I pulled the trigger on a domain and a new name for this project!
Follow me here: http://www.thelifeexposure.com/
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
More Water & Wide Angles
I'm frustrated that I'm encumbered by my back/shoulder/neck pain - I really want to go on another hike in search of altitude to experiment with my new wide angle lens, but I get too sore after just a few hours of plain vanilla walking. Fortunately, I have a physical therapy appointment scheduled and I don't even care what kind of sadistic stretches or exercise they may impose, I just want to go back to normal.
In any case, we went to breakfast on the beach and then walked along the tide pools before it got too hot - basically the same easy excursion as this one a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, our efforts at timing to arrive with low tide were foiled by some kind of storm surge that sent waves crashing up to what is normally the high tide line. My boyfriend had a waterproof point & shoot on hand, but I wasn't willing to risk my DSLR to get much closer to the water than I did. I am excited that he's totally gotten sucked into my photography hobby and basically going to take my D3100 body off my hands so I can upgrade to a D3300 without feeling too guilty over a purchase I don't need, but would love, given the 5 FPS (frames per second) multi-shot capability (vs. 3 FPS on the D3100) and the panorama mode.
In any case, the shots I took didn't really made me feel like I used the wide angle well - part of that is due to the fact that I shot in kind of bright mid-morning light and corrected in post by tweaking the lighting & saturation, but more experimentation and practice is clearly needed.
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| The waves from the surge were huge & the low tide only intensified the effect |
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| Crash |
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| Crash II |
Active Shooting Hours: 1.5 hours
Review Hours: 2 hours
Hours to Date: 165 hours
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Compare & Contrast
With more than a year in the books for this project, it's interesting and exciting to do year over year (hilariously abbreviated to "YOY" in the business world) comparisons on big holidays like Independence Day.
Last year, I spent the 4th in Huntington Beach, capturing some of the hilarious antics of celebrants. Even though this year, I was largely less adventurous because of dealing with back/shoulder/neck pain from getting rear-ended, I still managed to get shots of some big booms for comparison and I can tell that both my technical skill and artistic eye have improved with some 140 hours under my belt more than I had this time last year. I was especially happy to see how sharp the pictures came out this year - I didn't own a tripod this time last year and managed to forget my tripod this year,
This year:
Last year:
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| Overexposed, shaky camera, and pretty terrible composition |
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| One of the images from this year - reminiscent of a dandelion seed head, but pink! |
I didn't get as many shots in and didn't get to take advantage of some of the patriotic subjects out there because of the pain, but I made the best of a bad situation (also not fun: abstaining from yummy drinks on a celebratory holiday since muscle relaxers means no alcohol) and think that as far as the images go, it was still a pretty successful day. It was especially fun experimenting with long exposures, people, and sparklers to get shapes from light. Definitely will replicate that experience with glow sticks the next chance I get.
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| Firework fountain on the street |
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| Long exposure with a sparkler. Will try glow sticks next to remove the weird hairy effect. |
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| Tail-end of some fireworks or distant galaxies? |
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| This and above tie for my favorite shots of the night. I love how the fireworks light up behind the trees to form a silhouette. |
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Crossing More Adventures Off the Bucket List
Everyone should have a bucket list and actively plan to experience things on that list. If you're me, you have multiple bucket lists covering a variety of activities. This year, I managed to cross off 2 items on the "Interact with Cool Animals" list within the course of 2 months:
Originally, my birthday was supposed to entail trekking through Santa Barbara wine country with a new wide angle lens birthday present in tow. That plan was pretty much obliterated once I was rear-ended the week before my birthday and prescribed muscle relaxants for the ensuing back pain... aka drinking centric activities were going to be a no go.
No matter, I decided I wasn't going to let that ruin my day and decided I wanted to do something so memorable, I would look back years from now and remember the fantastic birthday I had and not have a rear-end collision define this 2014's marking of another revolution around the sun.
That something memorable turned out to be feeding giraffes and rhinoceroses at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park as part of their caravan safari, which basically was a 2 hour drive through the exhibit!! The guide provided all kinds of facts and explained animal behaviors as they were happening right before our eyes. I think it could have been better only if Sir David Attenborough himself had been there narrating in his dignified British accent. Something I took away from the experience is that rhinos are actually rather docile and love apples!!
Not the best time of day for photography and most of these pictures ended up being more snapshot-y than artistic image, but it was still an amazing experience. And I'm proud of the fact that I have seemingly fixed my under-exposure problem by checking the histogram outputs and not just relying on the internal light meter.
