Thursday, June 27, 2013

Pier 7 - San Francisco, CA (Part 3)

Last month, a few G+ photographers wanted to have a photo walk at Pier 7 in San Francisco, CA. I went and took some photos, mostly sunset photos. I will be splitting them into 3 parts. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos. Pier 7 is a wonderful place to visit, especially during sunset and at night. It was a very beautiful place. I forgot what time it was, but I think some of the parking meters (near Pier 7) is free after 6 PM. If you do go, make sure you plan accordingly! I got free parking that day (which is hard to find in San Francisco).

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. If you are interested, please select a link from below:
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 

Today I have photos of sunset from Pier 7, photos of this interesting looking boat, and a few night long exposures from on and near Pier 7. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos.

Remember that interesting looking boat I showed you in the last part? I took a long exposure of it moving across the water.  

Another long exposure of the boat moving across the water.   

We called for the owner to swing by the pier. :) 

 Another photo of the boat.


 Sunset over Pier 7 and the Transamerica Pyramid.  

 Sunset over Oakland, Treasure Island, and the Bay Bridge. The lights on the Bay Bridge starting to light up.  

Sunset over Oakland, Treasure Island, and the Bay Bridge. The lights on the Bay Bridge starting to light up.  

 Sunset over Oakland, Treasure Island, and the Bay Bridge. The lights on the Bay Bridge starting to light up. 


 Sunset over Pier 7 and the Transamerica Pyramid. Almost night time at Pier 7. 

A long exposure at night near Pier 7. 

A long exposure at night near Pier 7 of Pier 7, Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, and Oakland. 

These are all the photos I took at San Francisco, CA. I hope you have enjoyed viewing this chain of posts. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Canon "Crap" Service Center in Irvine, CA

UPDATE: Canon has finally repaired my camera after 3 TRIPS to the repair center. Read this article to find out what happened.

I would like to tell you about Canon's "Crap" Service Center in Irvine, CA. As you guys know that a while back I told you that the self cleaning unit on my Canon EOS 5D Mark III is most likely malfunctioning and that my sensor got dirty fast as it isn't shaking any dust off. So I went ahead, contacted Canon about it and they told me to ship it into their service center so they can have a look. While at it, I also told them about the under exposure issue I was having with the camera. Once I got it back, they told me they have adjusted the meter system which was slightly off. Also they said that they did check and adjust my self cleaning unit (pretty much admitting it was malfunctioning) and that they also gave me a sensor clean. Note that the only reason the sensor got so dirty that I had to get it cleaned was because the self cleaning unit was malfunctioning. So I got it back and noticed that their technician left some residue on my lens. I told Canon about it, and they were nice enough to give me a free shipping label to get my camera back in for a reclean, something they didn't do adequately the first time it was in there. I was happy and I sent it back in for a reclean. Funny thing. Once I got it back, not only was my sensor dirtier than when I sent it in (I have photos to prove this), there was also a deep scratch across the Canon logo on the back of the camera, and if it wasn't for my screen protector on the LCD, they would have left a small but deep mark on my LCD too! What kind of "professional service" is this? More like "we have workers who don't give a shit about you". If you need your camera repaired do not ship your camera to the service center in Irvine, CA. It's a joke. Let this be a warning. Do not trust your camera to the service center in Irvine, CA. I have contacted Canon customer support about this. Will update you guys if anything turns up.

Update 6-27-2013:
I got an email back from Canon saying:
"Dear Eric Wu:

We appreciate your continued correspondence regarding EOS 5D Mark III.

I'm sorry to hear the problems you are having with our service center. If you would reply to this email with the previous repair number I will get you a shipping label to get the camera back to us, so we can correct this for you. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause having to send it back in, buy we will get this taken care of for you.

We look forward to your reply with the information we have requested regarding your EOS 5D Mark III. Thank you for choosing Canon.

Sincerely,

[Name Removed For Privacy]
Technical Support Representative"

Here is what I have to say to that. Do you not hear me of the condition I got my camera back in? You expect me to trust and to ship my camera back to the same service center that "corrected this for you [me]" the first time? How exactly are they going to "correct this for you"? By making another scratch on my camera? Come on Canon, you better have a better solution or I will be spreading this everywhere on the internet.

