Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
IVL Summer 2010 Champions!
I play in a recreational level (Rec B) volleyball league in the South Bay and our team came in first place this season! Woot! We got a free volleyball (I got to keep it) and everyone got free t-shirts! And you know how I just love free t-shirts! Yay! The last game was also very exciting because we came back to win 27-25 from being down 19-9. Go Chones Monsters! Here's the sick design on the t-shirt. I'll probably be wearing it to work tomorrow.
On a side note, if you are in the market for new cleats, Dick's Sporting Goods has the Mercurial Vapor V Men's FG for $99 with Free Shipping and they basically have all the sizes you'd want it in too. If you haven't heard of them, they are basically the lightest cleats on the planet. Worn by popular football (soccer to you regular folk) players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Robinho. Regular price for these things are around $220 so it's a huge sale. I just got mine today. Hope to see you on the frisbee field ...
On a side note, if you are in the market for new cleats, Dick's Sporting Goods has the Mercurial Vapor V Men's FG for $99 with Free Shipping and they basically have all the sizes you'd want it in too. If you haven't heard of them, they are basically the lightest cleats on the planet. Worn by popular football (soccer to you regular folk) players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Robinho. Regular price for these things are around $220 so it's a huge sale. I just got mine today. Hope to see you on the frisbee field ...
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Adrian's Pool Party
I went to a pool party this weekend and it was tons of fun and I took tons of photos. Thanks Adrian! Anyways, I focused on trying to get tight shots of people's faces having a good time. I was inspired by some amazing shots taken by a co-worker at a company picnic. For those of you at the pool party, here are the photos, and for those of you that are interested, feel free to let me know how I did.
Here are all the photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27154058@N02/sets/72157624609971643/
Here are all the photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27154058@N02/sets/72157624609971643/
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Zion National Park - Virgin Narrows - Day 2
Day 2. We stayed at Camp 4, which was around 100 ft or so from the river. It was also the first time I ever used a poop bag. It sounds like what it is and if you're interested, you can either look online for more info or I can tell you about it. Anyways, Day 2 was basically like Day 1, except the river was a lot colder and the current was a lot stronger. We also had more time on our hands so we screwed around a lot. We swam every chance we go when we found some area with deep enough water and also jumped from big boulders into the water (maybe 10 ft high). There were also some sections of the river that we had to swim through with our packs as well. That actually worked out pretty well because the packs were basically like personal flotation devices. And since everything in my bag was in a dry bag, I didn't have to worry about any of my stuff getting soaked and weighing me down.
We also passed by this awesome little tropical paradise like spot. It looked really out of place but it was really pretty. I think it's the best group shot of us too, even though Brandon wasn't in it. After that part, I put my camera away to protect it just in case I dropped it. There were a couple more parts that we had to swim through and since it was more or less the same, I stopped taking pictures. Everyone was also getting tired at the end too. Anyways, I really recommend doing the hike. It's a wonderful experience and something that's very unique too.
Packing up in the morning.
You can tell that the current is a lot stronger this time.
I just love how the light hits the leaves here.
Some more crazy rock formations on the canyon walls.
This is what the canyon looked like this time around.
Best group photo ever. I really love this shot. Reminds me of Lost or that this is an ad for some tropical paradise reality tv show. And yes, it's only with 5 guys. Brandon got kicked off already.
More waterfalls, I'm glad I brought my tripod.
Panorama shot of the place I'm talking about. It literally only takes up a corner of the wall. Pretty sweet place.
More scary narrows. I think this was one of the parts that we had to swim through.
Last group shot. You can tell everyone is tired.
For all the pictures, go here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27154058@N02/sets/72157624457612009/
We also passed by this awesome little tropical paradise like spot. It looked really out of place but it was really pretty. I think it's the best group shot of us too, even though Brandon wasn't in it. After that part, I put my camera away to protect it just in case I dropped it. There were a couple more parts that we had to swim through and since it was more or less the same, I stopped taking pictures. Everyone was also getting tired at the end too. Anyways, I really recommend doing the hike. It's a wonderful experience and something that's very unique too.
Packing up in the morning.
You can tell that the current is a lot stronger this time.
I just love how the light hits the leaves here.
Some more crazy rock formations on the canyon walls.
This is what the canyon looked like this time around.
Best group photo ever. I really love this shot. Reminds me of Lost or that this is an ad for some tropical paradise reality tv show. And yes, it's only with 5 guys. Brandon got kicked off already.
More waterfalls, I'm glad I brought my tripod.
Panorama shot of the place I'm talking about. It literally only takes up a corner of the wall. Pretty sweet place.
More scary narrows. I think this was one of the parts that we had to swim through.
Last group shot. You can tell everyone is tired.
For all the pictures, go here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27154058@N02/sets/72157624457612009/
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Zion National Park - Virgin Narrows - Day 1
On 4th of July weekend, I went to Zion National Park with 5 friends to hike the Virgin Narrows and it was amazing. The hike was a 2 day, 16 mi trek downstream through the narrow canyons of Zion. Sometimes, we could walk beside the river and other times, we had to swim through it.
On Friday, we rented a mini-van and it took us 12 hrs to get down there. Along the way, we passed a wind farm, a barren desert, and even witnessed a car accident (just a minor one). We also watched The Hangover in the van, which was very fitting, given that we had to pass through Las Vegas to get to Zion. We got in around midnight and we stayed at the Zion Motel just 5 min away from the park entrance.
