Screen Print

Japan's beautifully arranged gardens in the fall are easy pictures to take. This shot is a favorite of mine. Seeing the garden through the bamboo screen makes it look as though it is a picture of a garden on a screen.

Sailing

Taking pictures on a sailboat is great. You get to view San Francisco from a totally different perspective. I like the colors in the is picture - even though they are a similar blue and grey mix, those are my favorite colors. I also like the how the sailboat and the Transamerica building both have matching shapes.

Ryokan Zen

It is hard to take a bad picture in Japan. They have such an interesting mix of dense urban environments with beautiful nature interspersed. This was taken at a ryokan in Kyoto. The inn is designed so that each room has a private view of the garden.

What a House!

When my wife and I visited Brazil, we were invited to stay at the house that a cousin's husband grew up in. I couldn't believe it when I saw this place; it is just beautiful - wood inlays, interesting architecture (it is supposed to resemble a hang glider), large glass windows. And the hospitality of the family was amazing. They welcomed us into their family. But as for this picture, I was having trouble capturing the beauty of the place. The overhanging roof and patio caused shadows that showed up black in the pictures. The sky was too bright. So I used HDR to make the sky more dramatic and also include detail for the shadow areas.

Blinds

This shot was taken at dusk. The sunset is being reflected from a window with blinds behind it, which I think is a cool effect. The blinds make the color gradient from the sunset look posterized.

Late Night Conversation

I was in a bar and saw these two chatting. The situation is typical Japanese; two salarymen drinking in an empty bar after work. I snuck the shot without them noticing (or at least without them acknowledging me.) I hope to take more shots like this in Thailand.

Birds on a Line

Here's another puddle reflection shot. I really like these type of shots because they look like a double exposure - you can see a little below the puddle to the metal cover and the gravel. The asphalt also works as a frame. Finally, I think that the sun bouncing off of the rocks end up looking like stars in the sky.

Sunrise

I have a bad habit of taking pictures while driving. I'm pretty sure that's even more dangerous than talking while driving or texting while driving. On the upside, there are some really nice things to see on the freeway. This shot was taken as I was exiting. Lots of clouds, blue sky, and an overpass. I missed the shot of the overpass being closer (which is what I was going for), but overall, I'm happy with how this one turned out. It's obviously hipstamatic'd like crazy - overdone really. The sky was dramatic enough to not need the extra contrast and the borders are a distraction. I should drive with my x100 in the passenger seat.

Autumn

As I was walking back from the coffee shop, I saw a beautiful tree with blue sky and clouds behind it. I put down my coffee to take a picture, but no matter what angle I took, the picture was no good. As I went to pick up my coffee to get back to work, I saw a leaf on the ground with dew on it. I liked the different textures; the rough gravel, the organic veins of the leaves, the glassy clarity of the water drops. I ended up taking a few pictures that I liked but couldn't decide which to post so I cheated and posted all three.

Reflection

Another shot of the sun coming out in between rain. I'm a sucker for clouds, reflections, and blue sky.

Rain Drops on Railing

I take my Fuji x100 with me almost everywhere. I even take it with me when I take a walk at lunch. Whenever I take it with me, I never get anything interesting. And the few days I leave it behind, I end up with something I wish I had a better camera for. Today was another one of those days. I took a walk in the rain. The sun broke out of the clouds and blue sky was peaking through. Since I only had my iPhone on me, I grabbed this shot.

Another Sunset

I was driving through a parking lot and saw this sunset. The sunlight shining made the grass look golden. I like the fence as a leading line. I don't have much else to say except that blogger's photo-compression sucks and loses lots of detail.

Saturated Sunset

I was going for a run today and saw this sunset. It was ridiculously saturated with color. I had to tone it down a little in photoshop because it looked too fake (no kidding.) So I stopped my run and sat around taking iPhone pictures of the sunset - I'm pretty happy with this one but I have a couple more I might put up on Friday.

Another view

This is another shot from Stanford campus. I took a walk during lunch and the light through the pillars was nice, but it was the lit up archway halfway through the "tunnel" that caught my eye. Truthfully, this was the type of shot I was going for in the last picture when the lady in a dress walked on by. Although I like the last picture more because it has more emotion behind it, I still find this shot pleasing.

Lucky Shot

Another Hipstamatic shot. I was walking through stanford during lunch and saw some great lighting through the pillars. I didn't have my camera on me, so I started framing the picture with my iphone when this lady walks by in a beautiful dress. I wait until she is centered then take a shot. It was quite lucky for me because everyone around the area was wearing shorts and tshirts. It definitely needed her in the shot to give a subject to the architectural frame.

Watercolory

I took this picture as my wife was driving us back home from San Francisco. I liked the different colored lights in the apartment complex and took a shot knowing that the blur and low light would probably ruin the picture. The blur ended up making the whole thing look like a watercolor painting, and I thought that my camera did a great job dealing with the low light.

On to better things

Friday was the last day of work for a co-worker of mine. He is one of the good ones, so we'll all miss him. We went to one of those old school bars with writing all over the wooden walls. Just another tag on the wall.

Getting Ready

I was working on the computer as Grace was getting ready. The lighting looked great, but I didn't have my camera on hand and I knew that by the time I did, I would've lost the picture. Iphone time! So another hipstamatic. I guess it's because the phone is always there and so inconspicuous - it just seems like the pictures I take with them are just timed better.

Above the Clouds

This was taken at sunrise in Maui. We were at the peak of Haleakala Volcano and the clouds up there were amazing. The clouds and the colors are both soft and gentle. It's a contrast to the last post of the powerlines against a harsh HDR sky.

Power Lines

Foster City has power lines running all along the main road. I see them at all times of the day, and they have really grown on me. Their geometric patterns are interesting. The problem is that all of my pictures of them turn out really boring. Either it's too zoomed in and so I only get a part of the tower, or it's zoomed out but I can't find a composition that works. I resorted to HDR to add visual interest to what was a relatively less interesting picture. HDR brought out the foreground detail and added extra drama to the sky.

A Day in the Park

I watched a game with my co-workers at AT&T park. It's a beautiful field. I didn't take the time to go after shots; I could have walked around more and gotten closer to the actual players, but instead I drank with my friends and had a good time. I ended up with not too many shots I liked. I think I need to find a better balance. Maybe if I planned ahead on a few angles I wanted to take, I could have gotten those shots and spent the rest of the time drinking.

Fractal

Another shot from Angel Island. It was a foggy walk and the trees were barely visible. I actually had to pull them out with photoshop.

This way

This was shot in Angel Island. It was a foggy hike. I thought it was odd that the trees were bent in what looked like a tunnel or path, even though it wasn't part of the trail.

Edit: I converted the picture to b/w because the color wasn't adding anything.

Alcatraz

Hipstamatic, my secret shame. Man I love this program. I actually took this same picture with my real camera, but the timing on this one was better.

Jam

Frame

A friend of ours is building a house. How do people do that? I can't imagine. But the inside of a house being built is a fun place to shoot pictures.

Point of View

Twin peaks has such amazing views that I have trouble focusing on what to take. I end up cheating by taking panoramas because I can't decide. Right before we left, I saw these telescopes, and grabbed a shot of them pointing at the view. I like the final result, although maybe I should have kept the city a little more in focus.

Twin Peaks

I liked the original shot of this picture, but the lighting was off because the clouds were making shadows on parts of the city, and other parts looked over-exposed. I used the dodge and burn tools in lightroom to fix it. Truthfully, I didn't really have a vision of how I wanted the final picture to look so I just went back and forth until I got tired of using the tools. I ended up liking the final product though.

Still Creeping

I wanted to get a picture of the night sky with the gazebo centered. A couple was using the gazebo, so they got included in the picture. I felt a bit creepy sneaking shots of them, but it wasn't my original intent. I wonder if I'll get used to taking pictures of strangers; I think that having people in the shot makes it much more interesting.

Little beam of light

Another shot of the San Mateo Bridge. This was taken early in the morning and was the first shot I took that morning. I took the shot right as that beam of light was fading away. No more rays of light showed up the rest of the time we were shooting there, so I was glad I grabbed this shot.

Questlove

My parents visited this weekend, so I took them to SF and we ended up taking quite a few shots. Over the next week, I'll post a few more. This poster was on a post in Hayes St.

suppenkuche

Awesome restaurant in Hayes neighborhood. Boots of beer! This shot is a reflection from the outside looking in. The restaurant has bird silhouette cutouts hanging from the ceiling inside. I though it would be cool to frame them in the reflection of the tree.

San Mateo Bridge

I take a picture of the bridge every time I walk the bay trail. This is one of the few shots I kept.

Ramen

Snuck a shot of the chef while eating ramen. I ran the file through photoshop to get some added grain. I think I just need to get used to the clean b/w photos that my camera takes.

Night time is the right time

I took this shot unexpectedly, so I didn't have a tripod with me. Also, it was difficult for me to focus; autofocus doesn't work in such low light, and my eyes aren't that great either. On the upside, I think the stars above look cool. Maybe I'll try this shot again in color with a tripod.

Roboto

I like the white frame and random colors and lines. The random robot face that shows up gives the picture more of a center of interest. I think the picture is still a little busy, but I like the overall effect.

Creeper

I like the frame that the car makes. Although I have to admit, the subjects thought it was creepy that I was taking a picture through the windshield. I also like the orange air freshener as a color contrast to the black frame.

Eye contact

I like how the kid is the only one looking at the camera. He is centered and in focus and everyone else is blurry and doing something else.

Don't try this at home

A 4th of July picture. Jose was lighting a firework with a firework; not the safest idea, but it sure does look cool. Obviously, this shot is not about composition, it's all about the subject and the lighting. The fireworks came out clearly, but even better, they lit Jose up for a pretty nice effect.

I don't always drink...

Not much to say about this. I like it as a portrait. Cool lighting. Great pose and facial expression.

Dishing it out

I like the colors in this shot and the composition. Half of the shot is blank, but it's the half that the action is moving to. The blurred hands add to the feel of motion.

Sunset on the 280

I saw these great rays of light through the clouds on my drive home from work. I pulled into the vista point to take some pictures. At first I was disappointed that I took the shot in black and white, because the rolling green and yellow hills looked nice. (The iphone hipstamatic shot turned out pretty.) But once I got home, I actually ended up prefering the black and white shot. I think it takes away some of the visual clutter and highlights the clouds.

Light through leaves

I love taking pictures of light filtering through leaves. I like the various stages of brightness of the different leaves. The real problem is that the composition of the leaves usually end up random. I cropped this shot a bit to fix that problem. Although I'm still working on improving my composition, I feel like this shot works. There is a bright center with the darker leaves around it. The branches also frame the center, although imperfectly. The colors are vivid, without me having to play in photoshop.

Anthropologie

Wifey likes to shop. Photos keep me busy. I like this shot; it's almost abstract but has people coming through it. I waited to take the shot until people were walking through. I wanted more people walking across, but I felt like a creeper constantly taking pictures out a window. We ended up enlarging this pic for above our fireplace.