This is an image of the beautiful church that guards the garden of the complex where I work. I love walking by it on my way home. So picturesque.
September 9, 2013
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Monthly Archives: October 2013
September 8, 2013
On this beautiful day, I went to Trocadéro to check out a Thai festival. And even though that was the highlight of my day, I didn’t want to use any photos from the festival because I don’t want to repeat pictures in a future post dedicated to the festival. Also, this photo that I captured of the Seine is too gorgeous not to be shown. So here it is, making an appearance as my photo of the day.
September 7, 2013
Look familiar? This was the only photo I took that day. Whoops!
September 6, 2013
Jacqui serving up some of her delicious pasta!
September 5, 2013
One of the many movie theaters in my neighborhood. On this day, I took pictures of my neighborhood to create a powerpoint about my neighborhood and apartment for my MICEFA French stage intensif class.
September 4, 2013
This synagogue in the historic district of Paris, Le Marais, was designed by Hector Guimard! The same guy who designed the iconic Paris Metro entrances. How cool is that!?
September 3, 2013
Tofu Yum
September 21st:
My mom gave me her secret recipe for preparing fried tofu because I impulsively bought fried tofu on my shopping spree in Chinatown. (Just buying what I’m already familiar with.) However, my mom is not so great with giving out recipe instructions. All the measurements and amounts for sauce, salt, sugar, water, etc. were too vague! Thanks, mom. So, it came as a total surprise when I ate my tofu and it was more than edible. It was delicious! (Sorry, I’m lacking a modest streak here.)
Ignore the strand of hair in the bowl of rice. I know. It’s bothering me too.
September 2, 2013
Eating fruit in Paris! Apparently, in French, they call all melons, “melon.” But how do you distinguish the difference between cantaloupe and honeydew?!
On buying a point-and-shoot
In middle school, my dad bought me one of the first digital cameras ever. But it quickly died out of fashion as newer models came out. Then, randomly, for my 17th birthday, my dad bought me a DSLR (Canon Rebel T1i). It was my only camera until just recently. For my year in Paris, I researched very seriously to find the perfect point-and-shoot. So why, if I already had an advanced camera, did I go searching for a less high-end camera? Because I already knew how tiring it is to carry a DSLR, especially when I don’t know if I’ll be taking any photos that day.
Cali did hard research to find a good DSLR and was super excited to own one for her year abroad, but she quickly grew to realize that man is it exhausting having to lug it around. I used to suffer from shoulder and neck pains wearing the camera with me. And not every situation, in my opinion, requires high quality photos. Sometimes, I just want to capture the moment and move on with my life. Using a DSLR requires more time and effort. And a bigger bag.
I ended up getting the Canon SX260 and I have had no regrets at all. It’s not the greatest in low light, but the zoom feature is terrific and the photo quality is still good. I’m not too concerned with technical aspects. I just wanted a camera that would produce high quality photos on the go. I love being able to carry my camera everywhere I go because it can fit into all of my bags, big or small. I don’t even notice the weight. It has enabled me to take pictures of random, unexpected things on the streets or to take fun videos here and there.
Aside from the weight though, the biggest difference between my point-and-shoot and my DSLR is that when I carry around my DSLR, I am usually more concerned with getting the right shot. I spend so much time composing the photo and getting the technical aspects correct. This is especially troublesome on trips and in daily life because I feel as if, with my DSLR, I worry more about taking good photos than actually enjoying the moment. With my point-and-shoot, I can just take my photo for memory’s (and blogging) sake and enjoy the rest of the moment. I still use my DSLR from time to time, but I feel so liberated now realizing that there’s more to (my) life than capturing moments. With my point-and-shoot, I don’t feel the need to pull it out all the time. And I am actually a lot happier with just experiencing things and then writing it down in my journal afterwards rather than taking hundreds of photos.
