Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO640 “The Old Kitchen” Torrance, 2016
こんばんは！How’s it going
Today’s photo is of the kitchen area of my parents’ house. It’s looked pretty much the same since I was a kid which I am happy for. Sure, there have been changes throughout the years such as a new stove, painted walls, and most recently a new floor, but it still has the original feeling. I was thinking how sad it would be if the kitchen got a total remodel… so much would be lost and swept into family history. Makes me sad to think of it!
For now, I’m happy to be able to come back to my childhood home, with the original charm still intact.
Today we traveled from coooold Texas to a slightly warmer Southern California to spend the holidays at my folks’ house. The flight was delayed by about a half an hour, but other than that went smoothly. If you travel between Austin and Los Angeles, I highly recommend flying JetBlue from Long Beach. You can avoid the madhouse that is LAX, and if you are on the south side of town, you can avoid a bit of traffic too! Plus JetBlue is a great airline, with lots of freebies such as free movies, free WiFi, snacks, and soft drinks.
When we spend Christmas in Los Angeles, we ship most of our gifts directly to my parents’ house so we have a pile of boxes waiting for us. Today we’ll go through them, wrap them up, and then have some free time. In fact, we don’t have much on the schedule this time. It’s nice to just play it by ear!
Today was another cold day, but it started out with clear skies and when I arrived at work, the sunlight was streaming in from the east side of the building. It looked so cool that I had to take a photo of it.
Lately I’ve been having a bit of wanderlust, since I enjoyed our road-trip so much and I’m looking forward to traveling more in the near future! We have a few trips planned, which reminded me of a bit of advice I heard last year… It was something like, “Always have something to look forward to.” I didn’t really know what it meant, but I think I am starting to see how it can be a nice way to keep yourself motivated.
Or maybe it’s not so much motivation, but just keeping yourself in a positive mindset. I’ve always thought that my days and years were spent trying to achieve a certain goal, and once I reached that goal, I could just coast. Kind of like I would dread doing my taxes, and I thought when I finished my taxes, then I could rest forever! But of course the next year’s taxes come again… and again.
So now as I get closer to 50 years old maybe I realize that it’s just an ongoing journey, and that it’s the journey itself that’s important, not the destination. Or maybe just shifting my thinking that the destination isn’t an endpoint, but more like a milestone and to look forward to the next milestone. And things do get easier, the more you go through.
Eh… I have no idea if that made any sense or not, but I’m pretty sure I am not articulating my thoughts well. But I’m not going to go back and edit this. You know, life’s too short to spend too much time going back to edit.
Anyways, I do think it’s good to have some things on the horizon to look forward to. Make some fun vacation plans and put them on the calendar!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/20 sec, ISO3200 “Modern Vintage” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！How’s it going? Here in central Texas, not only has it gotten colder, but it’s also gotten wetter, with a light rain all afternoon. It looks like it will continue all weekend as well. I’m glad we don’t have outdoor activities planned! 🌧
Today’s photo is of the three postcards I bought at the Panther Junction Visitor Center in Big Bend National Park. I love the vintage design of these! So when I took the photo, I decided to post-process using one of Nik Software’s vintage camera presets. I like the way it came out. 😊
In looking at the designs, I realized that I took some photos of the same subjects or locations. I posted these before, but I thought it was neat to match them up with the postcards – the Rio Grande, the Milky Way, and Casa Grande.
While on the travel subject, I have to admit that I have been getting into watching YouTube videos about minimalist travel, gear, and packing. It’s so fascinating to me! It’s funny, but minimalist travel, backpacking, and motorcycle travel all have similar recommendations, most notably to use synthetic or merino wool clothing (not cotton!), dress with layers in mind, and don’t overpack!
