Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA (Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse)

I recently visited Monterey and went south a bit more also visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos State Reserve, and Big Sur. This trip along California's beautiful coastline has lead me take many many beautiful photos! I am here to share them with you spread over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing these photos!

Before I get started, I would just like to remind you that I made a Facebook Fan page for this photography blog. You can "Like Us" here. I have also made Google+ and Twitter pages. If you follow or "Like" me on these, you can be updated whenever I post something new! :) Please invite your friends too! I'm trying to get more viewers on here. Anyways, as always, enjoy my photos!

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view the best photos from this trip, use this link. To view all of the photos from this trip, use this link.

Parts
Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos
Message from the Photographer: Be forewarned that the photos in today's article may make you crave for Japanese food. :P This is because today's photos will be of the Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse restaurant at the Monterey Fisherman's Wharf. This means most of the photos on this article is of Japanese food and I have adjusted the values of the RAW photos just a little bit so they seem a bit more appetizing. If you are on a diet, it's a good idea to skip over this post... or not! Up to you! 

So before you go looking at the photos, let me tell you the food there is so good that I over-ate during that meal and still wanted more even though I was full! LOL So yeah, the food tastes as good as they look in these photos. If you ever head to Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey (not San Francisco!), I recommend you drop by them for at least one meal! It's worth the money and the parking fees! 

Here is a photo of the restaurant. This is the only non-food photo in this post. 

I kind of forgot what this was. I think this was the calamari steak. Not too sure. Was very good though. 

Books on Japanese Food:

Beef Yaki Soba

Yum... Sushi... Starting to crave for food as I'm writing this article. LOL

I think this was the fried scallop balls.

Need a Camera Bag?

Another photo of what I think is the calamari steak. To the right is the fried scallop balls shown above. 

Caesar salad

 Miso soup
The white light you see reflected from the soup is from my camera's built-in flash. I used some paper to soften it up but it still wasn't soft enough. LOL Not too bad though, you should have seen the unsoftened image. HAHA

So this is all the photos I took of my meal! I hope you have enjoyed viewing this tasty blog post! :) If you ever visit Monterey, I recommend you drop by the restaurant. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts
Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA (George's Birds)

I recently visited Monterey and went south a bit more also visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos State Reserve, and Big Sur. This trip along California's beautiful coastline has lead me take many many beautiful photos! I am here to share them with you spread over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing these photos!

Before I get started, I would just like to remind you that I made a Facebook Fan page for this photography blog. You can "Like Us" here. I have also made Google+ and Twitter pages. If you follow or "Like" me on these, you can be updated whenever I post something new! :) Please invite your friends too! I'm trying to get more viewers on here. Anyways, as always, enjoy my photos!

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view the best photos from this trip, use this link. See my best bird photos from 2012 here. To view all of the photos from this trip, use this link.

Parts
Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos
So sorry for the delay in photos, I have been very busy recently. My summer college classes just ended like a few days ago, the day after it ended, I went on a white-water rafting trip which I just got back from yesterday. What else I have planned? A trip to Yosemite coming up in 5 days. So my schedule has been tightly packed recent, so I didn't have any time to post. I will be looking at those white-water rafting trip photos later today. The photos from the trip was mainly from my campsite (I camped out for 1 night) and not from the rafting trip (for obvious reasons... LOL). I attempted a 2 hour star trails time lapse that night because the campgrounds was in a pretty rural area and I really wanted to try. Those photos will be coming up later...

What a long message today! So anyways let's talk about today's photos. When I went to Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf, I saw a guy pushing a cart of birds to the parking lot. The cart said George's Birds. I think they were performance birds for the street performance. The guy let the people that gathered around to take photos, pet, and hold his birds. Anyways, here are the photos of the birds! I hope you enjoy viewing them! They are pretty cute.

Update 7-31-2012: Further Googling shows George's birds are not show birds. George's Birds is a rescue program run by a guy named George Brandt. He takes the birds to Monterey Fisherman's Wharf every Sunday afternoon on a display cart. He allows anyone, especially little kids, who is interested to pet and hold them. He also accepts donations if anyone want to support his rescue program.

Here are the Fisherman's Wharf tourists playing with the birds.  

The parrot species are definitely not in my North American bird guide. So unless anyone tells me what the name is in the comments below, I won't have any names for you. 


African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus)
I do know a few parrot breeds as I have two parakeets and I've read a little bit about parrots/parakeets online. 

Left: Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna)
Right: Please help me in the comments below.

White Cockatoo (Cacatua alba) (also known as the Umbrella Cockatoo)


He had two of them. 

