tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9362682900598128282024-03-13T22:26:31.664-07:00The WaffleblogMy life. My stuff. My Reviews.rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-83894472026996067002011-02-28T00:47:00.000-08:002011-02-28T00:57:33.361-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 18<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/irwaffles/5440960328/" title="Mike by irwaffles, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/5440960328_edb97baf7f_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Mike" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Day 18: Mike</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Was trying to take my own passport/visa pictures at home (in preparation of my trip to Burma!!!), and my friend Mikey was over so I had him stand at different areas of my house to see how the pictures would come out. I deleted all of them per his request afterwards but I couldn't find it in myself to delete this one, I don't know why I just like this picture haha. Well, I told him and ended up sending the picture to him and he was cool with it, so that was my shot for day 18...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Thanks to Mike for helping me out that day!<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-88281065059327805052011-02-28T00:36:00.001-08:002011-02-28T00:42:29.377-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 17<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/irwaffles/5435841726/" title="IMG_3193 by irwaffles, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5015/5435841726_65b432a96f_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_3193" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Day 17: My Mama Yvette :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Taken at a small little breakfast/burger joint where drunk people go after hours in an attempt to sober up. All the lights in the place were red, so you know what that means... vintage edit! Haha, I have two portraits of her from that night, but I like this one more because it's unposed. I just waited for the moment and struck :) Too bad she's not a fan of this one, but this is my blog, so this is the one that goes up!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Thanks to Mama Yvette for letting me take pictures of you even though you're sensitive about what pictures of you go public :)</div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-22963756040364423232011-02-28T00:15:00.000-08:002011-02-28T00:18:36.463-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 16<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/irwaffles/5406247426/" title="IMG_2793 by irwaffles, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5016/5406247426_1e7b44e881.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_2793" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Day 16: Lights, Camera, Hyphy!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A day with my cousins for Lunar New Year. We all went to Dave & Busters down in San Jose, and at the end of the night our accumulated tickets allowed us to each have a fun (stupid, really) light up ring. Since I had my camera with me I came up with the idea to start playing with the rings, and it led to a whole set of these pictures, with this one being my favorite of the bunch. Low ISO, low aperture and long exposure to get the effect.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Thanks to my cousins for a fun filled evening and changing my opinion on getting these rings!</div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-73880499215258116702011-02-28T00:03:00.000-08:002011-02-28T00:09:34.481-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 15<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/irwaffles/5403320201/" title="IMG_2444 by irwaffles, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5171/5403320201_0c8402602c_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2444" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Day 15: Family Dinner</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Went out as a family in celebration of my Uncle's birthday. Some thai place out in Fremont. Food was ok. I decided to bring my camera along since I hardly have any pictures of my immediately family (those who live in my house counts!). None of them wanted pictures of them taken, so it was quite frustrating. I remember as a child (when i hated pictures) going on vacation with my family and <i>hating</i> sightseeing because we literally had to stop every 5 minutes to take pictures. Now that it's my turn I hate that they won't let me take decent pictures of them. Oh how karma works, right? Meh, still got off a lot of candids, and this was my favorite of the bunch. No edits, just straight from the glass.</div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-46272684960496092982011-02-27T23:57:00.000-08:002011-02-28T00:02:06.723-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 14<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/irwaffles/5398868827/" title="IMG_2414 by irwaffles, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5056/5398868827_8a50ff4091.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_2414" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"></div></center><div style="text-align: center;">Day 14: Smile!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Forgetting the dates now that I'm so behind! Oh well, this was from a tiny set, I shot a bunch of us getting together before going out. This is my friend Maggie, who refused to look at the camera the whole night. I was able to sneak in a couple of shots, and this was my favorite of them. I know she thinks it looks awkward and horrendous, and while I won't say it's horrendous I will say that I like the kind of awkward feeling I got from this shot. fyi she looks much better when she actually wants a picture of her taken :) Played around and edited using the toy camera setting in Aperture.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Thanks to Maggie for "participating" in the shot!