Sushi Grade

On Sunday I went to eat Vietnamese for the first time with my Mom and brother, and I will definitely be going again (its down the road from my apartment!). Also, one of the guys at work was telling me about a re-known Korean restaurant in Anndale, so needless to say I will be sampling from all over :)

In this vain I thought about posting a picture I took in Boise at, in my opinion, one of the best sushi restaurants there (Shige). I was there celebrating with some friends, and I couldn't help breaking out my camera. The problem was that I didn't want to take too long, and forgot to increase the ISO adequately, and as a result it didn't come out nearly as sharp as I would have liked.

So I decided to try out something new and found a Selective Color Tutorial online for Gimp (best free photoshop program on the market). Only took about an hour, and I think for a first time try it came out pretty good.

Battle for Evermore

Finally got around to a little exploring today (emphasis on little), and one of the things this area of Virginia is known for is Civil War battle fields. The Manassas National Battlefield is a stone's throw away from my apartment, and I am sure it will be a regularly visited location. This is the spot where General Thomas Jackson got the nickname "Stone Wall" and where the 1st and 2nd battles of Bull Run took place.

The area is enormous and consists of many rolling hills, cannons, and old farm houses. Near the Visitor Center, there is an house called the Henry House, where the resident, Judith Henry refused to leave during the fighting. She was killed by cannon fire that was intended for snipers in her house. Her grave stone is by this house and is pictured below.

River Runs Thru it

I never got into flyfishing while I was in Boise. It was one of those things I wanted to try, but just never got around to. I guess you can only have SO many hobbies...

This picture was taken up at Boulder Lake near McCall, Idaho. It's a very easy location to get to, you just hike ~1-2 miles up to the lake from the parking lot. It offers lots of peace and serenity without the long hikes that Idaho usually has. I went up there with a few friends and once we had setup out tents, two of the guys went out to the water to do a little fishing. No fish bit, but I did get the one guy to tred out into the water to pose some great silhouettes against the sunset (thanks Thomas).

Above the clouds

I was just talking to some people at work about winters, and how different Boise is from Virginia. Inversion in Boise is one of the most depressing things ever, and to have it for almost four months straight is just miserable. It does, however, make for some great skiing conditions... In Virginia you will at least see the sun, but have to deal with a lot more rainy cold days. The only way to win is to take Daniel Tosh's advice: "I love seasons too, thats why I moved to a place that skips all the sh*tty ones."

During the inversion last year, I drove up to Bogus Basin and setup the tripod and waited for the sunrise (in the car of course). When it did start popping up, I got a ton of pictures of the foothills and the sea of clouds below (sans Boise and the Treasure Valley).

Guess who's back...

If you didn't already know, I am back on the east coast again; for a year. I will be in Manassas, Virginia; so I will start exploring the area as soon as I get over the lack of sleep I have been getting for the last few weeks.

To get things started, I am posting one of the pictures I took last year at Christmas time. My mom took me around the mall at night, and I brought the tripod along to shoot the monuments. If you ever do head into DC to photography, be aware that you can not bring a tripod up to the Lincoln, Jefferson monuments or the White House. I have heard the monopods are usually allowed, but I guess you look too much like a terrorist with a tripod. This is one of the better ones, of the WWII Memorial.

I am driving 85...

Finally got back on the road on Friday and made it from Laramie to Ames Iowa. Terrible drive in the beginning getting out of Wyoming (80 was still closed so had to take 287 south to Fort Collins than 14 to 76 and then back to 80). Got in to Ames at about 12:30, to a waiting friend and a ton of whiskey... Oh the college life.

Anyway, while driving I noticed a cool reflection from my speedometer and the lights from the cars driving the opposite direction. My camera was all packed up so I broke out the next best thing, the iPhone. The picture actually turned out really cool, and I only did some slight cropping and contrast adjustments. It reminded me of a book I had read some reviews on a few months ago called The Best Camera is the one that's with you, which is a collection of pictures taken entirely with an iPhone. In addition, in one of the composition books I have been reading, the author spent a chapter expressing his deep annoyance to the idea that anyone can make amazing pictures if they have a DSLR. I agree completely with both of these photographers, and will continue to try to improve on my talent, not my equipment.