Getting Photos

I've never taken a photography class and I've never really understood color too well. Knowing that, some might say I'm just an amateur which I totally agree with. I know a couple of friends now who are, what I consider, masters of photography, or at least they seem so to me. If you asked me what I like to take pictures of, I'd say candids. why? they're just so much more real. As you noticed from the two previous picture, they've been exaggerated in such ways as to seem not real. And, in a way, I don't consider them to be.

Candids are great. But you have to be really sneaky. Things like hiding in bushes, taking pictures from weird angles, and maybe even using a zoom lens makes you seem like a stalker. Perhaps even a pervert if you get caught taking pictures of a certain gender. Despite all this, candids are lovely in that they capture a truer essense (that sounds so philosophical and abstract). I should actually say, candids is just an excuse for me to say that I'm too lazy to compose a scenic or meaningful shot so that they come out crappy anyway.

But seriously, I rarely ever see any good candid photography. There are hardly any tutorials on how to take good candid shots too. Yet, they are usually the best shots when it comes to slideshows and presentations. Not to mention candids are usually the photos that people least want up so its the most fun to put up!

Study Time

If you ever get to college or are in college or have been to college, you know how fun, distracting, and useful study groups are. A bunch of guys (and girls (maybe (if you have a social life))) get together and, for the most part, try to study together for some upcoming midterm. Yet, at the same time, you have "friendship dynamics" going on that are distracting that by the end, you feel you might have done better by just studying alone. Let me say this one thing: study groups are great but are most effective when everyone is working on different things.

Does this sound contradictory? Maybe, so it would seem but let me explain thoroughly what I mean. When everyone is working together on the same subject, you either want to lag behind to wait for the slower people to catch up (which is the best case scenario, it means you're smart) or you are rushing, trying to catch up (bad). I don't find this to be the best work environment and I really don't like having to work a pace other than my own (yes, I'm self-centered). With people working on all different subjects, you aren't pressured at what pace you're working at. Rather, you're pressured just to do some type of work. You feel that you have to get something done or you would just be setting a bad example. Work with the peer pressure to get your own work done.

There is one problem though, if you study with a group that you have awesome "dynamics" with, you might just end up goofing off and seriously wasting time. The moral now is, pick your study groups effectively and wisely. Don't look for people who are just distracting. Being a freshman now, working with seniors is pretty good unless they decide to goof off too.

Tuesday's Lunch Out

Every tuesday I go out with one of my floormates and go to some random restaurant in berkeley to test it out. Today, we went to this Indian/Muslim restaurant called Tandoori and it was actually pretty decent. Let me explain something first, though. Food and particularly restaurants close to the Berkeley campus is pretty bad and by that I mean, on par with what i make. Most of it tastes the same regardless of what cuisine it is. Having said that, this Indian place had one particularly different menu item which was, again, pretty decent.

Sorry I don't have a picture this time around but I promise one the next time (if I remember).

If you ever do go south down telegraph and find a restaurant called tandoori, try to get the sheekh kebab (sp?). Its mostly lamb with some seasoning in eat that is oven-roasted into a sausage type thing. Add on the lemon and cut onions, it is very tasty. I can't exaggerate how good it is just because it really wasn't that good looking back on it. If I seem a little contradictory here, its okay, all food in Berkeley is way too subjective to rate on how it tastes.

I'll think of some better stuff to write about later, but for now, I think I'll stick some menial news...