Here is a guy scratching its neck.

Not sure about what parrot this is either.
Update 5-1-2013: A commenter says this is a Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus)

Thank you for looking at these photos! I hope you have enjoyed viewing these cute photos of the birds. I have coming up 3 more posts on Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Big Sur photos. Again, I am sorry about this long delay in the photos. I may start posting a little bit more frequently to catch up as I have new photos coming in and I haven't even finished posting up my old ones yet. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts
Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Canon's New EOS M Series Cameras

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

Disclaimer: The author is not responsible for any incorrect or unclear information provided in this post. You read this article and follow the information at your own risk. Prices are subject to change over time. 

As you know camera companies, like Nikon, Sony, and Olympus, has started pushing out the new compact DSLR cameras. It has been promised these new compact cameras give near real DSLR quality photos, and is extremely compact and light weight due to the lack of mirror and viewfinder. The rest of the camera is pretty much the same as a big bulky DSLR as it has interchangeable lenses too with different mode switches and flash hot-shoes. Canon has now released their own compact DSLR line beginning the EOS M series cameras which is also compatible with both EF-S and EF mount lenses as long as an adapter is used. The camera is compatible with the new EF-M mount lenses with no adapter. This new camera is an 18 megapixel camera and has most of the functions a real Canon EOS DSLR would have. The new camera features a CMOS (APS-C) sensor, DIGIC 5 Image Processor, and an ISO range of 100 to 25600. Compared to a 35mm full frame sensor camera, this camera has a crop ratio of 1.6x. The new EOS M camera has all the modes a regular DSLR has (Auto, Creative Auto, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, and Bulb) plus lot's of creative "scene modes" including Portrait, Landscape, Close Up, Sports, Night Portrait, Hand-held Night Scene Mode, and HDR Backlight Control Mode. The camera also captures crystal clear 1080p video and offers full time auto focus during the take (use STM lens for quieter/smoother focusing during video). Videos and photos can be viewed on a TV via mini-HDMI. These are just some of the features of the new EOS M series cameras. If you have $800 to spare and hate carrying your big bulky DSLR everywhere you go, or you just want to do some amateur photography work, I would recommend you to buy and try one of these cameras! If you do, please use my link! Thank you for reading!

Accessories for the new camera.

Specifications:
  • Dimensions: Approx. 4.28 x 2.62 x 1.27 in./ 108.6 x 66.5 x 32.3mm
  • Weight: Approx. 9.2 oz. / 262g (body only)
  • Storage: SD, SDHC, SDXC cards
  • LCD: Touchscreen, fingerprint resistant, 3 inch screen
  • No viewfinder, LCD is used
  • No built in flash. Needs Speedlite 90EX or other flash. (Standard Hotshoe)
  • 18 MP CMOS Sensor (3:2 ratio photos)(1.6x crop ratio compared to 35mm full frame)
  • Photo Modes: JPEG, RAW, RAW+JPEG
  • Ultrasonic Sensor Cleaning and Dust Delete like the real DSLRs
  • Full 1080p video (stereo audio and auto focus during take), can be played back on TV via mini-HDMI
  • Features all DSLR Modes (Auto, Creative Auto, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, and Bulb)
  • Features scene modes like Portrait, Landscape, Close Up, Sports, Night Portrait, Hand-held Night Scene Mode, and HDR Backlight Control Mode

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Unboxing the StudioHut Multi-Function Timer Remote Control (Video)


This is the Unboxing for the StudioHut Multi-Function Timer Remote Control for the Canon EOS series cameras with the 3 pin connectors. The company also makes it for a few other brands of cameras. This device is an intervalometer and is great for time lapse photography.

Subscribe me on Youtube here.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Point Lobos State Reserve (Regular Scenery)

I recently visited Monterey and went south a bit more also visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos State Reserve, and Big Sur. This trip along California's beautiful coastline has lead me take many many beautiful photos! I am here to share them with you spread over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos!

Before I get started, I would just like to remind you that I made a Facebook Fan page for this photography blog. You can "Like Us" here. I have also made Google+ and Twitter pages. If you follow or "Like" me on these, you can be updated whenever I post something new! :) Please invite your friends too! I'm trying to get more viewers on here. Anyways, as always, enjoy viewing my photos!

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view the best photos from this trip, use this link. To view all of the photos from this trip, use this link.

Parts
Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos
As you know 2 days ago, I posted the HDR Scenery from Point Lobos State Reserve. Today I have the regular (non-HDR) scenery photos I took. I hope you enjoy viewing these!

Remember the flower field photo I showed in my Flower Post last time? This was also it from a different angle. 

