Speedlite 580EXII and landscape shots — Martyr’s Park Snow Pics I

 

Martyr’s Park Snow Pics I, originally uploaded by Serenity in China.

During a walk I took in Martyr’s Park, Changsha, Hunan, China I took this picture with my Canon 400D (aka Rebel Xti or Digital Kiss X), a Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens, and Speedlite 580EXII flash.

I have almost no experience using the Speedlite for landscape shots, and it was VERY exciting to play with the settings as I tried to light this semi-shaded wall and tree that sit along a path through the park.

I like the result, and think I’ll try to use the Speedlite more often when I’m out taking landscape and other kinds of outdoor shots.

J

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Garbage Cart and Brooms in China

 

Garbage Cart and Brooms in China, originally uploaded by Serenity in China.

Every single street I’ve walked down in China, or been on a bus and driving down, has a street cleaner walking along with a wheeled cart.

The streets are quite clean of litter, leaves, and for the most part clean of OBJECTS. Other kinds of ‘dirty,’ however, are present (I shudder as I type this because a day or two ago I walked past a mom holding her toddler as she peed on the sidewalk–hopefully this behavior will soon end as public awareness and hygiene education increase).

Anyways, I liked how the snow accentuates the lines of the cart, and snapped this shot.

I want to try and get a picture of a cart and street cleaner because many of them wear the stereotypical cone-shaped straw hats that are so often seen in war movies.

Plus, the human side of this job should be given a face too.

J

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“Changsha doesn’t get snow.” — Apartment Compound with Snow

Apartment Compound with Snow, originally uploaded by Serenity in China.

Julianne and I have both heard from all of our students and other teachers at the university that “Changsha doesn’t get snow.”

Christmas day, and then again on a couple of other days, we’ve seen snow.

Right–Changsha doesn’t get much snow, lol.

J

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Julianne’s Cooking III

Julianne’s Cooking III, originally uploaded by Serenity in China.

The end of the 2010 winter/fall semester at my university was perhaps the most bizarre and stressful time I’ve had so far in my six years of teaching EFL/ESL . . . and I stopped blogging for a while as I just needed to focus on getting through final exams, marking, and final grades.

Now that the insanity has dissipated, and some time has passed, I’m back in the head space where I want to blog regularly again.

My first blog post of 2011 is about Julianne’s cooking. She’s a master chef of the homecooked meal, and likes to try making new things.

Here is a shot of her ‘bacon wrapped green pepper stuffed with cream cheese.’

Julianne says it was really good, and I’ll say it certainly LOOKED DELICIOUS (I’m not a big fan of green peppers).

Oops, Julianne just told me that the pepper wasn’t a green pepper but some kind of Chinese pepper with a kick, lol.

Anyways, you can see more pics of food Julianne’s made on my flickr page.

Here’s hoping that 2011 is a GOOD Y EAR!

J

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