The World Through My Lens

Richmond, VA

2011-11-20T15:58:00.001-05:00

Main Street Station View 1

Main Street Station View 2

A Farmers Market

Street Shot

Somewhere

Nice Contrast

New Hip Firm

Poe Museum if you couldn't read.

A peek into a new luxury residence.

Holocaust Museum on Canal Walk

Took a trip to Richmond to pickup some leaves. I didn't know where I was going so I used the "Around Me" app when I got near the visitor's center and the Richmond Rail Station looked interesting. Drove near there and wandered around. Downtown Richmond seems to be undergoing a renovation/revitalization. Passed by the Holocaust Museum which was designed to look like an internment camp. Very Frightening.

Inside Taipei MRT Station

2011-11-08T03:09:00.000-05:00

A couple of shots before my batteries gave out.

Yangmingsan

2011-11-05T17:30:00.002-04:00

A fun little diorama at the Starbucks in Yangmingsan.

View of the mountains.

View of the city

Open drainage

Grassy Wall

Yangmingsan Gate

A path

Scenic road

Through the mirror

Just some quick shots today. Yangmingsan is such a huge mountain park but I only had an hour to walk from the bus terminal to park gates and then back down. Will have to come back an explore the park some other time.

Tamsui

2011-11-04T10:33:00.001-04:00

Headed out from Zhishan at 6am. Lovely sunlight hitting the Tianmu Sogo Department Store.

Walking to the train and headed toward Tamsui.

Passed this red bridge on the way to Tamsui.

Scenic mountains shot from the MRT.

Sleepy headed school students waiting for a train.

A couple of shots of Bali from Tamsui Station.

Shooting through the grates at Tamsui Station.

Back of Tamsui Station.

View of Bali.

A manhole cover!

Scooting on by.

Great spot to relax!

Panorama

Not sure what this was suppose to be.

Oh yeah. Dig the koala head.

Fishing!

Love the graphics! Taiwan is just so cool!

Post Office

Looks like a pretty new church.

Pretty funky cafe.

The path to the Red Castle.

Red Castle Cafe.

Meow!

One of many shrines in Taiwan.

Drive by purchase.

Some cool fish mobiles.

Typical early morning market.

Cat Cafe!

Scene from the Starbucks in front of the Tamsui Station.

Early morning dance session.

Typical alley.

A cool looking Micky D's!

The other side of Tamsui Station.

Train on the tracks.

What you can't bring and what you have to store in bag when riding the MRT.

Checking the bus schedule.

I left for Tamsui at around 6 am and wandered around aimlessly for about an hour before my batteries gave out.

The new Tianmu Sogo

2011-11-02T16:07:00.000-04:00

A few more quick shots while walking back to uncle's home.

Scenes from Zhishan MRT Platform

2011-11-02T16:04:00.001-04:00

Some nightscapes from on the way back to my uncle's house in Tianmu.

Airplane at Sunset

2011-11-02T15:59:00.000-04:00

I had an 8 hour layover in Narita.

Sleeping Dogs

2011-07-23T22:37:00.000-04:00

My sleeping dogs.

Mochi's Things

2011-07-23T22:35:00.002-04:00

Mochi and her things.

Beer by Itself

2011-07-13T22:44:00.000-04:00

This is the saddest beer I've ever seen.

Dali Lama in DC

2011-07-09T22:35:00.000-04:00

I had some serious allergies the night before. As soon as we got to the venue I tried to get some shut eye. Was doing some serious snoring. Lily grabbed my camera and took a shot of me.

This is what we could see.

That's Whoopi Goldberg on the big screen. Couldn't really see her at all.

Everybody waving at Whoopi.

The maintenance crew got commemorative towels!

Another shot of Whoopi.

A speech by Desmond Tutu.

The Dali Lama has arrived!

Can you see him?

ON THE SCREEN!

Yup, that's as much of the Lama we got to see. The rest of the time I was just listening to his speech. Didn't make sense to try to see something that really wasn't all that visible.

Germantown's Fourth of July Fireworks

2011-07-05T23:56:00.000-04:00

Happy Fourth of July!

Chien-Ming Wang pitching for the Potomac Nationals

2011-07-02T21:24:00.001-04:00

Warming up

He's in a good mood today.

Nice throw!

Say cheese!

Game time!

Everything looks so far away

Why 38?

Closing out the inning.

Cooling down.

This is as close as I could get to him.

Autographing a ball.

This is Chien-Ming Wang's third outing since undergoing rehab for at least a year.

