Pola

2007-04-11T01:03:00.000-07:00

bigger pic here...

current gadget infatuation: evaluating the Sansa Express 1GB mp3 player. an innocuous yet slick piece of gadgetry.

pros:

really excellent sound
very fast boot time
player boots up into previous state. i.e. pause mode or play mode into the last song played
long battery life (so far)
expandable with up to a 2 GB microSD card
custom EQ
FM radio reception is excellent and configurable for USA, Japan or the world
no proprietary cable required
extremely compact and light
the best little UI screen i've used so far (OLED rocks)
navigable just by touch alone
overall industrial design is very good. IMHO they hit it outta the park
relatively environmentally friendly packaging. i.e. tiny blister pack

cons:

shuffle mode sucks. doesn't really shuffle all of the songs
occasionally the display will barf so i gotta shut down and restart
sometimes microSD card not recognized
microSD card sticks out a tiny bit so it theoretically can be disdlodged and lost
no clock or alarm
controls got into sleep mode when display turns off

bottom line? despite the bugs this is, surprisingly, one of the most enjoyable players i've ever used; neutral sound, pocketable, no cables or batteries to lose or replace and a tiny yet still very useable display. i wish it came in a 2 GB size, but i'll have to wait and see. the product was rushed to the public hence the bugs, but rest assured there will be a firmware fix fairly shortly because the exisiting bugs simply demand it. i'm not too worried about this cuz Sandisk has always been very relaible wrt firmware updates.

questions? drop me a line at johnchongatgmaildotcom

2007-03-25T00:37:00.000-07:00

A very informative video of a presentation on why Starbucks is so successful. I highly recommend people watch this even though it is 18 minutes long; it is time well spent.

2006-08-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

this series was shot this summer at "Le Grand Répertoire"; a show being held in the Grand Palais in Paris. this is the 1st time I've ever used the motordrive f'n on the digital camera. seemed to work ok, but the frame rates could have been a bit faster.

the shot is of a water cannon shooting water via compressed air. I'm not one to enjoy having water thrown on me, but considering the oppressive conditions it was a relief for all that stood in the blast radius of the water cannon. the expression of the people's faces, young and old when viewing closeups of the image files was priceless.

2006-04-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

this is f**king surreal... funny... but surreal...

2006-04-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

happy belated Easter...

2006-02-11T22:55:00.001-08:00

for your viewing pleasure, a couple of vignettes:

a roadtrip a while back. George is quite the character; Orlando? Orlando is Orlando, 'nuff said.

last summer in Paris, visiting friends, i finally managed to do Paris-Roller. it was unforgettable and surreal blading around Paris at night.

2005-06-11T23:47:00.000-07:00

This post is from the browser on my BlackBerry. Hopefully it will work. :)

2005-01-25T20:35:00.000-08:00

hey Frank,

here are the shots from that fateful day. thanks again for helping out. I'll get some prints done up for you when I've finished with the final edit.

2004-11-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

a shot from a place called Peking Lounge

2004-10-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

a good film, but the dvd extras disc was bloated and aggrandizing. too much money and being surrounded by sycophants can be a bad thing. i think Tom Cruise has a grip on things, but Spielberg definitely needs a reality check.

why don't they just go down on each other already...?

2004-09-30T01:36:00.001-07:00

Code 46

the best movie i've seen this year. Tim Robbins? what were they thinking? he was ok, but Samantha Morton ("Minority Report", "In America") was very good. great story about the ramifications of cloning in the near future and the ever-looming presence of big brother. in some ways, this film parallels that of "Bladerunner", albeit, with more contemporary visuals. once again, the score was amazing. i expected the worse in terms of film quality when i thought it was shot on DV, but to my pleasant surprise it was actually done in hi-def video; the movie looked like it had been shot w/ film and i was completely fooled. another great film from Michael Winterbottom and i still have to see his earlier film "Welcome to Sarajevo".

movie poster

2004-05-05T01:04:00.000-07:00

intentional diptic.

below is a montage of 2 back to back edits from a scene in "Whalerider". a film i liked so much i bought the dvd. no, its not a kids film, tho' the main protagonist is a 12 year old kiwi girl. locale cinematography and atmospheric score once again played heavily in my enjoyment of this film. the adapted screenplay kicked ass as well...

young girl experiences a moment of clarity

2004-03-29T01:38:00.000-08:00

this is a flatbed scan of a glass plate negative i bought at today's camera swap meet. the negative is a scene from the polish countryside circa ????.

polish landscape, ???/??

