Hey Doc

(Fort Point, San Francisco)

Last time I went to Fort Point to take photos was three years ago. Because of the retrofitting of the GGB, it was closed. Somewhere I read that Fort Point is re-opened again. Yesterday the weather forecast the temperature will reach over 100 degrees in SJ area. San Francisco seems to be a good place to get away from the heat. They are usually 10 degrees lower then the inland area because of the ocean wind. I picked up my photo gears and headed north. It was a beautiful day, you can tell from the photo. Ocean breeze brought much cooler temperature that I spent hours enjoy the visit.


(Officer's quarter, Fort Point)

More photos follow this link.

(36-inch Refractor Telescope, built in 1888)
Last Sunday was a beautiful day. My brother-in-law suggested we take a drive up to the Lick Observatory. Last time I went up there was six years ago on a bike. Our tri club had a club ride to the top of Mt. Hamilton where Lick Observatory located. Then it became an annual New Years Day ride. I felt ashamed going up Mt. Hamilton in an air conditioned car.

When I saw the announcement of Panasonic LX3 camera in the electronic news, I looked at my two-year old LX1 and got me thinking. There are few important improvements in the LX3 that makes me want to upgrade even more. Before the LX3 announcement, I was interested the new Ricoh GX200. The previous model, the GX100 has received good reviews and the new GX200 is somewhat even "better". Since the LX3 will not be available until mid September, I ordered the GX200 to wet my appetite for a new every-day-carry-around point and shoot camera.

First impression: It felt plastic when holding in my hand but from looking at the seams, it matches perfectly. And all the dials and buttons have solid feel to it. Very well built. The size is slightly longer then the LX1 but thinner because of the less protruding of the lens. I felt a little awkward taking shots one handed without hitting the zoom button right next to my thumb.

Plus points: High level of customization options. I can customize the frequent used adjustment functions in an easy access menu. Two user defined function buttons. Three sets of customized shooting parameters. Supports DNG RAW image file format. Manual operation capability is a must for me. Finally, the unique 1:1 aspect ration options which none of the digital 35mm camera on the market offers.

(stay tuned for more evaluation of this camera)

(Century 21)
San Jose is lucky to have the oldest movie theater still in operation, the dome shaped Century Theaters. Century 21 theater was first opened in 1963. The first film presented at Century 21 was "It's a mad mad mad mad world". Many local movie theaters have been driven out of business by multi-screen mega theaters. Century Theaters have survived but it did go through the change of ownership in 2006. More photos here. Someone has captured their theater policy trailer on YouTube, interesting to see.
The weather in San Jose has been mild in the past week. Today's high was only in mid 70's because of a near-by weather front. Because of that, the cloud formation was picturesque at its best.


(Double rainbow at sunset)