Kincuri.com » photography

Saber and Illya

kincuri — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:53:46 +0000

Whilst in Melbourne last week, I managed to track down a couple of Nendoroid Fate/Stay Night figures. Just throught I would share them, as I think they are both particularly cute and am very much proud of my photography skillz on the first image as I think it came out really well.

Saber (Gao?!)

… and joined by Illya

More news soon. (hopefully…)

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Rolleiflex 3003 and the Leica IIc

kincuri — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:55:41 +0000

After a long time between drinks, I finally managed to escape Canberra and headed to Melbourne… if only for a weekend.

It was a rather successful endeavour, as I managed to snatch a couple of new/old cameras…

These will be my first ventures into the world of film photography, so hopefully I will be able to share some new, creative endeavours, soon.

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Bound by Canberra

kincuri — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 07:41:29 +0000

After having travelled quite a bit in the last 6 or so months of 2009, I’m starting to get antsy to get out of Canberra again. I made a quick trip to Sydney back in March, but thats been about it for most of 2010 so far. Wanting to get out an try some more photography, I think I’ve almost worn Canberra out. Some of my latest are below, but I think I’m running out of Canberra icons to cover.

The National Carillion:

Lake Burley Griffin

Random Autumn shots:

Definitely struggling for inspiration. I’ve had so little time for photography lately, that the photos I have been taking feel so forced. I’m planning an escape in the next few months, probably to Melbourne, to see some footy (go the Raiders!), but also to hit up a big city again… As much as I love Canberra, and am definitely proud of it as my home town, it’s starting to feel really small. At the same time, I starting to seek out bigger things. Moving overseas after graduation seems like an attractive option at the moment…

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Opportunities of Freedom

kincuri — Sat, 29 May 2010 00:27:16 +0000

Finally… my first post in over a month. I have been so busy in the last few weeks, with both work and uni being completely full-on.

Work is busy at the best of times, but particularly in the past month. So many people have been out of our office, so those remaining (such as me) have had to pick up extra work. Uni demands have been just as busy. Heading into the last few weeks of semester means a whole lot of assessment arriving in such a short period of time. Despite the amount of reports, tutorials, presentations and preparation I have been doing in the last month, the next few weeks will be make or break for my semester. I’m doing 3 courses at the moment, in 3 fairly different subjects (engineering, physics and environmental policy), which surprisingly makes it easier to manage, as I can completely switch between each. But putting so much into Uni is causing my work performance to suffer, which usually should be the other way round.

All of this has contributed to my lack of posts, as well as a drop in the amount of photography I have been able to do. No posts and just 5 new pics to Flickr in a month is not great. However, after another 2 weeks of craziness, I should be able to produce more content, and justify my investment in this blog.

This windows are on buildings a short walk from Uni. I think they’re pretty cool.

I’ve been told that morning sun is the best for outdoors photography. However it does mean being keen and getting up early to get the best opportunities. I’ve been meaning to shot these buildings in the early morning for a while, but haven’t had the time. Last week I had the motivation and time to get out and finally do it. Unfortunately, the day I picked happened to be cloudy and overcast, defeating the purpose of getting up early in the first place! Argh!

I also finally received my new Blue Snowball mic, which I ordered through the Australian Apple Store (despite some shenanigans from TNT express during delivery… I’ve been wanting to get a new mic, to use with some videos I’ve been planning to make for a while. We’ll be doing some interviews for our Engineering project at uni, so I thought it was a good excuse to dish out for a good one. It’s not mind blowing quality (it’s not a studio mic), but it’s sure as hell a far improvement above mics you’d find built in to video cameras and laptops, so I’m happy.

In anime news, I’m still getting through Cowboy BeBop when I can, which I am enjoying immensely and just purchased Neon Genesis Evangelion which I’m looking forward to watching afterwards.

How quick thinking and a bowl of rice saved my Lumix GF1

kincuri — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 01:37:04 +0000

As alluded to an a couple of my earlier posts, I have entered to participate in the Canberra Photo Marathon on the 27^th of March. I had been looking forward to this event, as it would have been my first real experience of competitive photography.

To give some background, the Photo Marathon was a daylong event, where 12 themes are presented (6 at the start, 6 half way through). A photo for each theme must then be presented; with photos [in theory] taken in the order the themes are given, with no Photoshop/Aperture/ whatever editing allowed.

Examples of themes for the Canberra event included “Light”, “Evolution”, Earth Hour (which was that night) and my entry number (70). It was really well organised, with entry into the National Zoo and Aquarium included.

Naturally, I was eager to participate in this event, and it started off well. However, about an hour into the 12-hour event, tragedy struck. Attempting to fulfil the theme “Upside-down” I was taking images of the National Library as reflected in a pool of water. I had my Lumix GF1 sitting on a tripod along the edge of the water….

I turned around for just a second to assist my brother with his tripod, in that time; I heard a splash and turned to see my camera sinking into the water, it was only a few seconds, but it was enough to get water into the body and into the lens (the same lens I’d waited months for Panasonic to supply…).