Shots from the Potomac Nationals Game

2011-07-02T21:18:00.001-04:00

The tractor goes Zoom Zoom Zoom!

They only MAY be dangerous.

FREEDOM!!!

I can't believe they actually numbered the benches.

Upper level heaven.

The little fan.

There were just some fun shots that I took around the Pfitzner Stadium while I waited for Wang Chien-Ming to show up. Pfitzner Stadium is the home of the Potomac Nationals, a single A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

A Landscape

2011-06-21T20:34:00.000-04:00

Joint Services Open House

2011-05-23T21:59:00.000-04:00

My Fozen Mango Yogurt

2011-05-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

Kermit the Turtle

2011-04-30T10:59:00.000-04:00

Party on the Rooftop of 2010 L

2011-04-30T10:57:00.000-04:00

Multiplicity

2011-04-15T16:40:00.002-04:00

Sunbathing with the Tulips

2011-04-15T16:28:00.004-04:00

Warped City

2011-04-15T16:28:00.001-04:00

Payphone, "Got a quarter buddy?"

2011-04-15T16:27:00.000-04:00

Paperclips for Bikes!

2011-04-15T16:26:00.000-04:00

Cherry Blossoms

2011-04-03T00:36:00.000-04:00

Some shots from around my neighborhood.

Tidal Basin Panorama

2011-03-26T15:17:00.002-04:00

Here is an image of the Tidal Basin that I took yesterday. It's not quite the peak for cherry blossoms but it was a beautiful day.

Thunder Jacket!

2011-03-26T15:15:00.000-04:00

Snoopy and Mochi got THUNDER SHIRTS!!! These shirts are supposed to swaddle your dog which calms them down. I can see that Mochi is definitely much calmer but not much of an improvement with Snoopy, although he does seem to enjoy wearing it.

A Parking Garage

2011-03-21T19:59:00.000-04:00

A parking garage!

Holy Ail!

2011-03-16T22:05:00.000-04:00

Monty Python Holy Grail Ale! At $16.99 for a 6 pack, it's really pricey. I'm wary of the quality control though. The first 6 pack I picked up had an empty bottle in it. The beer itself is not too bad but definitely not worth $16.99.

Ko-chan @ Full Kee

2011-03-11T08:56:00.001-05:00

Hi Ko-chan, welcome back to DC. Hope you enjoyed your Shrimp wonton noodle soup.

Snoops

2011-03-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

Snoopy in one of his 3 positions. He's not the most exciting dog.

Where a Sleepy Mochi Lies

2011-03-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

Meters now Accepting Credit Cards!

2011-03-04T09:05:00.000-05:00

Hooray! You can now pay these stupid ripoff meters by credit cards. I can't count the number of times I don't have change for these stupid things.

dc bread & brew

2011-03-04T08:55:00.000-05:00

Stumbled across this cute little place during my lunch walks. Looks like a pretty cool little bakery, coffee house and cocktail lounge. Will have to drop by one day when I have more time. Happy hour anyone? They have organic cocktails!

porc

2011-03-04T08:51:00.000-05:00

Another food truck in the area. This one was vending right in the heart of Golden Triangle. I love the name porc - Purveyors Of Rolling Cuisine and the graphics. Now if I only had the budget to dine from one of these fancy schmancy food trucks.

2101 L St NW

2011-03-04T08:44:00.000-05:00

2101 L St NW. This is where I work 3 days out of the week.

Takorean

2011-03-04T08:30:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago TaKorean pulled up on L Street. Seems like an interesting take on fusion cuisine. Lot's of people lined up for the stuff so I just assume that it's that good.

Red White and Blue

2011-03-04T08:26:00.000-05:00

Love a backlit flag.

Scenes from RTKL DC Patio

2011-02-17T23:24:00.000-05:00

A few sights from the 2nd floor patio of RTKL DC. What a beautiful day!

Flare it up!

2011-02-17T23:16:00.001-05:00

Was a beautiful day today but I wasn't feeling well so I decided to shoot into the sun and let the flare all hang out.

Alleys of Golden Triangle

2011-02-09T21:56:00.000-05:00

The alley's around where I work can hold interesting things. At the top is the Well Dressed Burrito which is tucked away in an alley across from the Chipolte's. It's more of a carry out place although they do have a couple of tables which you can eat at. The burrito is a lot meatier and it seems more Tex-Mex to me but what do I know.

Walking around I stumbled across Luigi's Alley, I guess it belongs to the restaurant Luigi's. Pretty neat that they customized their own alley. Long gone are the shady alley's of yesteryear.