All in all, I can't wait to head back during more favorable lighting to photograph more interesting animals, having a membership is the best!
More Safari to See!
Active Shooting Hours: 3
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 159
- Pet a Penguin: done!!
- Feed some Ungulates
Originally, my birthday was supposed to entail trekking through Santa Barbara wine country with a new wide angle lens birthday present in tow. That plan was pretty much obliterated once I was rear-ended the week before my birthday and prescribed muscle relaxants for the ensuing back pain... aka drinking centric activities were going to be a no go.
No matter, I decided I wasn't going to let that ruin my day and decided I wanted to do something so memorable, I would look back years from now and remember the fantastic birthday I had and not have a rear-end collision define this 2014's marking of another revolution around the sun.
That something memorable turned out to be feeding giraffes and rhinoceroses at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park as part of their caravan safari, which basically was a 2 hour drive through the exhibit!! The guide provided all kinds of facts and explained animal behaviors as they were happening right before our eyes. I think it could have been better only if Sir David Attenborough himself had been there narrating in his dignified British accent. Something I took away from the experience is that rhinos are actually rather docile and love apples!!
Not the best time of day for photography and most of these pictures ended up being more snapshot-y than artistic image, but it was still an amazing experience. And I'm proud of the fact that I have seemingly fixed my under-exposure problem by checking the histogram outputs and not just relying on the internal light meter.
All in all, I can't wait to head back during more favorable lighting to photograph more interesting animals, having a membership is the best!
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| Rhino smelling & listening to our caravan... apparently, their eyesight isn't great. |
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| Fun fact - rhinos actually wear down & shape their horns to their liking and said horns are made of keratin |
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| Fed a rhino!! Contrary to popular belief, they're actually so docile and sweet... the cows of the savannah!! |
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| Giraffe interested in the acacia leaves we've got |
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| Making the giraffe reach for it! I love her expression and that purple tongue in this!! |
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| Crossing another one off the "Interact with Cool Animals" bucket list! |
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| Alright, didn't get to play with the tigers, but the new Tiger Trail exhibit was really cool!! Actually took this photo through glass & managed to minimize the reflection & glare. |
Active Shooting Hours: 3
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 159
Monday, June 30, 2014
Wide Angle Lens Play
Where does the time go? It's amazing how when life gets a little hectic, time just slips by. I got rear-ended a couple of weeks ago and while mostly okay, have been nursing pain in my back, neck, and shoulder, which put a damper on photographic adventures and birthday plans. Still, I've managed to keep my head up, largely because of taking on the 100 Happy Days Challenge, which is all about finding small happy things every day.
Anyway, I got a wide angle lens for my birthday, which apparently is one of the most difficult lenses to use well. After the first foray with it, I can see why - it's really hard to get close enough to let it work its magic and make powerful images that pull the viewer straight into the scene. I definitely need to practice more and in general, get out during optimal lighting times.
I'm still behind in posting (muscle relaxants really knock you out) - more pics from birthday adventures to come.
Active Shooting Hours: 3
Review Hours: 1
Hours To Date: 155
Anyway, I got a wide angle lens for my birthday, which apparently is one of the most difficult lenses to use well. After the first foray with it, I can see why - it's really hard to get close enough to let it work its magic and make powerful images that pull the viewer straight into the scene. I definitely need to practice more and in general, get out during optimal lighting times.
I'm still behind in posting (muscle relaxants really knock you out) - more pics from birthday adventures to come.
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| Peering into a pool |
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| Rocky shore |
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| Finding hearts in the sand |
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| Wide angle of a lake - probably my best use of it yet |
Review Hours: 1
Hours To Date: 155
Monday, June 9, 2014
Correct Exposure: The Struggle is Real, Part II
Read Part I
Underexposed photos have been a unique source of frustration for me lately and since my typical Plan A of "experiment, experiment, experiment" wasn't getting me the results I wanted, it was time to move to my typical Plan B - do some research and read about the process to understand where to troubleshoot. In the event that Plan B doesn't pan out, I move to Plan C of find an expert who can explain the problem to me.