My gut reactions were to do all of the right things, pull it out, drop the battery and memory card out and then proceed to dry it off as much as I could.

As I had to refrain from turning the camera on, the Photo Marathon was cut short, but that was the least of my concerns (although I was pretty disappointed it happened BEFORE I made it to the Zoo…)

Over the next few days, the camera and lens were alternated between spending time in the sun and in a container of rice. Rice apparently is a natural desiccant (absorbs moisture). After a couple of days doing this to draw the wetness out of the camera, I dared put the battery back in.

It worked…

The lens seems fine, with no noticeable blemishes, the body operates fine and its taking photos just as well as it did before going in the water. There was some condensation on the LCD screen that lasted about a week, but that cleared up gradually and now it’s fine.

A couple of test photos, let me know if you notice anything that doesn’t look right (besides technique issues…):

So… if you ever have a camera end up in the drink to the following:

If not already, turn it off
Drop the battery/memory card out
Get as much water out of it as quickly as you can
Open all compartments (battery, flash, and connector sockets) and leave it in a warm spot, to help evaporate the water.
Store the camera in a container with rice, pour rice into the container, place a sheet of plastic (like a bag) onto the rice for the camera to sit and seal well
DO NOT TURN IT ON FOR AT LEAST 3-4 DAYS, be confident its dry before turning it on again

After having such a good week, there’s nothing worse than wondering if your expensive camera will ever be the same again, but be patient.

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Snowy Hydro/Mountains Trip

kincuri — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:48:52 +0000

This past week I spent a couple of days on a tour of the Snowy Hydro Scheme for work. Quoting from the Snowy Hydro Limited website to give some background:

“The Scheme took 25 years to build and was completed in 1974. More than 100,000 people from over 30 countries came to work in the mountains to make true a vision of diverting water to farms to feed a growing nation and to build power stations to generate renewable electricity for homes and industries.”

Whilst the above quote does contain just an ounce of spin (it doesn’t mention the environmental/cultural impacts the water diversion has caused), it pretty much sums up the scheme. Despite visiting some of the largest renewable energy (Hydro) sites in Australia is definitely interesting, having just returned back to studies, the trip wasn’t exactly well timed. Regardless, I did find Snowy Hydro Limited to be quite a welcoming company, very family themed, and very welcoming to us as visitors.

Essentially, the scheme has diverted flows from the Snowy River, which ran east from the Mountains, and flooded each year with the snow melt. The water is now captured and damed, then diverted west towards the Murray-Darling Basin, where a lot of Australia’s food/agricultural production is based. At the same time, the water releases are used to generate electricity through the Hydro Power stations.

There has been a lot of fuss about the impacts of diverting the Snowy west, mainly due to the fact that it now flows at just a few percent of its original capacity, severely impacting the communities and environment along its length. However, the diverted flows now support a significant proportion of Australia’s economy, both food and energy wise. This a prime example of the Utilitarianism idea of ‘the greatest good for the greatest number‘.

To make up for the lack of recent updates, I can share some of the photos taken over the two day period:

The last photo is of water being released into the original Snowy river, this amount of release was to continue for a couple of days, but I think thats about the maximum amount that is ever released

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Figma 003 Saber

kincuri — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:31:10 +0000

Nothing terribly exciting has happened in my world in the past week. I’m still working hard on the goals that I set to be accomplished before I restart studies for the year. So far, so good. I have managed to maintain a ritual of daily exercise for the last 2-3 weeks; a mix of weights, workplace soccer and time on the exercise bike are starting to pay off. I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to maintain it once studies restart, but I’m hopeful I’ll be able to find some time. It beats doing absolutely nothing.

The dead line is just 10 days away. I think I have managed to progress at least two, possibly three of the goals I set in the Transitions post. With the final (fourth) goal dependent on be finding a place to live. Again, so far, so good.

My new Figma Saber figure arrived today. I must admit, I am very impressed with Japan Post. Ordered the figure on Sunday, sent Monday, arrived Thursday morning. That’s between Shibuya Tokyo and Canberra Australia. Not bad, especially with tracking the whole way…

Here is my makeshift miniature lightning studio for my miniature figures. I knew my semiconductors text would be useful for something…

One more figure and I think I get deemed a collector.

I did find the Figma Saber a lot more delicate compared to the Revoltech Saber I’ve posted earlier. It’s a little more fiddly to get Saber into the poses that I wanted, but Figma does give you a lot more flexibility in how she can be moved around, even before being able to interchange faces, hair, hands and swords. Whilst I do like the facial expression from the Revoltech figure better, I would highly recommend the Figma version just due to the options it gives.

Anyone looking for an excellent Cosplay of Saber should check out the work of Maridah. Her website can be found here. If anyone can claim to be a flesh and blood rendering of Saber, it’s her.

