Ian's blog » Travel

Yosemite

Ian — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:23:23 +0000

I have been slow in posting my photos from my trip to Yosemite, here they are

The Great Wall – Simatai

Ian — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:27:51 +0000

Day 6 Photos

Ian — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:52:38 +0000

Fragrant Hills Park (Xiangshan Park)

Hiking in China is a little different than in the US, instead of trails that zig zag up the mountain they have built stairs that go all the way to the top. I am not sure if the pictures will convey exactly how steep these steps are.

Day 4 Photos

Ian — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:00:45 +0000

Beijing National Theatre

Ian — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 05:07:32 +0000

We made a special trip to the Beijing National Theatre to take some sunset photos. The sunset was a little disappointing but I did take some photos to try out with HDR, I haven’t bought a copy yet which means I get the watermark

HDR Beijing National Theatre

Here is are some unprocessed ones

Beijing National Theatre

Beijing National Threatre

This Chinese girl came up to me and asked in good english, “can you take my photo” I couldn’t work out how to use her grandmothers cellphone, so while HY looked at it’s chinese menus I took this photo. Turns out she had been learning english since she was very young and her english is definitely far superior to my chinese and she was there to listen to a concert.

The Great Hall of the People

Day 3 Photos

Ian — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:33:03 +0000

Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)

Giant TV at ‘The Place’ shopping area

Ian — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:14:33 +0000

I am not quiet sure what the point of this giant jumbo screen is other than to make you go woah. The shopping area is called the “The Place”

The Place

One thing I wasn’t really expecting in Beijing was the amount of neon signs and the number of TV’s, you see all round the city they have them on the streets and in the buses and trams, and in the metro stations.

Birthday Photos

Ian — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:03:29 +0000

So what does a beer drinker do on his birthday in Beijing China. He drinks beer, and good beer at that. We were are the Kro’s Nest next to workers stadium. The beer was good but the pizza was average at best, soggy crust, lack of toppings other than cheese and tomato sauce.

From Left to right, Brooklyn Pale Ale, Brooklyn Brown, Rogue Brutal Bitter, Brooklyn Lager, Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

Each bottle has its own label translated on the back. We tried to save them but they were too well glued.

Passport Photos on the cheap

Ian — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:12:51 +0000

Since I always seem to be needing passport photos I thought I would see if there is a cheaper way of doing it rather than going into a camera shop. The last time I did it they used a digital camera and printed them off in house, the rub is they charged me almost $7 for for this. This time I got a co worker to take the photo, a quick online search and I came up with http://www.epassportphoto.com/ where they crop and format your photo to give you a 4×6 jpeg with 6 photos for free. A few minutes later I have uploaded the jpg to Ritz Camera and I am about to go grab the picture. Total cost $0.22. That sure beats the $8 they would have charged me if I went into the shop and asked them to do it.

Miami and the Everglades

Ian — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:32:18 +0000

I didn’t get a chance to dive due to playing dodge the hurricane, but we get a change to go to the Everglades National Park. The first day we went out to Shark Valley where they have a tram ride that takes you into the park and gives you a chance to see the environment and some of the wild life. The Second day we started and Royal Palm and made our way down to Flamingo bay, where the park ranger wouldn’t come out of his office unless he had a mosquito net over his head.

Shark Valley: With a new camera and lens, I am still learning what the limits are, this time I had a go at taking photos of wildlife and didn’t quite get the shot I wanted. Not sure if it was the Vibration Reduction, the Shutter Speed or lack of depth of field but this shot isn’t quite in focus for the whole bird.

Shark Valley: The two in the shot were young deer that were out in front of the Tram. The driver was scared that they wouldn’t cross over and join their mum who was waiting in the water across the way.

Shark Valley: One of my favorite shots

Royal Palm: Mr Alligator, this was one of 2 watching us from the water.

Royal Palm: This was the third one we saw that day, he was about 2 to 3 feet away cooling him self off under a tree.

Royal Palm: I didn’t quite get this guy all in focus, but still a good shot.

Royal Palm: Mr Frog eyes just above the water

Miami: Ocean Dr