Posts Tagged ‘rant’

08.29.10 From northwest to far east

This summer has been surprisingly busy, moreso than the last, and I still find myself with a variety of tasks in need of completion – the final edits to Italy photos, uploading photos from some portrait shoots, and preparations for Hong Kong, where I’ll be living and studying for 10 weeks. Currently I’m in Portland, was recently in Eugene, and fly back to Texas on Tuesday.

Life is busy. While last summer I didn’t accomplish or partake in much due to sheer laziness, now it seems I’ve been getting behind on the to-do list because there’s so much that needs action. It is a much better circumstance though – idle hands, idle mind, or however that saying goes.

I’ll have some more substantial updates in due time. For now, I apologize, for there are some evil exes for me and my bro to beat in the Scott Pilgrim video game.

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08.08.10 Review: MSI FX600 laptop

In preparation for a quarter abroad in Hong Kong, I figured now was the time to get a competent laptop on which I could Photoshop in addition to my usual online and entertainment activities. I had a few requirements in mind: Core i3 or better processor, dedicated/discrete graphics, and 4GBs of RAM, all for under $800. I was on the hunt for a few weeks before settling on the MSI FX600.

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01.29.10 Some notes on the week

Well, the biggest news was easily the iPad announcement. Funny that it was a much more momentous occasion than Obama’s first State of the Union address, but I think that’s just evidence of how disillusioned everyone is with the state of affairs at the moment. Regardless, even someone like me, who built their own PC, owns a Zune, and isn’t particularly a fan or hater of the OSX interface, found it interesting. Mainly because I was wondering why it took so long for such a device, so ubiquitously applied in any number of sci-fi films, to be put on the market. By the way, where’s my flying car? It’s also, as always, a perfect example of minimalist industrial design and oooo, look, it’s shiny.

What I like about the iPad? It’s simple, it is a direct interface experience, it’s fast, it is perfect as a lounge-while-you-browse device among other things, and the price is fairly reasonable. The whole 3G with no contract thing is pretty cool too.

Probably among my biggest beefs is the rather deliberateness that Apple used in not including certain features, like a camera and multitasking, along with the closed nature of the device (sure, there’s an app for that, but it’s about principles). The on-screen keyboard seems like an after thought too, making what probably would have been most attractive with this device in my view, journaling and notetaking, a bit more hampered. Considering the capacitive touchscreen (no stylus or handwriting recognition), it seems like it wouldn’t be the most convenient device for transcribing lectures or sketching out whimsical photo thoughts. I imagine Apple will resolve the issues come 2.0, but some of these (the camera especially) seem like such a no-brainer, that it’s hard to not be cynical about the reasons for not including such hardware.

With that said though, I am particularly interested in something like Microsoft’s Courier project, which is very much journal and notetaking centric, and looks to be able to do all the other tasks you could with an iPad, including web browsing, music, and reading. But I swear, I’m not a Microsoft fanboy/Apple hater! Seriously guys! With that said, if by 2.0 the Courier has not materialized, and Apple does have those gripes taken care of, I could very well see this as a competent replacement for my current netbook. Plus, I really wouldn’t mind having an eReader device.

I should also note, the other tablet/slate offerings don’t catch my eye as much (such as the HP Slate), as it seems more like designers are grafting software onto the device, as opposed to developing a system that takes advantage of the format (why I like the Courier so much).

On to speculative news items, this time about camera gear. There’s rumors buzzing that Nikon will announce new toys on Wednesday the 3rd (one would think given they have a press conference scheduled), and according to NikonRumors, it’s going to be two lenses which (if real) I will likely sell off my Sigmas and 20-35 to get: the 16-35 f/4 and 24 1.4.  The 16-35 I would have to debate on more, as I may not need something so wide, and instead would be better off with a midrange zoom between 24 and 135. But the 24 1.4 is just too good to pass up for myself, and would all but complete the f/1.4 trifecta, plus cut down on the number of lenses in my bag by 1 (as the 20 and 28 1.8 would be gone).

