Pasadena City Hall at dusk

This random point in time seems to be more random these days. I took this photo the night before the July 4th holiday. I had just finished a random meal and while leaving the restaurant, I noticed that it was just about dusk. I have been viewing this lovely scene everyday for a month. I move back to Pasadena in June and I drive by the Pasadena City Hall everyday. It just seems to be a majestic view. It is a wonderful sight to behold driving down Holly St. towards City Hall.

I had my trusty Nikon D700 with my 50mm 1.4D lens with me. I was slightly off to the left near the parked cars and took my shot. I was not brave enough to stand right in the middle of Holly St to take a direct center shot. Since the next night was a holiday, there was quite a bit more traffic and I did not want to risk it. You tend to get a bit of a tunnel vision when you are staring though the viewfinder and sometimes you forget where you are. It is just a great feeling to not need a tripod for the shot. Snap, wait for a car to pass, snap, wait for a car to pass and repeat.

As I mention before, this shot seems to be more random these days. Back in the summer, the Pasadena City Hall is lit every night. Now, it seems more often than not, the lights are off. I wonder if it is budget cuts or just a conservation effort. I guess it is just a sign of the times. Sad but true, so whenever you have a chance to capture a random point in time, don't delay because you never know if you will get the second chance.

Nikon D700, 50mm, f4.0, 1/80, iso 2500

Washington DC Jefferson Memorial

This random point in time moment was back on May of 2008. I actually have this picture printed and hanging on my cubicle to prove that someone actually sits at my desk so that nobody will randomly give it away. My cubicle is a bit neat.

Recently, one of my coworkers asked me if this picture of the Jefferson Memorial was real. I was confused at first and wonder what does he mean by is it real? I said yes, it is real and that I took it. I guess with my many food pictures, people think that I can only shoot food? I guess it is time to add a few more posts that are not food related.

Canon 40D, 85mm, f8.0, 1/500, ISO 100

Here is the more traditional point of view. Notice that you can see the Jefferson statue in that resides in the middle of the memorial.

New York City Skyline from a tour boat

This random point in time was back in May of 2005. This was one of trips where someone looks at you, they know you are a tourist. How so, you may ask, well, when you are lugging around 10 pounds of camera equipment, you don't quite blend in as the typical New Yorker. It was actually pretty funny, we were on our way to buy a couple of tickets for the doubledecker red bus tours around NYC and the vendor spotted me about a mile away (OK more like a big city block) and ran towards us suckers smiling all the way because he knew he had a sale. LOL

The most memorable shot was actually from our tour boat around the island. We also bought the CityPass and the boat tour was part of the package. Ahh, the fun. The problem most of the time when you are trying to take pictures of the city is that you are in the city. No lens is ever wide enough to truly capture the skyline. This is where the tour boat comes into play. It was a partially overcast day on the skyline shot. Since the boat is always moving, you have to quickly decide on what lens to shot with. I was carrying with me a 17-40mm f4, 50mm f1.4, and 70-200 f4 and shooting with a cropped body at 1.6x. I decided since we will be out in the water to use the 70-200. For the shot I leaned over on the railing, made sure the horizon was level and snapped away. You really do not get second chance because the boat is aways moving. This random point in time moment really reminds me of Gotham City.

Canon 20D, 70mm, f8.0, 1/400, ISO 100


The Brooklyn Bridge from tour boat.

San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts at dusk

I was finally able to photograph the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco at dusk. This was a really tough random point in time moment. For years I have been trying to shoot this at dusk. San Francisco is a beautiful place to visit and I would choose one or two spots to photograph the random point in time. The first time I tried to to shoot this scene, they erected a tall chain link fence around the area. About a year later, I came back and the fence was still there, along with construction on the grounds. Two years past and the chain link fence was finally gone but the Palace of Fine Arts now had scaffolding around the building. Finally another 2 years past and I finally got my shot! It was quite a scare because the night before, it was a cold and rainy night. There is just something magical about the light at dusk.