Good Morning!

2011-02-09T21:51:00.000-05:00

Watched the sunrise as I waited for my bus this morning.

Buddhist Shrine

2011-02-06T23:18:00.000-05:00

Today Lily and I went to the Buddhist Temple down by our place to pray for a good new year. Lily had already attended the morning prayer service and called me after to lunch to pray.

BeBe

2011-02-06T23:09:00.000-05:00

This is BeBe. Occasionally she stays with us and occasionally Mochi stays with her.

Snoopy

2011-02-06T23:08:00.000-05:00

Before

After

More From the Game

2011-02-05T22:05:00.000-05:00

Let's Go Terps!

2011-02-05T21:23:00.000-05:00

Terps take on the Demon Deacons. Jordan Williams, MD's star player, getting fired up as they announce the MD lineup.

2011 DC Auto Show - Audi

2011-02-03T10:48:00.000-05:00

Love the Audi stuff. Absolutely gorgeous vehicles.

2011 DC Auto Show - AMG SL

2011-02-03T10:40:00.002-05:00

2011 DC Auto Show - Fiat

2011-02-03T10:32:00.002-05:00

Fiat is coming back to US market with the 500 model which will be sold through the Chrysler dealerships. It's a cute little vehicle along the lines of the Mini. Above is the original and below are the new ones.

Big Cheese

2011-02-03T09:49:00.003-05:00

Another food truck. It seems like there's a new one everyday. I have to step out of the office a lot more for lunch. Not sure what the Big Cheese is all about. Cheese breads? Grilled Cheeses? Cheesey stuff? hmmm...

Blurry Round Things

2011-02-03T09:48:00.002-05:00

What's this?

Park Here!

2011-02-03T09:44:00.003-05:00

I walk by this sign on L Street whenever I take the Metro to work. It has a very BOLD look to it that just makes me just want to park there but I never do.

DC Slices

2011-02-01T22:49:00.002-05:00

Food trucking in DC! I wanted to try a slice but the line was too long. Maybe next time.

Family Portrait

2011-01-31T14:44:00.002-05:00

Snoopy and Mochi. My babies!

Mochi in Motion

2011-01-31T14:03:00.003-05:00

Some pictures of Mochi charging at me.

Lobster Bisque

2011-01-27T21:34:00.003-05:00

This afternoon my wife and I were in the Columbia area and we decided to stop by Victoria's Gastro Pub for lunch. We ordered their restaurant week lunch special with the Lobster Bisque. The bisque was awesome. Great flavors, not too creamy and it had real chunks of lobster in it. Unfortunately I was so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of everything else.

After the Snow

2011-01-27T21:32:00.004-05:00

We got about 8 inches of wet, heavy snow. Several trees came down because of the weight of the snow.

Commute From HELL!!!

2011-01-27T08:46:00.006-05:00

Today I was going to take the Metro to go to work. It snowed last night and we are expecting more during the day.

The streets at around 6:50 am while I wait for the bus.

The bus stop. Unfortunately the bus never came. There was an accident that forced the bus to detour from it's normal route and it meant skipping my road. So I decided to drive into work, which wasn't all that bad. Traffic was light and the roads were in good condition.

So I work until 5pm. It started snowing but it didn't seem that bad. Good bye dear office. Traffic didn't seem any worse than usual. Until.... CANAL ROAD!!!

After driving a half a mile down Canal Road from M Street, I stopped. Canal Road turned into a parking lot. People were abandoning their cars all over the place and walking to Lord knows where. I just shut off my car and busted out the camera.

Hooray! After more than 6 hours we started moving!

I got home around 1am, had to dig out my parking space, dug out the neighbors too, dug out the path to our unit and then I had to dig out my car because it got stuck in the middle of the road where I left it to dig out everything. Shower and bed around 2:30am

Night Shots at Georgetown Harbor

2011-01-25T18:41:00.001-05:00

Some shots before I head into class. The sunset was really beautiful.

Cumberland

2011-01-23T15:36:00.005-05:00

Sooo.... I have to go to Cumberland to retrieve some leaves and a branch.

Driving along route 70. Shooting and driving is pretty dangerous. I couldn't really check my setting while driving and didn't realize that my camera was set to ISO 2000.

Bridge!

Western Maryland Railroad Station / C&O Trail Visitor's Center

Another View

and another view

This is the railroad portion at the back.

C&O Shops

Miles posted near the C&O Path shops in Cumberland

Shot on the way back from Cumberland after gathering my leaves and branches.

MD wildlife, WATCH FOR IT!