A shot of the highway we drove on.
A wind farm that we passed along the way. This was one of the biggest wind farms I have ever seen.
A train that we passed. I always wanted a shot like this.
One of the many Joshua trees that we passed along the way. I like this one because it looks like it's growing out of the train tracks.
Sunset in the desert.
We woke up around 6 AM the next day to breathtaking views of the park. The mountains around us were gorgeous and it was a beautiful day too. After packing our bags, we went to the Visitor Center to get our permit, however, the line was really long so Adrian and I went back to the motel to check out. While driving back, we actually ended up in the middle of the town's 4th of July parade. All the spectators were having a good laugh and shouting out things like "Yay white mini-van!!!" since we were the odd ones out.
One of the mountains that can be seen from the motel parking lot.
The motel that we stayed at. I like how this HDR turned out.
Me and my 5 friends. From left to right: Me, Dmitry, Adrian, Diego, Brandon, and Eli
Taken near the visitor center. I love the detail in the leaves.
After taking care of the permit and hotel, we took a private shuttle out to the trailhead. The beginning of the hike was actually pretty boring since it was on a dirt road. There were no canyons or river to walk through, just cows and some random barb wire. When we actually hit the river, things got more interesting. We had to cross the river many times and the current was actually strong enough to make it a little challenging. We also passed a lot of crazy rock formations and interesting textures along the canyon walls that I really liked.
Diego really looks like an explorer here.
Some random barb wire that we saw along the trail. Eli is "crawling" through it.
Diego bet Eli $100 to touch a cow. This is Eli's second attempt (he failed).
At certain points, the river was actually pretty deep and the current was pretty strong.
After lunch, things got a lot more awesome. The canyon walls started getting higher and closer together. There were also lots of different kinds of textures along the canyon walls, ranging from smooth, wavy surfaces to hard, and almost alien-like surfaces. During the "narrows" portion of the hike, the canyon walls would be no less than 20ft apart with just a slit of light coming through from the top. It looked like the gates of hell to me. It was very scary.
As you can see, the canyon walls are getting a lot higher.
Eli looking like a tiny figurine in the distance.
The crazy textures that I'm talking about.
This actually takes up a full wall.
The "narrows" sections of the hike.
Doesn't this look scary?
Look at how huge these walls are compared to Brandon.
10ft waterfall that we passed along the way.
HDR of one of the entrances to the narrows.
Stay tuned for Day 2 ...
If you can't wait, check out the photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27154058@N02/sets/72157624457612009/
On Friday, we rented a mini-van and it took us 12 hrs to get down there. Along the way, we passed a wind farm, a barren desert, and even witnessed a car accident (just a minor one). We also watched The Hangover in the van, which was very fitting, given that we had to pass through Las Vegas to get to Zion. We got in around midnight and we stayed at the Zion Motel just 5 min away from the park entrance.
A shot of the highway we drove on.
A wind farm that we passed along the way. This was one of the biggest wind farms I have ever seen.
A train that we passed. I always wanted a shot like this.
One of the many Joshua trees that we passed along the way. I like this one because it looks like it's growing out of the train tracks.
Sunset in the desert.
We woke up around 6 AM the next day to breathtaking views of the park. The mountains around us were gorgeous and it was a beautiful day too. After packing our bags, we went to the Visitor Center to get our permit, however, the line was really long so Adrian and I went back to the motel to check out. While driving back, we actually ended up in the middle of the town's 4th of July parade. All the spectators were having a good laugh and shouting out things like "Yay white mini-van!!!" since we were the odd ones out.
One of the mountains that can be seen from the motel parking lot.
The motel that we stayed at. I like how this HDR turned out.
Me and my 5 friends. From left to right: Me, Dmitry, Adrian, Diego, Brandon, and Eli
Taken near the visitor center. I love the detail in the leaves.
After taking care of the permit and hotel, we took a private shuttle out to the trailhead. The beginning of the hike was actually pretty boring since it was on a dirt road. There were no canyons or river to walk through, just cows and some random barb wire. When we actually hit the river, things got more interesting. We had to cross the river many times and the current was actually strong enough to make it a little challenging. We also passed a lot of crazy rock formations and interesting textures along the canyon walls that I really liked.
Diego really looks like an explorer here.
Some random barb wire that we saw along the trail. Eli is "crawling" through it.
Diego bet Eli $100 to touch a cow. This is Eli's second attempt (he failed).
At certain points, the river was actually pretty deep and the current was pretty strong.
After lunch, things got a lot more awesome. The canyon walls started getting higher and closer together. There were also lots of different kinds of textures along the canyon walls, ranging from smooth, wavy surfaces to hard, and almost alien-like surfaces. During the "narrows" portion of the hike, the canyon walls would be no less than 20ft apart with just a slit of light coming through from the top. It looked like the gates of hell to me. It was very scary.
As you can see, the canyon walls are getting a lot higher.
Eli looking like a tiny figurine in the distance.
The crazy textures that I'm talking about.
This actually takes up a full wall.
The "narrows" sections of the hike.
Doesn't this look scary?
Look at how huge these walls are compared to Brandon.
10ft waterfall that we passed along the way.
HDR of one of the entrances to the narrows.
Stay tuned for Day 2 ...
If you can't wait, check out the photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27154058@N02/sets/72157624457612009/
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