Monthly Archives: November 2007

Colder

★ Posted on at 12:28 pm ★

I find that I have adjusted better to a cold transition this time than I have in previous years. Having spent so many years in Melbourne, one would think that they are more prepared to deal with the cold. Heh, I’m always stuck in short pants and t-shirts until one day it hits me that I need to be wearing additional layers to keep warm.

Being alone in NYC, I guess it didn’t take me too long to break out of habit and know that the weather was changing and turning cooler. Keeping warm requires one to eat a little more so that there’s extra energy to burn to keep the body warm, so dieting in winter is completely wrong! I’m still wary of what winter will bring, but I’m sure I will figure it out sooner than later. Being on your own means you have to be nimble and adapt quickly.

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Heh, just taking things on a day by day basis. Life is strange when there are too many variables affecting it all at one go. I know it can feel daunting and distressing at times. It’s like a current in the sea that drags you in whatever direction it’s going. The only thing I can do is to not fight the wave and nudge myself along the path it’s taking me. Once you see an opening, maybe you can hop off and continue on your own way. I guess in life, with most things, your mileage may vary.

Burst of Colour

★ Posted on at 10:26 am ★

There’s this thrill with autumn. The weather is cooler and some may find it too cold, but I find it just nice for excursions outdoors at the moment. Today I brought my camera out and while I only managed about a little under a hundred photos, There were around 15 or so I liked, which is a big improvement from what I used to take. Photo excursions now are a little more planned, as I prefer to shoot a few hours after noon, or a couple before sunset, when the sun does not cast long, distracting shadows, and the light gives the pictures a warmer feel.

I find myself frequently going back to Central Park, and eventhough I’ve been there a few times, I haven’t seen everything it has on offer! Today was the New York Marathon, and if I’m not mistaken, it should havee been 26 miles. I bumped into it while I was travelling along the east side of Central Park. Heh, weaved in and out of the park while seeing the runners still making their way to the finishing line. I’m impressed with anyone who has the stamina to run 42km, even if they take 6 hours to do it.

3milestogo

Heh, the picture pretty much sums it up. I remember when I did the Run 4 the Kids in April the markers just egged me on bit by bit and by 10km, I was already ready to crumple to the ground. Again, how do people run 42km?

I myself ended up walking the whole length of the eastern edge of Central Park, all the way from 110th St to 59th St, and this does not include all the little turns I made weaving in and out of Central Park. Legs are aching now, but only from the lack of exercise on my part.

Bumped into another photographer as I entered the Conservatory Garden (photos in the photography section later on). Heh, she was taking photos of flowers and asked if I saw any butterflies. I said no, not like I’d know and she said she saw many of them a few days ago (dang! I’d have liked to photograph butterflies) and I hypothesised that it was much warmer then. That is probably true as I saw only bees humming around. Apparently humming birds pop by occasionally as well.

There will be photos over the next few days from this day out. Heh, something leftover from the Halloween celebrations

happyhalloween

Light Manipulation

★ Posted on at 12:19 pm ★

Today marks the end of my photography class. Missed one lesson on Halloween due to me wanting to see the parade. Heh, overall, I think it was money well spent. What was valuable to me was that the teacher pointed me in the right direction of where I should be looking, and it helped me to figure out the rest.

To a certain degree, I’m more comfortable with my D70 now than I ever was. At least I know that when I point and shoot something now, I’m aware of the settings the camera are shooting at and I know roughly what I want to get out of the image. I am also getting a more accurate exposure reading from the manual process of spot metering or just exposure compensation when I’m lazy. Heh, it’s like cooking, I know my picture won’t be half baked if I am putting in enough effort to get the image I want.

Heh, spending less time post processing images. No need to crop as much, or to adjust to get slightly richer colours (proper exposure helps a bit). These days, I can also spot a scene more easily and know that it would make a nice image in the camera.

I have learnt quite a bit on taking pictures, and am always humbled when looking at professionals do their job, especially wedding photographers when they capture the moment. To me, it’s no longer about the equipment, whether you shoot Nikon or Canon or what lenses you use. Sure, professional equipment helps, but it only speeds up things for event photography. It adds value when you need to focus in low light, or to get that creamy out of focus bokeh, . If you had time to fiddle around, any basic DSLR or even a point and shoot can get you great photos. In the end, it also depends on the final audience of the image and the medium it’s presented in. If you are doing web photos, or just making 4 x 6″ prints, you can get away with the imperfections of your imaging equipment (like sensor noise or less than tack sharp lenses). If you are doing more professional work, you can go the whole nine yards with monitor calibration, printer calibration, the kind of image converter for your files etc.

Still have a long way to go with learning, but I’m interested enough to keep going at it.

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The temperature felt like it plummeted 10 degrees overnight. It’s around 10 degrees Celsius in NY now. Heh, I can only imagine it will get lower and so far keeping warm enough with the clothing I have. My Melbourne gear keeps me warm up to around zero I suppose, so if it gets any cooler, I will have to get slightly thicker and warmer wear. I’m not even sure how I will deal with snow as a daily occurrence. Heh, never experienced it at sea level before, so this will be interesting for me, whether I will welcome the experience or not.