Incredibly lucky that I had my camera out today as I was heading back home from class, and bumped into my friend Chunyi at the bus stop. The GF1 + Leica 50mm Summicron combo is very hard to control at f/2, but if you can nail the focus... the results are outstanding.

Woke up at 2pm and went online to see everyone say "Wow what a nice day!" "It's so beautiful outside!"

Lingered around the house for a bit... then said, "OKAY, GET OUT OF THE DOOR LET'S GO!"

I had to do some reading... and since lugging a 5D with a heavy backpack would have been a pain, I opted to give my GF1 a chance. Very pleased with the results =).

Tested the Leica 50mm summicron on the GF1, it's pretty darn hard to focus. Using any lens on a GF1 will give you 2x more focal length. So effectively the 50mm acts like a 100mm. The following are a mix of the summicron and the normal 20mm f/1.7

The Usual

It's really easy to dismiss your everyday surroundings and label them as "boring." But really no matter where you are... there's definitely something going on and worth noticing, even if you go to this over populated, wanna-be-hipster infested, and drab university that is UT.

For me, I really like seeing how the light at sunset effects the random stuff I see walking home from class.



A guy from Japan came to the arcade yesterday to play street fighter... I asked him in my broken japanese...写真  を  とりますか? (I take picture?).

The way light plays on the new buildings on campus is a refreshing sight.

Had a nice lunch with my friend Erica today at Thanh Nhi =).

I really don't understand how Thanh Nhi's owner prepares her rice or chicken, she makes something so simple so good! Hah.

All images were taken with a Panasonic GF1 with the 20mm f/1.7 lens.

A week in January

Kirk Tuck, an Austin photographer has some really nice posts about the new Olympus EPL2 that will be coming out quite soon. Check them out!

Welch patio

More and more impressed with M4/3

The biggest gripe I had with my GF1 + 20mm f/1.7, was that I found it hard to get a shallow depth of field. But, in reality I think I was just taking pictures at the wrong angles. If you get close enough, and space your background a decent way, the depth of field will be very apparent and pleasing. Also it's worth noting that the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 is very very sharp and small.

A wave?

On the street

I really like the way he carries his camera... such a bad ass going out for hours with just a 5D MKII and the 85mm f/1.2 with no extra baggage to weigh him down.



I've always been inspired by street photography, and I regard the type as the "holy grail" of photography. But, I've always had this fear of going out into the streets alone. Afraid of responses from people, of their reaction to me... a clumsy Asian guy with an intimidating camera.

I have to force myself to go out, there are so many unexpected opportunities out there. Just get out the door!

I'm so needlessly self conscious... Most people don't seem to not care at all, or are very welcoming. Hopefully photography will help remedy my shyness. 

Street photography is something you need a lot of patience for... days and days of taking pictures, often coming back with only 1 semi-usable shot, or perhaps nothing.

Some words of advice... 

Sometimes you just get lucky.

Biding time at epoch

My apartment complex took this long winter break to do renovations on the apartment, unfortunately this means that I get a loud *BANG BANG BANG* that wakes me up every morning... sometimes even on the opposite wall of my bedroom. So... to escape the annoyance I went to Epoch, normally a place where I'd cram for finals, but this time just a place to chill, surf the web, and play some board games.

People at the cafe are really nice... some even bring their pets =).



After leaving the parking lot, the sun was setting and the clouds formed this beautiful swirly pattern... I instantly thought that it could be a good picture, but I hesitated and continued home, I regretted it and immediately drove back, in the matter of just 2-3 minutes the light drastically changed and it became almost too dark for this pic. Never hesitate, just take the picture.

See you later Julien

Best of luck to you, have fun in New York!

Winter Break

-Chilling with the cousins
Winter break has been quite boring... I haven't been taking many pictures or going out much. I have been hanging out with my cousins a lot more than I normally do though.

Here's William, Lauren, and Jessica.

The images above were taken with a 5D with either the EF 50mm f/1.4 or EF 100mm f/2.

-Can't forget the friends...

The previous 2 images were taken with a GF1, I've been really impressed with panasonic quality lately. I've also stumbled upon some very stunning images by Jim Radcliffe, who used the GF1 almost exclusively for more than a year. Check out his website Boxed Light.

Yay for getting away with underaged drinking next to a rooftop playground. Parents were too busy downing their own beer and wine to notice anyways. My 21st is coming up in less than a month!

-The food

Mexican food. *drool* I don't really like Mexican fusion... there's really no need to mess with the classics. If the image looks foreign to you, I suggest that you visit a local taqueria or taco cart.