Fortunately, in this case, Plan B worked out beautifully. The first source I turned to was Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition by Bryan Peterson. I purchased this book a few weeks ago to read up on some of the theory and finally cracked it open today to start reading more about the technical side of photography and more precisely troubleshoot problematic exposure. It's a veritable textbook (but entirely more accessible and full of pictures!) on the subject and focuses on what Peterson calls the "Photographic Triangle" of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (film speed). Right away, I knew I'd need to start playing around with setting my own ISO in poor lighting conditions instead of relying purely on the camera to work its automatic magic, as several other photographers have recommended. Since this book will take some time for me to read, absorb, and apply, and the first 27 pages didn't delve into my exact problem, I took to the Interwebs.
My biggest problem was not understanding the discrepancy between my camera's internal light meter, the preview on the LCD screen, and the uploaded image to my "big screen." The magic of Google came into play when I typed in "discrepancy between DSLR camera preview and final image" and this tutorial from SLR Lounge was among the results. I'm not going to repeat all of the technical details, which the author explained so well (I especially enjoyed the colloquial term "chimping"), but now I'm clear on the differences and advantages/disadvantages to the different metering options built into the camera. Additionally, I'm going to look into adding a light meter to my camera bag, or at least learn to use a gray card. After all, I don't want to get so bogged down in gear that I miss life's moments. Not to mention, there's such a thing as creative exposure that may not be the "accurate" exposure, but still an artistic choice nevertheless!
And with that, I'm adding a new category of hours: book learning! Also, celebrating my 151st hour!!
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| You absolutely wouldn't be able to tell from this photo, but this was a perfectly cooked rare steak I made for dinner. |
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| MUCH better!! Food photography is a whole other challenge entirely and the composition is pretty meh, but at least you can finally see the subject to even be able to make those judgments!! |
Active Shooting Hours: 0.5
Review Hours: 0.5
Book Learning: 1
Hours to Date: 151
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Correct Exposure: The Struggle is Real
I've been frustrated in the last few sessions with underexposed shots. As difficult as it is for my ego to post unsatisfying and blatantly failed photographs, it's an important part of the learning process and to this project, so post I shall.
I've been relying primarily on the light meter and the small screen preview, but this just isn't reliable when the lighting conditions are less than ideal: harsh sunlight and incandescent light. Still, I think being a versatile and expert photographer means managing these conditions since life continues on and doesn't wait for a perfect lighting.
I sat down with my camera tonight and took a bunch of shots of lego mini figures (in addition to the shots from Disneyland yesterday) and probably need to call it a night since I've got an early start tomorrow, but I have picked up a book all about exposure, so I'll crack into that tomorrow and try to diagnose the issues more technically.
Active Shooting Hours: 2
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 149
I've been relying primarily on the light meter and the small screen preview, but this just isn't reliable when the lighting conditions are less than ideal: harsh sunlight and incandescent light. Still, I think being a versatile and expert photographer means managing these conditions since life continues on and doesn't wait for a perfect lighting.
I sat down with my camera tonight and took a bunch of shots of lego mini figures (in addition to the shots from Disneyland yesterday) and probably need to call it a night since I've got an early start tomorrow, but I have picked up a book all about exposure, so I'll crack into that tomorrow and try to diagnose the issues more technically.
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| Sleeping Beauty Castle. Not magical. f/22 @ 1/200s. Wayyyyy too dark. |
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| Adventureland decor. Half exposed correctly, half underexposed. ND filter may have helped this situation. |
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| Lego mini figs under incandescent light |
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| Slightly better, but still too dark. |
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 149
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Organizing Chaos
Despite my love of sleeping in and lazy days, I get antsy when I have too much free time with no mental stimulation. Thus, I have a tendency to pack my days with lots of interesting projects and adventures. Since I wear many hats (full-time professional, part-time photographer) and am now adding part-time student to the mix, I have had "optimizing desk setup" on my to do list for some time.
I originally intended to purchase galvanized sheet metal, but that didn't pan out once I went to the hardware store and realized it wouldn't come in sizes I wanted and the edges were sharp and needed to be finished. On that trip, I discovered magnetic primer, which I incorrectly thought would be the easy solution to my project desires. It was quite expensive ($20 for a small can) and not very effective since all reviews said to use ~6 coats for a mildly magnetic surface - it took the whole can to coat these two frame backings with 6 coats. Additionally, while my fridge magnets managed to hold their own weight, they gave up when even just 1 sheet of paper was involved.
Once I determined the magnetic primer wasn't enough, I stepped up the game and ordered stronger magnets of the neodymium variety.
