./janella.com

Rating: **** out of 5

Quick shot: The movie chronicles the Batman’s beginnings.

What I liked about the move:

It’s back to the serious Batman.  The storyline is very well structured, good acting all around, and Gotham City looks like an actual city.  Plus Batman’s toys are pretty cool as well.

What I didn’t like: 

Bale’s Batman voice didn’t do it for me, except for one scene where he was very effective.  Go catch this movie either in primetime or a matinee.  Worth seeing!

Well, I have had the D70s for two weeks. I’m loving the freedom of taken the shot and seeing the results right away, but with an SLR type camera! I know that’s how it is supposed to be with a DSLR but I’m still getting used to the feeling.

I have been messing with [aperture priority] and shutter speed the last week. The reason I have been is I want to take photos at Kayla’s dance recital. Taking photos has been a hit and miss affair. The conditions are:

• dark theater - only stage lighting
• no flash allowed
• no tripods allow (I've seen monopods though)
• distance to stage varies seats are all over

I have had various success and failure in taking photos. I’ve used high speed film (1600), opened up the aperture, steadied my hand various ways, all with mixed results. This year will hopefully be different.

What I am planning to do is take photos during the practice session. Susana said I can bring a tripod during that session and set it up - as the practice isn’t video taped. The lighting conditions will be the same. From what I understand of the advice given by the [nikonians.org] messageboard I should:

• use the fastest lens I have (which is the 50mm 1.8)
• have the aperture wide open
• and hope the shutter speed is around 100 or so

I can adjust the ISO as needed.  We’ll see how it works.  I’ll post some results later.

This photo of drinks was taken under low lighting conditions, no flash, aperture wide open - using the 18mm-70mm lens. The shot was taken hand held, steadied against the table. Farrah took the photo:

Anyway, wish me luck.

Rating: *** out of five

Quick shot: Boy and girl meet. Boy and girl get married. Boy and girl are spies for competing agencies and don’t know it. Boy and girl must kill each other, or die trying. Will this have a happy ending

What I liked about the movie: Good action - gun play, hand-to-hand combat, and car chases. Good chemistry between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Fair and snappy dialog

What I didn’t like: The distracting choice of hand held camera movement during some quiet moments during the film. The latter third of the film had issues resolved suddenly.

Overall a good matinee movie. 

I’ve been able to get some more reading and shots in the last day.  Last night Farrah, Yen, and I went out to look at fabric and dinner.  I was able to take a few outdoor shots - around dusk) and indoor restaurant shots with the D70s’ built in flash.  The flash photos look a little saturated, and the outdoor photos needed adjusting as well.  The results are the adjusted photos here:

You can see more photos by logging into the Flickr album.  Of course you need to be a ‘friend or family’ to see those extra photos, so sing up for a Flickr account today!!!

I’ve been also messing with shutter speed.  These shots have the aperature wide open and the shutter speed very slow.  Check the EXIF data for more info.

Well, I’ve finally started some shots with the D70s. I haven’t read all of the instruction manual. In fact I have probably read less then 10 pages of a 100 page manual!!! I just wanted to get out and start shooting.

Yesterday, I got a 1GB 80x Corsair Compact Flash card.  I was hoping to get the [Lexar 1GB 80x Compact Flash card].  Now the Corsair is not on the test and approved list of cards, but it is working and I hope it lasts me for a while. If it starts freakin’ out on me I’ll need to go to Costco to pick up a SanDisk Ultra II card which is tested and approved.

I took some test shots yesterday of Farrah while she was talking on the phone with Yen.  You can see some feet shots on the [Flickr] album.

Today I took some shots of Lucky and Bixby and Tigger too! I also took a few shots of cars that were on display at the Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival in downtown Sunnyvale.

I’m shooting in the RAW format which is new to me. Take a look at the pictures and please make any comments on the photos you can. I’ll need to read up more about it. Ok, I’ll go read the manual now.

I hope this doesn’t sound too much like ’look at me and what I have" but I wanted to write down why I chose the equipment I currently have. The equipment is listed on the right-hand column in no particular order.  First up is the Sony DSC-T1

Sony DSC-T1

Farrah and I were in the market for a new digital camera. When knew we wanted something small yet could take great pictures.  I’ve always been a Sony guy, so when a commercial came on showing off the size of the T1 I was hooked. Well almost hooked.

I did my research to note the positives and negatives. The positives: size, good images (if there is enough light), a big LCD, fast start-up time and it looks cool. The negatives: price, poor images in low light, high red-eye count, and price.

Well, it made the cut since we bought it.

