Vipers Lose a Close One

Pre-game Meeting, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

The Vipers lost a close game today at the Pleasanton Sports Park. The visiting Vipers came out swinging in the first inning, sending the home team running for cover. Unfortunately, untimely errors and mental mistakes cost them the game. The season is still young, so there will be many more games to win.

Here are a few photos from the game.


Emily hit a nice double, bringing in a run.


Theresa played incredible defense today at 3B and CF.


Theresa didn't mind running over the opposing third base coach in order to catch the foul ball.


Emily played a great game behind the plate, keeping the wild pitches in front of her.


Emily displaying her great swing.


Ball, low in the dirt.


No matter what the sport, my kids always seem to know when I'm snapping their pictures.

2013 PGSL Vipers

38/52 - Foul Ball, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims, of course!

Spring is here, which means the weather is warming, flowers are blooming, and softball season is here! The Pleasanton Girls Softball League (PGSL) season kicked off last weekend with opening day and the Vipers are ready to strike. Kami pitched a nice game today, firing off strikes...just like a deadly Viper. If you haven't figured it out, her team name is the Vipers.

Here are a few photos from today's game.


Kami firing off a fast ball.


It was a very close play, but Olivia was safe at second.


Kami on deck and all smiles.


Theresa and Olivia in the dugout.


Umpire doing his chores.

The Essence of Guam

Polutan and Beer, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

I traveled to Guam last week on business to meet with a few corporate customers, departing the San Francisco International Airport on Monday morning and arriving in Guam on Tuesday evening. My coworker and I stayed in the Marriott in Tumon. Although I have family in Guam, I usually stay in a hotel with the rest of the sales team because we frequently have customer dinners and activities in the evenings, and logistically, it makes it easier. After three days of meetings, I checked out of the hotel and headed to visit my brother in-law for the weekend.

JR lives in Barrigada, where he runs the business he took over when his father passed away a few years ago. Tumon and the house in Barrigada are like two different countries, seemingly thousands of miles and several decades apart. Nestled in the South Pacific, Guam is known as the “poor man’s Hawaii” for Asian tourists and continuing this analogy, Tumon is like the “poor man’s Waikiki.” Tumon has a number of large US hotels, like Hyatt and Marriott, high-end stores, and nice restaurants, each catering to the Asian tourist. In contrast, the house in Barrigada is off the main road and off the beaten path. Behind the main house is a “barracks” where the workers reside. The barracks is a rather humble structure, adjacent to a little forested area.

The last time I was in Guam, I felt a bit alienated at the house. As the only non-Filipino and the only non-Tagalog (Filipino language) speaking person, I felt largely left out of the conversations. This time, I tried harder to interact and communicate with the group. They struggled at times putting their thoughts into English and I struggled at times trying to understand. We did, however, manage to bond, using the common glue that brings different cultures together – lots of Bud Light and soju!

On the first night, I sensed I was being measured up and watched (although probably not the case). After a lot of beer and several rounds of soju (Korean liquor), one of the guys asked JR in Tagalog how I was doing. JR translated and I told him I was doing great. Ansel Adams recalled a story in his autobiography of a client who wanted to hire him for some commercial photography work. The client’s well-known methodology was to bring in the photographer and share a number of rounds of brandy before negotiations. The idea was to get the photographer intoxicated such that he would agree to a more favorable fee. Ansel, aware of this tactic, stopped by the local restaurant before visiting the client and ate a large, greasy hamburger, with French fries dipped in mayonnaise. The coating of fat in his stomach would slow the absorption of alcohol into his system and give him the upper hand during the negotiations. After multiple rounds of brandy, the client ended up intoxicated and Ansel Adams got his desired fee. In similar fashion, I ignored my high cholesterol and triglycerides, and consumed large quantities of pork ribs and chicken. After a case of Bud Light and three and a half bottles of soju, there were three people passed out, and JR and I left at the table...doing great. We polished off the bottle of soju and went to bed.

The next night, the guys prepared a traditional Filipino dish, banana heart sisig. Joel lashed a kitchen knife to a broom stick and secured two banana hearts from the trees in the back. Billy then prepared the dish, with chili peppers from the yard, onion, pork, garlic, and vinegar. I enjoyed watching them prepare the simple meal on the small butane stove outside the barracks and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Billy was surprised I tried the dish and was even more surprised I liked it. The onion, garlic, and vinegar are common to a number of Filipino dishes, so the flavors weren’t anything different than I was already familiar with.

