Ghost in the Shell (2017) and Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Ghost in the Shell asks the perennial question every human being asks and yet unable to answer--Who am I?  Those who think they have the answer are usually mistaken.

Major who is given a body, not just any body but a Scarlett Johansson body, finds her law enforcement gig less fulfilling without a memory of her past even when reassured by her creator, Dr. Phil, played by the lovely Juliette Binoche, that life is defined by what one does rather than one's memories or past.  And of course, like Major, nobody is free from his past and everybody is burdened by history.

The movie doesn't come with any surprise everything happens just as expected or even like a déjà vu.  Every futuristic cityscape scene is derivative of Blade Runner except it is a knockoff and ten times cheesier.  The Hong Kong streetscape can be interesting only if the post production doesn't feel obliged to add more and more and yet more video gimmickries to the mix.  The few architectural shots are almost facsimile copies of Peter Stewart's pictures of the same.  The 1.85:1 aspect ratio is supposed to give audience an immersive experience but sometimes I can't help but feel like watching 4:3 standard definition TV, also the PG-13 rating doesn't help either.

Nothing good can come out of any existential crisis not even good cinema in this case.  Scarlett Johansson does have very good skin which manages to salvage the movie from downright unwatchable to somewhat entertaining and somewhat watchable.  Between Kong: Skull Island and Ghost in the Shell, the choice is obvious.

X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Picture

It retails for $99.  Wow, just wow.  Again the plug-in to LR CC could be a bit robust.  LR CC just couldn't find it automatically or it didn't install into the correct current directory.  I have to manually add it to LR CC.  I don't know whose fault it is.  I think the software hasn't been updated for CC and the plug-in just went somewhere else.  I didn't pay retail so I guess I don't feel too bad.  I guess if you are not a paid professional yet, this is your passport to being one.

Nikon ViewNX-i

Nikon probably has the most confusing bundle of software when it comes to imaging.  It offers a bunch of software that are confusing.  But over the years I have learned to put up with them as they are free until this last version ViewNX-i that pushed me over the edge.

The software should first and foremost does no harm to my pictures.  Once it crossed that line, it's done.  I emailed Nikon support of course they won't say nothing one way or another back in December 2016.

Anyway this pushed me to consider Lightroom CC which is kind of the industry standard I suppose.

Kill Bill and Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell has this which reminds me of Kill Bill Volume I.  The KB sequence is really bad ass.  Judging the Ghost teaser, I don't think it measures up in terms of badassness.  But we will see.

Schott Leather Jacket

Over the years I have acquired a few leather jackets.

My first one was from Diesel when I didn't know about Diesel.  I bought it from a shop in downtown Manhattan.  I wasn't afraid to ask for a discount.  It was a bundled deal.  I got a tweed sack jacket from Joshua Blacker used for $10 and I think I paid the jacket for about maybe $300 all in all.  Back then it was actually made in Italy.  It was a biker's jacket all right.  The leather was good and so was the styling.  But it wasn't functionally very sound.  The sleeves don't have zipper to narrow and cut the wind out.  The sleeves aren't designed long enough so it won't ride up to your elbow when you are riding a bike, not that I would ever find out by experience.  Or when you hold on a subway strap hanger. (The purchase took place circa 1989 in downtown.  Back then I had no Internet, so it was just by looking others' and then I saw the jacket the simple line, it was love at first sight.  I got lots of compliments.  Then like most other relationships I found out its shortcomings over the years ... but that's another story.)

Then I think I progressed.  I bought a car coat from Schott.  It has quilt diamond shaped lining.  It was warm.  It has hidden breast pocket inside and two hand pockets with flaps on the front.  The thing is I do put my ungloved hands inside the front pockets when I walk around in the cold.  Before long the pocket flaps got kinked and blended out of shape.  The coat doesn't come with any centre or side vents.  So I don't know why it's a car coat.  Maybe it's not called a car coat.  When you sit down in a car the coat would got bunched up if you don't unbutton as there are no vents to allow the coat to re-shape when you are sitting down driving a car.  (The purchase probably done in Canal Jeans in downtown Manhattan.  I loved Canal Jeans.  It was probably in the early 1990s.  1994 maybe?)