Let me just post the disclaimer right now that these rare earth magnets are dangerous and shouldn't be in a household with children, small pets, anyone with metal medical devices or implants, or near sensitive electronic equipment or devices. Getting two of these magnets too close to each other can result in them snapping together with such force that they shatter into tiny pieces.
That being said, these are amazing and scary strong magnets made from neodymium (a rare earth element), iron, and boron. As I mentioned above, these magnets are serious business: each tiny, dime-sized magnet shown below pulls with ~6 pounds of force and can cause serious bodily injury including broken bones. They can also wipe data from credit cards and damage sensitive electronic equipment. Despite the careful handling necessary quality, they can be very useful tools in the right application. Sadly, even with neodymium magnets, the magnetic primer just didn't have enough iron to hold up a magnet with a laminated sheet.
At this point, both my boyfriend and I were looking at the frames when he came to the realization of the perfect solution: to use a pair of magnets, one on each side of the frame, to hold up laminated sheets on the front surface. This kind of solution is the perfect simple genius I love, so elegant in its simplicity and effectiveness.
Active Shooting Hours: 0.5
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 146
Chief among my concerns was establishing a solid calendaring and planning system, since I will be juggling multiple priorities come October. While I rely primarily on Google calendars synced across all of my devices, I find it hard to "zoom out" and plan beyond a month at a glance, which results in missing key checkpoints along the way for lower priority projects. I've found that an effective way for me to manage more than 1-2 projects on my plate effectively and simultaneously is to plan out checkpoints so there isn't an automatic prioritization... because if there are 10 things on the to do list and the priority level never changes, some things will inevitably fall off the plate and never get done.
Thus, I knew I wanted a wall calendar of sorts, but I didn't like the options readily available for purchase. The printed year-specific laminated calendars have to be replaced every year and the generic templates require effort in writing in each month and day. I also wanted this surface to be magnetic to post other important documents of miscellaneous origin using magnets I collect from trips and have enough space for the occasional post-it note. Basically, the solution was to make a custom wall calendar board to meet all of my needs and wants.
This wasn't the most inexpensive of home projects, and there were some hiccups along the way, but I love how it turned out.
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| April - December... since I purchased my laminator in April and didn't feel the need to work backwards in time. |
The calendar consists of:
- 2 large (24" x 36" visible surface) poster frames
- Magnetic primer
- Printed & laminated Google calendar pages
- 20 neodymium magnets
I originally intended to purchase galvanized sheet metal, but that didn't pan out once I went to the hardware store and realized it wouldn't come in sizes I wanted and the edges were sharp and needed to be finished. On that trip, I discovered magnetic primer, which I incorrectly thought would be the easy solution to my project desires. It was quite expensive ($20 for a small can) and not very effective since all reviews said to use ~6 coats for a mildly magnetic surface - it took the whole can to coat these two frame backings with 6 coats. Additionally, while my fridge magnets managed to hold their own weight, they gave up when even just 1 sheet of paper was involved.
Once I determined the magnetic primer wasn't enough, I stepped up the game and ordered stronger magnets of the neodymium variety.
Let me just post the disclaimer right now that these rare earth magnets are dangerous and shouldn't be in a household with children, small pets, anyone with metal medical devices or implants, or near sensitive electronic equipment or devices. Getting two of these magnets too close to each other can result in them snapping together with such force that they shatter into tiny pieces.
That being said, these are amazing and scary strong magnets made from neodymium (a rare earth element), iron, and boron. As I mentioned above, these magnets are serious business: each tiny, dime-sized magnet shown below pulls with ~6 pounds of force and can cause serious bodily injury including broken bones. They can also wipe data from credit cards and damage sensitive electronic equipment. Despite the careful handling necessary quality, they can be very useful tools in the right application. Sadly, even with neodymium magnets, the magnetic primer just didn't have enough iron to hold up a magnet with a laminated sheet.
At this point, both my boyfriend and I were looking at the frames when he came to the realization of the perfect solution: to use a pair of magnets, one on each side of the frame, to hold up laminated sheets on the front surface. This kind of solution is the perfect simple genius I love, so elegant in its simplicity and effectiveness.
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| So innocent and inconsequential looking... yet these magnets pack a serious punch in terms of force |
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| View from the back - these pair with magnets on the front to hold up the laminated sheets |
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| Plenty of room for fortune cookie sourced positive affirmations |
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| The end result: plenty of space to accommodate both school and work and then some! |
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 146
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Fishing (For Photographic Opportunities)
I've been fishing exactly once and was advised to never, ever, attempt it (really ever) again.
