Dodge 'n Burn

I recently signed up for a mini class in digital photography, hoping to learn a bit more about it and make more use of the camera and photoshop. Yea, it shouldn't say that. But these days you probably don't come across the 'originals' that often anymore. And I guess it's okay to make use of technology. That's what they invented it for anyway :) So we talked about light and color today, and went through some assignment pictures. One of the key takeaways was, if you have to, it is better to have underexposure than overexposure. In other words, too dark is actually better than overly bright, because even when it appears dark and shadowed, the information captured is still there. Once we got to photoshop and tried different ways of adjustments, I realized you can really fix that and it was kinda cool..

So think of the toolbar on the left-hand side in photoshop with all those little icons, and there's one called dodge tool. Again this is like revealing my illiteracy, but honestly I never really knew how to use it. So we tried with this indoor photo, and because there was a hanging light in the middle the ceiling background was just dark. Using this thing can brighten part of the photo you want, and voila the ceiling emerged (it was nicely decorated). And vice versa, the burn tool does the opposite (but i guess it wouldn't be as neat)..

I guess what i'll do from now is not to ignore the photos that seem useless. Now I know I might be able to uncover many things underneath. You never know what you'll see.. Somehow I just relate this to first impressions with people, cuz a lot of times it doesn't say much about them at all. Over time you'll learn more, and hopefully find out who they are.. and then you might go wow like when i saw the ceiling :) Of course, despite time, it's not always the case that you'll be able to understand.. You can't crack the code with the wrong method.. it's like using photoshop with photos taken with non-digital cameras ngai.. :P

Pan-kun

A very good recommendation from KK! I've been watching too many of these already. A japanese show with chinese narration, at least for this youtube version i found.. but still it's very fun to watch and really cute. This is not the very first episode i presume, but if i were to paste everything it would be quite a mess hehe.. you can just search online, there are tons! แปะมาให้ดูเล่นนะ..





btw, according to the thai website KK sent me, the title was ขำกลิ้งลิงกับหมา na eiei..

Vegas baby!!

Made my first trip to Las Vegas this Christmas. I still remember back in university during our summer at Berkeley, my friends already went there. I unfortunately had to hurry home and take care of something. And as a result i waited 7 years until i have the chance to.. gosh that makes me feel old! Winter in LV is quite cold, with strong wind and super super dry. There isn't much to do in Vegas besides gambling (of course), but my goal was to check out the shows. The strip is nice at night time when all the lights are on. All the hotels are just humongous, and interestingly a lot of them have this tri-wing shape like the Mirage, Monte Carlo, Mandalay Bay, and even Bellagio is almost that shape but more curvy in front. I don't know if there is any reason to this, but my wild guess is perhaps related to either the wind or the view :)

Show #1: Le Reve at Wynn Las Vegas

Initially i wanted to see O by Cirque do Soleil but couldn't find tickets available on those dates. Le Reve seemed like a good second choice given that the production is done by the same guy, Franco Dagone, and it is a water-based show. The venue for this show is rather unique with a circular pool in the middle, giving somewhat a circus feeling. A lot of acrobatics, with performers either swimming, hanging, or falling into water. The storyline is about a girl in her dream, venturing into this magical journey (or something). I guess i didn't understand much, but it's also possible that there's nothing to really understand :P Important thing is, the show was great. Perhaps that's another way of telling myself it was worth the $$$ hehe.. but honestly i liked it a lot. Even liked it more than the second show by Cirque.


Show #2: KA at MGM Grand

This was the second on my Cirque list, and i had high expectations. From the poster it looked like a show with some fire demonstration right? Well in reality they only had some fire before the show began, and that was it. This one tells a story about the twins - one was kidnapped - and how they went through their journeys to find each other in the end. Again, more acrobatics and martial arts. Surprisingly i think all the casts were Asian. So imagine watching a กายกรรม show in China or something, it's quite like that hehe. Of course the set up and props they used were really grande, and the music score was good too. I guess it was the expectation i had that kinda spoiled it a bit.