</div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-89894805790846274852011-02-27T22:52:00.000-08:002011-02-27T22:54:16.589-08:00365 Project FailMan it's been awhile since I've posted. But, luckily for me I'm still shooting, so I'll just post a whole mess of pictures as entries. I already said from Day 1 I'm going to have trouble keeping up, but it's better that I keep at it then drop out during<i> February</i>...rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-81852008667712053292011-01-27T22:40:00.001-08:002011-01-27T22:50:25.160-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 13<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUJlEdGJacI/AAAAAAAAAIM/RtjexnBHonw/s1600/IMG_2238.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUJlEdGJacI/AAAAAAAAAIM/RtjexnBHonw/s320/IMG_2238.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567123216587647426" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Day 13 (1/27/11): Just Outside</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll take a break from people pictures for today. Snapped this while I was waiting for my friend Mike to come pick me up. My neighbors house across the street from me. Used my 30mm lens so things were a little tight (mainly me not being able to get the entire tree in the shot). I could've gotten closer but I didn't want to look like some strange pervert pointing a DSLR at my neighbor's home so I stayed on my driveway to take this shot. I love the natural lighting and hope to experiment more with shots taken in broad daylight. Hmmmm, HDR anyone?</div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-59365833031838609792011-01-27T22:22:00.001-08:002011-01-27T22:40:13.349-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 12<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUJhRTqZGvI/AAAAAAAAAIE/40yes1pMWis/s1600/Photo%2Bsession%2Bwith%2Bcousin%2BRachel%2521.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUJhRTqZGvI/AAAAAAAAAIE/40yes1pMWis/s320/Photo%2Bsession%2Bwith%2Bcousin%2BRachel%2521.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567119039347104498" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Day 12 (1/22/11): Photo Session</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Day 3 (and the final day) of Vegas. Haha ever since I saw this hybrid couch/bed in our suite I knew that I wanted to do some sort of "classy" picture with it. It didn't turn out exactly the way I imagined it (I'm not exactly a fan of the way I was posed) but I still like it enough to use it as one of my pictures for the year! Of course a black & white finish was used to make it "classy" haha.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Thanks to Carlo for taking the picture and cousin Rachel for posing with me!</div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-45062982512464373612011-01-27T21:29:00.001-08:002011-01-27T21:53:03.600-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 11<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUJUckbfVtI/AAAAAAAAAH8/euToijVsSc8/s1600/IMG_1752%2B-%2BVersion%2B2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUJUckbfVtI/AAAAAAAAAH8/euToijVsSc8/s320/IMG_1752%2B-%2BVersion%2B2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567104939175401170" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Day 11 (1/21/11): Elabator Picture!!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Day 2 of Las Vegas. Another category where the wide angle fisheye shines - elevator pictures! Taken at the Planet Hollywood Westgate Towers. Usually my friend Cipriano does the elevator pictures but since my DSLR was with me he told me to take the shot as soon as the elevator doors closed. I was in a bit of a shock but acted fast - switched the mode to green box (a.k.a. auto mode) since I knew I wouldn't be able to meter the shot and just fired away until we hit our floor. Of course being me I put a vintage scheme over it! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Thanks to everyone for making the shot as awesome as it was!</div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-9067081897871429692011-01-27T20:12:00.000-08:002011-01-27T21:28:14.792-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 10<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUJC_yq_oaI/AAAAAAAAAH0/01ATfJOFd48/s1600/IMG_1581.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUJC_yq_oaI/AAAAAAAAAH0/01ATfJOFd48/s320/IMG_1581.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567085753084649890" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Day 10 (1/20/11): 30mm Magic!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Day 1 of my trip to Las Vegas gave me a lot of great pictures to work with, but this one truly stuck out for me. Taken with my Sigma 30mm f/1.4. After reading on POTN I realized that a lot of people feel that they receive soft copies of this lens, and it made me hesitant to buy it. I eventually caved in thanks to Amazon's 10% coupon code and after getting this picture I don't care how "soft" my lens is, I'm an official believer of this lens. Very little post processing done because I didn't want to mess with a picture I adored so much, just a little sharpening here and there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Thanks to Christine for making herself so preTTAY for this shot and Cipriano for serving as am awesome background to blur haha.</div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-25206061478963240202011-01-27T18:44:00.000-08:002011-01-27T19:01:12.454-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 9<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUIt-_IbW1I/AAAAAAAAAHs/-lj-3HG1Vzw/s1600/IMG_1245.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TUIt-_IbW1I/AAAAAAAAAHs/-lj-3HG1Vzw/s320/IMG_1245.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567062649505274706" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Day 9 (1/16/11): Whatever This Thing is Called.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am beginning to skip more days haha. For this picture I was just taking random shots at my friend Richard's house when I started to take pictures of his piggy bank (yes that green thing is said piggy bank). The picture turned out pretty cool so I removed some of the little things around it and stacked the books nicely to get a clean shot, and this is what came out. I think my Aperture was too high since the edges are blurry, but I still like this shot and will keep it as one of my 365 photos.