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When I strolled on the boardwalk at the wildlife refuge the other day, I spotted the mud cracks below. They almost resembled the streets of Rome. I carefully framed a shot of them using my phone. Perhaps there were micro-organisms strolling on these streets as well
Since I didn't have a ultra wide for my Leica rangefinder, I had to use my phone to take this ultra wide angle shot of the stained glass ceiling at The Rotunda cafe. I guess that 's wide enough from my phone.
We took a tour to Houston Space Center today. The venue was actually pretty crowded due to Spring break. Nonetheless, NASA was taking the opportunity to sell tonnes of solar eclipse merchandise. I took a few photos mostly with my phone and this is one of them.
I asked the owner of the Crown Motel where the Tonopah Cemetery. I just pointed me to the outside right next to the office. I then went out and made a left. There it was. The whole cemetery was covered under the darkness. I decided to use Night Sight on my phone to capture this scene. See anything unusual?
Anyway, this cemetery has some history. There was a mine accident in the early days and some miners who died were buried here.
Finally made a hike to Little Lake Valley today. It was exhausting as the trailhead is at 10K feet already. However, the view was absolutely stunning.
While I was driving around San Ramon looking for Spring blossoms, I spotted this street completely covered with these spectacular white flower trees. I immediately found a place to park and walked toward this spot for my shot. It was a wonderful experience.
Yesterday was my most sluggish day so far in 2024. I walked 5 miles and I have already felt tired. On top of that, I saw this slug crawling on a stone bench. When I got back home, I could even upload any photo to my Flickr Photostream. When I woke up this morning, I tried again. The upload finally went through. It 's a not-so-good sign, isn't it?
Since it 's rainy today, we decided that it would be a museum day. We spent almost the entire day at Rijksmuseum. There was so much to see. We even entered the viewing platform of the research library. I waited for the crowd to dissipate before taking this shot.
SciPhone N21 Google Android Smart Phone With Wifi / 5.0MP auto focus Camera,
Sciphone N21 Google Andvoid Smart Phone is actually renamed General Mobile DSTL1, it is supports two SIM cards simultaneously. Sciphone N21 is running the 624MHz Marvell PXA 310 CPU and equipped with 256MB ROM and 128MB of RAM. The other characteristics of the Sciphone N21 should be mentioned 3-inch touchscreen LCD display with WQVGA (240×400) resolution, 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, WiFi and quad-band GSM/EDGE. Sciphone N21 dimensions are 112×54x16 mm. It also comes with G-Sensor such as accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate.
With the air quality getting worse again due to Glass Fire in the north, I feel like being locked down in our house again. It reminds me of these love locks I 've found in Portland, Maine. Who has thought of such concept?
This mural is showing Harlem-Cruz Atarangi Ihaia, the Miss Universe New Zealand 2017. Artist Erika Pearce painted her wearing a traditional moko and a crown of Kawakawa leaves to represent the sadness of the loss of the extinct huia bird.
A facial moko is believed to be the most sacred part of the body so getting a moko on the face is viewed as a taonga, a treasure – with both the purpose and application regarded as sacred.
Found these murals just outside the restroom at the museum of Monterey. I kind of agree to the sentiment. Monterey is indeed a desirable place to live if you have the money.
We went up to the roof of Umeda Sky Building to see the cityscape of Osaka. Though the building is only 40 stories high, we could still get a pretty good view of the surroundings. I 've been to Osaka for three times within a span of twenty years. I don't think it has changed much.
The Night Sight Mode from my Google phone works quite well here to capture the entire dynamic range. But having a steady hand is the biggest challenge.
Wish we could spend more time in Cusco. This Inca city is a great place for culture and street photography. Seen here is an Andean woman trying to make a living by selling souvenirs in front of Catedral Del Cuzco.
Lens: Moment Fisheye
We went to have dinner at a sushi restaurant in the South Bay yesterday. While we were waiting for our table, I went to the Japanese Cultural Center to check out some youngsters being trained to become a Jedi. Whoops! Did I just say, "Jedi"??
Explore #60, November 11th, 2019
Stopped by Niles district in Fremont earlier today and spotted this vintage car. This whole area was once the capital of silent film in the early 20th century. It is said that Charlie Chaplin perfected his signature walk on one of the canyon trails. I wish I could spend more time to explore this old town. It has many antique stores there.
Took this shot with my phone at Bishop Ranch. I really like the reflections from the puddle of water.
