......

Soaking up the Rays

2009-08-21T23:15:00.001-04:00

Aspen leaves - Near Sunset Crater.

I really like aspen trees. With beautiful white trunks; their leaves shimmers with slightest breeze, and turns golden in Fall, that really transforms the mountainside.

AZ Sunset - San Francisco Peaks

2009-08-21T01:11:00.001-04:00

We passed by several cyclists driving up to the peaks. They have to be in very good shape. I am sure the ride down is exhilarating on a bike.!

The smoke from the recent forest fire is still lingering in the area, but gives it a nice misty effect.

After sunset.

Eerie glow.

I don't know why, but we have been here for 3 years now, and we just came up here to the San Francisco peaks/Snow Bowl to view the sunset for the first time. I didn't realize up here at the parking lot near the green slopes is a perfect spot for sunset. If you are near the area, you have to check it out.

Busy Bees

2009-08-15T18:11:00.002-04:00

We planted 2 bushes last year, which has tiny blue flowers that seems to be a big hit with bees of all kinds. At any one time, there are about 5-8 bees nosing around the flowers on each bush.

Down Town Dallas

2009-08-13T13:41:00.001-04:00

Another hot Summer afternoon.

The old Texas School Book Depository Building (it is now Dallas County Administration building). 6th floor, window on the right, is where Oswald fired the rounds that killed President Kennedy.

Red Museum.

Time to go for undergound utilities. Look at that mess of wires... Almost as bad as billboards.

Sun Flower

2009-08-09T15:32:00.001-04:00

This Sun Flower plant came out of no where, well, actually, somewhere near the bird feeder, I guess this one got away, :).
I thought they would follow the sun, but this way only faces East, and will not turn around for the afternoon sun.

More Players

2009-08-07T21:56:00.002-04:00

#47 Aaron Francisco FS, with a young fan. He went to the fans and signed autographs.

#3, Tyler Palko, QB - Free Agent.

Got a close up shot

#51 Pago Togafau - LB

#55 Reggie Walker - LB

#84 Anthony Becht - TE,with family

More Cardinal Pictures

2009-08-07T21:52:00.001-04:00

# 48 Mike Leach LS
LS, what position is LS?

#5 Ben Graham, Punter
#1 Neil Rackers, Kicker

Shot Friday, 8/7/09.

Cardinals Training Camp - 3

2009-07-31T23:14:00.001-04:00

Warm up time

Charging ahead - #87 Sean Morey, WR

Wall of Tackles - From Left to Right:
#79: Oliver Ross - Rookie
#75: Levi Brown
#69: Mike Gandy
#65: Brandon Pearce - Rookie
#68: Elliot Vallejo
Can't see the # for the other 2 - Sorry.