LuSanti

29/04/2016

Cupcakes? This is what happens when I'm away from the camera for too long! Ukraine Easter is right around the corner (May 1) and we were given some cupcakes by our wonderful Ukrainian friends. Didn't take long for the little fingers around the house to reach for them. Caught red-handed with my Macro.

20/02/2016

Spent time at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz this evening. Intended to have some fun with the macro lens -- when the tide is low you can see sea stars, anemones, and other amazing life forms in the tidal pools. We arrived an hour late, however, and the tide was already rushing in. So, I just took a few exposures of the sunset instead.
Rule 1: Don't be late.
Rule 2: Always be flexible.
At least I got number 2 down.

15/12/2015

I was admiring Stanford's 115+ year old, completely weight driven pendulum clock tower and immediately wanted to get a shot of it from across the street. Unfortunately, I was constantly in the way of a handful of tourists/students/photographers who were taking pictures and selfies of the Engineering building behind me.

The light was at a good point. I wanted a shot of the structure behind them, and they wanted pictures of the structure behind me. They were constant and relentless, and I was adamant and fixated.
Unless I let go and move I would have succeeded only in becoming a frustrated, unwitting photo-bomber with no shot.

I had to stop clinging to the fixation and change myself, rather than expect and wait for the world and situation to move for me. Walking completely around to the back side of the tower liberated me from the crowds, and yielded an even greater perspective.

07/12/2015

Got caught in a "sunny downpour" recently here in the Bay Area. Couldn't help but remember the awesome time we had in the Grampions National Park, in Ballarat. The closest downpour in the picture was moving straight at us. I had just enough time to compose some shots and pack up before getting drenched on the trail. But, the sun was out making it feel just fine. Great times. I regret not getting another chance to visit the area before leaving.

24/09/2015

Canon's 5DMIII can shoot 6 FPS. The 1DX boasts 14 FPS. That's pretty quick. But how about a Trillion?!

Sure, why not?

LIDAR/LADAR (Laser Radar) also has the potential of being used to recreate images (or mapping) using bounced light for certain areas that are not Line of Sight (LOS).

In the words of my Drill Sergeant from days long past, "I see the light! I see the light!"

It has a resolution rate of one frame per trillionth of a second.

24/08/2015

Missing Melbourne -- A LOT. What wonderful friends we made. I wish I had taken even more photographs of the beautiful city and rich culture and diversity. We will need to return for sure -- as tourists rather than residents, however. We still have our Miki Cards with some credit, after all! We rarely used them after the inner CBD trams became free this year.

Fortunately, we had enough time to pick up a few images by awesome photographer Tony Pierrakos in the Queen Vic Market -- we could only grab prints that would fit in duffle bags without getting damaged, but they truly capture a timeless essence of Melbourne.

Check out INTONE Photography:
http://www.intonephotography.com/

Intone Photography has been creating original wall art photography of melbourne, Australia, Europe and Vietnam for 13 years at the Queen Victoria Market. Images can be purchased on canvas, framed or unframed prints.

13/08/2015

Fascinating story. Another example of the art form bringing people together.

Honolulu, Hawaii-based photographer and law student Diana Kim can trace her love of photography back to her father, who used to own a photography studio on O'ahu. Until just a few years ago, however, not much else connected father and daughter except for a strained relationship marked by disappointm…

03/07/2015

Enjoying Babyccinos in Fitzroy Gardens!
KereKere is at the southern portion of the park -- it's an excellent cafe with an outstanding staff. The lighting is as awesome as the cookies!

30/05/2015

Back in Melbourne from San Francisco. Will be here for a bit longer. I will miss Melbourne a lot -- especially the dramatic views from our place in Docklands.

25/05/2015

The future is here in Melbourne.

I just stumbled across this glorious piece of high-tech imaging hardware in Melbourne's Central Station today. While it quite possibly represents the demise of the modern portrait photographer, I was none-the-less intrigued with the possibilities.

Utilizing some new-fangled lighting technology being dubbed "The New Electronic Flash" system, this fine photographic instrument will llllllllliterally pump memories out into your hand -- in mere minutes!

Not only will the need for those long waits at the photo lab kiosks be eliminated, but it will fulfil the need for instant gratification that our society so desperately needs. All of this while providing the intimate privacy to 'just be yourself' and 'cut the fool' thanks to an especially scratchy brownish-green curtain that hangs all the way down past your shoulders.

Now, I can't stand being in front of a camera, myself -- but, if I had $8 in coins I would have instantly given that revolutionary blue and gold booth of graffiti-ridden technological genius a try. I mean, we've all taken pictures of 'each other', but how many times have we taken our "own" picture? You almost can't! It's nearly impossible without a tripod and some remote triggers or timer! What we really needed was a device to allow us to take pictures of ourself! Enter this awesome, relatively compact booth-o-marvels.

Incredulously, at the time of this fortuitous discovery there was no line at all! None! Amazing luck. I mean, I stood looking around dumbfounded at all the people just walking by -- they were so entranced with their "smartphones" and "texting" that not one of them looked up to realize that the future was passing them by -- "lllllllliterally!"

I expect we'll be seeing more of these in the future. It's here. Keep an eye out -- and your pockets primed with some gold coins folks, 'cause you never know....

Kudos, Melbourne Central -- you are indeed the purveyor of future technologies.

06/04/2015

Stills from some time lapse capture of the "Blood Moon" eclipse from South Wharf, Melbourne.

19/02/2015

새해 복 많이 받으세요!!!!!
chúc mừng năm mới!!!!!
Happy New Year!!!!!