Return of the Beach

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Now that it is officially off-season for the beaches, Shio is free to roam around without getting his humans in trouble!

T was thoughtful as always and brought Shio a whole container of ice water.

I have been looking at buying a tilt-shift lens for a while, but because I don't have that much time to take pictures, I have been hesitant to pay ~$2k for a lens. About a week ago, Lensbaby announced its Tilt Transformer -- and at $250 it was so attractively priced that I had to try it.

Truth be told, I had previously bought and returned a Lensbaby Composer -- I did not like how it worked, nor did I like the image quality. So it was not without reservation that I put on the adapter and ventured to the beach.

I am happy to report that the Tilt Transformer is a well-designed product and delivers great image quality. As with any other new tool, I am still learning how to use / control it, but you can get some really neat images with it. I coupled mine with my Zeiss 50mm f/1.4, and the image quality is superb.

Verdict: I highly recommend the Lensbaby Tilt Transformer, and it also demonstrates yet again how versatile the m3/4 platform is. With the recently-announced GH2 and all the good things I have read online about it, I am looking forward to continued innovation in digital cameras big and small. I am very curious to see how a small sensor with 16MP performs...

Photos taken with Lumix GF1 with G Vario 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6, and Lensbaby Tilt Transformer + Zeiss ZF 50mm f/1.4.

Labor Day Weekend - Final Chapter

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Today we took Shio up to the Upper West Side: Riverside Park.

We have never explored that far uptown -- and in fact when we got up there it did feel like a different world. The crowd was much older and family-oriented, and it was much more quiet than our neighborhood... In addition, we knew there were many dog runs (PDF download) there, and we visited two.

In the first dog run, Shio found a new friend and engaged in a game of tag. The sand that the dogs kicked up is pretty cool...

After that, he hung out at the picnic table with us, and drew a crowd...

The second dog run was less fun, and by then Shio was a little tired from all the walking.

From there, we all went to pick up Shake Shack. Shio got a Pooch-ini (yes this is really a special dish made for dogs at Shake Shack), which he of course loved.

All in all, Shio had a great weekend.

Hopefully y'all did too!

Photos taken with Nikon D700 + 24-70mm f/2.8G, except last photo, which is with iPhone 4 and processed in-phone using Camera Bag. The quality of photos coming out of the iPhone is truly amazing...

Shio's Labor Day Weekend

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Shio spent his Labor Day Weekend doing some fun activities. First, he went to Prospect Park Saturday morning, as usual.

On Sunday, we took Shio to Fort Tryon Park Dog Run. Shio is a pro at riding the subway at this point.

We met 4 other shibas up there... There is no question shiba inus are gaining popularity in NY! It is also always funny and cool to hear that other shibas exhibit the same behaviors as Shio.

One more day before the weekend is over -- wonder what Shio will do tomorrow! Hope everybody is enjoying the weekend!

Photos taken with iPhone 4.