</div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-41042561152719590712011-01-14T18:12:00.000-08:002011-01-14T18:21:50.574-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 8<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TTEEoEzEmGI/AAAAAAAAAHY/IdJaZszKjdM/s1600/IMG_1003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TTEEoEzEmGI/AAAAAAAAAHY/IdJaZszKjdM/s320/IMG_1003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562232101308504162" border="0" /></a>Day 8 (1/13/11): Looking On...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I went to the CA Academy of Sciences on the 13th with my friend Diana (shown in the picture). I got a lot of shots that I really liked, but this one struck me for a couple of reasons. This shot was random as I was just testing to see how wide my fisheye lens was, but when I got home and processed it I added a vintage scheme, and upon taking a second look I really liked it. I think I just really like the vintage edit, it makes pictures have a much more deeper and mysterious feel to them than they really do haha.<br /></div></div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-5223325393906548432011-01-14T17:57:00.000-08:002011-01-14T18:20:28.917-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 7<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/irwaffles/5350619586/" title="IMG_0918 by irwaffles, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5281/5350619586_9fcf75a9e6.jpg" alt="IMG_0918" height="333" width="500" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Day 7 (1/12/11): My New Baby<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Didn't get a chance to go out, but I did get this bad boy in the mail today. I'd do a review on it but I don't think I understand enough about photography to have a significant say on the quality of the lens. Still, I can't wait to get out and shoot with this!<br /></div></div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-55261305970502549312011-01-11T17:31:00.001-08:002011-01-11T18:53:48.197-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 6<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TS0EjeibGLI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/lDqq-xKJlac/s1600/IMG_0689.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TS0EjeibGLI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/lDqq-xKJlac/s320/IMG_0689.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561106122411808946" border="0" /></a>Day 6 (1/11/11): Motion Blurred Mints<br /></div><br />Trying my hand at motion blur photography. I really want to get a handle for this technique so that I can start taking pictures of people with it. I managed to get a nice blur but the "motion" in the blur isn't as apparent. Expect (maybe) to see a couple more motion blur shots in the next couple (or even more) days. I sharpened the Andes mints (as my focus needs work) but I left the background alone this time.rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-66793524217620776742011-01-11T17:11:00.000-08:002011-01-11T17:30:02.536-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 5<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TS0CmIOEebI/AAAAAAAAAHI/VUmcgvSB_Bo/s1600/IMG_0530.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TS0CmIOEebI/AAAAAAAAAHI/VUmcgvSB_Bo/s320/IMG_0530.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561103968937212338" border="0" /></a>Day 5 (1/10/11): Merry Christmas?<br /></div><br />Snapped the tree one last time before it's taken down. Yes we still had our Christmas tree up in January, so sue us :) Had to do a lot of sharpening, I guess my f stop was too low (high?).rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-47398260182015204912011-01-10T16:18:00.000-08:002011-01-10T16:27:15.448-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 4<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TSuiAy4q7wI/AAAAAAAAAGg/aZYfHfCOPN8/s1600/HDR_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TSuiAy4q7wI/AAAAAAAAAGg/aZYfHfCOPN8/s320/HDR_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560716299462176514" border="0" /></a>Day 4 (1/9/11): <span style="font-weight: bold;">H</span>yphy in the<span style="font-weight: bold;"> D</span>ark <span style="font-weight: bold;">R</span>onald (First attempt at <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">HDR</span>)<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Went out to the Community Center parking lot to take this picture at night. Set up my tripod to a 10 second timer, took 3 pictures (-2, 0, and +2 exposure) and stacked them all together to get this. Fun, but now I want to take some HDR pictures in the daytime to get more of an HDR effect. Still, this was pretty cool and I look forward to more night time shooting :)<br /><br />*And for those of you in the know, yes, I am wearing my BARF!<br /></div></div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-21532386956901790282011-01-10T16:09:00.001-08:002011-01-10T16:31:59.732-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 3<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TSugCEySFZI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/iPc1Cx7r368/s1600/Serious%2BSarah%2BVintage.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TSugCEySFZI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/iPc1Cx7r368/s320/Serious%2BSarah%2BVintage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560714122423834002" border="0" /></a>Day 3 (1/8/11): Serious Sarah<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Skipped a day. <span style="font-style: italic;">Meh</span>, it was bound to happen! Got this shot inside of a Starbucks while they were waiting for their drinks. Looked amazing on my 3 inch LCD on the camera, but once I uploaded it I noticed that her face was <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">VERY</span> blurry. Still, I loved the shot, so I edited it until I got it to something I liked. I sharpened around the blurs as best I could, blurred out the background as much as I could (to make her face look sharper) and added a "vintage" color scheme over the picture, since vintage pictures have a natural "blur" to them haha. This was the final product, enjoy!