A Marathon of Lanterns

Since we live in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and about every year in the city is an event called the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon. For about the past 7-8 years, my parents have ran in it, and almost every year, I've gone to watch the run. This year, they put up lanterns in the trees which was all around the finish line. 

These were the lanterns than hung, and to be honest, they were way prettier in real life. (It looks really dull in this picture.) Plus, there were so many of them. Two big sections of trees and it had plenty of lanterns. Whoever put them up really had the time and effort. Anyway, about the picture... it needs some improvements, and you would do that by editing. It could use some temperature, to warm up the picture. Even some contrast and vibrance to brighten the lantern colors. As of now,  it just looks really dull and the subjects aren't popping out. 

Now this is almost the opposite right? The  editing definitely makes a difference. The vibrant colors on the lanterns pop out from the deep greens.  No temperature was added although lots of contrast and vibrancy was tacked on. Which one do you like better? The original or this picture?

This can be quite a confusing picture at first. What is that on the left? Well it's a tree bark. In the background are all the lanterns hanging on the trees. The lighting for this picture was awesome. The background is well lit and it made the lanterns stick out through a generally white background. The tree also became awesome because only a part of it is focused. 

This is some bark from a tree. I think it's a paper birch tree, not a 100% sure though... I figured this could make great wallpaper because of the detail and colors. 

Keep Clicking

I'm back to posting regular pictures. Since my vacation is over, no more traveling. That means I've got non-exotic pictures!!! Just random, unrelated ones. 

Thing is though, never never forget to take pictures. Taking pictures is the best thing someone could do to relate to their past. It can help you visually remember, although writing, like a diary or journal, helps you rememeber more specific things. All the same, these few pictures are ones I really like. 

Alright so this is actually a dead plant. It's a hibiscus plant, and it's dead now. So it's been sitting there for a while now and I felt a need to take a picture of it with the sun. It actually looks rather odd becuase the sun is blocking out a couple of the branches. So you just see a stick emerging from the white glowing space (sun) and it's like awkwardly floating. It's best to avoid this while taking pictures. The object won't look right if the viewer takes the time notice it. It would've been better if I had the sun at the very top of the picture rather than in the middle of branches. 

Check this picture out! Haha is this a real person? Sure does huh...? if you thought so at first sight, then errrrrr you're wrong. This isn't a real person. It's a tiny statue. The front was just ugly so I took the back of it. My plan was to get a silhouette but I believe I got something better here.The  background of the pond looks great too. 

This is what everyone calls an artsy picture I guess. It's at the same pond, and thank goodness I got the previous picture in time. Becuase literally 30 seconds later, the fountain in the middle of the pond turned on. (You can see it at the top left of the picture.) That made all these ripples appear and the clear reflections were just gone. I also... edited this picture more. If you can tell, the bottom and very top of the picture is really blurry. I just blurred that part, leaving the fountain area the way it is 

This makes anther point I want to state. Keep taking pictures. A really really good tip when you do take those pictures is to take as many as you can. Just keep clicking that camera. You should do this because  people hate it when they miss "the moment". In the second picture of this post, I took at least 10-15 of the same thing. Why? It allowed me to choose from a variety of angles and other ornaments. Plus, if I had waited to get the right angle, I might have missed the chance becuase the fountain turned on soon. Which is why you should take as many pictures as you can. Remember, you can always, always delete those excess pictures. You'll also have a variety to pick from. Perhaps the lighting and angle was better in one. Or the focus and lighting seems better in another. This will allow you to feel satisfied. Imagine waiting to get take the perfect sunset picture but you miss it. You might have to wait for days to get the same sunset again. Don't forget, keep clicking!!!!

The End of the Vacation

The last two days were so sad. An end to any vacation for anyone isn't always the best feeling. Especially vacations like this. Anyway, the last day on the ship actually turned out to be a bore. Since we toured the entire ship the first day, it gets boring after you go around for seven days I know right, a cruise ship, boring??? There are only so many things you can do on a ship, and only so many activities you can do on a ship. After you've done almost everything, there isn't anything left for you. My friends and I ended up playing all sorts of games around the ship, as well as activities the staff provided. When I think about it now, it all felt so fun. It's really something to miss.

