Photoshoot: Testing My New Lens

"You don't take a photograph, you make it." -- Ansel Adams

I've got a new prime lens (yey! first item on my wishlist checked). I bought it online in Amazon Japan at a discounted price (suki ako ng Amazon).  I decided to buy this lens (Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G) because I like Ken Rockwell's review on the performance of this lens and the price falls within my budget $$$ (not so expensive).

I was so excited to try my new lens so I packed up early and went straight to the Rivermall to take some pictures. Thanks to my lovely daughter who willingly agreed to be my subject for this photoshoot.

Satisfaction rating: Overall very good!!!

Here are some of the sample pictures.  Watch out for more pictures to come :) ...

Books and Reading

A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend.  ~Author Unknown

Books I have read and more books to read.  More hidden books inside that I have no plan to re-read.

If I want to continue buying and reading book series, I need to clean up my bookshelf to give room for new ones.  I have heard about Kindle and e-books, but I still believe that nothing beats a printed book.  It's easier to read,  easy to carry, feels good in the hands...and it's better for my eyes (mahirap talaga pag nagkaka edad na :).  But if I have to choose between buying a new bookshelf or buying Kindle, then I may opt for Kindle, given the circumstances :). Time to check my favorite on-line shopping - Amazon Japan.

Positive Thoughts

Ginger, Dinky Dinner, Baseball, and Broken Hips

Wish List

 Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by His power, and everything is for His glory. --Romans 11:36


I've been wanting to buy a new lens for my Nikon D7000 camera.  I checked Ken Rockwell's site to learn about his reviews on the different types of lens, so that I will have an idea on what lens to buy.  Two lenses have caught my interest, hmm :).

• Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 G - Nikon's fastest lens (according to Ken Rockwell). This is more affordable so I think I will be able to buy this lens next month, hopefully :).

 

Amazon Japan Price

38,178 JPY

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G AF-S Nikkor

 Ken Rockwell review (source: www.kenrockwell.com)


The new 50mm f/1.4 AF-S is a far better choice than any zoom for use in low light, and effectively quadruples your ISO, with no increase in noise, compared to any exotic f/2.8 zoom. The 50mm f/1.4 increases your ISO by ten times compared to any f/4.5 zoom, again with no change in noise.

• Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G - Amazon Japan price: 146,000 JPY

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G

 Ken Rockwell's review (source: www.kenrockwell.com)

This new Nikon 85mm f/1.4 is one of the best lenses ever made. It is super-sharp, even at f/1.4. Out-of-focus backgrounds simply melt away into undistracting softness due to this lens' spectacular bokeh, at many apertures. 

This lens' images quickly grab the attention of anyone who's paying attention. The subject pops into extreme sharpness, while the backgrounds just melt away into velvety smoothness.

This new 85mm f/1.4 does this not at just f/1.4; it does this at every aperture. It is super-sharp even at f/1.4 clear out to the corners, and backgrounds remain soft and undistracting even at smaller apertures. The guys at Nikon really pulled off a very subtle and powerful thing with the bokeh of this lens, as I sort of expected, but never to this extent.

The images made by this lens are simply beautiful. I usually want everything ultrasharp, which this lens does, but if there are backgrounds, they fade away into smooth softness, not the unsharp business of lesser lenses. 

Backgrounds never distract, even at smaller apertures.

Wow, Nikon 85mm 1.4G is a super lens, but the price is super too!. So, maybe this lens will remain on my wishlist for a long time. Let's wait and see.

Here's another one on my wishlist that I have been saving for (malapit na mapuno alkansya ko, yey!). - Louis Vuitton bag for my birthday (still 5 months away from now).

Here's another one that I would like to add to my wishlist. So, I better be good so that Santa will give me all the items on my wishlist before I move out of Japan.

Words To Live By

The best thing to give to our enemy is forgiveness;

To an opponent, tolerance;

To a friend, your heart;

To your child, a good example;

To yourself, respect;

And to all, charity

-- Francis Balfour

 “For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
 For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
 For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
 For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
 For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
  People, more than things, have to be restored,
 renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. 
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, 
you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
 As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, 
one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.”
― Sam Levenson

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, 

nor to worry about the future, 

but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
― Siddhārtha Gautama

“Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Divine Gift of Motherhood

God could not be anywhere so He created Mothers.

