The Lowepro Urban Photo Sling 150 and the Museum of Science and Industry

Museums are usually strict when it comes to big bags. If you have one, they'll most likely ask you to deposit it. So what do you do if you want to have your possession always with you?

Bring a small bag with a big capacity! Bring a Lowepro Urban Photo Sling 150.

Check out the video I made below:

The wife and I really had great fun at the museum. We both love science, more so the wife (she's an astrophysicist!!!) so we were in our natural environment. But I also had fun making this video!

My review of the bag can be found here.

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Gear used to make this post:

-- Canon 5D Mark II (article)

-- Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM (review)

-- Lowepro Urban Photo Sling 150 (review)

-- Canon Powershot (review)

-- Joby 3-Way Camera Strap (Note: I still need to do a complete review of this strap; quick review: it's great!!!)

Autumnal Equinox Sunset Viewed from the Navy Pier - an HDR Photo

A beautiful sunset backdrops the equally beautiful skyline of Chicago.

No more words necessary!

These are some of the other pictures I made in that same afternoon.

The wife took this picture while I was making the shots for the HDR image. It's also now my twitter header. Thanks to the wife!

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Gear used in this blog post:

Canon 7D

Canon 24-105 f/4 IS USM

Canon Powershot

BlackRapid RS-Sport Slim

Adobe Photoshop

Think Tank Photo Retrospective7

Product Photography - Green Tea Kit Kat

I love green tea. After I have my morning cappuccino, more often than not, I have green tea in the afternoon or early evening.

But I not only love drinking green tea, I love eating it too: green tea ice cream, green tea mochi, and, most especially, green tea Kit Kat. So when a Japanese friend came to Chicago and brought me some Kit Kat, it almost seemed that I won the lottery. I felt so happy that, upon receipt of the precious boxes, I decided to photograph it so that I will have a visual reminder of it before it runs out.

These are the photographs that I made.

I am not eating the Kit Kat bars hastily: I want to make them last for as long as I can because I don't know when I will be able to eat some again. But I am happy I was able to photograph these precious bars before they ran out.


Behind the seen shot:

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Gear used in this photo shoot:

• Canon 5D Mark II (article)
• Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro (review)
• Benro Travel Angel (review)
• Joby GorillaPod Focus (review)

Reflections on the Crown Fountain in the Millenium Park, Chicago

The temperature is starting to dip and, much as I love the cold temperatures of winter, I still would like to look back at these summer moments when people wear summer dresses, kids play with water in the fountains, and fountains actually spew out water.

Very soon, there won't be water reflecting things on the Crown Fountain. Pretty soon it'll be covered in snow. I sure will miss summer but I certainly don't mind the cold.

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Shots made with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM lens. Want the best backpack for your DSLR? Check out my review of my favorite, the Lowepro Versapack 200AW, here and here.

The Think Tank Photo Airport 4-Sight

I usually am a one-camera, one-speedlite kind of guy. Ever since my injury, I tried to minimize what I bring whenever I go out. As I've said, just one camera with lens (of course) and one speedlite. Sometime, I bring a fast prime, but that's it - about 95% of the time, those are the only camera gear that I bring with me.

But of course, there are times when I can't help but bring a lot more. I usually dread that time since I don't want to hurt my back nor aggravate my shoulder - a lot of things can happen when you carry really heavy stuff.

For those times, I'm glad that there is a bag that can carry a lot of stuff and yet is not as cumbersome as lugging a backpack:

That bag is the Think Tank Photo Airport 4-Sight.

The Airport 4-Sight is a really great rolling luggage bag. It is smaller that what I usually bring when I fly yet it can contain a lot of camera gear. The size of the rolling bag qualifies it as a carry-on luggage which means that you always have your camera gear with you: you don't want to check your camera gear, I am sure of it. There are endless dividers which means you can configure the inside to your heart's content. (Ok, it's not really endless but I think it's already quite enough.)

The pockets inside the bag can be used to store accessories like a white balance card or an Expoimaging Flashbender, among other things. The outer pockets underneath the handles can be used for other small flat objects like lens covers or filters.

The bag performed well when I tested it on the streets of Chicago - I used it to go from one point of the city to another using the "L". The wheels turn smoothly and the bag glides on my tour around the city.

Are there things that I want to change? Well, I was hoping that there is a way to attach a tripod on the outside of the luggage. I also wish that there is a pocket for a laptop inside.

But aside from those two things, I am really happy about this bag: materials used are of high quality, construction is quite good, and capacity is exceptional.

The Shy Photographer rates it: Highly Recommended!

Special thanks to Brian Erwin of Think Tank Photo.

Get yours here! If you buy from Think Tank Photo, you get a free gift!

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Gear used in this blog post:

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon 100mm Macro

Canon Powershot

Benro Travel Angel

Open Street on State Street Chicago

It was a beautiful late-summer/early-fall day and what better way than to spend it outdoors enjoying the Open Street. The wife and I walked more than 4 miles (I used the Nike+ app on my iPhone to measure the distance we walked) enjoying the different sites and activities. There was yoga on the street, wall climbing, basketball, a lot of dancing, and more. The wife and I even got to do some hula hoops.

Then we topped off the afternoon by having snacks at Grahamwich. (They have a very nice website.)

We had a blast spending time outdoors this cool day. I'm looking forward to more outdoor activities before the real cold conditions of a Chicago winter set in.

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Gear used for this blog post:

1. Canon 5D Mark II
2. Canon 50mm f/1.4
3. Canon 100mm Macro
4. Think Tank Photo Retrospective 7