It was several years ago and an impromptu night fishing trip after a wedding in Houston. Even then, I never said no to a good adventure. Around midnight, when most of the guests were headed to their rooms, a few cousins and I headed down to Kemah for night fishing off a private dock in Galveston Bay. A family friend had built (and rebuilt, post-hurricanes) a weekend getaway house, complete with fish lights installed in the bottom of the bay. In the wee hours of the morning, I learned how to bait a hook with frozen shrimp and cast properly. Almost every time we cast, we hooked a fish. I even caught a fighter that brought the rest of the family running down to my end of the dock when they saw how my pole was doubled over and liable to snap. All the while, they told me this level of action was not a normal fishing experience by any means and that I've been ruined for all subsequent "real" fishing trips.
Fast forward to Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. Despite the warnings I've been given, I agreed to go when the boyfriend proposed a lazy fishing expedition at a local public park "lake" meant to satisfy suburban yuppie yearnings for the outdoors without having to drive much farther than the local Whole Foods. As added insurance policies against boredom in case fishing turned out to be as uneventful as everyone has told me, I brought my DSLR, a canister of soap bubbles, and an iPad.
It ended up being a lot of fun and despite not catching anything, I enjoyed the sun and lounging about fiddling with my camera. The photos were definitely underexposed and required a lot of editing in post as a result of what I like to call "lazy photography" - I've been so used to shooting with wide apertures due to low light or motion situations, I forgot to increase the shutter speed when shooting with a narrow aperture. I will definitely be planning some treks to practice using narrow apertures in the near future, but I love how "arty" some of the shots below came out.
More
Active Shooting Hours: 1.5
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 144.5
It was several years ago and an impromptu night fishing trip after a wedding in Houston. Even then, I never said no to a good adventure. Around midnight, when most of the guests were headed to their rooms, a few cousins and I headed down to Kemah for night fishing off a private dock in Galveston Bay. A family friend had built (and rebuilt, post-hurricanes) a weekend getaway house, complete with fish lights installed in the bottom of the bay. In the wee hours of the morning, I learned how to bait a hook with frozen shrimp and cast properly. Almost every time we cast, we hooked a fish. I even caught a fighter that brought the rest of the family running down to my end of the dock when they saw how my pole was doubled over and liable to snap. All the while, they told me this level of action was not a normal fishing experience by any means and that I've been ruined for all subsequent "real" fishing trips.
Fast forward to Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. Despite the warnings I've been given, I agreed to go when the boyfriend proposed a lazy fishing expedition at a local public park "lake" meant to satisfy suburban yuppie yearnings for the outdoors without having to drive much farther than the local Whole Foods. As added insurance policies against boredom in case fishing turned out to be as uneventful as everyone has told me, I brought my DSLR, a canister of soap bubbles, and an iPad.
It ended up being a lot of fun and despite not catching anything, I enjoyed the sun and lounging about fiddling with my camera. The photos were definitely underexposed and required a lot of editing in post as a result of what I like to call "lazy photography" - I've been so used to shooting with wide apertures due to low light or motion situations, I forgot to increase the shutter speed when shooting with a narrow aperture. I will definitely be planning some treks to practice using narrow apertures in the near future, but I love how "arty" some of the shots below came out.
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| The reel in an instant |
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| Close up of the basket that would have stored fish if we had caught anything. However genuine to the fishing experience, the little voice of practicality in my head wanted to know how this was a good vessel since it wasn't water tight and would drip fishy water everywhere... I still wonder about that |
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| Lots of turtles at this particular park lake... I wonder if some were former pets |
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| Ducks and geese also |
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| The bubbles I brought with some post-editing to exaggerate their shapes. As it turns out, it's hard to both blow bubbles and photograph them before they sink and pop. |
Active Shooting Hours: 1.5
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 144.5
Saturday, May 24, 2014
525,600 Minutes
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets?
In midnights, in cups of coffee?
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife?
In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, a year in the life?
One of my favorite songs is "Seasons of Love" from the musical, Rent. It is a full ensemble piece where the characters wax philosophic about how best to measure the worth of a year of human life, concluding in the chorus that the best way is to measure in love.
And it was exactly one year ago today, that I took the first photos of this project. While my initial goal for the project was to use it as a means of establishing a better work-life balance, I now understand that it wasn't just about spending time on a hobby... it was about identifying, appreciating, and chasing the love for my life.
