tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23782640256642314972024-03-13T11:07:59.463-07:00Wing Tang Wong PhotographyWing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-64988350185276874802011-09-19T12:44:00.000-07:002011-09-22T23:44:38.580-07:00Eden... A Project In The Works, The Eden Landing Ecological Reserve
Egret Wading Through Water, Eden Landing Ecological Reserve
In California, we seem to always be trying to get things "back to the way they were". Case in point, the various salt ponds used for taking ocean water and evaporating them until large masses of salt is formed for bulldozing and harvesting. Many of those are being converted back into wetlands for birds and other dwellers.
Eden Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0Eden Landing Rd, Hayward, CA 94545, USA37.6215924 -122.122892637.620020399999994 -122.1253601 37.6231644 -122.1204251tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-30590113391496733632011-09-03T08:47:00.001-07:002011-09-26T14:55:19.287-07:00Bridge To Somewhere
Bridge To Somewhere, a photo by wingtangwong on Flickr.
The above shot is my submission to the Strobist Boot Camp #3, Assignment #3. For folks living in Cupertino, this is the bridge that crosses the 280 freeway. I shot this late in the afternoon, hoping to get some interesting shadow play from the structure of the bridge. While I live on the south end of the bridge, I walked across Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-42899130011436106862011-09-01T12:37:00.001-07:002011-09-19T18:23:59.481-07:00Black Sea Nettle
Black sea nettle, a photo by wingtangwong on Flickr.
Trying for a different way of photographing one of my favorite sea creatures...Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-24804260115291536082011-08-31T11:07:00.000-07:002011-09-19T18:22:03.426-07:00Re-iterating My Dislike of Photographers Who Can't Turn Off Their FlashWill update this post more, but here is an epic example of why flash photography at an aquarium is a bad idea:
Photo ruined by someone's popup flash.
As you can see, I was unlucky enough to have taken my shot at the same time as someone firing off their popup flash. Yes, I can really see the value add of using your pop up flash in an aquarium... against a large 2 story window. That glare Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-12190550350731269192011-08-25T23:33:00.000-07:002011-09-08T19:23:03.622-07:00Shrinking Down JPEGS! ( JPEGmini )Recently, I came across this post from PetaPixel about JPEGmini
It details a company that has come up with a way to optimize an image so that it visually looks virtually identical to the original, but takes up a fraction of the original file size.
That's awesome! I even tested it against some image files:
Black Sea Nettles - JPEG shrunk using custom algorithm.
24 megapixel JPEG / 12MB Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-80188453003373738322011-08-16T13:30:00.001-07:002011-09-19T18:22:38.624-07:00Panorama of Los Angeles at night from Griffith observatory
Panorama of Los Angeles at night from Griffith observatory, a photo by wingtangwong on Flickr.
Multiple long exposures shot with my 70-200/2.8 lens on a tripod. The images were stitched together using PS CS5. Amazing city of lights!Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-86289165728316297012011-08-16T13:29:00.001-07:002011-09-19T18:22:50.937-07:00Long exposure shot of Los Angeles and its downtown towers
Long exposure shot of Los Angeles and its downtown towers, a photo by wingtangwong on Flickr.
During a recent trip to Los Angeles, I visited the Griffith Observatory with my family and got a chance to use my tripod to do some night photography. This long exposure shot of the city skyline was amazing to behold and alot of fun to shoot.Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-54856613091060145542011-08-09T20:14:00.000-07:002011-08-09T20:14:00.257-07:00Managing Resources - Part IIThis is a followup to my previous article, "Managing Resources - Part I". It's been half a year since I wrote that article and it has been a mixed blessing kind of trip. So, here are some of my thoughts from the attempt at managing my storage through complexity, and my thoughts going forward.
How Did It Go?
If you read part 1, you'll note I went with a big box, lots of cpu cores, ram, and Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-34103463736422164192011-08-07T23:30:00.000-07:002011-08-09T12:53:19.868-07:00Planning For Gear UpgradesAs one might have read, Sony is going to be announcing their A77 DSLR, which is the replacement for the A700 DSLR. A good deal of expectation is being heaped on this new camera and for me, some extra money will be spent in addition to the cost of the camera itself.