Meal time with Snoopy

2011-01-22T19:03:00.002-05:00

Come and get it Snoopy!

E-5 Test Shots

2011-01-17T22:24:00.004-05:00

I just got the new Olympus E-5 last week! Here are a few pics with a few art filters.

Diorama

Grainy Film

Cross Process

Dramatic Tone

Pop Art

Dramatic Tone

The filters are a lot of fun to play with and if you shoot in RAW, it will automatically make a JPG with the art filter applied so you can see the results right away. Olympus Viewer 2 also allows you to apply art filters to RAW shots that you already took.

Whitehurst Frwy at Night

2010-12-27T20:43:00.003-05:00

A few drive-by snapshots along Whitehurst Freeway at night. Don't try this unless you're stuck in traffic.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-20T22:30:00.002-05:00

First Igloo of the Year!

2010-12-19T07:18:00.002-05:00

After getting a little over an inch of snow, the neighbors decided to put together this igloo! This was shot at around 6 am.

2010 Fall Foliage

2010-10-25T14:42:00.009-04:00

Since I didn't have time to go to a super scenic park to shoot some fall foliage, I did some shots from around my neighborhood. Fall is everywhere!

Buddhist Fish Release at Riley's Lock

2010-10-24T21:09:00.003-04:00

Today the Tibetan Buddhist center (http://wcbs.us/index.html) did another fish release blessing at Riley's Lock. I'm not sure what it's for but my wife tells me it's good for us. The group recited Tibetan chants and each bucket of fish was blessed with rice and some special water before being released into the Potomac.

illy

2010-10-23T10:29:00.003-04:00

Hung out here for a while while waiting for my passport. The line was very long here but at least you can enjoy your coffee beverage in the lobby area of the Renaissance Hotel.

DC Bike Share

2010-10-23T10:20:00.002-04:00

Walking around leads you to discover new things. I see that the DC Bike Share service has new swanky bikes. There are several stations setup in areas where people could potentially bike to work. It's a great idea that I wish would expand to more places.

Sky Reflection

2010-10-23T10:12:00.002-04:00

Since I had to wait for my passport at the Passport Center in DC, I decided to walk over to Penn Camera. Right across from Penn, I saw this reflection of the clouds and sky on a building. I've been looking at the skies a lot recently. Maybe I have my head in the clouds too much. Time to come back to Earth.

Arash and Behnaz's Wedding Day

2010-10-02T23:40:00.000-04:00

It's the big day for Arash and Behnaz! Unfortunately I was unable to capture the wedding ceremony since I was a part of the wedding party. The beautiful couple, being Persian, sat in front of an elaborately decorated table filled with symbolic items while an officiant presided over the ceremony speaking in both Farsi and English.

Arash and Behnaz's Sofreh

2010-10-02T11:59:00.000-04:00

This is the Sofreh that was created for Arash and Behnaz. It is filled with all kinds of symbolism for a newly married Persian couple.

Arash and Behnaz's Rehearsal Dinner

2010-10-01T23:32:00.003-04:00

The night before the wedding ceremony we did a rehearsal over at the Sheraton National Hotel. After a quick run through of what we were supposed to do we headed over to Tysons Corner for dinner at La Sandia. There we were greeted by close friends and family of the bride and groom, Benhaz and Arash. The food was delicious and the Mojitos flowed endlessly.

Las Vegas Neon

2010-09-15T22:09:00.004-04:00

Aria Casino and Crystal Shopping

2010-09-15T22:03:00.005-04:00

A few shots of the new Aria Casino and the high end shopping at the Crystal.

Various Scenes of Las Vegas

2010-09-15T21:51:00.003-04:00

Las Vegas geographical marker

Crystal, a new super high end shopping center.

Looking down on Cabo Wabo.

The world's largest gold nugget.

PAWN STARS!

Paris Casino

2010-09-15T21:44:00.003-04:00

The view from room 1549 of the Paris Hotel

Paris from the strip.

It's another bachelor party in Las Vegas! Instead of staying at the Excalibur Casino like we usually do, the guys decided to go a little more upscale by staying at the Paris. The Paris didn't seem that much nicer than the Excalibur but it is in the middle of the strip which is nice. But after 1 day in Vegas, I was all pooped out. All the lights, sounds and smell of smoke really took a lot out of me. Must be getting too old for Sin City.

DC Shorts

2010-09-02T11:18:00.001-04:00

DC Shorts!

Head Honcho Jon and his spiel.

DC Shorts is using some pretty advance technology like using the iPhone as a credit card reader.

