Terry Chan Photo Blog

Last month, I posted that I upgraded my Macbook Pro fro a 250GB hard drive to 500GB with Time Machine.  For the most part migrating to another hard drive using Time Machine’s restore feature is painless. However nothing is perfect. There are some small details that is sometimes missed such as Zinio.com.  You probably read my previous post about my Zinio.com account.  I now read all my magazines electronically, including Photoshop User magazine.  It alleviates clutter in the house and recyling old magazines, and I always have my magazines with me, even back issues.  I can access it via download and read it offline, or if I have Internet access and a browser, I can login to my Zinio.com account and read my magazines that way.

Migrating your Zinio Account is one of them. I found out that when I restored from Time Machine, Zinio recognized that I was using another Mac. Therefore it refused to let me open the magazines I already bought. I tried looking for the option to authorize my account but couldn’t find any.

So, I did what any tech savvy person living in the 21st century would do. I Googled it!

I found out that I needed to uninstall my Zinio program using Zinio’s uninstaller and reinstall the software so it can authorize my computer to use my account.

While it’s still a bit of a hassle to uninstall and reinstall the software, it wasn’t that complicated.

First, you’ll download the Zinio Uninstaller here. Once that’s done you’ll need to run the program so it can take out your existing program and the related files.

Next, download the latest version of Zinio Reader here. Select the proper version for you then install it.

Follow the installation setup and that should be it. You’re good to go. Enjoy those magazines!

I woke up early and prep for the Screen Actors Guild Awards Show.

Happy New Year 2010! from Terry Chan on Vimeo.

Skies were brighter than usual tonight, thanks to a full moon. This New Year’s Eve full moon is what’s known as a blue moon, because it’s the second full moon in a month.  Last time this happened on a new year’s eve was 1990.  Regular blue moons occur about once every two and a half years, which is the origin of the saying “once in a blue moon.”

The key to photographing the moon is a sturdy tripod and a long focal length lens.  I used my trusty Gitzo Carbon Fiber tripod, my brand new Canon 7D, and 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens.  I photographed this photo at 200mm which is equivalent to a 320mm lens in the film world.  The other key is to underexpose this photo because the sky is so dark, it fools the camera’s auto exposure matrix meter.  You can compensate this by, first Spot Metering to meter the moon only and ignore the rest of the sky.  The other option is to meter this photo with any auto metering mode with a exposure compensation turned on.  I photographed this photo with a -2 stop setting.  Finally, you can use manual metering mode.

So, give it a try in the year 2010 and photograph your own moon! 

After a disappointing semi-finals lost last year (losing in 3rd set tie-breaker of 10-8 in 3 hours) Lan and I partnered up to play again this year. We had to beat the #2 seed and #1 seed in succession in order to hoist the championship trophy today. It was a tough waiting for the past 12 months to avenge my lost last year. I’m finally smiling again. Thanks in large part for my partner. Without her, we would’ve lost in the first round because I was sub-par with my tennis performance.

I woke up early this morning, packed my photo gear and headed out to Ventura County driving 75 miles from San Gabriel Valley.  It was a fantastic morning with beautiful Southern California sunshine with a touch of brisk morning air.  I’m usually not a morning person, but It was enough to charge me up to photograph Rebekah and Dave’s wedding.

I stepped into the condo where Rebekah was getting ready, and I was greeted with such warm welcome by her entire family.  Right away, I knew it would be a great wedding to photograph.  The Browns were so hospitable that they made me feel right at home in a matter of minutes. Other than clicking my shutter, I also helped with ironing tips of the bridesmaid’s dresses. That’s because I love ironing at home when I’m not working on my wedding images. Rebekah’s mom quickly dubbed me with the title “Ironman”. LOL I love her family!

Needless to say I had a blast photographing Rebekah and Dave.  They are such photogenic couple.  Here are some of my favorites of the day.  Click on the picture above to see photos without scrolling down the page. Also, to see more of their photos, please click here.

Feeling patriotic today. Wearing my Stars and Stripes shoes. Old Navy US Flag T-Shirt and red, white and blue socks. . Have a happy and safe Fourth everyone!