Update 7-1-2013:
Canon has provided me with a shipping label to get it back to the service center and I just dropped it off at my local UPS store today. The customer support supervisor has also promised that he will request the service center to have a "senior" technician work on my camera and a more thorough quality control check after the repairs before they send it back to me. This has made me feel slightly more reassured which is why I have sent it back. Canon if you are reading this, if you screw up my camera again, you are loosing a customer for good, and I will also be spreading this repair story everywhere on the internet. Don't disappoint me. My blog may look small but I have many many followers elsewhere plus I teach photography. If you guys disappoint me again, I'll be sure to spread this story!

Update 7-8-2013:
Just got an update from Canon's service center. They will spare me a labor charge however wants me to pay $236.62 + tax for replacement parts (most likely due to the scratches) and $15 for shipping. This brings the total charge to $273.18. Are you serious Canon? Your service center put those scratches on my camera! Not me! Definitely will complain and work things out with the customer support because there seems to be no email contact for the service center. This is very unprofessional and unethical Canon!

Update 7-9-2013:
After posting my repair story on Canon's Facebook page yesterday, they removed the post immediately. This morning, Canon private messaged me on Facebook saying that they have readjusted the estimate and removed the charges. I checked the new estimate and it says it will be a free in-warranty repair. Several hours later at 4:22 PM, they have said they have shipped the camera back to me. Canon, if you screwed up my camera again, I will be updating my review on this camera on sites including Amazon and Adorama stating how you guys screwed up my repair a 3rd time. The 2 websites everyone goes to look before they make a purchase. If my camera comes back satisfied, I will be raising my ratings and updating those reviews.  Let's see how it turns out.

Update 7-11-2013:
Just got my camera back from the repair center today (it was the Irvine repair center for all 3 repairs). My camera was wrapped in a bag that said CPS, so Canon Professional Services probably took on this repair as I am a member. While the sensor is not 100% clean, it meets my expectations. The few dust spots left on the sensor are not very visible (from my test shot) until I boosted up the Clarity in Camera RAW. They have also replaced the parts of the camera that they have scratched up free of charge. Now I just have to go replace the screen protector the removed to replace the parts. No biggy, only cost me a few cents anyways. Thank you Canon for fixing my camera up. While having to send my camera into the repair center 3 times is a quite ridiculous, I am happy my camera is finally fixed and can be used again. I can finally go on vacation soon which I had to delay because the camera was in the repair center. Will update here if anything comes up, if not, you will see more photos I take with this camera up on this blog. :)

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Pier 7 - San Francisco, CA (Part 2)

Last month, a few G+ photographers wanted to have a photo walk at Pier 7 in San Francisco, CA. I went and took some photos, mostly sunset photos. I will be splitting them into 3 parts. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos. Pier 7 is a wonderful place to visit, especially during sunset and at night. It was a very beautiful place. I forgot what time it was, but I think some of the parking meters (near Pier 7) is free after 6 PM. If you do go, make sure you plan accordingly! I got free parking that day (which is hard to find in San Francisco).

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. If you are interested, please select a link from below:
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3

Today I have photos of sunset from Pier 7 and photos of this interesting looking boat. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos.

The interesting looking boat cruising around the bay.  

Sunset over a neighboring pier of Pier 7.  

 Sunset over Oakland, Treasure Island, and the Bay Bridge. 


View of the the San Francisco Belle, Bay Bridge, and San Francisco from Pier 7.  

Sunset over Pier 7 and the Transamerica Pyramid.  

 Sunset over the ocean.


Sunset over Pier 7 and the Transamerica Pyramid.  

 Sunset over Oakland, Treasure Island, and the Bay Bridge.  

Sunset over Pier 7 and the Transamerica Pyramid.  