Moshe giving it 2 thumbs up!

The DC Short Film Festival is about to start! Tonight all the volunteers gathered at the Naval Memorial Archives in DC to hear some speil from Jon, the organizer. I, and several other photographers, volunteered to help shoot the event. We all rallied under acclaimed photographer Moshe Zusman. Should be a fun event to shoot.

Great Fire Offering at KPC

2010-08-28T21:16:00.002-04:00

My wife and I visited the Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) temple in Poolesville, MD with the Rigdzin Phodrang Vajrayana Buddhist group from Virginia to perform a Great Fire Offering ceremony with Ralo Rinpoche who came from Nepal. Throughout the day , 10-4, the group chanted Tibetan Buddhist prayers and performed several rituals. There was a large kiln in the back where we burned items that were blessed. The KPC temple is an amazing place with a park and a parrot sanctuary. Here are links to the Buddhist groups.

Kunzang Palyul Choling www. tara.org
Rigdzin Phordrang Vajrayana www.rigdzinphodrang.org

Washington Kastles Stadium

2010-08-04T11:03:00.004-04:00

This nice colorful path can be found near Chinatown at H and 11th NW. It's basically where the Washington Kastles play team tennis. Just snapping people as they go about their business.

Fletcher's Boat House

2010-08-04T10:51:00.004-04:00

Stopped by Fletcher's on my bike ride down to Georgetown. Love the big ball and chain.

Around Union Station

2010-08-04T10:13:00.003-04:00

Just puttering around DC today. Here are a few shots that I took while I was at Union Station in DC.

Gaithersburg Train Station

2010-08-01T20:23:00.008-04:00

Some pictures of an old locomotive sitting in front of the Gaithersburg MARC station.

Black Hill Regional Park

2010-08-01T12:00:00.009-04:00

Some scenes from Black Hill Region Park today. I would have liked to take more pictures but Snoopy kept dragging me around.

Poor Lobster

2010-07-31T18:53:00.001-04:00

One of the poor lobsters that we were prepping for a soup. Poor lobster.

The Awakening

2010-07-30T09:50:00.000-04:00

"The Awakening" statue that was at Hains Point is now at National Harbor.

Snoopy Art

2010-07-16T10:43:00.002-04:00

Snoopy shot with my iPhone 3GS and processed with mobile Adobe Photoshop.

Ducky Canal

2010-07-16T10:07:00.003-04:00

The ducks just lounging around. This is the canal boat that they use to demonstrate how the canals worked before.

Flowers n' Bee

2010-06-29T20:10:00.005-04:00

Some pics from the neighborhood. Our HOA has a gardner who does all the landscaping and lawn care.

Scenes from Key Bridge

2010-06-26T18:01:00.003-04:00

A couple of shots while I biked over Key Bridge today.

Dogfish Ale House

2010-06-24T23:21:00.004-04:00

Chilled out at the Dogfish Alehouse in Gaithersburg today. Caught the end of the never ending tennis match and the defeat of Italy over there.

Pretty Clouds

2010-06-22T21:35:00.003-04:00

Clouds are so pretty tonight.

Fire Hydrants of Rockville Town Center

2010-06-22T21:12:00.002-04:00

Some very decorated fire hydrants around Rockville Town Center. Hopefully they aren't violating and fire codes.

Lines

2010-06-20T18:58:00.003-04:00

The lines really attracted me. Don't know why.

Maneki Neko

2010-06-20T16:37:00.003-04:00

Please bring me money lucky cat!

Ped X-ing

2010-06-20T16:33:00.002-04:00

Why does it look like this guy is walking with a stick up his butt?

Chinese School Selection

2010-06-20T16:19:00.005-04:00

Apparently there are more students than spaces available at Li-Ming Chinese Academy so a lottery had to be held for hopeful future students. I was at the lottery with my wife to stand in for a friend who is out of the country. Luckily we were able to get a spot for our friend's daughter.

Soap Box Derby in DC

2010-06-19T14:30:00.006-04:00

All the drivers in the stock category with their cars.

Here is a master driver in his car.

Getting certified to race.

Comfy?

How do you see and steer in this thing?

A young racer getting ready to race.

Happy and excited to be here.

The finish line face.

Zooming by the Capital building.

What a great venue for a soap box derby!

Believe it or not, soap box derbies are still around! They closed the streets around Constitution and Louisiana for a good 'ole soap box derby race this morning.

Here's Looking at You

2010-06-18T17:23:00.002-04:00

Snoopy is so cheeky!