Nikon D700, 35mm, f8.0, 5s, ISO 200


This shot was handheld with a 50mm lens while leaving. This was past dusk and the tripod was packed away.

Los Angeles in Little Tokyo at Night

Today is one of those beautiful nights in Los Angeles. It is a cool 64 degrees and crystal clear. We had just finished dinner in Little Tokyo and had finished walking around the area. We were on the way back to the car and I decided to shoot again in the dark while waiting for the light to turn green. This is just a random point in time. Technology has really advanced in the years as a shot like this before would require a tripod. Today it was my trusty Nikon D700 with my 50mm 1.4 D. No "Vibration Reduction" lens here but I do wish they would add that feature to a prime lens.

Nikon D700, 50mm, f2.8, 1/80, ISO 2500


Here's the Los Angeles Skyline from the other side of the street corner.

Berlin Wall on Wilshire Final Display

Finally, I was able to see the 10 pieces of the Berlin Wall on display. With the 10 pieces up, this is the largest single display of the Berlin Wall outside of Europe. They did not put up the final 3 pieces until the final week of the exhibit. Unfortunately for me, it was also the same week we were moving our office so I didn't get to see the artwork until nighttime. It was after 6PM and with the daylight savings time change, it was already dark. I did not bring a tripod with me but lucky for me, I had decided to take along my trusty D700 instead of my D5000. The D700 can basically shoot in the dark. The security guard looked at me and kindly moved away so that I can take my picture. I was happy to successfully capture this random point in time!

Nikon D700, 50mm, f2.8, 1/80, ISO 6400

Berlin Wall on Wilshire

For 2 days while driving home, I passed by this open art exhibit and I was wondering what was going on. To me it looked like pieces of the Berlin Wall. The weird thing is that I have actually seen 2 different pieces of the real Berlin Wall before and it has always been behind a fence so that you can't touch it. After some quick searching on the Internet, I found out that it is in fact real pieces of the Berlin Wall! Currently there are 7 pieces on display in Los Angeles. There should be 10 total when the exhibit is complete. This will be the most pieces of the Berlin Wall ever shown outside of Europe.
This a perfect random point in time moment as I was capturing different random points in time before me.

Nikon D5000, 35mm, f8.0, 1/125, ISO 200


I believe this is the West Berlin Side.


I believe this is the East Berlin Side.


More information on The Wall Project.

Chicago Millennium Park Bean

This random point in time was about one and half years ago. I had two goals in mind on this vacation; photograph the Chicago skyline at night and photograph the bean. The Chicago Millennium Park Bean turned out to be extremely fascinating. I love the reflection of the skyline on this piece of art. You can even see the photographer in the shot. Yes that's me in the reflection. I always get asked where are you in the pictures? Well, here I am...

Canon 40D, 24mm, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 100

35 degrees and windy Chicago night skyline.

A wider angle of the Chicago Millennium Park Bean.

Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific Jellyfish

We had a visit to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific a couple of weeks ago with some friends. Aquariums brings a unique lighting challenge as you get some very dimly lit areas with some fast moving wildlife. This is where the Nikon D700 just shines. It has such amazing low light capabilities combine with incredible accurate fast focusing that makes some pictures possible as with the jellyfish above. I used the 50mm 1.4D prime the entire time.

Nikon D700, 50mm, f2.8, 1/40, ISO 6400

Here are some other random point in time moments.

Even a sea lion wants an iPhone.

Wonderful jellyfish.

Spidercrab strikes a pose.

Finding Nemo.

Feeding time.

So blue...

Seahorse.


I can blend.

Life size whale.

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge at dusk

This is the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. I still remember this random point in time. Dusk is when you get an opportunity for some of the best lights for a night shot. You get the wonderful blue sky and yet you still get the artificial man made lighting. This is when a tripod becomes your best friend. I had to take this shot quickly because we only had 2 quarters for the parking meter. I still love visiting San Francisco and look forward to visiting it again.

Canon 40D, 35mm, f8.0, 15s, ISO 100