Eclipse Day

"Dragon Eating the Sun" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/11, 1/500 sec, ISO3200
“Dragon Eating the Sun” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today was an interesting one for us in the US. We all got to view the eclipse! Some of us were able to see a total eclipse, but down here in Austin, the maximum cover up of the sun was about 64%. Still, it was amazing!

The photo above is a close crop of the eclipse as seen through some eclipse glasses, and captured with my Fujifilm X100T. Down below is our driveway mini-party, and the final picture is of a pinhole viewing box that I made.

"Eclipse Party" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/11, 1/500 sec, ISO1250
“Eclipse Party” Cedar Park, 2017
"Pinhole" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/11, 1/100 sec, ISO320
“Pinhole” Cedar Park, 2017

I have several friends who are really into astronomy and traveled north so they could experience the total eclipse. On the other hand, I other friends who weren’t impressed by the eclipse at all. I would say I am pretty enthusiastic about this chance, and even though the eclipse has been over for several hours, I am still riding a high. 😎☀️🌙 It was so strange and wonderful to see how little the sun and moon looked today. I loved it.

I am really looking forward to 2013 where we’ll see a 90% eclipse in Austin, and then the following year, we’ll see a total eclipse! It’s going to be awesome!

Hope you had a fantastic Monday!

おやすみなさい

More Editing

"Watercolor Tree" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO200
“Watercolor Tree” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Tonight I did a little bit of editing on these sketches, just like I did a couple nights ago. I am sensing a pattern here… I tend to draw faces too long (my opinion) which means I should take care to pay more attention to that when I am doing my sketches. Of course, I can edit them in Photoshop, but it’s better to get it right when I put it on paper. Sort of like it’s better to get things right in-camera rather than relying on fixing things in post.

Anyways, here are the before and after versions of the sketches.

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice Sunday!

おやすみなさい

Saturday Dinner

"Korean Meal" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
“Korean Meal” Cedar Park, 2017

Hi! Just a quick post with photos of our Korean-style dinner. It had chicken, cabbage, carrots, mochi, and mushrooms in a sweet and spicy Korean chili paste. We also added cheese, and then later, rice to make a really nice fried rice. It was pretty dang tasty. 😀

Hope you had a nice Saturday!

"Assembling on the Hotplate" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
“Assembling on the Hotplate” Cedar Park, 2017
"Almost Cooked" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO640
“Almost Cooked” Cedar Park, 2017
"Cheesy" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
“Cheesy” Cedar Park, 2017

Drama Time

"Watching Dorama" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/110 sec, ISO6400
“Watching Dorama” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

It was a looong week for me at work. So busy and lots of things on the horizon. But it’s good and I am thankful that I have a career (graphic design and branding) that is interesting and I enjoy.

But after this week, I was looking forward to a night of relaxation, and so poured a glass of wine, put on a Japanese drama, and watched all five episodes.

Coffee-ya no Hitobito / 珈琲屋の人々 is a story of an ex-con who runs a small coffee shop in Tokyo, and the relationship that develops between him and the widow of the man he killed. It sounds like a bizarro plot and circumstance, but the way the circumstances are developed is such that it is not such a stretch. Anyways, besides the main plot, there are other characters from the same shopping street who have their own intertwined stories. It’s a good human dorama, but I was thinking there would be more emotional moments. I’d rate it as “Somewhat recommended”. 😌

After that, I did a little doodling using the Wacom tablet and Krita, which was fun but difficult. I can definitely see that it’s something I want to do more of.

I hope you had a nice Friday!

またね~

Digital Edit

I scan all of my sketches that I’ve done this past month into my photo library for backup, and while importing this latest image, I decided to do a little editing in Photoshop and see if I could figure out why this portrait (the top image) is a little “off”.

I cut and pasted the nose and mouth, then moved them up a little bit, and I think it made a huge difference! Next, I reduced the width of her left eye a little, and then also changed the chin a touch. It was only a few pixel adjustment here and there but I think it changed the image a lot. Take a look at the before and after:

One last thing I’d like to change is where the neck is positioned. But that will have to wait until tomorrow.

I’m really stoked at the possibilities of using scanned images in Photoshop. So, start off pencil and paper, then bring into Photoshop or Krita for the digital adjustments. I think it might a good workflow for me.

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a wonderful Thursday!

おやすみ