The other news making me geek out a bit is some potential ILC (interchangeable lens compact) announcements and revelations in the pipeline. Olympus just effectively confirmed an EP-3 is on the horizon, and the current rumor is that it might actually be cheaper. $400-500 body only perhaps? I am also hoping that aside from price, physical size may be further honed to something more pocketable (I’m not holding out for miracles, but every millimeter counts). It also sounds like Nikon may finally be jumping into the game, but there’s no telling what they’ll actually do (sensor size, lens mount if any, timelines, etc). So will 2010 be the year I finally have a somewhat portable and pocket-readyish camera? I sure hope so.

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01.04.10 Things that I want from Nikon

2009 was a disappointing year to an extent if you were a Nikon user. Yes, there was finally an update to the 70-200, and the D300 and D3 got HD video and a tweaked sensor. But it was a huge letdown otherwise, what with the lack of lenses, no forward thinking on a mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera (also called an EVIL, or my preference, a digital rangefinder), and no D700 update. And although I’m content with my D700, I certainly don’t need a 70-200.

No, what I’m looking for is a 24 1.4 to compete with Canon’s, something like a 17-40 f4 (you know, to compete with Canon), and a proper digital rangefinder with a set of pancake lenses and HD video, to match up with Panasonic (however if they don’t hint at anything soon, I’ll likely end up with a GF1 regardless).

And now with Samsung finally announcing their own digital rangefinder, with an APS-C sensor to boot, it makes me wonder if Nikon may pursue such a route. My realistic prediction though is that Nikon will indeed announce an EVIL by summer, but won’t do anything daring like Olympus did in bringing forth the EP-1. We’ll instead get something similar to (maybe copied from) the Samsung, that is more an upgrade to the D5000, just without the mirror box and still pushed to consumers. And once again, the folks who call themselves photographers (and aren’t being ironic, unwittingly or not) get left out in the cold and continue to wait for a fleshed out digital rangefinder that doesn’t have a red Leica dot and accompanying price tag.

So as long as I’m in this pipedream rant, it would also be nice if Nikon took Thom Hogan’s advice and developed a digital FM2 – stripped down full frame sensor, no mirror, no LCD (an EVF instead), brutish metal body that could fit in a coat pocket, and manual control dials. Now that would be a beautiful thing.

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12.31.09 End of a decade

It’s weird to think I’ve not only been through this decade, but with my birthday coming up in February, two decades. Things that have happened:

  • 2000 marked the Y2K bug scare. Nothing happened. It also gave us the election of George W. in the contested Florida count. I was only 10 (10?!?) and living in Portland at the time. I think I was starting to fiddle with graphics and websites at this point. Thus marked my slow descent.
  • 2001 was a pretty major turning point for me. I moved to Texas over Thanksgiving that year. The whole 9/11 scare happened as well. That was a surreal day. I used to leave the radio on when I went to sleep, and woke up to something about the WTC towers being hit. I wandered out of the bedroom to find a TV showing the collapse of one.
  • Moving to Texas kind of sucked at first. I was the new kid, for some draconian reason 6th grade still equaled elementary in Texas, and I was pretty much an outcast for a long while after.
  • 02, 03, and 04 were pretty uneventful. I remember playing basketball more seriously, but I was at the same time going deeper down the rabbit hole that was computers and the internets.
  • 05 marked the start of photo for me. I got a bridge camera from my grandpa, was in an intro photo course freshman year, and stopped playing basketball after the school year was out. Started a more advanced photo course, and finally started getting out of my shell. Probably a few years too late, unfortunately.
  • 06 was when things got serious. Won my first contest, got my first DSLR (the D200, which hasn’t been touched in quite some time, the poor thing), and went on my first photo trip to the Grand Canyon.
  • 2006 was also when I started to explore the world musically. Starting with Radiohead, of course.
  • 07 was more or less the same as 06. Except for that summer I attended Rising Star, and pretty much settled on SCAD for college. I already knew where I was going before I had even finished my junior year, and most people I knew hadn’t even figured out where to apply yet. My only regret is not seeing where else I could have gotten into. A bit late at this point though.
  • 2007 was also my first concert/show going experience, with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I always felt like I was a little late with the whole music and show going thing, and I still feel like I’m about a year behind at this point. They were the only band at the time I both liked and who happened to be touring. A lot of other folks I had recently found were long gone tour wise. And most of the local bands were pop “punk” emocore suckiness. Oh well.
  • Fall of 07 was when I got published in Nikon World. That was pretty big and exciting at the time.
  • Both 06 and 07 kind of blended together. They were both good years for me, overall.
  • 2008. Radiohead concert. In Rainbows. I wish I was in the pit instead of the lawn. Good times though. Good times…
  • 2008 marked graduation. I pulled a senior prank end of year too. That almost ended in disaster for myself. Fortunately, I smoothed things out. Somehow.
  • 2008 was also the start of SCAD. It was a wily first quarter, marked by lots of new relationships (for myself and my first ever roommates), and the start of an accumulation of complaints about life in Savannah.
  • 2009. Sheesh. What a mixed bag of a year. I had plenty of good and all. I purchased a D700 (actually, purchased at the end of December, but either way), got some recognition at SCAD with some small exhibits and publication in the photo annual. Got to go to China, had an advert in Dallas Modern Luxury, spawning from a group exhibit at the W Hotel in Dallas. Even shot a fairly legitimate fashion-esque, editorial-esque commission for Amber Venz Jewelry. But all things considered, certain events have a way of turning you inside out and leading to a realization of what actually means most to you.

