I am planning to attend a motorcycle drag race in Reading, Pennsilvania in two weeks. Larry "Spiderman" McBride will be participating. "Spiderman" is the quickest and fastest Top Fuel motorcycle rider in the world. Currently holds records over 260 mph and 5.50 second quarter mile.
This event should allow me to practice using the Sigma MF 400mm F5.6 telephoto lens that I purchased last year to photograph motorsports events. I am looking forward to it!
Not sure how other states handle their vehicle paperwork, but when it comes to vehicle and insurance renewal here in Pennsylvania, everything can be handled online. At the end of the transaction, you simply print your credentials, and you are done.
I am looking forward to this year riding season. Let the good times roll !!!!
They say that everyone farts between 10 and 20 times a day. Sometimes it may be loud and odorless, or smelly. Sometimes it's really smelly, sometimes it's silent but deadly.
One of the great inconveniences of riding public transportation is that you are at the mercy of people. Sometimes you take the bus or the train, and its so crowded that it feels like you are inside a pack of sardines.
On this particular day, I was running late for a health center staff meeting. I hopped on the crowded Market Frankford Line, politely made my way toward the middle of the train and grabbed the overhead grab rail to keep myself from bumping into people. There was no room to move.
And then it hit me ....
A well-dressed elegant woman standing in front of me farted. The foul smell resembling the smell of rotten eggs was so intense that the stench burned my nostrils and made my eyes water. I looked the other way to try to get away from her, and to prevent myself from fainting. I could barely breathe.
The train was so packed with commuters that there was no room to move anywhere. I thought her silent deadly fart was peeling the paint off the walls. Interestingly, people around us totally ignored the rotten smell and no one seemed to notice.
It was the longest most uncomfortable train ride of my life. Just another day riding the infamous Philadelphia Market Frankford Line.
I think that when I am taking pictures of the architecture inside a Cathedral or a Museum using a Platypod, I am doing it all wrong. Most likely I am making the mistake of keeping the architecture background in focus, especially when taking photos of the Cathedral Basilica. Same situation happened when I recently photographed the Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Academy of Natural Sciences museum.
I am currently using a Sigma 10-20 wideangle zoom lens for these type of images. Maybe I need to keep doing what I am doing for the (BTS - behind the scene image), and work on keeping the final edited image a little less sharp. I guess I'll need to work in the blur and focus later. Obviously, I need to make photography adjustments to change things around.
Esta mañana visite la Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul en Filadelfia. Llevo semanas planeando como fotografiar dentro de la catedral usando el Platypod eXtreme.
Esta catedral es muy concurrida, turistas de todas partes del mundo vienen a Filadelfia a visitarla. Estuve el jueves pasado, pero habia una boda programada y no pude tomar fotos.
Hoy llegue antes de la 9:00 de la mañana y estaba ideal para tomar fotos, el hombre de mantenimiento haciendo limpieza y yo eramos los unicos alli. Me di cuenta que las luces dentro de la catedral estaban apagadas, solo estaban encendidas las luces mas minimas. Me sente en un banco de la iglesia a matar el tiempo.
Al preguntar a que hora prendian las luces, el hombre de mantenimiento al verme con las camaras en la mano, me pregunto cuanto tardaria en tomar las fotos. Solamente de 5 a 10 minutos le respondi. Fue tan amable que el caballero encendio las luces de toda la catedral para que yo tomara las fotos; ese gesto tan amable me sorprendio.
De camino a casa me di cuenta que se me olvido tomar fotos de "detras de la escena". Tampoco vi mas a el empleado de mantenimiento para darle las gracias por encender las luces. Asi es esto, en cuestion de fotografia no todo sale siempre 100% perfecto. Gracias a Dios no todo fue una perdida, me gusto como quedo la foto del celular Samsung con el Platypod eXtreme dentro de la catedral.
Pienso que el Platypod eXtreme ha sido una de las mejores herramientas de fotografia que he añadido en mi arsenal.
Anoche cometi el error de pedirle a una persona que tomara fotos de grupo en una actividad que me invitaron en el Museo de Arte en Filadelfia. Casi todas las fotos de grupo que tomo la persona quedaron inservibles. Trate de arreglar algunas fotos, pero es impossible. Perdi una gran oportunidad de utilizar el Platypod en esta ocasion.
El Museo de Arte en Filadelfia es uno muy interesante, pero prefiero no ir porque prohiben usar el tripode para estabilizar la camara. En el pasado me ha pasado este problema en otros eventos o actividades. Bueno que me pase por no aprender la leccion; mas vale prevenir que tener que lamentar.
In hindsight, I regret not capturing/recording a few video clips during my Paris trip earlier this year. I also failed to use my GoPro action camera to record snorkeling underwater in Puerto Rico, and filming the kayaking tour adventure in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, this past summer. Those video clips could've been used for the channel introduction.
To get used to the recording process, in a few weeks I am going to start by creating a test video to make sure the sound, lighting and camera settings are set correctly.
On the first video I will be Painting in Light my motorcycle in the garage at night. It should be fun, and once the video is finished and uploaded, I will post a YouTube link to it.
Enjoy the pictures!
One thing I was not expecting, was to learn that this new hobby has inspired me and opened another door on my photography journey. Never in my wildest dreams I would've ever thought about combining kayaking with taking landscape photos.
I need to be extra careful carrying my camera gear, and shooting while kayaking. The last thing I need is dropping my camera gear deep in the water.
This is my favorite picture from my first ever kayaking adventure in the Lehigh River in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The kayak selfie was taken with a cheap point-and-shoot Sony Cyber-shot DSC-530 digital camera.
I really like the background scene on this image. Even though I wasn't happy with the original plain dull grey sky, I used a replacement composite sky using Adobe Photoshop Elements. Once I get more comfortable with the kayak basics, and gain more experience doing this kayaking thingy, I am going to try incorporate photographing landscapes into this new hobby.
