Monday, February 29, 2016

My second drone flight!

If you saw the blog post I posted yesterday, you will know I got a new DJI Phantom 3 Professional Quadcopter!! This was a Christmas gift from my parents. So, expect new and exciting aerial photography from Sunny! :) These photos on the blog post will not be on my portfolio or anything as this was just a casual shoot with the quadcopter. I was mainly just practicing how to fly this thing, my focus wasn't photography. I just shot off a few random photos for fun and as a special treat today, I also shot video for vlogging (this will come up later this week if I finish processing it). The photos were shot in RAW and processed in Photoshop. Trust me, the JPEGs straight from the camera was pretty below average, however the RAW data is good! I was able to get a ton of detail out of that.

What are the results today? I brought a blanket as a helipad for this thing. It made take off easier and made sure nothing touched the camera gimbal while the quadcopter was grounded. Also I managed to successfully land the drone on the tiny piece of blanket, not once, but twice today! Yes, I'm starting to get the hang of how to land this thing on a very small target. That was a success. I'm also learning a tiny bit on how to fly FPV so I can fly it a bit further while it is up really high in the air.

The photos (again) are shot at Ken Mercer Sports Park in Pleasanton, CA.

Full Resolution Photos: If you want to see full resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best aerial photos for 2016, use this link. To see all of my random 2016 aerial photos, use this link.




This is all the photos for today! I hope you have enjoyed the 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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Truckee & Tahoe (Part 2) - February 2016 Vlog


I went up to Truckee, CA with a few friends for vacation, sightseeing, and of course photography. Here is part 2 of the 3 part vlog series where I visited Truckee, Donner Lake, and Lake Tahoe. In the vlogs, you will get to see the videos of the places I took photos at, get some tips and tricks for photography and traveling in the great outdoors, and see little bits of my hangout with my friends (yes, it did get a bit crazy in a few of the clips).

In this vlog:
  • Lake Tahoe (Several Locations)
  • Tahoe City, CA (and Tahoe City Marina)
  • Kings Beach, CA (Along with Griff Creek)
  • Sunny drinks lake water (and introduces you to LifeStraw).
  • Incline Village, NV (I cross state line!)
  • Lot's of sunset views
  • Driving at night across the state line between Crystal Bay, NV & Kings Beach, CA. 
  • My friends and I play Cards Against Humanity. It did get a bit crazy later that night. There will be a 10 second warning before this section starts as it may contain content some individuals may find offensive. 
Warning: Hateful, rude, anti-LGBT comments will be deleted, and you may be banned from my channel.


Subscribe to my Youtube Channel here.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

My first drone flight!

That is right folks! I got a new DJI Phantom 3 Professional Quadcopter. This was a Christmas gift from my parents. So, expect new and exciting aerial photography from Sunny! :) Piloting this thing will be fun. These photos on the blog post will not be on my portfolio or anything as this was just a casual shoot with the quadcopter. I was mainly just practicing how to fly this thing today, my focus wasn't photography. I just shot off a few random photos for fun. The photos were shot in RAW and processed in Photoshop. Trust me, the JPEGs straight from the camera was pretty below average, however the RAW data is good! I was able to get a ton of detail out of that.

Results... Return to Home works well... Automatic landing works well... Signal at 120m altitude (maximum legal height in the US) was great... Manual landing, I need to practice. I tried to land the thing manually once and sorta screwed it up. I flew it down, and because I descended a bit too fast, the air got a bit turbulent as the quadcopter hit the ground (at around 1-2 feet) and started wobbling from the back draft of air getting forced up from the uneven grass. I did get it down to the ground however, but that is where I messed up. I should have kept the throttle down for a bit for the motor to slow down before giving it a CSC to cut power to the motors. I did not do that and ended up toppling the quadcopter over where it proceeded to rip grass and dirt out of the ground. No damage, but I did get grass juice and little bits of grass on the quadcopter (mostly on the propellers). LOL That came off later easily with a wet paper towel.

Photos where shot at the Ken Mercer Sports Park in Pleasanton, CA. There are a ton of open grass area with little people here and without much trees to crash into. I thought it was a pretty good place to do my first flight and to practice at.

Full Resolution Photos: If you want to see full resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos (other than the photos of me), please contact me here. To view my best aerial photos for 2016, use this link. To see all of my Pleasanton, CA 2016 aerial photos, use this link.

