i am registered and booked for the first international apug.org conference in may.

i plan on getting to toronto early, spending a few days on my own before the conference starts. following the conference, the plan is to hang out a few more days then go check out montreal. i’m looking forward to it! i plan on having lots of photo gear with me, including enough equipment to develop film.

i’ll be tagging along on the tours and meeting various folk i see on the website. i’ll be attending two workshops by the well known michael and paula.

more difficult than planning the trip may be getting through the airport and customs with bags full of photo gear (including plastic trays and graduated cylinders)!

(800×600)

tonight’s menu:

dendeng pedas (spicy hot beef)
singapore curry puffs
garlic baby bok choy
oolong tea

i didn’t realize what i had gotten myself into until it was very late. i’ve never prepared such a complicated meal. it all turned out pretty well — and, of course, i have some ideas for next time. anyways, i’m still a noob in the kitchen. but i like having gotten this done.

this weekend i was able to sell off my sinar f camera. i also got two new lenses. the one on the left is a red dot 19″ artar (in a barrel, with waterhouse slot). the one on the right is a 21cm heliar 4.5, which i am very excited about. the artar replaces the lens that was on the camera that was stolen out of my car. no shutter on this one, but better glass.

*open-pop-close*.

now i can move forward on my hairbrained schemes that involve overcoming my self image, esteem, personality, and lethargy.

inspired by my own self portrait and a comment made about it (and the fact that they are falling apart), i am moving on getting new glasses. one of my eyes has changed since my last check, probably five years ago.

-100-100×005
-075-050 170

i went to stamper optometry in the mission district. everybody was super friendly, including doctor stamper. so much so that i personally thanked them for their good and curteous service. i know how it feels to hear compliments on your work.

in fact, everybody on the bus on my way there seemed to be in a good mood. even the guy selling churros on the sidewalk smiled.

steak: kosher salt, cracked pepper, crushed garlic, paprika
fries: fried twice for crispy, salt, parsley
sauce: creamy green peppercorn sauce
wine: 1998 de loach cabernet (los amigos ranch)
music: santana, supernatural (dolby 5.1)
jason: happy

one reason, i think, that i’m quiet is i’m no good at arguing. why bother voicing my opinion if i cannot readily defend it. best keep it to myself. doesn’t stop me from learning from others’ opinions.

ok, well it’s not done with a stick of chewing gum and a safety pin, but it is done with items i had around the house.

i had no convenient way to mount this lens to any shutter. i found the front outside thread could kinda attach to the back of this acme shutter, but the threads are wrong. danger! the back of the lens was similar in size to the front of the shutter. i figured out i could use cable ties to hold the lens firmly to the front of the shutter with no detectable light leaks. a little silly and a little risky (the shutter is getting scratched; there’s also a slight risk in dropping the lens) but it works. *knocks on wood*

this is my first version of the mount. the second version, done last night, involves moving the cable ties to go around the front standard of the camera. this way they’re away from the moving parts of the shutter, making it much easier to use. this shutter has two levers, two buttons, and a sliding aperture scale to use.

what else can you do when you have a lens you like so much?

(604×800)

ok, one more image from this great lens before i show my silly macguyver‘d rig.

this was taken last night. same setup as before, although i had to re-attach the lens in a different way. this time i wanted to use a slight tilt to get some hot bokeh action.

i think i’m subconsciously wanting to become a jack of all photographic trades. there are too many cool things to learn and do, to settle down on a particular style or genre. probably not a good trait for being very marketable. :-)