<br /><br />Thanks to Sarah for patiently staring at something while I shoot haha.<br /></div></div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-53719641755716696572011-01-10T16:04:00.001-08:002011-01-10T16:08:26.482-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 2<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TSuezB-5-WI/AAAAAAAAAGI/22V9YM4TAxQ/s1600/IMG_1357.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TSuezB-5-WI/AAAAAAAAAGI/22V9YM4TAxQ/s320/IMG_1357.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560712764461807970" border="0" /></a>Day 2 (1/6/11): Photo Bomb<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I set up my new tripod to play around with, and I was focusing on my garbage can. Right before I pressed the shutter button my sister jumps right in front of the camera, giving me this shot. Luckily it was a good one. A little editing to brighten her face, and you have Day 2 of my Photo 365 Project!<br /></div></div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-69419251703884015372011-01-10T15:52:00.000-08:002011-01-10T16:04:16.608-08:00Photo 365 Project: Day 1<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>Yes, I know I didn't start on 1/1/11, and realistically I probably will not have around 365 pictures by the end of 2011, but I'm going to try my best to upload as many as I can. Starting....<span style="font-style: italic;"> now!!!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TSucd6zulII/AAAAAAAAAGA/s8g35HlSZxk/s1600/IMG_0950.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TSucd6zulII/AAAAAAAAAGA/s8g35HlSZxk/s320/IMG_0950.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560710202735367298" border="0" /></a>Day 1 (1/5/11): The Finger<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />The picture is really grainy, but I still like the picture a lot for some reason. My white balance was set to something completely different (I think 'Shade', I forgot to change it since we set foot in the restaurant). As a result a lot of my pictures from that night were way off in color, so I had to edit a lot of them. In addition my shutter speeds were way too slow, or my hands were way too shaky. It was my first night out with my t2i and it should be very fun (or depressing) to look back on this in a year from now :)<br /><br />Thanks to David for giving me a great expression and a really fun shot!<br /></div></div>rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936268290059812828.post-46435106218690220462010-12-31T14:00:00.000-08:002011-01-14T23:25:02.519-08:00Goodbye 2010!2010 was overall a good year. In terms of purchasing power, I've been able to buy a lot more stuff that I've wanted/needed now that I have a steady income. In honor of 2010 as well as to say goodbye to 2010 I'll write about 3 items that stood out to me: The great, the regret and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">meh</span>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Good: Apple <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">iPad</span> (32<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">gb</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">WiFi</span>)</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TR5e0nknROI/AAAAAAAAAFY/SnxIAnK4Q4Q/s1600/steve-jobs-ipad-apple-ap.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TR5e0nknROI/AAAAAAAAAFY/SnxIAnK4Q4Q/s320/steve-jobs-ipad-apple-ap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556983248290530530" border="0" /></a>Without a doubt my favorite purchase this year would have to be the Apple <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">iPad</span>. I got the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">WiFi</span> version because I just don't have a need for 3G at the moment. I have 3G on my phone, I can tether (via jailbreak) and in all honesty this device is not always with me.<br /><br />Still, I've been able to do a lot of things with it that I normally wouldn't be able to on an iPhone or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">iPod</span> touch. Taking notes in class (for the short time that I did before I just started skipping <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Microbio</span>), drawing (Sketchbook Pro is hands down <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">mvp</span> app for me this year) and reading (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">iBooks</span> has revived the reader in me) to name a few. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Hulu</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Netflix</span> while in bed is also a great feature that I've gotten to use quite often.<br /><br />It is definitely NOT a computer replacement, but those seeking a secondary device would not be disappointed with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">iPad</span>. I've convinced some of my friends to get one, and they love it as well. If I could do 2010 over again I would not hesitate to buy the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">iPad</span> once again. It is by far my favorite purchase of 2010. At $599 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">MSRP</span> for the 32<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">gb</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">WiFi</span> I would not consider it a bargain, but from the use I got out of it, it was an investment that was worth every penny. I eagerly await the arrival of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">iPad</span> 2 this coming February.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Regret: Canon Rebel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">xTi</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">DSLR</span> + 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Kit Lens</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TR5gfwaN4-I/AAAAAAAAAFw/G5XLiMEEn6M/s1600/457506.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TR5gfwaN4-I/AAAAAAAAAFw/G5XLiMEEn6M/s320/457506.