Experimentation with Photography

Well a couple of weekends ago my fiance and I went exploring in the White Mountains of NH. There was not a better opportunity for me to start bonding with my new Canon 7D. I used to shoot exclusive to Nikon, but I have switched to the dark side for awhile. Anyone who knows me, knows I am always up for new challenges. Over the last year I have grown immensely in my photographic knowledge. I started with a Nikon D40x and within a year upgraded just last month to the Canon 7D. It's a whole new world. I am forced to start shooting a lot more manually. Along with exploring the new possibilities with the equipment, I am also learning and pushing my limits with post processing. Here is an example of one of my new works. I am not sure how I am feeling about it. I took the original which let me say this has been barely "touched" up in lightroom because I am starting to understand exposure and seemed to be perfectly captured. Once home I have just set them aside to think about what I wanted them to look like. I applied a plug in from Lightroom and am really adoring the effects. I hope you enjoy it! Drop me a line and let me know your opinion.

Winter is right around the corner!
Original

Edited

Catching up on life

So it has been awhile since I have posted here but so much has changed!
I am now a proud engaged female! I could not be happier to be marrying the best man that has ever come into my life. Photography has been kind of slow since life seems to be interfering. I did sell a few more prints of Hope and Love. Hope and Love is dedicated to my mother who passed away from Breast Cancer in April 2009. My mothers favorite color was pink, and no matter how down she could get, if she saw pink she would just beam a smile of sunshine which is how the yellow ties in so well. Many breast cancer patients and survivors weave a family and friendships through their emotions, battles, tears and smiles. As we all know, yellow is a sign of friendship and pink is the color that represents breast cancer. I hope this photo touches at least one person, as much as it has touched me and reminds me of the happy days of my mother and the outstanding courage she possessed during her year of battle.

This weekend one of my bridesmaids got married after a long year and a half engagement. I could not be happier for the beautiful couple. They are very happy and seems so meant for each other. They had beautiful blue skies, green grass, breezy weather and most importantly, true love and admiration for each other.
May love and happiness always be with them for as long as they both shall live.
Happy Summer my friends!

Swim Training has Begun

So training has begun for masters. Day 1
500 x 1
300
50 x 3
200 x 4
150 x 2 with 45 second rest in between
100 x 2 with 30 seconds rest
50 x 2 with 15 second rest
Total 1.46 miles in an hour 15 min.
Don't feel to bad, coach said I looked great with form and everything.. hope to be at nationals a year from now.... says there is a huge competition in Dec which I hope to aim for!!
Says I still have it, no doubt! Kind of excited to be back at it! Just not have to rest.. Feel like I lost 20lbs!!!

Bruins and Olympics Update

The way to spend Valentines Day Eve, as most of my friends are out on romantic dinner or evening dates, me and goofy shared once again our love of hockey. You would not find us anywhere besides watching the last Bruins game against the Panthers before the Olympic break. Bruins 4th straight road win 3-2 thanks to McQuaid and Recchi. The boys were being outplayed horribly, but McQuaid was the man and fought Oreskovich and clearly won even though Oreskovich was wearing a visor, Mcquaid landed some mean uppercuts.. The Bruins had to go to shootout, something that is way to familiar as of late. Krej, Savy and of all men RECCHI won the game!Tuukka Rask was in net but had a few mistakes that cost us 2 goals. Also to note, Rask is taking lessons from Timmy as he shoved a guy out of the crease after a save. We have the terrible twos tantrum Goalies. The win was big enough for my Sistah to give me a call and SCREAM! Ohno has just placed first in 1500 qualifying heat. I am hoping he can get a few gold medals!

Olympics has begun

Yesterday was a magical day in 2010. It was the start to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. journey. Before the world was able to celebrate there was a very unusual, heart wrenching tragedy.
Nodar Kumaritashvili from the country of Georgia died during his practice run at the Whistler Sliding Centre when things started going wrong at turn 15, he was unable to maintain control for turn 16 going 90mph. Nodar lost control of his luge and was projected over the wall, hitting a steel beam and lay motionless in a ragged doll position. I first learned of the crash around 3:30pm, soon later I heard he died. The first pictures released showed Nodor bloody, receiving CPR. At 7:30 was the first time I saw the video, it left me chilled, and close to tears. If you watch the video you can just hear the bing and the final bang of his life. He died doing what he loved to do. Again chills ran through my body when Georgia marched into the opening Ceremony leaving a space for their beloved Nodar who would have been making his Olympic debut at age 21 and the audience immediately came to their feet in a standing ovation. GOOSEBUMPS.
On a lighter note, the Opening Ceromony very unusual and wonderful as always,with only a slight glitch at the lighting of the Olympic Couldron. It was amazing to see Bobby Orr and Catriona le may Doan as part of the Olympic flag carrying.
Today is the first day of competition and the first Gold Medal has been claimed by Switzerland's Simon Ammann. Who can forget his winning of the gold medals at 2002 Salt Lake City in both the short and long hill events. In the intereview in 2002 after winning gold he was so excited, speechless and just bursting at the seems with emotion and his screams when he could manage to talk! He is now the first male in Olympic History to win gold on the Individual Normal Hill Event. That is all for now. The Boston Bruins last game before the Olympic break is on at 7pm and prime time events for the Olympics is on at 8pm, so more post to follow ! Lets go Bruins!