Our third show was actually on the 'magical' side - David Copperfield. Heard of him but never knew he was like an icon back when he was at his peak. Partly due to his good looks maybe, which explains why he's not as hot anymore given his age :P Now i kinda regret not watching any of those 'vegas' shows with all those showgirls dressed up in fancy costumes like in Miss Congeniality. But most of all, i'm so sad i missed Celine Dion's. Hate to admit but i really like her singing. It was during her break so there were no performances. I'm sure it would have been awesome!

Puerto Rico

Enough of the snow, it's time for some sea and sun. Caribbean here we come! The reason we picked Puerto Rico is basically because it is still part of the US and thus no need for a visa, although I always think P.R. is a country and not a State. We flew via US Virgin Islands which is to the east of P.R., also another recommended getaway destination that you can probably explore in a few days. I heard it's really nice over there, with some top diving and snorkeling sites.The capital of P.R. is San Juan which is located north a bit towards the east side of the island. Old San Juan is on the tip west of San Juan, perhaps one of the must-go place for tourists. Some interesting attractions include the El Morro and Fort San Christobal which was built to protect the island from sea attack way back 3-400 years ago . I could tell they were really really old, with quite a number of tunnels and secret passages. From the top we got a great view of the ocean and the city. Old San Juan itself is not big, and what i like most is probably the colorful buildings and all the cool work they do with their doors, windows, balconies, etc. There are many restaurants, shops, and a couple of museums (we didn't get to :P) in addition to small parks and squares where both locals and tourists can just relax and chill. What i thought was really cute was where they had a local band performing in the park (sort of), and in front were a group of elders just enjoying themselves either just by relaxing and clapping along or dancing away. It was definitely something that strengthens the sense of community and how they live a joyful life in this country (or State, hehe).

The remaining parts of the island, we got to cover only a tiny bit. One was the Arecibo Observatory, the largest radiotelescope or i just call it 'dish' where they filmed James Bond's Goldeneye. If you could recall, it was when he was fighting the bad guy on the hanging tower and then slid down the dish itself. Not far away was the Camuy Caves and sinkholes. Inside the caves were those หินงอกหินย้อย basically, very difficult to capture some pictures given limited light. We also visited El Yunque national forest and checked out some trails and waterfalls. Quite a walk that day.

East of the main island, there are two smaller islands called Culebra and Vieques. We went to Vieques first by ferry (only $4 return fare!) which took about an hour each way, and so we decided to save time (and me avoid getting seasick) and take a 15-min flight to Culebra. No doubt Culebra is much nicer among the two - white sand and clear water. We were at Flamenco beach and it was just wonderful.

Unfortunately didn't get to do any diving this time around, but all-in-all it was really fun. One of the highlights however was the kayak tour to the bioluminescent bay and lagoon "Laguna Grande" near Fajardo. Basically it is like fireflies living in water - those micro organisms would produce light when something moves. As we paddled, water lit up. We dipped our hands in, they lit up. In the end we jumped into the water, and as we swam the whole body just lit up!! It was just awesome!

We didn't explore the west and south sides of the island. Apparently the island is much bigger than i thought :) Ponce is another recommended town to visit, and to the south there is another bio bay as well. Our kayak tour guide however claimed that it is not as nice compared to Laguna Grande. Then i guess the one on Culebra island is probably another option for this type of experience, again i don't know enough to compare.

More on Puerto Rico: Besides LP, you could check out the travel website or recommendations by Frommer's. Definitely good references, but while on the road i would say LP book saved the day. Not so much for the map, which we had to pick up the recent copies at the car rental, but pretty much all the 'getting around' info you need is in there. And btw, the food there was really good too. Very eclectic and has a variety of tastes. Got to try a lot of new things, and of course i choose to remember the yummy ones!