The First Time

No, I didn't lose my camera or forget that I have a blog...the month of August has just been CRAZY BUSY!!!!  But now that it's coming to a close and everything I had to do is done, I am back again...photographing and blogging.

Today, Reese and I went to eat Korean food at Choi's Garden. We frequent there often, but usually get the same thing for lunch. Today, we decided to splurge and order something that I've never tried before in my life...yukhoe (some Koreans spell it yukhae). Yukhoe is seasoned raw beef...yes, RAW! It is basically a Korean version of steak tartare. The most tender part of the beef is used and is thinly julienned with the fat removed and then mixed with seasoning. A raw egg yolk is added on top and sometimes pine nuts are added as well.

A main concern people have about eating raw beef is that it may be contaminated with E. coli. Reese and I have seen yukhoe on the menu at other Korean restaurants, but because it's raw, we thought it was best to order it from a well-established restaurant to minimize the risk of getting sick.

I'll admit, I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food. However, Reese is, which is good for me, I suppose. It encourages me to step out of my comfort zone and realize that everything I think is "scary" is not so scary after all. Everyone should have at least one friend like Reese.  :)

I would have to describe yukhoe as tasting like sashimi. Even the texture feels the same. If you were to slice a piece of beef the same way you would slice a piece of maguro and put it on sushi rice, I bet you wouldn't be able to tell it was raw beef. I really enjoyed it! If I don't end up in the hospital in the next couple of days, I might just order it again soon.  *fingers crossed*

Anyway, here are some photos I took of the yukhoe.  

ISO 800, -1 EV, f/4.5, shutter 1/40

ISO 800, -1 EV, f/3.2, shutter 1/60

ISO 800, -1 EV, f/4.5, shutter 1/60

(Don't Go Chasing) Waterfalls

In my last post, I demonstrated one of the two uses for a ND filter. Last week I was able to actually try out its other use - enabling a slow shutter speed to record movement in subjects such as waterfalls and streams. 

These photos were taken at Lili'uokalani Botanical Garden in the Nuuanu/Liliha area. Even though the the garden is surrounded by apartment complexes, hospitals, schools and homes, I wouldn't recommend venturing there alone...especially if you're a female. Luckily, Reese was available for bodyguard services that day...haha.  

In order to take these long exposure photos at 3pm when the sun was still very high,  I used the smallest aperture and lowest ISO possible. Along with my ND filter, I used a polarizer to further decrease the amount of light coming in.  I also played around with the shutter speed to get the "silkiness" I was trying for. 

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 5 seconds with ND filter & polarizer

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 5 seconds without ND filter & polarizer

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 1/20
"Ordinary" snapshot (like you would take with a point & shoot camera)

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 6 seconds with ND filter & polarizer

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 6 seconds without ND filter & polarizer

I had a blast trying to capture the silky waterfall and stream. I'm amazed at what I could capture just by adding a few accessories and trying different settings on the camera. I *heart* photography!!!