This island rock in the ocean. There are some seals on there if you can see... If you can't, see my post over here for a zoomed in shot. 

 Same seal island from a different angle. 


There is the seal island off to the right. Funny how it looked so big from above and how it looks so small now. 

This shot is from another view point in the park. Loved the rock formations. 

Note this shot was aimed slightly down. Quite a slope! 

Thick forestation on some of the hills. 

These are all the photos for this post! I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. This also concludes my Point Lobos State Reserve photos. Next in my collection includes my Monterey photos, Carmel-by-the-Sea photos, and Big Sur photos, so please check back soon! Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts
Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos

    Tuesday, July 17, 2012

    RainbowImaging 100 Meter 2.4 GHz Wireless Shutter Release Review (Video)


    This is the video review for the RainbowImaging 100 Meter 2.4 GHZ Wireless Shutter Release for cameras and DSLRs. The kit comes with the transmitter, receiver, batteries, a certification, and a badly translated instruction manual. XD The product in the video was the shutter release for the "3 pin" Canon EOS cameras. The remote also features 4 modes including single shutter, multiple shutter, bulb, and delay. The same company also makes other shutter released for other brand cameras like Canon (other type of connector), Pentax, Panasonic, Nikon, Sony, FujiFilm, and Samsung.

    Reviews of other products mentioned in video:
    Subscribe me on Youtube here.

    Monday, July 16, 2012

    Point Lobos State Reserve (HDR Scenery)

    I recently visited Monterey and went south a bit more also visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos State Reserve, and Big Sur. This trip along California's beautiful coastline has lead me take many many beautiful photos! I am here to share them with you spread over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos!

    Before I get started, I would just like to remind you that I made a Facebook Fan page for this photography blog. You can "Like Us" here. I have also made Google+ and Twitter pages. If you follow or "Like" me on these, you can be updated whenever I post something new! :) Please invite your friends too! I'm trying to get more viewers on here. Anyways, as always, enjoy my photos!

    Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view the best photos from this trip, use this link. To view all of the photos from this trip, use this link.

    Parts
    Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
    Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
    Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos
    The photos today are the HDR sceneries I did at Point Lobos State Reserve. The HDR compositions were combined using Adobe Photoshop. About half of my HDR sequences were ruined because the waves moved too fast so the photos had too much of a difference to be combined, but I did have a few good ones. I hope you enjoy viewing these! I have also put a few photography tips in this post, make sure you read them! :)

    Thought the rock formations and flowers looked cool. 

    Photography Tip: The best places to take HDR photos is when there are a lot of colors around. See how in in the above photos there are blue, white, yellow, green, and some oranges? When choosing where to take an HDR sequence, you want to choose a place with lot's of colors. 

    Rocks and ocean. the reason the water looks so transparent is because I used a polarizing filter on the photos. 

    Photography Tip: I know I've gave this tip on a previous post of mine, but here it is again. Polarizing filters can help remove glare from water and shiny surfaces (like glass). The filters can also help saturate the colors in your photos especially blue skies. If you take a lot of scenery photos, a polarizer filter is highly recommended. Please note that that like most filters (except UV) cut out light, which means you must compensate with either: longer exposures, higher ISO, or wider apertures. Polarizing filters usually cut about 1-3 steps of light. It is also recommended that you aim for the filters that cost over $60 as cheaper filters may cause unwanted glare or uneven filtering. Remember, you get what you pay for! My favorite brands are B+W and Hoya. Both companies make very high quality optics. Please also pay close attention to the filter size of your lens if you are purchasing one.


     Not a lot of comments today about the photos. LOL



    I hope you have enjoyed viewing these HDR compositions! Next time I will post the regular scenery photos I took at Point Lobos so please check back soon! Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

    Parts
    Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
    Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
    Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos

      Saturday, July 14, 2012

      Point Lobos State Reserve (Flowers and Misc)

      I recently visited Monterey and went south a bit more also visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos State Reserve, and Big Sur. This trip along California's beautiful coastline has lead me take many many beautiful photos! I am here to share them with you spread over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy!

      Before I get started, I would just like to remind you that I made a Facebook Fan page for this photography blog. You can "Like Us" here. I have also made Google+ and Twitter pages. If you follow or "Like" me on these, you can be updated whenever I post something new! :) Please invite your friends too! I'm trying to get more viewers on here. Anyways, as always, enjoy my photos!

      Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view the best photos from this trip, use this link. To view my best flower photos, use this link. To view all of the photos from this trip, use this link.