These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Next time, I have more sunset photos, photos of the interesting looking boat, and a few night time long exposures on and near Pier 7. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Super Moon from 6-22-2013 to 6-23-2013

The night between 6-22-2013 to 6-23-2013, there was a super moon. A super moon is when the moon and Earth is the closest during the moon's elliptical orbit around the Earth. A super moon is always a full moon. During a super moon, the moon appears 14% wider and 30% brighter than it does from the farthest point in its orbit. All the photos I am posting today is 100% crops (when viewed at full size) and are taken at the 300mm end of the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens. If you would like to view the photos in a slide show form, just click on one of the photos to bring up the slide show.

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 here.

Message from the Photographer: Since a lot of people will want to see photos of the super moon, I've decided to splice the photos between my San Francisco photos. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos.






These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing these moon photos. :) Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Pier 7 - San Francisco, CA (Part 1)

Last month, a few G+ photographers wanted to have a photo walk at Pier 7 in San Francisco, CA. I went and took some photos, mostly sunset photos. I will be splitting them into 3 parts. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos. Pier 7 is a wonderful place to visit, especially during sunset and at night. It was a very beautiful place. I forgot what time it was, but I think some of the parking meters (near Pier 7) is free after 6 PM. If you do go, make sure you plan accordingly! I got free parking that day (which is hard to find in San Francisco).

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. If you are interested, please select a link from below:
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3

Today I have photos on my walk to Pier 7 from where I parked, and a few sunset and city photos. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos.

I parked my car on Green Street and I took this photo at the intersection with The Embarcadero before I crossed the street. 

The Exploratorium at Pier 17. 

Pier 7

View of the the San Francisco Belle from Pier 7. 


Sunset over a neighboring pier of Pier 7. 

A city landscape shot of San Francisco from Pier 7. 

Pier 7 and the Transamerica Pyramid. 


Sunset over Oakland, Treasure Island, and the Bay Bridge. 

Another photo of sunset over a neighboring pier of Pier 7. 

Another photo of the San Francisco Belle. 

These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Next time, I have more sunset photos and photos of this interesting looking boat. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Arroyo Del Valle Trail and Pleasanton Tennis and Community Park (Pleasanton, CA)

Today I have photos from Arroyo Del Valle Trail and Pleasanton Tennis and Community Park in Pleasanton, CA. If you follow me on here, you most likely know that I live pretty close to the Arroyo Del Valle walking trail and go there to exercise and take photos often. Since the walking trails connects to Pleasanton Tennis and Community Park, I also visit the park. Here are some photos I took in both areas.

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 see my best photos of flower photos, use this link. To see my best photos of Pleasanton in 2013, use this link. To see all of my photos from Pleasanton in 2013, use this link.

Flowers blooming on Arroyo Del Valle Trail. Not sure what they are. If you know, please comment below.  

Flowers blooming in Pleasanton Tennis and Community Park. These could be cherry blossoms, but I'm not too sure. If I'm wrong, please correct me in the comments below. 

Flowers blooming in Pleasanton Tennis and Community Park. Not sure what they are. If you know, please comment below. 

 Flowers blooming in Pleasanton Tennis and Community Park. Not sure what they are. If you know, please comment below. 


Fish swimming in the stream of water below Arroyo Del Valle Trail. I don't see fish very often in the waters so I took a photo. 

These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Close Up Lego Photography

Remember those Legos that you used to play with as a kid? You can still put those to pretty good use! Here are a few photos I shot with my Legos which I dug out of my closet somewhere along with an old Burger King toy I had. Those old toys you have make great close up subjects, and a great idea if you are stuck at home on a rainy day. :) I hope you enjoy viewing these shots.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. See my best product photography here. See all of my product photography photos here.

Message from the Photographer: Summer classes have started for me, which will take quite a lot of my time. If I don't post for a day, this is probably why. I hope you all understand. :) I will try to keep up doing one every other day.

On the left I have this Homer (The Simpsons) as Godzilla toy I got from Burger King years ago. On the right I have 2 Lego mini figures (no clue which set they came from).  

 Another photo of the same set up. While background achieved using a piece of paper. 


Now a photo of just the Lego mini figures.  

A photo of Homer (The Simpsons) as Godzilla. Got this at Burger King years ago. 

These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.