Today’s photo is one that I took while watching Koa’s baseball team practice as the sky lost its light. I took the photo in color and converted it to black in white using Lightroom and tweaked a bit using the Exposure, Highlights, Shadows, Black, and White sliders. I’m quite pleased how it turned out!
I usually use Nik Silver EFX to do any black and white adjustments, but decided to try a new technique I learned after watching a video on Youtube. It’s a quick and easy way to adjust black and white images, loosely based on Ansel Adams’ workflow.
Well, that’s all from me for today. Let’s have a great Thursday!
Can you believe it is already March? This year is flying by like crazy. Soon it will be summer and then I hope things will slow down a bit since that is my favorite time of year. I miss it!
Today is “Super Tuesday” here in the States. It’s the day when several states hold their primary elections to help determine the official candidate for the two main parties of the US Government. Here in Texas we got to vote today, and I went to the polling location near our house to cast my vote. It was very easy and fast. I think it’s our duty as Americans to vote in the elections, even though you might live in a state that is always lopsided in its results. At least if you vote, you can complain about the leaders. If you don’t vote, do you have the right to complain?
Today’s photo is from a pizza restaurant that I often go to for lunch with friends. Lately, I’ve been enjoying making photos in black and white. I love the aesthetic and the simplicity of black and white, without the distraction of color. But it’s difficult too… and I am learning a lot about shooting in black and white. I have a ton to learn still but it is so fun to discover and grow!
Well, I think I will read a bit tonight since I am getting close to finishing The Alchemist. I am enjoying it so far!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/120 sec, ISO6400 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
こんばんは！Hi everyone, how’s it going? How was your Monday?
Mine was pretty good, although I ate way too many sweets today. As you may or may not know, I don’t usually eat sweets or sugary things like sodas. I don’t have too much of a sweet tooth to begin with, but since I don’t eat candy regularly I don’t crave it either. But today I had a lot of sweets!
A coworker is visiting from Sweden this week and he brought some chocolates so of course I had to try a couple of them 🍫 (they were delicious) and then there was some dessert in the breakroom after lunch. I didn’t partake in the chocolate or carrot cake, but I did have some Bluebell Dutch Chocolate ice cream 🍦 (also delicious). Then this evening we had some cookies. 🍪 That’s way too much sugar for me!
But besides all the sweet stuff, I had a whole lot of curry as well. We went out to lunch at a Thai restaurant where I had a super-spicy green curry and rice. It was tasty! As I mentioned before, I love Thai food. I could eat it every day. Well, maybe not that often, but I do enjoy it a lot.
Finally for dinner, my wife made a gigantic pot of Japanese beef curry which is always a favorite. 🍛 We had it with eggs and rice for the perfect meal. I always eat too much, but I cannot help myself… I’m sure you understand. Doesn’t it look delicious?
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec, ISO1000 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
こんばんは！Hi all! How was your Sunday? Mine was pretty good!
This morning, I took Koa to baseball practice and he learned a lot and had some fun. The coach has a motion sensor that attaches to the the baseball bat and can record a lot of data about the hitter’s swing, including bat speed, bat angle, etc. From that data, the coach can get a good idea of things that the hitters need to adjust in order to hit better. It was really cool! I am expecting Koa to be a big hitter this year. ⚾️
Tonight was Oscar night… the 88th Academy Awards. For the second year, our family of four had an Oscar watching party with ballots where we marked who we thought would win in all the televised categories. This year I got most of the winners correct but it actually wasn’t so fun because I had a huge lead over everyone else. I have to admit to having a good system to choose the winners, but next year I will just go by intuition instead. I feel kind of bad that I won so decisively… what can I do to make it up to them?
Oh well, watching the big show was still fun. But I get so nervous watching the speeches that I will leave the room and return when they are over. I have this thing about live performances… it fills me with so much anxiety that I’d rather not watch. 😰 Someday I need to overcome this. Or maybe I don’t. It’s not like it is a big part of my life anyways.
Today’s photo is another “Slice of life”. Our kids’ favorite lunch is instant ramen. Koa likes to put rayu (sesame and chili oil) into his, and Bay prefers cayenne pepper. They like it spicy! Looking at this photo, I noticed that Bay has some really nice hands. I think it’s because of all the piano practice he does everyday. 🎹
Well, tomorrow is Monday and the start of another busy week. Let’s do our best!
Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 0mm, f/0, 1/60 sec, ISO250 “Orchid” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
こんばんは！Hello! How was Saturday?
Today I spent a lot of time in front of my computer screen at home. I wasn’t working but rather catching up with Asa ga Kita, the asadora that is currently running on NHK. The subtitles that I use have been completed all the way up to week 10, so I was able to watch from week 6 to 10. The story is pretty good! The acting varies from excellent to not so great. I think the best performance so far has been by Miyazaki Aoi who plays Asa’s older sister, Hatsu. On the opposite end is Dean Fujioka who plays Godai Tomoatsu. He’s not terrible, but his acting is pretty stiff and robotic. But that is a minor complaint. So far the story is good and I can’t wait til more subtitles are released!
Today’s photo is a close-up of an orchid that has finally bloomed after over a year. It’s a really pretty color, isn’t it?
Well, time for bed. Tired but feeling good!
おやすみなさい！
-B
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My camera & photos
I use a Fujifilm X-series camera for most of the photos on this site and my Instagram. Why not pick one up for yourself?
