Hey Kids! New Gear!

(Note: This entry was supposed to go up at my DeviantArt account but then I found out that DeviantArt only allows images in the journal entries of Premium members. So I’m putting it up here.)

Meet my new gear/gun/wand/zanpakuto/(kindred/familiar) spirit/camera. A Sony SLT-A35 whom I have decided to christen “Getsurikai”. Bought with the advice of Joseph Cheng (from DeviantArt). Note that it is different from an SLR.

This is, incidentally (and probably), the last picture from my old Kodak C913 (whom I haven’t bothered to name) which I’ll post online. It is pictured below.

And this is the first picture Getsurikai ever took (so of course it isn’t really one for aesthetics), barring those which it took when I tested it upon delivery. But I didn’t insert the memory card then so they don’t count *wink*.So long buddy. I’ll miss your compact feel, how I can carry you everyday, except when my bag is too crowded already.

I’m not really a fan of anime but I’m quite a huge fan of BLEACH!. Those who know their BLEACH! will know from where did I pattern the name “Getsurikai”. It isn’t very clean Japanese from what I’ve been told but hey, I like the sound of it so I’m taking artistic license. And oh, it literally means “moon grasp” by the way.

These past few days, I’ve been busy trying to get the feel for it. So far, the biggest adjustment I had to make is the placement of controls. Whereas my old Kodak has all controls at the right-hand side, Getsurikai has it both in the left and right-hand side. Kodak has its shooting mode settings on a dial around the shutter button but that is where Getsurikai has its on/off switch, the shooting modes being in a dial at the left of the viewfinder. Imagine what happened the first time I (instinctively) tried to switch modes? Hooha.

But I quickly got over that problem and I’m pretty comfortable with where all the controls are located now. What I’m currently doing is trying to learn all its features before December’s Lantern Parade, which is, if you need to be made aware, a photographer’s idea of a shooting feast.

They’re not much yet but here are some of the results of my test drive.

Aperture Experiments — Just experimenting with aperture settings…

Art Found — Art found in the construction. We are having house renovations right now (with all this mess, I’m affectionately calling the affair “Voluntary House Demolition”). Interestingly, the carpenters used this amazing artwork to cover a hole they’re digging. I don’t know where did their boss, the Architect, got it though.

Thankfully, my room is not involved in the action. I can keep my stuff clean without much effort. Imagine all that dust in my laptop, my external hard drive, and my brand-new camera!.

My room got pretty crowded though, since my parents moved in some stuff (like the old desktop which no one uses now except for printing).

This is my bedside window. Though dark, you’ll still see my bedside lampshade, accomplice whenever I read a book just before going to slumberland. The orange glow comes from the street lamp just outside.

For so long, I’ve wanted to get that shot. I don’t know when I first wanted it though. I first moved in to my room when I was in Grade Five but I only started taking an interest in photography around Fourth Year high school (four years ago!).

Another shot which I’ve wanted to take for so long. Also in my room.

This is my ceiling, just after I hit the switches off at night. This is the sight which I sleep to every night. It doesn’t change depending on the time of the year, nor depending on anything else actually but it can be quite lovely, especially when the lights just turned off and those luminous trappings are fully-charged.It’s not much of a shot (just experimenting with ISO settings) but I’ll re-do this one once the Voluntary House Demolition finishes and I get more space.

My old Kodak actually has pretty good ISO settings; it can go up to 1000. But even with that, all you’ll see is a black screen when you try to take my room @ night pictures.

I remember, four years ago (!), back in Fourth Year Highschool, when I used to keep a dream journal in my (then-GeoCities) website. I had a particularly refreshing dream involving side walks. I’m pretty sure this one came from that dream.

That’s all for now. I hope I can get some more practice before the Lantern Parade. And with a schedule like this, I’m pretty optimistic. Click to enlarge:

Yep. Assuming I pass all my subjects this sem (oh pleaseeee!!!), that’s it. They’ll surely give me a CS199 and a CS196 (else, I will raise hell…hehe). Note that CS196 is a one-unit class—I either take it on a Wednesday or on a Friday—so I total 13u away from an undergrad diploma.

See you at the Lantern Parade.~Chad

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