Month: January 2014

Icy

When I was a kid, my family had a traditional vacation spot.

ICE CAVE ENTRANCE

Sure, we went other places, but we had a specific place we visited more than others.  It’s not been that way since I have my own family now.  We kinda like to be adventurous and see different places.

Sure, we’ve been to places more than once, but that’s usually a weekend or shorter trip.  Not the BIG summer vacation.

Austria, however, is the place that both my wife and I agree that we want to repeat.  It was simply a great place, great sights, great food including the incredible Salzburger Nokerl.

But if/when we go back, I’d like to visit a place we just couldn’t squeeze in the first time.  In the mountains behind this castle are the giant Salzburg ice caves.  It would’ve been very cool, but apparently it was quite a hike and very icy.

BURG HOHENWERFEN PANO

Any activity we were doing had us driving past this huge castle on the hill. The ice caves entrance is just to the right of the castle in the image. And these mountains are monstrous. Order a print of this image. Read more http://www.sallerhof.com/en-attraction-ice-caves-werfen.htm

A Game

So a couple of days ago, my family had a discussion.  Ok, maybe I just made a statement and the family started in on me.  I don’t even remember how the conversation got going (isn’t that usually how it goes?).  Anyway, the central theme of the conversation was what I thought was a sport and what I didn’t.  I know I’m probably not going to be the most popular guy after saying it, but it started with golf.

I just don’t think that an activity, where a certain level of sustained effort (exertion) isn’t maintained for the majority of the time it takes for the activity, can be considered a sport.  I am, by no means, knocking golf (or any number of other “activities” I could mention here but won’t to avoid any more backlash than what’s coming).  I know plenty of people who love golf and play as much as they can.  I just wouldn’t consider playing a round of golf to get my daily exercise.  I could just simply take a walk instead.

What, you might ask, do I consider it?  I consider it a game.  A game that requires a lot of skill – serious skill.  Skill that I have tried to acquire, but have accepted that I will never have.

Apparently this is an age-old debate.

“Popular Science asked the question, Is Tiger Woods proof that golf is a sport, or is John Daly confirmation to the contrary?’ and determined that the answer ‘probably depends on whether you’ve got a set of clubs in the garage.'”
Read More http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2012/05/is-golf-a-sport-and-the-answer-isit-depends.html#ixzz2rwcvlB5H

A Game 01

My father, my father-in-law and my brother Stephen playing golf in 2005.  This is the only time I enjoyed playing golf because I was spending time with extended family that I had never met.

Together

Lots of companies have a big competitor.  It’s nothing new.

Coke/Pepsi.  McDonald’s/Burger King.  Wal-Mart/Target.  Mac/PC.  iPhone/Android.  And Dannon and Chobani are about to go head-to-head this Sunday in the Superbowl (vote now if you haven’t already).

How about Hershey vs. Nestle?  I may be behind, but I just saw that Butterfinger is making peanut butter cups, too, and since I’m a big fan of Butterfinger I was curious.

How about that – chocolate and peanut butter ARE, in fact, two great tastes that go great together.

Together

Something On Me

Apparently this hat has become my vacation hat.  I only got it for our trip to Africa so my head wouldn’t burn because of my short hair, but I’m loving it now.  I might just make it my “shooting” hat.

Something On Me

IMG_1911

Broken

So this is what our dog looks like after breaking a nail in the park yesterday. What a diva!

20140127-211647.jpg

Salty

That unattractive phase of the winter storm where the roads have started to clear and what’s been laid down underneath is really starting to show.  And it gets in your house.  And in your car.  It’s just blah.

SALTY 04

SALTY 01

SALTY 02

Laugh

Really putting myself out there.

“If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.”

– Jimmy Buffet

Laugh

RSS Feed

Hey, get yourself an rss reader and keep up to date with all my new photo uploads to Cedarmeade Studios.  Just paste this link when prompted for a new feed:

http://shaungalang.smugmug.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=nicknameRecentPhotos&Data=shaungalang&format=rss200&Size=Large

Making

So this is the last day of an entire week off from school for both my daughter and wife.  My daughter had school today, but was sick.  My wife told me I was going to miss her being home because of all the awesome meals she’s made.  She’s right.

Making 02

Microwave dinners and pizza delivery here we come!

In My Town

I think I’m going to change it up a bit moving forward with my One-A-Day.  So much about photography is about being in the right place at the right time so I’m going to post photos (hopefully never-before-seen ones) according to a daily prompt (which may also change in the future), but not necessarily taken on that day.

This image is a prime example of right place, right time.  This image was taken just before the downtown walking mall was completely redone as part of a revitalization push.  This view, however, didn’t change much.

The Night Before

ViewBug featured this photo and had me describe my process for their social feeds. See it here.  Order a print of this image.

Who Me?

Well, how about that!

Popular on ViewBug

Perhaps a marketing ploy to win back my subscription? Whatever, I’ll take it. Check me out on ViewBug!

My all-time stats on ViewBug

My all-time stats on ViewBug

On My Plate

It’s not couscous. It’s not rice. It’s Quinoa.

