Sochi Winter Olympics

It's that time again, where the (winter) Olympics take place!

I admit I didn't watch the Opening Ceremonies last night, however, taking a look at several pictures thus far, makes me excited! (Events as well as pictures, of course) ;)

Good luck to the competing athletes!

Only One (Exhibit)

While traveling around on the subway in Tokyo, I came a cross an advertisement for a photo exhibit. The exhibit is at Fujifilm Square in Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), and it's called "Only One". This exhibit displays one photograph from each of the one hundred photographers, ranging from black and white photographs from the 1800s to more recent photographs (as well as my favorite hand colored photographs). It had been a while since I last went to a photo exhibit, so it was a fun experience. There was also a display of old film cameras in the gallery next door (not related to the exhibit, but fun nonetheless!) :)

This exhibit will be going on until February 5th.

Novemenber Morning

Clear skies on this November morning. Winter is coming soon! :/

Photo Exhibit in the South Bay

For those of you who are in Southern California (near the South Bay), and interested in travel photography from the 80s, there is a photo exhibit by Setsuko Owan at the Malaga Cove Library gallery room. (Map: 2400 Via Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274)

The exhibit will be going on until September 30th, everyday 10am - 5pm except Sundays. (the exhibit is closed on the 14th)

To those who cannot make it, here is a link to her blog, where you can take a look at some of the photos in the exhibit.

Japan 2013 Day 0: Departure and Arrival

Since I seem to do pre-flight pictures, here's the one of the gate:

And of course, it's rainy season in Japan!

Photo Assignment June 12 - 26: Shapes- Circle

It's been over a year since I've done weekly/monthly photo assignments, so here's my attempt at keeping these up again.

Probably a little hard to tell, it's a rolled up yoga mat! :P

It's something that's been sitting in my room for a few weeks now. I could've tried to move it to a different location to change the background, but the contrast of the purple and yellow really makes it stand out and the shallow depth of field helped in that aspect. I could've tried to get the whole mat, rather than cut the top part off, but that would've resulted in more black in the background and the picture already incorporates 'circle' with the middle one in whole.

Google Glassographers...

Here's a funny video about what photography with the new Google Glass would be like.

Yeah... definitely not looking forward to seeing people doing the things in the video, considering that people taking pictures with their iPad really looks odd to say the least. For me, seeing people take pictures with the iPhone doesn't bother me that much, since its size is close to point and shoot cameras. The iPad on the other hand, is not really compact, size-wise.

In terms of purpose, photography shouldn't be the primary reason why a person buys either devices. They just come with a camera feature that can be used... Like I mentioned, the iPhone is at least a reasonable size, but the iPad, is one giant touchscreen with one main button on the bottom. If you want to zoom in or out with an iPhone, it feels a lot easier than holding the iPad in one hand and adjusting the settings with the other.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that the iPad isn't exactly there yet in terms of features for photography. On pretty much all cameras, digital and film, the standard for the shutter release is to be on the right side of the camera. However, the iPad's "shutter release" is smack dab in the bottom center. So unless you have a hand that's big enough to have your thumb reach the middle of the screen while holding the iPad up, it's likely that you'll be balancing the iPad with one hand and hoping that you hit the button when the horizon is actually horizontal.

Although there's a bit of time before Google Glass is released, I hope the features in terms of taking pictures with it are polished, especially since the theme around Google Glass seems to be around connecting and sharing experiences easier, and photography is definitely going to be included in that.

Volcano Photography

This is definitely something I wouldn't think of doing immediately in Hawaii, but maybe something I would like to try one day. Of course this type of photography is a lot more dangerous than taking a picture of a flower, but it has its thrills and beauty nonetheless. :)

Reflections on 2012, Resolutions for 2013

So it's that time of the year to do reflections and resolutions. 2012 has had its shares of ups and downs, and in photography, for me a bit of a down. I know I took up the Project 366 and fell really really behind, along with the weekly assignments and project I had promised myself in keeping up with. As of right now, with graduation so close, I will be putting photography on hold. I know it is just a hobby for me, rather than a profession, but at the same time, constantly thinking about how behind I am in weekly posts and whatnot will hopefully take some stress off my back until May. I will take pictures, but less frequently. :(

Anyways, to end this post on a happier note, SMILE!


Happy 2013!!!

A little early, but...

Here's a cool post by Time Lightbox of everyday this year in silhouettes.
My top three favorites were:
January 16, Auguest 23, and November 14

How Many Photos?

Here's a video I found... only the first half is "relevant". (It kinda goes off on a tangent -_-)

It's interesting especially considering how photography has evolved to become convenient with camera phones and other devices.

And so the storm hits...

Here are some shots of the super storm that is hitting the East Coast right now. Prayers and wishes to those people affected by the storm.

Light Painting

Here's a cool light painting video a couple of guys put together. It's definitely something I've been wanting to photograph for a long time! XD Hopefully I can try some out soon!

Japan Day 4: Day of Rest

After walking so much in the past few days, I figured it was best to take it "easy", especially with the heat/humidity. I did go shopping (again) though. :P

Project 366: 7/9/12

Japan Day 3: Being Touristy in Nagoya

I used to visit Japan with my family almost every year when I was little, but we never did much touristy stuff here in Nagoya, so I wanted to see some of the sights during my stay. My grandma wanted to come along for exercise... which we got plenty of. To sum up our trip, we went to Atsuda Shrine, Nagoya Castle, and Takashimaya building that is connected to Nagoya Station.

Project 366: 7/8/12

Japan Day 2: Shopping!

Jet-lag is probably the best thing that has happened to me in a while, considering that I can barely wake up before noon while at home. I woke up at 4:30 am... :P

Anyways, my grandma and I cleaned the family graves in the morning and in the afternoon, went shopping. I can't recall when I last got really tired from shopping so much. XD

I didn't take my camera with me while shopping, but this is a door at my grandma's place that I always loved. Good enough of an excuse to take pictures. Hehe.

Project 366: 7/7/12

Japan Day 1: Hello Humidity

My excitement for setting foot off the plane was soon reversed into sweat and tiredness by the heat. Oh and to top it all off, it's rainy season here... Funny how I was warned about this, yet never did I imagine it to be this bad. Who turned on the heater in the middle of summer?!?!??!?! =____=

The family grave is really close to my grandma's house, I decided I should pay my respects. It's been 6 years since I was last in Japan.