Memory Cards
I'm a consumate user of compact flash. I own and use PhotoFast 16GB and 32GB cards, both rated at 533X. They areWing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com2930 Rockefeller Dr, Sunnyvale, CA 94087, USA37.357809742296453 -122.0538139343261737.35623224229645 -122.05628143432617 37.359387242296457 -122.05134643432618tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-78590459721097177802011-07-31T10:52:00.000-07:002011-09-19T18:54:20.758-07:00Happy Mistakes... A Panorama of The Gold Gate BridgeI was recently invited to go watch/photograph the Berkeley Kite Festival with family and was overjoyed, as I was wanting to capture images with bright colors. I also wanted to try capturing some panoramas with kites... However, for some reason, I got turned around and thought the event was happening over in Crissy Field. Yes, I realize the event is called The _Berkeley_ Kite Festival. It was a Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-19564289208922542232011-07-29T09:36:00.000-07:002011-08-05T12:29:33.897-07:00Sony Alpha A77 DSLR Rumours...Just read some rumours from Sony Alpha Rumours:
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-exclusive-first-user-reviews-about-the-new-adapter-a77-nex-7-and-16-50mm-lens
Of note, for me personally, is that they are rumoured to be dropping the CF card slot in favor of SDHC.
*SIGH*
The comments seem to lean towards the line of thinking of: "Why are people bemoaning Sony dropping an outdated flashWing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-5501073573615946762011-07-28T11:19:00.000-07:002011-07-28T11:20:46.812-07:00How To Get Great Shots With The Sony Alpha A700 - Part 0As most know, I'm a proud owner of the Sony Alpha A700 DSLR. It's a great camera for a variety of subject matter and shooting styles. Over the past few years, I've come to love this camera, as it is, in my mind, unsurpassed in ergonomics and versatility for the price. No, it doesn't have an articulated LCD display, no live view, no full frame sensor, no mirrorless optical path, and no HD video. Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-15256463936397916642011-07-26T12:43:00.000-07:002011-07-26T12:43:20.929-07:00Look Before You Leap... or Ride The Lion...I recently purchased the Apple Mac OS X Lion upgrade. I have not installed it yet, just bought and downloaded it. I'm waiting for all of the issues to shake themselves out.
Being a user of Adobe products: Lightroom & PS CS5 w/plugins, I wanted to give the platform time to settle down before plunging ahead. After all, what good is an upgraded OS without working applications?
Adobe has put Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-90806717906339863192011-07-13T11:28:00.000-07:002011-07-13T11:28:57.564-07:00The Weakest Link (in your lighting setup)I was out recently photographing, our apartment's very cool and manager, Julie Anderson:
Julie - Portrait shot for Strobist Boot Camp III - #1
Things were going great until we tried to move to a new location, and I was breaking down my lightstand: the umbrella holder snapped off of the lightstand!
At first, I thought the brass interconnect, lovely called the "brass monkey" by many, had Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-88012979938673043692011-06-30T11:53:00.000-07:002011-06-30T11:53:03.216-07:00How I'm Using Social/Online ServicesRecently, I rejoined the land of Flickr and have started posting images again. Then, I joined another site, 500px.com at the recommendation of a fellow photographer. Right now, I'm looking into a couple more online sites. Also recently heard about OpenPhoto.me, so guess I'll check that out as well.
This leads me to this post: How I'm using these sites and what I'm posting to each, since it wouldWing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-85354665508728775892011-06-28T08:32:00.000-07:002011-06-28T08:32:02.736-07:00David Hobby's Strobist Boot Camp III Has Started!Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. Things have been hectic, some good, some bad. But that's not what this post is about.
David Hobby, of Strobist fame, has begun the third installment in his BootCamp series. The Bootcamps are his special way of creating assignments for people to work on, submit, and the winner gets a prize. It's motivation for those photographers who would otherwise sitWing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-44870398578605775902011-05-24T10:12:00.000-07:002011-05-24T10:12:46.467-07:00Inspiration that destroys...Catching up on Zack Arias's new CL video session:
http://www.creativelive.com/courses/zack-arias-again
And one of the things that struck me is that my gallery is more a clumping of images I've taken over the years, rather than being a gallery of my best work. So... slowly, bit by bit, I'm going to break down the site and make something leaner, less clumpy, and perhaps a bit better.