I think the best way to gain acceptance with unfamiliar people, especially while traveling, is to eat and drink with them. After a couple of nights of Bud Light, soju, and great local foods, I felt a part of the group. Chris asked if they could call me Kuya Wayne – Kuya being a Filipino term used as a sign of respect to an older male relative or family friend. As a non-Filipino, I took this as an honor, a sign of being accepted into the group.

Guam isn’t about a fancy hotel, sunning on a white, sandy beach, or dining in an upscale restaurant. It isn’t taking a tour bus to Talofofo Falls, having a hamburger at Jeff’s Pirates Cove, or visiting Two Lovers Point. The true essence of Guam, or the essence of any location, is quality time spent interacting with the locals, in their humble homes, eating the local foods, and really getting to know the people and their culture. I had a great time in Guam, but now that I'm home, it's time to work off the five pounds I gained...the diet starts tomorrow!

Here are a few photos from the trip.


The "barracks" in Barrigada, where the workers reside.


Chris cooking up a local favorite.


JR, Chris, and Joel


Two Dogs and a Ford (AKA, Three Dogs)


Last night in Guam (in a Filipino bar)


One of the dogs that roams the property


Things I photograph while drinking


Old school clothesline


JR lighting a pallet to keep the mosquitoes away


Tumon Bay at night


Tumon Bay

Winter Landscape Photography

The Winter Traveller, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

I grew up in Hawaii, so snow and cold weather have never been a part of my vocabulary. Although I have skied a few times, I was never really drawn to snow, so it’s amusing to people that know me that I actually enjoy camping in the snow. Well, it’s not that I enjoy freezing my buttocks off, but I love landscape photography and there is nothing more beautiful than the winter landscape in the Sierra. The pine trees and granite contrast wonderfully against the pure, white snow. The snow covers up the distractions and allows me to focus my attention on isolated subjects and interesting tree/rock patterns. The contrast works beautifully in B&W, so my tool of choice during the winter is my Nikon FM2 and Kodak BW400CN B&W film.

Here are a few photos from my recent trips.

Basketball Photography (Again)

Splitting Two Defenders, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

My son retired his basketball shoes this past year -- and I thought I retired from basketball photography. But, as Justin Bieber would say, “never say never.” We headed to Harvest Park Middle School today to watch Angel play in her CCOP basketball game. I dusted off my Nikon D80 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 and proceeded to shoot a number of poorly framed, blurry photos. Sports photography is different than my standard work and it took a few minutes to knock off the rust. To make things more challenging, the gymnasium was dark and the D80 image quality isn’t very good at ISO 1600 and above. This forced me to shoot at ISO 1600, with a slower shutter speed I would have liked at f/2.8. After shooting two periods with these settings, I decided to switch from my 70-200mm f/2.8 to my 50mm f/1.8. Shooting the 50mm at f/1.8 allowed me to shoot with a faster shutter speed and this lens also offered much faster auto-focus speeds than the bigger zoom lens.

I’ve progressed to the point in my photography where I tend not to have gear envy or GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). My D80 (and FM2) suits my needs for the vast majority of the time, but low-light sports is one situation where I feel limited by my gear. Regardless, I had a good time coming out of semi-retirement and doing a bit of basketball photography.

Anniversary in the City

Eyes, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

My wife and I celebrated a belated wedding anniversary in San Francisco this past weekend. She always wanted to stay at the Villa Florence Hotel and we figured life is too short to stay elsewhere. However, room rates were pretty expensive during our “real” anniversary, so we decided to postpone our anniversary get-away a few months until the rates were more reasonable. This allowed us to enjoy the beautiful hotel at almost half the price. The Villa Florence Hotel is conveniently located near the Powell Street BART station and is walking distance to interesting spots like Union Square and the Ferry Building. We rode the BART into the city on Friday and enjoyed a casual dinner at Johnny Foley’s Irish Pub. Now there’s nothing like a cottage pie and a few pints of Guinness to start off the weekend. Johnny Foley’s is becoming an anniversary tradition, as we dined there on our anniversary a few years ago.

On Saturday, we walked to the Ferry Building. There happened to be a pro-choice rally at Justin Herman Plaza that day, which apparently was the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. I don’t have any strong feelings on this issue, but I took the opportunity to photograph a lot of people who do. One of the protesters noted my “old school” Nikon FM2 film camera. The FM2 is such a small, unassuming camera that most people don’t feel threatened having it pointed at them. My wife waited patiently as I roamed through the crowds, snapping photos. It was a good time and I planned on getting more pictures later. Unfortunately, there was no later, as the rally wrapped up soon after we left it. Note to self – there’s no better time than the present for photography.

