Monday, June 17, 2019

[813] My Thoughts on the Lakers and Pelicans Trade

So the Lakers have finally acquired Anthony Davis via trade. I'm not really surprised, and I honestly think it was a win for both teams. However, I'm not a basketball expert. I'm just a casual fan. Since this is my blog I will still be posting my thoughts on this trade.

Why do I think it is a win-win trade? Well the Lakers got AD, who could be (in theory right now) a very good complement to LeBron. It's pretty obvious they are in win-now mode to take advantage of the remaining years of LeBron's prime. Adding AD also makes the Lakers more attractive to free agents. I believe they can still sign one more superstar with their remaining cap space. Though if you ask me they might be better off spending that cap space for two or three really good role players. Plus I won't be surprised if they get to sign one or two ring-chasing vets for the veteran minimum.

As for the Pelicans, they get a good group of relatively young NBA players to build around they're first overall pick in this year's draft, who I'm guessing will be Duke's Zion Williamson. They get good defenders in Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, and a possible swiss-army knife player in Brandon Ingram. Plus they also get this year's 4th overall pick. And I believe the Lakers will still owe them a few first round picks in the future so they have those to look forward to as well.

The Lakers got what they wanted, and so did the Pelicans. The trade made the Lakers a legit championship contender this coming season since Golden State has to deal with a lot of free agent AND injury issues on their end.

The Pelicans get to build around their youth, but probably stay competitive as well if they decide to keep Jrue Holiday.

This makes me excited to see what will happen in the upcoming NBA season.

Out.

Friday, June 07, 2019

[812] Photographs

I got into photography around 2005. A good friend who I worked with got me started. He loaned me some film SLRs and when I got the flames stoked I eventually saved up to buy my own film SLR.

Soon my mom gave me a gift, a Canon 30D DSLR. Eventually because the CMOS sensor got fungal bloom I switched to point and shoot cameras. A Panasonic LX5, then a Canon G16. It was during these times I decided DSLRs were too bulky and my purpose for owning a camera had changed.

Nowadays I usually rely on my smartphone's camera. The LG G4 I have has a pretty decent camera anyway. And it's always with me.

When I started photography I wanted an "artistic outlet." I was learning the rule of thirds, learning composition, and trying to find unique ways of framing photographs. Eventually I started figuring out shutter speeds, aperture settings, white balance, and other technical stuff.

Once my daughter was born the reason I took photographs started evolving as well. It was less artistic expression and more capturing memories. Something I still believe in up to now.

I have recorded probably hundreds of gigabytes of still and moving pictures. Some of them still have a bit of artistic expression, but most of them now are all about capturing a specific moment.

I most likely will not remember every detail I have experienced in my life, but I hope that seeing pictures from way back will still remind me of what happened in that specific moment.

Don't get me wrong, I still try to add whatever I learned from taking pictures before to what I do now. And I still remember the greatest advice I got from my dad's friend who is a pretty well-known local photographer. "Why did you take the photo?" He refused to critique my shots if my answer was "because I wanted to." There had to be a reason why I took that specific photo, and why it was taken that way.

Nowadays I take the photo to remember that specific instance. I don't want to completely forget everything when I'm older and my memory starts failing me.

I don't want to forget friends and family who have moved on.

And that is why I still take photos.

Out.