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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1/400 sec, f/9, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
What am I?
This is perhaps more challenging that my previous “What am I?” quiz...
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/2000 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cute
with a touch of stylish
Anthony has almost doubled in age since he started preschool, and today his tenure as a kindergartener ended. He graduated preschool today, and starts first grade next month.
Anthony looks sharp in a suit, but a kid should look like a kid, so the shorts Fumie selected maintain that perfect balance of “dressed up” and “still a kid”. It's the same ensemble that Curious George modeled a few weeks ago, with a real necktie and all.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 125 mm — 1/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Festive Entrance
milk cartons and paper
The ceremony wasn't too long, with some speeches and songs, but eventually the kids were called up in alphabetical order, and soon it was Anthony's turn...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1/160 sec, f/4.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Heading up to the Podium
to receive his diploma
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 260 mm — 1/160 sec, f/4.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bowing to the Principal
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 230 mm — 1/200 sec, f/4.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Receiving His Diploma
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 135 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.8, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Song of Joy”
At one point the kids did a duet with the mommies, where the song took the form of a conversation that was really sweet (at least the parts I understood). Lots of mommies cried.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 180 mm — 1/250 sec, f/4.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lots of Cameras Were Out
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 31 mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pro Shooting from the Back
he comes to every major event, from his office a couple of hours away
The lighting inside is absolutely horrid for photographs, with lots of sunlight flooding in, mixing with lots of fluorescent lights. It makes any kind of consistent white-balance setting absolutely impossible.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1/250 sec, f/4.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Exit Procession
waiting for his row's turn to leave
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Row of Kimono
some of the mommies getting ready for a group photo
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Returning for a Group Photo
I caught the diploma at just the right time as he was idly playing with it
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — 1/60 sec, f/3.5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Showing Mommy
his diploma
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — 1/60 sec, f/3.5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Kicking Back
talking to Kana-chan
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
photo kindly taken by Yoko-chan's daddy
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/200 sec, f/5, ISO 1400 — full exif
Prospecting
the biggest darn grapefruit known to man
I was in the supermarket yesterday and did a double-take when I saw a basket of volleyball-sized grapefruit. They were huge, twice the size of any grapefruit I'd ever seen.
Except they weren't grapefruit. The sign called them banpeiyu (晩白柚). For $6, I had to pick one up.
It turns out that they're a variety of something called Pomelo, a citrus fruit that I had never heard of. This particular variety comes from Viet Nam.
When I got home, I told Anthony that I had a surprise, had him close his eyes, and place it on the table in front of him. Upon opening his eyes, he broke out in uncontrollable “wow, check it out” laughter for a good half a minute. It was cute.
For some reason, I had the thought that it'd be fun to play on the size by photographing it a scene with some of his small toys, along the lines of this old post: Heavy Industries on the Kitchen Table. He liked the idea, but I still have my cold, and I just ran out of steam last night, so couldn't do it.
But he wanted to try, so he set it up with men and helicopters and trucks and such, and took a shot...
(I wanted to get a picture of him lit by his flash, so I set my camera to a manual two-second exposure, tripped my shutter, then told him to take his shot. I was holding the camera freestanding, and did a pretty good job holding still for two seconds, I think, but it's the ultra-fast flash from his camera that renders the sharper areas of the frame.)
Here's his picture...
So, today I had more energy and gave it a try myself....
I tried adding a normal pen for scale, but eventually decided that the simple shot with the egg was better for setting the scale. Anthony liked the idea, too..
So, enough playing with the camera... now was the time to eat it! (The fruit, not the camera.)
I sliced off the top inch or so, and found.... nothing.
Just slicing through the peel, though, unleashed an intense citrus smell that almost assaulted you with its ferocity. Anthony thought it was wonderful, but I wasn't so sure. My nose has experience with citrus like oranges, limes, tangerines, yuzu, grapefruit, lemons – you know, normal citrus fruits – and this one smelled just a bit “off”, like the potent oder of a cheap car freshener.
Anyway, I sliced off another inch or so, and hit paydirt...
The peel was crazy-thick and spongy, I scored the fruit vertically all around, and started to peel away...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 66 mm — 1/200 sec, f/8, ISO 2800 — full exif
That's Some Thick Peel!
The peel was thick, spongy, and clingy, and after 10 minutes of trying to scrape it off, it was still a mess...
It turns out that I shouldn't have wasted my time with that, because once I broke it apart, it turned out that each segment was in an easily-removable covering, much like a really dry grapefruit....
Oddly, it was not the least bit juicy. Anthony and I started breaking out the fruit part, and gave it a try. Like the smell it was close to something I knew (a grapefruit), but oddly different. But unlike the smell, the taste was a clear win. There was only the slightest hint of bitterness that screams “grapefruit” to your tastebuds, but otherwise it was very mild, perhaps even slightly sweet. Extremely mild.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1800 — full exif
Perhaps a Quarter of the Fruit
We've still got half in the fridge, wrapped tight to rein in its pungent half-pleasant half-not oder.
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Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1/5000 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Almost That Time of Year Again
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1/1500 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
So, I've still got my cold, although it's finally starting to get better. Hence, fairly light posts lately, and this one is no exception. It's a collection of photos from the same April 5th stroll last year that produced Cherry-Blossom Full Bloom Hits Kyoto and Cherry-Blossom Joie de Vivre in Kyoto, as well as the “darker-side” post, The Hanami was Nice, But.... It was a fruitful day, so here are a few more pictures that will serve as a Cherry-Blossom Preview.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/350 sec, f/4, ISO 125 — map & image data — nearby photos
Hustle and Bustle
out for a stroll among the sakura
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 125 — map & image data — nearby photos
Looking Forward
to pictures this year without that ugly wall
The area near my place is glorious during cherry-blossom season, but the ugly cinderblock wall often spoiled photos, so it was wonderful when last summer when the owners replaced it with a remarkably tasteful (and certainly expensive) Japanese-style wall, as seen in this post about a movie shoot.
The walkway is still asphalt, so that's still unappealing, but cherry blossoms make anything look better...
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/4000 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Obligatory Shrine Gate
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/750 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Positively Glowing
For quite a few of today's photos, I've decided to make abundant use of Lightroom's “negative clarity” control, which softens up an image (or, with local corrections, parts of an image), as described in last summer's Funky Joy With Adobe Lightroom post. I used it sparingly in a few of the earlier photos in this post, but in the one directly above went full tilt. I'm not sure whether it “works”, but there it is.
To some extent, the effect is the similar to the “darken blend mode” Photoshop technique I used in Cooling Off with Pastel Cherry-Blossom Desktop Backgrounds and described in this fall-foliage post. Sliding the “clarity” slider in Lightroom is a heck of a lot easier, though!
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 45 mm — 1/640 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Soft-n-Fluffy
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 135 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Plying The Canal
$5 a ride, available for much of April and May
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 98 mm — 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Moments
before this moment
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Predominance of Green
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/1500 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Predominance of Pink
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 22 mm — 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pleasant Day in the Park
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Glowing
maybe just a tad too much?
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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 270 mm — 1/500 sec, f/4.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1/500 sec, f/4.8, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1/500 sec, f/4.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Even if I weren't down with a nasty cold, I'd never be able to come up with a title that does this sequence justice.