Log(pye)

Christmas.  I ended up going to work through the holidays this year.  Thinking back, it was much more relaxing last year working from home because no one could phyiscally get to work because of the snow storm.  And it was more “normal” to have had a white Christmas last year whereas this year, when we drove out on Christmas day, the sky was grey, the grass was brown and the air was damp.  Odd indeed.  Nothing too Christmassy this year – just some simple presents and some shopping and heading to Bellevue Square a lot to watch the variety of parades going on there.  Standing out in the cold to take photos is really an experience.

Re-watched Pi this week.  Although it was the second time I got around to watching it, it was no easier to understand.  I paid attention this time, and I think I only grazed the very blatent messages that were presented.  I felt that I had missed a lot after reading the expansive reviews that seemingly have changed the thought process of a select few.  Regardless, it felt like it was a decent movie, with certain parts dragged out a little too long, but the theme in my mind at least, was that the protagonist was just too obsessed with his work.  In contrast, I liked Requiem for a Dream much more.  Same director, and it was interesting to see the similarities of how the end product resulted. On an interesting note, looking on IMDb, I was surprised to see that Darren Aronofsky, the director for these two movies, also directed The Wrestler. I’ve been meeting to see it, but now there’s more push to do it. I wonder what differences there’ll be between his low budget works and a larger budget, more mainstream flick…

Pictures say a thousand words, so I’ll let them do the talking!

..eyp;Here’s to a happy 2010!

So thanks to a co-worker who was kind enough to lend me his copy of the Canon 35mm f/2 prime, I was able to test drive the lens for an entire weekend! Funny thing during the weekend was that the Seattle weather actually co-operated! We got a mix of cold, rain, damp, sun and dry… Pretty much, I got to test the lens out in every such scenario in my day-to-day life, except compacted into one weekend!

I took the opportunity to go test out the 20mm f/2.8 and 24mm f/2.8 at Glazers, side-by-side with the 35mm f/2. I was surprised at how soft the 20mm and 24mm both were in the center wide-open. Conversely, the 35mm wide open was noticibly sharper. Stopped down the 20mm and 24mm needed to be at f/4.0 or smaller to actually be sharp enough for my tastes. I think after seeing what my alternatives for a wide-angle prime were, without going to the heavy and pricey, L-series route, I’m convinced that the 35mm f/2 is a good compromise on price, quality, weight and utility. I’ve had the 50mm prime on the camera since I returned the 35mm, and the 50mm sometimes feels cramped. I’m still debating whether I should invest money to get the 50mm f/1.4 given that the f/1.8 I have now may not see too much use once I get the 35mm f/2.

Oh well, here’s the weekend in recap…

..eyp; more about Christmas day later!

Since Wednesday when I got my new toy, my very own full-frame Canon 5d mark II, I’ve been non-stop behind the camera testing out its possibilities.  I’m certain that I’ve only unmasked a small set of the features, but so far it’s been a blast!

I finally brought out my Canon 50mm f/1.8 II lens from the camera bag and slapped it onto the full-frame.  Boy, was I surprised at how much more usable 50mm is on a full-frame as opposed to on my old crop sensor!  With my 50mm f/1.8 in hand, I went around and did a bunch of test shots and obviously, the cats couldn’t get away from me!  I took some of Luca and processed them in Adobe Lightroom 3 beta (buggy as hell, but usable)… I’ve included them below.  The camera is SHARP, the images were awesome!

This weekend was all about more testing, and once I get those images off the camera and reviewed, I’ll post more…

..eyp; a weekend of shooting!

I find it appropriate to kick start my memories where they left off a year ago. Funny thing that the last thing I posted was the annual STAR 101.5 Dachshund race at Emerald Downs. Funny, because I attended again this year, on August 14, 2009. Not much changed, dogs still ran in random directions, I had my camera in hand, the food was still terrible… Though this year, Sam was with me to watch these four (albeit short) legged friends race their way to fame!

Fast forward a year and Lightroom 3 has already made its way to Beta. Well, here’s a snapshot of the night, post-processed in LR3 for your enjoyment.

After we left, we made the long drive to Wenatchee, WA where we spent the weekend with good company, just hanging around and playing poker into the night, and learning to wakeboard during the day.  I’m sad to admit, but age is catching up with all of us; our ambitious plan to do some canoeing or kayaking was quickly abandoned Saturday night at dinner, when we came to the realization that a day of wakeboarding was already too much.  Pictures of that trip to come, if I find anything nice.  I don’t remember taking the time to take pictures, it was definitely the friends on that trip that made it memorable.

..eyp; wonder what I’ll be doing on August 14, 2010… Dachsund races again?!

So after a long 16 months, with nothing much to show for, I’ve decided that it’s time to bring back alive, what was “just” an aimless collection of words.  Not only have I felt a vast decrease in my literary abilities, but more so, I felt it a waste, to have the last 16 months of my life fall into the void.  I’ll try to reconstruct my memories, feelings, and experiences from whatever photos I have during the time, but alas, 16 months, a long 480 days, is just an insurmountable time to recall the highs and the lows…

With that, I mark today as the new beginning of my journal.  A memoir of life’s journeys.

..eyp; to a new tomorrow.