As some of you may know, I love bags and backpacks, and I’ve been searching for the perfect backpack. I pretty much found the perfect (for me) messenger bag in the Patagonia Minimass, but I haven’t found a backpack that I really love. I think I am going to sell my North Face Router and Jansport Hatchet, and pick up an Osprey Porter 30. It looks like a perfect travel backpack! But we’ll see. It’s fun to do the research at least. 😄
Hi all! It’s a couple days after we returned from a 6-day vacation, and during that trip I blogged every night, including photos that I took during the day. Since I didn’t have Lightroom with me, I did all my photo editing on my Android phone using the Snapseed app. I’m pleased with how the photos turned out, considering I used just the mobile app. And so I thought I would share how I edited my photos with you all! (If you use an iPhone, you can find the same/similar apps for that platform)
First, I take all my photos using my Fujifilm X100T in JPG mode, usually the Standard (Provia) color setting. Then, using the Fujifilm Camera Remote app, I transfer the photos via WiFi to my Motorola Moto G phone. I browse them using the QuickPic app, then when I find one I’d like to edit, I select Share, then choose Snapseed from the list:
The image opens up in the Snapseed app and then I get down to business! I’ve found I like to start by using the Rotate tool to straighten things out (it will do its best to auto-straighten, which works surprisingly well!), then Crop. Next I will use the Tune Image tool, adjusting the Shadows, Saturation, and Exposure. Lastly, I might add a slight Vignette. For many photos, this is all I do.
On other photos, I’ll go to the presets and play around more. I like to use the Tonal Contrast to give the photo a little more definition, the Drama presets to add a little punch, and the Grainy Film presets for a VSCO type feel. If I only want to add some grain, I will use a Grainy Film preset, but set the Style Strength to 0, and only use the grain adjustment. FYI, most people like to reduce grain for a super clean image, but I like the feel of grain, so that’s why I use the preset.
After I am satisfied with my edits, I’ll click on Done and move on to the next image. When I have all my photos edited and ready for posting, I’ll select them all in QuickPic, and Share them with my WordPress app, which will add them to the WordPress Media library. And that’s it! They are ready to be added to my post when I type it out on my Chromebook.
Of course, there isn’t the same kind of control as you get with Lightroom, but I think it’s a great mobile solution, and it doesn’t take long at all. I hope this helps! Please take a look at the photos I edited using this technique below:
“Texas Sky” Big Bend, 2016
“Santa Elena Canyon” Big Bend, 2016
“Chisos Mountains” Big Bend, 2016
“Natural” West Texas, 2016
“Old Resort” Big Bend, 2016
“Coral” Sonora, 2016
“In Water” Sonora, 2016
“See Through” Sonora, 2016
“Sluice” Sonora, 2016
“Locals” Sonora, 2016
“Low Clouds” Alpine, 2016
“Morning Brew” Fort Davis, 2016
“Coffee Time” Marfa, 2016
“Caving” Sonora, 2016
“Cloudy Day” McDonald Observatory, 2016
“Brain Drop-off” Fort Davis, 2016
“Cow Dog” Alpine, 2016
“Trash Talk” Marfa, 2016
“Sunset at Window View” Big Bend, 2016
“Viewing Station” Marfa, 2016
“Night Walk” Alpine, 2016
“Big Bend Brewery” Alpine, 2016
“Is it Art?” Marfa, 2016
“Descent” Sonora, 2016
“Fancy Hot Cocoa” Marfa, 2016
“Thanksgiving Dinner” Fort Davis, 2016
“Hot Springs” Big Bend, 2016
“Beef Bourgignon” Fort Davis, 2016
“Mexican Curios” Big Bend, 2016
“Passport Time” Big Bend, 2016
“Grapevine Trail” Big Bend, 2016
“Breakfast with a View” Big Bend, 2016
“Canyon Photos” Big Bend, 2016
“Big Miles” Texas, 2016
“Hiking Grapevine Trail” Big Bend, 2016
“Under Balanced Rock” Big Bend, 2016
“Tough Prius” Big Bend, 2016
“Lonely Grocery” Terlingua, 2016
“Waiting for Sunset” Big Bend, 2016
“Arrival” Big Bend, 2016
“Alpine Bound” West Texas, 2016
“Riata” Alpine, 2016
“Shark” Alpine, 2016
“Endless Highway” Texas, 2016
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My camera & photos
I use a Fujifilm X-series camera for most of the photos on this site and my Instagram. Why not pick one up for yourself?