2004-02-01T17:51:00.000-08:00

a scene from last week's chinese new year's celebration in Vancouver. (which was as colourful as ever and it didn't even rain!)

girl in chinese new year's costume, jan/04

2003-11-18T23:52:00.000-08:00

roadtrip!!!

movies, pix and text coming soon... i hope.

mugshotz, nov/03

2003-10-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

tagline: everyone wants to be found.

i saw an amazing film today that i am going to recommend to everyone. said film is "Lost in Translation". my words could never do justice to the experience, but the movie was a small work of art. gorgeously lensed, wonderfully acted and the music meshed perfectly w/ the scenes. the film kinda sucks you in and you really feel like you are somewhere else for the next 2 hrs. Tokyo looks amazing in the film and the city scenes come alive w/ an urban energy like i've never seen. the hotel where the film takes place is a character in itself, floating in a vast sea of urban sprawl; a bit of an oasis amidst the flurry of megacity life. Vancouver's got nuthin on Tokyo.

another point i wanna bring up is that its time that Bill Murray is finally recognized as an extraordinary actor after watching him work in this film. the guy was perfect in "Rushmore" and he seems to be on a good roll. otoh Scarlett Johansson gave a vulnerable and uplifitng performance as the lead opposite Murray's.

Sofia Coppola... the director, or should i say directress, is just getting better as she goes along. Virgin Suicides was good, but LiT is far better.

see this film... please...

Lost in Translation promo poster

2003-09-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

one of many pictures i took of the inside of a luthier (violin shop/store). you could point the camera in any direction and not take a bad shot.

Paris, apr/02

2003-09-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

something overheard in a movie theater recently as an upcoming movie trailer had just finished playing:

movie audio: "critics agree! blah blah blah is the first great film of the year!"

dainty senior missus: "ooo, let's go see that."

grumpy gramps: "hmmph... let's not go see that."

(you had to be there for the full impact)

2003-09-01T23:43:00.000-07:00

Spanish Banks, Vancouver, sep/03

2003-08-21T00:10:00.000-07:00

i know they're "just" film clips, but they just happen to be made by Ilford and harken back to a period when things were made by costlier/better means. their quality is evident as soon as you pick them up; all shiny metal construction with thick chunks of lead to aid in weighing down the film strip as it dries. utilitarian in design, they are little mini works of art. don't know how old they are, but they sure aren't being made anymore. sadly, most film clips these days are made of cheap plastic along with a high markup. sign 'o the times... bleah...

Vancouver, aug/03

2003-07-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

this is the view from Mike's patio in East Van. on a Friday evening. i have never seen the sky as saturated as that ever.

note: butterscotch martinis are a manly drink? hahaha...! you're funny Mike.

near Commercial Drive, Vancouver, jul/03

2003-07-18T01:39:00.000-07:00

yo Dominic,

here is a list of places to check out for free:

updated legend:

- F = free every day
- SM = free each Sunday Morning (10AM - 1 PM)
- 1S = free the 1st Sunday of the Month.
- M° = metro (subway)

National Archives (history) : 60 rue des Francs Bourgeois (M° : Rambuteau) 1S
Modern Art of the City of Paris : 11 av Président-Wilson (M° Alma Marceau) SM
Balzac's House (litterature) : 47 rue Raynouart (M° Passy) SM
Bourdelle (art) : 18 rue Antoine Bourdelle (M° Montparnasse) SM
Cernuschi (art) : 7 av Velasquez (M° Villiers) SM
Dapper (African art) : 35bis rue Paul Valéry (M° Etoile) : last Wednesday of the Month # Galliera (Fashion) 10 av Pierre 1er de Serbie (M° Iéna) SM
Légion d'Honneur (history) : 2 rue de Bellechasse (M° Solferino) 1S
Louvre (art & history) -1S
Maison Européenne de la Photographie (photographes) : 5 rue de Fourcy (M° St Paul) - free Wednesday 5PM - 8PM.
Mémorial de la Libération de Paris - Musée Jean Moulin (history of WW II) : 23 allée de la 2° DB (M° Montparnasse) SM
Monnaie (History) : 11 quai Conti (M° Pont Neuf) F all Sundays 12 AM- 5:30PM
Musée du Moyen Age (history of the Middle Age) : 6 place P. Painlevé (M° St Michel or Odéon) 1S
Orsay (19° Century Art) : 1 rue de la Légion d'Honneur (M° Solferino or RER Orsay) 1S
Musée du Parfum (perfume) : 39 Bd des Capucines (M° Opéra) F
Pavillon de l'Arsenal (architecture) : 21 Bd Morland (M° Quai de la Rapée) F
Pavillon des Arts (Art) : les Halles - Porte de Rambuteau -Terrasse Lautréamont (M° Chatelet les Halles) Free on Sunday 11:30AM - 1 PM
Petit Palais (art exibits) : Av Winston Churchill (M° Champs Elysées Clémenceau) SM
Musée de la Police (history) : 1bis rue des Carmes (M° Maubert) F , 9AM- 5PM, closed on Sunday and ferial days.
Musée de la Vie Romantique (romantic life) : 16 rue Chaptal (M° Chaptal) SM
Musée Zadkine (scuptures & drawings) : 100 bis rue d'Assas (M° Vavin) SM
Centre Georges Pompidou (on the photograph): place Georges Pompidou (M° Chatelet les Halles or Rambuteau), 12AM-10PM excepted Su 11AM-10PM - when the main entrance is busy, use entrances rue Beaubourg or rue du Renard - books, films, tapes, Internet, CD - Free
Hotel de Ville exibits (history & miscellaneous topics) : place de l'Hotel de Ville (M° Hotel de Ville). The matter of the exibit changes frequently. See the program.
Jardin des Tuileries : place de la Concorde (M° Concorde)
Jardin du Luxembourg : rue St Michel (M° Luxembourg)
Parc Monceau : Bd de Courcelles (M° Courcelles)
Jardin des Plantes : corner rues Cuvier & Geoffroy St Hilaire (M° Jussieu)- Marvellous flowers. Unfortunatly, there is a lack of finance and the quality of the garden is decreasing - Some parts of the garden and the zoo are not free. The National History Museum is here.