Day Five: Another day at the office

Well, its Wednesday, only one more work day and then Friday we are going to go to Kyoto to go sight seeing, so tomorrow is last day in the office. TG!!! This morning Brigette and I went to a different coffee shop and had caramel macaroon latte. AMAZING! So nothing exciting to write about for the work day. Same ole, Goofey sent me a voicemail this morning as a surprise for when I woke up! It was so great to hear his voice again. I am soooo homesick. I miss home, and Odie and Blankey but most of all my darling! hearing his voice made me tear up... Almost time! I got a little more sleep last night which gave me some sanity! I think not sleeping during the night was just making time DRAG by. After work, Yukiko took us to the store to go shopping. Let me tell you, its such a weird concept to me. You go in on like the 3rd floor, there are clothes, shoes ect, go down to second floor, cosmetics, jewelery ect, 1st floor is regular grocery store where I bought some kit kats and some Bonito! Can't wait to try it again! Basement is seafood mart and elaborate desserts and fruits. Their apples are HUGE here along with radishes! They are like 2-3 feet and like 6 inches in diameter! INSANE. I wish i could have taken some pictures of everything but couldn't . We went out to dinner at a restaurant that was a great time! Had some beer, which was Lagar and Pilsner mixed 50/50. Then had some Sake then another beer. Dinner was elaborate. Started out with some raw vegetables, beets, pumpkin, white vegetable which reminded me of cucumber, and then some root vegetable which tasted like root.. Next we had some amazing sashimi. It was sooo fresh, Salmon, Tuna, Macerol, Octupus, Yellow Tail Fish. Was soo very fresh. Then had some Lotus Root salad. It was the root of the Lotus flower raw/plain and then breaded and fried.. YUMMY! We then had some Kobe beef, ugh so good but very fatty and hard to chew. We put some Japanese Pepper on it, OMG stuff is amazing. Will be trying to find this pepper to bring home. It was sooo good, nice flavor and then like 20-30 seconds after eating it you got some heat and hotter flavor. It sort of made my lips burn but it wasn't really HOT or spicy, hard to explain but amazingness! Dessert consisted of Green Tea Ice Cream ( this was sort of eh... very bitter and not sweet at all), Blood Bean Pudding/paste which tasted like Dates which made me remember my very young years of picking dates off treas!! SOO GOOOD! and then squares of Tapioca. I do remember now that I do not like tapioca, didn't like it in Hawaii and for some reason the consistency just makes me almost gag! I think the only consistency that draws this reaction out of me! All in all it was great! It is now 10pm and I am sooo tired. I think I am going to go read some more and call it a night! Hope all is well in the US and I will be home sooooon! It is starting to feel very close to being time to go home and I am getting so excited!

Day Four continued!

Peeking in ( this is what happens when you get up way to freaking early and are bored and only play with your camera! )

Mos Mos SHI from Japan ( Good Morning/Hello)!
Well I am sorry about last night but let me continue. Meetings = boring so that equals my day besides the whole lunch thing but I would rather not recount that again!
Last nights dinner was amazing though. We went to an old style japanese pub where all the older generation go. They smoke and drink and its fun.
There was SOOO much food. Had cooked EEL with the head still attached WEIRD...But had asparagus with Bonito ( fish shavings ) taste sooo much like bacon I wish all the bacon fans could taste it! Pink Salmon was amazing.. Baked/grilled eggplant. Asanti beer ugh i love the beer here! Rice bowl. Had some sashimi white/clear fish. had some steak and some sauteed onions OMG it was soooo amazing! My body loved me, it was like I KNOW THIS!
Here is a picture of how dinner was cooked, look closely and you can see all the fish raw WHOLE!