2012 San Mateo, CA - Revisited

Back in 2012, I was given the good fortune of being assigned for training for our work in the USA. I was working in San Mateo, it's a not-so-often-heard place that I haven't heard from any Hollywood movie. It's located around 20 miles south of San Francisco. Unlike the crowded 'Frisco though, it's actually very peaceful and quiet. It is by far among the best surprises I ever had. The town is very upscale and folks are friendly. This is one of the few places that I'll definitely remember. 

I got a good chance to take evening walks and a nice camera at the time. Here are some of the pictures I've taken around town. There are a lot of parks here, this one in particular is in the residential area. 

Other than my long exposure shots, I also got a good chance to shoot the moon while testing my then-new lens, the Samyang 500mm f/8. It's a decent lens, to say the least.

The bulk of my shots are here in my old storage: PHOTOBUCKET

Until then, don't let getting lost scare you from going out to wander! :)

Throwback Thursday- San Mateo

A couple of years ago I was given the good fortune of being assigned to the USA. I was working in San Mateo, it's a not-so-often-heard place that I haven't heard from any Hollywood movie. It's located around 20 miles south of San Francisco. Unlike the crowded 'Frisco though, it's actually very peaceful and quiet. It is by far among the best surprises I ever had. The town is very upscale and folks are friendly. This is one of the few places that I'll definitely remember.

I got a good chance to take evening walks and a nice camera at the time. Here are some of the pictures I've taken around town. A lot of these are experiment shots, since I was new to the handling of the E-PL2 at the time. So it's not surprising if you see several shots of the same view with slightly different settings.

Other than my long exposure shots, I also got a good chance to shoot the moon while testing my then-new lens, the Samyang 500mm f/8. It's a decent lens, to say the least.

This is one place that I long to return to someday.

Throwback Thursday- San Mateo

A couple of years ago I was given the good fortune of being assigned to the USA. I was working in San Mateo, it's a not-so-often-heard place that I haven't heard from any Hollywood movie. It's located around 20 miles south of San Francisco. Unlike the crowded 'Frisco though, it's actually very peaceful and quiet. It is by far among the best surprises I ever had. The town is very upscale and folks are friendly. This is one of the few places that I'll definitely remember.

I got a good chance to take evening walks and a nice camera at the time. Here are some of the pictures I've taken around town. A lot of these are experiment shots, since I was new to the handling of the E-PL2 at the time. So it's not surprising if you see several shots of the same view with slightly different settings.

Other than my long exposure shots, I also got a good chance to shoot the moon while testing my then-new lens, the Samyang 500mm f/8. It's a decent lens, to say the least.

This is one place that I long to return to someday.

Heavenly Moon Cutter!

Okay not really... It was one of those rare nights that the moon was low. I'm always a sucker for night photography.

It's one of those rare nights that I see the moon hovering low over the skyline.

I liked the shot but the moon looked nothing more than a yellow blob. So I focused on getting the moon instead...

150mm w/ 2x digital tele (600mm 135 equivalent), f/5.6, 1/40

The moon was too small for my taste... I guess I have to use something that reaches farther...

500mm (1000mm 135 equivalent) f/8, 1/1250

That's better. Not bad for a hand held shot on a manual focus lens I guess. It's not very sharp though. Cheap mirror reflex lenses aren't exactly exotic super tele lenses. But they do the job in this case.

Heavenly Moon Cutter!

Okay not really... It was one of those rare nights that the moon was low. I'm always a sucker for night photography.

It's one of those rare nights that I see the moon hovering low over the skyline.

I liked the shot but the moon looked nothing more than a yellow blob. So I focused on getting the moon instead...

150mm w/ 2x digital tele (600mm 135 equivalent), f/5.6, 1/40

The moon was too small for my taste... I guess I have to use something that reaches farther...

500mm (1000mm 135 equivalent) f/8, 1/1250

That's better. Not bad for a hand held shot on a manual focus lens I guess. It's not very sharp though. Cheap mirror reflex lenses aren't exactly exotic super tele lenses. But they do the job in this case.