The Snooker Table

TED Talks: The Paradox of Choice

This is currently my favorite TED talk because this is exactly how I feel every time I wanted to purchase any item that has tons of options. For example, if I wanted a new camera, I get paralyzed with all the choices there is the market, SLR, digicams, lenses, Nikon, Canon, Sony etc. By the time I made my decision, I always feel that buyers remorse because I make this stupid concoction in my head that there are other cameras better that what I bought. Choices doesn't usually liberate us, it actually paralyzes us and in some cases make us feel worse even in hindsight we made the right choice.

Image of the Day: The Snooker Table

Last weekend I attended the Japan Photofest 2011 in Yokohama. It was a 3-day event of pure photography and fun but it came at a hefty price of 45k yen. Unfortunately, I can only afford to go on a single day so I attended the last day which was all about post processing. At first I was hesitant of joining because I feel I wouldn't learn as much as those who just started photography but as the day progressed, even though I didn't learn quite that much, I enjoyed meeting very interesting people and learning about their philosophies in photography. 

One of the events that I was eager to attend was of the HDR workshop from Alfie Goodrich. I've always wanted to know where I stand against the professionals in terms of high dynamic range photography and I'm proud to say I feel like I'm quite there already. Below is the shot I got from the workshop. People who were with me also was able to produce the same quality or for some even better. So my conclusion for this is, people learn faster when somebody teaches it rather than learning it by yourself. But for me, I think it is more gratifying to know that I almost have the same knowledge as the pros despite being self-taught. 

 

Chinatown in Yokohama

If you are tired of doing night shots at the Minato Mirai area, Yokohama's Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in Japan, is another good alternative for night photography. Chinatown is just a few meters away from the Yamashita Park. It offers good food, amazing architectures and a lot of seizure-inducing lights which makes makes it perfect for any type of photography.

Fastforward Chinatown

Ma Zhu Miao Temple. Ma Zhu meaning "Holy Mother of Heaven"  is one of two amazing temples in the area. It is usually packed with people during the day so it is best to go just a little after sun down when the temple is about to close. Not only you would get a clean shot of the structure, the sky would be pretty amazing as well.

Holy Mother of Heaven Temple

A nice small park can also be found at the back of the temple. It is a good place to rest after walking for hours in the area.

Chinatown Park

Kantei-byo is another amazing temple which is just a few meters away from the Ma Zhu Miao. Enshrined in this temple is the God of Business "Kanwu" which has become the symbol of the area.

The Symbol of Chinatown

Landmark Tower Reflection

This is the tallest building in Japan and has the second fastest elevator in the world. I was able to use the still water as a giant mirror and was lucky enough to shoot the tower before the strong wind blew.

The Green Walkway

I was walking towards Aka Renga when I spotted this nice lush green hedges. I had to wait for almost a 15 minutes because there was a couple trying to enjoy the scenery. I was not really in the mood to mask them out in Photoshop. So I stood there and slightly stared at them until they left. Haha that was so rude of me.