colinwoon

Took these shots 2 weeks ago, finally got to uploading it. I blame the delay on...errr...never mind...

These are shots of Texas state flower, Bluebonnet. Bluebonnet is a type of wild flower just like these.

We drove around Chappell Hill, Texas, for a good half hour until we saw this amazing patch of Bluebonnet. This piece of land belongs to Lillian Farms Bed & Breakfast, a pretty cool place. The owner was kind enough to let us take photos inside the compound and we did.

So which photo do you like the most?

I have more Bluebonnet photos coming up soon...very soon...I hope.

|

Last week was a hectic one for me. Job dateline has kept me up late a few nights. I can barely keep my eyes open by Friday night. Past out for 10 hours and woke up to this sweetness!

|

Wild flower is the sign of Spring here in Texas and it's also the sign of allergy season for some people, unfortunately.

Usually there are a lot of wild flowers on the side of the highway but this year the wild flowers population seems to have reduced. Lucky for me, I was at a place way out in the country doing some volunteer works a few weeks ago and I was able captured these shots.

|

We have this dish for dinner probably once a week. I called it my detox meal - the fiber will cleanse my system of all the junk I stuff in my mouth everyday, or so I hope it will.

Faye called it the quick and easy meal when she don't have time to cook or when she ran out of idea what to cook.

|

We've been living in Houston for more than 10 years and we have never been to the Houston Zoo, what a shame! Not that the Houston Zoo is not cool but we always thought it's a place for kids and families.

Well, thanks to my boss and his wife, who were kind enough to invite us there(and paid the fees) for the 2nd Annual Photo Day at the Houston Zoo - it's a day cater to photography enthusiast and professional. The zoo opened to participants 2 hours prior to the normal zoo operation hours. Which was pretty cool, since we will see much less people when we roam around the zoo shooting photos.

And again thanks to my boss, who also loan a camera to Faye so she can try some photography fun! And fun, she had! Now that I know she like it, buying a 2nd camera body is not such a bad idea after all...hehehe...*wink*

The following photos are from my wife's camera. She definitely has the skills to be a really good photographer, I just have to convince her to pick up the camera more often!


Houston Zoo has much more cool animals then what I post here but a lot of the photos didn't turn out right so we have to try again next time.

|

Our last meal in Taipei before we head for Malaysia was in Jiu Ru Restaurant on the 4th floor of Taipei 101 Mall with my god parents and their daughter.

Don't ask me the name of these dishes because I have no idea...well...I was too busy stuffing it into my stomach hahaha... All I remember is that the food was well prepared, tasty and I was really really full after dinner.

Some food photo tips below if you are interested.

This Taiwan trip could easily qualified as the most food photos I have ever taken during a trip. It all started as an assignment to document the foods I had there for my food loving wife, who couldn't join me on this trip. Then it evolved into an obsession to capture tasty food for my own reference!

Anyway, here are few things I learned while taking food photos at restaurant:

Never Use Flash - Primary reason is due to the fact that most flash will render the photo too harsh to look pleasant. Secondary reason, it will annoy other patrons in the restaurant and why would you want that?

Use Higher ISO Setting - Use high ISO to compensate for low light condition and to prevent motion blur. Yes, high ISO will introduce noise to the photo, but these photos are not for print anyway, for me at least. Of course choose the ISO level where the noise level is acceptable based on your camera. I have used ISO as high as 1600 for some of these food photos because setting up a tripod in a restaurant is impractical and it will also invite some curious and uncomfortable stare. Btw, don't forget to brace your arm against the table to reduce motion blur.

Use Exposure Compensation - This may apply to my camera model only, Canon XTi(400D), or it could apply to all camera type. Seems to me a lot of my indoor shot were underexposed, especially when the image has a lot of white in it. My theory is that the camera is trying to achieve 18% Grey normal exposure, to achieve that for a white subject(like plate or dish) is to underexposed it. So don't be afraid to increase exposure to correct that. Both point&shoot and DSLR have this feature.

Use Rule of Third - Use it to make the photo a little more interesting but don't be afraid to break the rules too.

Does any of this make any sense? If not, please let me know. Of course I'm not a professional so take these tips with a grain of salt. Have fun!

|

Yup, yet another Taiwan food post! I think there's one more after this to complete my "Chown Down in Taiwan" series, almost done... Yes, I know I'm slow at this blogging thing.

My god mother insist that we should go to "Din Tai Fung" even though I told her I have tried it in Singapore. Let just say I'm glad she insisted, the original in Taipei was better. Even their services were much better than the one in Singapore.

And I just realized that "Din Tai Fung" has restaurant in quite a number of countries - Taiwan, Japan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, US, Malaysia, and Australia...Wow!

|

About time to post something other than food, if not people are going to think this is a food blog.

Anyway, here are some random photos captured in Taipei. Not many touristy photos because I didn't visit any tourist attraction, well, other than Taipei 101.

|