This is the room where we stayed last year when we checked in at Wawona Hotel in Yosemite. It 's behind the main quarter facing the forest. There is nothing wrong with it even though it 's directly next to the bathroom, which is just around that corner. At night I had to brave the cold outside for my toilet runs. Fortunately, the restroom was heated inside, and I only needed to walk a few steps to get there. You would have to pay a lot more for your own private bathroom inside your own room. I remember we only paid $120 per night for our room. I would say it's well worth it. The rustic experience is kind of nice. We enjoyed our short stay.
Camera: Google Pixel3
There are rumors of Volvon caves near this area. But you have to do a lot of bushwhacking in order to find them. Not an easy task especially you are on a private land and there is no designated trail. I'm glad that it has been kept away from the public. Only a few curious would venture this far. I picked a foggy Sunday to hike around this area. Unfortunately, we went past this area and walked too far south.
I was confronted by this security robot earlier this evening when I tried to maneuver my car out of a parking lot. It blocked my way and just stood there in front of my car. I had to back up my car a bit and then drove around the robot. The moment I passed it, I rolled down the driver side window and captured this shot.
I climbed into this retro futuristic passenger train car at the Navada State Railway Museum. I really like its circular windows. I wonder what the engine looks like.
We came across this tree with twisted roots crawled upon its trunk. With its leaves turned yellow already, I think this is a great art piece worthy to be featured at De Young Museum
We took my wife's aunt from Texas to check out Rock City. I took her, "this is the place to be if you like rock climbing." I think she did enjoy some scrambling over these sandstone formations. Too bad, we didn't bring any water. Otherwise, we could have hiked all the way to Sentinel Rock.
We stopped at this fast food restaurant to grab a quick lunch when we saw this quarter rainbow appeared in the sky. Of course, I had my phone with me.
Saw this mustard field in full bloom just right across Canon office in North San Jose today. I think the allergy season has just started.
There were so many people at this most famous cathedral in Barcelona today. It 's almost impossible to compose a shot of it without people in the frame. As it turned out, the best place to shoot this cathedral is on the top floor of an open top double decker bus.
Let me tell you. The fireworks at Lake Siskiyou are so much better. We arrived at the lake front pretty late and I couldn't find spot to set up my tripod. So I used my phone instead. Google Nightsight saved the day!
I was checking my old photos on my Google Photos yesterday and saw this image in my "For You" folder. Typically, Google Assistant would scan your folders and decide on which one to work on. When it 's done, she would deposit her edit into that folder. Apparently, she has decided on this particular frame that I took a few years ago, and I didn't realize the Assistant edited image has been sitting in that folder since then. So here it is. It looks a little fake, doesn't it? Seems like my photography has taken another turn where AI is making things happen to me.
Camera: Google Pixel2XL
On our way to Arashiyama earlier today, we went past this residence with a strange vehicle parking at the carport. I was impressed by the signature Rolls Royce grill in the front, but I am 100% sure it 's not authentic. Still, I was impressed by the uncanny resemblance.
I can't believe how incredibly lucky I was to be able to grab this vintage Contax IIa on the left in such a pristine condition at a very affordable price that is about the cost of a typical digital point and shoot camera. An extra bonus is the legendary Carl Zeiss Sonnar 50mm F1.5 lens that came with the body. The lens itself even has an eleven aperture blades with no haze nor fungus. I have the modern copy of it also made by Zeiss but under Cosina manufacturing in Japan. But what made me so stoked is the incredible history behind the Contax IIa. Its immediate predecessor, Contax II, was used by Robert Capa who had shot the "magnificent eleven" at Omaha Beach, Normandy on D-Day. After the war, Zeiss as a company was divided. As its main factory was in Dresden that fell under the Russian occupying zone, its equipment and personnel were shuttled to Kiev for war reparations. Those other Zeiss employees who had escaped to the West were able to set up their shop in Stuttgart, West Germany. Unfortunately, most of their engineering documentation for the Contax II were lost. It took them 6 years to re-engineer the camera and along the way they made some major improvements including a new shutter mechanism. The resulted camera was the Contax IIa which still has its famed predecessor 's DNA. In the meantime, the Russians were able to make copies of the Contax II and market its clone as Kiev II in 1950. Lo and behold, by the time Contax IIa was introduced by Zeiss Opton, West Germany, the Kiev II had already been obsoleted after a year in the market. However, the Kiev II had remained