a dark moment

it seems a friend of mine is going through a rough moment. i remember a long time ago when i had felt completely lost. i didn’t know what i was looking for, where to go, or what to do. it was during this time in my life that i started to explore other means of fulfillment. in those days i met a bunch of genuinely grand people whose hearts were filled with love and were unafraid to share their joy with others.

it was during this time that i learned a song that i particularly liked. it is called let the flame burn brighter. whenever i am reminded of this song, it warms my heart. the part of the song that really won me over was the chorus:

Let the flame burn brighter in the heart of the darkness
Turning night to glorious day
Let the song grow louder as our love grows stronger
Let it shine
Let it shine

through a photographer’s eye

i often tell people that it is not the camera that makes the photo, it is the photographer. i remember a while ago that my friend was complaining to me about how his digital camera is no good and how he needs to get a super fancy digital SLR camera so that he can take good pictures.

though i agree that digital SLRs are absolutely fabulous cameras, i don’t think that you need one to take absolutely fabulous pictures.

these are probably two of my favorite night shots. i love the boldness of the matterhorn and i love the virbant colors of the disneyland castle. i think that they are both just amazing. i love the detail in the matterhorn rocks and the castle and i love how the structures both just pop out of the night sky.

these are probably my two favorite night photos and they were both taken with my $325 throwaway canon s400 elph, not my $2000+ digital SLR. now, could the digital SLR take the same pictures? of course. but the cheap camera did just fine.

i try to educate people who think that getting a really expensive camera will yield better pictures. i don’t think that is automatically true. in fact, when i first got my digital SLR, i would say that most of my pictures were awful. there’s a lot to learn and a digital SLR just gives you way more ways to screw up a picture.

i think that i’m just being unreasonable. a bunch of my friends have bought the same camera that i have, so i don’t feel special anymore. =P

canon 24-70mm love

i went to eric and ivy’s last night to pick up the joyous 24-70mm f/2.8L. it’s my second L lens, but my first f/2.8 lens. it’s a lot heavier than i thought it would be, but it is just beautiful.

i haven’t had much of a chance to take pictures with it, but i’m expecting to be wowed. wowed, i say. now, this is sort of a big lens, but i think that i will plan to make it my primary lens. ah yes, now i have two lenses with the golden red ring around the collar.

we’ll see how lovely the pictures come out when i go shooting tomorrow.