First and foremost, I have developed a better and stronger sense of self. It sounds ridiculous, but prior to this project, I didn't really know what makes me deep-down, bottom of the gut, happy. I think I was a little hesitant to even admit that, because it seems like something that should be straightforward - do what you like to do. People told me to balance my life with work, but I didn't really know what interests, passions, etc. truly made up my life. This project resulted in first discovering what was important to me in life, followed by a dogged pursuit of these things as opposed to just blindly following societal prescriptions of things that "should" make me happy. Over the past year, I've witnessed many of my millennial peers also struggling with this concept, but many of them responded by completely shifting their lives 180 degrees. Many quit their jobs to travel the world or switched careers or went back to school to begin at the beginning once more. While those courses of action may work well for them, I knew that I would not be satisfied making a drastic change for the fear that it wasn't the right change. Given my highly analytical nature and habits of frequent reflection, that little niggle of fear would get in the way of actually embracing the change and finding myself. Not to mention, that would have been me throwing myself into yet another passion rather than learning to establish a balance.
Through this project, I've also validated my love for travel, adventure, friendship, and continual desire to learn. I've explored a lot of places, traveled locally and afar, visited best friends... all with an eye to capture photographs. As a result, I was able to satisfy my curiosity about the world. My favorite big trip was probably the one I took out to Kentucky to explore the Bourbon Trail, because I'm not sure I would have traveled there if not to photograph the distilleries and scenery. There was also something about this specific trip (I'm still not entirely sure exactly what clicked) that helped finally kickstart my journey for even more formal education. While I've always thought that I would go back for a higher degree of some kind, I hadn't formalized any kind of specific timeline or action plan. When I returned from Louisville, it all suddenly became very clear exactly what I wanted. In the following 6 months, I took the GMAT, networked like crazy, toured several schools, and put pen to paper for personal statements and applications. At the end of February, I celebrated and accepted admission to UCLA Anderson's Fully Employed MBA program. Even though most people shy away from their lives being driven entirely by work and school, I'm exhilarated to not only learn more business theory, but also to be able to apply this knowledge immediately the next day - this is exactly how I love to learn.
Finally, as cheesy as it sounds, I've also found romantic love via this project. While I didn't meet my boyfriend on a project excursion, his support of my project and desire to help me reach 10,000 hours resulted in planning and going on a lot of adventures together, during which we were able to get to know each other on a much more honest and intimate level than typical dates would allow. You really get to see someone's true nature when you're challenging each other's comfort zones: driving along the switchbacks of sheer cliffs, getting up at the crack of dawn to catch a moment, and getting increasingly hungry, hot, and sweaty in the name of one more shot. We have a connection and closeness that is just best expressed as true love.
So, I suppose you could say that the last 525,600 minutes of this 10,000 hour project have been filled with love... for photography, travel, exploration, good friends, learning, romance, and work. It's ultimately been a journey of finding out precisely what I love and weaving those elements meaningfully to create a life full of love.
Since this is a 10,000 hour project on photography, I'll end with the photos I took this morning successfully summiting Mt. Lee and standing over the Hollywood sign. After 2 hours, ~3.25 miles, and ~1700 vertical feet, we were rewarded with a view that perfectly captures my feeling about the last year of this project.
More
Active Shooting Hours: 2
Review Hours: 2
Hours to Date: 142
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets?
In midnights, in cups of coffee?
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife?
In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, a year in the life?
One of my favorite songs is "Seasons of Love" from the musical, Rent. It is a full ensemble piece where the characters wax philosophic about how best to measure the worth of a year of human life, concluding in the chorus that the best way is to measure in love.
And it was exactly one year ago today, that I took the first photos of this project. While my initial goal for the project was to use it as a means of establishing a better work-life balance, I now understand that it wasn't just about spending time on a hobby... it was about identifying, appreciating, and chasing the love for my life.
