Show Me What I'm Looking For

Overheard:

“This is another song from a Swedish band.”

“Are they Swedish or something else?”

“I don’t know—some Scandinavian country I think. The song isn’t bad.”

“I think it’s a bit overplayed—it’s featured in a lot of TV and movies.”

“Yes, I guess you’re right. Did you know that it’s played a lot in evangelical churches, even though it not about religion?”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, listen to the lyrics… ‘Save me, I’m lost.’… ‘Oh lord I’ve been waiting for you.’”

“Wow, he was asking for it!”

*Laughs* “Yeah. He probably shouldn’t have added ‘Oh Lord.’”

(The fact that the lead singer looks like [White Jesus][white jesus] doesn’t help either.)

[white jesus]: http://www.stuffwhitechristianslike.com/2009/02/15-white-jesus.html “White Jesesus—Stuff White Christians Like”

Continue reading the lyrics to Show Me What I’m Looking For after the jump

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Why Siri

[From The iPhone Blog][tipb]:

> Equally interesting is what [[Siri][siri]] portents for Apple. Just like the App Store began the intermediation and exclusion of Google by offering users a better experience interacting with data in apps than via a web search, Siri continues it by theoretically making it easier and more enjoyable to engage in query/response with Siri than with Google. In typical fashion, Apple isn’t building a search engine to compete with Google, they’re building something to obsolete the current conception of search engines. And they’re not doing it by becoming a walled garden — there’s no profit in that. They’re doing it by becoming a walled gate with a multi-directional toll system.

Great observation. Reminds me also of how Apple got out from under the [Microsoft Office Sword of Damocles][microsoft 150] with [Safari][safari] and [iWork][iwork].

[tipb]: http://www.tipb.com/2011/10/12/ios-5-iphone-ipad-walkthrough/ “iOS 5 for iPhone and iPad walkthrough—TiPb”
[microsoft 150]: http://www.apple.com/ca/press/1997/08/AppleMicrosoft.html “Microsoft and Apple Affirm Commitment to Build Next Generation Software for Macintosh. The $150 million was a smokescreen to avoid the obvious anti-trust move of bundling Explorer in order to keep Microsoft continuing to develop Office for the Mac.”
[safari]: http://www.apple.com/safari/ “Safari: Browse the web in smarter, more powerful ways—Apple”
[siri]: http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/siri.html “Ask Siri to help you get things done—Apple”
[iwork]: http://www.apple.com/iwork/ “iWork: Documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. The Mac way—Apple”

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Understandable navigation

Me (as navigator): Okay go right here and then turn left onto Mission.

… (later)

Me: Are you sure you are going the right direction?

[Her][thesimplist]: I got it under control.

Me: I think you must have gone the wrong direction earlier.

Her: I turned onto Mission like you said.

Me: Oh! I should have told you that the turn was more like a hairpin left.

Her: You give terrible directions.

Me: Well don’t blame me, blame Google. See?

Flip a bitch

Her: Those directions are terrible, it should have said, “Flip a bitch onto Mission Street.”

Are you listening, Siri?

[thesimplist]: http://thesimpli.st/ “The Simplist: Being. Doing. Enjoying”

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Gordy's Camera Straps

Somewhere along the way, I ran into [Gordy’s Camera Straps][gordyscamerastraps].

Gordon Coale is a guy out in Washington state who hand makes leather camera straps. Last year it occurred to me that one of his straps would perfectly match my [Hirano case][hirano japanexposures] (which you [may have seen before][live view]). Hand straps are simply a good idea for nearly any camera, because they’re the most minimal safety leash for photography: you don’t really need a one normally; but if something bad happens, you’ll be glad you have one around your wrist. Plus, when you do it right, they look gorgeous:

The food camera and Gordy’s strap

The food camera and Gordy’s strap
Barracuda Sushi, Castro, San Francisco, California

Nikon D3, 24mm f/1.4G, SB-900
1/50 sec @ ƒ2, iso 800, 24mm

I bought this Gordy’s strap almost exactly one year ago.

[gordyscamerastraps]: http://www.gordyscamerastraps.com/ “gordy’s camera straps”
[hirano japanexposures]: http://www.japanexposures.com/shop/index.php?manufacturers_id=36 “Camera Hirano—JapanExposures. These English speakers will get import Hirano cases for you.”
[live view]: http://terrychay.com/article/live-view-aperture-on-the-e-p2.shtml “Live view aperture on the E-P2”

Continue reading about camera straps and cases after the jump

Posted on by tychay 1

Office Porn

A few weeks ago, there was a thread on on of our internal blogs at workconcerning our home office setup for productivity and comfort. One of them mentioned an old blog post of mine, and it occurred to me that it’s been five years since I’ve shared my office.

