Photos and the Reasons Why

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Taken on March 31, 2010
Camera: Nikon D300S
Exposure: 0.8
Aperture: f/4.2
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Location and Musings:
One of the disadvantages of living on the far side of the world is the difficulty of setting up a conference call. I needed to chat with a team in Oregon at 4pm their time, just before closing. That’s 6 am my time.

Since the Internet at my condo has become increasingly spotty and, well, worthless, I had to go into the office to take the phone call. A 45 minute commute, some time to take a shower and have breakfast, and I’m suddenly waking up very early in the morning.

The plus side of this arrangement was that I had an opportunity to catch the full moon before it set. It was a clear night and sunrise was maybe 20 minutes away. The light from said sunrise had just begun to make the sky a little more blue, so I grabbed my camera and set it up on a tripod.

I took this shot, then set the camera to take new shots every 3 minutes for the rest of the morning. Unfortunately, with the sunrise came fog. Before the moon even had an opportunity to fully set, all my camera was able to capture was a white mist.

Technical Thoughts:
I need a better tripod. My tripod is only large enough to reach over the railing of my balcony when the center post is cranked up. When it’s in the position, it’s quite unstable. Just the mirror actuating starts the thing vibrating, which makes for a less sharp photo. I don’t have a cable release, so I have to put my hand on the camera, which leads to more vibration. I think the photo came out passably sharp, with some extra post processing blurring on the moon to even it up a bit.

Otherwise I’m happy with the photo. I like the blues and the yellow of the reflection on the water. Some nice contrasting colors there. If you look closely, you can see some fairly significant currents in the water, which is always fun.

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Taken on March 22, 2010
Camera: Nikon D300S
Exposure: 1.3
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 200

I took this photo while setting up an experiment that hasn’t yet panned out. The idea was to set the camera up on the tripod and use the interval timer function to take time lapse style photos of the sunrise or sunset and combine the photos in Photoshop. I have made a few mistakes so far that has led to unsatisfying results, but I’ll keep trying. The reality of the experiment means I get, at most, two attempts per day. Also, it is a bit harsh on the battery, so it may be a while before I finally get what I want.

I was actually surprised at how much I enjoy this photo. The half transparent reflection in the window is kind of fun. I posed a bit to get myself into a position I enjoyed, firing the shutter with my left hand.
You can see the horizon is lined with green lights, each one representing a fishing boat starting off a night’s work.

Camera: Nikon D300S
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 1600

The Chao Praya River runs directly through Bangkok. Temples and other important buildings line the banks creating a series of beautiful sights.

When night falls, the lights change these temples into even more exotic views.

This temple is Wat Arun, Temple of the Dawn. The intricate layers are indicative of it’s Khmer (Cambodian) style, which is fairly unusual in the area.

The central spire is representative of the Hindu mythological Mount Meru. The hindu’s believe that Mount Meru is the center of the universe and everything revolves around it.

Mt. Meru is hidden in the center of the earth and is 1.082 million km tall. It’s hidden well.

Camera: Nikon D300S
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO: 1600

The Grand Palace is gorgeous from any point of view, but I particularly enjoy seeing at night from the river. The palace has been the home to the current dynasty since Rama I built it in the late 18th century. The current King, Rama IX, no longer officially lives in the palace, his official residence is elsewhere in the city. He doesn’t live in his official residence, he has been living in a hospital since September.

Camera: Nikon D300S
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 1600

The first 5 of so images I will post on here come from a river cruise I took the night before the Chinese New Year. It was a fairly large boat, holding a couple hundred people. It started with a international buffet which was, as usual, mostly Thai with something silly like fried rice from China and stew from America. Shortly after dinner, a band took the stage and I headed upstairs. There was another band on the top deck, but I found a relatively uncrowded place, put on my fastest lens, and got ready to take some pictures.

There is something magical about