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556985088908846050" border="0" /></a>Photography is a fun little hobby that I've been interested in for quite some time now. So to jump into the world of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">DSLR's</span> I purchased this camera in the summer for my sister and I to share (since she's also interested in becoming a so called '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">photog</span>'), I bought it used off my cousin (body only) and went on to buy the most popular starting lens, the 18-55mm Kit Lens, which comes standard with entry level Canon <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">DSLR's</span>. Initially I wanted 'the most basic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">DSLR</span> set up' and that's <span style="font-style: italic;">exactly</span> what I got. Almost nothing more.<br /><br />All my friends and family members with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">DSLR's</span> had more advance set ups. Better bodies, better lenses. Naturally I was jealous and felt like a complete <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">noob</span> in their presence, but of course, it's ultimately the person that will make the picture and not the gear, so I kept with my basic and started practicing. Now that I'm a little better I feel that my lens right now is too restricting, and I feel that I'm ready for an upgrade, both body and lens. I've ordered a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens (yes, still considered a newbie lens) and I'm still debating between a 35mm, 85mm or a 10mm <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">fisheye</span>. I also ordered a Canon t2i from Best Buy and I'm waiting for it in the mail (2 year free financing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">FTW</span>!).<br /><br />Not a huge regret, but a regret nonetheless. I wish I just shelled out the extra money (hell, I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">could've</span> financed a t2i back in the summer just like I'm doing now!) and just went straight to the t2i, which is still considered an entry level <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">DSLR</span>. Now for me the price of upgrading is not only the cost of the t2i but also going through the trouble of selling off my current <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">DSLR</span>. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">xTi</span> uses CF as opposed to SD memory, and I had to invest in those as well, so it's just a bit frustrating when I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">should've</span> just went straight to a camera that I'd be happier with for longer.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">meh</span>": <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">KOR</span> One Hydration Vessel</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TR5gnLcdW_I/AAAAAAAAAF4/qMw-OeC9B_I/s1600/kor-one.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EPxOzZCgqr0/TR5gnLcdW_I/AAAAAAAAAF4/qMw-OeC9B_I/s320/kor-one.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556985216425090034" border="0" /></a><br />Ever since before 2010 I've wanted a glass <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Voss</span> water bottle. I thought they were really cool looking and I wanted one for myself. When i finally got one, I realized how big and heavy they were (not to mention they were glass, smashing things in my backpack!). The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">KOR</span> One Hydration Vessel was the ideal replacement for me. Initially it was everything I wanted in a water bottle: easy to use, easy to clean, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">BPA</span> free and unique/stood out. When I got this in the mail I was surprised to see that it was just as big as the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Voss</span> water bottle, but it was much lighter and efficient to use, so I put up with it.<br /><br />Now they (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">KOR</span>) came out with a newer design called the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Kor</span> Delta. The Delta comes in two sizes, a small and a large (the large being equally big as the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Kor</span> One). Great, maybe I should have just waited.<br /><br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">Kor</span> One is real eye catcher and a very well thought out water bottle overall, but at $29.99 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">MSRP</span> (plus tax and plus shipping if you order online) steered a lot of people away. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">KOR</span> Delta (the small one at least) retails at $22.99, which is a much more reasonable price seeing as how most 'nice' water bottles are in the $20 range anyways. But since I was a registered member of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">KOR</span> I got a 35% coupon code one day and decided to buy a Delta anyways. So now I have a big <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">Kor</span> water bottle that probably will not see use outside of the house.<br /><br />I don't necessarily regret this purchase as the water bottle promoted a healthier lifestyle in me. I was drinking more water, and ever since I bought this water bottle I have not bought bottled water, so I am heavily reducing my carbon footprint. Therefore, I'll just leave this purchase as a "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">meh</span>", <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">haha</span>.<br /><br />---<br /><br />So that's it for this post. I plan to use this blog mostly to talk about and review things that I bought/want to buy. I'm trying to write less in my blogs because I know people don't like to read huge walls of texts (and I tend to overwrite). I know I didn't do such a great job with this post but I hope to keep it brief enough to warrant your guys' attention in the future.<br /><br />Happy New Year everyone! Have fun and be safe! See you guys next year!!!rctan9http://www.blogger.com/profile/15260456539207420903noreply@blogger.com0