First and foremost, I have developed a better and stronger sense of self. It sounds ridiculous, but prior to this project, I didn't really know what makes me deep-down, bottom of the gut, happy. I think I was a little hesitant to even admit that, because it seems like something that should be straightforward - do what you like to do. People told me to balance my life with work, but I didn't really know what interests, passions, etc. truly made up my life. This project resulted in first discovering what was important to me in life, followed by a dogged pursuit of these things as opposed to just blindly following societal prescriptions of things that "should" make me happy. Over the past year, I've witnessed many of my millennial peers also struggling with this concept, but many of them responded by completely shifting their lives 180 degrees. Many quit their jobs to travel the world or switched careers or went back to school to begin at the beginning once more. While those courses of action may work well for them, I knew that I would not be satisfied making a drastic change for the fear that it wasn't the right change. Given my highly analytical nature and habits of frequent reflection, that little niggle of fear would get in the way of actually embracing the change and finding myself. Not to mention, that would have been me throwing myself into yet another passion rather than learning to establish a balance.
Through this project, I've also validated my love for travel, adventure, friendship, and continual desire to learn. I've explored a lot of places, traveled locally and afar, visited best friends... all with an eye to capture photographs. As a result, I was able to satisfy my curiosity about the world. My favorite big trip was probably the one I took out to Kentucky to explore the Bourbon Trail, because I'm not sure I would have traveled there if not to photograph the distilleries and scenery. There was also something about this specific trip (I'm still not entirely sure exactly what clicked) that helped finally kickstart my journey for even more formal education. While I've always thought that I would go back for a higher degree of some kind, I hadn't formalized any kind of specific timeline or action plan. When I returned from Louisville, it all suddenly became very clear exactly what I wanted. In the following 6 months, I took the GMAT, networked like crazy, toured several schools, and put pen to paper for personal statements and applications. At the end of February, I celebrated and accepted admission to UCLA Anderson's Fully Employed MBA program. Even though most people shy away from their lives being driven entirely by work and school, I'm exhilarated to not only learn more business theory, but also to be able to apply this knowledge immediately the next day - this is exactly how I love to learn.
Finally, as cheesy as it sounds, I've also found romantic love via this project. While I didn't meet my boyfriend on a project excursion, his support of my project and desire to help me reach 10,000 hours resulted in planning and going on a lot of adventures together, during which we were able to get to know each other on a much more honest and intimate level than typical dates would allow. You really get to see someone's true nature when you're challenging each other's comfort zones: driving along the switchbacks of sheer cliffs, getting up at the crack of dawn to catch a moment, and getting increasingly hungry, hot, and sweaty in the name of one more shot. We have a connection and closeness that is just best expressed as true love.
So, I suppose you could say that the last 525,600 minutes of this 10,000 hour project have been filled with love... for photography, travel, exploration, good friends, learning, romance, and work. It's ultimately been a journey of finding out precisely what I love and weaving those elements meaningfully to create a life full of love.
Since this is a 10,000 hour project on photography, I'll end with the photos I took this morning successfully summiting Mt. Lee and standing over the Hollywood sign. After 2 hours, ~3.25 miles, and ~1700 vertical feet, we were rewarded with a view that perfectly captures my feeling about the last year of this project.
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| ~10 minutes into the Bronson Canyon Trail, encouraged by a glimpse of Hollywood Sign up in the hills |
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| The top of the canyon, roughly halfway to the sign. The overcast day resulted in hazy, flat photos that had to be edited heavily in post, but it was perfect for novice hikers like us tackling a ~6.5 mile hike that also climbed 1100+ feet vertically over the course. If it had been a clear and hot day, I'm not sure we would have reached the top. |
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| Getting closer! |
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| Reached a vista point and spotted the Griffith Observatory |
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| The trail wound back and forth around and around... we spent a solid 2 hours climbing (and occasionally stopping for photos and to catch our breath) from the start of the trail. |
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| The sign itself is fenced off due to the fire-prone terrain... and probably to prevent vandalism. Fortunately, the trail proceeds even higher so you can get a clear shot of the back of the sign without a chain link fence in the way. |
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| View of Lake Hollywood and part of the H from the summit |
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| Panorama I actually took with my iPhone. I couldn't get the entire sign with the DSLR and I couldn't back up further since there was only roughly 20 feet to work with before I would have fallen off the backside of the summit. |
Active Shooting Hours: 2
Review Hours: 2
Hours to Date: 142
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Mmm... 2kids Beer...
I realize that it's a little early in the morning to be posting about beer, but it is Hump Day, after all. Not to mention, my latest life goal is to go to bed earlier and get up earlier than the masses to get more of what I want to do (i.e. reading, blogging, plotting world domination, etc.) done. At least for the past two weeks, I've been successful at that endeavor and once past the initial alarm-induced groan, haven't regretted getting up early at all.