Mother's Day Poem 

"I love you,"
said a great mother.
"I love you for what you are
knowing so well what you are.
And I love you more yet, child,
deeper yet than ever, child,
for what you are going to be,
knowing so well you are going far,
knowing your great works are ahead,
ahead and beyond,
yonder and far over yet."

~Carl Sandburg

I am thankful to God for giving me the chance to be a mom to two girls who have grown to be beautiful (just like their mom daw sabi ng mga friends ko ;), nice, disciplined, and loving girls any mom would be proud of.  Being a mother is the best thing that could ever happen to a woman.  Indeed God could not be anywhere so He created mothers and I thank God for giving me this wonderful gift any woman would want to experience.  Belated happy mother's day!

Purikura made those eyes bigger.

Taken last April 21 at Osaka Mint.

My Love for Book Series

You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend. ~Paul Sweeney

My love for book series started during the Harry Potter days. I remember I bought the first 2 Harry Potter books for my 2 girls to read. The girls didn't read the books, so I ended up reading the books instead. I got hooked to Harry Potter, and that started it all. I bought all the 7 books and I watched all the Harry Potter movies. I felt sad when the Harry Potter story ended in book 7.

After Harry Potter, the Twilight book series came out. It was my girl who requested me to buy the first book. She said she had read some parts of the book in her school library and she wanted to read the whole book. Yeah, I know the book series is for younger generation, but that did not stop me from reading the first book. I enjoyed reading the book. I fell in love with the main characters Bella, Edward, and Jacob and I got hooked to Twilight. So, I ended up buying, reading, and re-reading all the 4 books :).

My hunt for book series continued after Harry Potter and Twilight.

These are the other book series that I enjoyed reading. These are are as good as Harry Potter and Twilight and I would definitely recommend to other book series lovers as well.

• A Great and Terrible Beauty series by Libba Bray

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

• House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

I still have to buy the last book - Awakened.

• The Immortals by Alyson Noel

I am now reading the 5th book - Night Star

• Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell

Book 1

Book 2

• Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Getting Back on the Right Track

One thing I don't like about going on a trip is that I usually gain weight after my trip due to overeating (it's just so hard to resist food), and lack of exercise. This time, I gained 1.5kgs in just a few days (this didn't surprise me anymore). Now, I have to work hard for 2-3 weeks to lose that 1.5 kgs.  I gain weight so easily, blame it on my slow metabolism.

Now that I'm back, it's time for me to get back on the right track.

And here's something for my inspiration. My goal is to transfer all the marbles from the "pounds to lose" jar to the "weight gone" jar... slowly but surely :).  Good luck to me!

Photo Source:  Pinterest (Fitness board)

Why I love Spring

 Flowers whisper "Beauty!" to the world, even as they fade, wilt, fall.  ~Dr. SunWolf,

One of the hundred reasons why I love Spring are the beautiful flowers that bloom everywhere. Spring flowers start to bloom around end of March,  a sign that Winter season is over. 

Among my favorites are the Cherry blossoms (Sakura here in Japan) and tulips. Tulips start to bloom around first week of April and the blooms last for a month, last longer than Cherry blossoms (~2 weeks).

My spring season will not be complete without a visit to the lovely tulip patch here in Rokko Island which is just a 10-min walk from our condo, to take pictures :).

Springtime!

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created Spring. ~Bern Williams.

I love taking pictures. My passion for taking pictures started about 2 years ago when I finally learned how to use my Nikon SLR. It took me about a year before I was able to figure out how to use all the other useful functions of my SLR camera.

My love for camera has led me to buy a small one that I can always carry with me everywhere I go -- the Canon S95 compact camera. This has similar functions as SLR and takes good pictures too!   I use my Canon S95 camera and sometimes my iPhone to take pictures whenever I find something interesting to capture.

I've been in Japan for 5 years now. It is in Japan where I got the chance to experience the 4 seasons. Among the 4 seasons, Spring is my favorite. It is in this season where everyone gets to see all kinds of Spring flowers that bloom everywhere, which is a very pleasant sight to behold. I will definitely miss Spring when I move to Singapore next year.  Good thing is, I still have another Spring season to look forward to before I leave Japan.  I will miss Japan too :(.

Here are some of my favorite Cherry blossom pictures that I took using my Canon S95 point and shoot camera. Now, I'm loving this camera because it's very handy and it can also take great pictures like just like an SLR :).