relatively cheap and abundant. So it found its way as a poor man 's Contax. Hence, before Leica introduced the M3 in 1954, the Contax IIa was arguably the best 35mm camera in the world constantly sought after by professionals and journalists at the time. The camera itself was rather expensive back then costing almost as much as an entry level car in the US. Its top shell is made with Rhodium plating instead of chrome found in its predecessor. The whole thing was fully hand made in Stuttgart. Holding its body is almost like holding a piece of jewelry. Unfortunately, Zeiss couldn't keep up with Leica in the rangefinder market and they decided to stop making rangefinders in 1961 and began to focus on the Contarex SLR instead. It wasn't until the early 1980s did Zeiss re-introduce another rangefinder, Contax T, also featuring a Sonnar lens as shown on the right in this photo. As you 'd probably know, Kylie Jenner from the Kardashian TV show helped propel the resurgence of Contax T2 compact point and shoot which is the successor of the Contax T. Its popularity has driven its price in the used market at an insane level. Yet millennials are still buying it. Just recently, Zeiss AG (now a unified Zeiss) was about to release its Android based camera ZX1 priced at a whopping six grands. I just felt off my chair when I learned about its price tag. While this is not a rangefinder, it has an electronic viewfinder just like any other mirrorless camera. I was wondering why Zeiss AG didn't bring back its Contax branding as it still owns the trademark after Kyocera has folded its camera business. The last true Zeiss rangefinder was its Zeiss Ikon ZM with M mount compatible with Leica M glass. The camera was made by Cosina, Japan which is still making majority of the modern manual focus Zeiss glass today. It was discontinued in the early 2010s. There you have it, a really concise post-war history of Contax/Zeiss. Knowing the history really helps me to appreciate these fine camera gear that were largely forgotten.
Explore #424, October 8th, 2020
I captured this sunset shot when we started leaving the Greek island, Mykonos. The weather is still warm here but not humid. Doesn't look like there is a Fall season in the Mediterranean so far.
No I did not make this. This piece of Halloween "artwork" was part of a competition. I was stunned by the provocative yet creative scene.
The first morning I woke up in Taos was to go out to the balcony at our inn to check out the sunrise. It was just right behind those trees at the adobe house. The morning vibe in Taos was quite special. There was definitely a sense of tranquility to it. The only problem was that the whole town was quite dusty. All my travel companions including myself had developed sinus problems. Perhaps it could be the Spring pollen as well. The town wasn't very big. There were many art galleries in the downtown area which was just a walking distance away from our inn. There wasn't much stuff going on. It 's definitely a good place for retreat and recharge. We decided to stay there for two days so that I could recharge myself, especially, I was the only driver for our travel group.
We were taken to this ranch about 40 drive from Helsinski. We had lunch there. And just when we were about to leave, I took this snapshot of the homestead at the ranch.
A friend of my extended family invited us to her house for dinner. When I walked out to her huge backyard, I saw these deer feeding on the green already. I quickly took a snapshot at them. It's true that everything is bigger and more abundant in Texas.
Saw this classic Chevy at Stockton Street Garage. It looked spanking new. I admired it's chrome trims. Very nice!
On our way to Tahoe this afternoon, we went past this small town where a steam locomotive from the early 20th century was displayed. The town had quite a bit of characters with many old buildings. Nonetheless, we made a restroom stop and had to move on before it got dark.
I actually went all the way to the backside of Pink Painted Lady and pressed my phone against the window to take this shot of the view to the backyard. No wonder this old house cost $3.5 million. I have heard it was last owned by a tech lady. She was trying to restore this house to its former glory but only completed the ground floor so far. It has now turned into a pop-up museum.
We walked along this medieval street in Tallinn today. I had to wait for almost 10 minutes before I could get a clean shot of this street without any people. I wouldn't even believe this was once part of the Soviet Union.
On my way back home today, I decided to stop over at downtown Sunil and walk around the streets. I came upon this shop where it had a mannequin with wings in it. Thought it was interesting and decided to take a shot with my phone.
This scene reminds me of that old TV show in the late 80s and early 90s. Honestly, I have not seen a Rolls Royce Phantom for quite some time.
Visited Napoli and was fascinated by Castel Nouvo near the port. Bought the ticket and went in there and was surprised to find skeletons in the underground fully displayed to the public. I was literally standing on top of this one. Only a glass floor separated between us. That must be a Nqpolitan noble.