My apologies...

When I started this blog, I wanted it so that it would have some quality work. So I'd like to take this time and apologize for not uploading any quality work! So here's one!

Canon A-1 / nFD 24mm f/2.8 / Portra 100UC

I took this when I was in SOHO, NYC, walking around with no specific plan or destination. I was new to (still am) candid photography and was hesitating whether to take this shot or not. I walked past them for about half a block, stopped, came back, sat on one knee and took this shot.

The man sleeping was obviously unaware of me taking the photo, and the boy just looked at me snap away. For those of who are not familiar with candid photography, it is perfectly legal!

Can someone come with a nice title for this picture?

Dick's!

After the shooting at Kerry Park, my cousin and I spotted Dick's Hamburger! Now, I've heard from a lot people saying that Dick's hamburgers were the best, but I've never tried their food so we went in.

Canon EOS 30D / EF 17-40L

So you may ask, "What's so special about Dick's?" It is the fact that they use exclusively local goods and that everything is freshly delivered. So nothing is processed.

I went ahead and ordered Dick's Deluxe with condiments (five cents each!) and a strawberry milkshake.

I know, it is far from gourmet.

Off I go, pouring all of the condiments (Including tartar sauce) into the burger, I took a bite. It was pretty good, but not good as expected. That thought changed when I took a sip of the $1.90 milkshake!

My cousin, Sam, biting away!

Man, the milkshake...

Kerry Park!

If you've ever seen a postcard portraying the cityscape of Seattle, you probably saw a picture shot at Kerry Park, located on top of Queen Anne neighborhood.


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June 7th, 2009 is one of few days that the full moon would pass through the heart of the city. It is also the day that the park's view gets covered by local photographers' backs.

Equipmentfest!

Canon EOS 30D / EF 50mm f/1.4

Sunset was at 9:05pm and moonrise 9:41pm. It wasn't the best day to shoot the skyline, since the clouds were blanketing the city.

@8:48pm

Let's take a break here while we wait for the moon to rise and take a brief history lesson about the Space Needle: the symbol of Seattle. The structure seems as though a flying saucer landed on a set of pods with a transport to the ground. Not so surprisingly, that was the intent of the artist Edward E. Carlson.

The original sketch by Edward E. Carlson. (Photo courtesy of HistoryLink.org)

Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair or Centry 21 (the theme of the fair). Inspired by the Stuttgart Tower in Germany, Edward E. Carlson started various sketches and designs for the new tower. The design of a flying saucer itself came from John Graham and his team of architects.

Seattle World's Fair Preview feauturing the now outdated monorail. (Photo courtesy of HistoryLink.org)

The construction began with a foundation of 30' x 120' filled with 467 truckload of cement. The 605 feet tall structure has a top house that contains a revolving restaurant (1 revolution per hour) and an observation deck with an elevator that travels "as fast as a raindrop falls to Earth". It cost just $4.5 million and was completed in December, 1961 just four months before the opening day of the World's Fair, April 21, 1962. It was the tallest building west of the Mississipi river when it was completed.

The Space Needle construction in progress. (Photo courtesy of HistoryLink.org)

@9:05pm

The weird, curvy metal building on the bottom-left is Experience Music Project (EMP) designed by the renowned architect Frank Ghery who also designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, Weisman Art Museum inMinneapolis Dancing House in Prague, Czech Republic and the MARTa Museum inHerford, Germany.

@9:16pm

To the behind and right of the Space Needle is Seattle's tallest building: Columbia Center (Formerly the Bank of America Tower) is 967 feet. Yes, Space Needle isn't the tallest building in Seattle.

@9:28pm

@9:33pm

So not exactly the ideal day of shooting the cityscape with the moon in it, but I did get to see it rise over the city. It sure was an amazing experience.

HBW!

What's a summer without an ice cold beer? Honey Moon with a slice of orange: 'nuff said.

Honey Moon in a mason jar with a slice of Navel orange.

Shooting info: Canon EOS 30D / EF 50mm f/1.4 / Speedlite 580EX II bounced on camera left.

Olympus E-P1!

Olympus had been big on producing half-frame cameras back in the 60's when color film cost an arm and a leg. The same concept and design has followed through 50 years later in 2009: the digital PEN. As a proud owner of the PEN-EE2 produced in 1968, I am drooling over this new digital counterpart.

Olympus PEN-EE2

The new Olympus E-P1 (Photo courtesy of dpreview.com)

A beautiful camera with beautiful leatherette accessories. It sure is something that would attract millions of consumer and professional photographers alike. With its ready-to-go 17mm pancake lens and optional optical viewfinder, the E-P1 is something that I would take everywhere when my "Canon" isn't helping me much with the weight. It is scheduled to be in stores July, 2009.

Thai 65!

If you are a student of University of Washington and you want some cheap Thai food that comes out blazingly fast, it's gotta be Thai 65.

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Good for a quick eat between classes!

This place is not for food connoisseurs, but for hungry students who would prefer quantity of quality! The taste isn't extraordinary (I've certainly had extremely good Thai food), but for how much you pay, I ain't complain'.

Pad Thai!

The noodles were consistent and chewy! I love bean sprouts, adds a nice and crunchy texture to the dish.

Rama Noodles!

The peanut sauce was too bland and not so flavorful, but it was a perfect complement to the Pad Thai. These are the classic dishes, although I am set out to explore other items on their menu. Only if Ann Arbor had a place like this.

Midnight madness!

When I got here in the States in 1999, this dark-complexioned nerdy looking guy approached me at church and said "Hi, I'm David". The same guy is my best friend, even after a decade had passed.

Like we do every summer, I went over to David's at around midnight.

Canon EOS 30D / 17-40L / Speedlite 580EXII

We had Blue Moons in a jar with some fresh organic oranges. We were craving for some food, and that's when David brought up the idea of having a barbecue! We went over to QFC, got a couple slabs of steak and a six-pack of Jamaican Lager Red Stripe.

My servant David cleaning the grill

Still cleanin'

"The grill's ready sir"

The clock's hitting 2am and we are finally ready to grill some steak!

"I'm burning up baby, I'm burning up"

Yes, big bang is back!

WTF?

David's cute ass Beagle Passion

We like it medium rare, so the wait wasn't terribly long.

Can you say tender?

We grilled another couple of slabs. We ended up getting a bad stomachache, but it was definitely worth it. We're doing this again for sure.