While at the Ferry Building, we enjoyed a cappuccino at Blue Bottle Coffee, followed by a wonderful porchetta sandwich from the Roli Roti food truck. The porchetta sandwiches there are to die for. In fact, when I’m on death row, my last meal will be a Roli Roti porchetta sandwich. Now that the last meal decision has been made, I just need to figure out whom to murder (just kidding)! Their porchetta is a pork loin, seasoned with herbs, wrapped in pork belly, and slow roasted on a rotisserie. The juicy meat and crispy pork belly are served on a roll with something green (parsley?). The sandwich was incredible and well worth the spike in triglycerides. After lunch, we meandered our way back through the city and back to our hotel room for a nap. It took a few hours to recover from the porchetta food coma, but we survived and eventually proceeded downstairs for dinner at Kuleto’s. I decided to go with a light meal of salmon, although the duck breast sounded great too.

If you’re ever in San Francisco, spend a weekend in one of the quaint hotels and enjoy the atmosphere in the city. It’s really nice to stay in the city, without the hassle of having to return home at the end of the night. Maybe we’ll do it again in a year…

Push Processing Kodak BW400CN Film

Iron Horse Trail, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

I love the convenience of C-41 processed B&W film like Kodak BW400CN because it can be processed at the local drugstore, or in my case, the local Mike’s Camera (former Wolf Camera in Dublin, CA). I have the film developed and scanned to CD and Mike’s Camera will have it completed in only an hour. I’ve been shooting Kodak BW400CN film for almost two years now and learned the film looks best over-exposed by a stop, with the exposure adjusted when the negative is printed or scanned. Color negative film (and B&W film that’s processed in color chemicals) have a large exposure latitude, meaning one can under or over-expose it by quite a bit and still have usable prints. The drawback of under-exposure is the shadow areas become muddy/grainy looking. Over-exposure, on the other hand, yields very clean shadow areas. Given these film characteristics, I intentionally over-expose Kodak BW400CN to get cleaner shadows.

During my last visit to San Francisco, I planned on doing some street photography with my Nikon FM2 film camera loaded with Kodak BW400CN film. However, I found the ASA 400 film a bit too slow for the city because San Francisco is largely shaded by tall buildings. ASA 400 film doesn’t allow me to use fast enough shutter speeds on moving subjects. I researched BW400CN film on the Internet and found it does well push-processed to ASA 1600. I decided to experiment with a test roll. Push processing involves shooting a film at a higher speed than it’s rated and then developing the negative in the chemicals for a longer duration to compensate for the under-exposure. In my case, I shot the BW400CN film with my camera set to ASA 1600 (which under-exposes the negative by two-stops). When I dropped the film off at Mike’s Camera, I asked them to push-process the roll by two stops.

Overall, I was very pleased by the results. There’s a bit more grain in the photos than if I had shot it at its rated ASA 400, but not as much as I expected. Given the exposure latitude of the film, I could have requested “normal” processing (standard development times), but I think the final result would have been much grainier and muddier.

Here are a few photos from my first push-processed roll of Kodak BW400CN film.

Farewell 2012

26/52 - Street Sheet, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

I’m not one to establish New Year’s resolutions, as I find them rather pointless and arbitrary. To me, New Year’s resolutions are sort of like the motivational slogans we frequently see posted on Instagram and Pinterest. People post these cute one-liners, but most don’t truly have the dedication to achieve their so called resolutions. It takes much more than a catchy slogan to achieve one’s goals. True goals take determination, focus, and often times sacrifice to achieve. For those of you who have New Year’s resolutions, I apologize if I put a damper on it. ;-) By all means, please do focus on your resolutions in 2013 and best of luck in achieving them!

I don’t have any goals, per se for 2013. Photographically speaking, my plans are to continue to develop my skill and experience with film, to continue my ongoing pursuit of landscape images while trail running, hiking, and backpacking, and to give street photography a try. Regarding that last item, I’ve been reviewing the work and writings of Eric Kim and think street photography would be an interesting pursuit. I also plan on making my time on Flickr more productive by reducing the number of superficial, “non-quality” interactions, and increasing the quality interactions with a smaller circle of friends. Lastly, Instagram has been a major distraction and I plan on scaling back my time there significantly.

As 2012 rapidly comes to a close, I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year and a great 2013. Here are a few photos from our walk around San Francisco the other day.