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.