here is an awesome hotel to stay at:

Hôtel Michelet Odéon**
6 place de l’Odéon
75006 Paris
Tel : 00.33.1.53.10.05.60
Fax : 00.33.1.46.34.55.35
E-mail : hotel@micheletodeon.com
Site : http://www.hotelmicheletodeon.com
Metro:: Odeon or Luxembourg (former is a bit closer)

Paris, 6th arrondisement

2003-07-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

a belated photo shoot with Kanako and Jerry for their (obviously) wedding. this shoot should've happened a few months ago and didn't, but due to "extenuating" circumstances it finally happened last friday. i shot this image using a 4x5 camera and some Polaroid 665 pos/neg film. using a view camera, for those that have never, is an incredibly slow process and the shot can look quite static; hence the term still life. the neg was then shot on a light table to obtain a scan and processed/edited in Photoshop.

Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, jul/03

2003-07-07T00:23:00.000-07:00

i photographed the opening at the Vancouver art gallery a week last friday. it was quite fun and i connected w/ quite a few friends i hadn't seen in years. the gallery had this interesting banner out front that was designed to read like asian calligraphy, but if you looked closely you could see that it was actually comprised of english characters.

Vancouver art gallery, Vancouver, jun/03

2003-06-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

coming very soon!

greeting cards of some scenes i shot while in northern France; namely Mt. Saint Michel. purchase some at cost and then get some for free if you email me personally. will post an image very soon.

ta ra...

UPDATE:

festival du Printemps, Mt. Saint Michel, France apr/94

2003-05-12T01:32:00.000-07:00

life's little satisfying moments:

1) applying a final wet sand to a piece of woodwork
2) emptying and cleaning out my wallet
3) ripping an mp3 using the LAME codec
4) using my water pik
5) the crunch of the pastry b/n my teeth from a really fresh croissant,
6) popping those tiny little roe found in sushi b/n my teeth
7) satisfying the late night crave of a soft drink

more to follow...

2002-12-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

Ocean concrete manufacturing on Granville island always dresses up a truck every christmas season. it looks like a lot of work, but its worth it once you see it in person. i shot the image on slide film and then as a comparison on a digital camera and the results totally sucked on the Canon g2; the digital images were washed out with very little saturation or sharpness. digicams are good for checking my lighting, but the serious stuff will require good old film. all hail Fuji, Kodak and Ilford!! :)

granville island, dec/02

2002-11-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

these are before and after shots of my friend Brian getting hit over the head w/ a metal chair a few nights ago. he said he got slight concussion from it and after looking at the dent in the chair i believe him. it happened during the night his book on wrestling was launched at dick's on dicks. a real wrestling ring was set up and wrestlers were brought in to perform.

i've never attended a wrestling match before and didn't know what to expect that night, but i would now have to say this has been one of the most cathartic experiences i've ever had; the crowd was amped as well as the wrestlers and an abundance of expletives were enthusiastically exchanged b/n the two. being a spectator during a match is not a passive experience; requires a lot of shouting, finger-pointing and the occasional chest-thumping. needless to say, it turned to be a very, very entertaining evening.

Brian, on the far left, explaining photo of wrestler to that same wrestler. nov/02

Brian receiving blow to head from upset wrestler. note the cowering impressario on the right. nov/02

2002-10-29T14:29:00.000-08:00

what's the frequency kenneth? we saw Michael Stipe in yaletown sat. nite. i walked in late and there is this guy sitting down having tea/coffee w/ his friend. took a second to click before i realized it was him; shaved head and all. i wanted to say thanks for all the earlier r.e.m. stuff, but then i thought he just wants to be left alone. i did manage to take a covert shot using my g2 w/ my back to him (i am really enjoying having the flip-out lcd screen). can't confirm, but apparently he is in town working on a film w/ his boyfriend who is also the owner of the production company that is producing this film.

