Pic of the day: 2012/02/26

Yet another picture from the IXUS 105.

This was taken at Villa Escudero on December 30, 2010. The subjects? Don't know them, but I couldn't resist taking a pic as well when they struck a pose for another photographer. The lady on the left has pretty impressive flexibility; I've taken taekwondo for years and I couldn't replicate her pose at all even with a good dose of stretching. And she just pulled it off, out of the blue, and on unusual footing to boot. Ballet training, I suppose.

Since the pose only lasted a fraction of a second, I didn't have the time to properly zoom using my own camera. As such, what I have here is a crop of the original image.





Sidenote:
And now that I've reached 591 pictures hosted on imageshack, it seems that anything older than the 500th oldest image will eventually be deleted. Guess that's what I get for not reading the fine print.

Pic of the day: 2012/02/25

Yet another sunset from my window.

I called up Canon's service center yesterday and, unsurprisingly, my EOS 600D still isn't available.

Lensbaby practice (Eastwood Mall, 2012/01/24)

Took my Lensbaby Sweet 35 (who the hell comes up with these girly names?) for some practice at Eastwood Mall, a day after Chinese New Year.






Using full resolution for this particular lens is downright pointless since this piece of equipment was never intended for image sharpness anyway.

Again, the challenge of manual focusing became evident here.

Their pose was significantly better a few seconds ago, but the poor focus left the resulting image unusable.

The Lensbaby effect, while interesting, is like spice or sugarcoating: stick to it for too long and it gets sickening after a while. Use in moderation.

Pic of the day: 2012/02/19

Today was my grandmother's 95th birthday.



She reminds me of the appliances of ages past: sturdy and stubborn as hell. She's already outlived several people from my generation.

Not suffering from withdrawal, I think

It's been a week since I sent the 600D for service and repair, and I was initially told that I could pick it up in two weeks. I've read the horror stories on the net about delays of up to 2 or 3 months, so I'd rather not keep my hopes up to deaden the disappointment and frustration.

For now, I'm making do with my IXUS 105; a significantly more basic camera which isn't even supported by CHDK for unofficial firmware enhancements. The thing would have earned more of my respect if it had allowed manual focus, but, alas.

Still, it's better than nothing, and it did allow me to capture an unusual occurence in the night sky.


Spotting two planes in the sky is rare enough in this area, but seeing 5 - 6 of them in one corner of the sky is certainly rare. It's probably a training exercise of sorts by the local air force, but I'm surprised that they'd even bother.

Northwest in the Southeast - (miscellaneous)

Northwest in the Southeast - (Bantay Bell Tower, Vigan, Ilocos Sur)

Day 4:

Like an oversized chess piece. Freud might say that the friars were probably making up for something.

Northwest in the Southeast - (Bangui Viewing Deck, Ilocos Norte)

Day 3:


A lone shop, apparently in the middle of nowhere, with a scenic view of the sea.

Sounds familiar?

Click for larger view.

Besides the fantastic view, another peculiar feature of this shop is its remote location. Sure, clusters of small stores along the highway are a common sight, but this particular shop stands out in my memory for being so isolated.

I've always thought fondly of this spot because it reminded me of Cafe Alpha. We passed by again last December, and it was closed at that time; hopefully, only for the holiday season. It'd be depressing if they had gone out of business.

Incidentally,



not a fish-shaped weathervane, but it's a welcome addition to my desk.

Post 7 of 9.

Northwest in the Southeast - (Bangui, Ilocos Norte)

Day 3: