Last month we went to Campbell Farmer’s Market and I took some photos but was not that happy with them. We headed back there with Vivi and Jiji today and I used the opportunity to try again.

The main problem with my last set was that although I wanted a narrow depth of field, I placed the focus in the center of the image. I could see afterwards the part of the image that’s in focus really needs to be at the front. So, this time, I used a macro lens and selected a bottom AF point instead of center AF point. I tried to focus-recompose as little as possible.

This set is a lot better, even though they are still more snapshot than carefully composed images. With the market bustling with people, no ability to modify the light, and limited time to take each photo, there’s no other option. To improve further, I’d need a tripod and the time to consider each photo carefully. I especially need to identify the main subject of the photo and decide exactly how much of the photo I wanted to be in focus. Some of the photos are too narrow in their depth of field and some don’t have a clear subject that’s at the point of focus.

We stayed busy getting ready for visitors and as we drove around, the temperature reached 114 degrees Farenheit on our car’s thermometer. Everyone was suffering — especially Kaori and Sakura.

We eventually went to the mall, which was full of dogs, pregnant women, and people just camped out on the floor. Friends tried to go to a movie to keep cool but the tickets were all sold out. Here are a couple of snaps from today.

Rosalie graduated with a Master’s degree from UCLA yesterday. We are all so proud of her!

I flew down just for the day and really enjoyed meeting up with family and friends to celebrate Rosalie’s accomplishment. It was a lovely day, and now Rosalie can rest and work on her next projects. The ceremony was actually quite enjoyable, and Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of LA, gave the keynote address.

The photography conditions were challenging, so don’t judge!

Back in 2014, I went on a solo backpacking trip to Emigrant Lakes Wilderness and took along my camera. On the first day, I ran into a party of backpackers, really enjoyed chatting with them, and spent the next three days with them. One of backpackers was a photographer from LA, Michael Roberts, and he showed me how to take a series of shots in portrait mode that can be stitched together into a panorama. When I got back, I tried it once with some software, but found it a bit laborious sodidn’t bother with it again. Now, Lightroom does a good job of automating panoramas, so I revisited my old photos and produced this image of Emigrant Lake.

I really like how this photo turned out. Thanks for the tip, Michael! In fact, there he is down by the water soaking his feet or pumping some water.

Click on it to open a bigger version.

I rarely take photos of myself, but I wanted to try out my new camera the day I got it and what better way to test out the self timer. It’s a straight shot, with the camera on our dining room table, 35mm lens, and no modifiers.