This was taken from our room. We got a balcony room on the port side. (left side). The sun in this picture gleams so brightly and the reflection it makes is just real cool. Ocean pictures are always "risky" because the horizon has to be perfect. It would looks disproportional. 

This is a different filter but the same picture. In this picture, the sun really stands out. The sun itself and the reflection. I think the sun really shines because there aren't any clouds near it which could potentially block the sun. Plus, the camera did a good job up picking up all the light the sun is giving. 

This is the port side of the ship. We were going through the Chesapeake Bay area. So I took this on my balcony. 6th floor. The room right next to mine was one of my friends rooms. We got lucky that way. So most nights, when the parents were out about the ship, all of the kids (from all seven families) would be piled into the two of our rooms. It was so much fun because we would talk through the walls, talk through the balcony and through the phone! 

I took this the last night on board. It was getting stormy in the distance, and plenty of lightening everywhere. It wasn't raining but it was real windy. I tried and tried to get a nice shot of the lightening. (The lightening kept going, so I had enough time to try.)And.....I did! Its not that great at all, I admit, but its something for a start. I've never taken one of lightening before, basically because it's just so hard to catch.


This was from the last few hours on the ship. It was a Sunday morning, and we were frantically trying to pack the hand-luggage. I checked out on the balcony to see the view and I saw the Chesapeake Bay Bridge coming up. Perfect timing!!! So I sprinted up to the top deck to see the ship get under the bridge. I was  so surprised because it fit under just by a couple yards. So in this picture, I was standing backwards, so the bridge already passed the tallest part of the ship. (It's like leaving the ship now, not coming towards it anymore.) I also tried to get the sun in it somehow though, since it was just awkwardly there. I know this picture doesn't really show that the ship is going under the bridge, etc.  

Well, honestly, I will always always remember this cruise and alllllllll the experiences we had. Pictures help us remember those moments, so where ever you are, take pictures! You'll remember those moments and you will be glad you took the picture. :)

Freeport, Bahamas Cruise

Continuing our times throughout our cruise, next port was Freeport, Bahamas. This was another beautiful city with awesome, clear-blue beaches. They also have very nice coral reefs, although it isn't as full with life as a lot of other places. 

So this was the harbor we could see from the ship. The buildings are so colorful and vibrant. The weather was also really nice. 

At Freeport, the all of our families went glass bottom boating. It was awesome. So before I get into details, this was where the boating place was located. Right outside the dock was a busy marketplace and there was so much stuff. We got fresh coconut water and it tasted soooooo gooooood. I also love these marketplaces becuase the shop owners are willing to bargain. If you want a bracelet in the USA, u pay the given price. But at these marketplaces, you ask them the price, and then u can ask to get it for a lower price or get a deal by guying two bracelets. Cool place :))

So this was the dock. The boat all the way on the right, all the way in he back (it is the tallest boat on the right) is the glass bottom boat. What it basically has are two glass windows at the bottom of the boat. I was really surprised because the windows were so small and there were only two of them. So everyone on the whole boat was supposed to peek through to the coral in the tiny windows. Well once we actually got to the coral reefs, you could see tons of fish. The water was clear enough that you could see the fish without looking through the glass as well. 

This is another picture of the dock. From where I took this picture, if you looked down at the water, right there, you could see tons of fish as well. At least we knew there were fish in this area.

The lovely photoshopped version. I personally like the original. This picture looks dreamy and very vibrant. The colors stand out a lot, and there's no sharpness. I guess the original looks like it was gray-scaled compared to this picture because this one just has more color. 

If you looked left to the dock, you could see these beautiful hotels. Or at least I think they are hotels. (It could be apartments) This picture actually is enhanced a bit too. Just more vibrancy and there's a little of that dreamy look. Imagine staying in that building!

This was taken on the glass boat. Obviously the back of the boat. The reefs weren't that far of the coast. (You can still see the land on the far right.)

Can you tell the difference between the one right above and this picture? It's obviously edited, but not by much. I added the option of having less clarity, which smooths out the picture. There is more contrast and vibrance too. 