Here is a photo of your drone pilot... Sunny! I had my glasses on as I'm nearsighted and I figured it would be better I have a clear view of the quadcopter while in flight. They are transitions so it darkened itself while outdoors.  

 I know out of safety reasons, you should never flyover anyone or yourself, but... I had to do a top down shot like this. :D


A photo from an altitude of 120 meters above ground (the maximum legal altitude permitted in the US). The photo is of the Ken Mercer Sports Park (as you can see it is a huge park) and also Shadow Cliff Regional Park (which should be somewhere on the right in the distance). 

Another aerial photography shot of Pleasanton, CA (with Dublin, CA off in the distance). This photo was also shot at 120 meters above ground. 

This is all the photos for today! I hope you have enjoyed the 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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Truckee & Tahoe (Part 1) - February 2016 Vlog


I went up to Truckee, CA with a few friends for vacation, sightseeing, and of course photography. Here is part 1 of the 3 part vlog series where I visited Truckee, Donner Lake, and Lake Tahoe. In the vlogs, you will get to see the videos of the places I took photos at, get some tips and tricks for photography and traveling in the great outdoors, and see little bits of my hangout with my friends (yes, it did get a bit crazy in a few of the clips).

In this vlog:
  • Lots and lots of snow. 
  • It is snowing in Truckee and I was taking photos out in the snowstorm!
  • Hot tub with Sunny in a bikini. We play with icicles. 
  • Donner Lake & Donner Creek
  • Truckee River (Drive to Tahoe)
Warning: Hateful, rude, anti-LGBT comments will be deleted, and you may be banned from my channel.


Subscribe to my Youtube Channel here.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Sutro Baths & Ocean Beach Sunset - San Francisco, CA (Part 7)

I recently took two trips to San Francisco, CA visiting different places and taking photos. I went to many tourist attraction areas, some lesser known places, and took quite some street photography. I am here to share with you the photos that I took on these trips. The photos I took will be split across 7 blog posts. Day 1 of my trip in San Francisco took place on 1/27/2016, and day 2 of my trip in San Francisco took place on 2/1/2016.

Full Resolution Photos: If you want to see full resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best San Francisco, CA photos for 2016, use this link. To see all of my San Francisco photos from this trip, use this link.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 

Today I have sunset photos from Ocean Beach and Sutro Baths. These photos are Day 2 shot on 2/1/2016.

A sunset photo from Ocean Beach. Ocean Beach is a beach on the west side of San Francisco. As you can see from this photo, this location is great for viewing the sunset. I personally prefer Sutro Baths for viewing sunset (which is close by). The rest of the photos in this blog post is from Sutro Baths. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 28 N 122 30 42 W 

A sunset photo at Sutro Baths. On the left is Cliff House. The Sutro Baths have had a long and interesting history in San Francisco. The Sutro Baths were a large, privately owned salt water swimming pool complex that was built in 1896. At the time, this was a flourishing business, however as time went on, business died down, and the owners had to sell the place. The later owners began demolishing the complex, but the rest of the complex was burned down in a big fire in 1967 and both the project and the land was quickly abandoned. The ruins of Sutro Baths is now a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and has been so since 1973. This place is wonderful to visit not only for the history, but also (as I have mentioned earlier) for the wonderful sunset views. Sutro Baths offers many great photo opportunities. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 48 N 122 30 42 W


A sunset photo at Sutro Baths. I believe this maybe one of my best sunset photos ever.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 50 N 122 30 47 W 

Black and white process of the photo above. 

I hiked down to Sutro Baths and took a low angled sunset photo. I noticed there were some really nice wild grass growing and thought they would make a great foreground for a low angle sunset photo. Anyways, while taking this photo I managed to accidentally loose my jade bracelet... There was a piece of grass that was really out of place in my shot so I quickly grabbed it, ripped it out, and I just swung my arm back to throw it away. The momentum caused my jade bracelet to also slip off. I did take some time and tried to find it but I ended up failing even with the aid of my super bright Nitecore flashlight. I'm guessing it probably got lost in some grass and plants and due to the green color of the jade, it blended in. It wasn't worth much anyways as it was really cheap grade jade beads, and I did already get a replacement so everything is good. Anyways, if you are a tourist or another photographer and you manage to find it, please email me here! Haha! Any locals want to take on the challenge? :D
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 49 N 122 30 48 W 

 Black and white process of the photo above.


A long exposure sunset photo from Sutro Baths. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 51 N 122 30 51 W 

Black and white process of the photo above. 

A long exposure sunset photo shot inside the cave at Sutro Baths. The cave walls were lit up using my super bright Nitecore flashlight. If you are a photographer that does night photography a lot, I recommend you get one of these (or at least a flashlight with a similar output). This really comes in handy at night. This 4000 lumen flashlight of mine practically turns night into day! You can see my YouTube video on this particular model here. Not only is it great for light painting objects during your night time long exposures, but it is also great for photographing caves, helping you find stuff you dropped in the dark (the scenario I detailed earlier was a special case as the jade blended in with the foliage), taking walks at night, camping, and a great backup light source in a middle of a power failure. I've had this flashlight for over half a year now and haven't regretted my purchase yet! 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 50 N 122 30 50 W

This is all the photos for today and for this San Francisco, CA series! I hope you have enjoyed the 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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 

Monday, February 22, 2016

Grandview Park/16th Avenue Tiled Steps - San Francisco (Part 6)

I recently took two trips to San Francisco, CA visiting different places and taking photos. I went to many tourist attraction areas, some lesser known places, and took quite some street photography. I am here to share with you the photos that I took on these trips. The photos I took will be split across 7 blog posts. Day 1 of my trip in San Francisco took place on 1/27/2016, and day 2 of my trip in San Francisco took place on 2/1/2016.

Full Resolution Photos: If you want to see full resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best San Francisco, CA photos for 2016, use this link. To see all of my San Francisco photos from this trip, use this link.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Today I have photos from Grandview Park and 16th Avenue Tiled Steps. These photos are Day 2 shot on 2/1/2016.

A scenery shot from Grandview Park angled towards the Golden Gate Bridge. The giant patch of greenery you see in the front is Golden Gate Park. The orange "church-like" building you see is St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church. Grandview Park offers panoramic views of San Francisco (just like Christmas Tree Point in the last blog post). From Grandview Park you can get a panoramic view of Golden Gate Park, Downtown San Francisco, and the Golden Gate Bridge. This place has a great view both during the day and during sunset. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 23 N 122 28 18 W

Black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo from Grandview Park angled toward Downtown San Francisco. Far off in the distance, you can see the Transamerica Pyramid (you will see a more zoomed in shot later in this blog post). 

Black and white process of the photo above.


A telephoto shot towards the Golden Gate Bridge from Grandview Park. After the wide angle photos, I decided to switch on my telephoto lens for some more zoomed in scenery shots.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 23 N 122 28 19 W

Black and white process of the photo above.

A photo of St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church shot from Grandview Park. 

Black and white process of the photo above.

A sunset photo from Grandview Park shot towards Downtown San Francisco. You can see the Transamerica Pyramid in this photo. I visited Grandview Park right before sunset and I managed to catch a tiny bit of the beginnings of sunset toward the end. I would have stayed longer but I had to rush to Sutro Baths for sunset photos (which will be the next blog post). 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 23 N 122 28 18 W

Black and white process of the photo above.


A photo shot from on top of the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps. Past the end of the stairway is Moraga Street which runs all the way to Ocean Beach. 16th Avenue Tiled Steps is an art project with tile mosaics along the steps of the stairway. If you are dropping by Grandview Park, definitely see the steps too as it is just a few minutes walk from the park. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 23 N 122 28 22 W

A photo of the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps from the bottom of the stairway. I waited for a while and managed to catch a tiny period of time when there were no one on the stairs. This was shot during sunset.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 23 N 122 28 25 W

Black and white process of the photo above.

This is all the photos for today! I hope you have enjoyed the photos! Next time I will post sunset photos from Ocean Beach and Sutro Baths. 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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Sutro Tower & Christmas Tree Point (Twin Peaks) - San Francisco (Part 5)

I recently took two trips to San Francisco, CA visiting different places and taking photos. I went to many tourist attraction areas, some lesser known places, and took quite some street photography. I am here to share with you the photos that I took on these trips. The photos I took will be split across 7 blog posts. Day 1 of my trip in San Francisco took place on 1/27/2016, and day 2 of my trip in San Francisco took place on 2/1/2016.

Full Resolution Photos: If you want to see full resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best San Francisco, CA photos for 2016, use this link. To see all of my San Francisco photos from this trip, use this link.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Today I have scenery from from Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks is known for Christmas Tree Point and Sutro Tower. While I have only visited this location during the middle of the day, it is also known for its great sunset views so I highly recommend you drop by this location during day time and during sunset. These photos are Day 2 shot on 2/1/2016.

A scenery shot from Christmas Tree Point angled down toward Market Street. Christmas Tree Point offers a great panoramic view of San Francisco from on top of a hill. This place is free to visit and also has 2 bathrooms and free parking. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 17 N 122 26 47 W

Black and white process of the photo above.

A panorama from Christmas Tree Point showing most of San Francisco. If you would like to view the full resolution of the panorama, you can view it on my portfolio here. The photo was shot at the same spot as above. 


A photo from Christmas Tree Point angled towards the Golden Gate Bridge. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 5 18 N 122 26 48 W

Black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo from Christmas Tree Point. On the left is the Golden Gate Bridge and on the right is Market Street. 

Black and white process of the photo above.


A photo of the radio tower at Christmas Tree Point. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 17 N 122 26 50 W

Black and white process of the photo above.


A scenery photo of Sutro Tower shot from Twin Peaks. Sutro Tower is a 3-pronged TV and radio antenna that can be seen from almost any higher up vantage point in San Francisco.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 14 N 122 26 55 W

A portrait photo of Sutro Tower from Twin Peaks. 

Another photo of Sutro Tower shot from Twin Peaks. I think out of the 3 shots I took, this one was the best. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 02 N 122 26 58 W

Black and white process of the photo above.

This is all the photos for today! I hope you have enjoyed the photos! Next time I will post photos from Grandview Park and 16th Avenue Steps. 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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Painted Ladies & Alamo Square - San Francisco, CA (Part 4)

I recently took two trips to San Francisco, CA visiting different places and taking photos. I went to many tourist attraction areas, some lesser known places, and took quite some street photography. I am here to share with you the photos that I took on these trips. The photos I took will be split across 7 blog posts. Day 1 of my trip in San Francisco took place on 1/27/2016, and day 2 of my trip in San Francisco took place on 2/1/2016.

Full Resolution Photos: If you want to see full resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best San Francisco, CA photos for 2016, use this link. To see all of my San Francisco photos from this trip, use this link.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Today I have scenery and street photography photos from Alamo Square and of Painted Ladies. These photos are Day 2 shot on 2/1/2016.

A photo of the Painted Ladies shot from Alamo Square. These are historic Victorian houses located along Steiner Street in San Francisco built between 1892 and 1896 by the developer Matthew Kavanaugh. This row of houses are a few of the rare historical Victorian houses that has survived in San Francisco. They have been relatively untouched by modernization. These residential houses are often photographed by tourists, the media, and has appeared in many TV shows and movies. If you are visiting San Francisco, I highly recommend you stop by Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 34 N 122 26 00 W

Black and white process of the photo above. 

Another photo of the Painted Ladies shot from a different angle. This photo was shot from the intersection of Steiner Street and Hayes Street. As you can see there was some road work going on on the day I was there. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 33 N 122 25 59 W

Black and white process of the photo above. 


I thought the workers doing the road work made great street photography, so I took a photo of them. This photo was also shot at the intersection of Steiner Street and Hayes Street. 

Black and white process of the photo above. 

A street photography shot from near Alamo Square shot from Steiner Street. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 35 N 122 25 59 W

A photo of a few houses near Alamo Square shot on Fulton Street. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 39 N 122 25 59 W


I thought this building looked pretty vintage and cool, so I took a photo. This was also shot close to Alamo Square from the intersection of Scott Street and Fulton Street. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 37 N 122 26 12 W

Black and white process of the photo above. 


A photo of a tree in Alamo Square. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 36 N 122 26 10 W

The view towards Downtown San Francisco from Alamo Square. You can see the Transamerica Pyramid in this shot. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 46 36 N 122 26 09 W

Black and white process of the photo above. 

This is all the photos for today! I hope you have enjoyed the photos! Next time I will post photos from Twin Peaks, Christmas Tree Point, and Sutro Tower. 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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7