When choosing a new lens I read up a lot about it, making sure that it fits my needs and use, and if I can get the most out of it. The body of the camera is only half the equation, the lens is the more important half in my opinion, getting the combination right can help with your photography not just your normal skills. So choosing the right lens is very important, I have made a few costly mistakes over the years but I have managed to sell those lenses to used lens store in the UK or on Ebay while in the states during visits so it wasn’t too bad of a hit. Overall my skill in choosing a lens has improved, but still nothing can beat trying out a lens before purchasing and this is what I’m posting about BorrowLenses. Its a service where you can reserve and rent lenses for short periods of time or long periods. The periods can last from 3 days up to 4 weeks with different intervals for renting of 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 4 weeks. There is a good amount of trust for you to use the item and return in it good condition. Cost range from 10 KD all the way to 200 KD depending on the lens but 200 KD for a 1200 KD lens to use for a month isn’t too bad since you get to experience and really know if you want it or not. Keeping in mind the extra cost of shipping which is probably around 20 – 30 KD, also that you lose from the rental days the amount it takes to get to you but overall I still think its a great deal to try out lenses and equipment you want to try before purchasing.

Lenses & Accessories for:

• Canon
• Nikon

Available Items:

• All Types of Lenses
• Lighting
• Water Housing
• Camera Bags
• Memory Cards
• A lot More

Link: BorrowLens

Being a huge Star Wars fan these pictures tell a story, I loved every one of them. Photographs such these bring real feel to these models, bathroom one is a classic. These close ups must have been done with a Macro Lens and they are fantastic. A simple idea telling a great story, your toys are alive.

This particular series features Star Wars characters who have been hit hard by the recession. I hope the stimulus plan reaches the Death Star!

Link: BeautifulDecay

Sorting through pictures is a bit of a hassle for me, I need to use Picassa some time soon but I don’t even have all my pictures in one location. I take a lot of pictures and not all of them are that good, and sometimes I find old pictures that I wanted framed or events that I want to remember, then I stop my process of organizing and laugh at some of the pictures and remember the fun times. Sometimes one picture isn’t enough you want a bunch, then I get too lazy and stop the whole process and forget about it. So after seeing a few pictures I didn’t know what I wanted to do with them, kept searching online until I came across this site, there are lots of websites which do wonders with your pictures, but I liked the way they would take your pictures and integrate them into a photo album in any way you want and pictures of different sizes and qualities. They range from $10 to $350 and you can still customize even more, I really liked the Flush One which is starting at $350 and the quality is very high you can see from all the pictures online. they have different kinds, ranging from paper, to leather, to plastic, and different styles.

Link: Picaboo

I have been waiting years before purchasing this lens, its the peak of all the Canon lenses. This lens is what gives the Canon L Series Lenses that name of quality and amazing pictures. The Canon 70-200mm F/2.8 IS L is second to none in sharpness, contrast, and speed.

I have taken several shots, its fantastic for high speed shots, loved it for group photos and photos on the fly. You really capture a person’s details and concentrate on the subject in front of you.

The F4 is more expensive then the F2.8 but really worth it since nothing can increase the speed of lens then the F-stop. Then there is the normal model the IS model, I went for the IS model as I am shooting freehand consistently and it did a great job with a lot of my shots.

At the time I got the lens for $1600 which is a very good price, and I don’t regret a penny that I spent on it. Its an amazing lens which produces fantastic photos. This is the lens which takes it to the next level. (Sample Pictures Below)

There is no denying that I am a huge fan of Japan, I always enjoying reading up about it and other things that are going on. I find their culture interesting as well as everything else they do when it comes to anime, manga, electronics, and food. This picture I love, taken in Osaka with an Akita hanging his owner from the rear while he is biking his way to their destination. An Amazing photo.

Link: Flickr

The best time of the year to be in the desert is during winter, these are the areas just by the Wafra Farms Road. I needed a break away from the routine, so this trip came up perfectly, lunch in Wafra with family and friends. I updated my iPod, putting a couple of new playlists together with some good old school and fun songs, and working on one new one. The best time to listen to songs is on a nice long drive, and Wafra is a relaxing drive, I was in no hurry, ample time to make it to lunch.

Took me about an hour’s drive and I wasn’t sure which exit it was but managed to find it with a few phone calls with directions. Then I got on the road and it was 10.5 kilometers in a straight line, then make a right and drive 3 kilometers into the desert and I will find the camp site. It was a lot of fun to drive the Landcruiser on the sand, I was having more fun swerving back and worth, it feels like your driving on a slushy material with just enough loose traction to enjoy sliding around while maintianing traction, and some points I sped up to take small jump off a couple of hills. I avoided really wet spots, because I knew that if I slowed down too much I would sink and I didn’t want to get the car too dirty, just dirty enough. Some of those spots look deceiving and could possible suck a car in completely, I kept my joy ride at a safe level until I got to base camp.

A lot of people were there from the night earlier, some who got there earlier, and a few people who were still on the way. There was a variety of off-road capable cars and a few surprising sedans at the camp. The best part was the large tent and the duwa in the middle, tea being made on the coal is probably the best possible tasting tea. I saw a BMW GS 1200 parked to the side of the tent that I kept eying, it had all the bells and whistles with all the right options, I gave it a once over and asked Bu Zaid if I can take it for a spin later.