Guess what?!? We actually did see sharks! The captain said we would see sharks before we got on the boat. Everyone thought they were just saying that to get us on and pay the money. Well of course we actually did see them! Tons actually. They were Caribbean Reef sharks, the most common ones in the Caribbean. They look similar to Tiger Sharks. So all these sharks were in one area while we were heading back from the reefs. We started seeing them through the glass at the bottom of the boat. Then you could see them by just looking through the water. The people who worked on the boat had this hook with a fish on it and fed the sharks. It was real cool. I believe in all, there were about 7-8 sharks. We also fish everywhere. There were about four types of fish throughout the reefs. So we saw fish, coral, starfish, birds catching fish, and sharks  (along with some other minor specimens). Pretty neat huh?

This is an "artsy" picture I took of the water. I really like this one in particular because of the detail. The water that is splashing off came in such detail.  

So after the whole glass bottom boating experience, we waited for the buses to come. While waiting, this group of people were playing songs in costumes. They played really well. There were about four people, and they even played some american pop songs. I chose a black and white filter for this picture.  It seems to fit the picture nicely.

Port Nassau, Bahamas Cruise

Continuing our journey through Port Nassau. (The Capitol of Bahamas). So  you know how it's important to vary your pictures...? Change the effects, close ups, different angles... Here I have one that is in a frame. I didn't add this frame later on, this was taken through binoculars. I basically stuck decide into the eye hole of the binocular, and it showed up much better than expected. Especially since the building show in the picture is ATLANTIS!!! Yea so from the ship, we could see Atlantis in the distance.

Try to imagine this- you are aboard a carnival cruise ship and you are the tippy top deck. The sun is blazing hot so you wear your sunglasses and hat, plus layers and layers of sunscreen. The wind is blowing in random gust, so you have your mind on your hat to make sure it doesn't blow away. You are also carrying your tiny "purse" to hold your iPod and phone along with binoculars. On top of the peace you are trying to get from the views of the ocean, you hear the parents pestering you to put more sunscreen and to stay in the shade. But who could possibly be anywhere except the top deck because you can now see the Atlantis water park in the distance.

That was exactly what was going on at the moment. Our eight families were quite loud because they were in the frenzy to make sure everyone got sunscreen. And I was at least trying to get my view of the clear blue waters. It was my firs time ever seeing the real Caribbean Seas, so I needed a good first impression. (Haiti didn't have the same blue waters.) Well, that's Atlantis. We didn't go I think because it wasn't part of the ship excursion or touring Atlantis would need more than a day to visit.

This was one of my favorite pictures. The tiny lighthouse. So as I explained above, I was trying to enjoy this view as the parents had the sunscreen drama. The parents kept going around asking all the kids twice and thrice. Literally, I was taking taking this picture, and one parent would come up to me and ask if I put sunscreen or not. Once I took that picture, a little past the lighthouse (the ship was still moving), I would take another picture. A different parent would come tell me to go to some shade. I eventually did go inside, once the ship stopped, and it felt so good becuase it was just extremely hot outside. Too hot that it got tiring.

Nassau, Bahamas!!! Looks very similar to the US. Their national language is English, so no language problem there. And I feel like just the cruise excursion areas are very nice and touristy, but once you pass that point, you see all the rough places. (I know that the cruise area in Haiti is super nice, but once you go past that point, everything looks so different.) But I can't be sure because we drove like 20-30 minutes into the country and it remained about the same. So I'm thinking either you have to go really deep to see the real places, or the Bahamas is a well rounded place.

Palm trees! Actually, just a palm tree. Always reminds me of warm places. Well that's what it should remind you of because they grow in warm climates. Do you think it's photoshopped? It is and you can tell because only the leaves of the tree are sharp/clear contradicting the rest of the picture which is entirely blurry. 

Atlantis again!!! We didn't even end up going to visit the place but at least,our ship was docked very close to it. It was quite a sight because the waters were clear blue, the wind was blowing slightly, the sun was shining, and you could see Atlantis close by! Now that is a busy picture.

This was when we were getting back onto the ship. I honestly tried to get the "carnival pride" name, the palm trees, and the welcome to Bahamas sign all in the picture, but this was the best I could do. There is an effect places on the next couple of pictures. Its the Transfer effect on Apple devices. It improves the picture a whole lot. 