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2010 National Multicultural Festival – Canberra

kincuri — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:56:01 +0000

Just a quick photo update from the 2010 National Multicultural Festival, held in Canberra, Australia.

This really is a great event, each year on the Saturday of the event, a massive food and drink fest is held in the Canberra city centre, drawing probably the biggest crowd of any event held in the city.

Usually a very beer focused event (this is where I discovered pretty much every nation has its own brand of beer), a nice introduction was the handing out of free, branded, bottles of water. Last years event was held in ridiculous heat, with little access to free water, so this was a pleasant improvement.

Most of the stalls are organised by the relevant embassies that are dotted around Canberra. A lot of international community groups contribute as well, particularly to dance and musical performances.

The merry-go-round is a permanent fixture in Canberra, but I don’t think it’s ever quite as busy during the rest of the year, than as it was today…

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Crashing back to Earth…

kincuri — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:19:39 +0000

Argh… despite the glowing optimism I conveyed in my last post, due to the fact that a number of factors in my life were heading towards serious improvement, I wish I could say this week is looking even better.

I got a call Friday afternoon from the real estate agent to let me know that the owner of the apartment we had been approved for had “changed their mind” and given the apartment to a member of their own family. Whether that is due or not, I’m not sure, but either way, I’m still no further out the door of the family home. The search continues…

Regardless, at least one of my goals is continuing strongly. For the last 7 days, I have been able to maintain my “healthly” streak, either dedicating almost an hour each night on an exercise bike, weight training or playing a game of soccer at work. I haven’t lost any weight, but am feeling really good. The next two days are looking good. To make up for games lost due to weather or lack of numbers, the work team has a double header, tomorrow and Wednesday, to finish of the “departmental” soccer competition. We are yet to win a game yet, but hopefully, with a little luck, we’ll be able to pull something off.

My standard picture update… more flowers are gradually making an appearance in our garden, so today’s update comes from the same court-yard the majority of my other recent shots have come from.

I’ve continued my pursuit into the world of the anime/manga/cosplay culture. So far this week, I have taken delivery of 2 more copies of the Fate/Stay Night series of manga, I now have volumes 1, 3, 4 and 5, with volume 2 still on order (I love how Saber is the central character to the TokyoPop series covers…). I have also purchased the first 7 DVDs of the Fullmetal Alchemist series, of which I’ve watched just a few episodes and am looking forward to getting into the series when I have the time.

So far I have just a modest collection of anime/manga, mainly centred around Valkyria Chronicles, Fate/Stay Night and the Ghibli Collection. I don’t think thats a bad way to start, but now that I am more open to pursuing my interest in this culture, hopefully I’ll seek out some good series.

In a related note, if you want to check out the posts I made during my trip to Japan back in August last year, just click: Japan Posts – I really think that trip opened my eyes to a massive culture packed into just a few Islands, and through that, I discovered the massive, worldwide community that supports it.

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Transitions

kincuri — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:22:28 +0000

Well… this week really has been a week of firsts! I’ll note that in the post prior to this, I stated that I had goals I wanted to achieve within the next month, with the proposed reward of dishing out for my first venture into Cosplay. To reiterate (for your benefit, as well as mine) the goals were:

Increase my fitness
Save money
Find a place to live – move out of the family home
Continue to produce work and study that I am proud of (not specified originally, but should be mentioned). This includes Work (capitalised to denote actual employment), Photography, reading and generally seeking knowledge.

I have specifics to these goals, that I will keep personal, to use as a measure and ensure that I meet these goals. It’s only been two days, but I have already crossed on of them off the list. Today I received confirmation that an application for my first apartment! It will be shared with a mate from Uni, located much closer to work and Uni itself, plus providing the freedom and excitement of moving out of the family home, which I have been living in ever since I was born (22+ years…). Point 3 taken care of. A first.

Last night I attended a Climate Change Forum at my Uni, being one of the very few “young people” to attend. Surprisingly, interesting events like this, whilst hosted by a University, attract very few student attendees. Before and after the forum, with a little spare time at hand, I sought out some chances to take some photos (see below). Combined with a a reasonably busy week at Work, I think I’ve made a pretty good go at meeting Point 4. Notably the first image, which represents my first decent capture of lightning in an image, learning technique as I went. Another First.

Oh, with almost daily exercise, Point 1 is being addressed too, but as most fitness attempts, lapses are easy, I’ll be conservative and delay claiming success just yet.

The last two pictures are of a couple of the many sculptures that have been installed around the Canberra city centre, the first is part of the ‘Icarus’ series, the second is called ‘Relic’. There has been some criticism of the amount of money spent by the ACT Government to bring these art pieces into Canberra, mainly due to their obscurity. I do like them however. I believe public art brings character to a town centre. If they stand out, to the point that people are debating whether they are aesthetically pleasing or not, I think the goal of their installation has been achieved. Art needs to stand out and be noticed, otherwise you may as well not have them. Over time, people will grow accustomed to their presence, and will form a part of the city scape.

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