Anyway, back to the wort of the matter. I spent the past weekend in San Diego, which is never quite complete without a stop for craft beer. Moreover, in my opinion, no trip to San Diego is complete without a stop specifically at 2kids Brewing Company - a nanobrewery with a flair for unusual ales, but none of the pretense that typically comes with that kind of self-description. I've known brewers Sam & Rob since high school and have watched them go from beer connoisseurs to prolific homebrewers to successful business owners with the opening of their tasting room nearly a year ago. And had the privilege of drinking some tasty and wittily named beer all along the way.
While I've been to their establishment previously, it was early on in this project and I felt that I didn't do their beer justice with the pictures I took then. It was exciting to return with camera in tow to properly capture some of their brews.
Photographically speaking, the challenge I experienced here was the indoor lighting. In the past several months, I have found myself increasingly preferring to shoot in natural, outdoor light, but that presents a major limitations when the interesting stuff is actually inside. To make this even more of a challenge (she says as if the following was intentional), we went to 2kids directly after dinner out and I had forgotten to bring my flash bounce along. I only had my trusty 35mm lens and built-in pop up flash at my disposal. No matter, I managed for the most part with some guerrilla flash diffusers improvised from my hand, a coaster, a translucent envelope, and a dollar bill. Unexpectedly, the best results were obtained between my hand and the back of the coaster.
In any case, if you find yourself in the San Diego area, you should go check out 2kids, taste their brews, and have a chat with Sam & Rob yourself. Address and tasting room hours are below - they also come up on Google and Yelp searches for anyone like me who relies almost entirely on various device(s) to navigate through life.
2kids Brewing Company
8680 Miralani Dr. #123
San Diego, CA 92126
Tasting Room Hours:
Thursday: 3:00 - 9:00pm
Friday: 3:00 - 10:00pm
Saturday: 1:00 - 10:00pm
Sunday: 1:00 - 8:00pm
More Cheers
Active Shooting Hours: 1.5 hours
Review Hours: 2.5 hours
Hours to Date: 138
Anyway, back to the wort of the matter. I spent the past weekend in San Diego, which is never quite complete without a stop for craft beer. Moreover, in my opinion, no trip to San Diego is complete without a stop specifically at 2kids Brewing Company - a nanobrewery with a flair for unusual ales, but none of the pretense that typically comes with that kind of self-description. I've known brewers Sam & Rob since high school and have watched them go from beer connoisseurs to prolific homebrewers to successful business owners with the opening of their tasting room nearly a year ago. And had the privilege of drinking some tasty and wittily named beer all along the way.
While I've been to their establishment previously, it was early on in this project and I felt that I didn't do their beer justice with the pictures I took then. It was exciting to return with camera in tow to properly capture some of their brews.
Photographically speaking, the challenge I experienced here was the indoor lighting. In the past several months, I have found myself increasingly preferring to shoot in natural, outdoor light, but that presents a major limitations when the interesting stuff is actually inside. To make this even more of a challenge (she says as if the following was intentional), we went to 2kids directly after dinner out and I had forgotten to bring my flash bounce along. I only had my trusty 35mm lens and built-in pop up flash at my disposal. No matter, I managed for the most part with some guerrilla flash diffusers improvised from my hand, a coaster, a translucent envelope, and a dollar bill. Unexpectedly, the best results were obtained between my hand and the back of the coaster.
In any case, if you find yourself in the San Diego area, you should go check out 2kids, taste their brews, and have a chat with Sam & Rob yourself. Address and tasting room hours are below - they also come up on Google and Yelp searches for anyone like me who relies almost entirely on various device(s) to navigate through life.
2kids Brewing Company
8680 Miralani Dr. #123
San Diego, CA 92126
Tasting Room Hours:
Thursday: 3:00 - 9:00pm
Friday: 3:00 - 10:00pm
Saturday: 1:00 - 10:00pm
Sunday: 1:00 - 8:00pm
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| Its 5 o'clock somewhere! |
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| Taps |
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| The beer is so clear, you can see the effervescence. Almost poetry. Diffusing the flash didn't work so well here, unfortunately. |
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| Dat foam. |
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| My favorite: Winning! Chocolate Stout. All I need is some vanilla ice cream... |
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| I really did buy a growler and a half. And then some. These just happened to make the photo. |
Active Shooting Hours: 1.5 hours
Review Hours: 2.5 hours
Hours to Date: 138
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