This is a personal post to say, “happy birthday” to my wife and her dear friends, Serene and Reina. From what I have heard, they have been celebrating their birthdays together for many years, so this one was no exception. There were probably close to 90 people in attendance for this group birthday bash. Celebrating at Orson in San Francisco for dinner together, and then for some drinks and dancing down by the bar. Here is a thank you to all of you who attended to make this birthday party a celebration to remember.

Cupcakes!

Great friends - Susan, Annie, and Soogi

Orson

The Girls

Serene and friends

Reina, Susan, Soogi, Annie, and Serene

Annie and Aisha

The Birthday Girls - Annie, Reina, and Serene

Clear Skies and Wind for American Le Mans 2009 at Laguna Seca

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve put any new photos up on the blog. I thought it would be cool to show you another interest of mine – auto racing. It all started when I was young and my Dad would take me to the races at Laguna Seca. We’d usually bring my cousin, Dean with us. It was crazy hearing all of those cars race around the track. I think that’s what started my and Dean’s appreciation of what a car is and what kind of freedom it represents to an owner. It had been years since I had been to Laguna Seca to see a race, but Dean and I were talking one day sort of reminiscing about the “old days” when we would have the time to go and see a race there. I did mention that I really wanted to see one of the American Le Mans Series races. One was due in October at Laguna Seca. Perhaps we should try to see it?

Fortunately, Dean was able to get some time off and we made plans to head out there. We were able to get down to the paddock to really get a chance to see the cars and all of the effort that goes into getting them ready for racing. I’m a big Mazda fan as I’ve owned a few over the years, so it was great to see their P2 B09/86 MZR-R Lola getting prepped for racing. Gil de Ferran was the winner of the race, which was also his last as he is retiring this. It’s a great feat to win this challenge as it is an endurance race that requires a lot of skill and a bit of luck. His P1 Acura ARX was actually painted a white color scheme to mimic the old school Chaparral sports cars of the 1960-70 era that were raced by Jim Hall, the first person to give de Ferran a chance to race in the IndyCar Series.

Although it was supposed to rain, we had great weather and had a chance to walk around the track. We had a great time at the races and hopefully, we’ll get a chance to catch some more races next year. Enjoy the photos.

The Mazda LMP1 B09/86 MZR-R Lola Getting Prepped for Raceday

Mazda MZR-R With New Paint Scheme (Red, White & Blue)

Ford GT Waiting for ALMS to Start

Porsche in the Paddock

Lots of Prep for ALMS

Corvetter Getting Checked Out

American Le Mans - A Revolution with Five Classes of Cars

Tires, Lots of Tires

Porsche

Lots of Porsches

Acura Racing

Mazda Racing

Booth Girl for Falken Tires

Gil de Ferran Giving an Interview

A Little M Power

Mazda MZR-R on Track

Mazda MZR-R Running Solo

Mazda MZR-R Down the Corkscrew

The First SLR that Started My Passion for Photography

OK, so a couple of posts ago I mentioned that the first camera I remember using was the Kodak Brownie Starflash. After about a year or so, I “found” a very nice sample of the Nikon F 35mm film camera. The camera, like most of the ones that were my grandfather’s, ended up going to his first born son, my dad.  As most fathers know, cool stuff that you own eventually ends up in the hands of your kids. I was probably about nine years old or so when I first started using the Nikon F. I know that sounds young, but back then all you had to do was get those split images to match up, put the needle in the middle and hope for the best. No finicky AF lenses, or crazy 25,600 ISO (like on the D700), or other custom functions to worry about. It really was just all about what you saw, and how you captured it on a piece of chemical film and hopefully the end result was an interesting photograph. It really is kind of nostalgic when I think about it.

The things that I remember about this camera is that it was big, and heavy, and yet, so COOL. I thought it was amazing that you could use this to create such fun projects like, what can you find while walking around in your yard, or interesting things you found while investigating the local park, and sometimes, maybe even some goofy shots of your siblings during a lazy afternoon. All in all, I stated to feel like I was becoming a photographer. Maybe not a fantastic one, but at least one that stated to understand the difference between a great photograph and a snapshot. There is a difference.

All in all, I think using the Nikon F is what made me a die-hard Nikon user today. I have never been swayed by other products from very good companies. I can say that there have been times when I wanted to jump ship to get to the other other side of the fence, but for some reason, I just stuck it out. Today, Nikon is in a strong position and is again just as great at capturing images in digital form as it was back on the film. Although, I have to say, that there is a small sentimental attachment to the old film days since I guess in many ways, photography was a much simpler art.

Seen in the image above is the same Nikon F that I used so many years ago. Along with it is a very interesting find, the Nikon Flash V. It is electronic in that it uses a charge to flash a bulb. I dig that cool umbrella effect that it uses as a diffuser. The diffuser expands and collapses with such fine precision, it is kind of amazing. Once it is put into its most compact size it slips into a small leather case, ready for your camera bag. Are there any other Nikon F users out there? Still using it at all?

The Control Side of the Flash

The Collapsing Aluminum Umbrella Diffuser

All Closed Up and Ready for the Camera Bag

Tomatoes Large and Small

Well, one would think that as we head into September and the time for football is upon us that summer should be over. However, here in the California Bay Area, this is actually a great time of year. The days are still warm, and sometimes surprisingly even warmer than the earlier days of summer. When I was a kid, we all used to call this warm autumn weather the “Indian summer.” Supposedly, the word origins state that the American Indians were the ones to predict this kind of weather, and let the European settlers know about it and the creation of the word phrase. In any case, what I remember are days free of fog with the sun still beaming with clarity and the weather inviting us to be outside.

One of the nice things about mild weather like this is the ability to grow some of our own vegetables in some planter boxes in our yard. My wife was the one to suggest that we try to grow some for ourselves. Last year we had some great zucchini and some cooking herbs. This year, we went for some tomatoes. These were all grown from seeds. It is pretty amazing to see those little green sprouts pop out of the soil and then suddenly grow to these large plants. When we saw the small fruits popping up in the branches, we were pretty excited. We have one plant that is a yellow and red pear shape tomato plant and another red tomato plant. My wife is the grower though. She was diligent about getting outside to give those little plants water and fertlizer after she got home from work. Good job, Annie! I have to say, they all look tasty.

So, as I was outside, I thought it would be nice to capture these red and yellow orbs of tastiness with our Nikkor 105 f/2.8 Micro VR lens (it’s on the third page through the link.) I have had great luck using this lens for portraits as it is razor sharp even at its widest aperture. The VR is helpful, but the autofocus at close range can be a bit finicky as it hunts for a high contrast area. Sometimes it is best done by hand through the viewfinder. Be sure you view your image on the display though, as the depth of field is extremely shallow – especially on a full frame camera which I was using (Nikon D700.) All of these images were shot in our backyard, and on our kitchen table with a little sunlight as back-lighting. I hope you enjoy these little fruits (tomatoes are fruits you know) and enjoy the last days of true summer.

Vine Ripened Tomatoes

Some Red and Some Green