Posts tagged Life

iPhone 4S + Camera + Life

The biggest improvement for me when upgrading to the new iPhone 4S is actually the camera. Yeah, I’ve a ton of apps but my core apps are frequently my communications and networking tools – messaging, email, social media, etc. The next most common app I use is the camera and Instagram.

One thing for sure is that it’s always with me so it’s always the best camera — even when I’m lugging a truck-load of photo equipment, it still allows me to document, capture and basically, photo-log my activities.

More importantly, it lets me capture events and people important to me. I’ve every photo taken since my iPhone 2G days and the count is in the five digits. Browsing through the photos is like stepping back in time.

2011 Year in Photos

The year everything changed – 2011

Here’s looking back the 12 months in photos from blog entries excerpted over the year.

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

Surprisingly no photos and no entries in April.

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

Lots to give thanks for

Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday ever since I was in the US. Minus the black Friday sales, all the commercialization of most festivals in the US, the Christmas shopping season begins and all that.

To me, I love Thanksgiving because it’s a time to appreciate what we have. Most Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with their families. That is also one thing I’m always grateful for. I remember my first Thanksgiving as a student in the US having my own cooked steak and mash potatoes by myself as all the Americans had gone home to be with their families.

This year, I’m thankful for the families (my own and my extended) I have – I won’t trade these people for anything. I’m thankful for all that I have, both material and immaterial blessings. I’m also grateful and thankful for the friends I have.

Most of all, I’m grateful to my amazing, one like no one wife for giving me the chance to take risks, to really pursue what I really love and believe in. I’m thankful for each day I have to spend with her and now with little Jayden who’s growing up fast. When I wake up in the morning and as the sun streams through the windows, I am truly blessed to have them as part of my life.

Of course, at the end of all, I give thanks to God, my heavenly father and savior from whom all things come from.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Rain storms

The weather the past week has been horrible and forced me to reschedule a couple of activities, including some photo-shoots…

Oh well, when life rains, take out your camera!

Disclaimer: Be careful when using your camera and driving and preferably have two hands on the wheel and the camera on a tripod in the car!

10 years after 9-11

“I feel this way about it. World trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center buildings in New York … had a bigger purpose than just to provide room for tenants. The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man’s dedication to world peace … beyond the compelling need to make this a monument to world peace, the World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man’s belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness.”
~ Minoru Yamasaki

September 11 touched more people than most people realize. Even me, sitting twelve timezones away from New York City, literally halfway around the world was affected in some way. First of all, I’ve been to New York City twice and one year ago, I stood on the top of one of the towers, admiring the view that is now gone. My brother studied in New York State, two of my classmates from college worked in the big apple. And on that fateful day, I have three cousins working in New York City. Beyond the tragedy lies the immense courage, outpouring of resolve, and the strength of character to carry the day, without which I think this would have been a real tragedy indeed. Some say this was New York’s darkest moment, but it’s also New York’s finest I think.




“Tragedy” by Maggie Magee Molino © 2001-2002 (WebAperture Member)

Amid the smoking rubble a cloaked figure wandered slowly through the gray powdery mist as though He were floating.
Beams of light followed Him and created a veil of sorrow. (Can you see Him?)

Silent tears streaked the dust filled faces of those who survived, and in the distance,
the sounds of bagpipes filled the thick and acrid air with a shrill mournful tune. (Can you hear it?)

Husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, sons, and daughters, friends and colleagues, those who just a few short hours before had kissed their loved ones good-bye saying, “I’ll be home” or “See you later” were burned and buried under tons of twisted steel. (Can you see them?)

As sun began to set, the billowing smoke glowed with an eerie light, and a stillness fell over the land –
There were so few survivors. (Will you weep for them?)

The cloaked figure lifted His arms to the sky and sobbed in a voice so heartbroken that the sound still echoes through the entire universe. (Can you hear Him?)
~~His name is GOD

Shot completely on Kodak Supra 400 and Kodak EliteChrome 200. Scanned on a Nikon Coolscan LS-30.

The road…

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.
May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.
Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power.
Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.
Give victory to our king, O Lord! Answer our cry for help.