Then I got another Schott, a 141 café racer jacket.  The 1 series is made of naked cow hide while the 641 is made of steer hide.  I am not expert of hide but from what I read the steer cow hide is stiffer and treated so it's more water resistant.  I own two 141 of different sizes.  When you don't know what fits until you own both for a period of time, ha-ha.  They both come with removable faux fir liners.  They add some warmth but since they are fluffy liners it doesn't give you that smooth putting on and taking off experience.  I prefer satin lining so it's smooth to put on and take off.  The jacket has two waist pockets and one chest pockets.  They come with zippers.  The sleeves also come with cuff zippers to block wind out or make your arms look slimmer.  I like the zippered pockets so nothing will fall out.  It's quite important especially you feel insecure.  The liner has an inside leather patched pocket, no zipper though.  It features side buckles to adjust the waist to block off wind.  But I find the leather strap could be an inch longer; over time as the strap rubs against my bag, the strap just come undone from the buckle, an inch longer strap could probably prevent this from happening.  (The first 141 I bought probably form David Z in downtown around 2005 or so, I remember wearing my chunky black cotton mock neck , so I  sized it up to 44.  Later after a few years I bought another one online, this time a size 42)

My latest is a Schott 125.  It's a happy eBay find.  The seller for some reason doesn't list it as a Schott (even all the metal snaps have the name Schott over it), instead the seller mistakenly called it Leathercraft based on the cleaning label.  So the price is not eBay market price for a Schott jacket.  I haven't looked up its vintage based on the tiny label inside the little coin or watch pocket yet.  The jacket is very clean inside and out. The pocket lining is almost pristine.  So that's a good thing.  The jacket misses the detachable liner.  Oh well.  May as well as this old 125 model, the Schott label is actually on the liner.  Compared to my 141, the leather is a touch thinner, that's relatively speaking.  Now I know my 141 is really beefy almost like weight training myself simply by putting it on.  The 125 doesn't come with a half belt so nothing to flap around.  It does come with two belt loops in the front and one in the back.  The jacket does come with side laced gussets and cuff zippers.  Cuff zippers are nice except on two scenarios.  When you want to leave the jacket on to work on your notebook, the zippers would scratch the surface of your very expensive notebook, even though I don't really care that much but it bothers me the zippers are hitting on the aluminum surface.  Maybe that's why some other brands have the cuff zipper on the top?  Another scenario is when your jacket doesn't really fit you that well and the sleeves become extra long.  A biker jacket should have longer sleeves and that's a given.  But extra long?  When you zip the cuffs up, the sleeves would balloon up and look weird ....  After asking on some forum from Schott NYC, their very knowledgable staff member Gail reckons that the jacket was made circa 1985.  Wow, that was some 32 years ago.

Random Thoughts

When I shoot my DSLR, I expect I can shoot more than 1000 frames in one outing.  I was shooting my kid's HS FON performance.  I shot more than 1400 frames between 7 to 10 I think.  And I still have power left.  I don't know how others shoot with camera that can only last a few hundred shots.

Shopping on eBay can be therapeutic.  It distracts.

Does it even make sense to fix my Nikon F5?  The main command dial has been erratic.  I would like to restore to spec but the price may be too high for my liking.

Oscars 2017

huffingtonpost
Finally Oscars was fun to watch, not because Jimmy Kimmel was particularly funny or I am a big fan of those movies.  It's because the production or Price Water House, a professional firm screwed up.  It was unintentionally funny.  The presenters, namely almost octogenarians Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway seemingly got the Best Actress envelope for the Best Picture.  Warren Beatty later on stage divulged that the envelope says Emma Stone La La Land.  So he was noticeably perplexed but not his co presenter, the always cheerful Fay Dunaway.  Perhaps Beatty thinks OK, let her be the fall gal.  Dunaway was only too happy to announce La La Land like without a doubt.

Within minutes, all hell broke loose.  It was pandemonium on stage.

