Bogut vs Kobe

This was a bit of an anti climax for us Aussies. Golden State came up with the goods 109-103 against the Lakers. This was a sell out at Oracle stadium and the atmosphere was pretty awesome for a 20,000 plus indoor stadium.

There are so many Laker fans even in the heart of Warriors home stadium.​

Our timing for this match was spot on. Kobe Bryant has since busted his Achilles and Bogut the only real name for the Aussies in the NBA was also playing after a long stint on the sidelines due to injury.

​Kobe lived up to his name but started slow and scored a game high of 36 points. 23 of those points in the second half. Bogut scored a massive 4 points, which was the massive let down in the game, hence anti climax (who cares if he can block and grab rebounds). I was hoping he would have a better game and although his team won, his contribution in offense and defense was a bit of a let down.

One advise read up and check up on stadium camera rules for being a spectator. I left my 18-55mm Fujinon zoom on my camera which qualified for the size dimensions which was 7cm but the stadium official was on his game and knew it was a zoom which broke the rules for the stadium. Luckily enough due to a change of plans I could drop the camera back in my uncle's car.​

Need an early night to crash as the real holiday commences tomorrow in Maui !!!​

Back to San Francisco

After the highs of driving the Ferrari 458 Italia, it's back to the normal touristy things such as seeing sites at San Francisco and Napa Valley. Thus far I haven't been exposed to much street shooting but when I have, I've struggled to get good shots with the camera. The technique to use the camera in capturing shots is a lot different to using my Canon 7D. Most issues stem with my own faults rather than the camera itself.

When you nail a shot it is definitely rewarding. Going for those gun shots is also a little challenging with the unfamiliar environment as I'm half looking over my shoulder in case some burly guy taps it and scares the tripe out of me.

I have used the Hoya ND400 in some of my long exposure shots but thus far my effort in shots has been very so so and bland. Need to focus on the environment and wait for the moment rather than think about shopping and food :)​

The days were bright and sunny in  San Francisco, again this is somewhere I had been a number of times, so the expectations to get some good shots were high. I'm semi satisfied with the shots of the Golden Gate bridge but it would have been nice to have captured in sunset.​

Napa was pretty good fun. It is a lot different to home where by most wineries charged for tasting which made things interesting. I was left to myself for the testing and it was $25 a pop for each winery . This includes 3 sample wines and you can top up if you life if you are that little unsure. I slept well on the way back from Napa I can definitely tell you that :)​

Ferrari 458 Italia or a Lamborghini Gallardo ?

After a night out searching for drinks, I had decided to do a Ferrari drive at Exotics Racing. The choice had been made as I had barely drunk enough to be drunk since all the pubs/bars were closed or shut by 1am and my brother in law was telling me all the benefits of spending money because who knows when I'd be here next.​

​After walking around the strip we got back around 3am and then I had to force myself up around 8am to get a car service out to the track. I had made it out via limo to the race track at around 10am.

You rock up to the service desk at Exotics Racing and the girls at the counter are extremely helpful. You read the legal rights that you are responsible for your own stupid actions and well you sign away after your drivers license has been reviewed. You then get a number of choices. Ferarri's, Lamborghini's, Porsche's, Mclaren's, Aston's, Merc's and even a Nissan GTR. They have a wide array of high performance cars and you get to drive them as hard as you can with the comfort of air-conditioning :P ​

​I parted with my $480 USD for 5 laps (each lap should be done in a minute or under pending on your ability) in a Ferarri 458 Italia with it call captured on video. You are required to attend a safety briefing and track briefing. This is followed by 2 hotlaps in a Porsche Cayenne .. yep a 4 wheel drive, I must say that V8 does sound impressive in a SUV. Then it's a matter of a waiting game.

By about 11am, Paul calls me over and I get a quick 5 minute talk on how good this beast is and I let Paul know that I'm pretty apprehensive at this stage. I tried to get all the four letter words to myself that aren't meant to be heard by young children as the mic's were sensitive. In my mind I knew this is the only way to get in to a prancing horse let alone drive one as hard as I could :)​

​So here are some pics. One note, as Chase Jarvis says, "the best camera is the one you have with you". Today happens that the only camera I have is the iPhone 5.