Visual Ramblings...

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Sushiya

Last weekend, went to a friend's sushi restaurant in Valencia called Sushiya. Good sushi, good service, good atmosphere, great service =) It was grand opening and I swear, we must have eaten all their supply of uni. I LOVE UNI. Of special note was the uni sashimi and a chef's special beef. The beef was awesome. Thanks again!

Nikon D700

Nikkor AFS 50/1.4G

f/2.0, 1/100, ISO 1600

yum. sashimi

Nikon D700

Nikkor AFS 50/1.4G

f/3.5, 1/100, ISO 2200

YUM. Uni

Nikon D700

Nikkor AFS 50/1.4G

f/2.5, 1/100, ISO 1250

YUMMMMMMMM. Uni sashimi

Nikon D700

Nikkor AFS 50/1.4G

f/2.2, 1/100, ISO 640

The chef's special beef. Hard to describe, but there was an herb that had an amazing taste to it.

Nikon D700

Nikkor AFS 50/1.4G

f/2.2, 1/100, ISO 1250

Time to decorate

Finally moved into the new home. Major furniture pieces have been settled. Now it's time for all the decorative pieces... Not too long ago, I went on a frame binge at Ikea and somehow managed to bring back like 10 frames or so, thinking I'd fill them with these super cool pictures that I would take. Well, it's been like 6 months and I currently have 10 very nice, empty frames. So my goal is to take one frame worthy picture a month (okay, maybe 2). So here's picture number one!

Nikon D700

Nikkor AFS 50/1.4G

f/1.4, 1/8000, ISO200

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Vegas!

Weekend trip to Vegas for my brother-in-law's graduation from pharm school. I always wonder how anybody can get through schooling in Vegas. Congrats!

The lights of Vegas. Must be getting old when after 4 hours of driving your back feels like it's about to cave in.

Nikon D700

AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G

f/1.4, 1/100, ISO 200

Our hotel. Really only our hotel b/c of hookups. Imagine waiting in line for an hour for valet... then imagine waiting 3 minutes. AWESOME.

Nikon D700

AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G

f/1.4, 1/2000, ISO 200

Taken during my 3 minute wait for the car.

Nikon D700

AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G

f/1.4, 1/640, ISO 200

The faux Eiffel Tower.

Nikon D700

AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G

f/1.4, 1/100, ISO 1400

The ENTIRELY over-rated restaurant. SMALL portions with BIG prices.

Nikon D700

AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G

f/3.2 1/100, ISO 450

$9 for ONE piece of Hamachi!!! I bet they got it from L.A. How can you have fresh seafood in the middle of the desert!

Nikon D700

AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G

f/1.4, 1/30, ISO 6400

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Happy 1st Bday Steven!

Had an opportunity to test drive the D700 at a birthday party. Running kids, flying balloons and all around craziness. The camera focused perfectly. So far, super happy with the focusing of the camera. Here are a few pics from the party.

HAPPY BDAY!
Nikon D700
AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G
f/4.5, 1/100, ISO 1600

A view from the birthday boy's throne.
Nikon D700
AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G
f/4, 1/100, ISO 2000

Steven's cake.
Nikon D700
AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G
f/4, 1/100, ISO 250

Steven's fruit.
Nikon D700
AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G
f/4, 1/100, ISO 3600

Balloons!!
Nikon D700
AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G
f/4.5, 1/100, ISO 2500

Toys!
Nikon D700
AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G
f/1.8, 1/100, ISO 560

More toys!!
Nikon D700
AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G
f/1.4, 1/320, ISO 200

Thursday, May 13, 2010

VROOM

So I've been debating between Nikon and Canon since the beginning when I bought the Canon 7D. At the time, it was basically better camera body with the Nikon vs better fast prime lenses with Canon. I had thought that the fast lenses together with the new EOS DSLR and it's new and improved AF system, I would have a pretty solid setup. 7 months later, after trying various techniques, settings, having the camera calibrated, having the lens calibrated, praying, jumping, hopping ... whatever... the camera still manages to mis-focus about 25% of the time. Mis-focusing on STILL subjects. Recently, I was able to try a friend's D3 (okay, a friend of a friend's) and was just amazed at how accurate the focusing was even in dim lighting. So last week, I decided to sell off my Canon gear and make the jump to Nikon. The end result? A D700 along with a 50/1.4G lens. So far, everything looks good. Literally. Focus is accurate, albeit a bit slower than Canon. Consistency is good. So far a happy camper. The added advantage of a full-frame sensor is also a plus. Now all that's left is for Nikon to give us some nice prime lenses. AFS 35/1.4, AFS 85/1.4 !!!

Here's a sample:

Nikon D700

AFS Nikkor 50/1.4G

f/2.5, 1/100, ISO 6400

Sunday, May 2, 2010

R & J =)

Here you go! There are more... but these are a few.
*that sentence doesn't sound right... so call me a FOB =D

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Today's theme: Landscape

Being sick and staying in tonight, I have a bit of time to go through my old library of photos. Here are some of my favorite landscape/scenic pictures. Pictures date a few years back when I was using an XSi to this year (when I got my beloved 7D).