What A Gwaan!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

It's day four of me being unemployed, it doesn't feel too bad right now, as I feel like I'm just on vacation. However, despite the fact that I plan to enjoy these weeks, I still keep it in the back of my mind that this is not just vacation. Nevertheless, I have been trying to enjoy myself so far, and enjoying these days of freedom... hoping that they won't be too much as I still will eventually need to earn my daily bread. So what have I been up to? Lets recap...

Reggae Falls St. Thomas

On Saturday morning I was awakened by a phone call on my cell, it was my friend asking me if I'm not getting up to get ready for the trip. Yes, it was time for our traditional trip to Reggae Falls in St. Thomas. For several years now my friends and former coworkers make the trek to Reggae Falls for a big cookout in the riverbed and of course some swimming under the falls. So I jumped out of bed and got my self ready and we all headed out to enjoy a day at the river. The trip was great, a good day spent frolicking in the water, eating all kind of food and of course enjoying the company of friends.

On Sunday I had my first photo shoot. I was so excited and anxious about this photo shoot. Being my first, I didn't have much idea of what I was going to do. Furthermore, all I had was my camera and a speedlight on camera. Nevertheless, my model and I went out and made the best of the time as we both were amateurs. I took several photos and got quite a few good shots. I am hoping to get a remote and trigger for my flash and an umbrella set so I can get a bit more creative. I definitely will schedule another shoot when I get the equipment and do a real serious shoot. Sunday night it was time to head out with some friends to Hellshire for an evening of liming, fried fish and festival. It was a great evening, had some conch & crayfish soup, fried parrot fish, festivals and some cold Red Stripe to wash it down. Played some dominoes, chatted and rocked to a great mix of 80's, 90's and lover's rock music. Time certainly flies when you have fun, and by the time we noticed it was midnight. Unfortunately some of my friends have work (hehehe) and we had to leave before the "dashout time" called Preny's on the Beach. The worse thing is that the half naked girls started to come in already, suh yuh know dashout time did ready fi start! But I had to go home to, I didn't pack yet.

[beep, beep, beep] That was the alarm clock, going off at 6:00am on Monday, it was time to get ready to leave. I was so tired, as I only went to bed about 4:30am after packing since about 2:00am. I had an 8:00am flight to New York. So I jumped up and dash into the shower got ready and headed out to the airport. I had already done my Web check in after coming home from Prendy's, so I had up to at least an hour to arrive at the airport. I didn't get breakfast as I expectedAir Jamaica (soon to be Spirit of Jamaica) to be delayed. Surprise! They were on time! I had to run to catch the plane, as my name was being called over the PA system by the time I cleared immigration. So you know who didn't get to grab breakfast and of course Air Jamaica has cut out the warm breakfast they usually served. So all I had to eat was a cup of coffee in a Styrofoam cup and four tea biscuits that they served on the flight. That God it was no more than a thee hour flight!

So now I'm in New York, relaxing a bit, not much plans so far, just relaxing for this first week. I will not be doing much shopping this time for obvious financial reasons. However, I do plan to spend some of my dwindling resources on camera equipment as I am hoping to take my photography to another level... financial level too! I will let you know how that goes. You can check out my latest photos at my flickr page and let me know if they good enough for the money. Now I need to go visit some blogs before I start editing those photos from the shoot. Later mi peeps.

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D60 in the City

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Time Square New York (taken with the Nikon D60)

Wow, it's amazing how quickly two weeks can go by when you are on vacation! It seems as if it was just a few days ago I stepped on American soil, and look I'm about to shake off the dust from my feet and head to my country of citizenship. But such is life, I guess the saying is true, "time really flies when you are having fun"... or not at work! However, this is not the end of my vacation as I don't go back to work until another week and a half. So I will still have time to relax and enjoy my new Nikon D60. The GF will be on vacation too so I will have company to go on my excursions, and I have noticed that she is slowly getting used to... or should I say tolerate my insatiable desire to take photographs of every and anything I see.

Exhibit at the Metropolitan of Art (taken with the Nikon D60 - no flash!)

I gave my camera a test run in the city and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday and it certainly lived up to my expectations! The camera even took great photos in low light conditions without the use of the flash. I took photos like crazy! I was snapping away like an excited little child with a brand new toy! But aren't we all like that when we get something we have been wanting? The camera has a lot of features, settings and controls, so I have a lot to learn. I have been reading the manual to familiarize myself with all these new, somewhat overwhelming features. But I guess it takes time, so as I learn I will experiment. I still haven't gotten myself the zoom lens as yet so I am still confined to closeup photos and portraits. Until I get the zoom lens my nature photography which involve animals will have to be put on hold as wild animals don't know how to just relax and pose for a picture! I am still hoping I will get it though... almost US$200 which is a lot of money in these hard times! Now I hope I'll get random people to pose for me so I can practice my portrait skills... better yet, any volunteers?

Now I need to get to the worse park of travelling, packing. It shouldn't be hard this time I didn't do much shopping, even though I do have several food items complements of my mother, sister and a family friend. So I will just have to ensure that none of the suitcases are overweight... this time!