20 minutes after I arrived lunch was served, and I was hungry after all that time. When I’m hungry I head towards the dish that will satisfy me the most, and so I found my spot as I entered the tent. 25 minutes later all I wanted to do was remain stationary for a while, the food was fantastic, and every body was satisfied. The perfect time to have a nice hot glass of tea in this cold weather.

Then I took out the BMW GS 1200 for a spin in the desert, it had street tires and this wasn’t the adventure version so I knew it wouldn’t be as easy to ride in the desert and this is a heavy machine. I started it up and started going be I almost fell over because I slipping, of course all the guys started laughing their heads off, I regained my composure and new that I need some speed before turning and couldn’t put my weight down, so I got some speed and took wide turns. This is one extremely capable machine, I was taking big bumps as if it was only a crack on the road, I was navigating around once I had the right momentum and kept it up, I kept it between 1st and 2nd gear and not shifting around too much, took it for 20 minute ride, and rode up to a camel at a top of small hill which eyed me as I was riding to him. I got of the bike, took off my helmet and took out the camera from the rear compartment. That camel walked up to me as I was walking to him, I find them to be beautiful, funny, and friendly creatures. I always pictures camels to be intelligent and thinking about us as annoying creatures that they have to put up with based on their facial expressions. After taking a few pictures, I got back on the bike and took off, with a little sliding going on and my feet still down to glide on. I headed straight back to the camp, which didn’t take more then 2 minutes to get there since I took a straight line to them this time instead of driving around.

Just as I got there I parked the GS 1200 and sat at the benches where they were working on the fire pit. I sat at that fire pit for over an hour mesmerized by the fire before decided that it was time to head home, I would prefer to make it home before the sun sets, it would make the drive that much more fun.

Since we have been spending a lot of time in the water I was looking for a way to bring my DSLR Canon 40D with me because there are a lot of chances for good shots. I had something simple in mind, a case that would simply protect it from a little splash here and there. I either got bags which seemed useless or contraptions like these from Hugyfot and Ikelite which cost between $1400 and $5000, about the price of two to six cameras without the lenses. How insane is that, I wouldn’t mind getting one but that is a little too much for me, maybe for those who dive but their doesn’t seem to be a simple clean solution for what I had in mind.

I got my Flip MinoHD a while back now but I didn’t have a chance to really use it except a little recently. The box is nice and compact, comes with a few wires, a pouch, and the manual. The camera is smaller then I expected, its smaller then my Blackberry 8900, fits very nicely in my hand. Switched it on and it has some very simple settings, and you pretty much point and record right away. It records at 720p video which you can connect to your computer through USB, the USB connector is built into the Flip MinoHD, its at the top and flips out, then you connect it to your computer to either take the videos or charge it, to charge the Flip you also connect it to the USB.

It has very simple operations when recording, you just have one big red button to record and point in the direction that you want. There is a simple built-in software which I used to create the test video below. The sound recorded quality is excellent and so it the video quality, if you are looking for a simple point and shoot video camera for under $200 then this is the perfect camera. I was looking to use a camera to mount to my bikes while riding and mount it to the car while driving to make some fun videos, and it really did the job. You can do edit the video insert any effects but that must be done in something like Adobe Premiere.

• Holds 60 minutes of HD-quality video (1280 x 720 resolution at 30 frames per second; 16:9 widescreen) on 4 GB of built-in memory
• Weighs only 3.3 ounces, sleek design, fits into your pocket or purse
• Features one-touch recording and digital zoom
• Flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your computer to launch built-in FlipShare software
• FlipShare software lets you save and organize your videos, simple editing, make movie, email, or upload online

I honestly think they did a great job with this camera targeting a specific usage for it. I do think there is room for improvement but I gave it high marks because of the video quality I kept getting and sound capture, and overall extreme ease of use. Now you can the Flip UltraHD which does a little bit more for the same price, so I would go for this one at this point.

Price: $199
Link: Amazon
Rated:

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I have to say that its pretty cool that the President of the United States has a Flickr page. I think a lot of people like Obama and have hope in the guy, but he does throw in a few surprises here and there. It was mentioned that he refused to give up his Blackberry when he became President, and I really can’t blame him for it, now the NSA are working on a super Blackberry for him with all the security needed. Now they have this official Flickr page and there are some very nice pictures, I wonder what is the approval process to post up these pictures because it must be a security nightmare to have these up on the net, but he does seem to be a friendly guy.

These pictures are amazing, there is an amazing depth and clarity to them. There are a lot of photos that I liked and I think take a lot of skill to snap at that right moment, Pete Souza is one amazing photographer, I wonder how they choose him. Anyone notice that the official White House Dog “Bo” has white feet when the dog is totally black?

Link: Flickr

I read up on this every once in a while, but these pictures are eerie and amazing at the same time. You always hear people say pictures are worth a thousand words, I think these pictures speak a lot about the Drug War. This is one amazing photographer or photographers who took these pictures, check out the link for more pictures.

Link: TheBigPicture

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