Learning Photoshop

After a very long time, I finally have time (or have decided) to start blogging again. I have been practicing using Photoshop for about 3 days and would like to post some progress.

1. Color manipulation and sharp mask

Before

After

2. Dust correction

Before

 After

3. Background change

4. Extra

Before

 After

A Day in Los Angeles

On the second day of Fall break, I have an opportunity to visit downtown Los Angeles with Thai upperclassmen, Kaew and Por. We departed the school 11.30PM to catch a metro train to Union Station. The train took an hour to arrive Los Angeles. It was a pretty gloomy day, but, fortunately, it did not rain.

We headed to Little Tokyo to have lunch for the first thing. Little Tokyo is a very small area where Japanese shops and restaurants are located. Kaew recommended a ramen and curry restaurant, so we went there for lunch. After lunch, we shot some photos in Little Tokyo before walking back to Union Station.

Our next target was a cathedral that had been destroyed by an earthquake. It was rebuilt into a very modern building. One cannot tell from outside that the building below is a cathedral. However, the inside of the building is still a large hall and avatar just like any church. The hall itself is huge and, strangely, the preist was speaking Spanish.

On the way back to metro station, we took a brief visit to the Times building, which is also enormous!

Then we went to Hollywood!!! The Hollywood zone is very different from other regions in LA. It is the most crowded reminding me of the Broadway in NYC. 

The building below is a very large shopping complex that has a view of the famous HOLLYWOOD sign.

The top left on the mountain lies one of the most famous landmark of LA. Sadly, it was very far away and impossible to take a picture with myself in it. (The picture below is already x3.5 zoom.)

 Iron Man!

The building below is called Chinese Theater (even though it is found by an white American). The theater exhibits footprints and handprints of many famous actors and actresses. Surprisingly, my feet exactly matched Cage's.

Finally, we went to Thai town to have dinner. The food is so much better than that in NH or NY and also so much cheaper. We paid only about $16 for a very full meal.

 Before we headed back to the campus, we stopped by a Thai supermarket. Look at what I found!

Trapping Experience in Gilman

As the thaw arrives, the Exeter river begins to flow again. The dormant plants are sprouting all over the Gilman Park, signaling the arrival of the Spring. For this last three months with the woods, I decide to carry out a trapping project in the Exeter river.

My goal is to catch a crayfish. I did online research and found that crayfish is abundant in NH and it should be found in almost every pond. I began by constructing my own traps from bottles, but they failed. So, I bought a simple net trap from eBay instead. The first bait I used was D-Hall bread. Nothing happened and the bread rapidly dissolved away, so I changed my strategy.

According to many websites, the best crayfish bait is fresh fish, so I bought real preserved minnow (fish). After a few day, I got a small turtle. Then in the next day, I got a small fish. They did not seem to interest in the bait, so I suspect that they accidentally got stuck there by the current.

After a week of no crayfish, I biked around the woods to find a better spot. I found a stagnant area at one end of the river and placed the trap there instead. Three newts (aquatic salamander) was trapped on the first day.

I keep two and release one. For a week, I still could not get any crayfish, so I moved again. The next place (not shown in the map) is on the left of the second trap, in the same stagnant water area. So far, I do not get again crayfish (all I get are newts and more newts!), but I still check the trap everyday, hoping to get a better result.

22˚ Halo

Today I've experienced a new phenomenon: 22˚ Halo. It is an optical phenomenon that occurs because of ice crystal in the atmosphere diffract the moon light. (for more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(optical_phenomenon))

The sky is clear tonight after being covered by grey clouds for days. This phenomenon is a brief relief after being stressed by the 332 History paper in the evening.

[Please note that both photographs are edited by iPhoto. My camera is incapable of capturing a high quality image at night.]

Woolly Adelgid Hunt!!

During the winter thaw weekend, after my skiing plan had failed, I have an opportunity to participate in Woolly Adelgid Hunt Trip with Dr. Goddard.

Winter Thaw

Woolly Adelgid is an alien insect from China that feeds on Hemlocks, native winter trees. Our goal is to mark the area that is heavily infested.

Woolly Adelgid

We went to Charles Hodges Conservation Area where Dr. Goddard had already investigated with other foresters. We found many Hemlocks infested. It took us about 2 hours to mark the trees for future investigation.

After that Dr. Goddard led us to a beaver dam. Unfortunately, the dam had already been dismantled.

It was a fun trip that I gained interesting experience in the New England forest.

Deer's Manure

 A Trace of a deer sharpened its antlers

Red Squirrel's Nest

Winter Glimpse

The winter has fully arrived when it actually snowed. The accumulation of the first day is approximately 5 cm.

Apart from the snow, the river and ponds are also beginning to freeze. On some chilly day, I can actually walk on a frozen pond.

 The water freezes at night and melts in the morning since the day temperature is still above 0˙ C.

 The ducks in the Gilman Park do not flee to the south. They still stay here and experience the winter with us.

Stony Point Experience

During the Christmas break, TS54 gather at the Stony Point Center to finish college applications. However, we also have some fun activities other than doing apps.

On the Christmas Eve, we made ginger houses to decorate the Beta house.

On Dec 29, some TSs who had almost (or already) done their applications went to the Bear Mountain Outdoor Ice Skate.