Beatty was trying to explain himself and Kimmel was quick to chastise him like "Warren, what did you do?" and concurring that "Well, you weren't funny."  When Beatty tried to correct himself inching toward the microphone with the correct envelope, the visibly upset and somewhat livid La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz who just gave his Best Picture acceptance speech thanking his wife and everybody was quick to snap the card out of Beatty's hand without so much as acknowledging the man, like he was  some old fart or some nobody.  Poor Beatty.  And Dunaway was no where to be found ...
Even it was Faye who made the actual announcement (though Beatty was kind of let her have it), everybody was ready to just throw Beatty under the bus.
PricewaterhouseCoopers was quick to issue a statement basically admitting that they screwed up.

John Wick: Chapter 2

Could that be his slick unkempt hair, his beard, his immaculate bespoke suits or his mildly bowed gait?  Keanu Reeves' John Wick proves once again irresistible to an audience who craves gun porn and on-screen violence with an R rating.  Enough water downed PG-13 violent content already.  I don't recall any recent action movie that is as satisfying as it is unrelenting and unapologetic.  It harks back to an era when John Woo ruled the on screen gun play in the eighties, except of course, JWC2 is light years ahead in production value in addition to being more realistic, relatively speaking.  JWC2's mute henchman or henchwoman character even reminds me that one character in A Better Tomorrow II who doesn't utter a single word only to kill and be killed.  And then of course JWC2's violence is literally ball busting and eviscerating, a nod to Bruce Lee's kind of street style no holds barred fights.  The final big fight is a homage to the 1973 Enter The Dragon:  A room of mirrors is the choice of hideout for the villain in JWC2 as well.

If you hate on screen violence and on screen gun violence in particular, do not go see it, it will give you nightmare.

The State of Online Shopping, Clothes Edition

My online experience started with Amazon.

That must be over some fifteen years ago.

Still something has never changed.  Shops selling clothes for the most part do a very poor job.  What does S, M, L or 38, 40, 42 mean exactly.  I don't have a clue.

Why is it so lazy not to include measurements?  Because you know size 42 doesn't necessarily mean 42 inches.  Even pants listed as 34 don't mean 34 inches.

When it comes to online shopping especially clothing, we are still in the stone age.  Sure the web site may be HTML5, CSS, JavaScript and all the cutting edge and the company spends a fortune on it but hey they can't tell you what a Large is.

2017 USA Cyclocross National Championships

I was shooting without a press pass for this event.  I don't know much about biking or cyclocross.  I haven't had any meaningful ownership of any bicycle since high school.

I didn't go shoot all week I only went for the last two days, Saturday and Sunday.  I put myself up in the nearby Hilton otherwise known to the public as Super8.  I ordered room service from a nearby Michelin 4-star restaurant for dinner while going through my pictures and uploading them to Instagram.  Before I knew it, a Rolls Royce rolled up and dropped off my dinner.

For this event, I decided to go wider than my usual 20-35 or 16-35.  I went for the Nikkor 16mm f/2.8 fisheye from my library in Adorama Rental.  I was committed to it for the simple reason that I paid for it might as well used it to the fullest.  To fill the frame of the fisheye lens is to go really close and that's what I did and tried to do all day every day.  The above were shot using the fisheye lens.  My other setup was the usual 70-200 f/2.8, charity of my dear friend.

Weeks before the event I tried to get some press credential.  I even followed up when I didn't hear anything.  I even emailed and texted the parties involved.  The first one left his job and the second one never replied my text or would have none of my bull shit; a reflection of what a photographer I am.  Anyway I still proceeded to book my Hilton even I didn't get no press pass.  I guess I simply spectate if I am not allowed to take pictures.  Packing is always challenging; should I bring my 600mm or 800mm?  Should I use my F-stop Ajna or the biggest Shinn?  In the end, I settled for a small no-brand backpack my kids got from scouting but considered too uncool to use.  For me that's just true normcore I couldn't pass up.  Though I have to say before this, I had never ever shoot wearing a backpack, a slingback messenger bag yes but never a backpack.  I actively use two camera setups and I actually don't need to carry a bag for equipment in the field because the two camera setups are always in use and won't stay in the bag anyway.

It always takes me longer than I thought no matter I knew it would take longer than I thought to last minute pack my stuff to the car the morning I leave the house.