      Parts
      Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
      Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
      Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos
      Today's photos will be flowers and other miscellaneous stuff I took a photo of. I was planning on putting this toward the end of my Point Lobos photos, but I think some of the flowers I took a photo of turned out great! So, pretty much, all the tiny, macro photos out of the way first before I start the scenery stuff. :) I hope you enjoy the photos! 

      This looks like a Hottentot Fig (Carpobrotus edulis). Not too sure though. 

      I don't know the name of this flower. Couldn't find it. If you know the name, please help me out! 

      Monterey Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja latifolia)


      Rock formation on the ground. I thought it was a nice shape! The rocks there are shaped by the seawater. 

      Let's just call this yellow flower... That's right, no clue what it is. LOL

      Sticky monkey-flower (Mimulus aurantiacus)
      Finally named one! HAHA

      If you enjoy photography, I would recommend getting a camera bag. Here are some recommendations!

      The flower fields... I was actually debating if I should put this with my scenery photos or put it with the flower photos here. In the end, I put it here. :) 

      Another photo the rock formations. 

      This is the seal island zoomed out a bit. Remember the seals you saw in my first post?

      This is all the photos for today! I hope you have enjoyed these photos. For the next 2 posts, I have decided to split my scenery photos to a regular photos and a HDR post because I have quite a lot of scenery photos. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

      Parts
      Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
      Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
      Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos

        Friday, July 13, 2012

        Zeikos Remote Shutter Release for Canon Review (Video)


        This is the Zeikos Remote Shutter Release for Canon. This remote is for the 3 pin connector type cameras, not for the headphone jack type cameras. I find this remote very useful for keeping my camera still for landscape, portrait, and macro photography. Like the Canon remote, this remote has a button locking feature for Bulb exposures. The only difference between the Canon remote and this one is that this remote only costs around 1/8 (estimate) the price of a Canon remote. The Canon remote is made of the same cheap plastic this is made of, so don't be fooled!

        Some of the compatible cameras:
        • 5D Series
        • 7D Series
        • 1D Series
        • 50D Series
        • Other "3-pin" type connectors or use the Canon RS-80N3
        Features:
        • 3 feet Cord
        • Button Lock (Bulb)
        • 2 Step Button (Focus/Shutter Release)
        • Cost around $5 compared to Canon's $40
        Follow me on Youtube here.

        Thursday, July 12, 2012

        Point Lobos State Reserve (Squirrels)

        I recently visited Monterey and went south a bit more also visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos State Reserve, and Big Sur. This trip along California's beautiful coastline has lead me take many many beautiful photos! I am here to share them with you spread over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy!

        Before I get started, I would just like to remind you that I made a Facebook Fan page for this photography blog. You can "Like Us" here. I have also made Google+ and Twitter pages. If you follow or "Like" me on these, you can be updated whenever I post something new! :) Please invite your friends too! I'm trying to get more viewers on here. Anyways, as always, enjoy my photos!

        Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view the best photos from this trip, use this link. To view my best squirrel photos, use this link. To view all of the photos from this trip, use this link.

        Parts
        Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
        Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
        Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos
        Today I have photos of this squirrel I took photos of at Point Lobos State Reserve. Here is the story of how I found it. I saw it and approached it to take a photo. It stood up for me and started begging me for food. ROFL :P Cute right? I gave it a small piece of cracker. I bet a lot of people feed it...

        Probably one of the best photos I took on this trip. Along the photo of the Western Scrub-Jay in the last post. There is the ocean in the background. Weird how the background didn't blur up too much. I opened up my aperture to the widest! 

        Photography Tip: Adjust your aperture according to how much of the background AND the subject you want blurred. Generally for bird and animal photography, it is good to get on the same level as the subject. You either have to lower your camera very low toward the ground, or stand up and shoot same level. This, however, doesn't apply to all photos. As you can see in the photos I have below, I have done some special cute photos shooting the photo of the subject from above.

        The squirrel literally begging for food. :P This is what I was talking about in my Photography Tip above. You don't always have to get on the same level with your subject. Sometimes you can achieve great affects shooting from above or below the subject too! 

        Another great example of the shooting from above. 

        There is the cracker I gave it. HAHA Cute right? 


        I only gave it one. It was one of those Japanese cracker thingys. It tried to beg for more though. 

        Almost finished! 

        After it finished eating the cracker, it spat out an almond and started eating it. Disgusting right? Not the first time I've seen a squirrel do this. LOL They seem to enjoy storing food in their mouth for later. 

        Thanks for looking! I hope you have enjoyed these photos I have posted today! Next time I will either have flower photos from or scenery from Point Lobos State Reserve. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

        Parts
        Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery
        Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc Seagulls
        Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos