My blog

Sports News

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:39:00 +0000

Today the Yankees offered Joe Torre a one-year deal for a guaranteed $5,000,000. For those of you who didn't want to read all the zeros, that is five million dollars. Now, I like Joe Torre, and I think he's a good manager and that the Yankees should try to re-sign him. But no baseball manager is worth five million dollars a year.

Just as a reference point, Jake Peavy made less than five million in 2007. He was directly responsible for 19 of his team's wins. Torre, through his leadership and experience and tactical moves would be worth about 4.3 wins (pulled that number off the top of my head, but it seems accurate).

Manny Ramirez doesn't care if the Red Sox advance past the ALCS. I guess we have something in common after all.

"Oh well" says the world. "It's just Manny being ~~Manny~~ a huge freaking idiot."

The Chargers got Chris Chambers from the Dolphins. Much to the dismay of Chargers fans, this doesn't make Philip Rivers any less overrated.

Ah yes

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:07:00 +0000

this is more like it...

Weekend in Sports

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 03:28:00 +0000

The Padres got swept by the Rockies and are .5 games ahead of Philly in the Wild Card race. Milton Bradley hurt Mike Cameron's hand then showed why he's a head case.

The Chargers (1-2) have the same record as the Oakland Raiders.

Barry Bonds won't be gracing us with his presence anymore.

What a weird weekend.

Anatomy of a "Big Red Bro"

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:29:00 +0000

In my time here at esteemed Cornell University, I've met a good number of very diverse people. Some of them fall into the category of a "bro." (For more information on bros, see Urban Dictionary definition 3 or Youtube's mockumentary on "bro rape"). For the convenience of my readership, I've created a diagram (excuse the cameraphone quality) detailing the features that can help one to identify a bro.

(Faces disguised to protect the identity of the not-so-innocent)
Click to view a larger image

Sage Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 20:03:00 +0000

Sage Hall, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

This building always reminds me of the Wizard of Oz and the Emerald City for some reason. This isn't a great angle to capture that feeling; there are more spires and interesting facets of the building not in this shot.

Sports News

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:39:00 +0000

I haven't written about sports (or anything for that matter) in awhile, so I thought I'd share an interesting quote. I might make this into a weekly, bi-weekly, or whenever-I-feel-like-it feature. Hopefully I'll come up with a better name than "Sports News" if I end up doing it more often. Suggestions are welcomed...

- No one knows who Brady Quinn's successor at Notre Dame is, but here's what one of the three prospective QBs has to say about it:

"Everybody knows how prestigious the Notre Dame quarterback is. There's one thing everybody in the country is going to know, they're going to know who the president of the United States is and they're going to know who the quarterback of Notre Dame is" - Demetrius Jones

I'm pretty sure that if the Irish suck, or are mediocre like they have been, no one will care who the quarterback is. They'll just wait four years and hope that the next one is better, kind of like the presidency.

Not What I Was Warned About

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:55:00 +0000

Not What I Was Warned About, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

Everyone wouldn't stop talking about how I need to bring layers and dress warm and eat well. I didn't even know the Apple weather widget could do sun/rain at the same time.

Beebe Lake at Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 02:08:00 +0000

Beebe Lake at Sunset, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

I was in the Language Resource Center learning all about Chinese tonal inflection when I noticed that it was prime picture-taking time so I grabbed my camera and took this shot of Beebe Lake, one of the lakes created by the gorges (as in that stupid shirt, "Ithaca is Gorges") that are strewn throughout Ithaca.

The Real Reason Behind the Freshman 15

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 01:00:00 +0000

This is a new rule, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

I can't say I've ever had this kind of rule about vegetables before. I snapped with my cameraphone at the Robert Purcell Community Center Marketplace Eatery (whew, what a name) here at Cornell.

The Path from Triphammer Foot Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:06:00 +0000

The Path from Triphammer Foot Bridge, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

This path is much less sketchy when you see it in color.

Ithaca Police

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:06:00 +0000

Ithaca Police, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

This high-powered squad car is parked at the end of the Ithaca Commons to keep tabs on all the gang violence in the area.

The Elderspork

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 20:42:00 +0000

The Elderspork, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

Only the true master can control its power. It's also known as Ramenbane. I ate my leftover Thai food with it.

Thai food is well-complemented by cherry Kool-Aid made from powder.

Schoellkopf Field

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 20:16:00 +0000

Schoellkopf Field, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

This is where we had our new student convocation at 9 am (6 am Cali time) this morning.

Thoughts on college day 2:

I've worn the same jeans for 3 days in a row and I see no reason to stop now.

I also can't remember the last fruit or vegetable item that I've eaten.

Low Rise 7

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 10:38:00 +0000

Low Rise 7, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

This is my home for the next few months. Apparently it's kind of the ghetto of Cornell, but I don't think it's that bad. The bathroom is kind of weak.

Two random thoughts from day 1 of college:

1) One guy, upon learning my name, said "I bet you've heard a lot of Kenan and Kell jokes, right?" Thankfully he didn't try one.

2) At home people wore their college sweatshirts to let everyone know where they were going/considering. At college, everyone wears their highschool sweatshirts to let people know where they're from.

Commode: My House

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:03:00 +0000

Commode: My House, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

Since I won't be dropping in (hah!) there for awhile, I thought it would be neat to post a picture of my commode, the primary evacuation unit. Look forward to more New York area commodes on my Flickr page in the future.

Also, excuse the lack of posts/non-toilet pics lately. I've been really busy getting ready to go to college and saying goodbye to everyone. Hopefully I'll get some good shots in the next few days.

Victoria Gardens at Night

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 19:24:00 +0000

Victoria Gardens at Night, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

I'd like to thank...

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:32:00 +0000

I'd like to thank..., originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

I took this shot of my "Oscar" that I got for being in drama in jr. high. It's on my empty black bookshelf which is a pretty neat background for shots like this. I like the out-of-focus/shallow depth of field look that it has going. I also like the angle, how it's not really a typical "product" shot: straight-on, eye-level.

Bike under a streetlight

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:51:00 +0000

Bike under a streetlight, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

I took these two pictures downtown on Harry Potter opening night. I liked the way the light was hitting the bike and the very urban mood, but I wasn't able to capture the atmosphere as well as I wanted.

Here is a detail shot of the handlebars:

Typhoon

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:13:00 +0000

Typhoon, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

I think this is my favorite shot that I took at the Boardwalk last week. The exposure is really good in this one; that is, there is lots of color and detail in both the sky and the Typhoon. Usually the Typhoon would be properly exposed and the sky would be blown-out highlights or the sky would be properly exposed and the Typhoon would be a silhouette (like the pictures in the last post), but this shot is a happy medium.

The Sky Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 21:39:00 +0000

The Sky Ride, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

This is another shot that I took at the Boardwalk last week. It's a silhouette of the people on the Sky Ride. Silhouettes are a pretty easy way to make a nice picture. They work well when the subject that you want to silhouette is backlit by a bright sky or sun.

I shot this in manual mode with a wide-open aperture (which was f/5.6 on this lens). I spot-metered off of the sky (then adjusted the shutter speed accordingly) so that it, rather than the Sky Riders, would be properly exposed. This resulted in a beautiful sky with lots of color and detail in the clouds but a pleasantly underexposed sky ride.

edit: Here are two more silhouette pictures from the Boardwalk.

This one is the Giant Dipper

And this one is the Hurricane

Laffing Sally

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 02:42:00 +0000

Laffing Sally, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

This looker is parked outside Neptune's Kingdom at the Boardwalk. I've read the paragraph explaining her history about a thousand times, but I still can't remember exactly what she's doing there. I think she was one of the original attractions at the Boardwalk and just got left there. Anyways, she lives in a glass case and terrorizes children who don't find her as funny as her creators seemed to.

Here is a picture of two of my friends observing her cackling mug.

Maple Falls

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:38:00 +0000

Maple Falls, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

This waterfall was the final destination of the hike in Nisene Marks yesterday. I couldn't do the cool water flowy-effect because I was handholding the camera and there would've been tons of camera shake.

Damselfly (maybe)

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 02:24:00 +0000

Damselfly (maybe), originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

Saw this little bugger (haha) in the Forest of Nisene Marks today. He wasn't dead but he was really still which might have been because it was so cold.

Off-camera Lighting (besides the sun)

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 01:10:00 +0000

I've recently been reading about and looking into off-camera lighting, that is, using flashes or lights that aren't connected to the camera. The Strobist blog is written by a photojournalist who specializes in (relatively) cheap off-camera lighting to get great shots rather than expensive lenses and/or camera bodies.

In this case, "relatively cheap" still isn't within my budget, so yesterday I tried some off-camera lighting that I already had access to. I used this setup (a lamp):

Even this kind of lighting combined with my distinct lack of knowledge or expertise can yield results. The first picture below was taken without the lamplight. It has more ambiance than the second photo (taken with lamplight) but has less "pop" and really doesn't look that great. I wouldn't consider the second photo good either (the reflection of the light on the phone looks pretty unprofessional), but it definitely is more dynamic than the first shot.

Sunset near Folsom

noreply@blogger.com (Keenan) — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 07:51:00 +0000

Sunset near Folsom, originally uploaded by KSWeatherford.

I attempted to go camping at Folsom Lake yesterday. The campsite was super remote and not really OK, so it was kind of a failed trip, but I did get this picture as the sun was setting.

Usually photographers try to avoid flares by using a lens hood, but I kind of like the effect that the one in this picture has.