Google tells me I need some 2 hours to get there.  I am happy with the morning traffic.  When I got to the venue I was pointed to go to the parking lot some where across some highway.  It was a minor miracle I was able to find the parking lot without GPS or not driving back to the highway inadvertently.

It took me forever to take my gear out and to get everything I need ready.  The car was parked not too close to the course so I didn't imagine myself coming back to the car to pick up something I forgot; I would only come back to the car to drive away when the day was done.  I needed to make sure I had everything I needed for the shoot as if it's very important like I was paid to do it or like my career was on the line.  "If you don't take money, they can't tell you what to do, kid."

Nikon D810 with Nikkor 16mm f/2.8 fisheye.  Nikon D700 with the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8.  Sunpak 160J, PC sync cable, power cable with power pack.  Junior bracket.  Nikkor 16-35 f/4 carried as a spare in my backpack--or simply for weight training or back breaking purpose.  I also carried my rocket blower which turned out to be useful when the almost blizzard like snow came later in the day.  And yes the two rain covers too.

Snow came in the afternoon and it never relented.  Bad weather kind of makes good pictures for me.

I didn't set up my flash when I left the parking lot so it was a bit of a hassle to set it up there in the course amid all the actions.  I ended up hand holding the 120J (just as planned) without using the bracket as the days prior I noticed the bracket could get into the fisheye angle of view, ever slightly.  Anyway while I was shooting, see the above pictures,  I noticed I dropped the knurled knot and the flash anti twist plate--even I wasn't attaching the flash to the bracket, I had the knob went through the plate and screwed onto the flash shoe.  During the shooting frenzy, the knob must have come unscrewed and fell on the ground together with the leaves and falling snow.  Talking about finding a needle in the haystack.  I almost gave up searching in between shots.  Luckily I or my foot found the knurled knob and then the tiny anti hot shoe twist plate.  I felt very lucky.  I don't know what I am going to do without the knob and the plate, they are my life.

It got ridiculously cold and snowy as the day went on.  I took a breather buying lunch from one of the food trucks.

to be continued . . .

I was glad I remembered to bring the two rain covers from home and more importantly carried them in the field.  I needed them.  The cover was long enough to accommodate a long lens.  However it turned out too long and unwieldy for the 16mm fisheye.  Sometimes the cover was too loose and got into the picture view.  In the end I just removed the cover all together for the 16mm lens.  Both camera and lens performed almost flawlessly under sub zero temperature, wind and snow.  My fingers aren't all that lucky.  Skin fell off after a week and they are still numb.

I guess some observations merit and merit sharing.

I am in general a cheap person.  I use the camera strap that comes with the camera.  I don't have any fancy straps or carrying system.  When the camera is hanging from my neck I feel safe and secured.  The constant neck pain reminded me the camera setups were in place where they needed to be.  My hands can be free if I want to without dropping the camera.  Of course there are drawbacks.  When I shoot vertical which is actually infrequent with my D700 and grip, too often the strap got into the viewfinder which can be annoying and shot stopping (the rain cover made it 10 times worse).  With my D810 and 16mm fisheye I simply did not shoot vertical.  Also I do not have a grip for my D810 so that kind of discouraged me to shoot vertical anyway.

I did use my rocket blower to blow away the snowflakes which came down non stop and got accumulated on my viewfinder and whatnot.  I grabbed my rocket blower to blow the flakes away.  It didn't look too professional but it worked.  I guess it beats blowing with my breath as my breath would most likely fog up the viewfinder, even I guess, momentarily.

The junior races might not be as exciting as the U23 or the elites' but in terms of licensing potential it's better or equally good or I mean bad?  I am speaking from experience here.  So don't write off the junior races if licensing your shots is what you have in mind--I try to be pedantic here, I don't sell my pictures I license them.

It was a challenge, a real struggle to carry two camera setups a backpack and weigh 200 pounds to use the potty.  I just felt lucky without dropping anything.  I hope I never need to make the decision to retrieve or not to retrieve . . .

The day's program came to an end and I was happy to drive to check-in my Hilton which was just some 10 or 15 minutes away in snowy road condition.

