Month: October 2012

Random Flickr photo of the day – October 9, 2012

I actually didn’t shoot this.  My friend shot this, and this image is highly edited.  This was during possibly the greatest vacation I ever took.  End of summer 2009, I went to the Pacific Northwest for a few days for fun and relaxation.  It was all of that and then some.  Just travelling without and stress is a worth ten times more than the cost of the trip itself.

My friend showed me around the Seattle area, and we took a drive down to  Portland, Oregon for the day.  On the drive back, we elected to drive towards the Pacific Coast Highway, to stop by the Pacific Ocean.  We got there a few minutes before the sun started to set.  I took a few shots of my own of the sun set, and little did I know my friend was taking photos of me taking photos of the scenery.  I turned around and saw her, so I decided to take a pic of her also, and this was that photo.  I ended up messing around wit it a bit in photoshop, and I made it look like i was shooting the sunset instead of me taking a picture of her.

Shooting the sun

Photo by Kat Sezto – Post processing by Jean-Paul de Guzman
Nikon D90
1/250
f/14.0
52 mm
ISO 200

And for comparisons sake, here is the original image, straight RAW conversion to JPG.

Random Flickr photo of the day – October 8, 2012

Capping off our epic dinner at Morimoto’s was this epic dessert. At the time I was already in a food coma-bliss, and I honestly don’t remember the details of this delicious delicacy aside from the fact that it is epic.

Apple Miso


Nikon D700
Nikkor 24mm
1/40
f/4.0
24 mm
ISO 560

Random Flickr photo of the day – October 7, 2012

One of  my fave shots during the ‘Where is Garfield Now’ era, or WIGN for short.  I just did some play with some lights, and made one of my Alien toys, stalking Garfield.

I really ought to bring back a similar series. The original Pez dispenser is all beat up, so I should pick up another similar one.

WIGN - Day 178

Camera Pentax K20D
Pentax K20D
Pentax DA* 16-50mm
1/80
f/4.5
36 mm
ISO 800

Earworm: “Bye Bye Bye” by ‘N Sync

Oh lord, does this song bring back memories. Back when boy bands were the ish.

‘N Sync and The Backstreet Boys and and Britney Spears ruled pop radio back then.

It came on the radio today in the car, and I was so pumped to hear the song again. It’s been stuck in my head all day. “EARWORM?! Hell yes,” I thought immediately.

I remember when I watched the music video for this song when I was a kid and just felt like running around my house like a maniac. I would dance for hours to this song.

There’s not much to say about this incredible pop hit besides that it is on my list of Top 10 Favorite Songs.

Random Flickr photo of the day – October 6, 2012

Shot during my first month of owning the D700, and well, at a time where my hours were cut to 4 day’s every other week , hence giving me the opportunity to go out and shoot. I mostly ended up NY’s Central Park.

This particular one, I happen to catch a man preparing to play his portable piano.  It wasn’t a keyboard, bit it was some sort of piano.  I thought it would be a great shot to catch his silhouette, and use the rest of the park outside the arches as the backdrop.  I don’t know, maybe now I might do it a little different.

Piano man

Nikon D700
Nikkor 24mm
1/320
f/8.0
24 mm
ISO 400

A First Impression of: Resident Evil 6. Excited to let all hell break loose.

I think that first phrase just sums in all up.

The Big Cheese and I have been wasting away our weekends playing ridiculously fun yet extremely frustrating video games on our PS3’s.

One of our favorite games of the past year or so has been Resident Evil 5. We have literally played that game to death. But that didn’t stifle our fun. We kept playing it up until The Big Cheese broke his arm (and that’s a story for another day).

After the summer long hiatus and an uneventful waiting period, it finally released. Resident Evil 6.

Upon first glance, the third-person shooter doesn’t seem all that different from the older RE games. HOWEVER. Before actually jumping into the full game experience, Capcom was generous enough to throw in a mandatory tutorial. This 20-30 minute long prelude to the actual campaign starts with Leon Kennedy and Helena Harper. You play as Leon, learning the controls and mannerisms of the game.

I just have to say. The graphics? Beautiful. The game actually tells you to put the brightness down as low as possible (so that a grey six on the screen is barely visible). It really looks like a movie. The graphics are a sight to behold (even on my standard-def tube TV box), but of course, as any gamer should know, graphics aren’t everything. The sound is well done, too, by the way. Very detailed and crisp.

The controls are very different from the standard shooter, and will most likely be a difficult adjustment for a person that has solely been playing  Call of Duty lately, such as I.

You can play through the campaign as one of three characters, each with a different story line: Chris Redfield, Jake Muller, and the aforementioned Leon S. Kennedy.

I’m really hoping for a great experience with this game, as chilling as it may be.

Many storylines= much fun.

Earworm: “Arms” – Christina Perri

This song I’ve always liked, but I never really paid attention to it until my boss kept asking who sings it.  Finally, sometime earlier this week, he told us why this song was in his mind, one of his daughters had a dance recital, and they used this song.  He said it was quite powerful, and these are 9 year olds  that were doing it.  Finally, got a hold of the song, and we played it at work, and I was able to listen to it in depth.

It is quite powerful, I love how it starts off all mellow, with a simple guitar strumming, then slowly an instrument gets added as the song progresses and suddenly the drum’s drop, and it’s just a great build up, and I actually felt my spine tingling.  The video itself is quite entertaining, and very true to the song.  I’ve felt like this at time, and, well, just enjoy it.

 

Random Flickr photo of the day – October 5, 2012

Main St. USA – Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World.

I shot this during my friends 2nd shot at running the WDW Marathon. That year, he did the Goofy Challenge. Half

Marathon on day 1, and a Full Marathon on Day 2. Physically taxing, yes, but super motivational, and definitely a feat to feel good about once completed. One of the advantages of being a spectator and a photographer to boot, is the uninterrupted chances of taking long exposures such as this, with out being bumped or someone walking in front your shot. Again the K20D’s in body Shake Reduction system shines, and coupled with a very wide angle lens, a slower shutter speed can be used without the need for a tri-pod.

Main St. USA - Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World


Pentax K20D
Pentax DA* 16-55mm
1/20
f/2.8
16 mm
ISO 1600

Earworm: “Canned Heat” – Jamiroquai

For some reason this song has been stuck in my head for a few days.  I recently heard it on Sirius XM, and it sort of brought me back to one of my favorite movies of all time, Napoleon Dynamite. Jon Heder doing that dance to this song is just EPIC.  JayKay also happens to be a big gear head and has made multiple appearances on one of my favorite TV shows of all time, Top Gear.

Anyway, the song is way trippy, as is the video.  It’s just a joy to listen to, puts you in a sort of feel good mood.  I don’t know, i’ve listened to it a few times over the past few days and it has made me feel a bit better.

 

And as an extra, Jon Heder’s EPIC performance from Napoleon Dynamite.

 

 

Random Flickr photo of the Day – October 3, 2012

My then usual nightly beverage, well it still is technically, but now instead of a Venti, it’s a Trenta. What is it?
it’s a passion Iced tea, no water, light on the ice, 2 equals. My home Starbucks, in Branchburg, NJ is the only place that gets it right, well, most of the barista’s get the mix right, although now, some have moved on, the newer ones still haven’t quite got the mixture right.

This drink I order from here exclusively, as they are the only ones to get it right.

My usual

Pentax K20D
Pentax M50
0.5 sec.
f/1.8
50 mm
ISO 200