New Day Up Ahead

(Don't worry, those tears are from plucking my eyebrows. I decided the tears would make a good photo opportunity.)

A new day for my photography, hopefully! So maybe if you've talked to me lately, you've heard me complaining about how I haven't taken many photos recently and that I miss photography. Well I have found a solution (hopefully)!

Work and uni have consumed for the last couple of months. My weekdays are jam packed, rushing between work and uni. My weekends are full of study and church. This leaves little time for me to go out (with friends, preferably) and take photos. I want to be able to carry my DSLR around every day, but it's just too heavy for me (even though it's pretty much as light as a DSLR can get, especially with my kit lens and prime lens) and I don't want to look like a massive tourist every day. Also, I feel DSLRs look quite intimidating to most people.

Originally I wanted to use my (new) phone as my everyday camera. I tried using it a few days but my battery would die by 3pm... So seeing as I had some money in my bank which was originally going to be for my laptop fund (but my brothers ended up buying one for me! :D) I decided that I would buy a 'serious' compact camera.

And I did it! Last Wednesday! I bought a Canon G1X!

It's not light, it's not small but the sensor is big and beautiful. I've gotten some really nice (but horribly composed) photos with a sharp foreground and pretty background blur (bokeh). The macro isn't very good, but there's more to life than extreme close ups of flowers and food (they're not my subjects of choice)! With 14.3 megapixels, I can always just crop photos in order to get an extreme close up. The autofocus speed and shutter lag is more like a point and shoot than a DSLR, but it still does the job (quite beautifully) for everyday photos of friends and the world around me.

I'm planning on carrying the camera around with me on most days so if I know you in real life, expect a camera around my neck!

The plan now is also to save up for a 'more serious' DSLR. After 3 years, I'm starting to feel like I've outgrown my Nikon D60... This will probably take a while, but there's no rush to upgrade. If I had just upgraded my DSLR without buying a smaller camera, I would only be able to use my DSLR on 'serious' occasions. This would mean that photography would become a smaller part of life, with little chance of taking photos normally! What a travesty that would be! =P

With this Canon G1X, I'll be able to wear my camera! I'm looking forward to that.

Okay, I hope I haven't bored you all with my ramblings of me justifying why I just spent so much money a new camera...

See you again soon, hopefully!

Taiwan 2012

Part of me loves Taiwan - the cheap food, shopping and convenient lifestyle. Another part of me struggles to get past the noise, pollution and dirt. My recent 3 week trip to Taiwan was a mixture of frustration and love. I spent the whole time in Taipei (except for a one day trip to the country side) so I thought I would be able to see everything I wanted to in Taipei, yet somehow there was so much I still felt like I missed...

However, I did really enjoy that I had so much time to go around exploring and taking photos. Before I went, my photography was pretty much all about my friends and my outings. However, in Taiwan I don't really have friends to constantly take photos of. Instead I spent time taking photos of landscapes, architecture and even more daring street photography. I even spent NYE taking photos of dancers - something I've wanted to do for a while!

I wish I had more time for stuff like this in Sydney. No wait, I wish I was less lazy when I'm in Sydney. When I'm at home, it's a struggle for me to bother to take my DSLR out of my house, let alone out of my bag to actually take photos. Sometimes I'm in a scenic area and I wish I had brought my camera with me. With university starting, I'm hoping to be exposed to more opportunities and meet more people that will inspire to go out and take more photos.

Be Still

The light painting photos were done with a SB-600 flash and then a 'bulb' shutter while someone drew something with a torch.

These photos were taken from my recent Youth Group camp which was a great time learning more of God's Word and growing in fellowship with my awesome brothers and sisters in Christ. I also got time to mess around with my camera at night - which is always fun for me.

The Adventures of Hobo

I'm not sure who came up with the name, but Hobo was our mascot on Band Tour in August. Most of those photos of Hobo were taken on a haunted ghost tour, which was not scary at all because it turned into a history lesson about the house. Band Tour was right after my Trial Exams so it was a great break from studying - touring country NSW. I felt quite old, being one of about 6 or 7 year 12s while there were a lot of year 9s and 10s. However, I still had heaps of fun getting to know some of the people in the younger grades, although I only had a few weeks of school left then. The great memories on Band Tour definitely make up for all those early morning band rehearsals and the troublesome band competitions.

Picnic

The last Thursday of school was spent with the whole grade at a park, enjoying a picnic and water fights. It was our last 'excursion' as a grade and I definitely enjoyed the bus ride with all my friends and our singing wars. Even though it was only early Spring, it was really hot and sunny which was definitely good for an outdoor picnic. It was a very fun day.

Last Days of School

With the end of high school, it's time to reflect on the past 6 years of high school and even the past 13 years of schooling. Although it was boring at times and I probably studied a bit too much, overall, I really enjoyed high school. I made some awesome friends, had some inspiring and entertaining teachers and I leave with lots of great memories.

Cute little year 7s on the bus. I will miss school bus rides with my friends.

A little bit of bromance.

We had lots of fun on our maths table (not necessarily maths-related)

I don't know why he had an eye patch...

Bored (and most likely texting) in the middle of an Art theory lesson.

The Road Not Taken and Options

Yesterday I went to both the Open Days for UTS and USYD. It was pretty hectic and I unfortunately didn't have much time to ask questions about the degrees and now I am currently conflicted between two degrees. One is safe and standard the other is more risky and 'the road not taken'.

Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) at USYD

Pros

• My parents approve
• USYD and its beautiful campus
• USYD has a great exchange program
• I'm pretty interested in the courses
• 4 years
• Leaves me with options for when I graduate

Cons

• It's not what I'm truly passionate about...

Bachelor of Design in Photography and Situated Media + Bachelor of Arts in International Studies at UTS

Pros

• I looooove photography
• I like the Director guy - he seems to want photographers who think 'outside of the box'
• If I want to pursue photography as a career, I will have lots of connections
• If I tried really hard, I could possibly get 99.75 ATAR and get the Vice Chancellor scholarship that's worth $12K per year

Cons

• I'm not 100% sure if I want to be a photographer
• 5 years with International Studies - it might be too long for me, especially if I want to do Post Grad in something else
• UTS doesn't have a very good exchange program
• My parents don't approve

What to do...

Besides Photographer, I'm also considering careers like Art Gallery Curator (Bachelor of PSM kinda relates to that) or starting my own business, selling creative products like photography accessories (B.Comm (Lib) is probably more useful for that).

I'm going to UNSW next weekend. Hopefully I won't be even more conflicted after that...

Also, I spent the week in country NSW on Band Tour. We went to towns like Wagga Wagga, Gundigai, Bathurst, Young and Katoomba. I will post about it later.