Monthly Archives: December 2011

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Last 60 seconds of 2011

I dashed over to Zojoji Temple this evening to catch the countdown, and got there just in time, around 23:30. It was crazily crowded, and there was really no good place to stand for good photos, but I did stick my little camera on my tripod and raise it up above my head to film a quick video clip.

Sorry for the blurriness though – I think the auto-focus is a tad slow in dark environments. Still, it was fun to watch the countdown of last 60 seconds of 2011.

Happy New Year again to all, here's hoping that 2012 is a better year for all of us!

Good night from Tokyo! 🙂

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Happy New Year!

It's 1.5hrs to midnight, and just wanted to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Years.

This photo is for +Takahiro Yamamoto who is recuperating from a broken leg and cannot go out from the hospital. 🙁

Sorry T-san, the quality is not that great… when I ran out to go to the Sky Tree, I didn't realize until I was almost there that I forgot the tripod!!! So a number of my shots came out blurry. Still, for a SOOC shot, I'm pretty satisfied.

I will upload the few other shots that came out ok – right now I'm going to try to head to Zojoji temple and see if I can catch the countdown.

I won't be posting on G+ until next year, so this is my last G+ post for 2011.

Happy New Years everyone! 🙂

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In the eyes of a child

I took this shot early last month when walking around Ginza with my folks who were visiting Tokyo at the time. This was one of those moments where you're just glad you have your camera in hand and ready to shoot.

I just love her gentle expression of happiness as she looks up at her dad, and was so glad I caught it 🙂

In album On The Streets Of Tokyo (2 photos)

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Last call for anyone wanting to join the 366 project

This will be the final time I'm sharing the 366 project circle publicly (though I will re-share internally once more at year's end so participants have the latest circle).

If anyone is interested/crazy enough to want to try committing to a 366 project for 2012, let me know – just please be sure to read the rules first so you know what you're getting yourself into 🙂

Original post + FAQ/rules: http://bit.ly/shu9Uc

Japanese/??? version: http://bit.ly/uy6KTe

This particular circle CLOSES on December 31st, since we're all looking to start (on January 1st, 2012) and finish (on December 31st, 2012) together!

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New addition to the camera family

My precious D90 was just turned in yesterday for repairs at the Nikon store in Ginza, and it will be out of commission for the next 3 weeks. 🙁

However, I can't be without a camera that long – not after initiating the 366 project which starts on January 1st! So, knowing that I would have to be without my D90 for a while, I splurged a bit on myself and ordered a Fuji X10 on the 23rd and it arrived on Christmas day 🙂

I haven't actually taken many photos with it yet, though when I stepped out yesterday to drop by the office and the Nikon service center, I snapped a few shots along the way. The X10 is remarkably full-featured, and certainly gives more control that your typical point-and-shoot. From my (very) brief use of it, what I like are:

Pros
– Fast F2.0 lens
– Great selection of manual options, from ISO, shutter speed, specific focus point, and more
– Easily accessible menu options
– Small form factor (too big for pants pocket, but will slip in a jacket)
– Super quiet – the shutter "click" is whisper silent

Cons
– Manual focus is quite crappy
– Battery life is not great (main reason I didn't take more photos yesterday)
– Even though menu items are easily accessible, they're not always necessarily intuitive

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. I wanted a camera with NO interchangeable lenses – don't need it, since I already have a great DSLR. I also wanted something relatively small, that I could carry with me every day, to make it easier for me to stick to my 366 project. Finally I wanted something with decent macro capabilities since I don't have a macro lens for my D90. The X10 fulfilled all those requirements nicely.

My only main gripe so far is how quickly the battery drained – I'm used to my D90 being able to last a whole day (without video) or at least take a thousand shots or so, but the X10 barely got 200+ photos before the battery died.

As a result, I've bought a spare battery, and that should cover all my needs. I definitely need to familiarize myself a lot more with the menu layout and the camera features (my manual was in Japanese, so I've had to resort to reading the English PDF version online).

Below are a few shots, straight out of camera (aside from the shot of the X10 itself, which I cropped and brightened a bit).

In album X10 miscellaneous snapshots (10 photos)

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X10 miscellaneous snapshots

X10 miscellaneous snapshots

In album X10 miscellaneous snapshots

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X10 miscellaneous snapshots

X10 miscellaneous snapshots

In album X10 miscellaneous snapshots

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X10 miscellaneous snapshots

X10 miscellaneous snapshots

In album X10 miscellaneous snapshots

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X10 miscellaneous snapshots

X10 miscellaneous snapshots

In album X10 miscellaneous snapshots

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