KenKen Photoblog

Tron Comes to Harvard Square

2011-07-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's because I just saw the movie... but this picture kind of reminded me of Tron. I'm on the grid!

Time-Lapse Video - Sunset Over the Charles

2011-07-25T19:18:00.001-07:00

Attempting to do a time-lapse video for the first time... watching the sunset over the Charles. I learned a few things during the process:
1. Invest in a good tripod
2. Buy a cable release so I can take pictures without touching the camera
3. Use manual settings the entire time
4. iMovie sucks at importing still images (destroys the image quality)
5. I need to find some original music to use in the background

Anyone have suggestions for a video editor I can use to make time lapse videos?? (other than iMovie)

Some still shots from the sunset below:

Ghosts On the Train

2011-07-24T17:48:00.001-07:00

I was sitting outside the Harvard Square train stop on Saturday evening (eating Pinkberry)... and noticed a lot of people coming in and out of the train station. I had my camera with me and thought it would be cool to attempt doing a long exposure. Unfortunately, I didn't have a tripod... but tried balancing my camera on top of the railing. A couple of the shots came out pretty cool. Although, I did get a lot of weird looks from the people walking by (just pretended I didn't speak English).

Time-lapse Video - The Wave at Las Flores

2011-07-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

A short time-lapse video featuring the wave at Las Flores. The resort I was staying at had a little happy cocktail hour on top of this cliff overlooking the ocean. As I was drinking fresh coconut juice + rum, I sent my camera up to take some pictures of the surf. The wave looks pretty good in the video, but this was actually the smallest day of the trip.

365 Days of Photos In One Image

2011-07-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

I created a photo collage documenting all of the photos I posted during the last 365 days... hope you enjoyed!

Now that I'm done with the project, I want to try something different... don't know what that is yet. Also not too sure if I'm going to stay with blogger or test out another service such as WordPress. For the time being, I'll probably continue posting to this blog.

July 22, 2011

2011-07-21T18:53:00.001-07:00

The last photo of my "365 Days of Photos" project (wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end). This has been quite a year. I've traveled to 10 different countries, surfed in exotic places all over the world, eaten strange things, and have met some incredible people that have become good friends.
I thought it was fitting to end this blog with a picture of my family. My parents have done so much fo me over the years. There's no way that I can possibly repay them. Thank you mom and dad!

This photo was taken by our crazy car driver during a recent trip to El Salvador. My mom is quite the traveler... always planning a trip somewhere. I think I picked up the "travel bug" from her. The lake in the background is the crater of a (non-active) volcano... Laguna de Alegria.

I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with this blog now that I've completed the 365 days. I definitely will keep taking photos. However, I think I need to do a bit of a re-design... Anyone have any suggestions?

By the way, it's also my 30th birthday today... I'm getting old!

July 21, 2011

2011-07-20T19:52:00.001-07:00

Sunset along the Charles River.

June 20, 2011

2011-07-19T19:27:00.001-07:00

Enjoying a summer day along the Charles. Photo was taken from the Mass Ave Bridge... looking towards Beacon HIll. You can tell it's summer because of all the sailboats in the water.

July 19, 2011

2011-07-18T18:23:00.001-07:00

Summertime in Boston... time to break out the sailboats!

July 18, 2011

2011-07-17T19:46:00.001-07:00

My last set of photos from El Salvador. I went for a drive up one of the volcanoes and ended up at this little town of Alegria. It was amazing how much the temperature changed as we got to the top of the volcano... I was actually a bit chilly. Because the temperature was cooler, they were able to grow a much wider variety of flowers. Alegria is a very rustic/old fashioned and it had amazing views of the surrounding countryside. If you're in the area, I recommend getting an AWD vehicle and making a trip to the top.

July 16-17, 2011

2011-07-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Looking at the surf spot (Las Flores) while eating lunch.

Some additional photos from my trip to El Salvador. Definitely had a great trip... friendly locals, great food, amazing surf, and a beautiful countryside. I'm really going to miss waking up to the sound of the ocean every day.

Surfer exiting water after a long session... exhausted but completely content.