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Mr. Snowman and the Nikon D60

Friday, March 6, 2009

My first Snowman

Hail crowd of people! It seems as if I haven't dropped post in a while! So what have I been up to? Well, I went out into the snow that remained on the ground for some time after the storm, in fact there are still patches of snow all over the place. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to go out with my camera to take photos. However, my outdoor experiences were not limited to just photography as I made my first snowman.... Well I had my first attempt at making a snowman. It was a small one though, only about 9 feet inches (thanks Pepper) tall and I had to improvise to make his facial features. But it was fun nevertheless, I was almost a kid again... hmm, did I really grow up? You can see more of my winter photos at my photoblog.

On Thursday it was down into the city, to explore... well not really, I still had that Nikon D60 on my mind. It was over US$500, but I really wanted this camera. It took a while and some serious consideration, but I made up my mind to just get it. After all, a few hundred of the camera money was earned right here on this site... shhhh nuh tell nobady! I went to BH Photos down in the city to get my camera as it has been recommended by my sister and some of my fellow bloggers. That store was like a photographers heaven, the had everything a photographer, professional and amateur would desire... except my Nikon D60. I was crushed, now my dreams of getting my camera were dashed. As I walked along the cold New York streets, a bright light shone from the side of one of the tall skyscrapers, it was the J&R store! So I wasted no time and it was full speed ahead to J&R. Not getting the camera at BH was a blessing in disguise, as I got the camera at J&R cheaper and was able to hustle a camera bag for a discounted price too! I only got one lens though, the 18mm-55mm which doesn't have much zoom. So now I plan to get the 55mm-200mm telephoto lens as some money has found it's way to me (thank you Mommy and big sis). Despite having to use the viewfinder to take photos instead of the display screen, I love this camera, the picture quality is fantastic! So without further ado (drumroll), here is the new Stunner Nikon D60!

My Nikon D60 and Camera bag

Tomorrow it's off to the city once again, this time to take a small tour to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other places. I wanted to check out Madame Tussauds Wax Museum as suggested by GC, but it's a bit pricey. So I will check it out the next time I head to NYC, possibly in the summer. Well it's late and I have a lot of walking later in the day and a lot of reading in the night as I have your blogs to catchup on. Likkle more!

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White!!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

A view of the neighbours yard and the street.

Yes that's exactly how I would describe outside when I woke up this morning. Snow was everywhere, and not just light covering, several inches of snow! Snow was on the walkway, on the ground, on the trees, on the roofs, it was even on the windows trying to come in! I saw snow the last winter I came to New York but that was nothing compared to this.

My boots surrounded by walls of snow

I think the snow was over 6 inches high as my Tims sunk deeply in the white puffy layer of fluffy snow. It is not that bad to me right now, but I feel it for all those people who have to get out of bed and make their way to work in hostile, hazardous conditions like these. The most I did was to go outside to take a few pictures, and even that was hard. I only went out twice to take pictures. Why twice? Well within five minutes my hands were so cold and numb i couldn't even feel the shutter button! I have a greater appreciation for my climate now, as the most I have to face is heavy downpours of rain in the rainy season. Snow like this only serves on purpose, for couples to cuddle in bed and find ways to keep each other warm (wink wink).

Things should be warming up be the weekend, and I really hope it does as I have a few places to go and a few things to get before I fly out of this freezer to warmer temperatures.

PS: I will be posting more photos on my photoblog.

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Up Inna Di Cold!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Whhaaiiiii it cowl! I know I posted about how Jamaica was cold a few weeks ago, but that was like being in 96 degrees in the shade compared to the temperature here in New York. At first when I came up here, it was very cold, but it just seem to be getting colder and colder as the days progress. Yesterday, I heard on the news yesterday that a cold front was heading to the New York area and today it certainly did! It even started from Saturday evening. The forecast even went as far as predicting a snow storm, 6 to 13 inches of snow! I woke up to flurries on Sunday morning but I keep hearing the worse is yet to come. So as I sit here in the warmth of the house, I am gearing up myself to see more snow than I have ever seen before. So if that materializes, then you can expect to see quite a few snow pictures, heheheh.

Last night I had my first visit to Red Lobster and I totally enjoyed it! The food was great, and I ate my belly full. I had a dish which comprised of grilled salmon and shrimp fettucini and mashed potatos. I had to ensure I limited my intake of shellfood as I am somewhat allergic to shellfood, so I had to mix my seafood. This was preceeded by ceaser salad and some of the tastiest buscuits I have ever tasted. To wash this down, I had a tall glass of mudslide. It was certainly a feast, so much so that I couldn't even deveour the entire main course. I hope this doesn't throw me too much off course with my getting lean diet. I hope all of what I'm eating don't make me put on too much as I have not even done one act of exercise, not even in my mind!

I haven't done much shopping, just a few items, as I didn't plan to do much shopping. I am still hoping to get my Nikon D60, but parting with so much cash these days is making me have second thoughts. Later this week I hope to go down to the city to check out some camera stores. Until then I will keep considering and budgeting and watch the snowflakes accumulate.

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