Here is what it looks like today:

My home office (HDR)

My home office (HDR)
The Richmond, San Francisco, California

Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G
36 exposures (0+/-3ev), 1/15sec @ ƒ8, ISO200, 14mm

Continue reading about my office and HDR panoramic photography after the jump

Posted on by tychay 12

Marie at my desk

There is some sensor dust that is wedged in there, but I was worried that my Adorama order wouldn’t arrive before I had to leave. Since, I am “a customer support person’s worst nightmare,” Marie decided to call them for me to confirm the order.

While waiting, I put the Heliar on my Leica and snapped some photos.

Marie at my desk

50 F5.3 Heliar on M8
South of Market, San Francisco, California

Olympus E-P2, Lumix G 20mm f/1.7
1/60sec @ ƒ1.7, iso 1250, 20mm (50mm)

The [heliar][heliar] is about as plane-jane lens as you can put on a camera: a normal lens with modest apertures. About the only thing it has going for it is that it is the sharpest lens Popular Photography has ever tested. Well, that and [its nickel plating][50mm heliar] looks gorgeous when collapsed into a Leica digital body.

50 F5.3 Heliar on M8

50 F5.3 Heliar on M8
South of Market, San Francisco, California

Olympus E-P2, Lumix G 20mm f/1.7
1/60sec @ ƒ1.7, iso 1250, 20mm (50mm)

In the days of super-wides and full-frame, sometimes it’s fun to shoot normal. Take out your 50mm and shoot a portrait today, you might be surprised at the result.

[heliar]: http://www.antiquecameras.net/heliarlenses.html “A Short History of the Heliar Lens—Angique & Classic Cameras”
[50mm heliar]: http://www.cameraquest.com/voigt_5035N.htm “New Nickel 50/3.5 Voigtlander Heliar—Cameraquest”

Posted on by tychay 2

In with a bang, and out with a burrito

In the crossfire between the landlord and the city, Automattic got [evicted][evicted] from their home on Pier 38 on Friday.

At the end of every week, some of the [Automatticians][automatticians] have been having #burittofridays, so they made one last burrito run before closing the doors. As Beau, put it, “We came in with a bang, and out with a burrito.”

P9306488

In with a bang…and out with a burrito
Pier 38, South of Market, San Francisco, California

Olympus E-P2, Lumix G HD 14-14 f/4-5.8 OIS
1/320s @ ƒ9, iso 200, 19mm (38mm)

One of the advantages of working for a distributed company is that now that we are homeless, we’ll simply be working from home. The Bay Area crew won’t get to see each other each week though. 🙁

And here is one last parting shot from [our fearless leader][matt]:

Our fearless leader

Our fearless leader
Pier 38, South of Market, San Francisco, California

Olympus E-P2, Lumix G HD 14-14 f/4-5.8 OIS
1/400sec @ ƒ8, iso 200, 103mm (206mm)

He leaves us with a bit of= T.S. Eliot:

> We shall not cease from exploration
> And the end of all our exploring
> Will be to arrive where we started
> And know the place for the first time.

I’ll miss you guys.

[matt]: http://ma.tt “Matthew Mullenweg”
[evicted]: http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-09-09/business/30133602_1_evictions-tenants-carl-ernst “Pier 38 deemed unsafe; tech tenants evicted—SFGate”
[automatticians]: http://automattic.com/about/ “About Us—Automattic”

Posted on by tychay 0

Nikon gets EVIL

That’s “**E**lectronic **V**iewfinder, **I**nterchangeable **L**ens,” or a SLR without the “R”eflex mirror. And here is how Nikon got EVIL:

The Nikon 1 system. Press image, relayed via NikonRumors.

[Nikon 1]: http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/acil/index.htm “Advanced Camera with Interchangeable Lens—Nikon Imaging”

This is the [Nikon 1][Nikon 1]. For obvious reasons, Nikon is not calling it EVIL, but instead A-CIL (Advanced Camera with Interchangeable Lenses). Call it what you like, I’m a big fan of the EVIL camera, and this is the first of this type introduced from the “big two” (Canon or Nikon).

The new camera will debut in October with two body types (J1 and V1), with four lenses and three accessories..

Continue reading about the Nikon 1 and other compact system cameras after the jump

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