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Showing posts from September, 2006
Ultra Classic
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Ultra Classic Originally uploaded by istargazer . HDR (high dynamic range) pictures are really popular right now. Images that have been processed through HDR and then tone mapped can look quite incredible. The level of processing depends upon the user and some people really like to take it to the extreme and make the pictures look very unreal. It really is an art and because of that it's very subjective and there is no right or wrong. I prefer moderation and while I use HDR to enhance my own pictures, I try to make it look as close to reality as possible. The pictures in the two posts below are in HDR and tone-mapped from a single RAW file. For the purists out there, who decry any kind of computer manipulation, this row of motorcycles is another picture I took on the Hog Wild ride but it is NOT HDR. It was just simply converted from the RAW file into a jpg with a little bit of colour correction.
Me in Flames
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Me in Flames Originally uploaded by istargazer . Here's another picture I took from yesterday's Hog Wild ride. There were a lot of beautiful bikes out there and I do have a special fondness for flames :0). However, I was a little disappointed when I saw that they were a bit out of focus. After looking more closely, I realized that the paint surface was so shiny that instead of focussing on the flames, the camera had focussed on the reflection-- my reflection :0)
Hog Wild Ride for Literacy 2006
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Hog Wild Ride for Literacy 2006 Originally uploaded by istargazer . I went on the Hog Wild ride yesterday. I think there were fewer riders this year, but the weather was great--even better than last year because it was warmer. This picture shows my red scooter next to the big bikes :0). This year my wife came along. It was our first extended ride together. I'm glad to say that the Burgman did very well with 2-up. It had no trouble maintaining highway speeds and keeping up with all the big boys on their hogs. The only time that we fell back a little was when I tried to start accelerating midway up a hill. Normally, I start accelerating from the bottom, but the rider in front of me slowed down midway through and then accelerated again and without an abundance of torque we got left behind :lol:
The end of summer
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Labour Day Photo Shoot - Cypress Mountain - 2006 I went up to Cypress Mountain to do a photoshoot to mark the unofficial last day of summer. I saw two Ferraris up there and half of the upper parking lot was fenced off because of construction. It looks like they're building a venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics on that side of the mountain.
Neighborhood Grow-op
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A few years ago this house used to have a marijuana grow-op in the basement, but authorities never found out about it until it went up in flames one night. It sat empty for quite a while before it was put up for sale at the asking price of $700,000. It sold but nothing was done and it was put back on the market. Now the new owners are fixing it up and judging by the amount of the work they've had to do, it was pretty much gutted. Anyway, the reason I'm talking about that house is I ran out of gas the other day heading up the mountain and after a lot of stalling was just barely able to coax the STI to that parking spot in front of the house. Friday night after the cruise I stopped by to take some pictures and also took this ghostly self-portrait:
2006 Subaru STI: VIC comes to Coquitlam
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Pictures from the Meet - September 1, 2006 There was an impromptu Subaru meet last night and it was quite a large turn out for such short notice. There were around 16 cars that met at Coquitlam Center--a majority of which had started in Richmond. A couple more people came from Mission Raceway and met up with us mid-way through.... Something that I really like about the local group of Subaru enthusiasts is that non-Subarus have always been welcome to join the cruises. Actually, it's not only local enthusiasts, but the larger group is also quite accepting because I remember seeing a few non-Subarus in both the big Washington state cruises I went to this summer. We had a few tonight including a hot Mustang and a pair of beautiful AMG Mercs. There were even 4 sportbikes that came with us through the backroads of Mission. It is this openness that I really respect because I don't see myself as just a "Subaru" enthusiast or a "VW" enthusiast or a "biker"