Looking down at the Las Flores resort from on top a hill (in the jungle). The massive amount of plant life definitely helped shade the resort and keep things cool.

Surfing - El Salvador

2011-07-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

Pictures of me surfing at Las Flores (in El Salvador). Amazing surf spot- rides over150-200m, sand bottom, friendly locals, no crowd... couldn't ask for much more.

July 15, 2011

2011-07-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

Went for a drive around El Salvador... and ended up inside a volcano. It was kind of "spooky". The tips of the hills were covered in fog/clouds... and the park was completely deserted. The lake in the middle doesn't look like much, but it actually goes hundreds of feet down.

July 14, 2011

2011-07-13T16:56:00.001-07:00

Low tide sunrise... in El Salvador.

July 13, 2011

2011-07-12T15:59:00.001-07:00

The wave at Las Flores... in this particular case, pictures speak much louder than words.

July 12, 2011

2011-07-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

A "little" afternoon squall in El Salvador (looked like the rapture was about to happen?)
I wasn't too sure whether I should run for cover or take pictures... I chose to take pictures and then run for cover. About 15 minutes prior to taking this picture, there was no wind and the ocean was glassy. It was amazing how much the pressure changed and the wind increased in a matter of minutes.

Surfers clearing out from the water.

Right after this photo was taken, it started down pouring. Chairs were getting blown over, umbrellas went flying, and there was a bit of debris in the air. Very dramatic!

July 11, 2011

2011-07-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Reflections...
Pictures taken from the beach at Las Flores (in El Salvador)... love taking photos at low tide.

July 10, 2011

2011-07-10T09:28:00.001-07:00

My view for the next 7 days... keep pinching myself to make sure that it's not a dream.
Perfect right hand point break right steps away, fresh fish for lunch, lobster for dinner, and staying in a beautiful resort (Las Flores). LOVE El Salvador!

July 9, 2011

2011-07-08T17:17:00.001-07:00

Contemplating....

July 8, 2011

2011-07-07T17:02:00.001-07:00

Incredible sunset along the Charles River on the 4th of July. As you can see, there were big clouds and thunderstorms surrounding Boston that day (announcer actually gave Boston a 50/50 chance for being able to shoot off fireworks that night)... luckily, we didn't see a drop of rain!

July 7, 2011

2011-07-06T19:03:00.001-07:00

4th of July crowds on Cambridge side of Charles River... anxiously awaiting fireworks display. Overall, crowd was pretty mellow. There were a lot of families and smart kids from MIT hanging out (only a few extremely drunk people).

July 6, 2011

2011-07-05T18:46:00.001-07:00

Had a pretty awesome view of the moon as the set was setting over Boston on the 4th of July (have to thank Jodi for pointing it out to me). The clouds made for a very pretty sunset. This shot was taken from the Mass Ave bridge about an hour and a half before the fireworks went off.

Also, I posted some bonus fireworks pictures below... photos are courtesy of Suzanne (from Craft Lab). Some spectacular shots!

This shot reminded me of the Chihuly exhibit

July 5, 2011

2011-07-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

Light painting on the Charles River.

As I was (very slowly)riding my bike back home from the fireworks display in Boston, I noticed neon lights floating in the water. In Boston, you get the best view of the fireworks from the Charles River... and the only way to get this view is to hire a boat or kayak. All of the boats had fastened bright lights to their 'bow' and the 'stern'. There were hundreds of these things floating around in the water. It made for quite an interesting site.

In order to take this picture, I balanced my camera on one of the bridges at Harvard Square... and did a super long exposure. I thought it came out pretty cool (you can see that some of the boats were faster than others).

Added some additional "light painting" photos below (thought it was too cool to show just one):

July 4, 2011

2011-07-03T18:47:00.001-07:00

Happy Independence Day America!
Looking at the Salt & Pepper bridge in Boston, MA. Can you guess how it got its name? Beacon Hill is in the background as well.

July 3, 2011

2011-07-02T18:29:00.001-07:00

Getting vertigo at the Peak (in Hong Kong).
Wanted to see if I could create a "vertigo effect" for a city scape. I think this came out pretty good!