Even though we knew a head of time, the indoor performance is really disappointing.  But if you are traveling and you are taking a lot of outdoor photos, it’s a nice small camera to own (and the price has dropped considerably).

The Nikon FM3A

I was looking for a manual camera to give to Farrah for her birthday.  Nikon just came out with the FM3A during that time.  I was sold on the reviews of the camera and haven’t been disappointed.

Nikon FM3A

The camera is a solid piece of machinery, built like a tank. You can take pictures under almost any condition with this solid work horse.  Granted, you need to get the exposure correct (use the light meters) and focus (yes, focus), but nothing feels like you have more control then with a fully manual camera.

If there is a downside to the camera it is two things: (1) the light meter is hard to read in low light, and (2) trying to catch fast action is very difficult. You can avoid the latter if you have an automatic with you, but some times you just aren’t prepared as you should be. (I guess you can tell it’s happened to me.)

The Nikon N80

The N80 is an affordable, easy to use SLR with enough features to keep learning how to shoot. It’s light in weight when compared to the FM3A, so it can be taken almost anywhere without it being a burden. Most of the SLR film photos we have taken are with the N80.

If there are any downsides to the N80 it’s the fragile plastic feeling. The camera doesn’t feel like it could survive rugged conditions, weather or physical. With the FM3A you can probably drop the body and incur minimal damage.

Nikkor AF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D

The most used lens out of the group of lenses we have.  It’s perfect for most photo situations.  I have never really had a problem with this lens.

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF

A nice fast wide lens, not wide like 18mm but wide enough.  It was also very inexpensive.  I wish I went with the f/1.4 though, but I couldn’t justify the extra cost.

Tamron Zoom Telephoto AF 70-300mm

The last new lens we bought. A fellow photographer at a party suggested I get a 300mm lens.  No way I could afford a fixed lens, so I went the Telephoto non-Nikon route.  A decent lens, allow us to capture shots without getting too close.

So this is the summary of I have now.  Still waiting on that D70s.  Ugh!

Ernie @ Prolific Oven
Originally uploaded by sith_kicker.

Farrah and I had dinner with Ernie today. We ate Yan Can in the Rivermark Center - at Ernie’s suggestion.

I just wanted to post this picture because I told him I would :)

Oh, and we had another local celebrity sighting: [Raj Mathai] walked into The Prolific Oven while we were having our dessert.

052905039
Originally uploaded by sith_kicker.

Today was good day.

Farrah and I decided yesterday to go to the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. I told Farrah about the Amorphophallus titanum, which blooms once very couple of years. When it blooms it smells like “rotting flesh”. Yum! I wanted to see it, wanted to see the City since it is a three day weekend. So we went.

The drive and weather was very nice. There was a slight crowd in the park, people going to the Japanese Gardens, the Botanical Gardens and the Conservatory. The Conservatory had about four different rooms of various temperature and humidity, depending on the type of plants in the room. You can see the pictures on [Flickr]- sign-up and log in to see more!

On our way back from the exhibit we even ran into a weekly swing dance class! Oh, we should have joined them in a number or two but our stomachs were growling due as it was lunch time.

Melissa’s was closed so we headed to Hillsdale Mall to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. Afterwards we roamed the mall, where Farrah saw [Malou Nubla]! Ugh, I missed seeing here though.

google-janella
Originally uploaded by sith_kicker.

I know this is cheesy, but janella.com is the #1 search result when searching for ‘janella’ on Google! The site was not even ranked in the top 20 results before. Guess Google fixed some things?

Rating: * out of five

Quick Shot: Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, killing every Jedi in sight.

What I liked about the movie: A lot of action, some dialoge.  Nice to see the pace pick up, which made the movie flow better. Love the lightsaber duels.

What I didn’t like: The acting is still wooden, probably due to the director and the script.

More later on the overall theater experience.  I can say right now, boy I’m tired, but I gotta work today.  Oh well.

Hand-to-hand Combat Training
Originally uploaded by sith_kicker.

Susana called me to tell me that Rex’s father had passed away. He suffered a stroke earlier this month and never recovered. He will be missed.

I didn’t know Bill that well, only talking to him at family get-togethers such as Mother’s Day brunches at the Coconut Grove, Kayla’s birthdays and especially Thanksgivings. He was always very talkative, very energetic and always willing to lend a hand to anyone. He was always up on current events and had an opinion on mostly anything. I enjoyed talking to him when possible. He always took an interest in the latest camera (digital or otherwise) I had.

My lasting memory of him is in this photo with Kayla and Ella. It was during Thanksgiving at Rex and Susana’s home. Bill was showing Kayla and Ella how to defend themselves and fight as well. “Just a little playtime with Grandpa.”

You will be missed.