The place was better than expected.  The bed was nicely made, the bathroom was all clean and with ample supply of towels.  The WiFi was sufficiently fast at least for download, the upload was slow just as what I would expect from cable.  I ordered from a neighborhood Michelin 4-star restaurant.  Unlike New York, there was no such thing as free delivery but I still need to order a certain amount to be worth their trouble.  About an hour later, my phone rang and I was ready to pick up my delivery.  I gave a hefty tips for the Rolls Royce chauffeured delivery.  I only ate half of my dinner and put the half in the fridge.  The bathroom vent made some weird noise non stop and the TV remote worked haphazardly.  The TV remote was designed in such a way one can't easily change the battery.  Anyway I wasn't a big TV watcher plus I was too busy Light Rooming my pictures.

I had breakfast in the Hilton.  It was quite an experience.  There was this dude, sort of in bike attire presumably a cyclocross racer who just casually grabbed a napkin and blew his nose and put the used napkin now full of booger and snot into the stir up waste basket right next to the coffee urns and other Hilton breakfast delicacies.  A woman was rightfully appalled and took it upon herself to empty it to the trash bin which was just about ten feet away.  Then he was at it again.  I was disgusted by his lack of manner and utter oblivious to decorum.  After all we were staying in a Hilton.

The second day wasn't as exciting as the first.  Good or better weather did not help my pictures.  The highlight was I met Nick a real photographer and videographer.  I meant to meet Nick when I was at the UCI Cyclocross at Rockland Community College.  The first day highlight was I bumped into Coach David and his family; DJ, one of the Star Track riders was in the race and Matt's girlfriend was racing as well.

I almost left before the elite race began as I was tired, cold and worried about driving back to New York.  I had four slices of white bread I got from breakfast for lunch.  Plus a hotdog I got from SRAM.  I honestly don't know what SRAM does.  For all I know, they make hotdogs.  After the elite race started came the third highlight of the 2-day event.  I bumped into track sheriff Karl from Kissena.  We had a good chat.  Karl was all smile, happily shooting a real camera with real black and white film.  I was instantly diminished, my toy cameras and all.  It took me some time to recover to begin shooting again.

Without a press pass wasn't a big issue except when it was.  I did get asked to leave the course once though.  With the press vest one can I assume get inside the course when the winner rides across the finish line.  Without the vest I got the excuse of not getting the position I needed to get the shot.

It was a once in a lifetime experience for me.  I figure if it's held somewhere else I wouldn't bother or have the resources to go.

Experience

Experience is something sometimes you can't really replace, at least for me.

I just got my hands on a Nikon 16mm AF-D f/2.8 fisheye.  The thing is it has a 180 degrees of coverage, and hence the fisheye designation.

Now I like to shoot with my flash bracket and flash mounted.  The thing is the 180 coverage can get the bracket'S grip ever slightly into the picture if I am not careful enough.

My older version of the Custom Bracket Junior, I dare say, doesn't design with fisheye in mind, or with much flexibility when mounting.  I can't slide to the right or left to accommodate for wider coverage lens like a 16mm fisheye.  Sometimes it just takes a few millimeters to make a difference.  I only have the option to shift the bracket further back closer to my body but then my hand or fingers would have a difficult time getting in between the camera's grip and the bracket grip, as the bracket doesn't provide the option to shift it a bit to the right.  Normally a 16mm lens doesn't present a problem as I have a 16-35mm f/4 and it never causes any problem.  The angle of view wouldn't get in the way; it's only when the fisheye's 180 degrees of coverage that the bracket grip gets into the way.

Now I am contemplating of actually left hand holding the flash when shooting.  It certainly isn't a good solution for me.  I am old school, I like to cradle my lens with my left hand while depressing the shutter using my right hand index finger.

Moonlight (2016)

There is probably a dozen reasons to see a movie.  But this is a first for me--I would like to hear your take on it.

Barry Jenkins' Moonlight tells the age-old story of growing up and finding one's place in this world.  If you are some kid living in a Manhattan high-rise that bears your family name, your struggle could be setting up a lemonade stand in that posh apartment building.  But's that's another story for another time.  If you are Chiron aka Little or Black, the protagonist of Moonlight, it could be a myriad of things like being black growing up sexually unsure in a single mother household in a drug, poverty, and violence infested environment.