20140122-225752.jpg

Quinoa, a species of goosefoot, is a grain crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, as it is not a member of the true grass family.

I’m guessing that most people will notice what’s behind my plate first!

Accessory

Ever thought about a gift for someone and wondered “What can I get them that they don’t already have?”

I think we’ve all been there at least once.  What DO you get that cyclist/golfer/photographer/musician/hobbyist/amateur/computer geek in your life?  I can speak volumes about all the weird gadgets that exist out there.  I love ’em.

I’ve collected plenty of them over the years.  I have a hot-shoe bubble level, lens filter wrenches, drawers full of all sorts of apple sync/charging cables, firewire and USB cables galore, a full shop of pro cycling tools, cases for this and pouches for that, multiple editing input devices and I even have a larger-than-life mouse from a Christmas party years ago.

Mighty Mouse

The “Mighty mouse”

So if you think there’s nothing left to get that certain someone, think again because companies are always creating stuff that you never knew you needed.

Accessory

So the new “toy” I just got for Christmas is something I’ve always actually wanted, but never got it for myself.  Rain gear for my camera.  Don’t know why I’ve never invested in it.  I have rain gear for my bags, rain gear for myself, but I’ve never had rain gear for the actual camera.

Cool.  Just cool.

XLVIII Predictions

I’m not really a football fan.  I enjoy a good football game, but I don’t really have a favorite team or player or coach or…well, you fill in the blank.  I can get into a game, but I don’t go out of my way to watch every game or compare all the stats or follow every fired coach or…well, you get the point.

But I am interested in a couple things:

 * note – this can either be which one is your current favorite OR which one you think had a better marketing plan during the game itself.

A noise

A lot of everyday objects will elicit a certain sound in your mind just by seeing an image.  I started my day with this sound…

A Sound

I had a couple of teeth pulled today.  It wasn’t so bad.  But there’s nothing quite like the sound (or smell) of this thing grinding away in your mouth and all the other associated sounds that go right along with it.

Thanks to Dr. Amos (Facebook link) for humoring me when I wanted to take pictures afterward.

I suppose dentists’ interpretation of the catch phrase “It’s like pulling teeth” is a little different from mine.

Entertainment

There's nothing like an old-fashioned street performance.

There’s nothing like an old-fashioned street performance.  This guy was really funny, too.  I think what was more fun for me was the little girl up front who was having the time of her life watching this guy perform.

There are so many opportunities nowadays for any company to charge you as a consumer for their goods and services.  Pay-to-play.  A lot of companies will nickel-and-dime you like crazy.  That’s why it was refreshing to see good-old-fashioned street performers at Disney’s Boardwalk recently.  Granted, it was at Disney, where it can cost you a small fortune to consume everything they have to offer.  But it’s still nice to see it.

DISNEY BOARDWALK

Order a print of this image.

Black & White

Black & WhiteHave you ever tried to drive anywhere without the radio on?  What about all you runners – ever train without the music  Ever seen a TV commercial without a music track?  It gets your attention because something’s just not right about it.  What about movies?  Even most silent films still have a music bed.  What would the world be like without music?  Think about it.  It would be weird.  Could we do it?  Would you want to?  What would the consequences be?

Just food for thought.

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”

– Plato

Glass

Glass

Guess I got a little too excited about taking Disney character photos last weekend!

Another follow-up – this time to day 10.  I spend all kinds of time making sure my lenses are protected.  Lens hoods.  Lens caps.  UV filters.  Protective bags and pouches.  And I’ve been successful.  So with all that energy focused on the lenses, I got a little careless with the other end of the camera recently.  The LCD screen on the back of the camera.

Typically the LCD screen is exposed.  Luckily the Canon 60D LCD screen has a protective layer of glass on top.  It saved my LCD screen for sure.  Guess I’ll be investing in one of these for my 7D.

Bundle

Can you tell I'm a big Apple fan. Just saying.

Can you tell I’m a big Apple fan? Just saying.

I don’t consider myself a computer geek at all.  In fact, just today I contacted SmugMug to ask how to point this domain to my SmugMug galleries.  I got some kind of gobbledegook back that makes no sense to me.

Instead, I get “geeked-up” about computers because I’m excited about how creative they allow me to be.  Or how efficient.  So when I opened Final Cut Pro X for the first time in quite a while, I got geeked up.  Those of you who couldn’t care less about software editing workflows can just stop reading now.

I’ve been editing with FCP X since it was released.  I was one of the early adopters.  And through all the criticism and complaining from the world at large, I stuck with it.  And I’m glad I did.  They’ve improved big time.  I could go on all day, but I’ll spare you.  This latest update is huge in terms of workflow, organization and efficiency.

They’ve bundled the events and projects into libraries now just like in Aperture.  They’ve bundled them.  Together.  This is huge.

Alright, I’m a geek.

Shiny

What's on your desk?

What’s on your desk?

“Though the male can be noble in reason and infinite in faculties, he is also easily amused by shiny toys, especially ones that do dumb things on his desk.”

Patricia Marx

These are some of the thoroughly “male” items I found as I’ve cleaned out my desk over the past couple weeks.  I’m curious what others have on their desks…