I’ll leave it at that. Happy New Year everyone.

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09.02.09 Sorry Oly

8-31-09gf1Someone else is after my heart. Why am I more excited about the Panasonic now?
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08.09.09 Thoughts on China

I kept a journal while going through China. Some excerpts:

This airplane food is actually kind of decent.

End of first day: Exhausted.

I bought a memory card and battery. They were knock-offs. I feel dumb.

Only got an hour and a half at the Great Wall. Disappointed.

Lunch was at tourist stop (trap). White people everywhere.

Chinese planes are better than American planes.

Nicer hotel in Xian. By nicer, I mean there’s an elevator.

Ate at McDonald’s.

I almost got locked in the bus. How embarrassing.

I biked on top of a 1000 year old wall today. Best. Moment. Ever.

There’s dumplings everywhere!

I had my picture taken a lot on the plane today . . .

Saw a restaurant entrance that had a cage of live chickens at the door. Fresh meat.

Some guy from a YMCA came up to us and asked us if we loved Jesus.

I’m museumed out.

So some guy skates along past us, then all of a sudden, turns and stops in front of me, whips out a case, and trys to sell me stuff. Points for style.

The leak in the room is leaving brown water stains on the bathroom wall. Pleasant.

The leak stopped. That’s nice.

I want Subway. But I’m tired. Tomorrow.

There’s white people everywhere!

Mmmm. Hagen Daz.

This isn’t a lake, it’s a pond.

I feel like I was just in an upscale open air shopping mall in Dallas.

That temple was rather pleasant. Much like the other temples. I must like temples.

Mmmm. Subway.

Iran is blowing up, and I’m in China. Surreal.

There’s construction workers everywhere!

Thoughts on Shanghai photography: Pretty bad. Or rather, one artist that’s bad, but has work everywhere.

I liked Chinese Ansel Adams.

There’s a blue sky beyond that haze. Somewhere.

I’m so high right now. Literally. Thousands of feet.

Mediocre to decent aquarium is mediocre to decent.

Everything’s a knockoff here. There’s even knockoffs of Vegas style shows.

I hate airports.

First class was nice and all, but I still want my $70 back.

Hong Kong: Prettier, cleaner skies.

Everyone in Beijing uses their horn. A lot. But in a polite way to warn pedestrians and cars about their presence. They are all, regardless, assholes.

China is more capitalistic than America. America is about bottom line, but you have things like wrranties and quality control and assurance that the product is legitimate. But everyone in China is out for the quick buck, and their whole intent is to rip you off and sell you fake stuff. Assholes.

China’s only indication of communism, or at least state control, is hardly there. Most of that stuff is behind the scenes or general functions that have little impact on daily life – it’s not as if the street vendors are regulated, there aren’t curfews, and people aren’t assigned jobs. China is as communist as a cockroach is cute and cuddly.

Very few people have any semblance of etiquette. People cut in line, hawk and spit, throw trash in the street, act obnoxiously selfish, and especially pushy vendors of fake wares will grab you. Assholes.

It is worth mentioning that the Chinese are the nicest people you’ll ever meet, but the biggest assholes in passing.

An Australian in the elevator this morning said to me, “Cheers mate.” Awesome.

It. Is. So. Very. Awfully. Humid.

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