Chiron's life is a series of disappointments.  His mom is a crack addict who ends up in rehab.  His only father figure Juan whose tenderness and generosity are as genuine as he is a crack supplier, his mom's crack supplier no less.  His first romantic sexual encounter is his only friend Kevin who also betrays him for the acceptance of a group of bullies.  All these people love Chiron.  But love simply is not enough.  Chiron ends up trapping in the street, with seeming success, just like his childhood father figure.

Trevante Rhodes who plays the adult Chiron delivers the most awkward, in the best sense of the word, and the sexually palpable scene when Chiron confesses to Kevin that he is the only man that ever touches him.  The film ends with a shot pulling in from behind Little, the little Chiron, in the beach then Little looking into the camera.  Chiron is no longer the frail kid that he was, he is a bona fide trapper that can easily bench press ten times his body weight and kills a grown man with his bare hand but deep down he is still that same awkward child who yearns to connect, to love and to be loved.  Aren't we all?

Arrival (2016)

Arrival (2016).  Or how to read ink squirt from giant alien octopus.  This borefest is about time and how time doesn't have a beginning or an end, that is, provided that you know how to communicate in squirt ink.  Louise, played by Amy Adams, is a linguist enlisted by the US army to communicate with the aliens.  Together with some guy called Ian, played by Jeremy Renner, the two keep going in and out of the giant spacecraft parked or floated somewhere above Montana.  Often times a boring movie is just a boring movie.  Arrival fails to deliver any intellectual rigor in the sci-fi genre nor jolts us with any action if only to wake us up every now and then.  The cinematography is a constant drab and looks horribly underexposed.  Amy Adams' performance is not understated, just underwhelming.  With the help of a $2 freshly brewed small coffee I manage to stay awake the entire time if only in a fugue state which is not too different from what Louise experiences in the movie.

Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II

I was thinking about getting one on eBay.  The older version of course.  So naturally I tried to play with one when I got the chance at the Exp Plus Photo 2016.

I shoot regularly with my 70-200 but this 300mm is on another level.  I am glad I tried it.  I don't think I can shoot an event with this lens.  Not the entire event anyway.  The 70-200 is versatile enough but this 300mm is quite specialized I imagine.  It won't be too feasible to carry around this 300mm on location for 3 hours or longer, unless you have an assistant.  For any extended shooting, I think a monopod is a must just so your arms and back can thank you later.

I certainly appreciate the 70-200, more so than ever.

Custom Brackets

When you want to buy something photographic and yet don't have $2,799.95 for the latest Nikkor AF-S 70-200 f/2.8E FL, you can buy something like a lens hood, a sync cable, a filter or some flash bracket.

I am a fan of Custom Brackets.

My first one is the CB Mini-RC.  The camera screw is the "D" type kind while the flash screw is not.  So you do need a coin to tighten your flash up.  I like this bracket.  It looks cool even if it doesn't do anything at all.  I am a fan of accessorizing your camera.  The biggest fault is of course there is no anti-twist built-in.  I understand you can buy an anti-twist plate AT separately for $15 only.  I don't know how effective it is.  So while I am shooting with this flash bracket, I have to adjust the camera screw to re-orient the bracket and the flash.  It keeps you on your toe and busy making you work harder, look more professional, more on edge.

The latest Mini-RC comes with some improvements.  The flash screw is now D type as well, so you can leave home without any quarters or coins, just bring your hundreds.  The most important improvement is anti-twist.  This is the number one improvement that I need, the rest is just icing on the cake.  Now it comes with what Custom Brackets call "camera anti-twist post," two of them.  They can be positioned and tightened by a 1/8" Allen wrench provided.  So you may want to carry a 1/8" Allen wrench when you are out and about with the bracket.  During my field test, for about 3 hours, shooting in the jungle in extreme heat and cold, both horizontal and vertical, the bracket never twists and I don't have to tighten the screws with the Allen wrench.  I think this is a big improvement.  The new one is also about 1cm wider than the old one, which I think is a good thing.

Custom Brackets CB Junior
This is a more elaborate bracket than the Mini-RC.  It flips and extends.  This is an old version which doesn't even allow you to add any anti-twisting plate, nor does it come with any D type screw at all.  If you don't have a coin or a quarter, you are screwed.  Either your bracket or your camera may fall off your hand.  I guarantee the bracket will twist like crazy even if you only shoot horizontal.  Another drawback of this bracket is it's difficult to pack and carry.  This thing is sticking out every where.  It's just hard to put it inside a bag.  The Mini-RC totally wins in pack and carry as it's basically flat, small and weighs nothing.

Event Photographer Experience

My experience as a "photographer" or "event photographer."  My fourth time doing the same event different venue though.

Nikon D810, though it has 36MP but when I convert the NEFs I usually downsize them to 4000 pixels on the long side make them 12MP just like the D700 files!  I need the mega pixels just in case--the truth is that "just in case" never happened.

Nikkor 20-35 f/2.8, this lens was iffy when it is cold or very cold.  It failed me on two occasions.  The aperture blades got stuck and pictures overexposed.  Now that I know, I can always just shoot at f/2.8 circumstances allow.  The Nikkor 16-35 f/4 is reliable but since f/4 is not as bright it's really not so great when you are taking pictures in a dark venue like most dinner parties I am in.

Sunpak 120J with sync cable to the camera PC socket and battery pack.  I have it set at the "red" automatic to take the guess work out of it.  My setting is 1/60 and f/8 which should give me ample depth of field and fast enough shutter speed to avoid blurry pictures (given the relatively short flash duration, wide angle coverage, and not so close-up shots).  The battery pack is great when you want to have fast recycle time and long lasting battery life.  It's a bit of a hassle to shoulder carry the pack that I have to put up with.

Custom Bracket Junior (old version).  Like most other good brackets, it's is very good except one thing; it twists on the body.  This one doesn't come with a D-ring so I have to use a quarter to tighten screw to the tripod mount.  And that night I just didn't have a quarter with me.  When I asked the wait staff they didn't have one either.  They probably didn't trust me with a quarter.  So one lent me a Swiss army kind of knife with a very small blade, I was afraid I would break the blade so I handled it with extreme care.  Thank you man!  The bracket not only just twisted but came very loose in the middle of the shoot.  You certainly don't want to drop your flash or even worse your camera.  The sync cable and the power cable can be unwieldy and sometimes you pick up the camera and forget about the battery pack which may just end up dropping on the floor.

AF-S.  Normally AF-S is set for focus priority by default.  Though I use AF-C most of the time when I am shooting cycling or any other sports.  I switched to AF-S so I can recompose and lock focus.  In some instances, the camera had trouble locking focus because the subject was too dark or lacked contrast.  So I changed the AF-S to release priority so the shutter would fire even focus is not locked.  (This would give me trouble later on.)  I don't want my subject to wait or I look like an idiot when the shutter doesn't fire--the focus even not locked should be good enough or actually spot on even it's not locked, I hope.

Half way through the shoot, video time.  Initially I planned to shoot with my iPhone but then I don't need too many equipment hanging around my shoulder or my neck.  So I used my D810 for video as well.  And that's trouble.  In the middle of the video shoot, I decided that I wanted to change the lens AF to M so I can manually focus.  What a brilliant idea.  After video, I switched the camera settings from B back to A or whatever I thought shooting stills should be.  And I thought I had everything under control.  And of course I didn't.  In the middle of eating, drinking and people asked me to take pictures, I totally forgot about switching the lens back to AF.  So for the rest of the evening I was shooting with no focusing, not AF not manual just no focusing.  The last manual focus distance was left at some 20 feet away.  But "lucky" me most, actually all of the shots were wide angle, 7 to 10 feet away (at the same time, if not, I guess I would have noticed it already), and I was shooting at f/8.  The f/8 saved me plus before the video I had most of my shots already.  So the out of focus shots weren't that plenty and weren't obvious enough.  Still it's a mistake that I shouldn't have made.