Michael Stipe. oct/02

2002-10-26T00:33:00.000-07:00

went to this place called Memphis Blues for barbequed ribs yesterday and man...! the place is a bit of a hole in the wall and frankly, i hope it never changes. the restaurant has seating for about 20-25 ppl, is self-serve and has a bit of that log cabin decor happening. the food is obviously the draw here; 13 bucks gets you a half-side of ribs, baked beans, coleslaw, dipping sauce and some cornbread. these are the kind of ribs where the meat is cooked till its just ready to fall off the bone. sheer unadulterated gluttony. the quality is somewhat inconsistent at times, but thursday's meal ranked up there w/ the best of them. there was so much food i had to take half of it home w/ me. the place has varying sizes of food items, but the granddaddy of them all is the "Elvis". this particular dish sells for 60 bucks and feeds 4 very large and hungry adults; its basically a mound of meat. heads actually turn when customers walk back to their table while carrying this; people stare, jaws agape, wide-eyed when they see this platter float by. can you say angioplasty? i knew you could.

second to the carnal noshing is the owner. a guy who goes by the name of "Park". this guy could pass for Drew Carey's brother and is one dude, at first sight, you probably wouldn't want to piss off. he's big and he's surly, but the place wouldn't be the same without him. i kinda got the feeling that this place is his baby and deep down he is damn proud of it, but why not? expect a ribbing (sorry 'bout the pun) from him and the rest of the staff. i suppose this kinda keeps the customer on their toes and make sure you have a snappy comeback if you do get dissed. its expected of you. all in good fun of course.

i took a pic of park w/ my g2, but i think i'm gonna go back and shoot some b&w film of the guy. the g2 does fine, but has too much depth of field for my needs. pic is ok and he snarled real good when i asked him nicely. this shot has shallow dof cuz i photoshopped the heck out of it.

UPDATE: Tuesdays are definitely one of the best days to go.

UPDATE: Park used to manage Bridges!!!.

Park, the meat man, oct/02

2002-10-20T00:56:00.000-07:00

just had coffee w/ Sabrina tonite and everytime we chat i always get an idea from her wrt photographic undertakings. she mentioned the Artropolis show next year and the fast approaching deadline. i think i'm gonna try and get something together for that. its been so long since i hung a show and i'd love to get back into it. think i'll try a tryptic or pentic (is that a word?) of the entranceway of 3 storey walkups around town. i'm gonna present them as cyanotypes at maybe 3x3 or 3x4 inches. photographing modern architecture and using a process from the 1800s should make for an interesting contrast.

2002-10-16T00:41:00.000-07:00

i just saw Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland today and all i can say is wow. the film follows 3 sisters living in london and the family events that unfold over a 4-day period. nicely shot, edited and beautifully scored by michael nyman; the music actually elevates the film. it was shot documentary style with what looked like 16mm stock which added to the rough-edged look. performances were well done all around, but i still had problems w/ Molly Parker's brit accent since i know she is canadian. one of the characters in the film looked awfully familiar from another film and then i realized that the ex-husband in this film was the stuttering Professor Quirrell from Harry Potter (man, talk about range). if there were any shortcomings in the script i didn't notice any; the characters were all very well developed and i really felt for them. the film explores longing, relationships and awkward family dynamics and how they choose to cope with them. the best thing about this film? Michael Winterbottom demonstrates that compelling films can still be made on modest budgets (esp. in these days of bloated multi-million dollar LOSERS).

2002-10-14T00:23:00.000-07:00

up late as usual. why does late nite tv suck so much? why so many bloody infommercials? i guess thats what happens when i don't subscribe to cable and as a result only have 4 channels w/ poor reception.

here is a shot that took me on and off 3 months to do. to say i work very slowly would be an incredible understatement. i first shot this on polaroid 669 and then decided to do it in 665 to get the awesome b&w neg. i then shot the neg on top of a light table, using my Canon g2, to get a scan and then reversed it in photoshop and dropped in some clr; i think it turned out ok but is still a work in progress.

my studio, jul/02 - oct/02

2002-09-20T03:19:00.000-07:00

this was taken in Paris last spring. man, i love this city. the Centre George Pompidou is spectacular, and yet somewhat impractical, museum designed by Renzo Piano et al. there was an impressive Andreas Gursky show on at the time. some truly inspirational stuff in there. the bookstore rocked as well (my pauvre wallet).

Pompidou Centre, apr/02

2002-09-19T01:43:00.000-07:00

gettin' banner fixed up and pix to follow. in the meantime you can see some of my previous work at:

~~http://www.advokids.org/slideshow~~

yeah, yeah... i know. its late.

2002-09-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

testing my blog

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