Got the ship name! This was a really cool picture because the ship name is there and there is some play with the sun. the sun brightens up the entire left side of the ship.

Although the picture right above is awesome, I personally think this is so much better. The sun is peeking out of the back of the ship. (The back of the ship is where the dinner hall is and its called, Normandie. I wonder if it's named after Normandie in France.) Anyhow, the sun brightens up the left side of the ship. However, it doesn't go all the way so the sunlight gradient is seen. Plus, you can see the outlines of people on the left and the awesome palm tree in the sun!

This was also one of my favorites. Just look at the ship! So actually, this is a huge cargo ship from,I believe, China. It's called the Aegean Highway. So this was docked right next to the cruise ship. (Our ship is on the right and the cargo is on the left.) I tell you, it's the biggest thing I've ever seen on water. It's humongous compared to the cruise ship. It's absolutely so much taller than the cruise ship. I can't even imagine how much stuff can fit in it!!!

This is the picture without the effects. It looks as cool too.  I could see the crew men on the top of the ship and they were so so so tiny compared to everything else. It was just mesmorising. I wish I could've referenced the size of the ship to something. Perhaps our cruise ship? 

Bahamas Cruise

Heyy! So the week of August 3-10, my family along with seven other families, went on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was awesome! If you've never ever been on one, I recommend you do soon.

So our ship, Carnival Pride, docked in Baltimore, Maryland. We left on Sunday the 3rd at around 4:30. This is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The cruise ship fit just right under the bridge. 

This was right in between the two bridges. On the right side is the toll road. You can also see the reflection of the bridge on the waters. And...I actually never noticed this until now. Both of the bridges are quite different. It just looks identical at first glance, and I am noticing this difference after a month. Another thing you can notice is how off the picture is from the center. In order to make picture a little bit better, I would've cropped off a little on the right. Then the bridges would be even and the disappearing point would be in the center. Then I would straighten the picture because it is tilted to the left. 

So this was the first morning at sea. Monday the 4th. And...this was the sunrise. The sunrise was at 6:13 and we saw the sun only for a couple minutes. From the time it rose from the horizon to the time it disappeared into the clouds, it was honestly not that stunning. Of course, on the first day, it had to be super foggy. The rest of the day, it rained and was really cloudy. We just hoped the weather wasn't bad at the islands. 

This was the sunset on Monday. At least it looks better than the sunrise. So this picture looks unique only because I took it inside the ship. You can see the lights reflecting off the glass as well as the dust on the glass. It makes the picture look like there is mist in the air. 

This was the sunset the same day, minutes later. And I took this outside. It's really important to pay attention to the horizon when you are taking pictures like this. Mostly landscape pictures. Make sure it isn't slanted and that the horizon line isn't unbalanced. 

This was around the same time. And I give all the photo credits to my close friends. They took a picture with the heart as a silhouette before and I loved the picture. So when I saw them doing it again on the ship, I made them pose while I took this picture. The only thing I don't like is that the horizon is awkwardly placed. I does look fine though. 

So this was taken just a couple minutes after the previous one. You can tell that the sun just went past the horizon. I really like how clearly you can see the details of the water. In this picture too, you can tell the horizon line is tilted to the right. We were also so delighted to see the sun set so quickly. So I ended up seeing the first and last glimpse of the sun at sea! Pretty cool huh. :)

A Dreamy Photoshop Experience

This is actually a peculiar post. I was really debating on wether i should post these pictures or not but it's the only thing I can show to prove a point in which I discovered. 

Since all humans have spare time, I was playing with the "full version of Photoshop". ( photoshop elements) I was just playing around with the different tools in which I could get my hands on. There are so many things you could do though. I decided to try to completely fix any blemishes and add a hazy look to it. And thts what I've accomplished. What I ended up doing was making the whole picture blurry and then using the history brush to remove the blurs wherever I don't need it. Which was the background. (It took some time) pretty much, just by doing that, I achieved what I needed. Blurring the picture automatically took out any blemishes. (I did a smal touch up with the blemish brush at the very end) Blurring the picture also made the main object look hazy. 

I added the transfer effect. (From the apple products) This adds some vibrancy and temperature to the picture. See how the haziness is still there.