If I used the Nikkor 16-35 f/4, it wouldn't happen as there is no need to switch to manual focus, you can simply grab the focusing ring to focus manually (* this is not entirely true, I want to manual focus in video not letting the lens to find focus so for the Nikkor 16-35 I still might have switched the lens to fully manual when shooting video).

If I left AF-S in focus priority, the default, it wouldn't happen as I wouldn't be able to fire the shutter if the focus can't be locked.  Alas, I changed it to AF-S release priority so shutter fire even when focus is not locked.

Lesson learned.  Always double and triple check your settings.

Dragon girl (drachenmadchen) Full Martial Arts School Documentary

PC, virus, anti-virus

I proclaim I enjoy living dangerously devoid of any anti virus program.  The truth is even I don't make mistakes clicking and installing crap, somebody else will.   And sometimes I do have the honor to take care of this nasty business.  Nobody would admit he makes any mistakes and in the end it's all a mystery.  How it happened nobody knows.

When it comes to PC, there is Windows defense, firewall and a whole boat load of third party software that are supposed to protect you from yourself and all the nasties from others.  In general I have a deep mistrust of those software, it's like you have the potential of actually installing some crap claiming to protect you from other crap.  I really don't know what or who to trust.  I am just happy whatever security measures that come with Windows and have them turned on.

But in the end, some how, someone is going to install, to click Ok despite repeated warnings because he just needs to play that game.

Then the whole wireless network comes crashing down.

Auto Glass Claim Experience

I use Gekko as my auto insurance.  I am just too lazy to find out what's out there from others.  I don't need all the hassles just so I can save perhaps a few dollars or a few thousand dollars.  I am too lazy to do that.

Even Gekko lists a 1-800 number for glass claim but when I called it just directs me to download the mobile app.  From there you just do your claim on your mobile.  I don't think you can even do it on their website.  If you are inept with apps, mobile phone or in general techno averse, good luck with that.  I don't think you can even file a glass claim over the phone.  It seems to me Gekko even does away the call center at least for glass claims.  I remember I used to call them.

The world just keeps moving on.

Cinema Mount Mark II audio cable extension

I asked support about the audio cable extension.

Specifically, I asked does it serve the purpose of the RODE SC7 or SC4 cable.  Their answer is an unequivocal yes.  I can use the supplied cable for that.
So I bought the RODE VideoMicro without buying the TRS to TRRS cable.
And you know what it does NOT work.  Apparently the male of the cable is TRRS but the female is not a TRS to TRRS receptacle.  Or that's just a faulty cable or they don't know what they are talking about.  A disappointment for sure.  I was hoping to use the iPhone and the Rode VideoMicro to shoot something tomorrow now I just can't even the eBay seller promptly shipped the order so I can receive it on time.  Alas, I'd have to shoot the Rode with my D810 for still and video now.

PS:  Now I suspect the audio extension cable is really just an extension for TRRS to TRRS only.  Why?  Because the mount is kind of blocked it needs a rather slim jack without the bulk so as to plug the jack in, if the TRRS is any bigger it won't be able to properly plugged in.

UPDATE:
9/15/2016
I ordered the RODE SC7 TRS to TRRS patch cable.  And it works with the iPhone with or without the extension cable supplied with the Cinema Mount Mark II audio extension cable.  Like I expected you really need to use the extension cable as the opening is kind of small and even if you don't run the SC7 through the hold you can't mount the iPhone flat on the mount as like I said it's more like an enclosure and there is just no front room to accommodate the budge of the SC7 plug.  So again, the provided audio extension cable is just like what its name says it is an extension cable of TRRS to TRRS.  If you were to plug in a TRS it simply won't work even you can plug in everything.

After using the setup for a few weeks.  My initial assessment still holds true.  It's quite tiring to mount the iPhone.  It's difficult to access the mic/headphone jack, lightning jack, the volume control because it's more of an enclosure.  It's troublesome when one recorded a clip and wants to listen the audio using a headphone, you simply have to remove the iPhone from the mount to unplug and plug back the jack.  The tripod mount hole is on the wrong side, it should really be underneath the lens.

All in all, even without using the Beastgrip Pro, I think it's a better design, I would like the option of tightening the grip like the cinema mount mark ii and a lower price.  I guess I can keep dreaming.