Same for Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-26542518534273630462011-05-22T18:16:00.001-07:002011-05-22T19:08:58.977-07:00Thoughts from a new iPhone covertSo, I've had my iPhone 4 for a little while now and have gotten the requisite "safety" bumper and gotten used to the touchscreen typing. It has been quite a change from using a blackberry.What I miss from the world of blackberry:multiple profiles and levels of alerts, ringers, and repeating tones... Blackberry excels at thismark all messages as read. Is that really such a hard thing to implementWing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-77678373147494628882011-05-03T19:28:00.000-07:002011-05-03T19:32:35.353-07:00Upgrades, Do I Really Need Them?I've been lusting after the Sony A77 DSLR camera, which is the slated successor to the A700, which I currently shoot with. However, between the economic slump, wanting to save up for bigger and better things for the family, and getting great advice from the likes of Zack Arias to justify everything you spend on, I've been wondering, do I really need a new DSLR body, short of my camera just dying?Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-59695407260969104082011-04-01T02:43:00.000-07:002011-04-01T02:44:11.238-07:00Waiting For Supe^H^H^H^H Sony's New A77On a recent flight, I got the chance to watch Waiting for "Superman". It was quite inspirational, especially one of the opening comments on waiting on someone strong, like Superman, to save them from their situation.
While not nearly as dire and not as heart wrenching, I feel like I've been waiting for a superman for the last couple of years. If you've met me and we've talked about Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-21320740912108709912011-02-25T20:53:00.000-08:002011-02-25T20:53:48.559-08:00The Future Draws Near ( Thoughts on Sony DSLR/DSLT cameras )I spent a few hours at the Calusa Nature Center today(pictures coming soon!).
I brought with me the following:
Sony Alpha A700 DSLR
Sony 70-400/G ssm lens
Tamron 17-50 lens
I was doing my usual brace-compose through viewfinder-focus-shooting when I met a very nice couple: Danny and Niva. Guess what? They too were Sony shooters. :) They had recently purchased the Sony Alpha A580 DSLR and had the Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-88315471592585823052011-02-17T04:52:00.000-08:002011-09-19T18:54:58.292-07:00Some Chinese New Year Shoots and Experience with LSD BatteriesIt's Starting To Feel Like Chinese New Years...
So lately, I've been doing a little bit of food photography when I can. I've found it to be a good deal of fun and a great way to test out lighting setups at home.
Chinese New Year Horns ©Wing T. Wong - Gallery
It's amazing how you can get some really good looking photographs straight out of the camera, or with some minor contrast bumps, to Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-22959992933459813222011-02-06T21:17:00.000-08:002011-02-06T21:17:51.918-08:00Working on DIY and new book via KickstarterDIY + Kickstarter + My ProjectI was introduced to Kickstarter a couple of months ago and it dawned on me that it would be a good way to fund a project I have been keeping shelved for a while.
Like many other DIY strobists, I've made my fair share of foamcore soft boxes, salad bowl/garden pot beauty dishes, simple reflectors, and the like.
However, I've been wanting to build my own soft boxes Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-21321144547976912352011-01-19T18:45:00.000-08:002011-09-19T18:55:23.298-07:00Looking BackWhile going through some old boxes over the weekend, I encountered a box of photos and negatives I had taken and developed back in the 1994-1996 timeframe. Nothing special. Just a couple hundred developed 35mm negative film strips and the prints made from them. Not wanting to spend some money I'm saving towards my A700 replacement, I googled for DIY film scanners. My search was fruitful.
Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2378264025664231497.post-74039345022993204652010-12-27T10:11:00.000-08:002011-09-19T18:55:37.892-07:00Eating The MoonI had the pleasure and honor of standing out on a cold and windy evening craning my neck up towards the sky, gazing and squinting through dark clouds, looking for the moon going through phases of the total lunar eclipse.
Serendipity, however, decided to give me something for my trouble in the form of a beautiful cloud burst. However, the moon was over exposed to the point of being a pure white Wing Tang Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15588459662357176465noreply@blogger.com0