Uncle Su’s Got Some.

I knew they were running low on inventory for this particular lens (very popular and in high demand with the festive seasons around the corner at that time), and so I called the sales department (after having to wait for almost half an hour on the phone). They told me blatantly that yes sir we have the lens in stock and no I don’t know what you’re talking about. Your lens will come soon. Bye bye.

Now my order was backordered and they expect me to wait for it. How long? A week? A month? Dude, by the time the lens arrive I wouldn’t even qualify for the rebate (deadline for submission in Jan 08). Plus $400 in the back account can earn me my interest… So no thank you, I canceled my order. Gimme back my money Beachcamera.com. I’m taking my business to bhphotovideo.com.

Pictured above is the screenshot I got in my account for the particular backordered item. Apparently the link to the item page was dead, which is understandable since they are out of stock.

I am finally moving on in sparking back my love for photography. Er, sort of?

If anyone would ask me what’s so special about Bali, first thing I’m gonna do is smack this picture on his/her face. Bali really is a wonderful place to be, be it on vacation or staying permanently. There’s just something in the water there. The culture, the sandy beaches, the spectacular history and scenery, the girls, and oh my goodness the people are always happy and hospitable there!

Seriously dude, go to Bali already.

Frankly I don’t feel like I’m enjoying my vacation back home at all. My dad is always breathing down my neck, forcing coaxing me to learn in the store and to drive as safe as an 80-year-old granny. The weather is still too warm and humid.

There’s not exactly any form of entertainment in Cirebon. The only solace I find is in browsing through stores after stores online and noting down prices of camera lenses.

I can’t help thinking that my dad thinks that I’m an unfilial son who overspends his money on cameras all the time, and might just drive him bankrupt one day.

I’m sub-traumatized these days. Like, I can be driving around in USA and suddenly there’s a voice in my head going “You’re a 20-year-old man. Stop whining. Slow down… intersection ahead. Turn left. Where’s your directional signal? Left! I said left! Watch the motorbike! You stupid! Stupid!”

I was planning to get some fireworks HDR shots this evening, but the moronic part of me just wasn’t savvy enough to tweak Denise. I ended up shooting stars just because I didn’t get the shutter speed right, and it took some recapping on the way home to realize that HEY OH SHIT THE PICTURES AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY!

I could blame the chilly night wind, or that kid who keeps stepping on my tripod, or that chick with a generous cleavage, but no. I’m taking full responsibility for my stupid mistake. 600 shots of rubbish, off to the trash bin you go!

For that, good night and drive safe! I’m done pretending to be a photographer for now. =)

When you’re not sure of where you’re going, remember that you’re in the right direction as long as you’re going up.

Like the wound that’ll never heal no matter how you lick,
Like the bone you’ll never grow back…

I’m torn. But I’m standing alright.

(pictured with Francisco and Hanna)

Yep, my lectern has been moved to the left. I’m officially an Associate in Science! The commencement was the best evar! More photos later. (Hackson I’m very impressed with your processing speed! OMG WTH!)

Back to mugging for finals. Toodles.

I was at UW on Thursday shooting around with Denise. The pictures I got turned out to be quite fulfilling. Here’s a picture of cones I took while on my stomach. Apparently they’re there to stop people from stepping on the cracked brick floors.

It was cloudy (and even rained later) on Thursday, but hey, I’d like to think that I can make lemonade out of lemons too.

There is really a fine, blurred line dividing between hobby and obsession.

I started the day rugged and tired. And I was pushed to finish researching for one of my presentation. It did not go well, and I made a big fool of myself. No, not that I cared.

I could only think that hey, I don’t have anything important to attend to after the presentation’s over. Maybe I can go get some sleep. Or a nice meal. Or maybe I can ditch everything and run to U-District with my camera.

I ended up taking photos from 6pm to 9pm straight. Denise took 795 photos today. I was so engrossed on getting to UW that I forgot to bring the books I owe their library, the tripod for night shots, and the iPod I just charged. Instead I was at UW with a sling bag carrying my lenses and extra battery, and I was wearing a jacket still stained with egg yolks from the last episode of “Egg Wars”.

I tried peeling the yolks off my jacket, but I thought “Oh no I did’nnt just touched dried egg yolks with my bare hands! And then touch Denise with it, EW!” so I went to the other side of the campus looking for a restroom. ALL BECAUSE DENISE CANNOT BE DIRTY!

I roamed the whole campus, shooting everything from UW’s Baroque buildings, skaters, little kids, graduating seniors, dogs, George Washington statue, pretty college girls, exchange students, and a very friendly BMX bike punk.  I even shot UW’s patrolling police.

By the time it got dark, I was still walking down a U-District road with my camera. I had mud on my jeans and grass on my shirt. My shoelaces were untied. My throat was dry. But I was shooting away.

When I reached Thai 65 restaurant, I was overcome with fatigue. I gulped down glass after glass of water, and my hands were so cold and weak that I couldn’t even lift the chopsticks. But inside I felt special like never better. The solitude, the concentration, the effort I put into each shutter release… They ignite sparks of wonder within my inner child. Passion so familiar yet distant, like memories I had before but couldn’t be sure of.

Before today I was gloomy, irritable and downright lazy. I was dragging my feet around, reluctant of finishing assignments, putting every single responsibility to the last second of the deadline. Now what I had just now was just magic! I spent 3 hours taking pictures and I can sleep happy now!

I don’t need my parents’ approval or my friends’ support and motivation. I’m feeding off my own passion for this new-found happy place of mine, a place where Denise and I are one.

I think I’ve just found love again.

PS: Denise is what I named my trusty and luscious Nikon D70s dSLR camera.

After all the due anticipation, Zooomr Mark III is finally out.

On initial review, I feel that the site is still a tad buggy with minor features lacking here and there. Marketplace feature is not out yet. Signing in with myopenid is a pain in the toosh. Site browsing is slow but that’s just probably everyone else is trying it out too.

Looks promising for the future, but definitely not convincing enough for now. Zooomr might be good enough for me to switch over from Flickr when my Pro subscription ends come next year. Maybe.

You know I’m a sucker for shortcuts and lazy efficient work-smart-not-hard attitude. I’m a sucker for keyboard shortcuts too, So I tried everything on the keyboard just for my browsing pleasure. Can’t seem to find it anywhere else on the net. You see it first on unclesu’s!

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Left/right arrow: Shuffle between photos, left and right respectively.

Top/bottom arrow: Toggle photo information on/off.

I: Toggle photo information on/off.

Spacebar: Start/pause slideshow.

F: Favorite current photo.

P: Go to current photo’s page.

M: Go to user’s photostream.

Please let me know if there’s more! Free kisses!

Like, everyone’s telling me that already. So thanks, but no thanks.

via Thomas Hawk and Darren’s Digital Photography School. Here’s mine: