The Perks of Being in a Photography Class

So after collecting enough money (well, some of them are part of my parents' contribution), I finally got my first legit DSLR camera. I actually am a little hesitated to get it because my dad already got one but he kept it with him in Indonesia to fulfill his fondness in photography.

Since this term I'm taking photography class (and as mentioned by another photography professor that a graphic designer should be equipped with at least a good quality DSLR camera for photo references), I got one as well.

Souvenirs from Sumatra

Hey guess what!! First post from my trip back home to Indonesia!

Photography has always been my second passion in art after graphic design (Illustration too). I was suppose to develop my graphic design skills during this break, which I did, by designing an invitation for my cousin's wedding. However, whenever I'm exposed to my dad's DSLR camera, this little guy always keeps me busy with it.

I was lucky enough to go to North Sumatra for New Year's trip, and challenged my skill in photography. (These pictures are divided into series)

holly molly

I'm skype-ing with my mom right now. She has no idea that actually I'm doing that while blogging at the same time.
It's officially the second week of my holiday period and started to get busy with school stuff (ugh, here we go again). Yesterday's labor day was so-so. I went to campus to pay for the tuition without realizing that labor day was actually (here) considered a holiday. Stupid me -___-

But yesterday, I'm glad I could finish up all college matters, from tuition payment, appointment with the counselor, to books purchasing.

Of all total three books that I needed to purchase, here's the one I got for today since the other two weren't available.

INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA, PPL!

From the first time I got the book in my hand (geez, it was darn heavy), I wondered if maybe I took the wrong book. It was more like a dictionary instead of the everyday-math-book! Wow, I guess I've to let go of high school life. College life IS pretty much more different.
Even worse, I can't stand the extremely unreasonable price (veeeerrry pricey!! You would think that that's the most expensive book you've ever heard)
Definitely the most expensive book I've ever purchased as well, and the fact that actually I spent that much money to buy the book of my most disliked subject. Ew.

In the mean time, I'm becoming quite an avid fan of selca (self-taken pictures). Thanks to Photo Booth application though.

Here are some other few shots. Out of many effects the application offers, apparently only four of them succeeded to attract me.

Plenty of things to do for the next days. There might be some plans with my friends. We're planning to attend some activities and events, and as for leisure activities, maybe we'll just hang out to the closest shopping center, kill time by watching movies at the theatres, going to nearby theme park, or go to places like San Jose or San Francisco (again).

I'm still hoping I could go to Los Angeles in this short distance. I long for big cities, tall buildings, bunch of cars lining up (the one that you call traffic jam. Oh shiz, why am I saying bad stuff like this?)

The City by the Bay

Beware of the picture spam in this post

Just yesterday I did a one day trip to San Francisco again, purposely to accompany my mom to go shopping and sightseeing for the second time, because - if you paid attention to the post before - we sort of weren't satisfied yet with our previous trip. But this trip excluded my dad since he returned home a few days earlier, and also Elda.

Away we go

Again, my mom and I took the Caltrain from Sunnyvale to San Francisco and we arrived right on the lunch time. Anyway, we decided to go to the famous landmark of the city first, which is the Golden Gate Bridge (we didn't get to go there in our previous trip though).





Fyi, I realized that I forgot to bring the guide book and map because we were sort of in a hurry to catch the train.

Luckily I installed Google Maps immediately to my phone and eventually it worked! I really thanked this application for preventing me to get lost despite for not bringing the map and such, because it also gave out the directions to get from one place to another one and what bus we should take.


Nationalism


Looking at the bridge

San Francisco was colder than the last time we went here, and windy, so that made things even worse. Even worse, I wore a piece of thin cardigan as a jacket... ~___~ It was even more torturing having to wait for at least fifteen minutes for the bus (okay it didn't sound like so long but waiting for the bus in a shadeless and bench-less bus stop blown by the freaking cold wind? Now that's another story).




Help, I don't know which way to go

However, I love this trip even more even though I only spent only a couple of hours in this gorgeous city (my mom didn't want to miss the bus in the late evening so we had to catch the train early), for I got to take more pictures.

Little time, many places to go, but luckily my mom and I didn't get lost. All thanks to this Google Maps installed to my blackberry. LOL.


Coffee time in Frisco

Anyway later on, we went to Fisherman's Wharf again for a stroll, explored a bit more than the previous trip this time and got to capture a lot of intriguing sights around me and I had a quick late lunch with calamary and fries, with, unfortunately no picture of the food, since I was too busy eating it. Yum. Despite its small portion, apparently the price for all the fingerpick seafood is quite expensive.

I haven't got a chance to taste the famous Clam Chowder of Pier 39. It was sold at the same seafood depot where I bought calamary and fries with a quite reasonable price which is $3.00. However, at that moment I was extremely hungry that I didn't think that the portion would be enough for me. *oh greedy me* -__-

Pier 39


Reach for the sky




Keep an eye on you






Sewing



Oh yeah this city possessed lots of interesting photography object :D, especially the streets. Union Square so far has the best photography shots since it kinda resembled a small version of New York, with also some branded goods like Nine West, Louis Vuitton, and Zara. Definitely a paradise for heavy branded shoppers.

I spotted this pair of ankle boots in Nine West with a discount price and felt so tempted to purchase those but...even with a discount, they're still a bit too expensive -__- Maybe next time.




The food must be somewhere here


Waiting for the bus


Bike crossing


It's crowded

So hope you're indulged enough the pictures I posted today. I'm pretty satisfied with how they turned out to be, and that my photography skills have improved despite having no tutors at all.

Anyway, my mom and I quickly caught the 5.30 pm train and headed straight back home to Sunnyvale. It was an exhausting day but finally - at least finally - I got to see the famous red bridge instead.

Sorry I'm babbling, but it's getting late and seems like I'm writing this as my eyes are beginning to close -____-

P.A.R.A.D.I.S.E

Excuse me for not telling where I'd gone these past few days. If you ask, yes, I went to Belitung for a short vacation, despite the upcoming tests next week. Sure you know where this is, since this place becomes widely known as the filming location of Laskar Pelangi (as in the movie, yes) also famous for its wildlife, nautical tourism sites, the beaches, the crystal clear blue sea, the white flour-smooth-like sands, and not to mention....THE FOOD.

No, I'm not going to blabber much about what I did here and there somethin' like that. Probably you won't be bothered to read that. Perhaps I'm going to post that later, but now, time for some pictures!!!

Speaking of pictures, lately I discovered my interest in photography. Still not into it just yet, but discovered it during the trip. I took all these pictures not using a SLR camera - that kind cameras used by people who think photography as a passion. Even as you can tell from the results, I used a digital camera, Canon to be exact, whose resolution and image quality are not as good as the SLR ones.

Anyway, enjoy these photographs! Hope they can enlighten your mood today.

Note:
Not all photos here were taken by me
some were taken by my dad who shared the same new interest as well.

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I'm standing tall


Blazing Fire


Slowly but sure...I'm crawling


Distracted


Footsteps on the sand


Coconuts


Sunrise at the Bay


Beyond the wild


Alone and lost

Hiding in Solitude

What's for breakfast?


Pink is my middle name


Cryptic message




I'm here waiting to grow up


Sahara Walk (Colored Version)


Sahara Walk (B/W Version)


I'm the Queen of the World!


Life at Sea


Red rocks


Is it autumn already?


Up in the air


Through the hole


Rosebud


Spring is coming


Heaven


Nectar


See you at the horizon


Twin junks


Footprints


Sneaking peek


Hold up the rock!


Where are the honey bees?


Pink and dotty


Mixing up the spices